It sucks to fail. I gave one of my alcoholic clients the best I was capable of, but I failed. I shouldn't take the blame on myself; I understand that alcoholism is a disease that doesn't have a cut and dry cure. Masochism drives me.
Over the past 8 months I set him up with 2 counselors for free, held several substance abuse groups with third party drug and alcohol counselors, and didn't force him to attend Alcoholics Anonymous because he has serious issues with that program. I increased his money and got him a Section 8 voucher, for which I took him around to different apartments for weeks. I got a bike donated to him and a new computer donated to put into the house he was in. I reconnected him with his brother and got him talking with his dad again. I set him up with job interviews.
None of it was enough. He went through periods of abstinence, of quitting cigarettes and marijuana, of feeling motivated and optimistic. But he always came back to alcohol. He wouldn't address his spending habits, and half of his paycheck went into overdraft fees the first of the month. He wouldn't search for apartments on his own, only when I did the leg work, and I didn't have the time to do that for him every day. Even if I did, he didn't have money for apartment applications. He never went to the job interviews I got him. There were a lot of other things as well.
So I gave him his notice and kicked him out yesterday. There are many others who are homeless and willing and able to get back on their feet, but this guy clearly wasn't capable of it. He threatened my life, called the police on me for some reason, got into an argument with a few other guys, broke some of his stuff, and is sleeping on a park bench.
But he attended the DUI class he'd been procrastinating for years last night. So there is a glimmer of hope. Maybe me kicking him out will be the best thing I've done for him so far, or the thing that makes everything else click. Or maybe I'm just making myself feel better.
You've done everything you can. That disease can only be conquered from within.
absurd interaction I had the other day while walking to a dentist appt:
Approaching this sweaty, shifty-looking dude who kept plucking at his clothes, adjusting his belt, looking around. As he passes:
SWEATY DUDE: "hey bra, you mind if we switch shirts real quick?"
ME: "Uh. No, that's alright, I need my shirt."
SD: "Yeah, but, like, we'd switch, you could have this one." (gesturing at my rather nice t-shirt and then to his drenched Seahawks jersey)
ME: "No, yeah, I need this shirt. Sorry."
SD: "Shit, just, whatever."
I was surprised at how hard I had to work internally not to immediately just start switching shirts because the request was so unexpected and presented in such a tone to suggest that the notion was completely reasonable. Got me thinking, are people hardwired to follow requests without resisting, or am I just a pushover? Coincidentally, a similar interaction went down a couple days later wherein some dude walked up to my car while stopped at a red light and tried to convince me that I should a) give him a ride to the Seven Eleven south of us; then, when I pointed out that I was going north, b) I should give him a ride north; then when I pointed out that I didn't want to give him a ride anywhere, c) why was I so uptight; when explained to him that I wasn't in the business of letting strangers in my car and especially strangers who didn't care which direction they were going, d) how was he supposed to not be a stranger if I didn't let him in and get to know him. Again, through all of this I had to fight the voice in the back of my head saying, "why are you not following this request?" Again, pushover, or just human hardwiring?
In any event, I hate my neighborhood and can't wait to get out of here.
I think we all want to be liked, and a small (Or large, depending on your personal madness) part of being liked is doing things that other people want you to do.
Unreasonable people are sometimes really good at making unreasonable requests seem normal.
Former friend: "I lied to you for six months! I think the problem is that you aren't honest enough with me! You need to start telling me everything about your life! That's the only way we can repair this friendship!"
Sheesh, you can say that again. The implication was that she had felt because I didn't tell her everything, I didn't trust her, and my not trusting her was why she lied - it was my fault, of course. I should have been more open.
are people hardwired to follow requests without resisting
An old girlfriend of mine worked at an ice cream shop all through high school. One regular customer of theirs was this old guy that would come in and casually ask for "an ice cream cone for one dollar". They didn't sell cones for a dollar but at one point his request had worked because someone didn't want to bother saying no and thus the precedent was set, allowing him a good deal whenever he came in.
Maybe the only reason I look forward to being old is that I'll be able to pull shit like this.
The real reason to look forward to growing old is because the alternative sucks even harder :-)
That was more a self-deprecation than a dig at being old in general- I already have trouble remembering what I had for dinner yesterday, and my body/immune system has been my enemy since I was a teenager. I'm gonna be a hot mess when I'm old.
Besides that, I'm pretty sure my parents are older than you are, lil, and they're way more active/relevant than I am. Age is a state of mind, perhaps?
But hopefully my comment didn't come off as ageist or any other-ist. Sorry if it did!
- Maybe the only reason I look forward to being old is that I'll be able to pull shit like this.
the comment didn't come off as ageist, so much as sad.
I don't know if one ever "looks forward" to being older -- and yes, the body gets older faster than any other part, but on the positive side:
You feel vaguely smart because rather than "pulling shit" you don't have to put up with any shit from anyone unless you want to. More on this another time.
This is how con artists work.
Good on ya. Similar actions had me giving a homeless man who knocked on my door behind two locked gates a ride to Compton in rush hour and then giving him $40.
And then calling my security company in a panic because I'd essentially let him case the joint for 20 minutes and then provided him a 50-minute window in which to steal everything.
I prefer your read of the situation to mine- I defaulted straight to "this guy wants to take my car and/or murder me." I could think of literally no other reason a stranger would be that intent on getting into my passenger seat with no clear itinerary or obvious motivation to go wherever. And still... it was hard to say no. Anyhow, retrospect, he probably just wanted a chance at the iPhone I had plugged into the aux input or what have you. Or hell, maybe he just wanted to get out of my neighborhood as desperately as I do.
The whole experience- and similar ones I've had- just made me angry. I like to believe in the power of good community and faith in fellow man and charitable acts, and situations like that sort of destroy the illusion. I was mad at him for messing with my idea of trustworthy environments and interactions, and I was mad at myself alternately for basing my worldview on a naivete born of a life of sheltered privilege, and then also for abandoning that worldview in the face of such an innocuous interaction. Whole thing just put me in a position where I had to question my community, my idea of community and my trust in the power of community. Cognitive dissonance is bad enough- cognitive dissonance in relation to faith in good values is downright soul-crushing.
- The whole experience- and similar ones I've had- just made me angry. I like to believe in the power of good community and faith in fellow man and charitable acts, and situations like that sort of destroy the illusion.
You were angry because you fundamentally trust people and he violated that trust. You fundamentally trust people because very few people violate it. Would it surprise you to learn that most people fundamentally trust which is why society works? This is why cheats and the like are shunned - you were witnessing your own little piece of societal breakdown.
That is why you were still polite: you're hardwired to be helpful and friendly to others who are helpful and friendly. I could list off a shelf-full of books describing why humans trust each other and the clinical tests that prove it.
What this means: don't abandon your worldview. Recognize that it was tested and that the responses garnered were 100% appropriate and that's what makes the world go round.
I've been taken in too -- two times that I remember well -- one, a kid collecting for a legitimate school charity -- "jump rope for heart" -- held every April... I gave him $10 and he said something like ... if you give me more... than ... will happen... and so on. After he left, I realized that it was November, not April. The other time was worse and I won't go into it, but I was in such a panic after realizing that I'd been scammed that my best friend had to come over to calm me down.
There are probably more times that I don't even know I'd been scammed. The result is my general negative feeling about anyone who comes anywhere near my door.
I was that kid when I was 15 years old. My school used to give us these McDonalds coupon books that we had to sell for $5 each. I stole a bunch of outdated versions of them from the school and me and some friends went to the local mall and sold them. I pretended to be handicapped. I was a despicable kid. We made a lot of money.
Not quite, I've actually been training a small army of 15 year olds on how they too can sell expired coupon books for profit. In exchange for my tutoring, I receive a fair percentage of their earnings.
Passive income... it's all the rage.
my training regiment
Step 1: Learning the product
Step 2: Fitness (pretending to be handicapped is strenuous stuff)
Step 3: Managing your finances (the part where they give me their money)
I have never read Oliver Twist, but when I see/hear it referenced I think of an old friend named Todd Deatherage. We used to share shows together back in the day and commiserate about being songwriters struggling to "make it." Here's his song Oliver Twist. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I've not heard that tune in a LONG time.
...aaah, but padewan - he wasn't "street people." He was the father of the girl who lives in J-2040, you know, Clarice? Oh, you don't know Clarice? Heart of gold. And she needs her medicine at the hospital, and she was supposed to leave a key, and you're a white guy and I don't usually trust white guys, but I can tell I can trust you and...
People who are out on the street attempting to talk to me
More points if they are standing around and not going anywhere and more more points if they are not smoking a cigarette
Total avoidance points jackpot if they are trying to hit on me
But if you are a small child with no visible parent then exception ____________________________________________ For the record, I'm a petite female. I generally do not feel safe if a stranger in a city approaches me; at minimum I am wary they are selling me something or trying to bum a cigarette and the unease grows from there. I feel less safe if I am approached by a strange man. If a man approaches me on the street 99 times out of 100 he is in some way attempting to hit on me/is approaching me solely because he finds me attractive. This is not a reflection on what I look like besides that I am small and slender; I'm not Hedy LaMarr.
Within the past week a man honked at me twice to get my attention. I'd ignored him the first time and apparently giving me an OK sign was just so important that he couldn't let it go. Guys working on a storefront have yelled at me repeatedly because I refused to acknowledge them. Apparently it's more likely I'm deaf than that I'd ignore a catcall.
Guys harass me without approaching me. I am not going to open any opportunities for any more of it. I am going to ignore you if you talk to me on the street until it's very clear that you're talking to me for a legitimate reason.
An ex girlfriend was fond of telling people who hit on her in the street that they would look beautiful in a gimp suit and nipple clamps. I was always afraid she'd get someone who would jump at the offer rather than being freaked out one day, but it never happened.
And? Was anything taken? Even if nothing was, do you think it was his intention to "case the place?" Or do you think he was just a guy that needed money and a ride?
I think he was shaking the place down to see if he could crack any loose change loose. I got home just in time to see the security guards standing in front of my door - it had taken them 30 minutes to get off their asses.
I consider it a $40 lesson in being too trusting.
I have a Calc exam in a few hours.
I've been studying for days listening to hours of Spotify's "Relaxing Piano Music" playlist.
Halfway through, Chopin's Funeral March played.
Oh. Okay Spotify. Thanks Spotify.
Yesterday I had a dream where I woke up in front of a piano and the crowd yelled at me to play for them. So I started playing, but instead of music notes in front of me, there were derivative equations instead.
Everyone started booing and I fell into a bottomless pit, and a voice said "your function limit is approaching negative infinityyyyyyy"
I woke up and wrote it down immediately. It's one of those dreams that you just can't forget, like I was the protagonist of a 90s teen-movie.
Yay!! it's 3:13 p.m. Eastern Daylight and the pub's still open!!
This morning, I cycled to the downtown university where I teach and was locking up my bike with the usual two locks and cable. It's around 8:00 a.m. A man walked by and said, "Hi cutie!" I looked up and saw that the man was very old and wearing dark glasses and was being guided by a younger man holding his sleeve.
I thought, "Wow, he's blind." Then I thought -- "I am so cute today that even a blind man can see how cute I am. How cool is that?" So I finished locking my bike and caught up to the two men,
I said, "Did you just say 'Hi Cutie'?
Old man, "Yes, you are cute today."
Me: Are you blind?
Old man, "No, I can see you perfectly."
"Oh," I said, a little disappointed.
The moral of the story: Ecclesiastes 1:12:14: Vanity vanity all is vanity.
I "collect" weird catcalls. (I am NOT a fan of catcalling but I have not yet mastered the art of yelling back at the catcaller. For now I pretend they don't exist but make note of them.)
Recently, I got a thumbs-up (that one was new).
More recently, a man honked at me twice to get my attention, and then he gave me the OK sign. I found this particularly befuddling.
I'm using the second one. Adding a little wink in there too.
I had a brief meeting with one of my favorite professors today about concluding my minor in Anthropology. I graduate undergrad in the spring and rather than do the normal ANP capstone class (Read a few assigned ethnographies, discuss some social issue with no relevance to your field of study and write a paper) I want to do some actual research and preferably on a topic that would mean something to my career. Now I had this professor two years ago for my first Medical Anthropology course about illness and healing in various cultures, and the fusion of traditional medicine with the Biomedical approach of Western medicine in a ton of countries. (Indian Ayurveda in Germany, the decline of neurasthenia and the rise of depression in rapidly industrializing China, etc) It was a very interesting class and I contributed a lot to discussion. Fast forward two years, one of which she spent on sabbatical in India, she recognized me first day of class, and said I had been one of her favorite students of the past decade. Always awesome when a professor at a massive school remembers you.
Anyway, she's very excited about undergraduates taking an interest in actual study, data collection and analysis, rather than just rote learning, and she thinks it would be a much better use of our time than just spitting out something I'm not passionate about. So I'm super excited.
The super early subject I've been considering would be something to the effect of 'Pop illness, diagnosis and treatment in historical contexts with regards to modern medicine and it's future' Obviously the idea needs refinement, but there's a lot of stuff about epidemic research methodology, data collection and analysis that I need to read before I can get started.
I find it odd that Obama and Bill Clinton feel the need to offer their opinions publicly. Kind of feels like meddling in the affairs of a sovereign state. Also, it kind of feels like they are speaking on behalf of RBS, and whoever else stands to potentially lose money. What other stake do they have in Scotland's fate? Or maybe they are just trying to tell the South that they can't really still secede.
Also, if you have 15 minutes, watch this. It's amazing.
He's really enthusiastic, in a way different from Colbert. He's passionate about what he's actually talking about, or at least acts like it. That's what makes the difference for me. Colbert just wants to nail the poop joke, which may or may not be a result of him no longer giving a shit about the show.
Veterans of the Daily Show will remember Colbert filling in for Jon Stewart a few times way back in the early days of Stewart's tenure. It was before Colbert had the act, and it was pretty raw, unembarrassed stance taking. It was the kind of thing you watched and said, "Why can't the Daily Show be more like this all the time?" Finally, there's an offshoot of that franchise (kind of--using the word loosely) who doesn't have to give a fuck about advertisers.
So brilliant. Daily Show and later Colbert kind of became victims of their own success in some respects. They got popular, and started to act like they were popular--the mean girls effect, I suppose. Daily Show pre-2004 election was a thing of absolute television beauty.
You have no idea how much reading this thread warms the cold cockles of my mean little heart.
(Former roommate was obsessed with Colbert, to the point where she was going to write her PhD thesis - well she'd have to get accepted somewhere first - about his show and style, only to collapse in tears under the futility of her "years of research" falling out beneath her when he announced he was leaving the show. Lesson: Don't plan your future on something whose future depends on contractual renewals every year or two. Lesson Two: Don't overspecialize.)
Colbert and Stewart don't want to take any political responsibility in their shows. Which is fine, I mean they're on Comdey Central and that's what they want to do, even if their claims that they just have "comedy shows" is a little disingenuous.
I was able to record drums/electric guitar recently on this tune. I like it once it gets to the guitar solo at the 1:50 mark and beyond.
it was fun to make. Have a listen while in the pubski:
Was wondering where this went after you shouted out last night- went to listen to it this AM and it was nowhere to be found. Turns out you were busy recording full instrumentation in the space of twelve hours. Go figure.
Nah, still needs bass, organ, synth and backup vox. Honestly, not sold on this one but it was a lot of fun to play the drums. I wish I could do that more often.
Teach your kids drums and they're guaranteed to get a spot in whatever band they want later on. Such a shortage of good drummers. Such a fun instrument, too.
I think a whole bunch of people bought it because it was "groundbreaking" and then lied to their friends that they read it.
I did read it, and it is groundbreaking, but as an audiobook it's kind of like a 42-hour PowerPoint on interest rates. I can honestly say that I don't know anyone who would make any attempt to get through it.
- I think a whole bunch of people bought it because it was "groundbreaking" and then lied to their friends that they read it.
But why this book? Plenty of "groundbreaking" books come out all the time. This one happens to actually be groundbreaking, but that's more coincidence than anything else. Very few of the journalists who said it was groundbreaking read the damn thing, so what do they know.
Because it's a statistical and analytical Matterhorn of data and conclusion that attacks the status quo through sheer unflinching correlation. And it's really easy to follow. He's very careful to use no math beyond algebra, and he apologizes for that algebra. Meanwhile, I can't even follow the criticism. It's a book everyone should read, but very, VERY few people have the fortitude.
Who here would consider themselves a "tidy" person? You know, the kind of person that never has a messy desk..
I am not that type of person. I'd like to be, I often try to be but it seems that no matter what, I end up with clutter again. The same goes for my car. I feel like someones desk or their car is often a good metaphor for their life. When I'm at my best, both my car and my desk are in tip-top shape: clean, organized and a pleasure to be in/around. I tend to have waves of order and disorder. Right now I feel like I'm in the middle of disorder. In fact, ever since the birth of my son I feel like it's been this way. I don't attribute this to him (he's absolutely wonderful), but rather to all of the changes that have taken place in my life. I moved twice this year, had the kid, my job has changed and I took on a new side project outside of work. -Lot's of stuff all at once.
Anyways, I am going to clean my office, my car and my studio this week. I need to eliminate some of the clutter.
100% agree (except for the squalor part). I continually am trying to get rid of shit. No matter how many boxes I take to goodwill or stacks of books I pawn off on unsuspecting friends, though, it never seems to make enough of an impact.
speaking of hey nowaypablo I have a book you might like, I am not sure if I am going to share it with you via little bits on Hubski or mail it to you. Also I think you mailed me something but I never got it.
And as another addendum, the problem with continually winnowing down my collection of books is that now it is very hard to part with any of them as I have Reasons why I've kept them so long. I want less books, but I don't want to get rid of any of the books I have. They're "essential."
Not gonna lie my package to you is still sitting on my desk with an urgent red post-it but I don't know how to use the mail. and it's so not worth the anticipation now. How do I know how many stamps to put on it help.
Don't waste a book on me post it here and I'll read it on my own I promise. Best a book hoarder than anything else, really.
I have a new address now FWIW but yes, the post office will tell you. Sheesh.
I'm glad I didn't miss it!
it is called "Soul Pancake" and it is a book full of questions. It's based off of a website Rainn Wilson and some other dudes made. Don't use the website, it's crap and boring, but the questions compiled in the book (with lists and other activities worth ignoring) are pretty fuckin' excellent. That's because I'm sure Wilson and his pal sorted through thousands in order to find the best and more recurrent questions. Seemed like it would be good for #vaguequestionsbypablo.
I'll send some samples via PM tonight maybes.
My wife is meticulously clean and as time has gone on (it will be 10 years next month) I have become neater out of necessity. However, I still have my enclaves within my life that are mine and mine alone. My office, my studio space (really one in the same) and my car. These are the areas I need to clean. My computer too. I grew up in squalor as well, in fact my parents house still drives me crazy to visit because I see in it the origins of my own shortcomings.
Entropy is inevitable.
I try and do little things that help make things less messy on my desk, which is also my home. I put a trashcan right next to it at the start of the year and it makes this just so much cleaner. Instead of throwing something I don't need on the floor, I think, "can I trash this?" and the answer is yes at least 90% of the time.
Moved some cabinets next to the desk too, and separated them into sections: cords, vidjagames, all of my medicine because my body rejects the outside world and I need a veritable pharmacy to function, pencils and office supplies. Made the desk much cleaner as well, and lets me fill up corners with stuff like this, which I make while idly watching episodes of Hannibal:
I find I'm less stressed when my desk is clean. Not as 'overwhelmed', in a sense.
When I inherited my current desk, it came with this comic attached:
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=575
I told myself I wouldn't clean it until I finished my first project. It ended up taking a lot longer than expected so I got fed up and cleaned it anyways. Now the projects done anyways and my desk is relatively orderly.
I only clean when I have something important to do. I can't be productive until after I've cleaned. It's like a ritual.
This is gonna be a good one.
Today I found out that a former coworker (at a different bank) who I actually prevented from being hired a year and a half ago at my current bank, has just applied to become the manager of my team.
HA HA HA SUCKAS MY NEW ROLE STARTS 10/14.
No but seriously I hope he doesn't get the job, I wouldn't wish him on coworkers I didn't like, and some of these I do.
Basically I'm of the opinion that if there's nothing there that interests you, start your own club.
I hated all the stuff on my campus, so we got a group together to start a Smash Bros club, and then the people that I'd get along with came to me, as opposed to me having to find them, which was nice.
Might go to a Role-Playing club, buuuuuuut...
If you could start a club, would there be one you'd want to do in particular?
_refugee_'s totally biased completely anecdotal input here: if the RPG club is a LARPing club, turn your back and walk away now.
I would say what are your interests veen? I was in the LGBT club, Video Game club, French club (basically only when they served food), literary magazine (on and off). Definitely did the most/got the most out of the LGBT club but that is going to depend on your own mileage and preferences.
Oh also I did LARPing but seriously, don't. (The LARPers I knew were a lazy, greasy, manipulative, in-bred unhealthy clusterfuck of people sponging off the university system every way they'd figured out how during their 8-10 years of college.)
There are a couple of rules I employ when walking around the stands with all the clubs. One of 'em is that by definition, the people standing there are probably the best / most social of the club, so if they're weird than the rest of the club is probably even worse.
I don't think there is a LARP club, but they'd probably fail this test. The brony club sure as hell did.
As I said in my reply to 8bit (which was exactly at the same time as yours), I just want to either do something fun (sports, hobbies) or just have people to hang out with.
I might join the foodies club, as I always like good food and it's a great way to get to know people.
I would judge by their ages, weights, and hygiene. AKA the group I caught up with consisted of people often 5-15 years, sometimes more, older than a "regular" college student, some of whom had been in college for 10 years and some of whom were just still hangin' around cuz their friends were. This next point is judgmental, yes, but if a large proportion of the group is significantly overweight, that's an indication of the group's habits as a whole, which means inactivity and poor eating habits. One person who's obese/overweight in their 20s in a social group isn't an indicator of the group, but 5-10 people? That's a trend outside the norm.
Hygiene. Hair, teeth, body odor. Lots of members with greasy hair? Worrisome. Lots of people with bad teeth? Worrisome. Body odor? Get da fuq out.
Age is the biggest indicator in my opinion. When you have 50 year olds hanging out at university "clubs" with lots of dudes in their late twenties and really only a handful or two of 18-21 year olds there's an indicator that something's not right.
We're all misfits but if you have been in college for 10 years and completely disregard your health you are a special kind of misfit.
When people get judged for LARPing, or D&D, or tabletops, it's not because they're LARPing, or playing D&D, or tabletops or iGames. It's because of the people who are associated with doing those things.
If these people seem like legitimate college students who are generally somewhat put together and not hideous (like, zits and glasses are okay here - what I described above is not), but maybe a little socially awkward, go for it.
I think veen makes a really good point. I was always hauled out to rep LARP at activity nights. I was young, cute, impressionable, concerned with being "nice," and insecure. I was a perfect naive person to draw into the club - because I didn't want to judge people based on their appearance! because who cares if people are a little offbeat, that's judgmental! because I was insecure and unmoored - and I also was a good "public representative" that made the club look both legit, and like it had cute girls in it. (Note: Basically all the "cute" girls had massive issues of some kind.)
I don't think you'll fall for this trap, but basically, surround yourself with the best, most intelligent, most successful, and yes, most healthy and/or attractive people you can - not the people that are "just as good as everyone else" and "can you please stop judging my friends mom, just because they look weird doesn't mean they're not nice people."
- If you could start a club, would there be one you'd want to do in particular?
Hubski club?
I'm just looking for people to do things with. If possible a group where I can have nice discussions. My evenings and weekends are currently rather empty, and even though I'm doing 5 courses, I don't think it'll be that much work in the end that I can't join a club or two.
Board game club. Attracts a certain type (in my experience: bookish, just the right kind of geeky, patient, willing to take things slow). And besides being engaging in their own right, board games 1) force the players into drawn-out interactions, thereby increasing the chance of getting to know your club members; and 2) allow (for the most part) the players to take the experience at their own pace with plenty of breathing room for conversation, study breaks, etc. Also, most board games can be retro-fitted into drinking games, if you're into that sort of thing. Love me some board games.
Good one. I was looking at the clubs' stands this afternoon and after talking to the Outdoors club one of their members invited me to a small board game club. Back home I often play board games with a group of friends, it's almost always a good way to spend time.
Was considering it, but I have plenty to read for my classes already.
I've talked to some clubs, but I'm gonna try the Outdoors club and the radio station first to see if that works. I also found a small board game club. Might talk to the Foodie club too, but I think I won't have any free time left that way...
It really depends on the debate club - I don't like the ones that are focused around competition. Did a debate course last year and what I found inherently irritating is the fact that discussions weren't about finding the best truth, but rather at finding the most convincing truth. It's almost like marketing. Don't get me wrong, I learned quite a lot from it, but it's not my type of discussion.
http://cjsw.com/ University of Calgary radio station! I like radio people.
I've been involved with college radio for 4 years now and would highly encourage it, it's been a crazy experience with the station I'm involved with. Would definitely recommend it.
I used to stay with friends in Calgary when I'd work there. I hadn't heard from this one friend for a long time (and I mostly stopped travelling and giving workshops), so I looked him up to ask him what he'd recommend for you to do in Calgary. I discovered on his LinkedIn page that he'd moved to Ontario, not far from here. So I wrote him via LinkedIn and he wrote me right back saying he had now moved back to Calgary but his husband was still near Toronto. Weird -- anyway, I wouldn't have done that had it not been for you being in Calgary.
I don't know any smart young urban designers in Calgary, just women in science, the now retired editor of University of Calgary Press, and some gay friends. I wish I could be more helpful.
Today I'm contemplating what it means to make the same mistake twice, and what prompts people to do something they've already gotten bitten in the ass for.
I wrote this Limerick yesterday:
There once was a fella so daft
He nutted a bomb laugh
And alas that was that
As he instantly shat
His brains through the crack of his assThe past three days have been very productive which is great. Getting my letters of recommendation and making some serious moves for full time employment.
Sitting in a library of music preparing for my radio show that starts in 15 minutes.