As someone who has been a student for 21 years, my working career has mainly consisted of what would be considered student jobs: camp counselor (8 years), Wal-Mart employee, landscaper, banquet server, and a number of other part-time gigs.

My career path has changed a number of times, and with weeks away until graduation, I’m more unsure now than I have ever been. Three years ago I was intent on moving to a city and entering the corporate world, in the hopes of getting into sales or marketing. The thought of that seems like hell to me now. What changed was my appreciation of the opportunities given to me in life. Not only am I fortunate to simply be a Canadian, but also to have the support and love of my 3 parents (step mom since I was 8) and brother.

After taking the MBTI test in David Cram’s leadership class, my outlook started to change. Is selling widgets really the best use of the opportunities in my life that I have taken advantage of? Instead of thinking “what do I want to do for a living”, I started thinking about “how can I be most beneficial to society or my community.” The passion that came from my time spent with children as a camp counselor came flooding back, which is has pushed me to exploring a teaching career (which I can try this year by moving to Japan.)

My desired professional image is someone who is reliable, trustworthy, loyal to his values, approachable, and stands up when involved in something he doesn’t agree with. However, I don’t think I have always been perceived that way. Many people in my professional and social career have perceived me as being a push-over, which I usually am. Is their a fine-line between being a push-over and willingly helpful? If someone asks me for help, it is usually just my nature to give them help.

The social-identity group I belong to is not usually perceived as negative. With some of the landscaping and factory jobs I’ve had, employers have usually been happy to hire post-secondary students. In fact, I would say that almost all my jobs I’ve had managers who are genuinely considerate and accommodative when working around a school schedule.

How will I separate myself from my social identity group? I guess the perception of college students being party animals might be in the minds of many, but I have taken a large detour from that route. Whether working as a teacher or for a business, I would probably subtlety let it be known that I don’t drink alcohol (probably less than 5 times in the last 3 years). I am also an early-to-rise, early-to-bed type of person (6am everyday, don’t ask why, I just love mornings), and exercise daily. I’m like a boring old man, and spend a lot of time reading. So in some senses, I think that it would be possible to separate myself from any negative stereotypes associated with my social identity group.

What I have found is that I want more out of my professional career. I need to know that I’m making a difference somehow, and am contributing to the greater good of society. It is definitely possible to get that satisfaction in the business world, but it may or may not take longer than expected to find that righteous company to work for. Until then, I will explore the teaching path, or possibly open a small business dedicated to the community.

Of course, having children will probably de-prioritize my feelings of putting personal satisfaction above money, and I will happily work at a Taco Bell just to put food on my kids plate (but not any of that tubed-meat garbage that Taco Bell serves.)

Peace out.

My consciousness has received a lot of attention in the last few years. Being the introverted hermit that I am, most of my time is spent alone. On top of that, my excessive use of marijuana has lead me to spend a lot of time in deep reflection.

A quote from Mr. Bob Marley: “When you smoke herb, it reveals you to yourself. All the wickedness you do is revealed by the herb. It is your conscience and gives you a clearer picture of yourself.” I believe there is a lot of truth to this. A lot of times after smoking, I will recollect something deep in my past, and analyze the way I reacted and the choices I made. Simply, it leads me to finding the root of a problem.

I believe that imbedded in every human is a complex value system that is common among every race. I think that those who have made many unethical decisions have simply become comfortable with ignoring their inner voice.

My father is a very ethical man, and growing up in his presence made me really curious about my inner voice. At this point, my gut feelings are the driving force in my decision making. It is usually relatively easy for me to make decisions, as I have just gotten used to doing what feels right. I have also become very focused on what some people call vibes, in which someone almost seems to radiate a positive or negative attitude. I usually just try to avoid people who give off negative vibes.

I often must ignore my brain when it is in conflict with my gut feeling, as many of the decisions I make are illogical.

Around this time last year, I was hired by a private landscaping company. I was enthusiastic to start to working outside, and get a chance to seem some beautiful areas of Kelowna, as my boss targeted higher-end clients.

Things were going great, and I really was enjoying the job. The pay was about $9 an hour, yet most landscaping jobs advertised in newspapers were paying about $10 or $11. I didn’t mind though, because I really got along well with my boss, and I always felt a positive vibe from her.

Two or three months down the road, she started hiring more people. I could see that she wasn’t really managing her business well, yet spirits remained high. One incident in which she backed up into a clients vehicle became a defining moment. Not only did she refuse to leave a note, but she told us not to tell her husband. An unethical decision that ultimately changed my perception of her. . Later, I found that she was overcharging customers ridiculous amounts, and refusing any chances for staff raises. Something was wrong with the formula. Underpaid landscapers working for a company focusing on high-end homes.

After a week in which my boss was on edge more than usual, she ended up firing an employee. This employee was a hard worker, and had no idea that he was going to be fired. On top of this, our boss knew his financial situation, and didn’t even consider giving him two weeks to find a new job, let alone a second chance.

When I found out that Josh had been fired, my attitude changed completely. I was broke, and had very little money. I had no prospects for a new job. I had been out of work for over three months. I enjoyed the work, and got along well with the staff and my boss. There were opportunities for promotion. I could have at least gave two weeks notice.

But I had to make a statement. I couldn’t continue to let her think that employees were an invaluable part of the company. This is the part where my brain shuts up.

I called 15 minutes before my shift and quit the job. The very next day, the City of Kelowna posted a number of jobs for its parks department, in which I applied and was hired at almost $14 an hour.

Have you ever wished you lived in a different time period?

When you’re riding the low tides of life, it feels natural to find the root of negativity in our surroundings. I have often yearned to live in a different place and time, but I am quick to forget how exciting these times really are.

I read once that humans have accomplished more in the last 40 years than in all of history. Things are changing at an alarming exponential rate, yet even the technologically challenged seem to be adjusting. All you have to look at is recent boom of iPod-using seniors.

Most of us have probably heard our parents talk about the differences in their childhood and growing up. However, even their generation who have grown up constantly adjusting to technology are having a hard time keeping up now. My father (who has owned a computer since the early eighties and is very technologically literate) took longer than most to make the VHS to DVD transition.

“The Human Factor” is a book that shows there is often a broken link between the technical engineers who design new technologies and the everyman. Why is DVD better? With VHS, you just stick the tape in and hit the big green button. With DVD, you have menus, and chapters, and the DVD itself which is extremely sensitive to being scratched. Technology should be making things easier, but it often just complicates things.

So, in 2026, I’ll be lecturing my son about how I couldn’t rely on a driver-droid to get me around, or how we didn’t have holo-vision, and we actually had to type our homework instead of transferring brain waves to our wristwatch PC’s. Of course, he’ll just be busy trying to ignore Outkast playing on the oldies station.

We will see a lot of crazy things in our lifetime. Affordable trips to stay on a hotel on the moon. Full reliance on alternate sources of energy (solar, hydrogen). The continuing effects of global warming (supposed to last another 100 years, even if we got off fossil fuel today.)

Some towns are being built in the Arizona area to be vehicle free. That is, everyone gets around by foot or bike, homes are built underground to save on energy, massive windows provide light. Did anyone see that pyramid they were proposing to build in the ocean just off Tokyo? Supposed to be a city of 1 million, with full residence, shopping, employment, etc.

Being the video game nerd that I am, I’ve been following the news about the new Nintendo console coming out this year. Its codename is “Revolution”, and very little has been revealed. We do know that the controller is fully virtual, meaning that it detects hand movements on screen. Many rumours point towards the console supporting stereoscopic 3D vision, which is supposed to be in all IMAX’s and many theatres by 2007. (stereoscopic is a way of displaying movies in full 3D, as in objects coming at you, but more advanced then the old school red/blue glasses technique.)

Things I can’t even conceive I will see in my lifetime. I just hope I can keep up.

How far can technology go? Only as far as the imagination.

A few years ago, I started to come to the conclusion that by maintaining a positive attitude, I would likely experience positive outcomes (if anything, I would appreciate the positive life experiences more.) Not that I have ever really considered myself a negative thinker, I did still occasionally have my down days.

A quote I heard really hit home. I can’t remember it exactly, but it was something along the lines of “If you have a problem, there’s no point getting stressed out. If there’s nothing you can do to correct the problem, don’t dwell on it and move on. If you can fix it, then fix it.”

After some random exposure last year to Buddhism, I picked up a book at an airport called “The art of forgiveness” by the Dalai Lama. My stepmom has been with my Dad since I was 7, and she really made a self sacrifice of not having children by marrying my Dad. My relationship with her is good now, but it wasn’t until a few years ago. She was very unreasonable, and often cruel to my brother and I. She was also a major barrier that caused almost a ten year period of minimal contact with my birthmother.

It took me a while to realize that in order to maintain any relationship with my father, I would have to have a good one with my stepmom. Anyways, I have a really good relationship with both my moms now, but they still have bitter hate for one another which is sometimes bothering (can’t wait for the weddings.)

So that’s why I got the book. (Went a bit off track there.)

Anyway, the book explained the concept of karma, and discussed ways to reduce negative feelings. One of the concepts explained was that instead of not liking someone, we should feel sorry for them (empathize), as it was probably the environment they were in or a certain event that caused the person to behave a certain way. Those concepts are always on the back of my mind.

As I’ve said before, I have moved a lot, especially in the last 5 or 6 years. My first move to Texas in grade 5 was painful to be taken away from friends, but it made every move afterwards that much easier.

I have met some amazing people in the last few years, and made some really close friends. But I never keep in touch with them. I feel like I’ve gone through the cycle of making friends then moving on so much that I naturally think of friends as a very short-term thing, and I detach from people way too easy. (Which has caused some angry emails from ex-girlfriends.) I do find that a lot of friends seem to have strong feelings of resentment when I decide to move to a new town.

I am very open when people ask me personal questions (volunteering I’m not so comfortable with), and I’ve found that people often share themselves with me, or come to me with problems.

My L-factor score was in the average range. So I guess what I’m getting at is that people seem to like me, and I get along great with people in the moment, but it all goes to hell when my attempts at maintaining a relationship when distance separates us are minimal.

Click "OK" to empty recycle bin

What exactly is a post-secondary education? When observing from a distance, I believe it can be deduced to an expensive process of problem solving, which potentially leads to a larger pool of career opportunities. But exactly how practical is the process?

I assume that most college/university students have enrolled in the hopes of a larger chance at a successful career. While there are exceptions of largely successful individuals who have little education, our society is designed around the concept of reserving higher end positions to those most qualified (combination of experience and education.)

But how much are we taking home at the end of a semester? Someone with no education and a great business idea can quite easily find the resources to guide them in their quest for success. Entrepreneurship does not require a certificate of education, and resources in creating a business are not held exclusively for the educated. Students of business are taught many different aspects of business, which might make the process easier for a business graduate.

It seems to me that the education system is generally based around problem solving more than it is in retaining knowledge. Here I am, cramming for a mid-term I have later this afternoon, with a larger concern of memorizing the information then actually trying to understand it and relate it to my life. In fact, most of the tests I’ve taken in my life are mainly focused on simply knowing the information, which can easily be achieved by last-minute memorization.

The problem is in retaining the information. How I wish I had paid more attention in high school, because there are many things of general knowledge that I am ignorant of (particularly history and geography.) Yet, I don’t remember struggling in high school in order to move on to a higher education. Conceivably, should not a student who has graduated with decent marks have a better understanding of the material taught?

I think this can be boiled down to two issues: the input of the student, and the testing process. The student will get out of the education processes whatever they put into it. What I mean is that even though I can just memorize information, pick my multiple choice answer, and forget about the information, it doesn’t mean that that is how the system is intended (could just be a loophole.)

While testing generally is the majority determinant of our marks, most teachers engage their students in activities with the intention of ensuring an understanding of the material. Research papers, oral presentations, group work, etc. Without standard testing, student results are in the hands of the teachers, which can be objective. So while standard testing may not be the most effective way of absorbing the information, it provides a measurement of education, which is critical in the education progression.


Okanagan college is the twelfth school I have attended in my 21 years of education. After going through the Canadian (and American) education system with relative ease, why is it that I feel like I haven’t learned a damn thing?

"I don't have education, I have inspiration.
If I was educated I'd be a fool."

"They say what we know is just what they teach us."
-Bob Marley

Very tough selection process. Do I pick songs that I think Marc used to listen to, or choose songs that I think he’d like now? While it’s hard to imagine Marc listening to some of these songs now, the idea that he might have at the time it was released is enough to suggest songs with nostalgia value.

One key clue for direction ended up being a dead end, for me anyway. Marc commented on an artist named George Mustaki, and not only could I not find any information about the artist, but I didn’t even know what genre it was to give me direction.

My mix is based off a decision of mixing genres, and providing a range of tastes.


1) Public Enemy – show ‘em what you got


This choice is simply based off one comment made last night. When discussing repetition, Marc used the simile of hip hop to compare it, saying it was “repetitious, and uses sampling.” Does an understanding mean an appreciation?

Hip hop didn’t hit the mainstream until the mid-eighties, and probably took a few years longer to reach Canadian suburbia. Public Enemies “It takes a nation of millions to hold us back” (released in 1988, age 21) presented a more aggressive style of hip hop (as opposed to the growing popularity of jazz infused hip hop), and had a theme of oppression which the youth of then (and now) could relate to.

I picked this song because it doesn’t have lyrics, and is only 2 minutes long: just enough time to experience some nostalgia without getting turned off. I am a fiend of hip hop from the late eighties/early nineties, so this was a really tough choice. Runners up included Slick Rick, KRS ONE, De la Soul, and Big daddy kane.

2) Bob Marley – Concrete jungle

While Roots reggae was in its peak in the late seventies, the vibes of Marley remained popular in North America throughout the eighties. Marley projected feelings of unity and peace, and his worldwide popularity means that inevitably most Canadians will be exposed to his music at some point in their lives.

Not all his songs were of the upbeat nature. Concrete jungle speaks of the hardships of living in the Trenchtown ghettos, yet its words can relate to anyone feeling bummed out.

“No sun will shine in my day today, the high yellow moon won’t come out to play.
Darkness has covered my light, and it’s changed my day into night.
Where is this love to be found?”

Where indeed.


3) The Traveling Wilburys – Heading for the light

Released in ’88, this super group of artists put out an album which was immensely popular when introduced. While Orbison, Harrison and Dylan were likely more popular with the generation before Marc, Tom Petty was gaining more exposure in the eighties.

To me this is a song of ambition. “My shoes are wearing out from walking down this same highway. I don’t see nothing new but I feel a lot of change.” The depth of all the songs on this album makes it easy to go back and listen to again.


4) Jack Johnson – staple it together

Something new. A Hawaiian with a diverse taste in music, Jack Johnson’s albums offers an acoustic, mellow, reggae type sounds, with self-confessed influences of the Beatles and A Tribe Called Quest. Some tracks are classic love songs that could have been written by McCartney, while other tracks are more abstract, and he adapts a flow not dissimilar from Q-tip of Tribe Called Quest.

To be honest, I haven’t really analyzed the lyrical content of Johnson. This track, along with most of his songs, have a musical depth that is worth appreciating on its own. The bass and drums in this track feel slightly hip-hop inspired, and Johnson’s flow overshadows a slight reggae sound.

5) Miles Davis – blue in green

Had to throw some jazz in the mix. Obviously well before Marc’s time, jazz is a genre that is style that is easy to listen to, and is not distracting (perfect when working on assignments.) While I have yet to grasp an understanding of jazz, I think Davis’ music is easy to swallow.

5 things I would change about myself...

1) Sensitivity/Self consciousness/Self expression
I take everything too personally. Criticism seems to just stick in my head, and I overanalyze comments. I wish it was easier to laugh at myself, and not be so easily embarrassed. I envy those who genuinely do not care what others think about them. I don't think it has held me back, but I have spent many restless nights repeatedly going over certain incidents. It has prevented me from expressing myself creatively though. I do a lot of writing, and have become addicted to playing guitar over the last year, yet it's been hard for me to share my creations with anyone, even family.

2) Spirituality
Or lack there of. Raised in atheist communities, I was seldom exposed to religion. Am I missing something by not having any beliefs in a greater power? Having done research about evolution over the last few years, it has become difficult for me to grasp the concept of a creator. Buddhism has been the easiest religion pill for me to swallow so far, yet it doesn't have the creator belief shared by monotheistic religions. When am I hard done by (screwed over), I take the attitude that I need to do nothing about it, as I feel that they will get what's coming to them. How can I feel that if I don't believe in a higher power? There is a lot that science can not explain.

3) Judgments/Stereotypes
In such a image-focused society, many people make statements about themselves through material products (clothes, cars, etc.) It is so easy to form a feeling about a person without ever have talked to them. I think this relates to the transference topic discussed last night. When I meet new people, I do make an effort to treat them as an individual as opposed to assuming them to be similar to someone in my past. I believe that the way people present themselves says something about who they are, but it's wrong to form an opinion of someone simply based on this. I wish I could erase all my conceptions attached to certain images or brands, and not form opinions of people prior to conversing with them.

4) Perspective
What's really important in life? When I used to think of success, I would think of a cottage on the lake with a boat. I most definitely desire to achieve much more than this in life. With so many problems in the world, I almost feel that it is the duty of the educated from developed nations to make some sort of contribution to those less fortunate. We all know what it's like to be deprived of our wants and desires, yet how many of us can say we've been deprived of our needs for survival? How can I get bummed out about not being able to afford to go snowboarding when thousands are dying each day from problems unimaginable in Canada? I need to shift my perspective on what I really want to achieve in this life, and worry less about not being able to fulfill all my wants.

5)Patience
I do have long-term patience (finishing school, finding love.) Its everyday aggravation that I wish to change. While I have made drastic improvements since my adolescent days, every so often I get worked up. I'd say the majority of my tantrums are due to computer problems, especially slow internet. Being late for something important also seems to stress me out. While I do consider myself to be easy-going, I could be going easier.