Self-Discovery

Go on. Say "I told you so." and "I was right all along." Just to put it out there, there are people who have to experience things for themselves in order to realize something. Isn't that the point of self-discovery? To learn about oneself? For some people it takes one giant slap in the face, maybe two, to realize that the answer is right in front of them the whole time.

You can warn someone that they won't make it or that they're not ready for the next step in their life. I mean I've been warned that I won't be able to face the challenges ahead of me. At the same time I've got support for people that say I can do it. In the end I've realized that while I am good and can be good at what I do I still need to work on more aspects of myself. I can move around and live in a foreign city but my people skills are something that needs more work on. Listening to lectures is one thing to prepare you with the knowledge to carry out your craft and having a degree or a certificate in a certain field can arm you in certain cases. It's real world experiences that teach the most about oneself and the world around.

The other person, the one who warns you, can tell you about their experiences but cannot fully say the same for yours. From their experiences you can get an idea of what it's like doing that kind of job and think "I can do that or better" or "It sounds scary, best avoid that". If you are driven to go someplace despite all of the bad things or reviews said about a certain place, then go. Even if you learn a hard lesson that they're a bad place to go to then you've learned something (just as long as it doesn't get you killed or in some compromising situation). You may also learn that you're not prepared enough for what you want to do.

But don't take it all negatively. In the end there are experiences you've been through that others want to experience and you've experienced it before the did. If you realize you have to change something about yourself you don't have to change completely. Just a tweaking here or there. If one road is to hard to travel there are many roads to reach your destination, even if it means to back track that single road you've gone down so far back to the fork. It's not the easiest way to travel but it might be for the better.

So what have I got to learn from my most recent experiences? As much as I like to help people learn English maybe the best way for me to do it is not in a room full of people or in a formal classroom setting. Maybe I can do it but my style doesn't match what style a private school's clients are looking for. Maybe things from my end are not clear enough and that I should make sure things are clear to the tiniest detail before I move forward (for example "speaking club" is not a one a week gathering for people to simply just talk there also has to be an activity involved other than that). On the other hand the other end should be aware that foreign teachers and workers operate differently than local teachers. If someone wants to be taught in the way the locals teachers do by the foreign teacher then stick with the local teacher or try to get along with the way the foreign teacher does things.

Also on my end it does help that I plan something. The thing is that I plan for things but what to say I seem to not include that. Maybe I just assume that everything will go well when I say and do something. Or maybe I do know what to say it just doesn't come out right. Then again there are thing that I do without thinking in which my thought come back to haunt me on "Why did I do that?"

And this little piece I've learned for anyone who thinks of working at a private language school: it's do or die out there whether you apply in a school that supports your growth as a teacher or not. People, clients are unpredictable. There will be those who will put up with you and stick until the end or they may flat out want someone who is stronger to meet their needs. It doesn't matter if the school is a large one run by someone who uses it as a symbol of status or a place that isn't so big but is better run. You can try your hand in working in a place where it's do or die for your job but if you don't want to die out there it's best to armor up beforehand. The armor given to you from the tutorials will protect you in the earlier stages but in the end it's stronger armor that will help you in the long run.

Am I disappointed in what has happened to me? Of course I am because I believe I can do much more with more time put into it. Maybe I just need more time to gather my shit together and find the direction I need to go. This does not mean I'm abandoning teaching others English or helping them but if I decide to go do the private, foreign language school thing again I should prepare more for it. I know what to expect for the next time (be prepared for a do or die situation). If there's one thing that I find useful about self-discovery it has to do as the the word suggests: discovery of the self.

Life is a game in which you never started but must complete

I'd do a 2015 year in review, but that basically can be summed up in my experiences in Russia more or less since half of 2015 was mostly spent there.

Anyhow ...

Life is like a platformer game. You have to move forward to go to the next level. While some platformer games allow you to go back to earlier parts of the level life is sometimes not like that.

Life and platformer games share obstacles. The obstacles in a platformer are usually jumping from one platform to the next while avoiding getting hit by things like projectiles and monsters. The one thing that they don't share is that if you die you don't come back to life.

Or maybe there is a bit of something in common as well. Platformer games may offer chances to start over again. You get 3 lives at the start and if you make a misstep such as missing a jump, touching the monster without the proper protection, or get hit by a projectile you get to start over at a save point or from the beginning. Life can offer second chances but they're not always readily available.

Now here's where I feel anxiety likes to come into play. I worry that I won't make the jump to the next platform and the monsters and projectiles move too fast for me to dodge them. Both platformers and life can have time limits to complete goals. If the timer runs out you lose a life and have to replay the level over again. So many things in life can cause frustration that it's easier to quit while you're ahead. Quitting while you're ahead is a good strategy if you know the outcome will turn out bad, but quitting while there's a shred of a chance that things will turn out better is pretty much the same was waiting out the timer in the platformer game.

Then again, some people move at a slower pace. I like to believe that I move at a slower pace. I like to make sure everything I need is with me before I move on so I know I'm safe (and believe me, if I'm rushing through things I'll leave behind or overlook things that could be important). The problem with moving at a slower pace is that someone who is faster than you can jump at the opportunity and therefore get the job or the post that you've wanted. I don't think it's a good idea to go into things head first but at the same time I wish I could have that type of brain that didn't think too much. Caution is good but being overly cautious can hinder.

But there are good things about second chances though. Especially if you've been through the stage the first time but missed out on completing it. You know where to go to return to the point where you've left off (depending on what point the game returns you to) and you have some idea of knowing how to handle the game and where to go next. You know what monsters you'll have to face and how to defeat them. There are others who have played the same game before and know how to help you fight the final boss. Maybe they have failed too but if they can help others in defeating that boss you know that they've succeeded and they want you to succeed too.

Which leads to asking for help. I know I can be hard headed at times and I do want to do things on my own (well, certain things, there are moments when I want others to do things for me) but asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Why? Because when you get the help you need you can become stronger. Anxiety would laugh and say "Ha ha, you are weak! They will never help you after what happened the last time." Well maybe the last time you interacted with the person that can potentially help you might've forgotten about what happened the last time or deemed it as not affecting your relationship with them whatsoever (for example you told a joke and no one found it funny but at the same time no one thought it was bad). If it's a person that tells you that you're weak for asking for help all the time, they don't really want to help you and pretty much see it as an opportunity for them to succeed. If there are those lessons that repeat themselves over so many times, one of them has got to be that there will be people who will take advantage of your weakness whether you choose to be open about it or not. If the platformer has a multiplayer mode these people will attack other players in the game as well as the monsters or wait for you to mess up.

And this leads back to the waiting for the timer to run out situation. If others can drag you down, so can you. Sitting and waiting for the timer to run out won't get you anywhere other than where you've stopped (yes, even if the game has started and you haven't played it yet). The best thing one can do is move. Move forward in the figurative sense. It can be either by tiny steps such as admitting you have a problem and need help, crying and rocking in the foetal position to release some of the bottled up emotions or it may be that the game has a wall that's scrolling from the left which forces you to only move forward and jump through obstacles. In a real life situation it may be taking the hard pill to swallow, eating your vegetables and doing the thing you hate just for who knows how long (like waking up early in the morning when you prefer to be a night owl).

From this I see life is suited for the person who can handle the platformer game. This person is not afraid of the obstacles such as jumping platforms, fighting monsters and dodging projectiles. Not everyone can handle those situations. Some people like puzzles, other like simulations, and you got people who prefer RPG's and whatever other game time is out there (board games too). I think the way life should be viewed is a multi-genre game. You have elements of the side-scrolling platformer with puzzles that puzzle-loving people can solve mixed with the strategies involved in RPG's and certain board games as well as fighting challenges. You can try to complete the game on your own or you can complete it with the help from others (walkthroughs to get through certain levels when actual people aren't around or if dealing with actual people isn't your thing). Essentially it's working as a team with certain aspects that you can figure out solo is how the game is played.

In retrospect on image and life: the roller coaster project

Considering my previous parable post on image and a Facebook post from a page I follow, I am reminded of an event that happened to me in my final year of high school (grade 12 for me). In physics class there was this group project in which we had to build a marble track roller coaster. The maximum group size was 4 and the person I wanted to work with was already in a group. Groups were pick your own people and were based on people who are friends and people who were the strongest in the class. I wasn't particularly strong and I wanted to be with someone who was smart enough to get my grades up. Luckily there was one person in the group who fit, but just because the person really smart doesn't mean they're, well, smart. (Fun fact, in the end one of the groups kicked out a member because they didn't contribute at all to the group :p)

So I'm in the group that had 3 who were good friends. All were doing better than me in the class so I had high hopes that my mark for the class (not counting the individual marks from the written portion) with help from the project would go up a bit (because averages. Getting 80% on something while you're hanging around the 60% area would make that go up a tiny bit). Main meeting place was at high average group member's house. I should note that said member got a school week-long suspension for something. During the course of the group project we only met twice: First time was to plan and discuss, second was to assemble the roller coaster almost the night before it was due. In my mind I was thinking said member had the most time to work on the project since they were at home all day/not in school.
         Ideally the way to do some project is to build the thing early on so if something goes wrong then there's plenty of time to fix it. Most of us had after school activities such as martial arts, soccer, dance, and music lessons so of course that cuts into available time. When it came to the second time we met there was a frame for the track of the roller coaster and a large blown-up photo for the background. Part of the track was built but there was a problem with the material for the track as it was plastic tubing that liked to coil back up. In the end what was build was something that looked similar to a picture found on the internet (where the idea for the roller coaster came from) and it was decorated well enough in hopes that those marks will suffice.

The day came for evaluation and it ended up that the roller coaster my group made, well, sucked except for how it looked. I'd say about a large portion of the marks were for applying physics concepts learned in class and for the roller coaster to actually work. The ones from the other groups worked (and looked good too). While the smart person in terms of high marks brushed off the mark as nothing I apparently suffered because, as I've mentioned before, my marks were bad and this greatly upset me at the time. My way of getting back at the person? I refused to pay my share for the materials.

So what lessons are to be learned about this? Just because something looks good doesn't mean that it will work. If you put time and effort into something you'll have something good. If you work as a team you can pull both something flashy and something that works off (and by as a team I mean every single member of your team).
            Then there's also just because the person knows their shit (the theory and stuff) doesn't mean they're a person who enjoys doing work or committed to projects. Well, maybe they are but there could be things that are going on in their life that can hinder their willingness to work on something (maybe things like anxiety and depression, being pissed off,  I have no idea). Go ahead and express your frustration that said group member brought everyone down but not to the point where you hold a grudge against the person or harm them further. If you're still alive, have a job that's earning you money, something like this shouldn't bother you too much. That grade in high school is no longer important.

While I personally haven't always been the best person at group projects (and I have one story in particular for that but not really keen on telling) I just felt this fits in with the whole focusing on how things appear to people vs. what people actually need. Ah well.

Doughnuts (a parable)

Two doughnut shops stood across from each other on the same street in the same town. Both shops made the same kind of doughnut: a cake with no hole. The owner of the store on the south side didn't like the store on the north side because they were attracting more customers. The owner tried different things to make people come come to her shop. She tried making a bigger sign but that didn't make people come to her shop. She tried offering a discount on a dozen (12 for the price of 10) but that still didn't make more people come over. She then tried to change the interior of her shop and still that didn't make more people come over. One day she decided to visit the store across the street and when she looked through the window she saw that their doughnuts have sugar coating. It was then she decided that she needed to coat her doughnuts with sugar. It worked for a bit but she still wasn't matching the sales that the north had. Her employees offer her advice but she doesn't listen to them because she is Queen and she is God and thus is in control of everything. Anyone who opposed her got fired.

One day the owner of the north side store visited the south. She knows that the south owner doesn't like her but she still wanted to help her. South owner then asked, "What is it that you do to make customers come to you?"
"It's quite simple," North's owner answered. "It's not about how fancy the store or the doughnuts look but the quality of the service and quality of the doughnuts. My store may not be as attractive as yours but customers like my doughnuts because I'm always making something new. Customers have different tastes so I offer many different flavours of my product. I also seek to create new recipes to match my customer's needs whether they are allergic to something or not. I saw that you go by my shop every day to see what I do and I noticed that you got some ideas. Let me tell you this: there is no right way to eat a doughnut. You can just eat it straight away or lick the sugar off and eat the rest of the doughnut after. With your doughnuts you use the sugar coating to hide how bland your doughnuts are. With my doughnuts I add in something extra. I add in filling because after the sugar is gone there is surely a sweet surprise waiting for them." After sharing her secret the north owner left to return to her shop.

Now there are two possible endings to this story. First is South owner takes the advice and puts in effort to change the quality and her store's sales increase a lot. The second is she doesn't take the advice and her store continues to suffer to the point where she goes bankrupt.

The moral of this is quality trumps over quantity. You can have both quality and quantity but don't sacrifice quality for quantity. Oh yeah if you're a boss or some big head of something, your underlings may have good ideas even if they haven't been in the business long enough so listen to them as well.

Throwback to 2014

So it's 2015 and it's my first post of the year on this thing (and I hardly use this unless I want to put my thoughts out on a wide scale).

So what happened in 2014 for me? Hard for me to think back to the early part of the year so might as well deal with the most prominent memories first.

2014 was the year I almost went to Azerbaijan. The story goes as follows: I found an ad for a job on a site that lists ESL/EFL teaching jobs (if you don't know what ESL and EFL are they're acronyms for teaching English as a second language or foreign language). This was after I was interviewed for a job in Russia but waited almost 3 weeks for a response to tell me that my qualifications (possibly experience) were not enough. Anyways so I came across the ad and tried my luck with it and within a couple of days I was scheduled for an interview and the person who interviewed me basically asked questions about what I've submitted and told me about the job and a bit about the capital city of Baku. Within hours after the interview ended I got an offer and said yes. Between submitting copies of my documents and waiting for the o.k. to apply for a visa I prepared for going over there such as packing a suitcase and writing posts on Facebook to educate people on Azerbaijan (IMO it's not that well known of a country since it doesn't appear much in the news). Hell yeah I was excited on going there because it would've been the start of some adventure and the place combined both my interests in Russian and Turkish languages (since Azerbaijani is a Turkic language related to Turkish Turkish but with some Russian influence and some connections to Persian). After all, Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union.
            So after waiting almost two months (and telling people I was going there) I got word that I couldn't go because of some migration quota. Application from the Azerbaijani side was denied because of it. It was and still is disappointing because I was worked up for it. Maybe the school that hired me didn't know about the quota as well. I did apply for jobs in other places but so far Azerbaijan was the one that gave me a job offer. Here's to hoping I find a job in 2015

On a slightly related note 2014 was also the year I started volunteering at a local centre for helping immigrants. My job there: reading group leader. I actually applied to volunteer there around the end of 2013 but 2014 was the year I got calls for positions there. At first I was called to volunteer there in February but I had a busy schedule as a mascot for Winterlude. I thought the people forgot about be until I got a call in late March/early April. At first I was a bit scared because it was all happening so fast but once I was secured getting rides there and reasoning it to getting some related experience I said yes. I wish I could do something more but I guess I'll wait until I get a teaching job somewhere.

2014 I could say was a bit of an interesting summer. I was able to wander around Toronto for a bit solo (since my dad had some 40th year reunion and mom went along with him, might as well just share the hotel space and do my own thing). I saw the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) and just as I was about halfway through exploring the gift shop I saw Palestinian flags. I thought it was kind of cool not to miss so I left the gift shop and took photos of the demonstration (protest maybe?).

One of the photos I took

It turns out that the Israeli consulate was across the street so that's one of the reasons why the event took place there.
           I was also able to wander around the neighbourhood I grew up in/spent my younger years (Yonge and Lawrence East). Before my grandparents moved to Ottawa to be closer to the bulk of us they lived in Toronto and 3 times a year I would visit them (Easter, summer, and Thanksgiving). The house is still there with the outside having a lot more decorations and extra windows.When I was a kid I couldn't wander the area alone exactly so I thought it might as well see how much the place had changed. Of course a lot of changes were made since 2001 such as the Dominion grocery store became a Metro. The subway station, however, was still as I remember it though.

One of the events that should probably takes more prominence here is the events of late October, the 22nd, because I live in the city when and where it happened.  A ceremonial guard stood outside the tomb of the unknown soldier got shot and died after. I remember being glued to the TV wondering what was going on, like was there more than one shooter. Also that day my area of the city had a power outage and for that to happen that day was a bit scary but in the end it wasn't related to the events downtown. It was a sad day but from my perspective as a city we carried on the next day.

I guess there are other things to talk about but my attention span for this ran out. Here's hoping it doesn't when I get to posting my NaNoWriMo 2014 entry on Wattpad or deviantArt.

"Angels/Losing/Sleep" and the struggle of faith

If video is not visible click here. Hopefully that works.

On the way home from Toronto one weekend I was listening to the radio and one of the songs that was playing was "Angels/Losing/Sleep" by Our Lady Peace. The song came out in 2005 and even then and after I didn't really pay much attention to the lyrics (I usually don't most of the time but it's been a while since I've heard the song) but after hearing the first couple of lines I began to wonder if this was about someone going through a crisis of faith such as thinking about changing or leaving religion. There is another song that deals with loss of faith on the same album, "Where Are You?", I am aware of so maybe, if I'm up to it, might comment on that on a separate post. Wikipedia and Songmeanings do bring the loss of faith meaning up in "A/L/S" but here's my take on it.

The song opens up with the following lines:

"Looks like the holy ghost is gone

Now your afraid of yourself"

The holy ghost or holy spirit comes from Christianity with God being 3 persons and the holy ghost/holy spirit is one of them. With the holy ghost gone (and essentially the belief in a higher power) the person going through a crisis of faith probably thinking "What do I do now? Who or what do I turn to when I need answers? Am I a bad person for thinking thoughts that are against my current/prior religion/beliefs?" Pretty much a lot of doubt going through one's mind.

"Over your shoulder you have to watch 
Heaven fall into hell"

The person is still in pretty much doubt but after learning that what they used to believe was more or less of a lie the perfect world that was created comes falling apart. The way I see it is religion can give a sense of peace (more or less "You don't need to worry about anything as long as you put your faith in a higher power") but when something faith shattering hits things come spiraling down the drain.

"Looks like your boat's about to sink
So it's time to prepare"

The person now is on the verge of losing their faith completely and has a big decision to make regarding leaving or not. There may be some backlash from the family and friends of the person who aren't too open with someone leaving the faith so the person pretty much has to prepare for the aftermath of their decision.

"Even the angels are losing sleep
And the sidewalks are bare"

I'm not sure if the angels are actual angels or represent certain people. If this is supposed to to represent actual angels it could be the person's guardian angel or that angel on the shoulder working overtime in helping the person rationalize their decision. Bare sidewalks give the person the sense that they're alone.

"It's like the calm before the storm 
You better swim 
Just like it's cold before it's warm 
You'll get back here again"

The calm before the storm is the grace period before things get worse and in the person's case it's returning to safer shores such as returning to the comforts of having faith or the prior belief. There's also the decision to move forward and lose faith/change beliefs and it's now or never to make the decision. The person makes a decision and whatever they choose they can end up back in their crisis of faith again. For example the person wants to leave Christianity but still has some insecurities and decides to still practice the religion. Something comes up like an issue in the news or something bad happening to someone close and the person ends up back where they were before.

"I'll wait I'll wait till you fall from grace"

So apparently there's someone observing the person go through this struggle. The friend I'll refer to this other person. This friend is either religious or someone who has left the faith of the person. The friend to me is supportive of whatever decision the person makes. The "fall from grace" could either be leaving the religion behind or coming back to the state in which the person again goes through another crisis of faith.

"It's the calm before the storm 
It's there then it's gone"

Again with the grace period. The friend (or maybe the angel on the shoulder) is reminding the person it's now or never to make the decision.

"Oh it looks like the war was in your head 
Not your heart"

The decision to leave is more of a logical decision than something based on feelings. Or possibly the person is going through some depression and the struggle of faith is part of it. The war could be the decision itself and the battle is to make the decision.

"Just when you think it's figured out 
Well it all falls apart"

The person finally comes to a decision. Whatever the choice is the person seems to be going through a bad time. Person chooses to leave and loses friends and family. Person chooses to stay with the faith/prior belief and continues to suffer mentally.

Overall it has to do with someone watching from the sidelines as their friend is going through a struggle. It could be any struggle but for me the struggle in the song deals with changing or losing one's faith. Whether this has been discussed before or not (mostly leaning to the discussed before) maybe you see the same or similar. Maybe you see it a bit differently. Maybe I can look at "Where Are You?" in the same way.

What this "cunning linguist" has to say about "word crimes"

Well, I may not be a full-on expert out there on linguistics (yet I did get my BA in it) but to some people out there (mainly close relatives and their acquaintances) I guess I can consider myself one. Anyways when I heard that Weird Al was releasing new stuff one of the tracks I was looking forward to was "Word Crimes", a parody of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines". For those who haven't heard of the latter Thicke's song garnered controversy over the song's lyrics surrounding rape culture (the lyrics "I know you want it" following "good girl" creepy enough for you?). "Word Crimes", however, is a more family friendly song that looks at the "proper use" of English grammar, especially when on the internet we seem to poke fun at bad grammar (heck there are posters done by The Oatmeal on grammar).

What kinda irks me a bit is the song, with humour intended and more or less to the native speaker audience, carries some prescriptivism with it. Prescriptivism basically is the idea that there are these sets of rules for the language and these rules dictate the proper use of the language as opposed to taking a look at the language and how it's used in reality. (Am I off in my description? Have a dictionary definition or two!) Taking the word literally for example the definition of it has to do with something actually happening but nowadays it's taking on the use of meaning something figurative. Second thing to note is linguists aren't grammar nazis in general (there may be some out there but I haven't met any). Something like literally taking on a figurative meaning will intrigue a linguist rather than disgust them. The following slideshow is quite informative:

So you know a linguist from Jodie Martin

Anyway here's my little data contribution/two cents. I wouldn't worry too much of these so-called "Word Crimes" unless you're writing some major English test that requires the stuff prescribed in grammar books. Need something to fill up your schedule at university? Take an introductory linguistics course. Who knows, you may find out something about linguists and how some of these "word crimes" aren't that much of a crime. Since my battery is about to go out I'll end it here.

Thoughts on the recent Eurovision Song Contest

This past weekend on May the 10th was the Eurovision Song Contest and it took place in Denmark. Although I have made posts about it here before a short summary of it is a song contest to determine who hosts it next year. Besides the song there the campy dance numbers and politics attached to it (even though politics should not be involved in something like this). The winner of this year's contest is Austria and as the winner they are hosting it next year in 2015.

So the representative to this year's contest's winner is drag queen Conchita Wurst. Maybe at first when you think drag queen you might not think of this:



That's right, a drag queen with a beard (and I pretty much just spoiled the video but I do recommend a watch at least). While it may appear odd and hard to take in at first I find it unique compared to the common or stereotypical drag queen look (which anyone can pretty much google). From news sites I've heard that there were 3, one of those Russia (if you've been living under a rock they have a law regarding showing LGBT related stuff to minors) calling for things like boycotts and editing broadcasts because of her. While this wasn't my favourite of all the acts that were in Eurovision this year I do think she deserved the win as it shows no matter who or what you are you can achieve your goals. As for those who don't want to expose their kids to this then don't let your kids watch. There's no need to ban everyone from watching because her appearance offends a few people. Just turn off your TV or whatever device and let other people who want to watch Eurovision in full watch it.

Conchita Wurst wasn't the only performer in drag in Eurovision. Slovenia sent an entry in 2002 and Ukraine sent in one in 2007 to name a couple. The participant for Ukraine that year even met up with Conchita Wurst.

Another thing that may have come up in international news regarding Russia and Ukraine. Both had their songs in the final and when Russia was announced that its song was moving into the final it got booed. Russia also got booed whenever they got 8/10/12 points (equivalent of the top 3 the top 10 acts by each countries combined jury and televotes) and they were mostly from countries such as Azerbaijan and Belarus. There was booing as well when Russia was giving out their points. These were the songs for both Ukraine and Russia respectively:





Given what has been happening with Russia in the past year (Annexation of Crimea, can't show LGBT related stuff to minors) My thoughts were that Russia wouldn't make it to the final and when they did I though Russia would place near the bottom. In the end Russia placed 7th behind Ukraine who place 6th. As for booing Russia I understand that Russia's actions were uncalled for but they shouldn't have been taken out on the artists.
While I didn't like their songs I liked both of their acts. Ukraine had a guy running in a giant hamster wheel and twins from Russia had their ponytails tangled in the beginning of their act (again this may be spoiling the vids a bit)

Overall congrats to Austria on their win in the contest.

As for my favourite acts from that night: Switzerland, Spain, Belarus (bit cheesy but it's a guilty please)
Though it didn't make it to the final I wish Albania's song made it.

And the results are in . . .

I met the 50,000 word goal for NaNoWriMo. Technically my official word count on the site is 50,229 words but Microsoft Word begs to differ with 50,236. And I'm still not done writing it. The reason I stopped at the minimum when I reached it (which I obtained on the 26th) was because I was preparing my application for the JET Programme and I had to get my forms and documents to the Japanese Embassy on the 29th of November. I also caved in and got the iPod nano.

So what do I do with my story now? I'm probably going to finish it at some point and when I do I'll probably go over it to make sure there are no inconsistencies throughout the whole novel. As for whether I want to publish it? Probably not at this point but I'll post it to my old FictionPress account and share it with people there. Just in case the nudity content of it is too much it'll also be on my deviantART as well. Might add an appendix as well just to explain the world/alternate earth. For those interested here's a brief summary:

            A hunter named Giorgio has been missing for weeks and almost everyone in the town of Shamps presumes him to be dead. Upon Giorgio's return people begin to disappear and end up dead. Some townspeople blame the deaths upon the Ruta, the natives of the land, and their belief in the Earth Goddess that allows the Ruta to shape-shift. Other townspeople easily pin the deaths on Giorgio. A shepherd name Francis refuses to believe that either of them is the cause of all the deaths but the discovery of something sinister involving Giorgio may hold the key to the cause of the mysterious happenings.

I think my summary on my NaNoWriMo profile is a bit better than this but in short it involves werewolves a bit but it's not exactly a werewolf story.

I have mentioned in my earlier postings that Japan is not one of my ideal places to go to for EFL teaching but when you're experience is low there are not many places to go. I mean I could go to Turkey through some UK recruitment agency that a friend/classmate of mine is doing right now but from what I learned from her experience at that time is the people who run that department are short of staff. I was scrambling for my application for JET. I though about applying for it at an hour that I should be sleeping. What I didn't realize at the time was that I needed reference letters. This was about ten days before the deadline. I thought ten days was not enough time to get a reference letter done but I ended up with three by the time I went to submit an application. One of the reasons I was scrambling because I was picky about my references. I kind of have to be since the instructions asked my references certain questions about my working habits and leadership skills. What I was picky about was who to pick out of those who qualified or thought that did. There was one I debated on using as a reference, a university professor. I had this professor for 3 out of the 8 courses I took for my CTESL course. Sure I should have asked this professor earlier but the reason I debated asking was I hardly paid attention about halfway through the winter semester (which 2 of those courses took place). I mean I want someone who will say nice things about me. I may not know what was written in those letters but the lesson here learned is don't be too picky with referents. I'll know if I'm selected for an interview January 2014. Hopefully I didn't do anything in my application that would get me disqualified.

And in my previous post I had a technological dilemma on which mp3 player I should get. I hinted that I was leaning towards getting the iPod nano and I did. Black Friday is an event in the United States that has somewhat crept its way here to keep shoppers in Canada and not going over the border and so the stores here had some Black Friday specials. The nano was priced as $20 lower than the regular price for the weekend but I'd be hitting myself hard if the price was even lower for Boxing Week in December.

So my initial disappointments with the nano were that it didn't come with free songs and it doesn't like .wma files. I haven't tried syncing them to the nano but iTunes kept on asking me if I wanted to convert them to .aac files. My past mp3 players all came with free tracks but not the nano. Maybe it's also a good idea that I didn't tell iTunes to convert the .wma files because the majority them refused to be converted due to some setting I had on my old laptop when I ripped the songs from the CD. It's a pain having to rip the files all over again but it gives me a good reason to review my taste in music.

As for the positives so far, I think I got a hang of using the touch screen. Sound is okay and finally I can control the volume and scroll through my list of songs. It is quite light compared to my Sansa and I can use the car speakers to blast my tunes. Well technically I can't since my parents and I don't always share the same tastes in music, especially my mom whose hearing has somehow gotten sensitive to certain sounds (I may end up like that one day so I can't complain). Maybe one good reason I should get a driver's license.

So here's hoping things go well: I get my story done, hopefully get a job, and hope that my new mp3 player lasts for a long time.

Technological Dilemma

This is my mp3 player. It's a SanDisk Sansa Fuze I got as birthday gift in 2008 I believe. As evidence by the tape holding it together it's been pretty well used/abused to the point that the screen messes up, I can't pause, the wheel hardly responds so forget about lowering or increasing the volume, I can't hear anything out of the left earbud, and I have a hard time shutting it off. It was pretty banged up by the time I needed more space (since it comes with a microSD expansion slot). It served me well for 5 good years and it's about time I need a new one.

The store it was purchased from no longer carries the Sansa Fuze nor any other store I know of in the city carries it's next generation, the Fuze+. Sure I could purchase one on the internet but the reviews for the Fuze + are not so favourable on amazon.

So what options are there? With the file sizes growing larger as well as my music collection I'm looking for something that can hold more than 4GB of space. 16 GB should suffice I think. From the brands that I've seen, I'm looking at HipStreet, Sony, and Apple.

I have never heard of the HipStreet brand before and I'm guessing it's something along the lines of the COBY mp3 players: the cheap ones if you're not looking for anything fancy. HipStreet has a touch screen device that comes in 16GB but reviews of it are not that satisfactory so there's no chance of me getting that one.

Sony also has a 16GB mp3 player. It costs less than an apple product and it not being an apple product I'll be fine with random file formats (as I have mix of mp3, wma, and aac). Sony is also a recognizable brand. I could go with it but I don't find it aesthetically appealing with a very limited colour selection (black). Asthetics shouldn't have to with the sound quality and when I listened to the sample track in the Sony store the sound was okay to me (or maybe it's the headphones that they were selling). With this I believe I can use windows media player or winamp to transfer files.

And the choice I'm leaning towards is the iPod. It's not cheap but it is quite attractive with the metallic colour choices and it's a well known brand. As for what to choose, I'm stuck between the nano and the 16GB touch. The touch costs more than the nano and has extra features such as a camera and wi-fi capabilities, features that are something I would rather look for in a smartphone or a tablet. My current phone (a nokia c3-00) may not be Skype friendly but it can still access Facebook and I can upload photos with my phone to Facebook. My main purpose is basically to listen to music while I'm on the bus, in the car, or walking to places so I may lean towards getting the nano over the touch (I don't need to play angry birds or temple run and I have candycrush on Facebook). The drawbacks to this are the touch screen and how I upload things to the device. I find touch screens are so sensitive that I fear that I'll break it at some point within the first year or two but I guess I can by an accessory like a cover to take care of that (more or less protect it). And then I hear the only way to upload tracks to it is through iTunes (which I already have) and with some of my files being wmv I wonder if they will play or will I have to find the cd's I got them from and rip them into a compatible format.

So basically my dilemma is between should I get an iPod or a Sony Walkman. Should I go with quality or aesthetics? Should I move onto something different or stay with something similar to my old mp3 player? Is the $149 dollars worth buying an iPod or should I go with something $40 cheaper? I may be from Canada but a Black Friday sale might make the difference. I guess I'll find out by then

Hey you, why aren't you sleeping? Or better yet, get a damn job! (an update in the life of well, me)

So this month I graduate with my ESL teaching certificate. What do I do next? How about getting a job? But where do I find one?

Qualifications aside, I'll work anywhere. By anywhere I mean here in Canada or teach English overseas. When it comes to overseas I'm quite picky. My ideal places I want to work in are Russia, Turkey, or the Gulf. In that order. The places I want to avoid are Japan, Korea, and China. Why do I want to avoid the last three? Mainly out of disinterest and because I believe those places are popular.

But something tells me I shouldn't be picky about an overseas location. In the places I want to avoid I can get some job experience before going to the places I want to go. At the same time I want to do something that makes me happy. If I am unhappy at a job or place where I work it could lead to depression. Each area, places I want to go and places I want to avoid, have a 50/50 chance of me being happy. I mean I've been to Russia before and I have an interest in seeing Turkey but I have no idea if I'll end up being happy or not there. I have a disinterest in getting a job in Korea but if it boils down to me having to get a job there just to go on an adventure I'll apply for a job there and who knows, maybe I might fine something there to keep me happy.

So my credentials will be this:
BA Linguistics
Pronunciation teacher via a student experience program
TESL certificate from an accredited institution (will need accreditation status with TESL Ontarion)
Practicum sessions where I observed and led a class
and maybe add in learning some Russian, Arabic, and Turkish (being in the learner's shoes and observing teaching methods)

But some places may want things like
- BA in Education, BA in applied linguistics, MA applied linguistics with some ESL concentration, specialty in some other subject (if teaching something like high school math)
-CELTA (teaching in Europe), TEFL (specifically for overseas), TESOL (possibly interchangeable with TESL but it's a more recognized name)
-a CV instead of a resume or along with a resume (I haven't written any papers that are academic journal quality. Maybe some countries use CV over resume).
-x years of experience teaching (makes finding an entry level job not so easy)

And then there are things that scare me:
-Will need copy of passport and other official documents (Why not ask for a photocopy?)
-Will need photograph (not that scary, but someone who is blonde and looks "American" may be chosen over a Canadian who is of mixed background. Yet again one of my lung specialists I've visited to see if I have asthma or not marked me down as Caucasian under race.)
-tourist visa (sure you can get residency and work permits in the country, but I'm not taking my chances at ending up as an illegal worker).

At the same time I have connections. I've asked one of my former classmates for her experiences and then there's this guy I've met on the internet who has been doing overseas teaching for a couple of years (and I believe he started out in Korea). I may not be able to pick and choose where I want to work but at least I can count on them for advice.

Last posting I mentioned I'm taking on the NaNoWriMo challenge. So far I seem to be ahead of the game, as in typing more than 1667 words every day. One thing I experienced from this so far is if you haven't told people in your household in person that you're doing this challenge they will communicate with you. At the same time I'm not comfortable with telling this to my parents as from my perspective they will not understand or possibly want to know what I'm doing. I'd comment more on it but my brain needs a rest.

Am I Up For a Challenge?

Well then, I seem to be behind in my English is a Hard Language series of blog posts. I still have an interest in continuing those but not in the order I have planned (alphabets, language categorization, sounds, syntax, etc.) but maybe do it in an order in which I feel like. I do have incomplete drafts on my usb drive on things like the verbs 'to be' and 'to have', language families, gender, sounds, and word order and may pick up on one of those for my next postings, or maybe just work on intro posts for each section so whenever I do a random post from one of the section at least no one would be lost.

Speaking of challenges, I am going to tackle NaNoWriMo. The challenge: to write a 50k word novel within the month of November. I've heard of this years ago, through housemates back in university and from one of my Facebook buddies. I see myself the chance to do it as I'm not currently employed and not having to worry about writing a 5-10 page essay that needs proper citation about a topic in which I have a hard time writing about. In order to meet the challenge I have to produce 1666-1667 words per day and it cannot be something previously published.

Not that I have anything previously published but I still have an account on the site FictionPress. There were stories on there, albeit incomplete, but I took them down basically because if I want to post something there again, I sort of want to start off fresh. All of them were done during the period when I was still religious and with my views changed I don't really want to keep them up there. Pretty much the best one I had on there was a story about a team of high school students who fight monsters and evil spirits while at the same time attend a Catholic high school based on locations in my hometown/neighbourhood. I might've tackled my change in beliefs in there but that never happened. I was doing it on the seat of my pants and it pretty much stopped when I was doing a spinoff/sidestory with it along with the loss of interest. Now the only thing I keep on there is a poem I came up with when a student who would have been in my graduating year of high school died (if anyone is interested in the poem click here).

So I guess I'm just preparing for the upcoming month and hope I can beat this challenge.

You can't get every last detail (on adapting books to film and television)

We've all have read books and seen an adaptation of our favourite reads into film or a TV show whether it's animated or not. In some cases we watch a movie or TV show not knowing it's based off a book or some other source material like a play or a graphic novel.

So your favourite book or play gets adapted into a film or TV series. You have high expectations for who should play what characters and what their appearances should be. You also imagine how your favourite scene plays out. All of a sudden once you get to see production stills of who was cast (or maybe you googled the actor/actress once they were announced) your dreams get shattered a bit and when you see the screen adaptation (if you do make it past the point of 'improper casting made this movie/tv show not worth watching') your favourite moment has been cut. 

Sure you can rage about how the casting is all wrong, bad acting, and how the adaptation doesn't follow the book. First let's look at the meaning of adaptation: adaptation is a noun derived from the verb to adapt which means (taking it from the transitive verb meaning): 'to make suitable to requirements or conditions; adjust or modify fittingly'. So when adapting a book there are things to consider with the audience this will be shown to: people who have read the book, people who haven't read the book, age-appropriateness, and for international distribution (I may be missing one or two here but I'm focusing on the first two).

People who have read the book will know how the story plays out and possibly expect the adaptation to follow the book. People who haven't read the book of course will have no idea other than what is marketed of the movie and may or many not read the book after seeing the movie or TV series. Having the adaptation follow the plot and the storyline of the book to the very last detail is basically giving away the whole book. If all adaptations were made this way then why bother to read the book (or a whole series of them)? Changing up the story a bit makes it convenient for both the reader and the non-reader. From a reader perspective, the adaptation brings on surprises. The surprises can either be good, bad, or predictable and from there comparisons can be made between the book and the adaptation. (For example I just saw The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and I read the book beforehand. Without trying to spoil it too much I found some things were rushed (minimal backstories), and characters who had smaller roles in the book were either given bigger roles or not included at all. I think some elements were borrowed from the second book City of Ashes and mentionings of the fictional country home to Shadowhunters is not mentioned at all.) From a non-reader perspective the adaptation can be something original (or slightly original if it bares any similarities to other stories and movies) and could interest people in reading the original books. It's how I was drawn to Sergei Lukyanenko's Watch Series.

So if you want your favourite book to follow canon down to the very last detail, make your own adaptation. You can't expect Hollywood or whatever movie company to follow every last detail or get your dream cast (even the authors can't get their dream cast in). Sometimes the writers themselves do contribute to the plot of the adaptation of have some involvement in production. Adaptations are meant to be viewed by anyone who is interested in viewing the TV show or the movie and it's not something to be made exclusive to the fans of the series. The adaptation in one way is the adapter's way of envisioning how the book will play out as a movie or TV series.

I can't argue with the choices of the adapter but what I think would make adaptations a bit better is to include a bit more of the lore and philosophies presented as well as having some fan input. What I feel makes some adaptations a bit dull and inferior to their book sources is getting rid elements such as lore (e.g. the main characters are magic users and in the adaptation the magic element is toned down or removed) or the cut back on the philosophical aspects (e.g. one of the main characters is openly atheist and questions the other main character's beliefs in the book while the adaptation makes no mention of the characters being atheist or religious). As for the fan input this shouldn't be restricted to fans of the book but should include people who haven't read the book but have interests in the same genre (for example fantasy, sci-fi, western) as the book being adapted. They may not speak for everyone but can at least provide some input.

And thus ends my rant/commentary. If anyone come across this post I am slowly still working on English is a Hard Language series. At the rate it's going I'm trying to run through learning Hindi script since I was unable to find someone who can write in it to make examples (but if you can, maybe you can contribute?). Know Chinese, Japanese, or Korean? I could use your help in future EIAHL posts.

Shaking off the dust and maybe start something new here?

Haven't touched this in a long time. Well technically I have but didn't really see to post anything during my time mostly because I wanted to (or at least tried) to focus my attention on papers for my teaching ESL certificate program.

So what have I tried to put on here? I wanted to discuss season 5 of Being Human pertaining to Facebook comments by "fans" who stopped watching the show because of a cast change that happened in season 4. (oh my spoilers for those who haven't watched it yet) One of the main characters died at the end of the 3rd season, 2 main characters died at the start of the 4th season, and at the end of the 4th season/beginning of the 5th another character got the boot. I was going to comment on how the writers didn't deliberately kill off all the characters that were removed from the story as actors and actresses have other projects that they are working on but got word that season 5 was the last one so there was no use in me publishing that post without some changes.

Second thing I was thinking of putting on here was advice on choosing people to work in your group for a group project. That came from me actually being in a group when one person disappeared for about a week without notifying the rest of the group. I was kind of pissed that he didn't tell any of us or the instructor of the course that he was going to be away for a long time but when he came back he apologized for being away. I didn't ask why but he could have been out somewhere where he had not access to a computer or a Wi-Fi signal. In the end he got kicked out of the group and had to do the project on his own but I think he expected that.

So what ideas do I have now? I guess I can summarize my semester but it will probably be me raging out against one course I didn't quite enjoy and complaining about how much work I had to do. I wouldn't call that exciting. What is somewhat exciting is I will be taking an intensive beginner course in Arabic over the summer (I'm sure it will be on as there are a number of people on the roster to make it so).

Arabic? Isn't that a hard language to learn?
I'm a native English speaker (mind my carelessness as I type). I say English is a hard language to learn. Even if it is a global language. Maybe some of you think that Arabic is hard to learn because it uses a different writing system and sounds nothing like English. Well Arabic does use a different writing system and it sounds nothing like English, even with English loans. Arabic has also given English a bunch of words such as 'alcohol', 'assassin', 'coffee' and more.

So I guess my next blog endeavour is to show how English is a hard language to some but easy to others. I'll be using whatever knowledge I know and whatever the internet has to say about it. Sure there are other places out there that do this, but this will be my approach. I will compare the writing systems, sounds, some grammar, and basic sentence structure. Anything I learn along the way I will add.

And now I must make that final push to finish off the semester.

No two universities are alike/my experiences so far

So I'm almost done my fall semester at Carleton doing their CTESL (Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language) program. Not sure what that is? I refer to you one of my earlier posts.

One thing I noticed with Carleton is some of their courses are full semester courses. That is the course you sign up for in the fall will be in that very same time slot in the winter. With that I have to suffer with doing an assignment over the break whereas if I was still going to MUN I would be lying on the couch all day watching movies or maybe trying to get through 1 season of a TV show.

Second thing is the way the schedule operates. I'm sure Carleton has those 3x a week for 1 hour courses but I haven't encountered them in my program so I am uncertain what courses they are (most of my courses at MUN were like that). My schedule at Carleton is filled with mostly two 1.5 to 2 hours courses (meets every Tues. and Thurs for example) with some once a week 2-3 hour courses (meets every Mon. evening). Maybe this is their preferred way of scheduling?

Anyway . . . one of the courses I have to take is a practicum which is basically learn and experience what goes on in a classroom. If you remember in elementary school (maybe some of you in secondary school as well) you may have encountered the student teacher who maybe helps you with your schoolwork or on occasion teaches a lesson. Apparently that is what I have become except my setting was in an ESL classroom.

Now I have two practicum placements for the whole year. I have already completed my first placement and can't wait for the day I get to "choose" (it's first to raise their hand that gets the location) my next one (maybe because I'll hope to encounter a Russian, Croatian, or maybe someone from Turkey). For my first placement I chose a literacy classroom. What is it exactly? Teaching how to read and write. The class I was in was for those who are 1) literate in their first language but the "alphabet" in their first language does not use the Roman alphabet, 2) are illiterate in their first language, or 3) come from an oral culture where there is no written form or a written form is not really used (kinda like situation 2). Who I encountered in my class (including the ones who got promoted to the level 1 ESL classes along the way) came from the following countries: Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Macedonia, Nepal, Bhutan (Nepali speaking person), Laos, and Burma/Myanmar (Karen people). From this bunch I think I may have an idea who I might expect to see in my next placement.

With the class I did my practicum in there was a routine: The students would write something dictated to them on the board then everyone would copy that into their journals/notebooks. Then the teacher would write something on the board, for example "Did you have a good weekend?" if it was a on a Monday and on another board write "Today there ____ ____ teachers and _____ students" to get them to practice their numbers. Usually the days I'm there the teacher would say something like after copying the first board raise your hand to let <insert my name here here> know you're ready but no one does that, they usually do so once they copied down everything. Not sure why they don't do it, maybe it's because they're more comfortable with the teacher or if they're thinking "I should copy down everything first" or "I need to copy everything". 90% of the time I would be thinking it rude to ask them "May I listen to you read what you have so far". Lesson learned there: assert yourself.

After the journals they would be doing some activity, whether it's a "fill in the missing letters" dictation or a worksheet. Sometime they would be learning something new whether it's through a 10 line story with related activities or a story from a handout. There were activities that would teach them certain concepts like "please speak slowly/louder", "please can you say that again?" I led a couple of activities as well and comparing the two I did I found it difficult to create one of my own versus organizing one that's already made. Also with leading activities it is to be expected that not everyone will be looking at you whether it's out of boredom or maybe they're still struggling with the first thing I said.

So that's what went down in my practicum placement. Someone else doing the same as me would have either a similar experience or something different. Anyway that's enough from me.

Your religion shouldn't speak for everyone who does not follow it

On advice of my doctor I should be sleeping by now as I'm typing this but I just recently heard about this woman in Ireland who died of a miscarriage. While still alive and in agony she wanted to terminate her pregnancy but was denied that because according to some law (at least I think it's a law from my understanding) the pregnancy could not be terminated because the foetus' heart was still beating and it can only be done if the woman's life is at risk. Clearly this woman's life was at risk but it didn't seem like it to the doctors.

Some thing to note: In Roman Catholicism, which happens to be the major religion in Ireland, there is the belief that life begins when Mr. Sperm comes into contact with Ms. Ovum. Yes, a bunch of cells that haven't developed into actual organs is considered to have a soul (cue 'Every Sperm Is Sacred'). I went to a RC high school growing up and no one was allowed to abortion in grade 11 and 12 biology for their presentations. I assume it has to do with that the topic is not in line with RC beliefs but on the other hand there's a lot of ethical mumbo-jumbo to deal with at the high school level. (On a side note evolution is taught because it's part of the province-wide curriculum but they remind students that creationism is what started it all.)

So basically my stance lies between "you run your own body so let me run mine" and "you're giving it up because you decided you don't want the baby anymore? Are you crazy?" Let me make this simpler: If the woman is in agony from the pregnancy or becomes pregnant from a rape it is the woman's choice whether or not she wants to go to full term or however long the foetus lasts in the womb (I had this belief even when I was still a practising Catholic). As for someone who wants to terminate her pregnancy because it's the wrong gender/has imperfections or has no real reason and just wants to end it, the decision is still hers whether or not to terminate the pregnancy as it is not my body and I cannot make the decision for her but I would offer to take in the child (provided that I am mentally sane to raise one) or at least suggest helping out couples who cannot bear children. If in the end she does not want to go through the pregnancy, it's her choice, not mine.

I'm pretty sure people have seen anti-abortion supporters (the reason behind my choice of words will be explained later) with their signs telling people to "choose life" along with a bible quote and pictures of aborted  foetuses. Quoting my friend (who happens to have a blog @ http://tseretniw.blogspot.ca/)

How can these people hold up signs saying "protect life" when they clearly don't care about the mother's

My thoughts exactly. If you say that you are protecting human life, and the multi-celled blob is considered human, then isn't the life of the mother just as important?

Also my friend's question happened to remind me of something that happened not too long ago. My parents had people over for dinner as they were helping out with cleaning up my grandmother's house (which she's selling by the way). They happen to be a couple with a 7-year-old boy who was a fountain of knowledge when it comes to telling about what he recently learned at school. At one point he asked what abortion is. It was either my mom or his mom that gave the answer. Can't really remember how they explained to him but one of the key words used to explain was "baby". If I were 7 years old again "baby" would signify something like Maggie Simpson and neither the multi-celled blob nor a foetus and this is what made him ask something along the lines of "why would the mom do that?" I think I tried to explain that foetuses do get killed in the womb in nature but that didn't turn out so well. Long story short: be careful when discussing or describing abortion to a kid. Even for a fountain of knowledge their world view is still quite limited.

Also for word choice using "baby" vs. "foetus" makes something easier to understand but at the same time generates images of someone of Maggie Simpson's age. Why I chose "anti-abortion" vs. "pro-life" comes from a quote from Penn Jillette:

Ethical means moral or proper which differs for every person, it's something to discuss. It's not an absolute. It just sounds nice, it's like 'pro-choice' and 'pro-life', I mean- c'mon! Everyone is pro-choice and pro-life. It's for or against abortion that your group is about -- Season 2, Episode 1 of "Penn & Teller: Bullshit"

 I am certain it's not just Roman Catholicism that advocates life begins when sperm and ovum and whatever their beliefs are should not mix with legal matters. Sure there are those who would stay true to their religion even if they die in the process of something like pregnancy but by allowing women to choose to have their pregnancy terminated or not, a woman can still choose not to terminate. By not allowing a woman to choose is pretty much saying "okay you have one choice and that is keep on going and it does not matter if you die in the process as long as the baby lives."

I'd ramble on a bit more but I need some rest.

Here are some articles:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2012/1114/1224326575203.html
http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/world/abortion-debate-reignited-in-ireland-after-woman-is-denied-an-abortion-in-hospital-and-dies.html?p=home&s=home

Commuter Etiquette 101

I travel to and from university by public transportation and there are some things that irk me when it comes to this.

First is the people who choose to stand on a but or a forced to stand on a bus. If you choose to stand on a bus you:

a. are getting off within the next two stops
b. have nowhere to sit
c. just gave up your seat and now have nowhere to sit

If you're not a. then do not stand next to the doors. This makes it hard for people to move through when the bus is not too crowded and even harder when it is packed.

If you are not someone who is watching their kid or chatting with a person who is sitting, move to the back of the bus or as close to the back you can get. This makes it easier for those who board the front of the bus to get in.

One way to create space is to put your bag(s) on the floor in between your legs but I can make the exception if the floor is wet.

Second thing that irks me is changing from the light rail to the buses. My problem is this:

The dots represent people and they tend to crowd around the entrance to where people get to the light rail. The "platform" is about the size of three accordion buses and chances are if your bus is the 3rd one in the line of buses it will leave once it has done its business. There's plenty of room on the platform and you'll see your bus coming much sooner than the people in the crowding around at the light rail entrance. My usual solution to this is to go around behind the bus shelter but even the crowd can sometimes block my alternate route so please spread out along the platform.

Those are my main issues. Other things to take note in general:

Don't swear or harass others or else you'll get kicked off the bus.
Don't blast your music too loud that people around you can hear it. Not everyone will like what you listen to and even if they do they might want some peace and quiet on the bus
Don't smoke on the bus. Even if you have an e-cigarette it still counts as smoking on the bus.
Don't cause any damage to the bus. If your public transportation system is owned by the city's government chances are you're wasting other people's tax dollars because you think the bus needed a makeover.
If you see someone that needs to sit at the front of the bus, do be courteous and offer your seat.

If there is anything you like to comment or add to this feel free to do so

Anyone remember these crazy dances?

As of my typing this the video for Psy's "Gangnam Style" is approaching 400 million views on YouTube. For anyone living under a rock here's the video:


And when something's this popular there's bound to be an abundance of parody videos related to how Oppan Gangnam Style sounds like "open condom style" or "open condom star", remixes of the elevator scene at 1:55 into the video, and pretty much the whole video being parodied like CollegeHumor's "Mitt Romney Style". What I believe to be the biggest aspect of the video is the dance where it's like he's riding on a horse.

That dance has got me thinking about other songs that had some sort of dance move associated with them. In reverse chronological order to how far back I can think of things (pretty much up to the early 90's as that when my generation started to walk and talk:

1. "Teach Me How to Dougie" by Cali Swag District (song contains explicit lyrics)
   
   If anyone can sort out any specific dance moves that teaches you how to dougie from the lyrics:
   "All I need is a beat that's super bumpin'
   And for you, you, you to back it up and dump it! 
   Put your arms out front, lean side to side
   They gon' be on you when they see you hit dat dougie right?" (lyrics obtained from here)
   ... and if that's not helpful I'm sure the video (or the maybe the guys can teach you in this video)
   
   
2. "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO
   
   The main focus is that shuffling dance move that happens from 3:40 to 4:11 (but it's done individually by other people throughout the video). Though the dance is older than the video I'm including it in part of the list with the new stuff. Here's a lovely instructional on how to do said shuffle.
   
   
3. "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" by Soulja Boy Tell'em
   
   Not sure if anyone still remembers this, 2007 was like 5 years ago, and I still think this song is annoying, Instructional Video here.
   
   
4. "Asereje" by Las Ketchup
   
   I'm not too familiar with the song but this came up when I asked the question in a chat room. As for the dance moves the appear to be quite simple (as I couldn't find an instructional video for this on youtube)
   
   
5. "Cha Cha Slide" by DJ Casper
   
   I first encountered this when I started university. Any dance party I was at this would be playing. The moves to this dance are basically the lyrics of this song.
   
   
6. "Macarena" by Los del Rio
   
   I think there are 2 versions of the song, but this video has the dance. I know I feel old if I can still remember this dance.

I was going to "Stop" by the Spice Girls but it's the chorus of the song that had the special dance moves, which were done only twice in the entire video.

As I said this is as far back as I can remember. Maybe people older then me can remember other crazy dances from there time. Enjoy.

Oh yay more schooling (going for the TESL certificate)

For anyone who pays attention to this blog (*cough*adbots*cough*) I have finished my undergrad and got my bachelor's degree in Linguistics (minored in Russian language) and I summarized my year looking back at textbooks. Starting in September I will be going for the certificate in teaching English as a second language (TESL) at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Teaching English as a second language huh? So you like to go to Korea or Japan to teach?

I am aware that place like South Korea and Japan are popular places for teaching English but as far as my interest in teaching English there are quite low. My dream places to teach abroad would be Russia but I'll take any place in Europe.

Also some things to point out: when teach abroad in a place like South Korea or Japan, you're teaching these people English as a foreign language (EFL) as English is not widely spoken or an official language in these places. To call it ESL teaching would have learners come to places like Canada, USA, Australia and UK where English is widely spoken and is an official language.

You got a university degree already, why not go to work immediately?

By going for certification I can cover more ground. There are places that require that someone have some sort of certification such as TESL/TEFL, TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages which I hear is the same as TESL/TEFL but used more in the USA than Canada) or maybe a masters degree in the teaching ESL/EFL field. Don't believe me? Take a look at the ads on Dave's ESL Cafe. If it's not possible for me to teach abroad at least I will be qualified to teach here in Canada. Best to build up some street cred before others abroad can take you in.

The story

Not a lot of people have heard of the field of linguistics and somehow the idea that comes up when either I mention this or my parents do to other people, the other people seem to think I'm studying to become a polyglot. Since I did a general degree and not an honours degree chances for me to do a masters degree are pretty low. Another career choice path would be dealing with speech problems and I wasn't too interested in the field. My main reason for doing a TESL certification is that I would like to work abroad and as I have mentioned earlier would like to work in Russia. Around campus I've seen advertisements for oxford seminars in which certification can be done in a month but I ended up applying to universities on the advice from someone who actually is a teacher of ESL. She said that courses like oxford seminars don't really prepare students as well as a university course since university courses offer the teaching experience (called a practicum).

Ontario, being my home province, I looked for universities there that have the program as well as outside of Ontario such as Quebec and Saskatchewan. Memorial University did have a program at one point but suspended that due to some necessary courses being infrequently offered (so I heard). If I were to apply to Concordia University (in Montreal, Quebec) it would have been starting in the winter semester as their written component for the application had to be done there (the times given for it was during the semester break but the round trip fare plus accommodation at the time (February 2012) wasn't worth doing it for a fall semester start). Also with the recent Quebec student protests who knows if I would have even gone there.

From this list I looked at some places that I could go to for certification and I applied to two places (I could have applied to more but I got lazy): Woodsworth College's TESOL program in Toronto and CTESL at Carleton university. Applying to these places was not easy as I had to "jump through hoops" as my dad puts it (written components).  Both Carleton and Woodsworth have one year programs which should make me prepared much more than taking a one month course.

Woodsworth College got back to me first. I would have gone there if Carleton did not accept me but Woodsworth College is affiliated with the University of Toronto so since I got an offer from them I was for certain going to get one from Carleton. If I had gone to Woodsworth I would have had 4 courses per semester (not counting tutorials) but the majority of them were from 6pm to 9pm, even if I got Mondays off I am not too fond of night classes. Also Woodsworth's program costs a wee bit more as I also have to factor in residence expenses.

Now with Carleton comes the interesting bit. The application date was before Woodsworth's. I of course had to send them multiple transcripts because of this and I wouldn't receive an offer until they knew I have convocated. I was told I got accepted much later, two weeks I guess, after Woodsworth offered me something. I was hoping I would get something in the mail but all I got was a guide to first year package (doing a certificate course is weird, it's techncally an undergrad program but you're not really an undergrad when you do it as a post-grad). I was hoping the package would include my student number but I was able to recover it after talking to some people. The funny thing is the reason why I didn't get a student number sent to my mailbox was that it was the same student number Carleton gave me when I first registered with them back in 2006/2007 in case I didn't get into MUN. I thought by dropping the courses for the European Studies program I initially signed up for would cancel my account. My account did expire but my information was still on their database.

So in the end I chose to accept the offer from Carleton. How will this experience be for me? Unlike when I was at MUN when campus was just a 10 minute walk from where I lived I will be making friends with OCtranspo and travelling each direction for about 40-60 minutes (which should be good enough time to catch up on sleep or reading assignments but the fall schedule's not out by this time so it may be less time that what I have guessed). I won't have the chance of taking a nap in between classes but who knows, I might find a bench somewhere. The best part is I don't have to save coins for laundry, budget my bank account for groceries, or fight with someone for the tv. Yes I'll be living with my parents during this period but I had my chance out on my own. As for my future courses I just hope there's not a lot of paper writing but at the same time I'm curious to how the practicum's going to be. The upcoming year should be interesting.

The Concert Experience

Bluesfest is one of the largest outdoor concerts here in Ottawa (and I think in rest of Canada too) where one can see many bands in one day for one price. Despite it's name (it was originally all blues music when it first started out) Bluesfest hosts more than just blues as there are rock artists, rappers, indie artists, local artists, country, and (even though not a musical genre) comedy.

Sunday (July 08) afternoon I got to see Walk Off The Earth perform. For those who happen to stumble upon this blog you may recognize them from this video of 5 people on one guitar. They of course performed that live but what I wasn't expecting is for them to be throwing around instruments and dancing with the crowd. All and all it was a good concert.

So basically one reason to go to a concert, whether it's outdoor or indoor, is there are things that you may only experience or witness there. Who knows, you may end up at a taping of a live concert. Though that hasn't happened to me yet but I've witnessed things such as the band's drummer throwing their drumsticks (I'm not that lucky enough to catch one). Specifically with this concert I went to some of the band members (Sarah, Gianni, and Ryan to be exact) actually got off stage to dance with the crowd and a young girl got an autographed, pink ukulele.

The other reason to go to a concert is to discover new music. Last year I discovered the music of Infected Mushroom. This year it will be Young The Giant (my musical tastes are quite eclectic). I'm familiar with two of their songs ("My Body" and "Cough Syrup") and I hope to hear more songs from them that may give me an earworm as much as these two. Also concerts are a way for to hear new music from bands you know and love. Again with the Infected Mushroom concert from last year, they did a cover of the Foo Fighters's song "The Pretender". Just recently this year an new album came out and their cover, it turns out, is on the album.

My third and final reason is you're going to be face to face with the band members. Okay you may you're in the back but chances are you may not see this band or these artists in maybe 10 years or so. One year they'll come to your city to play, the next they'll skip it and go to a city that 2 hours or 5 hours away by car (such is a problem living in Ottawa, it's the capital of the country and some times the tour only comes to Montreal and Toronto. I guess people living in Ankara, Turkey or Bern, Switzerland feel the same way).

So when you have the opportunity, go see a concert.