Question Of The Day

What is the difference between a workshop and a seminar?

First Class

I had my first class of this school year last night. It went well, and ended an hour early. I have to say, I raised my hand, a lot. There are two types of university students, those who raise their hand in class to answer and pose questions, and those who do not. There are facebook groups for both points of view. People usually stand very strongly on this issue, those that don't raise their hand, hate it when others do, as it tends to add length to the class and they often have seemingly stupid comments. I'm on the other side of the fence. I think class participation is important, interesting, and beneficial. If I have an opportunity to participate I will pay more attention in class. I enjoy when people speak in class, as long as they don't ramble on. In my defence I attempt to only ever say a few words or possibly a single sentence. I think there is nothing worse then a prof looking around for someone to answer a question when no one is volunteering. I will raise my hand with pride!

For Better Or For Worse - Flashbacks

Lynn Johnston’s ‘For Better or For Worse’ will continue in flashback form

By BRIAN McTAVISH The Kansas City Star
Lynn Johnston’s nearly 30-year-old comic strip, “For Better or for Worse,” was supposed to end this month upon her long-planned retirement. But the 60-year-old Canadian cartoonist’s plans have changed. “At one point I used to say: ‘September, September, September,’ said. “But you can’t end a 30-year-long story like that. It’s too complicated. There are too many (characters) involved, and there are too many unfinished episodes.” So the popular strip chronicling the ups and downs of the Patterson family in more than 2,000 newspapers, including The Star, will now wind up its current storyline sometime in 2008, partly using reprint material framed as flashbacks. After that, “For Better or for Worse” will restart three decades in the past and continue indefinitely as a hybrid of mostly classic strips with only occasional new work from Johnston.

Oh Country Music

I rarely, and I mean rarely, listen to music, and it is even more rare for that music to be country, but some of those country tunes hit home so hard. "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack has been around for a while. I'm sure it has been played at quite a few weddings and such, but hearing it today at work (the ladies I'm sitting with have a radio with Easy Rock playing all the time) brought back what a sweet song it is.

I Hope You Dance

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,

You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,

May you never take one single breath for granted,

God forbid love ever leave you empty handed,

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,

Never settle for the path of least resistance

Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin',

Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',

Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,

When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.

-Lee Ann Womack

Your Big Decision

Ontario is having a referendum along with the provincial election on October 10th. I strongly believe in voting and am always disappointed in voter turn out for the various elections. In terms of the election itself, I have yet to really follow the politics. (Though I believe one party is wanting to implement teaching Creationism beside Evolution in high schools, which scares me, so I'm really going to have to look into it.) I have started to think about the referendum though. When I first heard a little bit about the ideas to changed the election process, I was not impressed. I like it the way it is and am hesitant to add the further complexities the proposed system has. The Mixed Member Proportional system and the voting for it seems more confusing. I feel politics should be simple. The question for the referendum was released in February and after reading it I was actually really impressed with it's simplicity!
Which electoral system should Ontario use to elect members to the provincial legislature?
-The existing electoral system (First-Past-the-Post)
-The alternative electoral system proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly (Mixed Member Proportional)
I still haven't decided with electoral system I would prefer for Ontario, as there are pros and cons for both. It is costing the Ontario Government over $6 Million to run this referendum, so it is important that we all take learning about it and voting seriously. The official website is a good place to research. There is also always Wikipedia and Google searches for further research.

I'm Flossing

I have added flossing to my morning routine. Well I have done it twice now, which I feel is a good start. It came about for a number of reasons. Steph has just come back from a bunch of dentist appointments that were a tad traumatic for her, so unfair because she is amazing to her teeth. I have been thinking about my Grandma a lot lately, and one thing I remember is how much she looked after her teeth, she was always so proud that she still had her own and that they were in great shape. I had my annual cleaning scheduled for the week I was at the cottage, so when they called to remind me Anna had to cancel it for me since I couldn't make it, which means I'm over due for a trip to the dentist. All these things have led me to the desire to be more diligent with my tooth care. This evening I'm hoping to start doing the 14-day Crest White Strips that Steph gave me for Christmas (or my Birthday, I don't even remember it was so long ago.) Cleaner, healthy, and whiter teeth are just around the corner!

The Sub

A reflection back on my time at Subway. Both at the Paris store and here in Ottawa. Here is a list of customer pet peeves that various Subway employees I have worked with have. None of them are really a big deal to me, as I don't tend to get annoyed with customers, but they do bug a lot of people...

-mispronouncing item names (Chipotle, Parmesan, Monterey, Oregano)

-letting us put the vegetables on when you want it toasted

-getting to the cash and then ordering another sub

-letting us glove up when you only want a drink

-leaving a mess at the table (Everyone hates this one)

It is usually pretty frustrating when taking your order if you are also...

-talking on your cell phone

-talking to your friend

-making out (Ok, I hate this one)

Despite the pain that customers can be I still hope to open a store with Teri at some point.

The Customers

I just finished my last shift at Subway and I realised one of the hardest things about leaving that job is leaving the customers and customer service part of it. I loved meeting and interacting with all the people who came through the store. I had created little relationships with many of them. It was the perfect outlet for my chattiness. There were always a number of good looking guys too, gotta love the eye candy!