tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-254253302024-03-07T17:33:34.759-05:00GypsyKMy quest to find adventure in everyday life.orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-78140744939400399992010-01-31T17:29:00.003-05:002010-01-31T17:36:18.694-05:00Where is the good news?I thought the bad stuff was going to end at the strike of midnight on 31 December 2009? We had all agreed that although 2009 had some good parts, it was a shite year and we were moving on to bigger and better things in 2010. <br /><br />Well, I did my part and adjusted my attitude and was ready to face some serious good news. <br /><br />...<br />...<br /><br />Dude, where's my good news? One very close friend lost her father very suddenly to cancer this week (he was just about to start chemo). Another has been in and out of the hospital with complications for Cystic Fibrosis and will likely need a double lung transplant this year. It seems like all the stories I hear lately are about looming operations, cheating husbands, unemployment, diabetes, cancer, gallbladder problems, ulcers.... it goes on. <br /><br />Maybe we're following the wrong calender? When is Chinese New Year? Will the year of the Tiger show us more love? PLEASE?orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-47410364815300821232009-12-20T07:50:00.002-05:002009-12-20T07:53:23.270-05:00Isn't this what the global warming debate is actually all about?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0yiCUmsFjvfcU62O9uww3wyPmQhFALdkMp4Au4YKJ6xKbUPDRt_JR1uz_DyaJpTXVeSO6w3W4iFJakMTQIZTffqTJdmy8rgyRAd05UBN0M3VZGgObgIY39BhB0_bOuraoLSnkSg/s1600-h/betterworld.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0yiCUmsFjvfcU62O9uww3wyPmQhFALdkMp4Au4YKJ6xKbUPDRt_JR1uz_DyaJpTXVeSO6w3W4iFJakMTQIZTffqTJdmy8rgyRAd05UBN0M3VZGgObgIY39BhB0_bOuraoLSnkSg/s320/betterworld.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417300633106200210" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The cartoon is by Joel Pett and appeared in USA today. Source: <a href="http://www.cartoons.nytimages.com/portal/wieck_preview_page_208831">http://www.cartoons.nytimages.com/portal/wieck_preview_page_208831</a>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-35504650925642896662009-12-18T06:32:00.001-05:002009-12-18T06:32:37.282-05:00Flying homeAt airport on the way back to Canada for Christmas. The people beside me have never flown before and were shocked to find out it is a 7 hr flight and to learn about the time change. I guess I take for granted I know about those things and how they work. But still, I was a bit shocked. <br /><br />Tried to get upgraded but no luck. Had the most amazing luck being upgraded with Tim on our flight to Osaka in October for our friends wedding. Business class! Massage chairs! Champagne! Tons of leg room and they served us ice cream at midnight! I was so happy. Now I ask every time. <br /><br />Excited to go home but also know it will be a trip of mixed emotions. Great to see friends but will also be attending a memorial service for a friend who I'm used to spending a lot of time with over the holidays. And i'm going to miss Tim who will be in Liverpool for Christmas. But overall I'm very happy and excited to see everyone. Especially since last year I wasn't able to go home. <br /><br />Now comes the flight. On the exciting side: MOVIES!!! In the not so exciting side: being stuck in a small space with lots of grumpy people. Here's hoping for a smooth flight. <br />- Posted from my iPhone<br />orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-28192274612768761382009-12-14T11:38:00.003-05:002009-12-14T11:49:25.555-05:00Phone call Saturday afternoon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_rc0cM6zypCPj_9Jza4Lw8K0oPGw_4tSIHjuxyhR9WA4AZ3nYXn4G8WEbSZKPl8k8w03cg9aeBdXMnBT5JXCeAA4o-oP38J8-ubaP2g8hGzrU0CRRwH4ySY-VQNIVnvYeOBcDA/s1600-h/feb+2007+143.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_rc0cM6zypCPj_9Jza4Lw8K0oPGw_4tSIHjuxyhR9WA4AZ3nYXn4G8WEbSZKPl8k8w03cg9aeBdXMnBT5JXCeAA4o-oP38J8-ubaP2g8hGzrU0CRRwH4ySY-VQNIVnvYeOBcDA/s320/feb+2007+143.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415134669664948946" border="0" /></a><br />I was in the queue at Argos with Tim when I got a call from a friend at home informing me that my dear friend Brent has passed away. I spoke to him on the phone and asked him all the right questions but wasn't sad or upset. My head was just spinning. When I was off the phone and Tim came up to me to ask me what was wrong after he paid for the item I burst into tears and told him. Then we walked home.<br /><br />I'm very sad. For Brent, for his family and friends, for me, for everything.<br /><br />It was complications from H1N1. He was 30 and the loveliest friend. Really. I'm so thankful that I'll be home for one of the memorials.orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-74929052701241306752009-12-11T08:22:00.007-05:002009-12-11T09:17:47.276-05:00Loneliness of a Short Distance RunnerNo desire to run. Shivering inside the house, why would I want to go outside in my running gear and freeze even more? But I want to want to run. And I know how good it feels after. Once I'm inside again, warm, feeling like I've accomplished something, feeling less guilty about a bit of sugary snack after lunch. Feeling like I've earned the right to get out of the house and just wander around, get a coffee, read a book. I'm not sure if it's good or bad that I've turned running into a daily (mon-fri) mandatory punishment. I have no desire to run but the sooner I go, the sooner I can have lunch. Now there's motivation.<br /><br />...<br /><br />Am back. Today was one of those running-through-water runs. But feeling better now. For a while I was doing 5 runs a week (anywhere from 15 - 45 minute per run) but am now down to 4 a week and trying to go slightly longer - 25 - 45 minutes per run. Doesn't seem like that much of a difference but in the past towards the end of the week I would lose my motivation and only run for 15 minutes. If I up my minimum by 10 minutes then I get an extra mile or two in and up my endurance. Well, hopefully. <br /><br />Fun application on my iPhone has made the runs a lot more tolerable. It's called iMapMyRun and by turning on the phone's GPS it tracks where you run, tells you how far and how fast you are going. Very cool. My one complaint is that the voice feedback feature which was included on the free download initially is now only available in the paid version. I should never have downloaded the upgrade on the free version!! Oh well, the paid application is much better than the free one. And good on them for sorting out a way to monetise the application even more. I'm sure more iPhone applications will be doing the same soon. <br /><br />Right, now where's my lunch!?orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-53620197181343326802009-12-10T07:00:00.002-05:002009-12-10T07:11:45.578-05:00Early resolutions- start blogging again<br />- re-join Flickr and start uploading my photos again<br />- get back in touch with lost friends<br />- get back into yoga<br />- take more photos<br /><br />It has been a long, dark 2009. Most of it was spent unemployed, underemployed, nearly broke, broke, applying for endless jobs with a seemingly endless amount of rejections, being far away from family and friends. But it was also a great year. Living in an amazing flat in London. Having a great boyfriend to live there with. Attending my graduation from Cambridge in May. Going to Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Japan and to Canada for 3 visits. Cooking a lot of great food. Hosting a lot of fun parties. Running my first 10km race. Slowly building some new friendships. <br /><br />To be honest, the past year I've been avoiding writing because things have been so grim and I hated to face it. But I think it's time to start writing again if not for anything other than just to get writing again. Let's see.orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-60616113708055677272008-12-07T19:03:00.004-05:002008-12-07T19:22:10.724-05:00Twit...It's been ages....<br /><br />I have been trying to communicate via Twitter updates as I have found it easier to do a two-line update rather than face the blog.<br /><br />What is new with me?<br />Not much. I think I was waiting until I got a job to write a post. Writing posts when looking for jobs is a bit depressing. My days go a lot like this.... "search for jobs online. apply for jobs. wait for calls. repeat." Not terribly exciting.<br />I still am looking. No jobs just yet. I picked an unfavourable time to graduate from business school. Such is life.<br />Spending the holidays in Britain this year. Going up to Liverpool to spend the holidays with some friends and Tim and his family. Sad not to go home, but it is not economically feasible right now. I'll head home for a couple weeks in January I think.<br />Living in London. Lovely city. Gorgeous. Fun. Exciting. Huge. The weather in London is rainier than Cambridge. But I might just notice it more because I'm at home rather than stuck in class all day. But I've been really liking it. Have some good friends here too, so that makes it much easier.<br /><br />Lots of ups and downs but it's been more good than bad for sure! I'm trying to do something "fun" every day in December and will try to twitter about it, such that you all can know a little more about what i'm up to!<br /><br />Life is good! Things are good! Happy December!orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-91422210992196678182008-08-05T10:49:00.002-04:002008-08-05T10:56:44.664-04:00RespectI am having a tough time writing my final research paper. It takes so much concentration and discipline to just sit and read and write without the motivational power of a teacher or a group or a upcoming deadline. I mean, my deadline is coming up at the end of August, but that seems so far away. Problem is that I have to write and research a pretty big paper, and put together a presentation for the organization I'm doing the paper for, and time is ticking. Anyway, I've learned that I'm not very good at keeping myself on track for these types of things. But I am still plugging away and getting progress made. And I'm sure it will get done and it will be fairly good. But I just wish I was one of those people in my class who were able to pump out their first draft in like 4 weeks and are now sitting pretty able to relax the rest of the summer. I have a lot of respect for those people. And for the academics who spend all their time researching writing, with no one there to hound them but themselves. <br /><br />I've been coming into school to work because its too lonely at home and I go a little mental when I don't talk to anyone all day. It's been great here in that I can get work done, but then i can go visit my friends and talk to them when i want to take a break. And have someone to eat my lunch with. And see people who aren't really in my normal group of friends who I normally wouldn't see. It's comforting to still feel a part of the business school where I am still safely outside of the "real world" for a few more weeks. The real world is scaring me a bit lately.orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-72399875646168010792008-07-21T08:11:00.002-04:002008-07-21T08:20:13.567-04:00It will all work out.I find myself saying "I'm sure it will all work out" a lot lately. Mostly in response to people asking me what I'm doing for a job upon my graduation, and how I'm going to survive living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, London, as of September. Blind faith? Optimism? Stupidity? Well, more than anything, I've come to realize that if you stress about something like this, something that relies a lot on luck and randomness, it makes life a lot more miserable. And that as long as you put some effort into your quest, and are realistic about potential outcomes, things will work out eventually. Having flexible end-goals is also advisable. <br /><br />In our negotiation class this year, we learned that you should always approach a potential negotiation situation with a BATNA. A BATNA is a "Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement", which in laymen terms is basically your contingency plan if nothing else works out. <br /><br />My BATNA is to use contacts I have in the short-term contract not-for-profit sector. But I'm not thinking about that too much just yet. I'll stick with the blind faith for now.orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-72649473808956376772008-07-15T06:43:00.002-04:002008-07-15T06:50:10.404-04:00Can I do it?Well then. It's been a while. I'm going to try this blogging thing again. I have been easing myself back into it via TWITTER (see the mini-updates above), but am not sure how great I'll be at full blog posts. We'll see. Fingers crossed.<br /><br />An update:<br /><br />1) Done the classroom component of my MBA at Cambridge. Now just working on my final project, a research project for a major bank here in the UK. It's quite an interesting one, if only I had the willpower to focus on it for more than a few hours at a time. <br />2) Living in Cambridge for the summer, subletting a place. Much Much Much better than residence with tiny bedroom and not much else except a shared kitchen with a bunch of messy people, a couple really nice people, and one deranged Austrian who accuses everyone of stealing his food. <br />3) Living with Tim. So far so good. <br />4) Looking for jobs. Back in May I had an offer but in the end turned it down because it was a sector that bored me to death and the company had a terrible reputation for work culture. Let's hope that's not something I live to regret!!!<br /><br />One post down. I'm not promising anything... but I'll try to update.orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-72300125690276282142007-10-18T18:52:00.000-04:002007-10-18T19:14:01.973-04:00What I don't want to do when I grow up...<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Last weekend I had a lovely time heading to London for a Not for Profit recruitment fair. I found it to be a bit lacking but I got a chance to talk to a few not for profit recruiting firms and they told me about the current job prospects (at least in the UK) and critiqued my resume (called a CV here). I am realizing that I probably won't be working in not for profit right away upon graduation - unless i find my dream job, but would rather gain more experience (and perhaps more money to pay off that little LOAN I have) working either in consulting or industry. And in business school terms, industry means anything outside the realm of finance, consulting, or non profit/public sector. Maybe public sector would be ok - pays a BIT more than non profit. Ok, I'm rambling now. But you can see where my mind is. On careers. Yes, 4 weeks into our program I'm already stressed about jobs. But they have trained us to be this way already. They say that the 'hidden' 7th course that actually gives us the most work is careers. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">There have been a slew of networking and info nights. Nearly every evening the caterers are coming into our common area, setting up tables and getting the wine & olives & brownies out. I dont' go to as many events as others - most of them have actually been finance-based lately - although sometimes I sneak over for free food if I am studying in the MBA syndicate room. We have our own little room with a foos ball table (I think it has only been used twice and both times it was me), computers, printers, couches, a microwave & kettle and then cubicled study areas. I pretty much live in there. Today I was at school for 13 hours. By the end, there were 5 of us in the syndicate room just going mental and laughing at nothing. It is usually pretty productive though and I find it better to study there than at home (both for peer pressure to study harder as well as having the other people there to unwind with). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">When I was in London I got a chance to visit my lovely friend Dave who I went to high school</span> with. We had a belated Canadian Thanksgiving dinner with some of his friends and even had turkey (breasts) and pumpkin pie. Delicious. It was great to escape Cambridge for a few hours. I love it here and everything, but stepping away from it was a bit of a relief. It's like a little bubble from which you sometimes forget about the rest of the world. All consuming at times.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Tonight after classes I went to a JP Morgan recruiting session just to check out the investment banking prospects and was thoroughly put off. I think I was right to assume from the beginning that finance is not my thing. The guy presenting was a Cambridge Alum who came across as the biggest jerk of all time. Telling us about how JP Morgan is so work-life balanced compared to other firms because they only work about 11 hours a day. Also completely crapping upon a bunch of other firms that had recently been to recruit at our school. And this is the guy they send to convince people to work there? The scary thing was talking to some of my classmates afterward and hearing about how they thought he was great and how much they want to work for that company. Did we see the same presentation? Toward the end he was talking about positions as Fund Managers. I made a note to the friend sitting beside me and wrote that I think I found my dream job at JP Morgan - FUN MANAGER! From there we got the giggles and couldn't look at each other until the talk was done. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Rowing is still part of my life although it is tough because we are so terrible. I didn't realize how hard it would be for 8 new rowers to row in unison. I think it will be weeks before we get the hang of it (at very least). But for now our cox just screams her head off at us. I'm not a natural. That's all I'll say. My Olympic dreams are dashed. Such is life.</span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-16475360340544664712007-10-11T18:33:00.000-04:002007-10-11T18:50:50.264-04:00Diving into icy water<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Things have been busy. I feel like a broken record already and it has only really been 4 weeks. Classes are tough (although the tons of team work actually helps me because I have 2 people in my team with finance backgrounds who can explain things to me) although I'm still really having a great time.<br /><br />A typical day:<br />7am - wake up<br />8am - arrive at school to do readings for an hour in the MBA syndicate room- also make my tea or coffee so I can stay alert for the first class<br />9am - classes start - until 12:30 (there is a 20 minute tea break half-way through<br />12:30 - 2pm - lunch and usually a team meeting or else this is the only time to do running around while shops are open for regular business hours.<br />2 - 5:30pm - more classes with another break. the only day we dont' have a full day is Wednesday but that is the day we often have career workshops.<br />5:30 - 7:30 I usually stick around and read for a while until my stomach is about to consume itself.<br />7:30 - 10:30 - go back to my college to prepare dinner and then do internet! then i study some more!!<br />10:30 - 12 - if I am not doing work or talking on the phone I might go for a drink at my college pub.<br />12 - 1am - I actually usually clean my room up and prepare things for the next day - then I collapse! :)<br /><br />The reading and assignment thing - I really read that much. I am so proud of myself! But at the same time, as assignments are starting to build up as well as my obligations as social officer increase (attending many social events- DARN), some readings may go un-read. but I guess that's all just part of it. The deputy director of our program came for drinks tonight. They all keep mentioning how important it is that we all go out and socialize this year. I was really impressed that we had a turnout of 35 people for pub night tonight considering we are in the middle of finance recruitment week and we all have readings coming out the wazoo - but our class has a real sense of team and hopefully it lasts for a while.<br /><br />One really fun thing that happened tonight was that there was a pub quiz! We did terribly, mostly because my team was me, a Nigerian, a Kiwi, and a South African-born, British raised doctor who has been living in Antarctica for the last 2 years. And most of the questions were all about UK politics and entertainment. Luckily we still came third. But next time I might pick my team a little more carefully.<br /><br />The weather has still been really nice. Although in the mornings, it's killer. SO COLD. And hopping on the bike and pedalling out is SO TOUGH those first few minutes before I warm up. But what a way to wake up in the morning!<br /></span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-7124715870776420492007-10-04T15:58:00.000-04:002007-10-04T19:18:08.996-04:00Net Present Value<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Oy, this week has been hectic. Our 'real' classes began on Monday with finance and management strategy. The learning curve is pretty steep but I think I'm somewhere in the middle of the pack as far as understanding everything goes. Or so I hope! Considering that 30% of our class come from an Engineering background and 20% from Humanities - there are quite a few of us who are having the same problems bending our minds in new and interesting ways. And some are not as interesting as others (accounting). We have succumbed to entertaining ourselves with finance jokes. Very lame. But after a full day of lectures and even more hours of reading and case studies - almost anything is funny.<br /><br />My fear coming into this program would be that I might not fit in with the class. That I might not have anything substantial to offer. I realize now that I was wrong. I think I fit in rather well. I think I have quite a bit to offer. I look around me and see people who I would totally be friends with outside the classroom. What a relief! And some of us open up we find out that we had the same sneaking fear.<br /><br />There is so much to do here. Never mind the work - there is too much of that to even think about. But then there is rowing. That will be my exercise and my networking within my college. There is also something called the Cambridge Union which organizes major debates and speaker series. Incredible speaker series! You can buy a lifetime membership and have access to attend events like: Stephen Hawking!!! </span></span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >Muammar al-Gaddafi!!! Cambridge's own James Watson - hello DNA structure!! Then there is the Cambridge Business Society's events - so far I'm the only one running for social coordinator. Hmmm. What am I getting myself into!?!? But how do I say no to these things? You just can't. You only live once, right?<br /><br />Things that I am hating about here: going shopping takes forever because they have all different products than I'm used to so I'm constantly trying to find the brands and things I like. Banking is ridiculous - it took them 3 weeks to send me my bank card. Everything is WAAY too expensive. I save money by making all my meals (including packing a lunch most days of the week) but sometimes you have no choice but to buy that 3pound sandwich.<br /><br />One good thing - everyone knows how to pronounce my last name! Thank you Vanessa Paradis (known in Canada only as Johnny Depp's wife)! Joe le Taxi - her hit in the late 80's made her a huge name here and everyone knows her and the song! Now I do too. Pure cheese. But it's french cheese so it's not quite so bad. :)<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p032PIKdp7A<br /></span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-79037771001040334432007-09-30T18:08:00.000-04:002007-09-30T18:46:08.299-04:00Longer Boats<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Where to begin. My precious bike "the millennium falcon" got a flat tire after I took a sweet jump off the curb. Ok, it wasnt' a sweet jump, I was just riding on the sidewalk for a bit so that I could pass a bus and when I came around and off the curb my bike was suddenly very difficult to pedal and I had no idea why. I got to school and looked down and saw that my rear tire was completely flat and a little bit damaged. Unfortunately, that was a very busy day and I was unable to bring it in to the Bike Man to get it fixed. Friday night I was walking all over the place (home to read finance - not my favourite topic) then to a pub where one of my classmates is working. From there my original plan was to go home but was convinced to check out a "Hollywood Bop" at a nearby college (a bop is what they call an organized party in the UK). Everyone was dressed up in some glammed up clothes (except for the 50 MBAs who showed up) and the music was a total mix with some movie theme songs mixed in. Considering I really hadn't wanted to go out that night - I had a great time. And it was a crazy night. Most of my class had been partying since school ended (around 5) and I hadn't joined them until 9:30 so they were all pretty crazy. Apparently most people were out until 4 - I wasn't one of them as I had rowing the next morning. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Yes - rowing! We were told to meet at the back gate at 11am and from there they told us we had to bike to the boathouse. One problem - I still didn't have my bike back! Luckily a girl from the boat club had an extra bike. A children's mountain bike. Like for teens I think. It was small. I am not small. Riding it KILLED ME! My knees were practically up to my chest as I pedaled and I realized that there was hardly any air in either tire so it made it even harder to control & pedal. I was having serious doubts as to whether or not I would even make it to the boat club, never mind actually be able to summon up the strength to row. But I did. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Rowing is a team sport. We are in boats of 8 - started out mixed - eventually it will be guys in one and girls in another. Practices will be a few times a week in the mornings before school (on the river by 7:30 and at class by 9). But if this is my sole means of exercising, then I think it will be fine. Plus this is giving me a way to get to participate with the other people in my college. And get fit (rowing is GREAT exercise). And have fun. Plus it's rowing! At Cambridge! How cool is that?!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">A few things about rowing that I didn't know before. Your shoes are attached to the boat. The cox person tells you what to do and you are referred to only by seat number (I was #5) or if you are in the stern 4 (back of the boat) or bow 4 (front of the boat). And she yells alot. And you have to do everything at the same time as everyone else. It's interesting. I like it. So far. Ask me next time I have a 7:30am practice and it is raining and I might have a different answer.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Last night a group of us had dinner at someone's apartment. Chinese food prepared by our friends Steffi (Chinese girl) and Penny (Singaporean guy). Great food and good friends. I like the people in my class. I'm pretty lucky.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Ok - update on the "should I run for president thing". I'm just going to go for Social Coordinator because I want to have time to do things like row and also not be the one responsible for delegating tasks like fundraising. I just want to plan the parties!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Also, good news! </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://mba.eiu.com/index.asp?layout=2007rankings">The Economist Business School ranking</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> has placed Cambridge - Judge Business School in 7th overall worldwide! Not too shabby! Although these rankings mostly have to do with return on investment and how much money you are making in 5 years compared to how much your tuition was, so it is rather meaningless to someone like me who just wants a job I like, not to be a millionaire, but at least it is good press for the school and everyone seems pretty pumped about it. </span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-51115423800617255282007-09-27T18:46:00.000-04:002007-09-27T18:50:38.744-04:00Just a fool to believe...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">We had this presentation by the Cambridge</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Business School Association about the club they have and a bunch of people started saying that I should run for president! So i was thinking about it and even found a running mate! (a girl from Nigeria named Maxine). Then as word got round that i was thinking about it suddenly people were coming up to me trying to convince me to run for other things (like social coordinator) which i would be good at but from talking to much of the class i think i actually have a chance to win as president! so what do i do? because president could actually lead me to have less friends - isolation from the top, you know? yet it looks great on a resume and I love to get involved. but social coordinator could be fun too -but not as high profile and why not go for pres if I have a chance of winning because at very least people will learn who i am and why I am interested in participating! I'm confused. And being led in many directions. And I started this day by feeling like I would never be able to make my mark in this program, but perhaps today I discovered that I can! I just have until the weekend to decide. Not sure what to do...running would mean going against a popular South </span><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">African</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> girl, an </span><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Italian</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> guy, an </span><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">American</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> guy, and a Dutch guy (who is my friend). how do I get myself involved in these things... I really don't know. </span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-88680273094346656352007-09-26T18:02:00.000-04:002007-09-26T18:56:14.626-04:00Freak Out Averted<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Wow, things get complicated fast. Suddenly I had a group meeting, 3 things due, and a special interest group meeting (for consultancy) to attend and I was kind of freaking out. On top of that we had a seminar on effective CVs (resumes) and were given the dates when ours were due. We have one on one sessions coming up with the careers team and they are putting together a profile book which they will distribute to like 500 top companies around the world. I didn't realize the job search was starting from day one. A guy in my group already has an interview in a couple of weeks. Although the difference between him and 65% of me and my classmates is that his background is in finance and consulting whereas the rest of us are coming from a variety of backgrounds and are looking to do a change in career or at least sector.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGmo1xZAFgAfQ8RhO5LkYjb_mvF2UIZCZsYSd1Wkt3qXjDOEqIh_3aWI9NFJe4hfbkseoyiepzqrq7RrRZgnlagQiKw2aQt3JbsyXtJzrqgbMT71T6L9IDZwFFYFTYMln0mrh0Q/s1600-h/776px-TheEaglePub-Cambridge-BluePlaque.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGmo1xZAFgAfQ8RhO5LkYjb_mvF2UIZCZsYSd1Wkt3qXjDOEqIh_3aWI9NFJe4hfbkseoyiepzqrq7RrRZgnlagQiKw2aQt3JbsyXtJzrqgbMT71T6L9IDZwFFYFTYMln0mrh0Q/s320/776px-TheEaglePub-Cambridge-BluePlaque.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114650084376332770" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Last night I went out for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival">Mid-Autumn Festival</a> celebrations with the majority of the Chinese contingent of our class, as well as a bunch more (46 in total) to a Chinese restaurant for a 7-course delicious meal (including one moon cake per table) for only 10pounds each! Then a bunch of us took out Penny (a guy from Singapore) for drinks to thank him for organizing the event. The Eagle (where we usually end up congregating for at least part of the night) is a historic pub where Crick and Watson announced they had discovered the structure of DNA back in 1953 Coming home at 11:30 and realizing the work I SHOULD have been doing was actually a great little shocker to push me to work my butt off today and feel a little more caught up and in control. It's all about the work/social balance though. They keep stressing that to us. That networking with our classmates will actually be the greatest thing we can do this year. So I am allowed to go out sometimes. And I will. But I will also spend countless hours at my desk, in the library, at the school, or with study groups to counter those "networking" hours. :) I mean, if Crick and Watson can enjoy a pint once in a while and still discover how DNA works, why can't I once in a while?<br /><br />The rain has really started today. It has rained for a few hours the last couple days but always when I have been inside and then it turns sunny again. Today it was nice until about 3pm and then rained and rained (and still is). Time to break out the rain coat!<br /></span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-41620078137344978812007-09-24T17:21:00.001-04:002007-09-24T17:26:15.570-04:00Long days<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Today we waited 2 hours for the CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi to show up. He was late and stuck in traffic and then showed up to basically make jokes and teach us that: we should scrap the life work balance, CEOs know nothing, and that leadership is better than management. Radical. Advertising people make me tired though - a lot of crap surrounding very little packets of insight. <br /><br />Then we went to play a "beer game" which involves no real alcohol. Rather dealt with supply chains and how lack of communication and a bad system can really screw everyone up. My team came in second. It was fun. <br /><br />Everyone is starting to get sick. I am trying to sleep as much as possible so I can avoid this. We'll see.<br /><br />It rained this morning but was lovely in the afternoon. I'm telling you, Cambridge is the sunniest place in the UK!<br /></span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-58972036679107755082007-09-23T17:40:00.000-04:002007-09-23T18:14:26.308-04:00Blue Skies<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSITYQtd5NG7WLmVEzgq1AX0jrVEcQaabABwJBLN6rczPIWRGpERdq0mLOySRlqv-TTbBukTEDd592CiWM1RkyDGc4XbD6FhFVLm-QF9MOTsqOEiWS2uDl2rFCUkORaX6r_UTw5g/s1600-h/cambridge+025.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSITYQtd5NG7WLmVEzgq1AX0jrVEcQaabABwJBLN6rczPIWRGpERdq0mLOySRlqv-TTbBukTEDd592CiWM1RkyDGc4XbD6FhFVLm-QF9MOTsqOEiWS2uDl2rFCUkORaX6r_UTw5g/s400/cambridge+025.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113521358381009362" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I have to say I have been a bit shocked by the weather. It has only rained once and I have seen the blue sky for long periods of a time every day since I've been here. I'm sure I'll be eating my words in a few weeks but it has been a really pleasant surprise that there has been enjoyable weather for the first few weeks.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I keep going on and on about this city, but it is really beautiful and fun to explore and be in. Aside from the city, I am really enjoying being back in school again. I feel really privileged to be here. The other students are great and not at all what I would have expected from business school students (which about 50 percent are not typical because they don't have a background in business, but rather come from other specialties such as engineering, medicine, law, science and even entertainment - a former MTV China host is one of our classmates). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I also forgot how exciting it is to be a student - you suddenly see that your life is full of all this potential. Once you are working, it always seems like opportunities are so limited or not even existent, but now, there are so many potential paths. It is also refreshing to know that at least 50 percent of my classmates don't really know what they want to do after they graduate. And I thought I was going to be the only one!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">But the other day we had a lecture series to attend in which the president of an experiential marketing consulting firm told us about her experience putting together the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympics. After listening to her speak and watching a very inspiring video, I think I at least have one company I am interested in doing my internship with. Or at least a new area in which to potentially explore for job opportunities. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Another lecture last week was focusing on team building and what makes a good team. The lecturer, our upcoming strategy professor, had worked with the Cambridge rowing team for the past few years (both as a team building consultant and to do research on their work as a team which he has just completed a book on) and talked to us about the challenges the team faces, and how good teams operate. I think his talk also perked my interest in rowing - which I am in the process of checking out. Hey, if you're in Cambridge and you have the opportunity to join a college rowing team, why the hell not!? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Anyway, so there are some interesting things going on. Already just having been here for a week, I'm amazed at all that has happened. A lot in one week, yet that week flew by. I'm a bit shocked and have a feeling this year is going to be over before I know it. I find that idea both exciting and upsetting. More than anything, I have come to realize there are a lot of great people here and they will be the ones that make my experience a memorable one. </span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-76770464208934298972007-09-20T15:08:00.001-04:002007-09-20T15:17:49.658-04:00To the left, to the left....<a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSUvAzf3CTGzEIMM6QrRC3F1da2UZklgCqqBiVfVAs6_Rsl5PuEtOQELKKBSIc4nspzhYLjurxNHBQ28tGNxTNtlKkl0jV91VZhaPApYYMi2x0ouHh9sDYyHAJx-e08tejmVD7g/s1600-h/IMG_0022.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSUvAzf3CTGzEIMM6QrRC3F1da2UZklgCqqBiVfVAs6_Rsl5PuEtOQELKKBSIc4nspzhYLjurxNHBQ28tGNxTNtlKkl0jV91VZhaPApYYMi2x0ouHh9sDYyHAJx-e08tejmVD7g/s400/IMG_0022.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112365562035963970" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">This is my bike - it's called "the Falcon". Looks cool from far away but is rather ghetto. But at least no one will steal it. Behind "the Falcon" is where I live. Just kidding. It is actually King's College. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I have been riding my bike everywhere and while it has taken a slight bit of getting used to, I must say I am liking it quite a bit. I am used to walking or public transporting myself and having a bike gives one a certain amount of freedom! Plus riding to school in the crisp mornings is a nice way to wake myself up. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The one thing that is tough is the fact that those crazy Brits drive on the wrong side of the road. And they have roundabouts. And as a bicycle rider, you are expected to follow their rules. Imagine. So far so good. And watching the other experienced riders helps me to know what to do. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The only problem that I have had so far with my bike was the other morning, riding through a lovely meadow on a bike path and my chain jammed and made a huge noise just as I was coming up alongside the stream. There was a flock of about 20 geese (actual white and grey geese - no canadian geese I am afraid) sleeping with their heads tucked into their feathers when I woke them all up with my bicycle commotion. So they all started squawking so loudly that I jumped and nearly fell off my bike into the stream. But I didn't. Close call.</span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-82525395357797008672007-09-18T17:54:00.000-04:002007-09-18T18:19:02.602-04:00Jolly Good<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Ok, so I have been a delinquent lately and not posted for a while but I have an excuse - I've been seriously busy. And here I am now... all moved into my residence in Cambridge, England. To re-cap the last month - my job finished late August, I packed and moved my things to storage at Uncle Roman's :), I said goodbye to all my friends and family and boyfriend and hopped on a plane with Michele. <br /><br />We arrived in London and spent some time catching up with my old friend Davey. We stayed in a terrible hostel (yes, i believe I am now at the age where I am officially too old to stay at a "youth hostel" regardless of how much money it will save me), we ate expensive food, and strolled around the fun and dynamic city of London (which always smells a bit musty to me). <br /><br />From there we hopped on a plane to Malta and spend 4 days in the sun, walking on cobblestone, eating gelato every day (I sampled 10 flavours - watermelon, lemon, coffee, amaretto, strawberry, mixed berry, orange, cherry, coconut and pistachio), swimming in the salty sea, getting bounced around taking boat trips, experiencing Maltese night life, trying to avoid staring directly at old men in speedos and having a lovely time. We also took a day trip to Sicily (Mt Etna and Taormina) although it was more "bus trip-y" than I would normally like, travelling with Michele made it bearable. The high lites were the gnocchi, red wine and gelato. The low lites was the non-air conditioned bus (although they said it was), Mt Etna being completely fogged in, and our crazy tour guide who insisted on playing "Amazing Grace" several times over the loud speakers of the bus! Amazing indeed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Then we flew back to chilly England (which was surprisingly sunny - although brisk) and went our separate ways. I hopped on a train to Cambridge (with my 44kilos of luggage in tow) and took a taxi to my new digs - in residence. A lovely porter (old man who is in charge of letting people in and out of my college (they are all gated and you need to sign in if you wish to visit or come in) gave me my key and I settled in my room which is bigger than I thought it would be. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">My bathroom is also bigger than I though but the toilet leaks. So that's gross. Hopefully they get around to fixing it sooner than later. I have a bell tower outside my window - luckily it starts ringing only at 8am and stops at 10pm. It will act as a secondary alarm clock for me (as all my classes begin at 9). I bought a bike (another post and photos to follow) and met some of my classmates. This city is beautiful. Breathtaking. Amazing. I love it. I really do. The air is so crisp. The buildings are gorgeous, old, and fascinating. this is truly the nicest city I've ever visited. There is a cow pasture with bike paths running through it that I can pass on my way to school. You can see the stars here. It's just really nice.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">There is so much to write about but it is hard to put it all down. School is fine so far. The people all seem really great (very interesting and diverse group - all very intelligent and nice). There are 149 of us in the class representing 48 countries! About 33% are women. The business building is amazing and we get 500 free pages of photocopies and 4000 pages of prints. Why this excites me, I'm not sure. The work load isnt' heavy yet but looking at our upcoming schedule things will get crazy very quickly. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I have taken a few photos and will post them soon. It's going to be a wild ride - I can tell.</span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-1805314187138838002007-07-11T23:43:00.001-04:002007-07-11T23:56:45.512-04:00Things are happening....<a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDvOfgoVCDsq2yhTEIsqGyy4in1R3L2G62FYppY9UY7npP9deahnjNignO8kQUt-qwWeIECSVKRUK07iZHnBOBZYqVuEHjQo0RgQyYgLD3i8En0n2n9vF7RGUgiSo18PQ2s4NFg/s1600-h/Picture+7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDvOfgoVCDsq2yhTEIsqGyy4in1R3L2G62FYppY9UY7npP9deahnjNignO8kQUt-qwWeIECSVKRUK07iZHnBOBZYqVuEHjQo0RgQyYgLD3i8En0n2n9vF7RGUgiSo18PQ2s4NFg/s400/Picture+7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086151038948893282" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> - I got my new laptop! it is so small and cute and light! only 4 pounds and a tiny 12 inch screen - but that's what I wanted - portability is KEY</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">- new laptop has built-in web cam. I've never used one so it has already provided hours of entertainment, watching myself do funny things.<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">- I gave my notice at work... gave them about 6 weeks. they took it well except for the fact that my co-worker is ALSO leaving to do his MBA next year (different school) and so they will have to hire a whole new team for our jobs. Oops. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">- went to a concert yesterday (Cat Power). She was wonderful - love her voice and sad songs but the audience was filled with silly 19 year old monkeys who were talking (loudly) throughout the whole concert. That, coupled with bad acoustics and my back hurting from standing all night made the concert not very much fun. I think I am getting too old to attend concerts in certain venues. Particularly concerts where there are a lot of 19year olds. You can start calling me "grumpy granny" now.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> - went for a fabulous camping trip this past weekend in Algonquin Provincial Park for 3 days with Paul. It rained A LOT. But it was fun regardless. It is such a nice change to escape to nature for a few days. The only sounds we could hear were the loons.<br />- wow, i went to see Transformers the other week and it was far more fun than I would have ever imagined it would be. Not amazing - but it didn't take itself too seriously, which made me like it more. But that wasn't even the real treat. If you want to go see a great, funny, highly entertaining summer flick - you MUST go see Live Free or Die Hard! It is almost as good as the first one. If you like the first one - you will like this one. The guy from the Apple commercials is like John McClane's sidekick and he is hilarious and fun as well. The only problem I had with it was the scene with the jet. You'll know what I mean when you see it. <br /> </span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-40698402184710484692007-06-26T22:59:00.000-04:002007-06-26T23:06:51.540-04:00Rationalization<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">It is something like 30 degrees </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Celsius</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> here, with humidity the temp is closer to 38 (according to weather network). Hot. Sticky. Yet, Tuesday night ultimate </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Frisbee</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> nights, tonight being the playoffs, we are still out there, ready to go. Somehow trying to make things seem better by saying "wow, it's much cooler than last week" or, "hey, there's even a little bit of a breeze". Despite the fact that we are already drenched in our own sweat before we even begin playing. Somehow you really don't notice that much. Once you are drenched, you are drenched! It certainly </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">isn't</span> something to talk to your teammates about. <br /> <br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> I love the team sports though. How much fun is it to be able to yell and cheer and not feel like an idiot? You instantly have a smile on your face. High-fives are a great self-esteem builder. I honestly love it. Even though I'm not great, it is just so addictive. Plus we have a great team, so that helps too. Nice that at least 4 or 5 of us go for drinks after the game each week - tonight it was the whole team. So fun. </span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-71259889086743708762007-06-26T15:11:00.001-04:002007-06-26T15:19:53.623-04:00I'm MELTing!<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Yeh, so the hot is here again. But my house is actually not bad (considering we have no air conditioning and I live on the top floor of an old house). I have been trying all the flavours of a local sorbet company. About a pint a week. This week is strawberry. Last was mango and the week before lemon. very very good stuff.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Yesterday I had the best streetcar driver. Leaving the east end at about 11pm, i was running towards the stop (in my flipflops) when I gave up, realizing the streetcar was too fast and I was too slow. So the streetcar stopped for me! and the guy let me in. So nice. He was one of those uber friendly types who was having a conversation with about 5 of the people sitting around the front of the car and I joined in. Nice public transit experiences are always a treat.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Feeling stressed about how quickly time is going and how soon I'll be on the road again. It's everything... the stress about all i have to do to prepare, plus all the things I will be facing upon my arrival. When I think rationally, I know that everything will be fine. But the problem is that I often am unable to think rationally. I start to panic... thinking of all the major life decisions I have in front of me. Thinking... aghh! Will I ever be able to relax!? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Someone asked me to be a mentor for an internationally trained professionals mentorship</span><br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> program. Darn, I really would like to do that... but I had to explain that I am leaving. I think I will give my notice in a couple weeks. Really, my last day of work will probably be August 10</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">th. That is so soon. (enter knots in stomach) Is it weird that I am more stressed than excited?</span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-44313222213766861022007-06-12T23:21:00.000-04:002007-06-12T23:36:28.490-04:00I don't wanna be a witness!<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">(<a href="http://www.lyricsdomain.com/3/cindy_lauper/witness.html">Cindy Lauper song</a> reference, by the way)</span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">So you know when you take those tests to see how observant you are... and you have to view a scene and then it goes away and you are asked like 20 questions about the scene? Well, I always do very very poorly at those things. I remember stupid details but over and above forget half of what is going on in the photo. I am not a detail-oriented person. </span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">So we won our ultimate Frisbee game and were in 2 cars on our way to a restaurant for beers & snacks. Boys in one car and three of us girls in another. Driving through a moderately sketchy area and suddenly we notice this guy running down the sidewalk with a car chasing him down - on the sidewalk too! The guy frantically cuts across the 6 lanes of traffic (nearly getting hit by a truck) and keeps running with a very frightened look on his face. I think he was heading towards the nearby Red Lobster. Maybe he was craving some surf & turf? No, then there was this other guy who hopped out of that car and starts chasing him on foot, with one of his hands stuffed under his black hoodie. Hmmm. Strange that he would do that... no? We are in the car watching this all go down and K is the smart one and decides to call the police, just to alert them to the situation. Shortly after she reaches for her phone we hear a "POP" noise. So she talks to the police and answers some questions (apparently they are already aware of the situation and have some po-lice on the move to save the day) and K keeps asking us (driver & me) questions and we are terrible at answering. Terrible. And did we think to jot down a license plate #? NO. Ugh. Did we think to look and see what type of car it was? NO. Did we SEE a gun? NO. </span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">So they direct us to some nearby coppers who take our statements and we are off on our merry way. The boys also saw most of the same thing (and even knew what type of car the dudes were driving - I guess that is one thing guys are really good at) but they went straight for the nachos and beer. I myself wouldn't have thought to call right away. Bad, I know. Good old K too more of a proactive role in preventing crime in our community. Good on ya K! I think I am just afraid to call 911 because it got drilled into my head as a kid that you get in a lot of trouble if you call 911 and there is no real emergency. So it would take some sort of crazy ass emergency to make me automatically think to call. I guess that nearly witnessing a hit is not a crazy ass emergency in my head? I'm not sure. Anyway, the only thing I could think of when giving my statement was that I wanted to warn the cops that I am terrible at such things. That I see red cars when they are really blue and what not. I hope they catch the dude. And I hope they don't call me to do one of those line-up things. Although that would be kind of cool I am just afraid I would pick the wrong dude. </span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Ok... things that fascinated me today:</span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I used to shake my eyeballs all the time as a kid to freak people out. It was my party trick until my vision started to get worse. I can still do it but it hurts too much. <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Shake-or-Vibrate-Your-Eyeballs">Link here.</a></span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Have you heard about the 5th type of taste bud... UMAMI? Mmmmm Savoury! Sounds good to me! <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/senses/umami.html">Link.</a></span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">This is just stupid. Guy suing dry cleaners for losing his pants. But he is suing them $52 million dollars! People like that should be thrown in jail for being such assholes. That just makes me sick. That guy has got to have the worst karma in the universe. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1226421520070612?pageNumber=1">Link. </a></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25425330.post-32856227759653900232007-06-11T23:47:00.001-04:002007-06-12T00:02:39.555-04:00Can't Get You Out of My Head<a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2646259.ece">Bombing in Nairobi, Kenya.</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> Got some images from the scene taken on someone's camera phone. A familiar place. The pictures were terrible... someone lying there with his clothes blown off and his skin burnt looking. People just standing around watching and some trying to carry him to a car. People taking photos with their cell phones. Then, in searching for more information on the incident, finding out about a recent slew of </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2631536.ece">matatu driver beheadings</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">. Funny, this is the first I've heard about it. </span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">When I was in Africa, and reading the local papers, they would report these type of things. And similar types of things that were happening all over Africa. Not just western news (although there was a lot of that too). There were even stories about Asia. Stuff that I knew the western press didn't cover. </span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I understand why they don't publish the stories. Because these things happen in a world that people can't comprehend. And people don't want to read these stories because they are depressing. People are willing to read depressing stories if they have to do with something they understand, or because they are happening near by. But there has been a line drawn, between the west and the rest and it is like there are two classes of human beings. It is a lot easier to block out terrible things happening to Africans and Asians and even South Americans, than it is to block out bad things happening to Europeans and North Americans. Because we can relate to the western people. But it is hard to comprehend the non-west others and their lives. So we choose not to. </span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">But I think the press should print these stories because it is important for people to know what is happening. Yes, it will make people uncomfortable and upset but I really think that they should be. </span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I've been reading celebrity gossip non-stop for the past few months. Just lightly browsing the international sections. Concentrating mostly on local news. My own backyard. Now I feel guilty. I don't know why I feel the duty to know what is going on. Even though reading this stuff and knowing upsets me so much. It's just important to me. I just wish more people were aware.</span>orange you gladhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07478238790808831264noreply@blogger.com0