Zero to Life Lesson in 60 Seconds
Life has taught me a lot of lessons in the last year or two. It isn’t always all shark fights and maple syrup chugging competitions. Some of these revelations come first-hand, while some come from observing others’ successes and failures.
I wrote all of this on the subway in a little black book. One gentleman asked me what I was writing about, so I shared my notes with him. He seemed to appreciate them, and I thought you might, too.
Friendships… GO!
Even Dog appreciates the occasional phone call, you know.
People get busy. Growing up and moving forward in life sometimes makes it difficult to keep in contact with everyone you thought you’d never grow apart from. Trust that people understand this, but never shy away from sending someone a quick message or tweet when they pop into your head, to let them know you were thinking of them. You’d be surprised how far 140 characters can go towards making someone’s day.
Even if you’re bad at staying in contact with people, never leave too much time between calls or emails to Mum and Dad. A simple “I love you” will make their day, even if you don’t have time for a proper conversation.
Personal Growth
There’s nothing wrong with eating alone in public. Don’t be afraid to be seen doing so. It doesn’t make you a loser, it just makes you more comfortable with yourself than anyone who wouldn’t dare to dine solo.
Or, you could find another solo diner, and ask to sit with them. Introduce yourself. Be friendly, yet respectful. If they don’t seem opposed to it, strike up a conversation and make a single serving friend. The world is full of interesting people, with interesting lives and interesting perspectives. Get to know a random stranger, and you might just make a real friend. Or, you might just enjoy a pleasant conversation and part ways. Either way, you’ll be better off for it. (Shout out to Jennie “with two N’s and an IE,” a single serving friend I had lunch with today!)
Keep trying foods you think you hate. Many tastes are acquired, and the ones you despise now may just become your favourites later on. Stop hating on coconuts. Just crack one open, eat it, and then wear the shell as a helmet.
Walk down the street with a smile. Just make yourself smile. Soon, it’ll feel less weird, and you’ll feel happier. People will smile back, too. Once you’ve mastered that, think of funny things while you’re waiting in lines, and laugh out loud. Be that person with the infectious laugh that makes other people laugh, too.
Send people the most random, hilarious messages and pictures you can find. Go out of your way to do it out of nowhere. Bonus points if you make someone laugh in front of a group of people.
Five hundred people around you being convinced of something doesn’t make it true. It is possible for five hundred people to be wrong; They just flock to each other more easily. Prove something to yourself, or prove it wrong to yourself. But if it doesn’t feel right, then go with your gut and walk away.
Relationships
What the hell is this?
If you think someone is getting over you rather quickly, they probably are. As humans, we’re resilient. We have an amazing ability to pick ourselves up, recover, and move on. So, learn from your experiences, and move on. Get back to yourself, and do something fun. Remember, the best way to move on is to start doing your favourite things again.
Be wary of those who “fall in love” too quickly. It isn’t that you aren’t worth that love, but they’ll probably just “fall in love” with the next person just as quickly. Please note that this is not necessarily always true. You might just be that awesome, and that’s fine!
If you aren’t worth a phone call or a text to someone, they don’t deserve you. Sooner or later, you’ll run into someone who thinks you’re worth a thousand phone calls (or ten thousand texts). Just make sure you put enough into your relationships to actually be worth those calls in the first place. It’s a two-way street.
You’ve probably heard this all before…
Someone should make a coffee table book entitled, “Interesting People of the TTC.” Actually, I’ll make it, so don’t steal my idea. Actually, steal it. I don’t really care. If you made it, I’d still buy a copy, because you’re probably rad.
There are twelve million articles like this on the internet. I know; I took a week off work and counted them (see: Everybody Lies). But this one is mine, and I hope it makes you smile. Or something.
Today’s To-Do List
I found these on the internet. I didn’t come up with them; Although, I wish I had. You see, I’m as clever as a fox. Just one fox, though. Whoever came up with these is as clever as a whole squadron of foxes.
Hive? Murder? Flock? What, exactly, is the correct term for multiple foxes, anyway?
Check It Off
- Wear a t-shirt that says, “Life.” Hand out lemons on a street corner.
- Hire two private investigators, and get them to follow each other.
- Major in philosophy. Ask people why they would like fries with that.
- Go into a crowded elevator and say, “I bet you’re all wondering why I gathered you here,” with a straight face.
- Make vanilla pudding, put it in a mayonnaise jar, and eat it in public.
- Become a teacher. Make a test where every answer is “C.” Enjoy the show.
- Wait until someone is about to sneeze. Right before they do, loudly scream, “Pika… PIKAAA!”
- Run into a store and ask what year it is. When someone answers, yell, “It worked!” and run out cheering.
- Buy a horse, name it “Oscar Takes the Lead,” and enter it in some horse races.
- Invite someone into your office, turn around in your office chair, and say, “I’ve been expecting you…”
- Change your name to Simon. Start speaking in the third person.
- Become a doctor. Change your last name to Acula.
- Buy a parrot. Teach him to say, “Help! I’ve been turned into a parrot!”
- Follow joggers around in a car, blasting “Eye of the Tiger” for encouragement.
Everybody Lies
Everybody lies. Everybody, no matter how “good” or “honest” they are.
Our entire society is a fragile house of cards, based on lies. And this works, because society would collapse if, one day, everybody just started being brutally honest with each other.
You walk into the office in the morning and greet your coworkers. Ask Sally how she is, and she’ll probably answer with, “Fine, thanks! You?” She lies. She’s having money problems, her car broke down this morning, and she just broke up with her boyfriend. But she won’t tell you how she’s really feeling, because she doesn’t think you actually care about how she is. “How are you?” is just a question that involuntarily shoots out of our mouths when we greet our fellow man, borne of a need to be polite; A fear of stepping on people’s toes, or making them uncomfortable.
A few days ago, Sally asked her boyfriend if he thought her jeans made her look fat. He thought, for once, that he’d be honest and tell her that they did. He thought he was doing her a favour. Now they’re seeing other people. And one wonders why we lie so often.
We live in a world in which a liar can still be an honest person. Truth is out there, but it’s largely overshadowed by varying degrees of deception.
I’ve been trying to write this last paragraph for two days, and for some reason, I just can’t get it to sound right. So, I’ll just say this: The next time you ask someone how they are, dare to be genuinely interested in their answer.
3 people have commented. What do you think?Why You Should Move to Toronto
Every now and again, I take a long walk through Toronto that reminds me why I love this city. You should move here. Here are a few reasons why.
Street Musicians
You don’t need to walk very far to find someone on a street corner, playing some music. Stand and watch for a few minutes, and you’ll observe scores of people dropping spare change into their cases as they pass. It’s just a shame that more people don’t actually stop for 15 minutes and really enjoy the music. There is so much talent in this city, it’s unreal.
Look at these two gentlemen at Bloor and Robert Street, in front of a Shopper’s Drug Mart:
I sat and watched them play for about an hour. One is self-taught on the harp with five or six years’ experience; The other has been playing the violin for over 50 years. Both are rad dudes, and it was a pleasure to meet them.
Walk a little further to Avenue Road to find this dance troop. Just look at that man. He’s having so much fun. Good on you, merry green-vested man.
You go, green-vested man.
At Bay and Bloor, a man plays the bag pipes. Relish that joy you feel within when you suddenly realize what you’re hearing: “We Will Rock You” by Queen. On the bag pipes. Best thing ever, in the history of things.
Sidewalk Book Sales
Countless tables with old books that nobody cares about anymore. But they should. You never know what you’re going to find.
That's pretty cutting edge technology, Adam.
Snakes and Lattes
We have Snakes and Lattes, an awesome cafe where you can go to play board games over coffee. Pay a $5 cover, and you get to stay as long as you like, playing as many games as you like. Food and drink are extra, but the place isn’t expensive.
Image credit: The UTSC Messenger (link below). Because the picture I took was crap.
Entertaining Signage
There’s always something on a chalk board or pole with something interesting to read.
Um, WUT -.-
Confucius say...
Other Cool Things
We have other cool things in Toronto.
- The CN Tower
- Excellent street meat
- An incredibly diverse array of restaurants
- Really, really smart raccoons
- A zoo
- Koreatown
- Ann de Sequeira is here right now, and everybody loves her for ruining “Brown Eyed Girl”
Thanks to The UTSC Messenger for the picture of Snakes and Lattes. The one I took was total crap, so I just used my Google Fu, instead.
9 people have commented. What do you think?Mac vs. PC – Put Your Pitchforks Away
I’ve been to the future. What I saw wasn’t pretty. All these years, I was sure Skynet was going to bring about the death of the human race. But who knew it’d be civil war caused by an age-old conflict: Mac vs. PC?
Citizens of the Internet, you see it every day – Mac and PC users blindly firing shots at each other, back and forth, without end. What’s sad is that many of these people (on both sides – don’t kid yourself) do so without any idea as to the facts behind their own statements. They operate on hearsay, rather than formulating opinions for themselves.
I like to think I have a well-rounded perspective on the issue. As an IT guy who supports and uses both platforms, I know that both have their pros and cons. And my personal preference for Microsoft Windows doesn’t mean I’m going to criticize someone for choosing a Mac. That said, for the sake of educating the naive on both sides, here are my thoughts on Mac vs. PC:
“Macs are so over-priced.”
Yes, I’m starting this off by defending Apple. Ignorant PC users often complain that Macs are over-priced. Really? It’s true that you’ll probably shell out more for a Mac at your local Best Buy than you will for a PC. But have you looked at the hardware you get for that price?
Apple designs their hardware to be beautiful. It appeals to the senses. Smooth curves, aluminium unibody construction, sleek form factors… My sister’s iMac looks and feels awesome as part of the decor in her living room. I pick up a Macbook Pro, and it’s clear to me that it’s built well. I have an iPad, and I can tell you that it is solid. I toss it around all the time without ever worrying about it snapping or cracking. That’s more than what I can say about my notebook.
If these are things you place value on, then you aren’t wasting your money. Most PC manufacturers don’t pay that much attention to those details, and that’s why you pay them less. An exception: You’ll usually pay more for a Sony Vaio; But, well, look at them. They’re beautiful, and they’re built with high-quality materials. You get what you pay for.
“Macs never get viruses.”
People who insist that Macs simply do not get viruses – These are the people who make me laugh. Your Mac not getting a virus is not the result of good security. Here’s the truth of the matter:
For years, PCs have held the vast majority of market share in the computing world. If you’re writing malicious software, and you want to hit as many computers as possible, are you going to write it for a platform that only 1% of computers run on? Of course not.
Here’s a scary thought: With Mac popularity (and with it, market share) skyrocketing, virus programmers are seeing a much tastier target in Apple products. And because, up to now, OS X was left relatively untouched, Apple is facing the enormous task of plugging security holes that were largely ignored for years.
The fact is that Macs can and do fall victim to malware, with more and more viruses being written for them.
I use a PC, yet I never get hit by malware. Your best defense on the internet is, as always, common sense. (See: Discount Pharmaceuticals – Get ‘em While They’re Hot!)
“Everything on my Mac just works.”
Come on, people. Your Macs crash all the time. I see it happen all the time. Some of the most unstable computers I’ve worked with were made by Apple. But you know what? PC users don’t have it any better.
Software is written by imperfect developers who miss things and make mistakes. Windows and OS X are both full of bugs, but they’re getting better. Mac OS X is, for the most part, very stable. Guess what? So is Windows 7.
Some Mac users claim that PC users constantly have to deal with installing drivers. I’ve used Windows 7 since it was released, and I can’t remember the last time a peripheral didn’t just work on its own. Granted, you do run into problems with some devices on Windows, but there are simply so many more available. Mac peripherals are fewer in number, so quality control is easier.
Both platforms have some truly amazing and innovative products. Case in point: Time Machine is a superb backup product. Well done, Apple.
“PCs are real computers. You can’t do real work on a Mac.”
Someone said those words to me last week, verbatim. It’s funny, if you consider that the PC is definitely the dominant platform in the gaming community.
You can be just as productive on a Mac as you can be on a PC. You may do it with different software at times, but there isn’t much you can do on Windows that you can’t on OS X, anymore.
Chill Out
There are things I like about Macs and PCs alike. There are also aspects of both that frustrate me immensely.
To PC users: The next time you’re about to blindly criticize someone for using a Macbook instead of a Dell, think first. Consider that calling them a “fanboy” actually makes you seem strangely obsessive, yourself. So just be cool. To each his/her own.
To Mac users: I understand the appeal of the platform you choose to use. Just remember that your computer is not immune to the viruses you tease PC users about, and no computer is 100% stable, all the time. Still, I have to say that Macbook Pros are sexy. I’d love to buy one and put Windows on it
Kudos to Apple for those funny commercials, but unless you work for their marketing department, this isn’t a war. So if Skynet wants us dead, let’s not make it any easier for it by killing each other over our choice of computers.
