When Seventh Feels Like First

I have three fantasy hockey teams that I manage. One of the teams, the Burninators, has been plagued with injures and underachievement. I kept my eye on the stats so I could make smart trades and pick up unsung heroes. For most of the season, I sat at 10/12 with about 47/144 points*. Slowly progress was made and now I sit 7/12 with 67/144 points and I could very easily move into 6th place. My other teams are within a position to actually win the season but I'm most proud of the Burninators.






*I'm in a 12 team rotisserie league where points are determined best to worst in 12 categories (12*12=144 possible points).

Loud and Obnoxious

How do you politely tell someone
- My annoyance with you has nothing to do with jealousy. I have no desire to be a 5 ft nothing waif. You annoy me because you are loud and rude.
- Learn some self-respect. You think that you are free and uninhibited but men think you are immodest. I'm viewed as a peer and you are viewed as a joke so get a clue. Think to yourself: when was the last time someone ask you what you thought?
- You don't have to say everything that pops into your head, especially at a shrill pitch that seems to resonant through concrete walls.
- Before you get annoyed with someone for not caring about your story, make sure you remember that person's name. [Oh right, I already told you that]
- Stop acting like you aren't smart.

Jumping with Skates

Guillaume Latendresse of the Montreal Canadiens jumps in the air as he screens Karri Ramo of the Tampa Bay Lightning on a shot from the point as Maxim Lapierre #40 of the Montreal Canadiens looks on at the Bell Centre on March 26, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

Girls, I need your help!!!!!

Tomorrow Ken Dryden is talking at my school about Canada and the future. Keeping mind that the other people there will be university students, what do I wear? If I can overcome my social awkwardness I'd like to be able to talk to him after. So what do I wear to not look like the old lady who has come back to university but serious enough to approach a hockey hero / politician? I'm puzzled.

Adorable

Having a Bat Mitzvah in Their 90s Because It’s a Hoot
CHRISTOPHER MAAG, NY Times Online, Published: March 22, 2009

Ohio women in their 90s jumped at a chance to perform a rite rare in their youth, but common for Jewish teenage girls today.

Tiny Pointing Derek

Just 'cause he's awesome

Just Your Type: INTJ

According to the Carl Jung and Isabel Myers-Briggs typology test, I am Introverted Intuitive Thinking Judging. I first took the test when I was 17 then again when I was 28 and the results were the same. It freaks me out how well the description fits me (I know it is long so I bolded the key points so you can get the gist of it):

INTJ Profile by Marina Margaret Heiss

To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know.
INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.
INTJs are known as the "Systems Builders" of the types, perhaps in part because they possess the unusual trait combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an INTJ happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause to an INFJ; both perfectionism and disregard for authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this; INTJs have also been known to take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting their supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to be scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice.
In the broadest terms, what INTJs "do" tends to be what they "know". Typical INTJ career choices are in the sciences and engineering, but they can be found wherever a combination of intellect and incisiveness are required (e.g., law, some areas of academia). INTJs can rise to management positions when they are willing to invest time in marketing their abilities as well as enhancing them, and (whether for the sake of ambition or the desire for privacy) many also find it useful to learn to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to mask their inherent unconventionality.
Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the INTJ's Achilles heel. While they are capable of caring deeply for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge and self-confidence that make them so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal situations. This happens in part because many INTJs do not readily grasp the social rituals; for instance, they tend to have little patience and less understanding of such things as small talk and flirtation (which most types consider half the fun of a relationship). To complicate matters, INTJs are usually extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive as well, which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand. Perhaps the most fundamental problem, however, is that INTJs really want people to make sense. :-) This sometimes results in a peculiar naivete', paralleling that of many Fs -- only instead of expecting inexhaustible affection and empathy from a romantic relationship, the INTJ will expect inexhaustible reasonability and directness.
Probably the strongest INTJ assets in the interpersonal area are their intuitive abilities and their willingness to "work at" a relationship. Although as Ts they do not always have the kind of natural empathy that many Fs do, the Intuitive function can often act as a good substitute by synthesizing the probable meanings behind such things as tone of voice, turn of phrase, and facial expression. This ability can then be honed and directed by consistent, repeated efforts to understand and support those they care about, and those relationships which ultimately do become established with an INTJ tend to be characterized by their robustness, stability, and good communications.

Put it out of its misery...

I deleted my education blog. I wasn't posting and I've averaging 0 visitors a week for months. I might start it up again if/when I go back to teaching.

Mini Player McDonalds - NHL Star Helmet commercial

Clever Quotes

Once on a teacher professional development day, I found on a scrap piece of paper stuck in a magazine. I may have posted these before:

“Politics is the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a close resemblance to the first.”

“Take a lesson from the weather: it pays no attention to criticism”

“Health nuts will feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals, dying of nothing.”

“Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.”

“#1 Thing I Have Learned: Never take life seriously, nobody comes out alive anyways!”
- Author Unknown

"She's the Other Girl in Physics"*

Yesterday, it became very apparent how few women are part of the physics department. In the afternoon, I went to a seminar on dark matter and I was one of three females out of a group of about 60. One was a grad student, one of a first year from a non-calculus based physics class (non-major) and then there was me. I only know two other female undergrad physics majors and they weren't there -- one was working on a lab and the other was getting her tonsils removed. To quote Cecilia from Piled High and Deeper, "The odds are good but the goods are odd."



*Honestly, how I was introduced to a fellow student's roommate.

Wow

I've been alive for 370 months.

That's Unpossible

I just finished my chem lab report. Either I made a mistake in the experiment or 125% of the vitamin C tablet was made of ascorbic acid. I hope it is the latter because unlike physics labs, I can't redo experiments.







Update: I made a copying mistake and wrote some data for my second trial under my first trial. At least it is something I can fix easily.

Socks are for Chumps

I know I'm in the minority but I love winter -- everything is so pretty. The cold weather doesn't bother me and it is the only time of the year that I can breath when I'm outside. The only thing I hate about winter is I have to wear socks. I'd have to say they are in the top ten things I hate -- some where below evil dictators and above capitalism. You read it right, I hate socks more than capitalism. I'm considering leaving a pair of flip flops at the university so I only have to wear socks during labs and coming to and from school.

Inferiority Complex

A friend just got full expenses paid acceptance from Oxford to work on his MSc. I'm worried that no grad school will accept me because of grades from 9-13 years ago. I'm cursed with a GPA that does not reflect who I am now.

We didn't start the fire....

When I first heard the fire alarm sound I thought "What idiot planned a fire drill with a -45C wind chill?" I grabbed my bag and left the Physics students' lounge and the hall was filled with smoke. I was with Blond Derek* and we met Jemaine** in the hallway on our way out the door. Jemaine was in the middle of an experiment that he just had to leave it going and start over later.

We were shooed out of the lab building towards the library. The next building over, the classroom building was evacuated as well. There were grumblings from students about the physics dept starting fires with there experiments which is complete baloney. The only experiments running at the time were first years seeing how fast ice melts in cold water and a pendulum. The only thing "dangerous" in our wing is a neutron howitzer which radiates materials and cannot cause fires.

We didn't know what happened to everyone else from the Physics dept. We wandered back and forth between the entrances from both sides of the building waiting for it to open again. We ran into was The Commie*** eventually. There were many strange conversations about possible sources of the fire****:
- the pendulum was moving so fast it punched a whole in the space-time continuum
- the pendulum bob was made of a highly reactive metal
- the biology dept is breeding dragons (which lead to Blond Derek's decision to raise an army of zombie dragons for a biology project)
- spontaneous combustion of multiple professors

We found our way back to the library where we met the head lab instructor returning from lunch. When he found out how long since we were evacuated he looked at the doors said "They'll let us in soon" then they opened! It was eerie.


Names are used to protect the innocent:
*He looks and acts almost exactly like Derek. We have a physics class and lab together. Once I get to know him better I'll ask if eats toast ironically. I missed tiny pointing Derek.

** By his own admission he looks like Jemaine Clement with a beer belly.

*** Been called so since deciding to take a class on Marxism.
**** I am well aware of our nerdiness.

Idiots Who Call In to Radio Shows

I'm pretty sure Hewert Packard did not make your paint gun.

Vanity

I'm procrastinating from going on the treadmill because my hair looks awesome. How often does a girl WAKE UP with good hair?

PSYCH 101

One of my greatest pet peeves are people who have taken a psychology class who know think they are experts at diagnosis. A couple examples:

• I overheard a girl telling her friend that he had Asperger syndrome because he doesn't like small talk. Idiot. Asperger syndrome is difficult to diagnosis even by professionals and is also characterised by physical clumsiness. Considering that this guy is a lifeguard and avid bike rider it is highly doubtful.


• My grade 9 English teacher took me aside because she was concerned I had a drug problem. A 14 year old girl with well-behaved friends, good marks and a well kept appearance having problems staying awake in class. Doesn't that scream drug fiend? As a teacher I would have loved if my students would finish their work early and the room was so quiet they fell asleep.
  


• Don't get me started on people diagnosing ADD, ADHD and OCD.
  

Creating Your Own Confusion

A friend from high school and his fiancée had their official wedding photos taken ahead of time. It is still awhile until the actual wedding so it makes no sense why he would post the pictures on Facebook. Now every comment is congratulating him on getting married. He explains over and over again that he is not yet married but who reads old comments before posting? Despite the confusion, isn't it tacky to post your wedding photos before the wedding?