Why pursue a Master's Degree?

So I have been struggling with my graduate program because of various circumstances, many of them existential in nature, but one of them being that I lost my direction and focus. My mental issues complicate matters endlessly, but I figured I would try to ground myself with some cursory internet searching of the question, "Why pursue a Master's degree." And because I like to share these pet projects, I am dusting off my blog and posting about the resources I found online.

1) "Master's or Ph.D.: Which Is Right For You?" on GradSchools.com Information Center

About the website:"a collection of helpful articles giving advice on everything from applying to school to writing your first research paper to juggling school and a full-time job. You will also find blogs from current students and journals from those who have been where you are now."

Notable excerpts:

Master's degrees tend to be more career-oriented while Ph.D.'s tend to be more research oriented since they are preparing people for research-oriented careers.

A master's degree has some definite benefits in that it requires less time and money than a doctoral degree, but will still set you apart from the crowd who only have a bachelor's. The master's degree can allow specialization within a field. The degree works especially well for those who have been working in a particular career for some time and hope to advance or gain new knowledge that will qualify them for a different position within their field.

A master's degree can also be an excellent method of changing careers. For those who have been in the workforce and found that their career or undergraduate education are not leading them in the direction they would like to go, a master's degree can allow them to start in a different direction by gaining new knowledge and skills.

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2) "What is a Masters Degree?" on About.com: Graduate School

About the website: "Exclusive to About.com, over 600 expert "Guides" steer About.com's content - sharing their passions, expertise and how-to information with visitors every day. The result is a vast information "bank" that couples the breadth and reach of large content providers such as AOL and MSN with the depth of consumer-focused sites like CNET and WebMD."

Notable excerpt:

Why seek a master’s degree?
Many seek master’s degrees to advance in their fields and to earn raises. Others seek master’s degrees to change career fields. For example, let’s say that you’ve earned a bachelor’s degree in English, but have decided that you want to become a counselor: complete a master’s degree in counseling. A master’s degree will allow you to develop expertise in a new area and enter a new career.

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3) "Considering Graduate School? Answer These Five Questions Before You Decide" on Quintessential Careers

About the website: "Our mission is to provide the content and motivation to empower people to achieve their educational goals, find their true career passion, and obtain their ideal job."

Notable excerpts:

Compensation: Most studies show that people with advanced degrees earn more on average than people with bachelor's degrees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 1998 the average worker with a bachelor's degree earned $40,478, while a worker with a master's degree earned $51,183, and a worker with a doctorate earned $77,445.

Staying Marketable: While a graduate degree is not required for many "entry-level" jobs, you may need to earn an advanced degree to keep your training and skills current -- and make you more marketable for career advancement.

Career Change: A graduate degree can often make sense for a job-seeker who is looking to make a career change, In this case, you would be earning the graduate degree in the field you plan to enter. Read more about career change strategies in our article, The 10-Step Plan to Career Change.

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4) "The Grad School Handbook: First Things" on GradSchools.com Information Center

About the website:"a collection of helpful articles giving advice on everything from applying to school to writing your first research paper to juggling school and a full-time job. You will also find blogs from current students and journals from those who have been where you are now."

Notable excerpts:

A master's degree is required for many positions in education, social work, and public health. It will definitely help you to get a job in mathematics, computer science, engineering, architecture, or business. It will help you to get a promotion or a higher salary if you are a teacher. Most people who get master's degrees are in education, business, or engineering; they want a good position, to be upgraded in their present jobs, or to change professions. On the other hand, an M.A. in philosophy or English will make you more employable, but will not train you for work in any specific field. However, all other things being equal, an employer who wants to fill a position that requires writing skills will prefer an applicant with a master's degree to one with a bachelor's.

One benefit of a master's degree is that it can enable you to change directions completely. You can make a new start and begin a different career. If you find that you are no longer interested in the psychology you majored in during college, you can apply to a completely new field, such as architecture, and with an M.Arch. start work as an architect. Or, if your English major is not leading you to the kinds of jobs you want, you can change goals and work on a master's in public health.

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5) "Master’s Degrees Abound as Universities and Students See a Windfall" on The New York Times online: Education section

About the website: "The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally... Nicknamed the "Gray Lady" for its staid appearance and style, it is often regarded as a national newspaper of record, meaning that it is frequently relied upon as the official and authoritative reference for modern events"

Notable excerpts:

Master’s programs are the most obvious targets of opportunity,” said George L. Mehaffy, a vice president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. “The degrees are in high demand, and this is an optimal time to enter or expand the market.”

In his two-year master’s program in science technology and environmental policy from the University of Minnesota Craig Nelson had $35,000 in loans. Now, he works in regulatory affairs at the 3M Company.

“Without the degree, I wouldn’t have the job,” he said. “So even though I’ll be paying the loan for 10 years, it was a good move for me.”

And many students believe that these multiple degrees are highly valuable in today’s competitive job market.

Rey A. Phillips Santos has three graduate degrees gracing his résumé: two master’s and one in law. After completing the master’s of arts program in the social sciences from the University of Chicago, he decided to go on to the Chicago-Kent College of Law, in a joint-degree program in environmental management with the Stuart Graduate School of Business.

“There is a huge demand for credentials in high-level jobs now,” said Mr. Phillips, who is a lawyer for the Chicago city government. “Each of my degrees helped me to get a leg up in the job market, and earn higher salaries than I would have otherwise. They were great investments.”

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6) "Do master's degrees really pay off?" on Colleges.com

About the website: Information on Certificate Programs, Scholarships, Careers, Student Travel, Student Offers, Online Colleges, Career Colleges, Undergraduate Schools, Graduate Schools, MBA, Med Schools, and Law Schools.

Notable excerpts:

In fact, you may have heard those nasty rumors floating around campus that a B.A. is a dead degree in the real world because of the demand for higher education -- not to mention higher pay. Put simply, "The higher the degree the greater the earnings," says Peter Syverson, vice president of research with the Council of Graduate Schools.

Although money talks, it may not be what pushes some students to get a master's degree. Weaver makes a point that for certain careers, especially in natural sciences and law, an entry level degree for college graduate is one step beyond a B.A. Career Services director at Penn State University, Jack Rayman agrees, and says that in some cases, "You just don't get a job unless you have a PhD."

Penn State junior Mark Goodwin hopes to get a job as a physical education/health teacher at a high school. Once he is working, Goodwin says his employer will pay for his master's degree. "Once I get a job, I want to do whatever I can do to better my situation." He says with a master's degree not only is the pay better, but so are his chances of teaching at the college level.

"From a teacher's perspective a master's degree would do you better. In any overall major it would help you do better financially," he says.

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7) "How having a Masters degree may not guarentee (sic) success" on The Independent online

About the website: "The Independent is a British compact newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media. It is nicknamed the Indie, with the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, being the Sindie. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily newspapers, with a circulation of 240,116... The daily edition was named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2004 British Press Awards."

Notable excerpts:

"A Masters degree is not a passport to a highly paid career," says Charlie Ball, the labour market analyst who wrote the report. Ball says that many employers will be more interested in a year's work experience than a postgrad qualification.

Some postgraduates who were advised to take the courses for their career can feel a little cheated. Megan Cuttriss, 28, did a full-time Masters in biological sciences at Bradford University in 2001-2. "I'd been 18 months without sciences and I felt I needed to get my foot in again to be taken seriously by employers," says Cuttriss. "By the end of it I realised it was less useful than I'd thought."

Cuttriss found herself working alongside first-degree graduates at LGC, a UK chemical analysis laboratory. In career terms Cuttriss thinks her Masters was hopeless, but it did remind her how much she enjoyed academic research. After a few years at LGC she quit to take a PhD in molecular microbiology at the University of Surrey.

So how can you make sure your Masters pays its way? It is up to students to use that extra year to set themselves apart from the pack, says Carl Gilliard, chief executive of the AGR. One approach is simply to excel. Gilliard says that City banks look for brain power, so getting a first and a distinction in a subject you love may be the best approach. Or you can go for a professionally targeted Masters programme which builds employability into the course, getting students to make presentations and practice soft skills, like communicating ideas.

Once you have finished studying and find yourself in the interview room the important thing is to know why you did the course that you did. There are few things more off-putting, says Gilliard, than a postgraduate who shrugs their shoulders and says "I didn't know what to do next...".

If you get it right, the rewards can be considerable. Marianne Moore graduated in January from a part-time MA at Middlesex University in youth justice, community safety and applied criminology. She had been interested in youth justice since undergraduate days and says that her Masters brought her passion and her work together.

She now works for Tribal Consulting on youth offending issues. "Doing the essays disciplined me into concentrating on difficult subjects and allowed me to work out what I thought about them in a structured way," says Moore.

Social Caterpillar School: Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for Adults

The other night, I spent hours crafting a blog post entitled How do you turn acquaintances into friends?: A Guide for Social Caterpillars, and I realized today that it was a great start to introducing the idea of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) for adults. This is one of the key concepts of my master's program in Human Development, Learning, and Culture at UBC, and I even will be taking a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Practicum ("in a college or university) the part of a course consisting of practical work in a particular field" according to Dictionary.com Unabridged) this fall semester.

So just what is this notion of SEL? Well, I found a suitable introduction on the webpage "What is Social and Emotional Learning" from Project EXSEL at the Teachers College, Columbia University. My very brief additions that pertain to us adults are in square brackets.

A Definition of Social and Emotional Learning

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is the educational process that leads to the development of emotional intelligence - that is, the process by which we become better at understanding and managing our emotions AND learning how they impact the choices we make, the relationships we have and our outlook in life. It refers to the acquisition of the understandings and specific skills that are at the heart of a child's [and adult's] academic, personal, social and civic development.

Social and emotional learning is critical not only for success in school [and work], but also in life. SEL enables individuals to recognize and manage emotions, understand their personal values, develop caring and concern for others, make responsible decisions, establish and maintain positive relationships and handle challenging situations effectively.

Research has shown that people with social and emotional competence are most likely to succeed academically, have a sense of well-being in their personal lives and act as contributors to their communities. They know what their strengths and challenges are, and are optimistic about the future, have meaningful relationships and are happy with their work lives. They are able to set and achieve goals and solve problems effectively. They are able to empathize with and show respect for others, appreciate diversity, and, live in accordance with their values, making positive contributions to their communities.

Have I piqued your interest? If so, here is part of the About.com article on Emotional Intelligence in the Adult/ Continuing Education section.

Emotional Intelligence

From Ron Gross

As defined and stirringly delineated by Daniel Goleman in his books Emotional Intelligence and Working with Emotional Intelligence, EI can help us fulfill our hardy tradition of empowering adults.

Your Emotional Intelligence can matter more than your IQ, for your happiness and success.

And, contrary to what many people believe, this capacity can be nurtured and cultivated. "Emotional learning is lifelong," declares Goleman.

Just consider how much your capacity to deal productively with your feelings -- empathy, enthusiasm, anxiety -- affect these aspects of your life:

Health -- do you stay in touch with your emotions, and use them to maintain good morale...or do you let suppressed or denied feelings express themselves in medical symptoms?

Coping -- do you have a large supportive network of friends and colleagues with whom you share opportunities, problems, and information...or are you suffering from the "go-it-alone" syndrome?

Relationships -- do you deal well with the feelings between you and your companions, partners, friends, children, significant others... or are you defensive, impulsive, or uncaring?

There are five components of Emotional Intelligence:

1. Self-awareness -- knowing what you are feeling, and using your awareness to make good decisions.

2. Handling Your Emotions -- keeping yourself in good spirits, coping with anxiety, handling anger.

3. Self-Motivation -- persistence and zeal; getting yourself started and keeping yourself going, even in the face of set-backs and discouragement.

4. Empathy -- reading people's feelings without them telling you.

5. Social Skills -- handling your emotions in relationships.

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If you'd like to learn more about this subject, just let me know.

Good luck caterpillars!

How do you turn acquaintances into friends?: A Guide for Social Caterpillars

I haven't posted for a month because I've been focusing on others things, and frankly blogging just didn't feel right. But now that I am in California in order to attend a wedding and to visit my folks, I feel like posting to my blog. Perhaps it's because I am in my childhood home - in the same room that I spent many late nights writing or drawing in my notebooks, making mix tapes (which I called "mixed tapes"), and waiting for my parents to be sound asleep so I could sneak out to roam around town with my other nocturnal friends.

Anyhoo (as I like to say), the issue of how one goes about turning acquaintances into friends has been on my mind recently so I did some Google searching and here are some helpful tidbits:

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Question and Answers on 43 Things.com entitled "How do you go from being acquaintances to being friends?"

Well, you could invite these people out for a pizza, or a drink somewhere. Not necessary that you have to drink alcohol, unless you do, but if you just tell them how about going here for a drink. Or you could ask on of them, “where did you get those shoes? or pants? or purse?” Then when they mention the particular store, you tell them you like it and would love to go shopping with them sometime. All you need is a lead in and then invite them or invite yourself to go. Somtimes (sic)*, just from having lunch with someone can lead to this fairly easy.

I find once you find out a similar common thing that everyone likes to do and if you enjoy doing the same thing, then you will get invited or they will accept your invitation.

Another thing you could have with the girls, is a movie night, or a play (this always comes up) or something like a trip to a book store. Share some common interests with people and you will be fine.

As for graduate students like me, instead of asking about the shoes or purse, perhaps one could inquire about the acquaintance's favourite casual restaurants and then tell them that you would love to go with them sometime. I bet this works exceptionally well if you are a foodie ("amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news" according to Wikipedia's entry) like me.

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Another important aspect of turning acquaintances into friends seems to be self-disclosure and eliciting self-disclosure. Well, according to what looks like an online supplement for a Social Psychology textbook by Psychology Press

Self-disclosure is the act of sharing facts, inner thoughts, feelings, and emotions about one's life and situation. Depth (level of intimacy) and breadth (range of topics) increase as relationships develop.

Effects of self-disclosure

Self-disclosure leads to more liking and deeper relationships because it signals trust, and because knowing each other's abilities, preferences, and needs leads to easier coordination of mutual activities and more understanding.

Self-disclosures are often exchanged in relationships; the norm of reciprocity is at work. However, when people disclose more than is appropriate, it makes others feel uncomfortable.

There is a strong gender difference in self-disclosure; women disclose more than men, especially in a same-sex relationship. In addition, men's disclosures often reflect an effort to deepen the relationship, while women's disclosures reflect their feelings about the relationship.

Regarding self-disclosure, I often feel like I over-share, which Urban Dictionary defines as "An over share is when a person over informs you on the subject of conversation. [T]his is usually in relation to personal or intimate topics." Sometimes I have really fruitful conversations, but many times I end up kicking myself for trying to draw acquaintances into really deep or wide-ranging conversations.

Recently, I fear I have been disclosing too much, too soon, too rapidly about my background and experience in various areas. It's like I'm trying to pack in dozens of work-place or study-session interactions into one conversation. Perhaps it is the lack of such interactions with my current acquaintances. Or perhaps I strongly feel the need to befriend more people so I can enjoy life more and feel like I am contributing more to others' lives in ways that, well, friends do.

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I realized that something else I struggle with is self-confidence. Earlier this week I played Ultimate (Frisbee) for my first time by being a sub with the Vancouver Ultimate League team Superfriends. Although I ended having tons of fun, I realized my lack of self-confidence was very obvious and was quite annoying to me and maybe for others as well.

I also noticed that my self-consciousness ("embarrassment deriving from the feeling that others are critically aware of you" according to Wordnet on Dictionary.com) and self-depreciation ("a feeling of being of little worth" according to Wordnet on Dictionary.com) were the highest in the beginning and faded as I got into the rhythm and spirit of the game. But I still feel that I need to build that ol' self-confidence if I want to build friends from acquaintances.

So what's a girl to do? Well, she can start reading wikiHow articles on how to build self-confidence, one of which I actually found quite insightful. Also, this wikiHow article entitled "How to Be Fun to Be With" is simple, yet a good reminder for those of us who aren't social butterflies. In fact, I'm more like a social caterpillar - getting along well at some times but not others; sort of odd-looking and often pre-occupied; and sometimes considered a pest.

I Googled "social caterpillar" after I thought of it, and someone on Everything2.com had a similar idea but was much more disparaging than me:

The social-caterpillar either prefers to be left completely alone chewing [his or her] thoughts or else others prefer to leave [him or her] completely alone chewing [his or her] thoughts. Though there does tend to be some interaction with other social-caterpillars. Sometimes friendships even arise out of this but one knows that these friendships will never actually come to anything, because well, they lack the wings to leave the ground.

Contrarily, I don't think social caterpillars always prefer solitary ruminations ("The act of pondering; meditation" and literally "The act or process of chewing cud" according to American Heritage Dictionary on Dictionary.com). And I certainly don't think social caterpillars are doomed to a life without friends.

If worse comes to worse, I can always look into an "emotional social intelligence prosthetic" device hopefully still being developed at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Celeste Biever reported in March 2006 on NewScientist.com:

[A device] that can pick up on people's emotions is being developed to help people with autism relate to those around them. It will alert its autistic user if the person they are talking to starts showing signs of getting bored or annoyed.

One of the problems facing people with autism is an inability to pick up on social cues. Failure to notice that they are boring or confusing their listeners can be particularly damaging, says Rana El Kaliouby of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It's sad because people then avoid having conversations with them."

The "emotional social intelligence prosthetic" device, which El Kaliouby is constructing along with MIT colleagues Rosalind Picard and Alea Teeters, consists of a camera small enough to be pinned to the side of a pair of glasses, connected to a hand-held computer running image recognition software plus software that can read the emotions these images show. If the wearer seems to be failing to engage his or her listener, the software makes the hand-held computer vibrate.

Until then, this social caterpillar will need to work on her organic social emotional intelligence in order to turn acquaintances into friends.

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*"so; thus: usually written parenthetically to denote that a word, phrase, passage, etc., that may appear strange or incorrect has been written intentionally or has been quoted verbatim"

sic. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved July 07, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sic

"Thus; so. Used to indicate that a quoted passage, especially one containing an error or unconventional spelling, has been retained in its original form or written intentionally."

sic. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved July 07, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sic

Pirates of the... eh? What did he say??

So... we are going to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End tonight, but unfortunately the movie has been bumped by Ocean's Thirteen out of the Rear Window Captioning theatre at the Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver(formerly the Paramount Vancouver). For a hideous diagram of Rear Window Captioning, see the Wikipedia article on RWC and for a real photo of the system in action, see the MoPix (Motion Picture Access) website.

I have moderate hearing loss in the range of some human voices so I strongly prefer captioning for movies. Otherwise, I just poke Brett when I didn't catch something, and he has to whisper it to me. This is obviously not a fantastic solution as it's distracting for both of us and other people around us. When we do go to the theatre, we try to position ourselves apart from other audience members. Once a guy sat right behind us before the movie started, so I warned him of our situation. He was grateful that I mentioned it, and he simply moved over a few seats.

Unfortunately things are not so simple in a crowded theatre, so I do my best to figure out what someone has said from context so I can keep the poking and whispering to a minimum. My long-standing hearing troubles have lead me to fill-in the gaps with many movies and severly underrate (Pulp Fiction) or overrate (Revenge of the Nerds) their quality. However, there are a bunch of other factors that affect the change in a person's enjoyment of a film over a decade or two. That's something for another post though.

Proposed development near SUB of UBC

Students want say in 'heart' of university

By Cheryl Rossi-Staff writer
published on May 23, 2007

"Tristan Markle (centre) is one of thousands of UBC students and staff concerned with a proposed development that would eliminate the area outside the student union building where students congregate."

"The students are concerned with the University Boulevard Neighbourhood Plan, a proposal that incorporates the redevelopment of the old bus loop near the aquatic centre and student union building, or SUB, at the entrance to the university at University Boulevard and East Mall. It would cover the grassy knoll where students congregate outside the SUB."

Photo-Dan Toulgoet

So UBC readers, what would you like to see done with the area near the SUB and/or the old bus loop, which is now a parking lot?

Or better yet, does anyone know of any surveys that explore this question?

Oh, and before this article has anyone ever heard of that grassy knoll being called the "heart" of U.B.C. ??

Tips for U.S. Travelers to Canada

And because I have some friends visiting from the States, I will also share these boring but perhaps useful web resources:

TIPS FOR TRAVELERS TO CANADA

U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Publication 11283
October 2006

New Travel Requirements for U.S. Citizens

U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs

Flavourology: What Ice-Cream Flavour Are You?

To celebrate the sunny warm-ish weather we are having in Vancouver, I'll share this silly but slightly insightful online quiz with you.

What Ice-Cream Flavour Are You?

"You may not know it, but a litre of your favourite ice-cream can speak gallons about your character. Loosely based on the science of "flavourology", our fun quiz can tell you all about your ice-cream personality - and which flavour you're most compatible with."

There is one pop-up survey but it isn't that intrusive. And does anyone know why the ' and " turn into ?s on these pages?

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You scored 33.3% Toffee

Organised, put-together, earthy Toffee types are valued for their fairness, efficiency and naturalness. You won't see a Toffee lover putting on airs. In fact, it can be hard for no-nonsense Toffees to express themselves at all - even though they're privately quite sympathetic and observant. As a Toffee lover, you like to plan ahead and take charge, which means you're often over-committed. Like Vanillas, Toffees are most compatible with their own kind - other Toffee lovers who appreciate hard work and good sense.

You scored 33.3% Vanilla

Contrary to what you may expect, Vanilla types aren't bland or boring. Vanilla is far and away the most popular ice-cream flavour, and the Vanilla type is gregarious, impulsive, fun loving and expressive. In fact, you probably have a hard time making up your mind - Vanillas are known for never saying no, even when they probably should. The Vanilla lover takes a romantic, hopeful view of life: live for the moment, and everything will work out fine. And Vanilla types are happiest with their own kind - only someone equally spontaneous and energetic will do.

You scored 22.2% Chocolate

If you're a Chocolate ice-cream type, you are flirtatious, charming and even a little dramatic - and you're also in good company: Chocolate is the second most popular ice cream flavour! You're an intuitive and sensitive person who puts a high value on family, relationships and romance. But your instincts can sometimes steer you wrong: You can be easily influenced in directions that you know aren't the best for you, and you have a tendency toward self-indulgence. Still, your generosity, your liveliness and your trusting nature have earned you many admirers and friends. Chocolate types are compatible with reliable Toffees and high-focus, high-energy Chocolate Chips.

You scored 11.1% Strawberry

Strawberries are naturally loyal, honest and trustworthy. Strawberry lovers, in common with fans of Raspberry Ripple, probably have a devoted circle of friends who rely on you for the right answer to any moral dilemma. Like Chocolate Chips, you set high standards for yourself, but you are somewhat shy and reserved. And you don't like to admit it, but you're also a tad pessimistic. Maybe you're just disappointed that no one can live up to your own responsibility and forthrightness. Strawberry types do well with optimistic, outgoing Chocolate Chips.

You scored 0% Chocolate Chip

If you're a Chocolate Chip lover, you're a creative force to be reckoned with (this also applies to lovers of Cookies and Cream, Mint Choc Chip and other "chunky" ice creams). You've got a competitive streak a mile wide, but it brings out the best in you by forcing you to live up to your own demanding standards. You can be rather unforgiving at times with those who don't share your vision and drive, but friends value your magnetism, charm and originality. Chocolate Chips are best off with high-achieving Toffees and empathetic, insightful Chocolates.

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Now what this quiz is missing it one of my favourite ice-cream ingredients: bananas!!!

I propose that Banana lovers are playful, humourous, and moody. (I think of some more traits another time.)

Literal Minded: Piss Like a Race-Horse

Ever wondered about the saying "I need to piss like a race-horse"? Well, here is enlightenment from a blog called Literal Minded: Linguistic commentary from a guy who takes things too literally

One thing I need clarified: I’ve never understood why race horses, in particular, need to piss so bad.

Clarification:

I can clarify the racehorse thing. The phrase “need to piss like a racehorse” should be parsed [need to] [piss like a racehorse], *not* [need to piss] [like a racehorse]. In other words, racehorses have no special need to piss that other organisms do not. Rather, racehorses piss in a particular way, and the speaker needs to piss in that way. And what is that way, you ask? In a long gushing torrent, as you’ll know if you ever observe a racehorse pissing.

More in depth clarification:

A good analysis. The only thing I’d change is his bracketing for the intended reading to [need to [ piss like a racehorse] ].

This is an example of an attachment ambiguity, in that we could theoretically attach the modifier like a racehorse to the “lower” verb phrase pee or to the “higher” verb phrase need to pee. As Glen explained, the intended attachment is to the lower verb, but why the tendency for at least one person, and probably many others, to attach it up high? I think it’s just because the entire phrase need to pee like a racehorse has the meaning of “need very intensely to urinate,” or as the commenter put it, “need to piss [really] bad.” (I mean, I can’t really think of any reason for needing to pee in a long, gushing torrent, other than that you urgently need to go. Can you?) So if that’s what the entire phrase means, and the “need to pee” part of the meaning is clearly taken up by the need to pee part of the phrase, then it stands to reason that the “bad/intensely” part of the meaning must correspond to what’s left: like a racehorse. And hence the bias toward attaching it to the higher phrase need to pee.

Of course, if need to pee like a racehorse is ambiguous in this way, so is need to pee really bad. I have fun attaching the really bad down low instead of up high, producing dialogues like this:

Doug or Adam: I need to pee really bad!
Neal: OK, go pee really bad!

Stellar comment:

The “Doug or Adam” dialogue reminds me of a card I once received inside a box of other things I got at a garage sale.

It was the size of a business card, with a picture of a moose head on it. Think Bullwinkle or, if you’re an old Machead, the Talking Moose.

Anyway, on one side of the card it said “I need someone really bad.” When you flip it over, it read “Are you really bad?”

College Fashion "Packing Hotlists"

I thought these packing lists for college men and women were pretty good. They seem a little conservative so I might find another list to add a little more edge. Also this blog-style post was made in August 2005 so some updates are in order. Feel free to post some suggestions!

Bad Eggs and OK French Toast

I had the urge to make French toast this morning but the eggs in our fridge have a "Best Before" date of May 4th. Seeing that I was too lazy to get changed out of my pajamas and walk the couple blocks to the grocery store, I decided to check online to see how long after the Best Before date these eggs could be safely consumed.

According to the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education:

How long can we keep eggs that are past their expiry date?

According to the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency, the Best Before date on the egg carton is an indication of the length of time for which the eggs will maintain their Grade A quality. After this date, they are still safe to eat for the next two weeks if they have been properly stored in the fridge and safely handled. They will not maintain their shape as well however, so are better for scrambling and baking rather than frying and poaching.

http://www.canfightbac.org/cpcfse/en/cookwell/ask/eggs/#1251

Ok, so I figured it was only two days after that two weeks after the Best Before date. So I went ahead and made French toast. By the way, I learned that if the French toast is still soggy and not browning correctly, turn up the heat on the stove. And real maple syrup is key!

Well, now my stomach is rumbling a little so perhaps I did push the limit of the eggs' quality. I should have tested the eggs by placing them in water:

When an egg floats it means that it is an old egg. The air cell in the large end of the egg has grown very large, an indication of a low quality egg. A fresh, high quality egg will remain at the bottom of the pan of water.

http://www.canfightbac.org/cpcfse/en/cookwell/ask/eggs/#520

And on a related note, it seems I wasn't off when I told someone that "French toast" is called "pain perdu" in France, which means lost bread. However, in the movie Bon Cop, Bad Cop some French-Canadians referred to French toast as something else. Does anyone know what French toast is called in Quebec?

explorASIAN - Asian Heritage Month

Oops, I forgot to post this earlier. Here is the link to the event calendar for:

explorASIAN 2007 - Celebrating Asian Heritage Month in the Lower Mainland

The Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society celebrates its 11th Anniversary in 2007!

[The festival runs from April 21 to June 17, 2007]

And here are the events for this weekend:

Friday May 18
PERFORMANCE:  Vietnamese Water Puppets
CELEBRATION:  Chinatown Night Market (on-going to Sept 9)
DANCE:  Andrea Nann with Sarah Chase
COMEDY:  VACT 8th Annual Asian Comedy Night

Saturday May 19
SPORTS:  9th Annual Asian Mens/Womens 6's Invitational Volleyball Tournament
WORKSHOP:  How to Appreciate Chinese Opera Workshop
CULTURE:  Japanese Tea Ceremony
PERFORMANCE:  Vietnamese Water Puppets
DANCE:  Andrea Nann with Sarah Chase
DANCE:  Bhangra Nation West Mela/Youth Bhangra & Giddha Championship
COMEDY:  VACT 8th Annual Asian Comedy Night
COMEDY:  The A-list Comedy Tour 2007

Sunday May 20
SPORTS:  9th Annual Asian Mens/Womens 6's Invitational Volleyball Tournament
CULTURE:  Japanese Tea Ceremony
TOUR:  Exploring CHINATOWN
PERFORMANCE:  Vietnamese Water Puppets
DANCE:  Bhangra Nation West Adult Bhangra Championship

Other Facets of the Flintstones

This is a webpage that I have had in my "BLOG ME" bookmark folder for a while and I figured I would trot it out now:

Weirdomatic: Legendary Cave House

"A strange place to live in, a mixture of fantasy and reality, it is impossible not to remind us of the wonderful Flintstone Family’s House from Hanna-Barbera famous cartoons. Without any wacky inventions and without the funny Flintstones, the real house is still astonishing due to a prehistoric atmosphere combined with modern furniture and facilities."

---

And to continue the Flintstones theme:

FARK.com Photoshop Theme: Flintstone appliances not shown on the TV show

* Warning: link contains images with bad-taste and adult themes. Any extremely graphic images are labelled "NSFW (Not Safe for Work)" and you must click on them to view them. I am not responsible for any need for eye bleach.

Easywash: Sounds too good to be true

So I'm searching for locations in Vancouver to wash Brett's horribly dirty car and came across Easywash: The World's Most Eco-Friendly Carwash (and Petwash!).

* The price list is easy to understand and way cheaper than hand-wash locations.

* True, it's more expensive than the do-it yourself or the gas station car washes but I haven't had very good results with those options.

* Bonus: I'm a sucker for clean and colourful data tables.

* I'm really curious to see the Automated Dog Wash in action. They should post some pictures of the equipment and dogs actually being washed in it.

* The "Cats are welcome too" prompts me to a) advertize if anyone would do this to their cat and b) sell tickets (with the proceeds going to the kitty's and/or owner's medical bills, I suppose).

* Here's the explanation of why they are so Eco-friendly: Easywash and the Environment. What do you all think?

** Photo from http://pub.langworth.com/talks/cadubi/images/wet_cat.jpg

"I've lost my confidence in academic endeavors. Can I get it back?"

This question was asked on Ask MetaFilter: querying the hive mind "a community weblog" on March 14, 2007.

I seem to have lost my mojo.

I seem to have lost nearly all my confidence in academics in the last few months. Over that time I've failed many of the classes I've taken, to the point where I expect to fail almost every class I take. Since I wasn't making any progress in school over the Christmas break I decided to get out of school and get a job, with a night class on the side, with the intention of regaining my confidence, but to no avail. The same outcome seems most likely in this class as well. I've often thought that maybe I'm in over my head and that I need to lower my expectations a bit, but I know that I'm capable. My marks in other classes before I had this problem were good to very good, but have eroded over time. My main hurdle in every class I take is that I suffer from ADD and CAPD, among other things, which means it can take me a long time to learn things well, if at all. What can I do to regain my confidence?

The answers may be informative for those also struggling with similar issues. Most importantly, just posting this question and some responses brings more awareness to this issue, which is has been affecting me for about a year. If you have any suggestions or resources, feel free to point them my way.

I wish a box could make me this happy

I know it sounds corny, but watching this video makes me feel a lot better.

"Kitten and his box"

"Kitties playing around. Music Called "Sister Jack" by Spoon. The kitten in the background wants to get back in the box soooo bad. But this kitten took over. :p

PS - He's not stuck in the box. :P If you notice at the end of the clip he starts to get out....
I think most people who owned a cat for a while would agree that if the cat was REALLY stuck in a box it wouldn't be all playfull, and gleeful...it most likely would freak out."

Happiness Quiz

Errm. So I can't sleep. Long story short is that I have a lot of things on my mind, and I am still sick with a lingering cold. What do I often do when I can't sleep? Cruise the internet. through searching for some info on exercising and eating well for one's body type, I stumbled upon a whole slew of quizzes on iVillage.co.uk and they amused me for a while.

This "Happiness Quiz/Test" was actually eye-opening for me. I recommend it for 20 and 30-something women who like to check in on their well-being every once in a while. If you don't fall into that category, I still think the quiz is worth a look.

For some reason, the British slant on the writing was refreshing and although the choices were straight-forward, they helped me think about myself more honestly.

The Happiness Test by Susan Quilliam

Note that there are lots of ads and at least one pop-up but it does go away after you tell it to begone.

Here are my results:

Must Love Jaws: A Love Story that Bites You and Doesn't Let Go

Me and BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder)

It's been pretty bad lately, guys. I feel bad about not posting all these things that I have wanted to share, and then I remember that I'm doing this because I enjoy researching and sharing information.

The following article outlines the greater issues with which I am struggling with right now. I really am Borderline, folks. If you know me well, you will see this through and through. If you don't know me well, I probably come across as kind of odd, but this underlies almost everything I do. If you don't know me at all, this doesn't mean I am a homicidal maniac. Give me a full day and I am very likely to confuse you or withdraw from you or charm you or infuriate you. Or all four.

My next steps involve tough decisions about graduate school, work, relationships, identity, history, present, future, guilt, patterns, changes, apologies, boundaries, commitments, personal mythology, fears, self-concepts, expectations, and recently a battle with very strong suicidal impulses.

I might not be posting very often.

---

By Ann Appelbaum, M.D. and Frank Yeomans, M.D., Ph.D.

The symptoms of people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are similar to those for which most people seek psychiatric help: depression, mood swings, the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol as a means of trying to feel better; obsessions, phobias, feelings of emptiness and loneliness, inability to tolerate being alone, problems about eating.

But, in addition, individuals with BPD show great difficulties in controlling ragefulness; they are unusually impulsive, they fall in and out of love suddenly; they tend to idealize other people and then abruptly despise them. A consequence of all this is that they typically look for help from a therapist and then suddenly quit in terrible disappointment and anger.

Underneath all these symptoms, therapists began to see in the borderline condition an inability to tolerate the levels of anxiety, frustration, rejection and loss that most people are able to put up with, an inability to soothe and comfort themselves when they become upset, and an inability to control the impulses toward the expression, through action, of love and hate that most people are able to hold in check. And, furthermore, what most defines BPD is great difficulty in holding on to a stable, consistent sense of one's self: "Who am I?" these people ask. "My life is in chaos; sometimes I feel like I can do anything - other times I want to die because I feel so incompetent, helpless and loathsome. I'm a lot of different people instead of being just one person."

The one word that best characterizes the borderline condition is "instability." Their emotions are unstable, fluctuating wildly for no discernible reason. Their thinking is unstable - rational and clear at times, quite psychotic at other times. Their behavior is unstable - often with periods of excellent conduct, high efficiency and trustworthiness alternating with outbreaks of babyishness, suddenly quitting a job, withdrawing into isolation, failing.

Their self control is unstable - ranging from the extreme self denial of anorexia to being at the mercy of impulses. And their relationships are unstable. They may sacrifice themselves for others, only to reach their limit suddenly and fly into rageful reproaches, or they may curry favor with obedient submission only to rebel, out of the blue, in a tantrum.

Associated with this instability is terrible anxiety, guilt and self-loathing for which relief is sought at any cost - medicine, drugs, alcohol, overeating, suicide. Sadly, oddly, self mutilation is discovered by many individuals with BPD to provide faster relief than anything else - cutting or burning themselves stops the anxiety temporarily.

The effect upon others of all this trouble is profound: family members never know what to expect from their volatile child, siblings, or spouse, except they know they can expect trouble: suicide threats and attempts, self-inflicted injuries, outbursts of rage and recrimination, impulsive marriages, divorces, pregnancies and abortions; repeated starting and stopping of jobs and school careers, and a pervasive sense, on the part of the family, of being unable to help.

Sometimes, severe and chronic chaos in the family life plays an important role, but one has to differentiate the objective behavior of the family from the subjective experience of the individual with BPD.

And, of course, the effect of the illness upon the life of individual suffering from this condition is equally profound: jobs are lost, successes are spoiled, relationships shattered, families alienated. The end result is all too often the failure of a promising life or a tragic suicide.

- http://www.bpdresourcecenter.org/what.htm

"... there is no business like the sea urchin entertainment world."

My entertainment right now: Lost in Translation Multi-Babelfish Tool

What happens when an English phrase is translated (by computer) back and forth between 5 different languages? The authors of [Babelfish] probably never intended this application of their program. As of September 2003, translation software is almost good enough to turn grammatically correct, slang-free text from one language into grammatically incorrect, barely readable approximations in another. But the software is not equipped for 10 consecutive translations of the same piece of text. The resulting half-English, half-foreign, and totally non sequitur response bears almost no resemblance to the original. Remember the old game of "Telephone"? Something is lost, and sometimes something is gained. Try it for yourself!

Original English Text:
There's no business like show business like no business I know.

Translated to Japanese:
私が知っているビジネス無しように芸能界のようなビジネスがない。

Translated back to English:
There is no business which I have known there is no business like the sea urchin entertainment world.

...

Translated to German:
Ich hatte nicht gewußt, daß der Handel nicht die kommerzielle wahrscheinliche Welt der Unterhaltung des Seeigels hat.

Translated back to English:
I had not known that the trade does not have the commercial probable world of the maintenance of the sea-hedgehog.

Chinese Cuisine and Alchemy

When I read a book, I almost always have a notebook handy to write down unknown words to be looked up in a dictionary (I love vocabulary), compelling quotes, interesting topics to explore, and ideas inspired by the work. This is just a sampling of the type of topics that were inspired by The Years of Rice and Salt an alternate history book by Kim Stanley Robinson.

Chinese Cuisine Digested on Answers.com

The combined cuisines of China have often been compared to French cuisine as having made the greatest contribution to the world of food. Chinese cooking styles have been divided into five main regions: Southeastern (Canton), East Coast (Fukien), Northeastern (Peking-Shantung), Central (Honan) and Western (Szechuan-Hunan). Cantonese cuisine is famous for its meat roasting and grilling, fried rice, and bird's nest and shark's fin soup. The province of Fukien is noted for its multitudinous selection of soups and for its seafood dishes. The light, elegant Peking-Shantung style originated the famous peking duck, and is highly acclaimed for its subtle and artful use of seasonings. China's Honan province is the home of sweet-and-sour cooking, and the Szechuan-Hunan school is known for its hot, spicy dishes. Mandarin cooking and Shanghai cooking are not regional designations, but terms used to describe cooking styles. The word mandarin means "Chinese official," and mandarin cooking suggests an aristocratic cuisine that gleans the very finest elements from all the regions. Shanghai cooking refers to a cosmopolitan combination of many Chinese cooking styles.

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Alchemy Demystified on Wikipedia

In the history of science, alchemy (Arabic: الكيمياء, al-kimia) refers to both an early form of the investigation of nature and an early philosophical and spiritual discipline, both combining elements of chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, astrology, semiotics, mysticism, spiritualism, and art all as parts of one greater force. Alchemy has been practiced in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Persia, India, and China, in Classical Greece and Rome, in Muslim civilization, and then in Europe up to the 19th century—in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years.

Matcha Green Tea Lattes

Matcha (Wikipedia, Answers.com) green tea lattes can be very hit or miss, even from the same establishment. So much relies on the preparation of the drink.

I can't remember where I had my first one in Vancouver, but I know I have had green tea ever since I was little - usually at my Japanese relatives' houses or in the form of green tea ice cream.

I usually buy green tea lattes from Starbucks and Blenz, both of which are frequent targets of criticisms by Vancouverites as evidenced by passing remarks on the street or on public message boards (summed up in picture form here).

There are a more elucidating opinions especially this post (ellipses are in original):

Almost all of the negative talk about Starbucks revolves around the universal hobby of just not liking the giant multinational company, and jumping on bandwagons. And there's usually always a good reason for it...generally poor quality and mindless consumerism as a result of falling under the spell of corporate branding...that's never good. But for all the talk, people still patronize these places like crazy....the big corporations can pretty much ignore the backlash and continue to rake in the dough.

But all that is just an arguement over ethics...That aside, if we are talking stictly about the quality of their product (coffee), then they are in very good company....almost all coffee sold is stale...rancid...improperly prepared swill. It's only image and consistancy that propels Starbucks and other highly branded cafes....why do you think we still throw that McDonalds crap down our throats like there's no tomorrow?....cause it's familiar...we even convince ourselves we like it.

Pretty insightful, eh?

I wanted to find out how people in Vancouver thought the matcha green tea lattes were at different coffee shops, but I found no enlightenment from Discover Vancouver Forum - Matcha Tea. Although I was amused by the flame war on the second page.

My online search also revealed quite a bit of strong reactions to Starbucks' green tea latte, such as Off the Broiler (food and technology blog), Chowhound ("for those who love to eat"), and Slashfood (whose name reminds of Slashdot).

So, if you have enjoyed green tea lattes in Vancouver, let me know. Or if you find a better review website that would rock.

My second mission was to make a better-tasting matcha "latte" at home, considering I don't have a milk steamer thingy. I did read that you can use the blender to get the drink all frothy. I should try that sometime. Right now, I use Blenz matcha powder, a bowl, a bamboo whisk, soy milk, and vanilla sugar. I found the best results with using hot soy milk instead of hot water to blend the powder. It makes a nice creamy drink and cuts down on the bitterness.

Here are some other recommendations for making a matcha latte:

• Qualiteas - Matcha, Froth of Liquid Jade
• RecipeZaar - Matcha Iced Latte or Smoothie
• TeaSwap - Matcha Latte II
• Boulder Tea - Matcha Latte and other many other green tea recipes
• Global BC - Vanilla Matcha Latte (if you have a milk steamer)
• Food Service News - The Lychee Matcha Latte (alcoholic drink)

In case the page with the Lychee Matcha Latte recipe is moved, here it is:

The Lychee Matcha Latte
1 oz. Lychee liqueur
1 tsp. Tea Fuzions Matcha latte powder
(dissolved in 1 oz. hot water)
6 oz. Steamed milk

Dissolve 1 tsp. of Tea Fuzions Matcha latte
powder in hot water in your coffee glass, add
lychee liqueur and fill with steamed milk.

Enjoy!

Career Assessment Exercises

I'm going through my "I want to blog about this" bookmark folder and here's another resource to share:

Graduate Guides: Career Assessment

It's a series of career assessment exercises from UBC Graduate Studies Professional Development. As far as I can tell, it's stream-lined, comprehensive, multi-format, and free of annoying ads that you might get if you found a similar resource from a non-academic website.

House Plant Care Guide

A while back, I Google searched for advice on taking care of my new houseplants. I haven't taken pictures of them but they are named Spike and Faye (from Cowboy Bebop) because Spike is well... spikey and Faye is a lipstick plant.

This was the best House Plant Care Guide that I found.

Urban Dictionary definition of Meesh

The submitters and voters of Urban Dictionary define Meesh as:

1. a "sexy and cool person"
2. "short friendly version of Michelle"
... and I would add
3. a fairly nutty person who is really nice and informative but can also be quite insane at times

Need some advice on tenants' rights for landlords and their realtor holding an open house for our residence

So, I have been distraught lately because Brett, Petter, and I have a one-year lease for our house but the landlords are selling the house before our lease is finished at the end of July. Now this is completely legal as far as I can tell. This is not the problem.

The problem is the realtor conducting "open houses" in our home! Now before I start my rant, I'll post some evidence from the Government of British Columbia Residential Tenancy Branch that it's legal for landlords to conduct open houses while a tenant still lives at the house:

At common law, the tenant has a right to quiet enjoyment and peaceful occupation of the premises. At the same time, the landlord has the right to enter under certain conditions. The Residential Tenancy Act (the Act) addresses the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants with respect to entry into a rental unit.

A "reasonable purpose" [for a landlord to access a rental unit] may include:

• inspecting the premises for damage,
• carrying out repairs to the premises,
• showing the premises to prospective tenants, or
• showing the premises to prospective purchasers.

However, a "reasonable purpose" may lose its reasonableness if carried out too often. Note that under the Act a landlord may inspect a rental unit monthly.

- http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/GL07.pdf

However....

Issue one: We requested in writing that the realtor put up a notice "Do not disturb occupants" on his "For Sale" sign on our front lawn. He said he would do it "ASAP." But nothing happened. We live on a busy six-way intersection just off a main street. We do not want people ringing our doorbell to ask about the home. We are graduate students and it's the end of the semester. Brett again contacted the realtor to ask him to post a "Do not disturb occupants" sign and the realtor gave the excuse that his office was out of such signs but he would buy one "ASAP." It's been a couple weeks now and no sign. This makes us slightly doubt the integrity of the realtor.

Issue two: The realtor did not lock our door when he left after the "realtor open house" last week. When I discovered this, I called him and he didn't apologize, but promised me that he would call a locksmith to "fix that." *boggle* Now, it's not a locksmith issue... it was lack of attention to a detail and it's a big fat security issue. But for some reason, the realtor worked his charms on me and I said thank you profusely for fixing the "problem" with our lock. After he hung up, it struck me that it didn't make much sense and he would probably not call a locksmith. I concluded that I can't completely trust what he says or does.

Issue three: Our landlord is asking us to move some of our stuff out of the house so that it looks nicer for the open houses this weekend. Luckily there is a storage area on the property that we can use for securely stowing our poessessions during the open house. And just to let you know, worrying about people stealing my stuff is HUGE to me. I still am queasy about people tramping through our house looking through our things, but ergh. But here's the kicker: the realtor says that he needs to show this storage area to people at the open house. Uh no. That is our place to store our valuables and there is no need for people to look in there. He says... he will make sure to lock it after everytime he shows it. Ummm.... see issue two... NO.

Man, I needed to vent all that. It's been eating up my insides.

However, I might be able to secure our poessessions and quiet my mind with this excerpt from Government of British Columbia Residential Tenancy Branch:

An arbitrator may find that the holding of an "Open House" by the landlord's realtor is not a reasonable purpose if the landlord cannot ensure the safety of the tenant's possessions.
- http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/GL07.pdf

Argh, so do I need to find an arbitor or can I just tell the landlords and realtor that they need to ensure the safety of our (the tenants') possessions by keeping the storage area locked. And if they can't promise that then what?

I need some advice. The open houses are this weekend. Thank you!

---

Here are some more resources for anyone who is in a similar situation - that you are a tenant and your landlord want to have open houses to sell the rented unit:

Q: What rights do the landlords have when it comes to showing the house for sale? What rights do we have in this case - can they do an open house etc when we are not home?
I have heard of landlords having to pay for the inconveniences caused etc - is this the rule or just that they are decent landlords?

A: Practically, I recommend that every seller and/or realtor arrange a schedule with the tenant for viewing, and make an appointment to inventory valuables lest they go missing during a showing. Realtors in particular know that co-operative tenants are assets to successful sales, which is why you hear of appreciative agents and sellers providing tenants with restaurant dinners, hotel stays, etc.

Technically, the landlord must provide a minimum 24 hours written notice of entry and the purpose of the entry must be reasonable, and between the hours of 8 AM and 9 PM.

- http://apartmentguide.ca/advice/expert-advice.asp?q=160&sub=146

---

Q: I moved into a basement suite on June 1st. June 20th, there were people wanting to tour my suite - the landlord has decided to sell the house. The landlord does not live in the house and the suite upstairs has not been rented since July 1st when the previous tenants moved out.

I understand that the landlord has the right to sell the property (although I wish they had made me aware of their intent prior to renting to me), but am wondering how often I need to make my suite available for viewings.

There have been several open houses, and the realtor is pushing to continue them every weekend. I find it extremely inconvenient and intrusive to have people touring through my suite continuously.

Is there any guidelines on how many hours or times a week a tenant needs to make their suite available for viewing?

The realtor keeps insisting he can do this at any point with 24 hours notice and has been unwilling to provide notice in writing. If I don't abide he has accused me of attempting to prevent the sale of the house. This isn't my intent - I just dislike having strangers wandering through my home.

A: It really is amazing, but some realtors just don't seem to appreciate how important a cooperative tenant is to the potential sale of a property. Frequently, realtors will insist on barging in on tenants to show a property because they have a hot prospect, and hope to land an immediate sale. Some realtors ignore or pretend they don't know that the Act requires 24 hour written notice specifying the purpose, the date and the time of entry, which can only take place between 8 AM and 9 PM. Furthermore, the reason for the entry must be reasonable.

If you think the realtor (the landlord's agent in such a case) isn't being reasonable you can refuse him entry, and the landlord will have to go off to the Residential Tenancy Office and file to get an Order for access. You'd likely get back to square 1, which is where a schedule would be struck.

Conscientious and professional realtors generally make prior arrangements with the tenants to show a property, often working out a schedule and ideally obtaining in writing the tenants'agreement to enter the premises. Many professional realtors also have an inventory sheet or process control because a lot of tenants are concerned that articles of property may go missing during these entries. Some realtors recognize that tenants are a deciding factor in making a sale and several provide potential purchasers a copy of my publication so these potential landlords have a practical reference and guide on how the Residential Tenancy Act applies to rental property in BC.

If the landlord's realtor insists on accessing your premises without your permission, cite section 29 of the Act to him, (http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/stat/R/02078_01.htm#section29). You might also want to ask the realtor which section of the Act he is referring to when he says he can come in anytime he likes.

- http://apartmentguide.ca/advice/expert-advice.asp?q=373&sub=146

---

And here are some general resources for Tenants in British Columbia:

Government of British Columbia Residential Tenancy Branch

Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC) of Vancouver, BC

TRAC Tenant Survival Guide (2006 Edition)

Student loans are not taxable in the U.S.

If you are a college student and you need to file a U.S. tax return, take note. As far as I can tell, student loans are not taxable!

Student loans are also not taxable. If all or part of a student loan is cancelled or forgiven, the amount of debt forgiven may represent taxable income. See IRC section 108(f) for details.
- http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/taxability.phtml

4.8 Interest, Dividends, Other Types of Income: Grants, Scholarships, Student Loans, Work Study

Is money from student loans considered taxable income?

A school loan is not taxable at the time you get the money and should not be included as income on your return. A loan is not income because you are expected to repay the amount borrowed (plus interest). If, at a later date, any part of the loan is forgiven, the amount forgiven would be income in that year. Under certain circumstances, student loans forgiven are not income. For more information, refer to Exceptions under Canceled Debts in Publication 525 (PDF), Taxable and Nontaxable Income.

References:

* Publication 525 (PDF), Taxable and Nontaxable Income
* Tax Topic 422, Nontaxable income

- http://www.student-loans.net/student-tax-faq.htm

However, I could not find a conclusive answer on the IRS website. So if you happen to know more about this, please post a comment.

Meesh's Stand Up Comedy Dates

Hello everyone!

Yes, the rumours are true! It's almost time for Meesh to hit the stage for my first ever stand-up comedy performances:

Stand Up for Mental Health first practice show
Wed. April 4, 7:00 - 8:30 PM
John Braithwaite Community Centre
145 West 1st Street, North Van, B.C.
(apparently the venue is near the SeaBus Lonsdale Quay Exchange)
* For public transportation directions from UBC, see bottom of post
Cost: Totally free. Bring your own snacks and low, low expectations.


Stand Up for Mental Health second practice show
Fri. April 13, 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Laughing Bean Coffee Co.
2695 E Hastings, Vancouver, B.C.
Cost: Gotta buy $5 worth of coffee or snackies, but apparently the drinks and grub have garnered a rave review online


Stand Up for Mental Health debut show with Mike MacDonald
Sun. April 15, 7:00 - 10:00 PM
Arts Club Granville Island Stage,
Vancouver, B.C.
Cost: Doh, it's the real thing with a professional comic headlining so it's $28 plus ticket service charge from Ticketmaster.

IMPORTANT: For students I can sell the tickets for $15 instead of $30!!! You have to buy the tickets from me sometime before the show so please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to buy a half-price ticket from me.


If you know anything about me, you know that I have psychological quirks...

Well, now's your chance to laugh at them with me! Not only will you get to hear some eccentric people relate jokes that have been crafted from real life incidents but you'll also learn a bit about what a strange yet familiar world mental illnesses are.

If you are curious about the program itself, here's the nuts and bolts of Stand Up for Mental Health from the website (but it hasn't been updated for 2007 yet).


* Public transportation options from UBC to Meesh's first Stand Up Comedy show

1)
2)

Gah, I can't get the images to line up correctly. *smack smack*

So... I will just use this space to say that these directions work well if you live along the 99 Bus Route - you just take the 98 to the SeaBus Station. In fact, there might be many other ways to get to the SeaBus Terminal, so you're all smart cookies and you can probably figure it out.

Hope to see you all at one or more of my shows!!

Offenbach’s Orpheus: Gone to Hell!

Soo... I'm feeling a bit better. I won't go into detail right now but the depression had me pretty bad for a while. One thing that is helping is to cut back on the WoW (World of Warcraft) and go for the real live things out there that I enjoy but in which take more faith to engage. I don't mean religious faith... I mean the faith of someone who has depression and other more serious psychological concerns.

Anyhoo... I decided to join Disha and Michelle for a girls' night out to see a musical in West Vancouver - Offenbach’s Orpheus: Gone to Hell!

First off, the audience participation was so weak that the actors' energy just plummeted. I think that the audience was either too polite to clap at anything but at the end major singing numbers - like one would at a more formal venue - or they didn't get the jokes and minor heroics strewn throughout the performance. I was so bored with the lack of energy before the intermission that I considered leaving (but I drove two other people so that wouldn't have worked).

However, during intermission I decided to take matters into my own hands. I clapped for little highs, and giggled for the plentiful jokes, and even whistled during a very sexy number. This seemed to nudge the rest of the audience to participate more (with more clapping and laughing) and brightened up the actors. Now, part of my personality disorder is to doubt my effect on people or to completely inflate my impact on strangers. But I'm hoping that I did have the right effect here. No matter what, I had more fun when I participated more.