Here's a great tip I got from an investment banker once:
If you're a student, take out as much of a student loan as possible. Leverage yourself to the hilt!
Reminder, this is not a bank loan or a mortgage loan or some kind of equity loan or secured loan!!! This is a student loan. From the Government of Canada (I'm sure the US has their student loan system too). Why the loan, you ask? Well two reasons.
1) Student loans have ZERO INTEREST until you graduate. And even then you get very very low interest rates. What you can do is pull out the loan, stick it in a 4 year GIC with high interest rates. By the time you pay back the 50 grand or so you own, you'll be several thousand richer... no joke!
2) College loan consolidation. Let me say it again, college loan consolidation. It might also take on the name of "student debt consolidation" or "educational loan consolidation" or "personal student loan consolidation". You guys get the picture. Basically, college loan consolidation allows you to combine your student loans into one master loan, which significantly reduces the monthly payments you have to make. In some instances, by over 50%! If you want the mechanics, you'll have to look online. But paying a fraction of a percentage point for my loan is a pretty sweet deal.
Just one caveat, be careful about how you spend it! I would advocate sticking it in a GIC. It's safe, you get high returns, etc etc. Do NOT go on a flippin spending spree because that is not free money. Seriously. You need to pay it back eventually.
Students, check it out for yourself. Might as well exploit the government funding because sooner or later you'll be paying it back in taxes!
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Update on Culinary Schools
Just thought I'd update everyone on my situation right now with switching schools (possibly)...
I looked up some more culinary schools so I had more choices. Even though I said I wanted to go to a culinary school in california, I thought I'd check out some other ones just to keep my options open (and, of course, discover the world... who doesn't like that???)
1) Culinary Schools in Chicago
There's le cordon bleu college of culinary arts in Chicago... Looks pretty neat, I like what they're doing but they're just a college?? I'm worried that have a big effect when employers see my degree...
2) Culinary Schools in Texas
Here there's a few, but notable ones are Texas culinary academy and the art institute of Dallas. Both I think are reputable schools. But I don't know if I really want to go to Texas... No offense to my Texan readers! It's just not really on my radar haha.
3) Culinary Schools in Virginia
The culinary institute of virginia! One of my top choices right now. Great program here, so I've heard. And I've always wanted to live on the East coast!
4) Culinary Schools in Florida
Ah, beautiful Florida. I would love to live here, let alone attend culinary school in Florida. The international art institute and le cordon bleu both have a campus here.
5) Culinary Schools in Pennsylvania
A quick search for trade schools in PA will pull up the International Culinary school. I think I just like PA because of its proximity to DC and NY. Can go there for weekend roadtrip lol =).
And the search continues!
I looked up some more culinary schools so I had more choices. Even though I said I wanted to go to a culinary school in california, I thought I'd check out some other ones just to keep my options open (and, of course, discover the world... who doesn't like that???)
1) Culinary Schools in Chicago
There's le cordon bleu college of culinary arts in Chicago... Looks pretty neat, I like what they're doing but they're just a college?? I'm worried that have a big effect when employers see my degree...
2) Culinary Schools in Texas
Here there's a few, but notable ones are Texas culinary academy and the art institute of Dallas. Both I think are reputable schools. But I don't know if I really want to go to Texas... No offense to my Texan readers! It's just not really on my radar haha.
3) Culinary Schools in Virginia
The culinary institute of virginia! One of my top choices right now. Great program here, so I've heard. And I've always wanted to live on the East coast!
4) Culinary Schools in Florida
Ah, beautiful Florida. I would love to live here, let alone attend culinary school in Florida. The international art institute and le cordon bleu both have a campus here.
5) Culinary Schools in Pennsylvania
A quick search for trade schools in PA will pull up the International Culinary school. I think I just like PA because of its proximity to DC and NY. Can go there for weekend roadtrip lol =).
And the search continues!
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Laptop Rentals
Recently I've been looking into laptop rentals for the many presentations that I do (I don't actually have one of my own). A quick Google search revealed several places that I could rent a laptop around the Vancouver area... My needs aren't very sophisticated, just need a small laptop printer (no need for portable printers or gaming laptops or tablet laptops or none of that) with minimal software requirements.
It's too bad that there are no good student discounts on laptops, or notebook computers for sale, or I would totally just buy one for myself. I know the bookstore at UBC has a discount for Macs, but I'm not in the market for a Mac. So I think my best solution right now is to rent a notebook and just use it for the short period of time I need for the presentations. I requested some quick quotes from the rental companies so I'm waiting on them to get back to me.
Browsing around, there's tons of other useful stuff I can rent too, like LCD projector rentals, presentation equipment, projector and projection screens, LCD monitors, plasma televisions, desktop computers, and even photocopiers (lol!). I can think of like 30 different occasions when I wished I owned a photocopier.
In fact, a photocopier is probably one of the very first things I'll buy for my home when I settle in my career and earn a steady income salary. I guess that makes me a nerd huh?
It's too bad that there are no good student discounts on laptops, or notebook computers for sale, or I would totally just buy one for myself. I know the bookstore at UBC has a discount for Macs, but I'm not in the market for a Mac. So I think my best solution right now is to rent a notebook and just use it for the short period of time I need for the presentations. I requested some quick quotes from the rental companies so I'm waiting on them to get back to me.
Browsing around, there's tons of other useful stuff I can rent too, like LCD projector rentals, presentation equipment, projector and projection screens, LCD monitors, plasma televisions, desktop computers, and even photocopiers (lol!). I can think of like 30 different occasions when I wished I owned a photocopier.
In fact, a photocopier is probably one of the very first things I'll buy for my home when I settle in my career and earn a steady income salary. I guess that makes me a nerd huh?
Monday, 28 March 2011
Project Management Programs
Thanks for all the input guys! Didn't know so many of you were so knowledgeable in Law School stuff and Culinary Arts Schools. Anyway, 2nd year Accounting students have several big project presentations coming up within the next few days (why am I blogging and not working on it? ah!) and I thought I'd take a moment to tell you guys about project management programs because I think all university students could use project management training.
Project management programs teach you the art of managing several projects at the same time. What is project management? Well Wiki defines it as:
"Program management or programme management is the process of managing several related projects, often with the intention of improving an organization's performance. In practice and in its aims it is often closely related to systems engineering and industrial engineering."
So project management is usually applied in an organizational work setting, and involves learning about how to do multiple projects at once effectievly and efficiently. I took a project management program offered by the VSB in seminar format, but there are course formats or stuff like that too, whichever appeals to you.
Many organizations encourage their employees to take it because they know the benefits of this skill. In fact, your workplace might even be willing to subsidize it too -- check it out!
Anyway, my point is that project management is far more applicable to students than it is to working adults. If you think about it, students use it all the bloody time! I've had several times where I was loaded with 4 or even 5 projects due within the week.
During my project management program, I learnt how to organize my schedule, time management, and most importantly how to structure my projects so that they are applicable to each other and somehow correlated so that you can "double dip" that work. By that I mean using the work or ideas in both projects and in essence killing two birds with one stone.
Give it a shot, let me know what you think of project management programs. I've had great experience in these programs and just wanted to share this handy university tip with all of you so you can excel in your academics. Good luck!
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Project Management Programs
Thanks for all the input guys! Didn't know so many of you were so knowledgeable in Law School stuff and Culinary Arts Schools. Anyway, 2nd year Accounting students have several big project presentations coming up within the next few days (why am I blogging and not working on it? ah!) and I thought I'd take a moment to tell you guys about project management programs because I think all university students could use project management training.
Project management programs teach you the art of managing several projects at the same time. What is project management? Well Wiki defines it as:
"Program management or programme management is the process of managing several related projects, often with the intention of improving an organization's performance. In practice and in its aims it is often closely related to systems engineering and industrial engineering."
So project management is usually applied in an organizational work setting, and involves learning about how to do multiple projects at once effectievly and efficiently. I took a project management program offered by the VSB in seminar format, but there are course formats or stuff like that too, whichever appeals to you.
Many organizations encourage their employees to take it because they know the benefits of this skill. In fact, your workplace might even be willing to subsidize it too -- check it out!
Anyway, my point is that project management is far more applicable to students than it is to working adults. If you think about it, students use it all the bloody time! I've had several times where I was loaded with 4 or even 5 projects due within the week.
During my project management program, I learnt how to organize my schedule, time management, and most importantly how to structure my projects so that they are applicable to each other and somehow correlated so that you can "double dip" that work. By that I mean using the work or ideas in both projects and in essence killing two birds with one stone.
Give it a shot, let me know what you think of project management programs. I've had great experience in these programs and just wanted to share this handy university tip with all of you so you can excel in your academics. Good luck!
Project management programs teach you the art of managing several projects at the same time. What is project management? Well Wiki defines it as:
"Program management or programme management is the process of managing several related projects, often with the intention of improving an organization's performance. In practice and in its aims it is often closely related to systems engineering and industrial engineering."
So project management is usually applied in an organizational work setting, and involves learning about how to do multiple projects at once effectievly and efficiently. I took a project management program offered by the VSB in seminar format, but there are course formats or stuff like that too, whichever appeals to you.
Many organizations encourage their employees to take it because they know the benefits of this skill. In fact, your workplace might even be willing to subsidize it too -- check it out!
Anyway, my point is that project management is far more applicable to students than it is to working adults. If you think about it, students use it all the bloody time! I've had several times where I was loaded with 4 or even 5 projects due within the week.
During my project management program, I learnt how to organize my schedule, time management, and most importantly how to structure my projects so that they are applicable to each other and somehow correlated so that you can "double dip" that work. By that I mean using the work or ideas in both projects and in essence killing two birds with one stone.
Give it a shot, let me know what you think of project management programs. I've had great experience in these programs and just wanted to share this handy university tip with all of you so you can excel in your academics. Good luck!
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Culinary Schools, Online Law Schools
Hey guys,
I've been thinking about changing degrees. Accounting really just isn't right for me... I'm not very good at it, it's very tedious and boring, and the studies are insanely difficult (my courses are ripping me apart!)
There are two choices that I might consider as of this moment:
1) Culinary Arts Schools
This is my topmost choice. Living by myself, I've been forced to cook more often than I thought... And I found out I love it. So I want to go to culinary schools and perhaps work as a chef. Right now I'm considering a few schools in USA, particularly NY, Cali, Chicago, that I might want to attend (something else I've always wanted to do). As I mentioned in previous posts, University reputation is paramount. So I did some Google searching for culinary schools in California, culinary schools in New York, and culinary schools in Chicago. I'm kinda liking the California School of Culinary Arts and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. Not quite sure about this just yet, because both are very costly choices. Maybe I'll just look for a simple pastry school. A bakery? I dunno.
2) Law Schools
And not just any law schools, but online law schools. That's right, an internet law school. Preferably an accredited online law school... But yeah. My top choice would have to be Concord Law School Online. I checked out the Concord Law School website and I like what I see! See for yourself: Concord Law School.
That's all I have for now. Since it's up in the air still, I can afford to make these widely varying choices... I figure, if I'm going to switch, might as well go all out rather than half-ass it and do some other BCom specialization.
Anyway, I haven't finalized any decisions yet, just kinda pondering at the moment. What are your thoughts on this? Does anyone have experience in culinary schools/graphic design schools/law schools?
I've been thinking about changing degrees. Accounting really just isn't right for me... I'm not very good at it, it's very tedious and boring, and the studies are insanely difficult (my courses are ripping me apart!)
There are two choices that I might consider as of this moment:
1) Culinary Arts Schools
This is my topmost choice. Living by myself, I've been forced to cook more often than I thought... And I found out I love it. So I want to go to culinary schools and perhaps work as a chef. Right now I'm considering a few schools in USA, particularly NY, Cali, Chicago, that I might want to attend (something else I've always wanted to do). As I mentioned in previous posts, University reputation is paramount. So I did some Google searching for culinary schools in California, culinary schools in New York, and culinary schools in Chicago. I'm kinda liking the California School of Culinary Arts and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. Not quite sure about this just yet, because both are very costly choices. Maybe I'll just look for a simple pastry school. A bakery? I dunno.
2) Law Schools
And not just any law schools, but online law schools. That's right, an internet law school. Preferably an accredited online law school... But yeah. My top choice would have to be Concord Law School Online. I checked out the Concord Law School website and I like what I see! See for yourself: Concord Law School.
That's all I have for now. Since it's up in the air still, I can afford to make these widely varying choices... I figure, if I'm going to switch, might as well go all out rather than half-ass it and do some other BCom specialization.
Anyway, I haven't finalized any decisions yet, just kinda pondering at the moment. What are your thoughts on this? Does anyone have experience in culinary schools/graphic design schools/law schools?
Friday, 25 March 2011
Yahoo Domains
Afternoon update:
Thank God it's Friday! Going to have a hella hard weekend... Tons of work to do for the Accounting Club, plus another project due on Monday. But you guys didn't come here to hear me whine about my workload, so I'd like to bring up something new...
Recently, I've been getting a few emails and questions about buying a web domain and registering a web domain. I've set up a few websites for various UBC clubs, most of which involved buying a web domain. So having tried various providers, I'd like to share my experiences with you guys...
Go with Yahoo domains!! They are the best web domain host out there!!
Seriously they have some of the best customer service you could ever ask for. GoDaddy is great, cheap, nice to use... But I'm not very fond of the service. People have been telling me that they're not too responsive to emalis, and aren't too friendly when it comes to resolving billing problems (and believe me, when a billing problem arises, the worst think you can have is irresponsible customer reps!)
Anyway, Yahoo Domains only costs about $10 a year, which is competitive with most other webhosts. In fact, I believe Yahoo offers a deal for new customers of $4 per year (it was even $2 for a while!). They have 24/7 customer support, call them or email them and they respond immediately. They're control panel and DNS management is insanely simple to use and straightforward (some other guys make it super complicated and guarded). Not to mention they have a range of domain name extensions, including the popular ones (.com, ,net, .org, .biz, .info, .us)
So all-in-all, if anyone is looking to invest in their blog, I encourage you guys to try out Yahoo! Domains. I'm not advertising for them or anything, I genuinely believe they have a great product and excellent service! For those of you who aren't as familiar with web domain registration, imagine being able to link to your blog as easily as "www.alphabetalife.com"!
That's all for now, let me know your thoughts if you have experience in web domains!
Thank God it's Friday! Going to have a hella hard weekend... Tons of work to do for the Accounting Club, plus another project due on Monday. But you guys didn't come here to hear me whine about my workload, so I'd like to bring up something new...
Recently, I've been getting a few emails and questions about buying a web domain and registering a web domain. I've set up a few websites for various UBC clubs, most of which involved buying a web domain. So having tried various providers, I'd like to share my experiences with you guys...
Go with Yahoo domains!! They are the best web domain host out there!!
Seriously they have some of the best customer service you could ever ask for. GoDaddy is great, cheap, nice to use... But I'm not very fond of the service. People have been telling me that they're not too responsive to emalis, and aren't too friendly when it comes to resolving billing problems (and believe me, when a billing problem arises, the worst think you can have is irresponsible customer reps!)
Anyway, Yahoo Domains only costs about $10 a year, which is competitive with most other webhosts. In fact, I believe Yahoo offers a deal for new customers of $4 per year (it was even $2 for a while!). They have 24/7 customer support, call them or email them and they respond immediately. They're control panel and DNS management is insanely simple to use and straightforward (some other guys make it super complicated and guarded). Not to mention they have a range of domain name extensions, including the popular ones (.com, ,net, .org, .biz, .info, .us)
So all-in-all, if anyone is looking to invest in their blog, I encourage you guys to try out Yahoo! Domains. I'm not advertising for them or anything, I genuinely believe they have a great product and excellent service! For those of you who aren't as familiar with web domain registration, imagine being able to link to your blog as easily as "www.alphabetalife.com"!
That's all for now, let me know your thoughts if you have experience in web domains!
Life lesson: Sleep early
Here is a tip for all you college/uni students out there:
Sleep early. (If you can.)
A couple of days ago, I slept before 11pm. I woke up at 7:30 the next day feeling INCREDIBLE. Got up at the first ring of the alarm, no grogginess whatsoever, even had time to go online, check my email, check the markets, etc etc. Wide awake and alert throughout class and the rest of the day. I haven't felt so A-game since like elementary school.
So yeah, I encourage everyone to set an early bedtime! That's my "lifehack" as it were. Just a tip. Even if you have a bunch of stuff to do and you plan to stay up 'til 3 (as I often do), try sleeping first then waking up a couple hours early to finish off your work. You'll be completely refreshed, crystal clear thinking, and you won't regret it.
Let me know how it goes!
And of course, on to our submissions:
Today in class, I had so much chocolate, that I forgot to bring normal food.-elexerdelex
Today in class, I played angry birds. -James
Today in class, I left in the break as usual on thursdays. The teacher never notices, but he doesn't care anyway. -slyght
Today in class, I distilled alcohol and ended up blinding myself. -G
Today in class, I sat around and did nothing. -Asty
Today in class I slept for 2 hours. Refreshing.-Silent Crawler
Sleep early. (If you can.)
A couple of days ago, I slept before 11pm. I woke up at 7:30 the next day feeling INCREDIBLE. Got up at the first ring of the alarm, no grogginess whatsoever, even had time to go online, check my email, check the markets, etc etc. Wide awake and alert throughout class and the rest of the day. I haven't felt so A-game since like elementary school.
So yeah, I encourage everyone to set an early bedtime! That's my "lifehack" as it were. Just a tip. Even if you have a bunch of stuff to do and you plan to stay up 'til 3 (as I often do), try sleeping first then waking up a couple hours early to finish off your work. You'll be completely refreshed, crystal clear thinking, and you won't regret it.
Let me know how it goes!
And of course, on to our submissions:
Today in class, I had so much chocolate, that I forgot to bring normal food.-elexerdelex
Today in class, I played angry birds. -James
Today in class, I left in the break as usual on thursdays. The teacher never notices, but he doesn't care anyway. -slyght
Today in class, I distilled alcohol and ended up blinding myself. -G
Today in class, I sat around and did nothing. -Asty
Today in class I slept for 2 hours. Refreshing.-Silent Crawler
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Never stay at school past midnight.
I am thoroughly exhausted right now, just got home. Long, tiring day... I'll summarize it in the form of a "Today in class":
Today in school, I stayed until midnight working on a group project. Little did I know, the busses stop running at around midnight... And it took me half an hour of standing at the busstop to realize it. Well, I ended up having to cab home; it cost me $30.
Yeah. Moral of the story: Never stay at school past midnight (unless you plan on staying the night at a friend's dorms or at the student hostels). Anywaaaay, on to more reader submissions! Not as many today as yesterday, so try to keep them streaming in guys. I've added a direct link to your profiles/blogs so readers can check you out too =).
Today, I skipped class due to shitty weather. No way in hell I'm walking through that blizzard of slushy rain. -Alixander
Today in class, I played WoW. -~Fabi
Today in class, there was a strike. Day off. -Tyrone
Today in class, I was late to take a quiz, and my gay ringtone for my girlfriend went off when she sent me a text and I got super embarrassed. Good day...? You decide. -Drab Maestro
Today in class, I began following your blog. -Acidflaw
Today in class, I pooped my pants and it was sho damn bad I took them off and then I started smearing the feces on myself and danced like a monkey. -ed (Somehow, I doubt it ed!)
Today in school, I stayed until midnight working on a group project. Little did I know, the busses stop running at around midnight... And it took me half an hour of standing at the busstop to realize it. Well, I ended up having to cab home; it cost me $30.
Yeah. Moral of the story: Never stay at school past midnight (unless you plan on staying the night at a friend's dorms or at the student hostels). Anywaaaay, on to more reader submissions! Not as many today as yesterday, so try to keep them streaming in guys. I've added a direct link to your profiles/blogs so readers can check you out too =).
Today, I skipped class due to shitty weather. No way in hell I'm walking through that blizzard of slushy rain. -Alixander
Today in class, I played WoW. -~Fabi
Today in class, there was a strike. Day off. -Tyrone
Today in class, I was late to take a quiz, and my gay ringtone for my girlfriend went off when she sent me a text and I got super embarrassed. Good day...? You decide. -Drab Maestro
Today in class, I began following your blog. -Acidflaw
Today in class, I pooped my pants and it was sho damn bad I took them off and then I started smearing the feces on myself and danced like a monkey. -ed (Somehow, I doubt it ed!)
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Today in class...
Thanks everyone, for the congratulatories! I'm almost at 600 now, haha.
For my "today in class":
Last week, I stayed up until 4 A.M. finishing a rather difficult math assignment. The next day in class, I realized that I left it at home... So instead of listening to the lecture and taking notes, I redid half of the assignment to hand in. Tomorrow, there is another homework assignment due, and I literally spent 9 hours on it because I didn't have the information from the lecture or the notes (I don't know anyone else in that class).
No joke! It sucks, serious. I spent most of my day researching online for snippets on how to find the friggn d'Alembert solution to wave equations using characteristics and domain of dependence. It just so happened that the notes the prof posts online from past years were missing vital parts from this section.
And as promised, here are the "Today in class" submissions from yesterday. Huge thank you to those who contributed! Keep them coming guys, I loved reading them all. If something happens to you in class, make sure you share it here with everyone; we want to hear about it!
Today in class, I didn't pay attention because I was reading about Android development. -Andy W
Today in class, nothing happened because I wasn't there. -Seorava
Today in class, I snuck out during the break for a cigarette. The next lecture? The dangers of smoking. Cue dirty looks from my fellow med students... -Headspace
Today in class, a teacher walked in and, upon nobody acknowledging him, demanded that we try it again - walked out, and walked back in. Nobody knew what he meant, so the same thing happened. He walked in and out of our room about 4 times before giving up and leaving - he never actually did anything, just walked in and out a bunch of times. -Dirtyepic
Today in class, I learned that 1 in 4 refugees in the world is Afghan. And that there are environmental refugees (Japanese eathquake refugees). -Daily01
Today in class, I caught the prof sleeping. -DrQmn1
Today in class, I farted all day from eating bad pizza. The guy next to me (in the stench) got the blame! -Elexerdelex
Today in class, a girl next to me farted, realized I had heard her, then attempted to blame it on another nearby girl. -Alpha
Today in class, I ate a California Burrito, it was delicious. -Asty
Today in class, I played a game of naps. -Sporktar
Today in class, the electricity went out randomly, and all the doors slammed shut in the halway. There was a girl with a flashlight on her iPhone, and for a second, I thought it was the Zombiepocalypse. -Christophe
Today in class, we're all hanging out, listening to the mind-numbing lecture in Intro to computers about what the different parts of a URL are. The girl beside me has been lying her head on the table all day, kinda sweating, seeming generally miserable. She lets out this little whimper and the next thing I hear is the splash of vomit hitting the table. It's covered her notebook, textbook and laptop. We're in the second row, so the prof sees it all and responds with his own upchucking (guess he's got a weak stomach). Shrieking and general panicked vomit avoidance ensue. I'm loling. Boring lecture is cut short. Everything went better than expected. -AnthropoSeptic
Today in class, I wasn't there. I was skipping and skateboarding outside school. -Tak47
Today in criminal law class, we were talking about porn law in different countries. An australian student made a little presentation, starting with: "after hours and hours of hard and dirty research..." and it went on for the whole presentation. it was kind of funny, but it seemed a little forced.. -Slyght
Today in class, I fell asleep and when I woke up, my friends told me that the professor pointed me out to the whole class who laughed at me, and I didn't wake up. -Ironchefman
Today in class, I was writing something then I went to scratch my head with the same pen - I ended up stabbing myself in the ear with the pen. -Ada
And my favourite of today...
One of my classmates (physics degree) told me she'd been asked to prepare the answer to a quantum physics question for her tutorial the next day. she needed my help.
I worked through the question with her, then went out drinking a bit late. The next day in my own tutorial I fell asleep; I woke to hear my tutor asking me to solve the very same problem I had worked through the previous night. Stifling a wry smile, I sleepily got up and scrawled through the derivations at a speed that clearly surprised and greatly impressed the professor. Then I sat back down, and for extra dramatics, immediately closed my eyes again.
Thus I showed that sometimes it is ok to drink and derive :)
-ResCogitans
(Sorry if I left yours out, let me know and I'll post it next time.)
For my "today in class":
Last week, I stayed up until 4 A.M. finishing a rather difficult math assignment. The next day in class, I realized that I left it at home... So instead of listening to the lecture and taking notes, I redid half of the assignment to hand in. Tomorrow, there is another homework assignment due, and I literally spent 9 hours on it because I didn't have the information from the lecture or the notes (I don't know anyone else in that class).
No joke! It sucks, serious. I spent most of my day researching online for snippets on how to find the friggn d'Alembert solution to wave equations using characteristics and domain of dependence. It just so happened that the notes the prof posts online from past years were missing vital parts from this section.
And as promised, here are the "Today in class" submissions from yesterday. Huge thank you to those who contributed! Keep them coming guys, I loved reading them all. If something happens to you in class, make sure you share it here with everyone; we want to hear about it!
Today in class, I didn't pay attention because I was reading about Android development. -Andy W
Today in class, nothing happened because I wasn't there. -Seorava
Today in class, I snuck out during the break for a cigarette. The next lecture? The dangers of smoking. Cue dirty looks from my fellow med students... -Headspace
Today in class, a teacher walked in and, upon nobody acknowledging him, demanded that we try it again - walked out, and walked back in. Nobody knew what he meant, so the same thing happened. He walked in and out of our room about 4 times before giving up and leaving - he never actually did anything, just walked in and out a bunch of times. -Dirtyepic
Today in class, I learned that 1 in 4 refugees in the world is Afghan. And that there are environmental refugees (Japanese eathquake refugees). -Daily01
Today in class, I caught the prof sleeping. -DrQmn1
Today in class, I farted all day from eating bad pizza. The guy next to me (in the stench) got the blame! -Elexerdelex
Today in class, a girl next to me farted, realized I had heard her, then attempted to blame it on another nearby girl. -Alpha
Today in class, I ate a California Burrito, it was delicious. -Asty
Today in class, I played a game of naps. -Sporktar
Today in class, the electricity went out randomly, and all the doors slammed shut in the halway. There was a girl with a flashlight on her iPhone, and for a second, I thought it was the Zombiepocalypse. -Christophe
Today in class, we're all hanging out, listening to the mind-numbing lecture in Intro to computers about what the different parts of a URL are. The girl beside me has been lying her head on the table all day, kinda sweating, seeming generally miserable. She lets out this little whimper and the next thing I hear is the splash of vomit hitting the table. It's covered her notebook, textbook and laptop. We're in the second row, so the prof sees it all and responds with his own upchucking (guess he's got a weak stomach). Shrieking and general panicked vomit avoidance ensue. I'm loling. Boring lecture is cut short. Everything went better than expected. -AnthropoSeptic
Today in class, I wasn't there. I was skipping and skateboarding outside school. -Tak47
Today in criminal law class, we were talking about porn law in different countries. An australian student made a little presentation, starting with: "after hours and hours of hard and dirty research..." and it went on for the whole presentation. it was kind of funny, but it seemed a little forced.. -Slyght
Today in class, I fell asleep and when I woke up, my friends told me that the professor pointed me out to the whole class who laughed at me, and I didn't wake up. -Ironchefman
Today in class, I was writing something then I went to scratch my head with the same pen - I ended up stabbing myself in the ear with the pen. -Ada
And my favourite of today...
One of my classmates (physics degree) told me she'd been asked to prepare the answer to a quantum physics question for her tutorial the next day. she needed my help.
I worked through the question with her, then went out drinking a bit late. The next day in my own tutorial I fell asleep; I woke to hear my tutor asking me to solve the very same problem I had worked through the previous night. Stifling a wry smile, I sleepily got up and scrawled through the derivations at a speed that clearly surprised and greatly impressed the professor. Then I sat back down, and for extra dramatics, immediately closed my eyes again.
Thus I showed that sometimes it is ok to drink and derive :)
-ResCogitans
(Sorry if I left yours out, let me know and I'll post it next time.)
The Big 500 + Theme Change!
Thanks for the tags guys, I've finally hit the big 500!
What's more, I got exactly 100 comments on my last post; thanks so much guys, love you all!
On an unrelated note, I've decided to change the style of my blog to a collection of "Today in class..." one liners. Similar to the FML lines that I posted up a couple of posts ago. But to do so, I'll need all the audience participation I can get! That means I need you guys to submit some material in the comments section below.
Tell me about something that happened in class! It can be funny, stupid, pointless, lame, whatever; just as long as it's true and it happened to you or somebody you know. In fact, it doesn't even have to be today, it can be something that happened in the past. Submissions will get posted in the next blog post for the other 500+ viewers to see.
I'll start things off with what happened in class today:
Today in class, the prof caught me sleeping and snoring loudly during the lecture. So he made me stand for the remaining 53 minutes of class. I couldn't even take notes.
True story,except it happened on Friday, hah. I was tired from cramming for a Differential Equations midterm =(. Now your turn guys!
What's more, I got exactly 100 comments on my last post; thanks so much guys, love you all!
On an unrelated note, I've decided to change the style of my blog to a collection of "Today in class..." one liners. Similar to the FML lines that I posted up a couple of posts ago. But to do so, I'll need all the audience participation I can get! That means I need you guys to submit some material in the comments section below.
Tell me about something that happened in class! It can be funny, stupid, pointless, lame, whatever; just as long as it's true and it happened to you or somebody you know. In fact, it doesn't even have to be today, it can be something that happened in the past. Submissions will get posted in the next blog post for the other 500+ viewers to see.
I'll start things off with what happened in class today:
Today in class, the prof caught me sleeping and snoring loudly during the lecture. So he made me stand for the remaining 53 minutes of class. I couldn't even take notes.
True story,except it happened on Friday, hah. I was tired from cramming for a Differential Equations midterm =(. Now your turn guys!
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Casey 'The Punisher' Heynes
How does it make you feel when you're reading some of those messages?
Pretty good.
Why?
Because... I've never had so much support.
I salute you, Casey Heynes.
Pretty good.
Why?
Because... I've never had so much support.
I salute you, Casey Heynes.
Cheating on exams
Just want to share these images with you guys, how to cheat on an exam! Don't worry, I don't cheat in University exams because the effort requird to set these up could much easier be spent doing actual studying, and funnily enough the process of preparing little cheat notes usually helps me study it enough to not need it anymore. So in order for it to be useful I'd need a full set of notes (more than a page) and then it's just too risky. However, I did cheat back in my early high school days! And who knows, some of you might want to jeopardize your University careers to try these?
There are 6 people cheating in this image and each are using a different method. It's kind of funny to watch actually...
Most people are familiar with the writing on the backside of a label, then taking swigs of water to peek. But this is rather innovative and clever!
Writing on any part of your body, classic. Be sure to pick your seat position strategically.
Putting them in more intimate parts is always a smart way to hedge against getting caught. When they catch you and ask you to lift up your skirt/bra, BAM sexual harassment charge right there. Virtually undiscoverable. Too bad they're stupidly obvious...
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Thank God It's Friday!
So guys, I feel that after yesterday's "intellectual-ish" discussion about Asians in University, we have to tune it back down a bit and take it easy (so we don't burn out our brains, you see!).
Anyway, I apologize beforehand but I just have to say this...
It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday!
Seriously though, what I really wanted to bring to your attention is this interview she did on Good Morning America:
Thoughts???
Anyway, I apologize beforehand but I just have to say this...
It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday!
Seriously though, what I really wanted to bring to your attention is this interview she did on Good Morning America:
Thoughts???
Friday, 18 March 2011
Too Asian for Universities?
Hey guys, got tons of replies about the last video, which is great. So I thought I'd share this Maclean's article, which is very related:
http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2010/11/10/too-asian/
Basically it talks about how immigrant enrollment at certain Universities (including UBC) that are situated in Asian-dominant cities are too high, and the grade/acceptance standards have skyrocketed as a result (I'm Asian, btw). This apparently causes a problem to local students who simply can't compete with these "nerds" who do nothing but study and sacrifice social relations in so doing.
My response to that is... Bullshit. Who wrote this article? This "I can't deal with the competition!" sentiment is probably best shared by the likes of Alexandra Wallace. It's sad really. These kids value their all-weekend partying and clubbing too much to invest time into studying. At the very worst, they're asking for no less than a monopoly on their hometown post-secondaries. The reasoning is simple: If I can't raise my grades, I'll lower the standards!
So what, the universities should reject all applicants who excel by their academic standards, in favour of the idiots who can't even pull a C average? If you guys ever get a chance to come out to beautiful Vancouver BC, check out our campus. At a glance, the Asian population makes up about 90% of the student body. But look at what they're doing! They're getting involved with the community, attending club meetings, chatting with friends, networking, socializing, playing sports, engaging in extra-curriculars. And no, not all Asians join the chess or math clubs. No, not all Asians spend their entire waking life in the libraries. We are far, far from separated from society!
Just think what would happen if you limited admissions to idiots. This why your state university can't stack up on a national level. This is why your institution of study has no prestige whatsoever in the world standings. There are kids out there who find out they can't compete head to head with the immigrants, and instead of trying, they whine about it to the admissions officers and blame it on our cultures and norms.
Meritocracy, people. Learn it. Earn it.
http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2010/11/10/too-asian/
Basically it talks about how immigrant enrollment at certain Universities (including UBC) that are situated in Asian-dominant cities are too high, and the grade/acceptance standards have skyrocketed as a result (I'm Asian, btw). This apparently causes a problem to local students who simply can't compete with these "nerds" who do nothing but study and sacrifice social relations in so doing.
My response to that is... Bullshit. Who wrote this article? This "I can't deal with the competition!" sentiment is probably best shared by the likes of Alexandra Wallace. It's sad really. These kids value their all-weekend partying and clubbing too much to invest time into studying. At the very worst, they're asking for no less than a monopoly on their hometown post-secondaries. The reasoning is simple: If I can't raise my grades, I'll lower the standards!
So what, the universities should reject all applicants who excel by their academic standards, in favour of the idiots who can't even pull a C average? If you guys ever get a chance to come out to beautiful Vancouver BC, check out our campus. At a glance, the Asian population makes up about 90% of the student body. But look at what they're doing! They're getting involved with the community, attending club meetings, chatting with friends, networking, socializing, playing sports, engaging in extra-curriculars. And no, not all Asians join the chess or math clubs. No, not all Asians spend their entire waking life in the libraries. We are far, far from separated from society!
Just think what would happen if you limited admissions to idiots. This why your state university can't stack up on a national level. This is why your institution of study has no prestige whatsoever in the world standings. There are kids out there who find out they can't compete head to head with the immigrants, and instead of trying, they whine about it to the admissions officers and blame it on our cultures and norms.
Meritocracy, people. Learn it. Earn it.
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Racist Tirade
Some of you may have seen this already... But this stupid bimbo from UCLA goes on a racist tirade against asians. The internet community is up in arms, calling for her head. Frankly, I'm not quite sure whether to take this as offensive or hilarious!
Anyway, my challenge to you guys: Find the funniest Youtube parody of this bitch! Here's one I really liked (starts at around 0:15) :
Go!
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
University Reputation
Went to a networking event tonight where there were a lot of Finance industry professionals of great stature. Had a great time, appies were delicious, some very nice conversations with the pros.
The one thing that bugs me is that knowing I'll be graduating from a Western Canadian University with a subpar BComm diploma, as opposed to an MBA from a prestigious business school (any Ivy League in USA, Richard Ivey School of Business, for example) and the capital markets won't even give my resume a second glance because of it!
I spoke to one very successful managing director who very explicitly told me that -fact- out of the 6000 applicant resumes they receive, a UBC student wouldn't be given the light of day unless he had done something truly sensational in extracurriculars. And that's because firms know that all the really good students head over to the eastern Universities, so that's where all the stellar applicants are and that's where they pick from. The smartest and brightest know better than to stay in the West!
The worst part is, even if we had top notch quality of education here, it wouldn't matter much unless the world can perceive the institution as such.
Now that's a bit unsettling. What am I going to do with my degree? Where will I find a job?
Anyway, point of the story is, a U's reputation is infinitely more highly regarded than its education quality. Fact.
The one thing that bugs me is that knowing I'll be graduating from a Western Canadian University with a subpar BComm diploma, as opposed to an MBA from a prestigious business school (any Ivy League in USA, Richard Ivey School of Business, for example) and the capital markets won't even give my resume a second glance because of it!
I spoke to one very successful managing director who very explicitly told me that -fact- out of the 6000 applicant resumes they receive, a UBC student wouldn't be given the light of day unless he had done something truly sensational in extracurriculars. And that's because firms know that all the really good students head over to the eastern Universities, so that's where all the stellar applicants are and that's where they pick from. The smartest and brightest know better than to stay in the West!
The worst part is, even if we had top notch quality of education here, it wouldn't matter much unless the world can perceive the institution as such.
Now that's a bit unsettling. What am I going to do with my degree? Where will I find a job?
Anyway, point of the story is, a U's reputation is infinitely more highly regarded than its education quality. Fact.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Time to invest in Uranium??
Most of you know about the Fukushima Nuclear Plant explosion over the weekend. Well today it was announced that a second explosion just occured. Economically speaking, this has had grave impact on Uranium stocks and spot prices. Uranium companies worldwide are down 10-30% today from the news. For the most part, this could be the market's kneejerk reaction to the news... Which means these top companies are being oversold and now is a good time to pick them up on the cheap.
Take a look at this blog for more coherent insight: Profit From Investment Letters
Note: This is NOT investment advice and should NOT be taken as such. I am a friggn 2nd year accounting university student. What do I know about Uranium stocks?
Take a look at this blog for more coherent insight: Profit From Investment Letters
Note: This is NOT investment advice and should NOT be taken as such. I am a friggn 2nd year accounting university student. What do I know about Uranium stocks?
Monday, 14 March 2011
FML
Some school-related FML lines!
Today, during a class, I noticed some racist statements and symbols on a table. While erasing them, I bent down to pick up my dropped pencil. I look back up to see a teacher, and got a suspension. FML
Today, I had to present a powerpoint in front of my class. When I was finished, no one clapped. On my way back to my seat, I slipped on a pencil and fell straight on my face. That's when everyone clapped. FML
Today, my math teacher brought his laptop to tally up all our scores for our report card. He then displayed the results on a big screen in front of the whole class. The ones who failed were marked yellow. I was the only one marked yellow. FML
Today, I was in class when someone came in with a rose for me. My teacher made me read the card aloud: "I'm breaking up with you, happy Valentine's." It was from my boyfriend. FML
Today, I finally got a reply to the letter to a celebrity that I had to write for my English class. It was a restraining order. FML
Today, my English teacher told me that I failed my grammar test. Her exact words were "You ain't gonna pass this class if you ain't gonna study." FML
Enjoy!
Today, during a class, I noticed some racist statements and symbols on a table. While erasing them, I bent down to pick up my dropped pencil. I look back up to see a teacher, and got a suspension. FML
Today, I had to present a powerpoint in front of my class. When I was finished, no one clapped. On my way back to my seat, I slipped on a pencil and fell straight on my face. That's when everyone clapped. FML
Today, my math teacher brought his laptop to tally up all our scores for our report card. He then displayed the results on a big screen in front of the whole class. The ones who failed were marked yellow. I was the only one marked yellow. FML
Today, I was in class when someone came in with a rose for me. My teacher made me read the card aloud: "I'm breaking up with you, happy Valentine's." It was from my boyfriend. FML
Today, I finally got a reply to the letter to a celebrity that I had to write for my English class. It was a restraining order. FML
Today, my English teacher told me that I failed my grammar test. Her exact words were "You ain't gonna pass this class if you ain't gonna study." FML
Enjoy!
Sunday, 13 March 2011
Find x... Here it is!
Taking a calculus course right now, and damn it is brutal.
Anyone ever feel like this? I sure do. After hundreds and hundreds of problems, I just want to stick my pen through the exam paper.
Friday, 11 March 2011
To the citizens and families of Japan
Let us take a moment to pray for the safety and well-being of all those affllicted in Japan during this time of crisis. May you, your families, your children, your loved ones, and your friends all prevail in the glaring face of hardship.
Godbless.
Godbless.
In-class lulz!
In class right now, and just thought I'd do a quick, very necessary update:
The prof just came hustling down the aisle, being already late for class. And as these situations usually culminate in, he trips and falls flat on his face... Spilling his coffee everywhere (including himself), dropping all his papers/notes, dropping the stack of exams he was prepared to hand back PLOP into the puddle of coffee. It was a terrible, terrible sight... I lol'd.
And then I felt bad...
But oh god I lol'd hard.
Please, comments on what a horrible person I am =(.
The prof just came hustling down the aisle, being already late for class. And as these situations usually culminate in, he trips and falls flat on his face... Spilling his coffee everywhere (including himself), dropping all his papers/notes, dropping the stack of exams he was prepared to hand back PLOP into the puddle of coffee. It was a terrible, terrible sight... I lol'd.
And then I felt bad...
But oh god I lol'd hard.
Please, comments on what a horrible person I am =(.
Calm before the storm
Hey guys! Another post coming at ya because I have nothing to do. School is really interesting like that, it comes in bursts. There'll be weeks of absolute mayhem, followed by a prolonged period of uncannily quiet peace. And not long after that comes the inundation of work, and so it goes over and over.
So yeah, I had a couple of jam packed weeks with midterms, projects, presentations and whatnot, on top of my extracurriculars like some big events hosted by Accounting Club. And now... nothing. Frankly, I'm a bit bored! I need to find a new hobby.
I've been meaning to learn how to write investment reports and practise writing some. I'm interested in doing some investments of my own. But it's kinda tougher than I thought! Anyone know any online tutorials that will teach you how to write reports and analyze stocks?
Back to the blog... Just need to pass the time until the next barrage arrives, which is in about a week actually, starting with two major midterms, and a project. God help me. Wish me luck you guys! In the meantime, enjoy this vid! (Embedding is disabled so I can't post it here...)
So yeah, I had a couple of jam packed weeks with midterms, projects, presentations and whatnot, on top of my extracurriculars like some big events hosted by Accounting Club. And now... nothing. Frankly, I'm a bit bored! I need to find a new hobby.
I've been meaning to learn how to write investment reports and practise writing some. I'm interested in doing some investments of my own. But it's kinda tougher than I thought! Anyone know any online tutorials that will teach you how to write reports and analyze stocks?
Back to the blog... Just need to pass the time until the next barrage arrives, which is in about a week actually, starting with two major midterms, and a project. God help me. Wish me luck you guys! In the meantime, enjoy this vid! (Embedding is disabled so I can't post it here...)
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Sleep Schedule
One thing I hate about school is how it has messed with my sleep schedule. I think my first "late night" was back in Grade 7, when I had to stay up all night to do some silly project thing. And being the age that I was, that really killed me! After that I've had late nights now and again in Grade 8 - 10 of high school... Then BAM. Grade 11 comes along and takes the living hell out of me. Or should I say waking hell. Because Jesus, all-nighters were a weekly occurance. Once had to stay up 4 days without sleep during a crunch time. Boy that is not fun. And boy, you do not want to bump into me on that 4th day.
Grade 11 and 12 were a gong show of all-nighters. Even on a regular night, I'd be lucky to average 5 hours. For the most part, I fell asleep in class... Though high school teachers like waking you up and making you pay attention. Anyway, whenever I had a late night or an all-night, I would sleep in the afternoon. Guaranteed! I had to take an afternoon nap or I'd be screwed for the pursuing night/day (I'd be dozing off everywhere... not fun in general). After a month or so of this crap, I pretty much got used to the nap, and couldn't function without it. At night, I'd go to bed at 3 a.m. and wake up at 7:30. So on it went.
I remember looking up some different sleep schedules that I was really psyched to start implementing. The afternoon nap was one of them. I think it's called biphasic sleep... Where you have two waking periods. I really wanted to try the polyphasic, or Ubermann sleep schedule. That basically consists of 30 minutes of sleep every 4 hours or so. I think there are different variations, with up to hourly naps of 10 minutes or something... Anyway, the point was that it teaches your brain to go directly into REM sleep (the good, restful type of sleep) which would otherwise take an hour to cycle into.
Long story short, I became really enamoured with the idea... But it was just too hard to phase it into my work/school schedule. I didn't want to be catching naps in the washrooms or on the hallway floors or stuff like that, meh. I might try again later on... Though I've heard it's ridiculously brutal to get used to.
Anyone tried it? Post in the comments!
Grade 11 and 12 were a gong show of all-nighters. Even on a regular night, I'd be lucky to average 5 hours. For the most part, I fell asleep in class... Though high school teachers like waking you up and making you pay attention. Anyway, whenever I had a late night or an all-night, I would sleep in the afternoon. Guaranteed! I had to take an afternoon nap or I'd be screwed for the pursuing night/day (I'd be dozing off everywhere... not fun in general). After a month or so of this crap, I pretty much got used to the nap, and couldn't function without it. At night, I'd go to bed at 3 a.m. and wake up at 7:30. So on it went.
I remember looking up some different sleep schedules that I was really psyched to start implementing. The afternoon nap was one of them. I think it's called biphasic sleep... Where you have two waking periods. I really wanted to try the polyphasic, or Ubermann sleep schedule. That basically consists of 30 minutes of sleep every 4 hours or so. I think there are different variations, with up to hourly naps of 10 minutes or something... Anyway, the point was that it teaches your brain to go directly into REM sleep (the good, restful type of sleep) which would otherwise take an hour to cycle into.
Long story short, I became really enamoured with the idea... But it was just too hard to phase it into my work/school schedule. I didn't want to be catching naps in the washrooms or on the hallway floors or stuff like that, meh. I might try again later on... Though I've heard it's ridiculously brutal to get used to.
Anyone tried it? Post in the comments!
My Accent
Thanks for all the comments guys on the last one guys! Great to see how interested everyone is in accents =). A few of you wanted to know about my accent?! Well for those of you wondering, I'm Asian and I can't really tell about myself, but I do believe I have a bit of an accent... Though I've never been told that explicitly.
I grew up listening to a ton of Eminem... In fact he's my favourite artist. Now Em has a really distinct accent, and I'm not talking about the one he put on his Relapse album (which, by the way, despite everyone's derision I thought was still pretty good) but the one he usually speaks when he's not rapping. Like, for example, in interviews:
No idea what accent that is... though I'll take a stab and say Detroit? Haha. But yeah, I suddenly realized one day that I was starting to sound like him when I talk. And not only the accent, but also the way he says stuff and how his voice is kinda nasally and stuff. Friends have confirmed that we do kinda talk alike.
Sorry for short post today guys! Stick around I'll post again tomorrow =).
I grew up listening to a ton of Eminem... In fact he's my favourite artist. Now Em has a really distinct accent, and I'm not talking about the one he put on his Relapse album (which, by the way, despite everyone's derision I thought was still pretty good) but the one he usually speaks when he's not rapping. Like, for example, in interviews:
No idea what accent that is... though I'll take a stab and say Detroit? Haha. But yeah, I suddenly realized one day that I was starting to sound like him when I talk. And not only the accent, but also the way he says stuff and how his voice is kinda nasally and stuff. Friends have confirmed that we do kinda talk alike.
Sorry for short post today guys! Stick around I'll post again tomorrow =).
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
More on accents!
Thanks for all of your comments guys! A lot of you brought up some very good points about speaking with accents, and I just thought I'd explore it, if not try to open up the discussion a bit more. After all, this is a blog on education!
While it's true, as Alexander mentions, that they don't quite go away unless it's tackled early, I definitely think accents can be still played around with, albeit with more difficulty and more learning. It can be learnt, amplified, decreased, eliminated. The Vancouver School Board offers night classes for adults who wish to reduce their accent a bit. In fact, one of my professors was giving business interview tips to a classmate, and the specific advice was that he may want to consider taking one of these night classes. And I don't know how effective they are in the first place, but really I bet even a few classes would help immensely.
Ozh1565 brings up a great point about prioritizing... What good is having a flawless accent if you can't even use the language properly without butchering it to bits? That being said, I know some very able speaker/writers who sound like they just got off a boat... And no offense to anyone here, but I think some accents in particular, like say Chinese (the Chinese culture is strong in Vancouver) really takes away some of the credibility of your English speaking skills. This one girl I went to high school with knew every grammar rule in the book; crossed her t's and dotted her i's. Top of her class too... But when I first met her, I remember thinking she was horrible at English because of the accent. Yes it's a judgement... But that's what it is!
On that note, Ian Maguire mentions that indeed an individual's accent is not only a factor of his speech and personality, but it really colours his cultural background as well. On the Irish/Scottish English note, it's interesting to see how some accents can definitely sound better than others, even just by association. Some sound smart, some sound sexy, some sound just plain retarded... Pick your flavour!
AnthropoSeptic: I feel ya man... I had Japanese, Persian, Indian, and African accent-heavy profs all in one term. I stopped going to the lectures eventually and it made no visible difference...
And last but not least, just wanted to share with you guys a TV actor who is incredible with accents... Hugh Laurie, or as some might better know him as, House! I remember being completely blown away when I first found out he was British. Given that he is, he probably has THE most American-est sounding accent I've heard. I'm a big fan of the show, and I invite you guys to watch it with me!
Sorry if I missed you in the shoutouts, but there were just so many comments =D.
Keep 'em rollin' y'all!
While it's true, as Alexander mentions, that they don't quite go away unless it's tackled early, I definitely think accents can be still played around with, albeit with more difficulty and more learning. It can be learnt, amplified, decreased, eliminated. The Vancouver School Board offers night classes for adults who wish to reduce their accent a bit. In fact, one of my professors was giving business interview tips to a classmate, and the specific advice was that he may want to consider taking one of these night classes. And I don't know how effective they are in the first place, but really I bet even a few classes would help immensely.
Ozh1565 brings up a great point about prioritizing... What good is having a flawless accent if you can't even use the language properly without butchering it to bits? That being said, I know some very able speaker/writers who sound like they just got off a boat... And no offense to anyone here, but I think some accents in particular, like say Chinese (the Chinese culture is strong in Vancouver) really takes away some of the credibility of your English speaking skills. This one girl I went to high school with knew every grammar rule in the book; crossed her t's and dotted her i's. Top of her class too... But when I first met her, I remember thinking she was horrible at English because of the accent. Yes it's a judgement... But that's what it is!
On that note, Ian Maguire mentions that indeed an individual's accent is not only a factor of his speech and personality, but it really colours his cultural background as well. On the Irish/Scottish English note, it's interesting to see how some accents can definitely sound better than others, even just by association. Some sound smart, some sound sexy, some sound just plain retarded... Pick your flavour!
AnthropoSeptic: I feel ya man... I had Japanese, Persian, Indian, and African accent-heavy profs all in one term. I stopped going to the lectures eventually and it made no visible difference...
And last but not least, just wanted to share with you guys a TV actor who is incredible with accents... Hugh Laurie, or as some might better know him as, House! I remember being completely blown away when I first found out he was British. Given that he is, he probably has THE most American-est sounding accent I've heard. I'm a big fan of the show, and I invite you guys to watch it with me!
Sorry if I missed you in the shoutouts, but there were just so many comments =D.
Keep 'em rollin' y'all!
Monday, 7 March 2011
Class Presentations
Well, tomorrow's another class presentation.
Class presentation? I totally thought I graduated high school three years ago!
Yeah, university is no place to be doing this. Elementary sure. Secondary, definitely. But university? Come on! We've grown out of it already. All we want to do is come in, jot some notes, and get out. Possibly catch a nap while we're at it. In fact, most of the people I know don't even want to do that first part; they just want to stay in and sleep, then self-teach from the textbook come exam time.
What is up with people with accents? Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against immigrants or ESL or non-native English speakers. But why does every single group that presents have to have at least one guy/girl who can't roll his R's or L's? It just makes paying attention that much more difficult when I can't understand a goddamn thing you're saying. The interesting thing is, these are the same people who are absolute geniuses, for whatever reasons. Especially really good writers... The theory goes that ESL courses are heavily focused on grammar and structure, not so much conversation and even less on accent reduction.
Anyway, to provoke participation you see, our prof randomly assigns students the day beforehand to listen closely to the presentations and ask questions afterwards. Silly, I know. But it gets people listening, nay forces them to listen. And gets them to think, process, respond, and all that. The holistic learning process!
So I'd like to wrap up my post with those two points:
1) Forced learning sucks.
2) Every English course must incorporate mandatory accent reduction training.
Good night.
Class presentation? I totally thought I graduated high school three years ago!
Yeah, university is no place to be doing this. Elementary sure. Secondary, definitely. But university? Come on! We've grown out of it already. All we want to do is come in, jot some notes, and get out. Possibly catch a nap while we're at it. In fact, most of the people I know don't even want to do that first part; they just want to stay in and sleep, then self-teach from the textbook come exam time.
What is up with people with accents? Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against immigrants or ESL or non-native English speakers. But why does every single group that presents have to have at least one guy/girl who can't roll his R's or L's? It just makes paying attention that much more difficult when I can't understand a goddamn thing you're saying. The interesting thing is, these are the same people who are absolute geniuses, for whatever reasons. Especially really good writers... The theory goes that ESL courses are heavily focused on grammar and structure, not so much conversation and even less on accent reduction.
Anyway, to provoke participation you see, our prof randomly assigns students the day beforehand to listen closely to the presentations and ask questions afterwards. Silly, I know. But it gets people listening, nay forces them to listen. And gets them to think, process, respond, and all that. The holistic learning process!
So I'd like to wrap up my post with those two points:
1) Forced learning sucks.
2) Every English course must incorporate mandatory accent reduction training.
Good night.
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Homework Time
Hey guys, thanks for checking out my new blog!
Soo it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon and of course I have nothing better to do than stay at home and do homework.
As a student, my favourite kind of homework are the small, overnight assignements. Projects are the goddamn worst because they take so much time and effort. I have a theory that teachers/profs like assigning projects because it has the highest work-to-marking ratio (which measures the amount of work done by the student relative to the amount of marking the teacher must do on the work). Same with online class discussions... Tons of student contribution, zero teacher involvement.
Another reason I hate projects is usually because of the group I'm put in. Being somewhat of a keener, I can't stand it when someone in the group doesn't haul their weight or are unmotivated to work. Get your ass out of uni, kid, clearly it's not for you.
Some funny homework images to brighten the day!
Soo it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon and of course I have nothing better to do than stay at home and do homework.
As a student, my favourite kind of homework are the small, overnight assignements. Projects are the goddamn worst because they take so much time and effort. I have a theory that teachers/profs like assigning projects because it has the highest work-to-marking ratio (which measures the amount of work done by the student relative to the amount of marking the teacher must do on the work). Same with online class discussions... Tons of student contribution, zero teacher involvement.
Another reason I hate projects is usually because of the group I'm put in. Being somewhat of a keener, I can't stand it when someone in the group doesn't haul their weight or are unmotivated to work. Get your ass out of uni, kid, clearly it's not for you.
Some funny homework images to brighten the day!
I just love cats. and this one is so cute!
Oh my, how many times have I needed a stapler for my homework... And hey, prof should be happy because there's no way in hell those sheets are coming loose now =P.
I didn't get this one at first... It's a history assignment that was indeed supposed to be written in english. The smartass student of course, "assumed the role of a CHINESE immigrant"...
Thanks for visiting, enjoy your week guys!
Saturday, 5 March 2011
New Blog!
Hey guys, check out my new blog: Puzzled Yet??
It's a blog to share my love for brain teasers.
I'll be updating both blogs frequently so keep your eyes peeled!
It's a blog to share my love for brain teasers.
I'll be updating both blogs frequently so keep your eyes peeled!
Friday Nights in Uni
Arguably one of the best experiences of being a University student is the dorm life. Allow me to illustrate for you the great fun I had and the activity in which I partook in for the majority of my night:
Sweet, sweet hangover.
Anyway, the dorm parties around here are ridiculous. And it's incredible how welcoming they are to residents of other dorms or even outsiders. Almost like we're all one big family!
The last thing I remember doing was shouting "BRING ON THE BEER!" at the top of my lungs as I walked in. This morning I woke up with my goddamn pants stolen and obscenities sharpied all over my face. I look up at the sea of people passed out on the ground, shit splattered all over the walls and empty alcoholic beverage containers strewn throughout the place. The keg is dry, the bottles are done... And as always, the sinks and toilets are clogged.
So I just find my pants from atop the refrigerator (...the hell?) slip 'em on and slip out without a word. Classy, no?
Thank god it's not my place!
Sweet, sweet hangover.
Anyway, the dorm parties around here are ridiculous. And it's incredible how welcoming they are to residents of other dorms or even outsiders. Almost like we're all one big family!
The last thing I remember doing was shouting "BRING ON THE BEER!" at the top of my lungs as I walked in. This morning I woke up with my goddamn pants stolen and obscenities sharpied all over my face. I look up at the sea of people passed out on the ground, shit splattered all over the walls and empty alcoholic beverage containers strewn throughout the place. The keg is dry, the bottles are done... And as always, the sinks and toilets are clogged.
So I just find my pants from atop the refrigerator (...the hell?) slip 'em on and slip out without a word. Classy, no?
Thank god it's not my place!
Friday, 4 March 2011
Law of Examination
Here's something that I wanted to post after the exam but never got around to, just for kicks and giggles:
Law of Examination
A compilation of noteworthy things I noticed students [should] do before, during, and after an examination of any kind. Of course, that by no means excludes me!
1) The course, and any subsequent learning of materials, officially starts 12 hours prior to the examination. There will be no course instructor; all course materials will be self-taught directly from the textbook.
2) Interesting phenomena: Facebook traffic spikes to 325% of average yearly traffic between 10pm and 3am of the night prior to examination. You are no doubt expected to contribute to this traffic.
3) Interesting phenomena: Exam grade is inversely proportional to sleep acquired the night before.
4) Classes on the day of the exam, including the class for the course of which you will be examined in, are optional.
5) Arrive at the exam 30 minutes early. The invigilators will not allow entrance into the exam room until 5 minutes before the exam, and you know this full well; in fact, the professor suggested to arrive 15 minutes early (for no explicit reason, nonetheless). Then proceed to stand outside and wait around stupidly.
6) 20% of all course material is to be learnt within this half hour that you are standing outside the room.
7) The other 80% is learnt during the exam.
8) Protip: Your lucky writing utensils won't do you jack. Instead, bring a coin to flip for multiple choice questions.
9) Graph of handwriting legibility deterioration over time exhibits an exponential relationship.
10) No matter how early you completed the exam, you will always be cut off mid-sentence.
11) Post-exam, it is customary to report to all peers that you "did bad". At most, report that you may report you did "okay lah".
12) The post-exam review session consists of a circle of 2 or more exam candidates discussing, in detail, questions and answers from the exam. During this time, it is acceptable to affirm answers of which you are 110% confident you answered correctly.
13) This post-exam debrief often lasts longer than the pre-exam studying period.
14) During post-exam review, look through your textbook to find answers to the midterm, even though it will not change your midterm grade and the question will certainly not appear on the final exam.
15) Go home to study for tomorrow's exam.
Exam is a go!
Hey guys,
Thanks for the good wishes! The midterm went pretty well; several tricky MC questions but the rest were very straightforward. Bonus question was: "In what year was the equal sign first put into print?"
Anyway, here are some funny pics to lighten up the post-exam mood:
Enjoy, and best of luck to anyone else doing exams/midterms!
Thanks for the good wishes! The midterm went pretty well; several tricky MC questions but the rest were very straightforward. Bonus question was: "In what year was the equal sign first put into print?"
Anyway, here are some funny pics to lighten up the post-exam mood:
Enjoy, and best of luck to anyone else doing exams/midterms!
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Late Night Cramming
Midterm coming up tomorrow... Cramming like crazy.
Need some inspiration guys! Wish me luck!
Need some inspiration guys! Wish me luck!
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