Mo Money, Fewer Problems

The end of the 2011 growing season.

Each year the decision to participate in Movember is one I make with the greatest ambivalence. As a 15 year old high school student I spent many days and nights wishing that I might one day be able to grow something that the world would recognize as a beard. Now that I have come halfway close to having that wish granted, it seems ungrateful and reckless to shave it off. Part of me fears looking like a someone other than myself, another part fears that my beard might never grow back. I didn't say this was rational, but who ever said people were rational?

The reason that I ultimately take up my razor and clog the bathroom sink is three-fold. First and foremost it is about solidarity. I may not be a fund-raising dynamo on the Movember circuit. Each year I can rely on a couple donations from people in my life who support me no matter what. In my best year, I was able to leverage my position of authority at the Adventure Guide cash register to raise $500. A respectable sum, but not even close to what the top Mo Bros post up. I don't let the numbers get me down though, because I know that my pitiful mustache represents something more. By growing a mustache in November, I am instantly letting anyone else participating know that we are in this together. The popularity of this somewhat ridiculous event has exploded in the past 5 years and I like to think that it is at least in part because enough people like me have let the more reluctant Mo Bros know that it's okay. If our facial hair has inspired at least one other person to participate, and they have done the same, our influence has reached far beyond the dollar amounts on our Movember profile pages.

Adventure Guide Mo Broing

The second reason is the most obvious sounding one there is. I am anti-cancer. Cancer is at the heart of Movember and parting with my beard is how I let the world know that I value the end of suffering for others above my own appearance. I heard a great quote on the radio yesterday that went something like "A man who is warm cannot possibly know the perspective of a man who is cold," so I don't pretend to know what having cancer is like, but I have seen and read enough to know that we should be doing everything in our power to put an end to it. Cancer destroys lives in every segment of society. Rich or poor. Young or old. Cancer is indifferent and relentless. Although Movember focuses on men's cancers, progress in one form of the disease can hardly prevent progress in treating its other manifestations. At the very least it raises consciousness about the issue for a month in a way that is more funny than it is depressing... The point kind of makes itself. Cancer is bad and it deserves swift death. Let's move on.

The third and final reason why I Movember (yeah, I verbed the noun) is because it represents what a lot of ordinary people can do when given the proper outlet for generosity. We all identify with the message of charity. We know that all kinds of important causes deserve our attention, but we don't live in a world that typically encourages philanthropy. We spend a good chunk of our lives chasing money and are told to hang onto our wallets for dear life, only letting dimes and nickels escape if they can provide us with the things we need to live or if they improve our lives directly in some obvious way. Movember makes charity more accessible. Instead of the face of a single non-profit organization, Movember has the face of people you know. It may be a goofy and ironic face, but it's a face you are more likely to identify with. It makes it easier to give $5, $10, $50, or even $100 because you feel like you know where it is going and who it is supporting.

My first 'stache.

Obviously that is an illusion. Each Mo Bro is a middle man that helps to funnel money into the hands of people who are using it to do good. As a grad student, I know the difference that funding for research can make. It allows you to eat and have a place to live while you use your education to pursue something you feel is important. That is the real point of Movember. It is means for raising money that makes people laugh and encourages them to give to a great cause. Each year, across the globe, it raises tens of millions of dollars so that smart people can use their brains to work towards something amazing. That is something I am beyond proud to be a part of.

With that in mind, donate it you can. Every little bit helps.

My Mo Space: http://ca.movember.com/mospace/782322
My Team: Team Rabbit Smoking a Pipe

Thank you and good luck,

Steve

Why I Hate Buying Things: A Rant

The internet is a wonderful thing. I’m sure there are plenty of people who would disagree with me when I say that the internet has dramatically changed the world for the better, but odds are they don’t cruise blogs, so I think I’m safe. Not only does the net let us stay connected to people we are geographically separated from, it entertains us, provides us with news, and teaches us to do everything from build a birdhouse to start a military coup if that sort of thing is what you’re into (I’m looking at you Egypt).

But, all those things aside, my absolute favourite thing about the internet is that it limits the number of times I have to personally interact with customer service representatives.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love some of the benefits that person-to-person interactions provide. You can ask questions, make jokes, sometimes you even have a pleasant conversation or make a new friend. Unfortunately, these diamonds are most assuredly in the rough. Nowadays you are extremely lucky if you find a customer service representative who is EITHER knowledgeable about the relevant topic OR pleasant to talk to. The odds of stumbling into an interaction with someone who is both of these things is the rarest and most startling of surprises.

It has actually gotten to the point where I am caught off guard by a positive experience. Case in point: On Saturday I went to the hardware store hoping to find something to remove paint from the floors in the house I recently moved into. I was greeted by an enthusiastic, middle-aged employee with a little bit of an Alan Thick thing going on. Not only was he cracking jokes, laughing, and generally taking some pleasure in this job, he showed me a better and cheaper solution to the problem I was hoping to solve.

I haven’t stopped talking about it since. This blog is a perfect example. I am now actively looking for excuses to go spend money at that hardware store just because the experience was so unique.

My original point still stands, however. The internet has made it so, in a lot of cases, we can avoid the the guy at the cell phone store who hates his job and lets it show or the teenager who is selling shoes in spite of not knowing how to tie them.

Recently I signed up with a new internet provider and (aside from a scheduling conflict that was my fault anyway) I didn’t need to actually speak to anyone to get things set up. I filled out a form online, a guy showed up and ran a line, I got online, and I was billed. It was an amazingly smooth and convenient process. Considering the hassle that often goes along with setting up services, I was very happy.

Riding on the high of that success, I decided to push my luck. The last step in setting up my new place was getting the gas turned on. Oddly enough when I signed my lease and spoke to a representative from the company who manages the property, no one mentioned that I would need to call the gas company. Needless to say I was frustrated but a little heartened by the fact that the gas company provided me with the option of signing up online. You probably know where this is going…

It has been a week since I got my “Confirmation” email. I use quotation marks because clearly my understanding of the word ‘confirmation’ differs from the gas company’s. I am still taking cold showers despite trying to call them three times to set up the service that I thought I was setting up online.

Finally today my girlfriend got through to them only to find out that they had no record of the request. They even went so far as to suggest that I should have called to begin with. To me that begs a question: Why would you allow people to register for your service online if you don’t plan on actually recording their information?

The experience has been nothing short of infuriating and has brought me to a realization:

As wondrously convenient as the internet is, we may never be able to fully escape the frustration of dealing with incompetent people; because, sadly, they are now the ones administrating the websites we rely on.

It may just be that instead of going to a store and talking to a person with the IQ of a bag of sand, we have to fill out an online form that request personal information, sends SPAM to our email accounts and conveniently trashes whatever it was we were requesting in the first place… Or maybe I’m just venting.