April 28, 2003
i know i've had a conversation with some people about this, but i feel that i want to rant about this topic to everyone! so here it is: listening.
it's so impossibly difficult to find a good listener nowadays. i really think that this is the reason why arguments are so common among spouses and between parents and their children. it's because no one ever listens! it's absolutely amazing when you're involved in an argument or observing an argument how both parties are not listening to each others points whatsoever. one side of the argument will say their point and the other side will counter with theirs. both parties completely disregarding what the other person has to say and as a result, unable to understand how the other person could POSSIBLY think the way that they do. this usually leads to anger, insults and a general disgust and bad opinion of the other person.
i think men are especially bad at being bad listeners. most men are so stubborn and set in their ways, they'll get so frustrated and angry at the person they're arguing with and start name calling and cursing before they even stop for a second to listen what the other person has to say. women are marginally better, but i think we're all guilty of being bad listeners.
part of the problem people are bad listeners is because of society's insistence on being confident and being right. it's so important to be RIGHT! forget about trying to resolve issues, it's more important to be right, don't back down! this way of thinking has seeped into all of our minds and is the root of so many of our problems.
i guess that in the end, if everyone could listen well, and see the point of view of others, there would be no use for people such as family and marriage counsellors. i mean, really, that's why counsellors do in the end, they listen. i'm not claiming to be the best listener in the world, but at least i can recognize the problem. with that said, i'm going to make a real effort to try to listen to people when arguing with someone and i think that i'll be pleasently surprised to see the argument not escalate to personal grudges.
so try listening for once, you'd be amazed at what you hear.
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April 26, 2003
i would post more often, i really would. but my life consists of studying/eating/sleeping and procrastinating from studying right now. there is NOTHING happening in my life right now other than stuff about australopithicines (anthropology), natural convection (heat transfer) and laplace transforms (differential equations). and i've ALREADY bored you to death talking about my school work so i'll stop right there.
on a sports note (as usual), i want to say: GO *insert team here* GO! The teams in the insert are: MAVS, DUCKS, CANUCKS
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April 23, 2003
man. a first round exit. the first time in 5 years. although i'm not entirely surprised because we got outplayed so badly this series. at least now i can maybe start studying for exams instead of procrastinating because of hockey all the time. maybe hatcher will be a leaf this summer. go vancouver!!
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April 19, 2003
*HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRI!* You're 21 too now! We're all getting old. Have a great bday man! Relax and have a little bit of fun for once, you deserve it!
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April 16, 2003
* HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPH!* We'll celebrate when you hit TO later this month. Geez, you are OLD. I can't believe my little girl is 21. That legally makes you an adult, entitled to do anything (read: gambling, smoking, drinking) everywhere in North America. Now that's just scary. Have a fantastic b-day!
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April 13, 2003
GO WEIR GO! I'm so excited for Mike Weir's first ever major golf title. Canada's first ever golf major! GO WEIR GO!
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April 12, 2003
studying, studying, and studying some more.
gotta do well on these exams...
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April 08, 2003
i feel inclined to comment on a comment my friend made recently. she made a comment about how it's sad that me and my high school friends tend to be drifting apart as the university years fly by. honestly to me, i feel as if we (high school ppl and me) have done an extraordinary job staying tight. sure things have drifted, but on the flip side of the coin, things have stayed amazingly close considering all the things that are happening in our lives. our lives are so different now, things are constantly happening, moving and changing. it's great that through all the change, you have something that remains constant and the same.. something that you can always rely on.
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April 05, 2003
phew. just finished (well about an hour ago) the 8K Easter Seals Society charity run. i did it in about 57 minutes. now, i know that's not exactly tearing up the course (at about a 7 minute/km) but considering i haven't ran in at least 16 months (that's not an exaggeration) combined with the freezing cold temperatures and that i'm a tiny little bit under the weather (just a bit of a runny nose)... i'm pretty proud of myself. the next big charity race that comes around to toronto during the summer, i'm going to get a bunch of people together to go do the race together. it's fun, good exercise, you get lots of free stuff (i snagged like 6 yogurts, 4 oranges, couple of bananas, some power bars and a bunch of coupons for free health food at mcdonalds) and most of all, it's for a good cause. so if you're interested in going to the next run for charity with me, tell me! and i'll sign you up when it comes along. i'll be on the look out for it.
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April 02, 2003
I GOT NSERC! Only days after I got an email confirming that I DIDN'T get NSERC because I didn't make the cut (the competition was fierce blah blah blah), I got ANOTHER email stating that NSERC gave the chem-eng department a few more scholarships and that I got one!! I guess I was next in line to get one after the top 11. God loves me. hahaha. i was unbelievably unsettled about what i was going to do this summer because i didn't get NSERC and i haven't heard from the dept of bio medphysics. i've been checking my email religiously in hopes of getting the bio medphysics job, i never imagined i would get an email saying that i would get NSERC (especially after i just got an email saying i wouldn't). thank you professor kuhn!! thank you professor evans (for sponsoring me)!! even though it wasn't them who actually got me the scholarship, thank you anyway!! thank you NSERC!!! it's like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. YAY!
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April 01, 2003
people who are uber paranoid about this SARS things are STUPID! i mean, i guess there's reason for concern if you work at scarborough grace hospital or you are close friends with someone who just came back from hong kong, but other than that, there's no reason to be paranoid. i can accept that you might be more careful (wash your hands frequently) but avoiding chinese places at all costs, avoiding chinese people who have been to chinese places at all costs (*cough* cam *cough*) is just ignorance more than anything.
oh yeah, where's my self-promoting and encouraging business card katie? i'm still waiting! =)
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ahhh, a new month. april fool's day. with lab check out and the final lab test over and done with today, i'm finally finished killer 6-7 hour labs for good. the lab test wasn't that hard, it was almost enjoyable because it showed that i actually learned something with all that time spent in the lab.
so if you had a team with shaq in the middle, duncan at power forward, garnett at small forward and a backcourt of kidd and kobe, do you think this team would ever lose? people would argue that there are too many egos on this team and that would get in the way. but most people would agree that if this dream team was actually put together and put in the nba, the raw talent would just make them win every single game, despite the ego clashing. now look at the new york yankees. the right side of their infield is jason giambi and soriano (both MVP candidates last year, and both all stars), the left side is derek jeter and ventura (jeter's a consistent all star while ventura was a past all star), posada behind the plate (all star last year) and now their outfield is bernie williams between mondesi and matsui. if matsui is as dominant in the mlb as ichiro was, then he's a bonifide all star and definite rookie of the year. mondesi is an over paid player, but is still young and again, is a legitime all star. bernie williams is an mvp type allstar player as well. follow that up with a starting rotation of clemens, mussina, petitte and wells and the yankees are so good it's unfair. there's no team in any professional sport you can compare to the yankees and it's simply unfair. although last year all the low budget teams had all the success (anaheim, the twins, oakland etc..), i think the yankees are due for a dominant kind of year where they'll take the world series again. and once again taking the dignity of major league baseball with it.
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