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