Giving Into Peer Pressure (For Real)

Alright, so I’m home earlier than expected, so I can put some more time and thought into my answers in this meme. Also, I can avoid getting more flak for my very half-assed responses the first time around 😛

10 years ago: For the first time, I was pushed academically. My Grade 6 teacher, Mrs. Bartolomucci, demanded a lot of effort out of all of her students. Previous to this, I found school exceptionally easy and a small amount of effort paid handsome dividends. But the workload and expectations from Mrs. B were far more than anything I had ever experienced. Gosh, I got a 60-something in an assignment (before I convinced her that I ought to redo it because I really didn’t try at all). Part of the indifference had to do with the aforementioned separation of my parents, but part of it was my work ethic, too. By the end of the grade, I worked myself hard on everything and earned that coveted Overall Technical Proficiency award.

Also for the first time, I had to wear glasses. I still remember the first time I put them on.. I was at the back, and I couldn’t see the math problem up on the board. It was some sort of contest to see who could answer it first, and I would not accept defeat. Goodbye vanity, hello marks!

5 years ago: Like I said, I was in awesome physical shape, thanks to the cross-country team at school. Interestingly enough, the school won the TDCAA overall title for something like the 23rd year in a row, and went on to dominate OFSAA. If I didn’t get shin splints the way I do now, I’d run like crazy.

At the time, I was also a vegetarian. It was a long experiment for me, lasting from the middle of Grade 8 to OAC. I felt really healthy and it was a worthwhile thing to do. I may attempt to do that again now that I’m living off-campus.

1 year ago: I was on a co-op term at Legg Mason Canada, an investment firm here in Waterloo. Some of my co-workers were around my age, and all of them were graduates/students at UW. So I felt very comfortable there and I enjoyed what I was doing (which consisted of designing and building analytical tools for portfolio managers and traders). Something that we did on a weekly basis was go out for lunch as a team (at the company’s expense). And when one was stuck in the university bubble, this was an awesome perk.

I was also a Don at St. Paul’s. It was the first time that I was a Don in a fall term (but second time as a Don), which meant that I had the opportunity to really influence the way incoming students saw the school and the residence. I tried very hard to not be the floor’s police officer and, instead, to be a good role model for everyone. That said, I did have to ensure that everyone respected everyone else. Fortunately, I didn’t have to do much more than ask any offending parties to keep that in mind; I really appreciated the respect that the floor showed to me.

Yesterday: Halloween! I waited until the last minute to get a costume, and it showed since I was a surgeon with a borrowed lab coat and blue latex gloves. Or a scientist. Or a doctor. Who knows. But it was a good time at the Embassy with a lot of other people dressing up! Gosh, you gotta love the irony of celebrating a pagan festival at a Christian service 😛

5 snacks I enjoy: Fruits (strawberries and mangoes, in particular), raw carrots, chocolate bars, gummy bears, Swedish Berries.

5 things I would do with 100 million dollars: Donate $50 000 000 to a variety of charities and churches, pay off some of my friends’ loans, invest in a house, invest in the stock and bond markets, save in the bank. I think the trick is to not live a radically different life because money shouldn’t influence us that profoundly.

5 places I would run away to: Africa (Tanzania or South Africa?), Australia, Germany, Galapagos Islands, British Columbia.

5 things I wouldn’t be caught dead in: Most kinds of female clothing, tighty whities, clothing with vulgar connotations or profanity, wife beaters (ugh what an awful name), knee-high socks.

5 favourite shows: Hockey Night in Canada, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, Friends. Honourable mention to Family Guy (who lost out based on its objectionable content).

5 bad habits: Sleeping in, staying up really late, being overly sarcastic, not exercising enough, procrastinating.

5 biggest joys: My journey with God, spending quality time with family and friends, playing music, reading, sleeping.

5 favourite toys: BMWs, guitars, computers, my iPod, my snowboard.

Tagging: I’m still not going to tag anyone specific. But feel free t do this on your own journal (and let me know if you do)!

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