It seems like every day brings with it a new report, news article, or media release on the economic and educational status of the Millennial generation. Today was one such momentous date, bringing with it several new sources of data. I’m pleased to say that one of these articles was based on research conducted by…
Category: Life Thoughts
The Heat of Scrutiny and Praise
Yesterday I successfully defended my thesis to my committee, which was comprised of: Dr. Troy Glover (Reader), Dr. Sanjay Nepal (Committee Member), and Dr. Bryan Grimwood (Advisor). I began my 20-minute Powerpoint presentation with a video that took my examiners on a virtual hike of my research on the trails, then had to respond to two…
Career Women and Why I Don’t Sympathize
In my recent job application endeavours, I have noticed an intriguing trend; women are listed as a ‘minority’ demographic and thus privy to special considerations denied to the male gender. But with “each generation, the notion that female workers are secondary to their male counterparts fades more and more […] A whole new crop of…
A Daily Indulgence
It’s 2:37pm on the day before my thesis defence. I’m nervous, excited, and altogether anxious to get through the proceeding 24 hours. A two-year process full of work, stress, new insights, and rapid learning experiences is about to (symbolically) come to an end. I hesitated to talk about my thesis defence publicly, on a blog…
Plyometrics and Why I Love Them
Some days my workouts seem to fly by, and I’m left sweating, smiling, and glowing with the rush of endorphins to my brain. Even a quick workout perks up the rest of my day and makes me feel stronger and more capable – especially when that workout involves plyometrics. It can be quite challenging for…
Horse Racing: The Sport of Kings?
I recently queried Google with this question: “Why is horse racing called the Sport of Kings?” As with all of my questions, the search engine coughed up a treasure-trove of possible responses within mere milliseconds. Wikipedia tells me that “Thoroughbred racing was, and is, popular with the aristocrats and royalty of British society, earning it the…
From “Bucket” List to “Life” List
I’m turning 24 in several weeks, and have been thinking about starting my next year of life with a bucket list. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines a bucket list as “a list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before dying” (Merriam-Webster 2013). The term is derived from the phrase”kick the…
A MOOC-ish Experiment
For some time now, I’ve been following with interest and excitement the development of new online tools for teaching and learning. I’ve had visions of being able to learn just about anything of interest in my spare time; creative writing, world history, Eastern philosophy, or simply a refresher on my high school linear functions class….
The Doge – A Canine Meme
Have you recently encountered a Shiba Inu with shiny eyes, glossy fur, and an almost unreal perfection? Then perhaps you’ve met the current internet meme known as doge. As I have previously written about Grumpy Cat, a feline of great online notoriety, I thought it only fair to showcase a canine equivalent/ rival. The doge meme…
A Plethora of Beverages
This week I have an interview with the Liquor Control Board of Canada (LCBO), for a position as temporary contract staff in the holiday season*. Not being a terribly heavy drinker myself, I decided to do a bit of background research on alcohol and was astonished to find the great diversity of beverages available; hence…
A Poe of a Good Time
I just finished reading a great collection of stories in an anthology put together by the Mystery Writers of America called On a Raven’s Wing. Each of the 20 stories are written in the spirit and form of Edgar Allan Poe, commemorating the 200th anniversary of his birth, but are modern in setting and content…
In Praise of “Brain Pickings”
To anyone who is craving some intellectual fulfillment this week, I would highly recommend that you make your way over to the Brain Pickings website and either browse through their articles or subscribe to their weekly newsletter. In the most recent weekly newsletter that I received, Brain Pickings touched on topics ranging from the meaning…
Maria Legault 