Today, I got my most relevant exam back. It was for the course-within-a-course, which could flunk me even if I had a decent average. Lot of anxiety surrounding this. I passed by a pretty safe margin! At this point, I can't fail any of my courses, even if I don't show up for finals.
...Of course I'm going to show up!
If I maintain the level I'm currently at, my averages throughout my courses should range between the seventies and eighties! Not as bad as I thought things might turn out!
Only way I could fail is if my group doesn't produce a paper for our final Groups assignment, or if I don't go to see my student adviser for a culminating review.
Annnnnd, I got that job at the Info Desk! I felt the interview had gone well, but I was worried that my lack of experience in the customer services might stand in the way.
Pretty accomplished day.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Dream Journal
I've been recording my dreams again. I haven't been dreaming too much, so I figured I'd just sleep with a notebook next to me and jot down whatever I remembered as soon as I opened my eyes.
First attempt was... Well, it was a start.
"Dream
Videogame
Want to keep playing while charging
Battery low, hard to fit in socket
Got mad at Duncan for quoting me saying a stupid catchphrase"
Next night I had a dream about eating at a cafe, not getting charged, going up to the counter to try and convince the lady to let me pay, but she doesn't and keeps trying to give me free food. There was a bit more to that one, but... I'll leave it at this.
I had another one that I can't quite remember and I don't have my journal on me, so I can't speak on it.
But I finally landed this beaut. Longest so far, and a touch less lighthearted.
"I'm getting an elephant tattoo. I also consider getting the word "Aliphant" but the tattoo artist discourages me. He says its easy to misread tattoos of words, but he likes the elephant concept, which I'm basing on a little wooden carving.
Everyone is getting lobotomies so that they don't get some disease. I'm uncomfortable w/ this. Not getting one is considered "anti-feminist".
Me and a sizeable group of others are teleported to an alternate dimension. It becomes known that there will be some kind of rule system that will determine our survival. One person casts suspicion on a particular member of the group. He says he has "the green eyes of the devil".
When he talks to me, I slap a tortilla on his face. The areas around his eyes crumble, revealing green eyes. I accuse him of sending us here/being the devil. He says I'm just prejudice against his "office skin"."
It got a little silly at the end, with the tortilla. And what the crap does "office skin" mean?
First attempt was... Well, it was a start.
"Dream
Videogame
Want to keep playing while charging
Battery low, hard to fit in socket
Got mad at Duncan for quoting me saying a stupid catchphrase"
Next night I had a dream about eating at a cafe, not getting charged, going up to the counter to try and convince the lady to let me pay, but she doesn't and keeps trying to give me free food. There was a bit more to that one, but... I'll leave it at this.
I had another one that I can't quite remember and I don't have my journal on me, so I can't speak on it.
But I finally landed this beaut. Longest so far, and a touch less lighthearted.
"I'm getting an elephant tattoo. I also consider getting the word "Aliphant" but the tattoo artist discourages me. He says its easy to misread tattoos of words, but he likes the elephant concept, which I'm basing on a little wooden carving.
Everyone is getting lobotomies so that they don't get some disease. I'm uncomfortable w/ this. Not getting one is considered "anti-feminist".
Me and a sizeable group of others are teleported to an alternate dimension. It becomes known that there will be some kind of rule system that will determine our survival. One person casts suspicion on a particular member of the group. He says he has "the green eyes of the devil".
When he talks to me, I slap a tortilla on his face. The areas around his eyes crumble, revealing green eyes. I accuse him of sending us here/being the devil. He says I'm just prejudice against his "office skin"."
It got a little silly at the end, with the tortilla. And what the crap does "office skin" mean?
Monday, November 18, 2013
Resource Fair
I participated in a resource fair today. School project, only had a week to prep. Me and my group did Big Brothers Big Sisters. We organized a meeting with the representative there and everything. Today we put up a triboard and some other display stuff and answered questions. Since nobody knew what to do with our triboards after we finished and nobody wanted to lug it around all day, I got to keep my group's display. I've got it set up in my room right now. My room was looking pretty plain, so I've been trying to decorate it a little. Although this new decoration looks out of place displayed next to my chick magnet...
I'm taking better care of my room this year. I don't know why. I got everything clean and sorted. Last year, I gave up on the effort a couple months in.
Remember, I mentioned that I signed up for a job at the info desk? It's been awhile and I thought it was a no-go, but I just got offered an interview, either for this Friday or Monday.
I think I'm the only white person in my class. In Social Service Systems, we watched a video sample on oppression. It was an experiment done on school children, where people with a certain colour eyes were deemed superior one day, then inferior the next. It looked at the speed of transformation in attitude, it looked at test results between the oppressed vs. the privileged groups, etc.
After class, me and a group of people discussed what we had seen. I was speaking from the white perspective, then took a moment to reflect on some of the cultural references people in the group had made, and asked "Am I the only person here who associates as white?" Answer was yes. Everyone else was Latin American.
Told this story to another group of people from my class, then told them I was going to the Aboriginal Services Office for lunch. They asked if they could join me, and maybe introduce them to some of the people there. Turns out everyone in that group was Metis.
I was also surprised to see three other classmates show up in the Aboriginal Services Office, all of them being native. And another classmate was Metis.
Why can't I tell what race people are?! Turns out another guy was black. I guess I didn't think he was white, but I would have never been able to guess his race otherwise. Saying you're "colourblind" or denoting everyone as being the same is a contested perspective. Looking at how societal perceptions based on race influence people's development, and accepting our own prejudices and looking toward them critically is supposed to be the way we do things now. "Colourblind" is a frowned upon term in my field. It's looked at as a form of denial.
But I literally have difficulty seeing it. I might have all kinds of prejudice that I need to confront, but when it comes down to the visual aspect, I'm just... not too perceptive. Other people are way better at it than I am.
I'm taking better care of my room this year. I don't know why. I got everything clean and sorted. Last year, I gave up on the effort a couple months in.
Remember, I mentioned that I signed up for a job at the info desk? It's been awhile and I thought it was a no-go, but I just got offered an interview, either for this Friday or Monday.
I think I'm the only white person in my class. In Social Service Systems, we watched a video sample on oppression. It was an experiment done on school children, where people with a certain colour eyes were deemed superior one day, then inferior the next. It looked at the speed of transformation in attitude, it looked at test results between the oppressed vs. the privileged groups, etc.
After class, me and a group of people discussed what we had seen. I was speaking from the white perspective, then took a moment to reflect on some of the cultural references people in the group had made, and asked "Am I the only person here who associates as white?" Answer was yes. Everyone else was Latin American.
Told this story to another group of people from my class, then told them I was going to the Aboriginal Services Office for lunch. They asked if they could join me, and maybe introduce them to some of the people there. Turns out everyone in that group was Metis.
I was also surprised to see three other classmates show up in the Aboriginal Services Office, all of them being native. And another classmate was Metis.
Why can't I tell what race people are?! Turns out another guy was black. I guess I didn't think he was white, but I would have never been able to guess his race otherwise. Saying you're "colourblind" or denoting everyone as being the same is a contested perspective. Looking at how societal perceptions based on race influence people's development, and accepting our own prejudices and looking toward them critically is supposed to be the way we do things now. "Colourblind" is a frowned upon term in my field. It's looked at as a form of denial.
But I literally have difficulty seeing it. I might have all kinds of prejudice that I need to confront, but when it comes down to the visual aspect, I'm just... not too perceptive. Other people are way better at it than I am.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Flu Shot
I got my flu shot the other day. When it comes to the flu shot, I'm always torn between my hypochondriac side and my cheap side. On the one hand, I'm getting chemicals plugged into my veins which freaks me out, but on the other hand, it's free. I always wind up wanting to stay an extra 40 minutes passed the required 15 to see if I have a negative reaction. I have seen people pass out in the waiting section after getting their shot, actually. But I've never reacted badly.
I noticed on the form it was asking a lot of weird questions about eggs. It asked if I was allergic to eggs, if I was allergic, how allergic was I, how I like my eggs cooked, and when the last time I'd eaten eggs was.
...Okay, not those last two. Still seemed odd to me. My best medical analysis based on this information is that the syrum is made of eggs. Next year, I'm going to put some egg paste in a syringe and put it into my bloodstream. That way I can use free-range eggs, which I'm sure is better for fighting off the flu, anyway.
...I'm kidding. I don't know why talking about eggs is getting me into such a mood.
I took that shot like a champ. I didn't even bleed. I'm so good at taking shots, since I got all that bloodwork done, and since I had all those vaccinations. I know people who got the shot and their arm bruised all up. They were like "Something in the serum makes you bruise this year." Greenhorns can't handle their eggs.
I noticed on the form it was asking a lot of weird questions about eggs. It asked if I was allergic to eggs, if I was allergic, how allergic was I, how I like my eggs cooked, and when the last time I'd eaten eggs was.
...Okay, not those last two. Still seemed odd to me. My best medical analysis based on this information is that the syrum is made of eggs. Next year, I'm going to put some egg paste in a syringe and put it into my bloodstream. That way I can use free-range eggs, which I'm sure is better for fighting off the flu, anyway.
...I'm kidding. I don't know why talking about eggs is getting me into such a mood.
I took that shot like a champ. I didn't even bleed. I'm so good at taking shots, since I got all that bloodwork done, and since I had all those vaccinations. I know people who got the shot and their arm bruised all up. They were like "Something in the serum makes you bruise this year." Greenhorns can't handle their eggs.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Internet Is Up
Internet is up!
Did I ever tell you guys that I saw three deers? Happened a couple weeks ago. I was sitting on a bench next to a pond, and these three deers just totally walked out of the bushes. They were just chilling and eating grass. I watched them for the longest time.
Did you know you can buy a computer keyboard and a mouse at the dollar store? My computer's getting older and it needs some assistance, so I bought it these things. But I didn't know I could get them at the dollar store and wound up paying $10 for a mouse instead of $2, and I paid $20 for a keyboard instead of three (okay, I actually got the keyboard for a Christmas party and just identified it later).
It's shocking that we can get these relatively important electronic devices for such a small amount. I knew about head phones and ear buds. Never going elsewhere for those things.
That third Facebook girl I was telling you guys about. I didn't accept her request, but sent her a message asking her who she was and why she wanted to be friends. She said "ur fada". I said "I don't get it. My father?" She replied "u dey craze". Then Facebook deleted all her messages with the explanation "This comment has been deleted as spam or for being abusive". Huh.
Did I ever tell you guys that I saw three deers? Happened a couple weeks ago. I was sitting on a bench next to a pond, and these three deers just totally walked out of the bushes. They were just chilling and eating grass. I watched them for the longest time.
Did you know you can buy a computer keyboard and a mouse at the dollar store? My computer's getting older and it needs some assistance, so I bought it these things. But I didn't know I could get them at the dollar store and wound up paying $10 for a mouse instead of $2, and I paid $20 for a keyboard instead of three (okay, I actually got the keyboard for a Christmas party and just identified it later).
It's shocking that we can get these relatively important electronic devices for such a small amount. I knew about head phones and ear buds. Never going elsewhere for those things.
That third Facebook girl I was telling you guys about. I didn't accept her request, but sent her a message asking her who she was and why she wanted to be friends. She said "ur fada". I said "I don't get it. My father?" She replied "u dey craze". Then Facebook deleted all her messages with the explanation "This comment has been deleted as spam or for being abusive". Huh.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Last Two Midterm Results
Got my last midterm results back. For the one that I thought I'd done real bad on, I actually passed by quite a margin, and for the Psych one, I did as well as I expected and managed to beat the class average. So my new studying efforts are actually paying off.
We have to pass each course to move forward in this program. If you fail one course, then you get kicked out of the program. If we fail with a grade between 50-60%, we have the option of paying $40 to be able to do a makeup assignment to raise the grade to the minimum 60%. We only have the option of doing that twice over the course of the two years.
So far I've managed to pass everything. Group Dynamics is the only one that I'm a little worried about at this point. In it, you need to have an average of over 60% for individual assignments. My group assignments would have pushed me into the safe zone, but that course is kind of like a two-in-one and you need to pass both. Final exam next Thursday. Probably the most intense time of the semester for me, but it should be okay since I've got more of a handle on things this time around, and if I've not failed yet, there's no reason to start now.
This is like high school. Not to go too into detail, but I had an education disadvantage on entering and had to struggle pretty hard to get onto track. Had to work harder than most people, was delayed in my progress, started at the bottom, slowly fought my way up and became higher than most of the upper crust in my school.
Right now, my disadvantage level is about... when I was in grade ten. Compared to my relative competence next to my peers, that is. So I get to skip the hardest stage and I have my previous successes to reinforce my faith in my capacity for improvement, which I hadn't had before.
I'm told that I'm a competitive person, and right now I'm competing with myself. I keep telling myself that I can't let Teenaged Gryphon beat Adult Gryphon, since Adult Gryphon has it easier than his teenaged version did.
My Internet is still down. It's been down for a week. My landlord just got sick of it and we're replacing it with another company on Friday.
We have to pass each course to move forward in this program. If you fail one course, then you get kicked out of the program. If we fail with a grade between 50-60%, we have the option of paying $40 to be able to do a makeup assignment to raise the grade to the minimum 60%. We only have the option of doing that twice over the course of the two years.
So far I've managed to pass everything. Group Dynamics is the only one that I'm a little worried about at this point. In it, you need to have an average of over 60% for individual assignments. My group assignments would have pushed me into the safe zone, but that course is kind of like a two-in-one and you need to pass both. Final exam next Thursday. Probably the most intense time of the semester for me, but it should be okay since I've got more of a handle on things this time around, and if I've not failed yet, there's no reason to start now.
This is like high school. Not to go too into detail, but I had an education disadvantage on entering and had to struggle pretty hard to get onto track. Had to work harder than most people, was delayed in my progress, started at the bottom, slowly fought my way up and became higher than most of the upper crust in my school.
Right now, my disadvantage level is about... when I was in grade ten. Compared to my relative competence next to my peers, that is. So I get to skip the hardest stage and I have my previous successes to reinforce my faith in my capacity for improvement, which I hadn't had before.
I'm told that I'm a competitive person, and right now I'm competing with myself. I keep telling myself that I can't let Teenaged Gryphon beat Adult Gryphon, since Adult Gryphon has it easier than his teenaged version did.
My Internet is still down. It's been down for a week. My landlord just got sick of it and we're replacing it with another company on Friday.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Internet Down
I got to go home last weekend. Because I don't have any classes on Friday, and because of the way that my Thursday class is being distributed, I got four days off of school. That means I was able to go home for four days.
Same day I left, I found out that the Internet at my place was down. I was laughing, because I'd just dodged running into this issue. Yeah, well, four days later and it's still down. Working over at the school right now.
I was told about the issue by email. I was just reminded through email, told that I would be kept in touch with regarding the situation through email, and I was linked to a site where I could track how the issue was coming along.
If you hadn't noticed, all those resources are via Internet. The resource that isn't working.
Our service provider has no estimate for when the issue will be resolved.
My school needs to get one of those coffee machines. Right now, if I want caffeine, I have to drink pop from a vending machine, and I'm not into that.
For some reason, I keep getting these females I don't know trying to friend me on Facebook, sending me flirty messages. I'm not naive, I'm pretty sure they're robots with predicted responses leading to a request to go on a website that will give me a virus or something like that.
First one I tried to talk to. She responded at length but didn't give any response that directly referenced anything I'd said, so I thought she was using predicted messages. I called her a robot and she unfriended me. Second one, I noticed she was friends with two of my friends so I messaged them. She'd sent them both the same message that she sent me, so we all three deleted her. I just got another request from a third girl. Just weird they're all stacked in a row like this.
Same day I left, I found out that the Internet at my place was down. I was laughing, because I'd just dodged running into this issue. Yeah, well, four days later and it's still down. Working over at the school right now.
I was told about the issue by email. I was just reminded through email, told that I would be kept in touch with regarding the situation through email, and I was linked to a site where I could track how the issue was coming along.
If you hadn't noticed, all those resources are via Internet. The resource that isn't working.
Our service provider has no estimate for when the issue will be resolved.
My school needs to get one of those coffee machines. Right now, if I want caffeine, I have to drink pop from a vending machine, and I'm not into that.
For some reason, I keep getting these females I don't know trying to friend me on Facebook, sending me flirty messages. I'm not naive, I'm pretty sure they're robots with predicted responses leading to a request to go on a website that will give me a virus or something like that.
First one I tried to talk to. She responded at length but didn't give any response that directly referenced anything I'd said, so I thought she was using predicted messages. I called her a robot and she unfriended me. Second one, I noticed she was friends with two of my friends so I messaged them. She'd sent them both the same message that she sent me, so we all three deleted her. I just got another request from a third girl. Just weird they're all stacked in a row like this.
Monday, November 4, 2013
84%
I got 84% on a midterm! Woohoo! Best I've done on a test this year!
I'm going to apply for a job at the info desk at my school. Only up to 10 hours per week, so a good part time job, and I know two people doing it already. Don't know if I can get into the customer services with my experience, but we'll see.
Getting graded on facilitating a group tomorrow. I chose to do a pre-employment program for youth between 15-25, entering the job market with little experience and probably at risk of homelessness.
The breakfast wrap saves you less than $1 compared to the sandwich, and the savoury sauce isn't even any good. So the deal's not comparable to the chicken salad wrap vs. sandwich.
They stopped offering ham in the breakfast options. I guess it's because it wasn't popular enough to continue, but since they have ham available because of their ham and Swiss sandwiches, I don't see why they can't use it.
They stopped cutting the sandwiches in half, too. That bugs me. I mean, I don't even know if I prefer my sandwiches cut, but since it was a task that took half a second to do, making an entire policy change seems weird. I feel like some business person was unsatisfied with worker productivity, so he took away sandwich cutting obligations, then fired a bunch of people as he felt productivity should be raised through this move. And of course that doesn't make things more productive.
I'm going to apply for a job at the info desk at my school. Only up to 10 hours per week, so a good part time job, and I know two people doing it already. Don't know if I can get into the customer services with my experience, but we'll see.
Getting graded on facilitating a group tomorrow. I chose to do a pre-employment program for youth between 15-25, entering the job market with little experience and probably at risk of homelessness.
The breakfast wrap saves you less than $1 compared to the sandwich, and the savoury sauce isn't even any good. So the deal's not comparable to the chicken salad wrap vs. sandwich.
They stopped offering ham in the breakfast options. I guess it's because it wasn't popular enough to continue, but since they have ham available because of their ham and Swiss sandwiches, I don't see why they can't use it.
They stopped cutting the sandwiches in half, too. That bugs me. I mean, I don't even know if I prefer my sandwiches cut, but since it was a task that took half a second to do, making an entire policy change seems weird. I feel like some business person was unsatisfied with worker productivity, so he took away sandwich cutting obligations, then fired a bunch of people as he felt productivity should be raised through this move. And of course that doesn't make things more productive.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Halloween and RAK
On Halloween I didn't dress up, so somebody put this... giant magnet-looking garment with... baby chickens on it... over my shoulders.
When somebody puts a chick magnet on you, you can't just take it off, because if you do, it shows you lack confidence in your magnetism.
And I couldn't get somewhere private to slip humbly away, because it... worked too well. Couldn't go anywhere without girls clinging onto me and wanting their pictures taken with me.
There were people around that I knew, but I couldn't break form... Must've come across as quite out of character.
Still feel kind of slimy...
Next day was Random Act of Kindness day at the school... And just like the last Respect meet, there was a disappointing turnout of volunteers. I got put on duty to walk around with this big sign saying "SMILE" on it. After a bit, I sort of started getting a perverse pleasure out of pressuring people into smiling.
"A" Wing is the least smiley wing.
I remember doing a discrimination awareness workshop in Katimavik. We had an activity where, if you'd at some point experienced an event that was described, you stood up, and if you hadn't, you remained seated. Most of the events were what I expected, but one of them surprised me. It was "You have been asked by a stranger to smile". I thought "Why would a stranger ask someone to smile? What and odd thing to say", but then every female in the group stood, and every male remained seated.
Anyway, I guess I just did that to all the girls in my school.
When somebody puts a chick magnet on you, you can't just take it off, because if you do, it shows you lack confidence in your magnetism.
And I couldn't get somewhere private to slip humbly away, because it... worked too well. Couldn't go anywhere without girls clinging onto me and wanting their pictures taken with me.
There were people around that I knew, but I couldn't break form... Must've come across as quite out of character.
Still feel kind of slimy...
Next day was Random Act of Kindness day at the school... And just like the last Respect meet, there was a disappointing turnout of volunteers. I got put on duty to walk around with this big sign saying "SMILE" on it. After a bit, I sort of started getting a perverse pleasure out of pressuring people into smiling.
"A" Wing is the least smiley wing.
I remember doing a discrimination awareness workshop in Katimavik. We had an activity where, if you'd at some point experienced an event that was described, you stood up, and if you hadn't, you remained seated. Most of the events were what I expected, but one of them surprised me. It was "You have been asked by a stranger to smile". I thought "Why would a stranger ask someone to smile? What and odd thing to say", but then every female in the group stood, and every male remained seated.
Anyway, I guess I just did that to all the girls in my school.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)