The Kindness of Strangers

I'm back from another writing hiatus with a story that restored some of my faith in humanity. In the age of conservative politics, it is nice to get the occasional reminder that people aren't always in it for themselves and no one else. In that spirit, I share with you something that happened to me a few weeks ago.

On June 9th, my friend Derek from back home in Ontario flew out to BC to visit my girlfriend and I as well as to do some mountaineering. Being the gracious host without a car that I am, I took the bus to meet him at the airport. On transit, the trip out to YVR is a bit of a haul from my apartment (about an hour and a half on a good day) but I actually enjoy public when I'm not in a rush, provided it isn't too crowded. On this day, I was in luck. I rode the bus in peace, listening to the musical stylings of Cake on my iPod as I watched the scenery pass me by, anxious to reunite with my former climbing partner.

I arrived at the airport without incident and, after a short wait, Derek appeared. We boarded the train back to downtown, from which we would take the bus back to my apartment. The ride was filled with the usual "I haven't seen you in a while" banter that friends exchange. What's new? How've you been? What do you want to do while you're out here? All in all it was pleasant, and the long bus ride gave us a laid back environment in which to catch up. We even got to sit in the prime seats at the back of the bus, where I could put my feet up on the supports for the seats in front of us.

When we got off the bus, I was thoroughly famished and eager to get some lunch. We grabbed Derek's bags and quickly disembarked from the bus. Only after the steel behemoth drove out of view did I have the presence of mind to do a check of my pockets to make sure I had everything I left home with. Upon patting myself down and pausing for a moment to think, I had the minor heart attack that follows the realization that you've lost an expensive piece of technology. My iPod, along with 30 gigs of music and audiobooks that had seen me through long trips and idle afternoons for the past seven years, had slipped out of my pocket when I put my feet up.

I'm not a man who gives up easily however, and all hope was not lost. Luckily for me, the bus that dropped us off needed to make a loop around the top of Burnaby Mountain before it could begin its trip back downtown. We hurriedly dropped of Derek's things and I left him to visit with my girlfriend as I ran back to the stop where I would hopefully intercept the bus.

I waited anxiously, trying to remember everything I could about the vehicle we had ridden in. I recalled that it was mostly blue on the outside and was driven by an older man. The first bus that came around was white, so I immediately ruled out checking it. The next that appeared was the right colour but was driven by a young asian guy and was on a different route. I knew that sometimes the buses changed drivers and route numbers on the far side of the mountain so I decided to check just to be sure, but my hopes weren't high.  After a quick explanation to the driver I went to the back of the bus to do a quick search. The place where I would have been sitting was occupied by a young man in a green shirt listening to an iPod of his own. I asked if he had found an older model iPod anywhere near where he was sitting. His confused expression betrayed that he hadn't and that I would need to keep waiting.

Mildly perturbed, I got off the bus and watched it pull away. Before it was out of sight, however, there was a slight commotion in the back. The person I had just spoken to was trying to get my attention through the window and was waving something small and white. It could only be my iPod. My momentary shock at the fact that the guy who found it wasn't trying to keep it for himself quickly turned to panic as I realized the driver had no intention of stopping and that the bus was headed off the mountain. I knew if I lost sight of it, I might as well start shopping for a new music player because my search would become a needle in a haystack the size of the Greater Vancouver Area. I took off.

I sprinted to catch up with the bus and catch the attention of the man in the green shirt. He saw me and I yelled the only thing I could think: "NEXT STOP!" There was one more stop before the road left the mountain. The stop is a less-than-popular one as it is away from the main campus buildings but if even one person was waiting there, the bus would have to pick them up. All I could do was keep running and hope to make it to that stop before the driver closed the doors.

Now, I'm a fairly fit individual. I run a few times a week and I hike avidly. But as I watched the bus get further and further away, and my lungs and legs began to burn more and more, I quickly realized that I am not the sort of person who can maintain a full-out sprint for half a kilometer. I rounded the bend in the road just in time to see the bus pull away, taking my favourite songs and audio books along with it. I stopped for a moment, heart pounding, and tried to think. Maybe the guy in the green shirt had tossed my iPod from the bus when he realized I wasn't going to make it. In my winded state, this seemed like my last hope. I turned and began walking back to where I had originally been waiting, to be sure I hadn't passed it by. Part of me knew I was out of luck, but I had to be sure.

As I walked down the side of the road, catching my breath and searching the ditch, I heard something from behind be and a long way away. A whistle. My head snapped around and my eyes strained to focus in on the green shape waving in my direction. I was filled with disbelief and a surge of adrenaline that allowed me to cover the distance to the bus stop in record time. There stood the man in green holding my iPod out for me to take. I stood, panting, sweaty, and looking like a psychopath. I muttered the only confused thought my mind was able to form. "Did you just get off the bus for me?"

I was shocked. Here was this guy who had no loyalty to me; who was minding his own business; presumably trying to get home after a long day at school; trying to beat the late afternoon rush; and he had delayed himself significantly just so I could have my iPod back. I was touched. I couldn't remember the last time a stranger had shown me any kindness beyond holding a door, if one ever had. As the fog of breathlessness began to lift, more thoughts tried to fight their way to the surface. "You," I said, pointing at him, "you are a really good person."

My inadequate and inane babbling aside, the guy was as nice and as understanding as you would expect. I thanked him profusely and tried to offer him the small amount of money I had in my wallet so he could buy himself lunch. He refused, and after a few more thank you's we went our separate ways.

In hindsight, I wish I had been thinking clearly enough to do something more. Perhaps gotten his phone number so I could buy him lunch next time he was on the mountain. Unfortunately, I'm not that quick on my feet and the man in green who saved my iPod has vanished back into the crowd of people known as strangers. I likely wouldn't even recognize him if I saw him again. The experience has restored some of my optimism about the world, though. In the weeks since, I have stopped while listening to my iPod several times and reflected that, had it not been for one person's selfless attitude, I would be sitting in silence. Those thoughts inspire me to pay it forward and try to be a better person.

In the fast-paced crowded world that we live in, full of isolating technology and indifferent passers by, it is easy not to think of others. The truth, however, is that thinking of others is one of the things that makes us uniquely human. If we hadn't cooperated and used our collective intellect to solve the problems we have, our lives wouldn't be nearly as comfortable as they currently are. I'm lucky enough to have a physical reminder of the importance of being kind. The fact that it plays music is just a bonus at this point. I can't repay the man in the green shirt for the kindness he showed me, but I can try to live my life based on the simple lesson he reminded me of: Help each other out, we're all in this together.

Here's to you, Man in Green.

Cheers,

Steve

Run for the Hills

So my dating isn't exact on this because I didn't keep a log of the day when I first slipped on my five fingers and hit the track, but sometime approximately one year ago I embarked on my quest to undo the damage of sloth caused by living through a Yukon winter at a research station. Don't get me wrong, the Yukon was an amazing experience. I met great people. I saw great things. I bulked up my resume and got a jump-start on my thesis. However, when you are alone 5 days each week, doing research and living at a lonely highway outpost there isn't much you can do to stay fit. The avalanche danger was usually too high to do any solo adventuring and net result was a chubbier, lazier version of myself.

It was with resolve in my heart and a spare tire around my waist that I came home last May, determined to get in shape. After a quick stop at Adventure Guide to get my Five Finger Bikila running shoes I was ready to go. My first few runs were tame. The just about needed to be as running to the corner of my street left me winded. I got used to my new barefoot shoes by running the track at the high school near my house. My 11 year-old brother even joined me for a couple of outings. The extend of these runs was 2 sets of 4 laps around the track, amounting to a little over 3 km. Even with a long water break in between it was hard going. The sun was hot and my lung capacity was abysmal, but somehow I managed to fight through it.

After a couple weeks at the track I graduated to the road. It was a tough transition mentally more than physically. The road is where real distance runners trained, especially in my neighbourhood. I couldn't look out my bedroom window for 5 minutes on a sunny afternoon without some fitter, more competent looking person jogging past. If it wasn't for the knowledge that I was being a wimp, and that I would never improve if I didn't challenge myself, I would have probably stuck to the kiddy-pool. My first road run was a humbling experience. I mapped out a 5 km loop around the subdivision that included a couple moderate hills but nothing a 13 year-old cross-country hopeful isn't expected to tackle. The run involved 3 multi-minute rest stops, using up my water supply by km 2, and much wheezing on the side of the road.

Over time the route got easier. The key to sticking with it was that I purposely chose to run through areas I liked. I ran by houses many times larger than my own with perfectly landscaped yards. I ran by forests, and ponds, and schools. I also had my ipod going the entire time. In between "Pump-Up" playlists I enjoyed listening to the audio-book version of Christopher MacDougall's "Born to Run" which is now on my list of favourite books. From my initial attempt, I was able to subtract whole minutes. I timed myself for the challenge and so I could track my own improvement. And improve I did.

Over the months, I extended my route and got comfortable going on 8, 10, and even the occasional 15 K amble through my hometown. I began to feel better, lose weight, and had a more positive outlook on the world. When I moved across the country by car last summer I got to run in places like Sleeping Giant Provincial Park where my girlfriend and I rounded a bend to find three surprised deer staring back at us. Once we made it to BC we explored the trails near our apartment and found giant trees as well as banana slugs. When the weather took a turn for the worse we hit the gym and became avid treadmill runners. I even cut class one day and ended up running a half-marathon distance around campus.

The past year has been a great experience for me in terms of running. I've learned that my own limitations are all mental and that, if I'm willing to put in the work, I am always able to get better at something. I've gained persistence and perspective and hopefully lengthened my life as a result. I realize not everyone loves running. It can be hard, painful, boring, and demoralizing when you're in the thick of it. It's beauty lies in the long-term. Over the course of a health-kick I guarantee the net effect is a positive feeling. You may hate the 30 minutes a day you spend on the treadmill but they make the other 23 and a half hours far more enjoyable as you savour your runner's high. Many of my friends have also undertaken fitness quests this year and I have heard sentiments from them that echo what I have said here. The clichés are true. No pain, no gain. Slow and steady wins the race. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. That last one isn't really about running, but I'm sure it's true, too. So even if you don't think to can, just give it a try. It might not be running but I promise there is something you will love if you leave the couch and get to finding it.

Wishing you all the best of luck and happy trails.

Steve

Image courtesy of discovery.com

The Most Ridiculous Thing... A Rant

Today the news is full of talk about same-sex marriage. Last night Barack Obama became the first sitting President of the United States to openly say that he approves of equal rights for the LGBT community. To me, all the hype seems to do is highlight how absurd the issue actually is. It's shocking that people can be so ignorant as to think that one group of people should have different rights from another group based entirely on the gender of the person they love. I honestly don't even know how I am going to come up with a full length blog post about the issue because it seems so self-evident... But here it goes:

There are few things in life that I feel absolutely certain about. Where I will be in 5 years; what I'm having for dinner tonight; who will win the next major election. These are all things that could go a number of ways and I don't have enough evidence to confidently state what their outcomes will be. However, one thing that I am absolutely sure of, beyond any doubt, is that in 100 years the "issue" of same sex marriage will not even cross people's minds. It will be an accepted and usual part of life in the 22nd century. No weirder than getting an oil change or paying too much for gas.

We have seen issues with exactly the same components come and go and the liberal side always wins. No exceptions. Looking back on the civil rights movement of the 1960's or the Women's Suffrage Movement of the 1920's and 30's, we think of the opposition as bigoted and wrong. The simple fact is that anyone who currently opposes same sex marriage will be given the same label, when all is said and done. The march of progress is reality and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Even the most liberal minded person living in 1850 would seem vehemently conservative by today's standards. Abraham Lincoln would seem like a backwards racist if you were to meet him for a beer. With this in mind, I can't understand why anyone would even question this issue. There is no debate. All people should have equal rights under the law concerning everything from employment to marriage to home ownership. You name it. If one person gets it, everyone gets it.

I'll even go one step further and point out that, in the not too distant future, (once everyone wakes up and realizes that treating people like people is only rational thing to do) the debate is going to shift to animal rights pretty quickly. The change is already beginning. More and more articles calling for animals like dolphins, whales, and apes to have rights approaching those of people are popping up. The safe money is on the fact that in 100 or so years you won't be able to find any aquariums with large marine mammals or zoos with any of the higher primates because caging them in would be illegal. It might sound crazy today, but I for one want to unequivocally state that I support it. That way, if this blog still exists in the year 2112 my great great grandchildren won't have to wrestle with the fact that their ancestor was a mental prisoner to the Zeitgeist of his time.

Have the courage to look at things sensibly. Rights aren't something you are allowed to allocate based on how you feel about other people's choices. Live your own life and let other people do the same. If you don't, history won't remember you fondly.

Cheers,

Steve

Things I Wish I Knew About University

So last week I got some great news from back east. Turns out my younger brother has been selected for a basketball scholarship to a school in North Bay, Ontario. Naturally this got my big brother muscles working as I wondered about what advice I could pass down to help him be prepared for the onslaught of books, lectures, tests, and projects to come. Of course, I can't hope to develop a comprehensive list of what everyone needs to know as they begin their quest for higher education, and that is where this blog comes in. My hope is that anyone who reads it and thinks of some glaring oversight will add it to the comments section. In the end, as a team, we might even come up with something useful. But let's get to it:

Things I Wish I Knew About University:
1) This ain't no reading competition

For the purposes of maintaining a long-running inside joke, I was obliged to make this "Rule #1" but that doesn't make it any less true. The further you go in school, the more important presentation skills become. Nothing shows that you know your stuff like being able to confidently stand in front of a room of peers and teach them about it. Similarly, nothing makes you look more awkward than stuttering, mumbling, reading a script, or falling into the deadly trap of using "umm," "like," "uh," etc. If you need time to think about what you want to say, stay silent or use sentences to fill the gaps. Some of my favourites are "That is an excellent question." or "I'm glad you asked that." Also, don't underestimate the power of a relaxed presentation style. A few jokes and a laid back attitude puts everyone at ease and helps them care about what you're saying instead of feeling bad for you.

2) Laptops are both handy and dangerous

A computer is an indispensable tool for anyone in university. It lets you stay organized; keeps you in contact with far away family and friends; and can lead to productive group study sessions. However, one thing that I have learned over my 6 years of post-secondary work is that, generally speaking, a laptop is a poor note taking tool. Sure it will save you paper. Sure, it's more organized than notebooks or loose leaf paper. That doesn't change the fact that you are constantly tempted to go online and read about hockey stats or cruise reddit. If you are easily distracted (and who among us isn't?) leave the laptop at home and take notes the old fashioned way. You'll be more engaged, remember more, and won't have to worry about losing or damaging your most expensive resource.

3) Work smart, not hard.

This may seem like bad advice, and in the wrong hands it most certainly could be. It's painfully easy to justify not working when there is no one looking over your shoulder to keep you in line. That being said, I have also met too many people who lock themselves up in their room and cram their lives away. University is about learning, but it's also about having fun. It's one of the only times in your life when you're not expected to hold down a full-time job and deal with all the crap that goes along with being a real adult. My working philosophy has been to evaluate the class and tailor my habits to how it functions. If the teacher posts comprehensive notes online, I don't need to write down too much of what they say. If the online notes suck or are non-existent, I write a lot more. If I know a lot about a topic we're dicussing, I skim the reading for key points. If I'm totally lost, I'll read every sentence in the book and take detailed notes. When I'm struggling particularly hard in a class I always try to come up with two or three questions to ask during the lecture, just to stay engaged.

4) Don't be "That guy," but don't hate on him too much either.

Every class has one. The person who goes out of their way to talk over other people or ask questions that have little to do with the topic at hand. It can be infuriating when all you want to do is get through the lecture and go back to bed. They come off as arrogant and inconsiderate and, subsequently, don't have a huge fan club. Being that guy makes it hard to work with other people and tough to find a group who wants to study with you. The other side of the coin is that "that guy" is usually being overly chatty because he is insecure about his abilities in the class. He knows he can show interest and let the prof know that he's trying, but sometimes takes it a little too far. My advice on this point is basically that we're all in this together. Try to respect classroom etiquette (you'll pick up on it pretty quickly) but don't spend too much time hating on the people who ignore it. You'll need all the positive energy you can muster when finals roll around.

5) Read for pleasure.

One of the comments I heard most often during my undergrad was "How do you have the energy to read things other than class material?" My answer was usually something along the lines of, "If I didn't read things about mountain climbers, I would go crazy and flunk out anyway." My justification was that my grades under the system of pleasure reading plus class reading were the highest grades I was capable of. Changing the system would just make things worse. Not only is it a nice break to read something you chose, but it helps you become a better, faster reader who retains more. You can take skills you develop doing things you care about and use them to do better at things you don't. By reading "Between a Rock and Hard Place" on the bus, I was better able to fly through "Advanced Parametric Statistics for the Social Sciences." That's not to say I enjoyed the latter as much as the former, but I didn't struggle as much with it. Pleasure reading also helps you know what you're really interested in and will help you pick classes you care about. Nothing is worse that studying something you have no passion for and a salient reminder of your real interests helps keep things in perspective.

I'll leave it there for now in the interest of keeping this blog at a manageable length. Before I sign off, though, I just want to take a few lines to congratulate my brother on achieving something he has wanted for a long time and has had to work really hard to attain. Along the way there have been setbacks, most notably a blown out knee that required invasive surgery, but he has never given up and has proven more than a few people wrong. I'm really proud and hope he is too.

Cheers,

Steve

Image courtesy of quickmeme.com 

The Embarrassing Subculture

Yesterday was a day that thoroughly confused me. Every year on April 20th in cities throughout the world people gather to celebrate, or protest, or generally just sit and think about marijuana. Personally, it is a day that I am thoroughly put off by for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I don't associate myself with pot culture and do my best to distance myself from it, that's just me. But the day raises some interesting questions about law and the so-called "War on Drugs."

I can't speak for the rest of the country, but if you live in Vancouver and were trying to get around yesterday it is pretty likely you ran into some obstacles. The festivities blocked city streets, held up buses, and brought things to a halt to the same extent that a city-sanctioned event would. I find that incredibly perplexing. Marijuana is supposed to be illegal but yesterday downtown Vancouver became a no-holds barred pot market. It is inconceivable that police didn't know what was going on and the lack of problems that arose seems to imply that nothing out of the ordinary took place. My question is, why do we bother to pretend that pot is some underground drug that only the seedy underbelly of society indulges in if it's clear that it's ubiquitous?

The fact of the matter is, no matter how much society attempts to ban the voluntary use of certain substances, certain things are never going to disappear. If people want to smoke the by-products of a plant that they can grow in their basements, they are going to. Now I don't claim to be overly familiar with the specific laws surrounding drug possession but, from what I have seen, the average police officer is more likely to turn his glance than reach for his cuffs when he sees people indulging. That creates an embarrassing situation for the police officer, the smoker, and anyone who expects him to act any differently. All we have done by outlawing marijuana is create the seedy subculture that we want to associate it with.

Stop and think how the world would change if you could buy pot at any place you can currently buy cigarettes. Instantly there would be no reason for people who enjoy the drug to seek out shady characters in dark alleys. Police wouldn't have to waste their time dealing with dopey kids when actual violent crimes are happening. Things would basically exist in the same way they do now. People who don't like pot would remain distant from it and people who do wouldn't need to block of city streets and shove the drug in everyone's faces once a year. Best of all (depending on your perspective) we could tax it like crazy. Legalizing marijuana would create an overnight revenue stream for federal and provincial governments that could be used to maintain infrastructure and pay for services.

People might call me a hypocrite for writing something like this because anyone who knows me understands that the last thing I want is to be around drug culture, but that is exactly why I have chosen to take this position. If we take a problem and turn it into an opportunity, not only will we benefit in terms of safety and fiscal fortitude, we won't have to hear about it as much. Nobody organizes imposing festivals to promote cigar  smoking. The obvious counter to this is that every once in a while an event that is strongly based on alcohol imposes on the lives of people who decline to participate. To that, all I can say is that the stigma is nowhere near as strong because there is no onus on the police to put a stop to it.

All I'm saying is that we need to accept that marijuana isn't going anywhere. No matter how half-heartedly we attempt to enforce the laws surrounding it, advocates will continue to come out in force and argue for its general acceptance. The sooner we acknowledge that the current system represents a large scale failure, the sooner we can begin to reap the benefits of supply an demand. Eventually law makers are going to need to wake up and realize that all they have done is make this out to be a bigger issue than it ever should have been and created a situation of mutual annoyance for everyone involved.

That's about all I have to say on this.

Steve

Image courtesy of: http://imgur.com/gallery/1ovI9

The Time Travel Test

It's funny how when you're in the middle of something it can drive you nuts, but the minute you leave it behind, you miss it. Its an odd trick on human perception that the grass is always greener in the place you aren't standing. It probably has something to do with out inability to make predictions about future emotional states and our inclination to misremember our previous feelings... But let's just avoid that whole jargon laced bag of worms and stick with a light hearted blog about my life.

Back in Ontario I was lucky enough to have the only retail job I could have tolerated. I worked at an outdoor gear shop called "Adventure Guide" for two years. The job allowed me to save money for my eventual move to the west coast, but along the way I got to learn more about the activities I'd always been interested in while meeting great people who shared my interests. Like any job, though, there were some days that grated on me. I suppose it has something to do with my predisposition to boredom but, on the rougher days, I got tired of explaining how backpacks work and which shoes people ought to buy. It happens to everyone I'm sure. You get so used to doing the same things everyday that occasionally you lose sight of the aspects of your job that you once found fun and exciting.

Thankfully I never grew to hate my job and right up until my last shift I was generally happy to be there; something that I know a lot of people will never experience. With this in mind I don't suppose it is overly surprising that I have grown to miss the gear junkie atmosphere. Planning trips, comparing products, incessant arguing. I really did like that job. That is why, a few weeks ago, when I found myself at the local Mountain Equipment Co-Op I caved to my impulsiveness and grabbed an application. To my surprise, a few days after filling it out I got a call and yesterday I was formally offered a part-time job.

I'm more excited than most people in my situation would understand. Most grad students aspire to summer co-op positions of a different nature. One's that will get their feet in the door at companies related to their research. Not me. I'm happy to throw myself back into something familiar and enjoyable. I live in one of the greatest places in the world for hiking and climbing and adventuring in general and now I will be surrounded by people who know all the secret places to go. I have high hopes for my summer.

The lesson to take from all of this is one that most people already know. You don't know what you'll miss until you find yourself deprived of it. Don't become jaded by exposure. Fight to maintain the interest and excitement of someone doing something for the first time. There is a reason kids seem so happy. Everything they do is novel. It's hard to hang onto that feeling but, if you can figure out how to do it, you will have discovered a treasure trove of happiness.

I'll leave you with a simple reminder to be grateful for what you have. I like to take a moment every now and then to stop and think of how the me of, say, 10 years ago might react to seeing the life I lead today. That kid would be thrilled. Out of his mind ecstatic. I owe it to him to at least enjoy things half as much as he would have. I realize this is a chancy exercise but it helps to put things in perspective. If ever the day comes when past me would have been disappointed to see his future, I will owe it to him and myself to make serious changes. For now, though, I'll just enjoy myself.

Cheers,

Steve

Image courtesy of: http://www.cloudcentrics.com/

Thinking, In Spite of Ourselves

One of the most awful things that most people endure is the quest for employment. Sure, some people are lucky and their connections come through with perfect timing, but for the rest of us, getting employment requires serious legwork. The better the job you want, the tougher and more stressful your search will become. Recently this has been on my mind a lot. Not only do I need money to pay for school, rent, and the various other pleasantries that go along with living, I also need to consider what I am going to do once I'm finally finished with the never ending slog that has become my academic career.

Today I came across an interesting article that discussed a recent employers attempt to help hapless job seekers strengthen their chances, and was surprised by the general tone of it. The jist of the story was, after reading 900 applications to a writing job for his website, Shea Gunther took it upon himself to offer some advice. Admittedly, it was a lot of advice; but he did read a lot of applications. Gunther drafted and BCCed a 3,000 word email with 42 points summarizing the Do's and Don'ts of applications. 

The details of his advice aren't important for our purposes but links to the article, Gunther's response, and the original email can be found below. The thing that caught my attention, however, was the backlash... And really, who doesn't love a good backlash? People were irate. The internet rang out with calls of "Dick!" and "Douchebag!" and various other insults of increasing vulgarity. But why? Don't people want constructive criticism? Don't they want feedback from the people who decide whether or not they get called?

The sad truth is that people, as a general rule, don't like bad news. As open minded and inquisitive as they appear to be, the will go on the defensive if you actually start tearing them down. It's that pesky fight-or-flight response that evolution has endowed us with. The problem lies in the fact that we often choose to respond to a situation before we give it the thought it warrants.

I'm as guilty of this as anyone. I have been quick to react and slow to think in more situations than I care to consider, but whenever it happens I get embarrassed and try to learn a lesson from it. The trouble with a public forum like the internet is that when people realize they've made a mistake, they are far more likely to dig in their heels and defend it. The result is digging themselves a hole from which dignified escape becomes impossible.

Gunther broke with tradition in going beyond the expected "Thank you for your application but the position as been filled" and, at least partially, that was his undoing. When you surprise people and hit them with bad news at the same time, (to quote South Park) you're gonna have a bad time. As observers, though, we can learn from this situation. We can decide not to be offended when someone offers us legitimate advice. We can be grateful for someone taking the time to go beyond what is expected, even if they aren't telling us what we want to hear. It's something that's much easier said than done, but it is an important lesson for job hunting and life in general.

Cheers,

Steve

Links, yo:

The first thing I read: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/work-blog/2012/mar/29/job-rejection-letter-to-end-all-others?newsfeed=true

The response: http://www.salon.com/2012/03/30/sorry_gawker_my_42_point_plan_helped_job_seekers/singleton/

The offending email: http://www.scribd.com/sheagunther/d/87226611-42-Job-Application-Dos-and-Don-ts

Don't Read This Blog

Okay, read it if you must, but it won't do your body any good. I came across an article today that discussed a topic very near and dear to my heart. It was about the fact that the people alive today are the first group in human history who elect to spend more time staring at screens than experiencing the things they choose to display on them.

We're lazy, and its upsetting. I love the outdoors and crave sunlight but even I have a mild internet addiction. The fact of the matter is, we don't get out as much as we used to, humanity, and we're suffering the consequences. ADHD, depression, mesothelioma (from asbestos), we're not the species we used to be. I for one can attest that the less active I am over a given stretch of time, the more sluggish I get. Some of that might even go into explaining why people are so much more apathetic than they used to be. We sit by and watch our government erode our country's reputation (I'm Canadian) because we are too depressed and lazy to do anything about it.

Sometimes I think I would love to run a business because of all the innovative experiments I could try to increase productivity (the psychologist in me is alive and well). I would only hire people who lived within walking or biking distance and offer incentives to commute using only human power. I would have mandatory staff days on local trails. I would prop the door open and force people to breath fresh air instead of stale recirculated stuff we are all so accustomed to. Then I would track productivity and see how much my interventions made a difference. I suspect the changes would be more dramatic than you think.

I have never met anyone who isn't happier after a fun day outside. Even the most nature-phobic people I know are sudden converts when I force them into a canoe or onto a trail. Once I even persuaded my friends to use one of the 2 days we spent visiting Montreal to wander around aimlessly with me instead of going shopping. The result? The best day of the trip by far. The effects soon fade and people fall back into old habits, but the love of being outside is in there, I've seen it in everyone.

Now this is the part of the post when I usually try to encourage people to get up, get out, and have fun but today I'll approach it a little differently. You are going to do whatever you want, regardless of what I say in an inconsequential blog post. Just consider that sometimes what you think you want isn't what will make you happy. Sitting inside all day may be comfortable and running around in the rain might seem like a chore, but it's hard to predict how much a charge of endorphins can help brighten your day.

Cheers,

Steve

The article that me thinking: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/nature-deficit-disorder/

Photo credit: http://www.wallpaper-valley.com/nature.php

The Wisdom of Jason Segel

Christopher Hitchens once said that "wit... is the unfailing symptom of intelligence." That likely explains why so many of the smartest people I have had the privilege of knowing are also the ones that can incapacitate me with laughter. It is also why when someone demonstrates an ability to make me laugh, I am inclined to listen to what they have to say on matters uncomedic.

Jason Segel has been one of my favourite actors for quite a few years. I loved his creepy roommate routine in "Knocked Up" and his care free, fun-loving character in "I Love You, Man" keeps me reaching for the DVD player when I'm feeling down. So, a few years ago, when I was working long days for an environmental company, spending 8 straight hours in a car listening to the radio, I was surprised an excited on the day that Jason Segel found his was onto the airwaves.

What he talked about on the day that I happened to be listening was not a new movie or TV project. That was probably what he was supposed to be doing, but in true good-guy fashion, he let the interview go wherever it wanted. The topic shifted to his philosophy for living a good life, and what he said has stayed with me. The Jason Segel tenets of existence are collectively referred to by their creator as "Healthtronics" and are, in their most basic form:
1) Be kind.
2) Exercise.
3) Pursue a passion with vigour.

Now sometimes in life, revelations don't come in the form of completely novel ideas. Occasionally, all it takes to make something meaningful is to have your own value system articulated clearly and concisely by someone you respect. I can't say it had never occured to me to be kind, be fit, and be passionate; but I never thought to explicitly use those three rules as guiding principles for my day to day life. As far as value systems go, they don't get much easier or more fulfilling.

Time and time again when I've felt lost or uncertain, I've gone back to these ideas and let the rest of my problems sort themselves out. It's not very often that I come across something that sticks in my mind verbatim years after I hear it. But when it happens, the idea is probably one worth sharing.

Cheers,

Steve

Original Jason Segel interview can be heard here: http://www.edge.ca/Blogs/ABlogByAdam/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10024472

I'm Back... With Books!

Okay, so this semester might have gotten out of hand, and I might have gotten caught up with a lot of things that didn't involve writing. For that, I apologize. However, this blog is not dead. Even as I write these words I feel a weight being lifted from my conscience and the sense of satisfaction I only get when I share some thoughts.

Over the past few months I haven't done much other than keep up with my assignments, work out, and read. I made the mistake of buying a Kobo ereader and the multitude of books that were immediately at my disposal following that purchase combined with the required reading and writing necessary not to flunk out of my program have left me with little time for anything else. Subsequently, I don't have a lot of thoughts to share. With this in mind, I've decided to default to everyone's favourite type of post... Book reviews!

I'll just briefly share my thoughts about three books that I've managed to work my way through in the past couple months.

1) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

This book profiles the interesting case of a woman named, as you might have already guessed, Henrietta Lacks. Mrs. Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer in the 1950's and passed away soon after. However, her doctor used the cells he collected from her tumour to create a human cell line that has proved to be immortal. The thing is, all cancer cells are immortal. What makes this case interesting is that the cell line created from Henrietta Lacks has proliferated in labs all over the world and has been used in basically any experiment the average person can name involving human cells. They have been sent to space, blown up in atomic bombs, been used to test cancer drugs, and about a million other things.

Now you might expect that the Lacks family would be happy that Henrietta's cells have been used to help so many people in so many ways, and you would be partially right... but not entirely. The issue is that Henrietta never gave consent for her cells to be used and her family have not been given any share of the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue that the cell line has helped to create. This book is a great expose about the rights a person has to their tissues after they have been removed from their body. The discussion spans medical ethics, law, racial equality and a host of other topics that fuse together to make one hell of an interesting read. This book had me thinking about how much I can claim to own my own body for weeks after I finished reading it.

If you have any interest in science, biography, or medical history, check this one out. You won't regret it.

2) The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey

I had this book recommended to me by a former colleague some time ago and since that person's past recommendation has panned out so well up to this point I decided to add it to my Christmas list. I finally got around to reading it this month and, despite not being overly interested in the topic, I have to say I really enjoyed it. The book contains a profile of the current science of wave dynamics juxtaposed with the adventures of a gang of big wave tow surfers based in Hawaii.

Knowing nothing about big wave surfing going into the book, I was surprised at how engrossing the chapters that focused on it were. I fully expected that the storeys about monster swells and hanging ten were the parts that I would need to endure to get back to the science and was shocked to find the opposite. The research presented in the book is nothing really new or surprising. There are some interesting shipwreck stories, but overall I found myself just turning paged in the hope of getting back to the life or death quest to ride the world's biggest waves. The people profiled in the book don't fit the stereotype you would imagine of surf culture. They are relatable, respectable, down to earth, and intelligent.

Read this book for the adventure, not the science. You'll be youtubeing tow surfing in no time.

3) Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan

Now, I know what you're thinking. Marley and Me is a Jennifer Aniston movie. Its a sappy, G-rated family movie about a dog. Its specifically engineered to make you cry. If you asked me for an opinion on this book three weeks ago I would have rolled my eyes and referred you to my mother for any informed comment... and I would have been missing out. My girlfriend and I ended up watching this on Netflix on a night when we just wanted some light-hearted movie to curl up on the couch and not get to involved with. The next night I bought the ebook and couldn't stop reading.

A word of warning, this book is exactly what you think it is and the movie even more so. At times it is corny. At times it is lame. But if you grew up with a dog, I dare you not to love it. John Grogan is a gifted storyteller who will keep you up far past your bedtime with his dog's antics. This book will chew you up, spit you out, and leave you a teary-eyed mess, but you'll want to read it again soon after. It's funny and sad and everything a book about a dog should be. I loved every page and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Of the three books outlined in this post, this was my favourite. It wasn't even close.

Anyway, glad to be back. This was fun. Enjoy the books. Talk to you soon.

Steve

Fitbook

This post will be a short one since it is early in the morning and I have to get ready for class soon. You may have noticed that I haven't posted anything in the past few days. While you should not expect such frequent posts, there is a reason I have been absent from many of my standard internet haunts this week. Ironically, the reason is a website. On Tuesday, a friend sent me an invitation to join fitocracy.com, A social networking site with an odd focus. Imagine facebook. You have a profile, friends, groups, interests, the whole nine yards. Now add in the ability to easily input information regarding your work outs. As if this weren't enough, when you hit "Post" the website assigns you points based on what activities you did and for how long. And to go one step further, you are able to level up, achieve quests, and unlock achievements with your points.

I never would have thought that arbitrary points could be such a strong motivator, but they are. For the past few days, my girlfriend and I have been running around campus, going to the gym, and doing crunches/push up/countless other exercises while watching TV. The reason I decided to comment on this website is because of the profound motivational impact it has had on us. There is no telling if this effect will last, but even if it doesn't the intent of the website is admirable. Rather than being the time-sink that most social networking sites are as they encourage you to click one more profile or read one more article, Fitocracy has encouraged me to leave the computer and head out get my heart rate up. In fact, each moment I spend on the website is a moment I'm not spending getting points.

The social networking movement has many benefits in terms of connectivity and sharing information but the one thing I have always resented about it is how self-perpetuating it is. I can't hold that against the creators of these websites because they have found a way to resoundingly achieve what every website developer wants, constant use. I can, however, commend the people in charge of Fitocracy. Here is a website that offers most of the benefits of the bigger networking sites while keeping its focus on encouraging healthy active living. The website is still in beta but offers connections to Facebook and Twitter. Once they iron out the few glitches I've noticed (slow loading times, missing links, out of place posts, etc) and launch a polished version I wouldn't be surprised if the creators become fast-track millionaires (assuming it isn't already Zuckerberg behind this). I wish them all the best and I strongly encourage you to check out the site and sign up. I've had a lot of fun with it so far, and I feel physically better, too. It's the purest win-win I've found in a long time.

Happy Trails,

-Steve

Image courtesy of http://www.youthcancertrust.org/fundraising-challenges/running-.aspx

Fun With Stereotypes

This morning, as I cruised Facebook for some fun articles to read, I was directed towards an interesting piece of writing on the Fox News site that got me thinking. As much as that is the opposite intention of most reporting done by that oh-so-biased conglomerate, occasionally they raise intriguing, if unintended, questions. The article itself was called 5 Feminist Demands She Wants You to Ignore and I decided to read it out of my morbid fascination with gender relations and the train-wrecks that so often ensue.

The tone of the article is pretty unforgivable. Clearly the author was aware of that, hence his decision to remain anonymous; but we shouldn't expect much more from Fox News, as their general mission statement is to stir the pot, fire people up, and distract them from what really matters. (Uh oh, this blog means I'm not writing about world hunger or the HIV vaccine... Well played, Fox News.) However, as flagrant and appalling as the sexism in the article is, its content is resoundingly dull. It says nothing that a small measure of common sense and dating experience couldn't tell you; but the fact that it was shared on Facebook implies that it struck a chord with some people. In this particular case, outrage is fully justified and I am on board with the sentiment that articles of this calibre have no place in the mass media, no matter how uncredible the organization presenting them.

The question that the article raised, at least in my mind, was one of how to approach writing about dating advice without coming off as at least a little sexist. It would be willfully naive of us to suggest that the sexes shouldn't be treated as unique. Just as each individual within a group is different, groups themselves often have different expectations in different contexts. This is where my fellow social psychologists could jump in and point out that the differences between individuals completely whitewash the differences between them, and the point is fair; but the de facto situation is that, in most cases, all other things being equal, you do not interact with men and women in exactly the same way. This is especially the case in dating.

Clearly we do not live in the 1950's. I am in no way suggesting that the Mad Men standard of gender relations should continue to apply. All I am saying is that there are certain elements of that standard that can be displayed in a modern relationship without jeopardizing the equality of each partner. I will avoid speaking for women because, for obvious reasons, I have no first-hand experience with what they really enjoy. Speaking from my own perspective, though, I like slipping into the suave and debonair stereotype of a man taking a woman out for a night on the town, if you'll pardon the clichéd turn of phrase. It probably has something to do with how clumsy and unmethodical I am in my day-to-day life, but on the exceedingly rare occasions when pull off a James Bond-esque level of competence while out with my girlfriend, I feel pretty good about myself.

I also don't think I am entirely off-base when I suggest that modern women might be able to reap some enjoyment from successful attempts to impress them. Who doesn't like to be doted upon, within reason? I love it when I am treated as if I am important to someone else. It seems to me a pretty basic part of the human condition is to take pleasure out of other people putting you on a pedestal, so long as don't harbour unrealistic expectations. Once in a while its fun to pretend that someone is perfect.

The key is balance, and in a lot of ways, that is what the original article seemed to be advocating. It's very fair and diplomatic to split the bill when you go out to dinner, but it's also fun to treat each-other once in a while. You need to acknowledge that women are fully capable of carrying their own bags and opening their own doors, but it's kind of nice to show that you are willing to be of service.

All too often in our uber politically-correct world we run the risk of offending someone by undermining their equality or unintentionally patronizing them in some way, but their needs to be some room for chivalry. Many people I know, myself included, romanticize the early half of the 20th century because is seems like a more care-free time. Everyone realizes that we are oversimplifying and that the way time periods are depicted on TV is no indication of what it would be actually be like to live through them. It is also patently obvious that, until a real-life Doc Brown comes along in a suped-up Delorian, no one is going to be able to fully disprove the notion that decades past weren't a little bit more romantic than now. What I suggest is that it's okay to take the positive, romantic aspects that make up our view of the past and pretend that things actually are that way. Let's treat each other with the dignity and admiration that our black-and-white brethren encourage of us and not read too much into it, because life is stressful enough when we only concern ourselves with actual affronts to equality.

Cheers,

Steve

Image courtesy of: http://menandwomen101.com/chivalry.html

Second Opinion

One thing that I have never been fully able to wrap my head around is the aversion some people have to rereading books. In my personal experience, many of the people I know who read on a regular basis are happy to fly through a good book once, drop it off at the library and be done with it. I suppose if you are a fan of fiction you can get away with this. There are plenty of movies that I've seen once, enjoyed, and have no strong urge to see again. Unfortunately for me, my tastes lead me more often to non-fiction and the onslaught of facts that usually brings.

The problem with non-fiction is that, no matter how interested you are in the subject, no matter how diligently you read and reread passages, some of the information goes the way of Larry David's hair. That is to say, it falls out of your head. Recently it occured to me that one of my classes this semester will focus on the subject of a book that I tried reading a few years ago, Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert. My first time through the book I have to admit, I wasn't all that interested. The subject matter is largely based on social psych studies and I had just come off four solid years of focusing on nothing but that. Needless to say, I shelved the book two thirds of the way through.

Reading the book over the past few days, however, has left me thoroughly enthralled. The findings are still familiar but the connections I am drawing are novel and interesting. Having learned more about evolution, ecology, economics, and environmentalism since my first attempt, I am seeing the information with new eyes. I am linking the concepts it presents to things I wasn't even aware of when I bought the book.

It really makes me wonder what I could draw from rereading the other books on my shelf. I reread my favourites often enough, but who is to say that books I was unimpressed with the first time around wouldn't offer more at this stage of my ongoing education?

I think we would all benefit from giving information a second look a little more often. As we grow older and learn more, our perspectives change. Information that seemed unimportant a few years ago might be life-changing now. It is important to recognize how much we grow as people based on the things we learn, and giving books a second look is the best method I can think of for staying open-minded and as informed as possible. Bookshelves are not trophy cases, they are meant to be points of reference that we can look back on as we form new opinions and rework old ideas.

I encourage you, avid reader, to reconsider some knowledge you might have glossed over in the past. Especially things that turned out to be less interesting than you expected. You might be impressed with what you find buried behind those old encyclopaedias... Does anyone still have encyclopaedias?

-Steve

Image courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nerdnest/4367429896/

Ever-Quest

Well the new year is here and we all know what that means... Resolutions! The idea has somewhat lost its meaning in the traditional sense, mainly because it has become exactly that. A tradition. When you do something year-in, year-out without giving it much thought it either becomes a cherished part of your life or it withers into a token gesture against what it once was. 

To try and avoid my resolutions becoming something in the back of my head that nags at me without ever spurring me to action, I try to stay creative. Last year I didn't really make any goals for myself. I had just completed a year long quest to go on one adventure each month for the entire year and I felt that my success had warranted a year of doing whatever I wanted. The end result was an even more adventurous year than the preceding one. The lesson there is that resolutions have a way of ingraining themselves into your life if you keep up with them for long enough. 

I guess that's the point. You choose something you want to be a part of who you are and you do it for so long that it becomes second nature. Now that I am living in BC and have ready access to mountains there is something I would like to try. In the true spirit of adventure and outdoorsiness, and inspired by the 12 year-old inside me who never quite learned how to give up on his dreams, my new year's resolution is to climb the equivalent height of Mount Everest. 

Granted, it won't be in one go. It couldn't possibly be, considering that Everest itself is a solid 30% taller than the highest mountain in North America, but climbing it in pieces seems like a safe and fun way to make mountaineering more of a fixture in my life. From the hilltop on which I live, on a clear day, I can see at least one peak over 10,000 feet/3,048 meters so that will make up a big chunk of the Everest goal. The rest will be filled in by the smaller 5,000-8,000 foot (1,524 - 2,438 meter) peaks with countless hiking trails that criss-cross the lower mainland.

I'm sure I will have help in achieving this goal from my Ontario friends who have vowed to come visit and from my new friends here in BC. One thing I know for sure is that even if I fail, I'll have one hell of a good time trying. Mount Everest is officially 29,028 feet/8,848 meters tall, so I certainly have my work cut out for me, but in my experience I have found that the loftiest goals are the one's that are the most worth achieving. 

Best of luck to you and yours in 2012.

-Steve