Late Learning

I think this is what every class should be like: the professor and students all actively engaged in a conversation discussing various view-points of a topic. The learning environment is so much more conductive and enjoyable. It actually makes me very excited and eager to listen and participate and learn. :) Those rusty brain cells of mine start to churn and process and absorb.

Today we discussed the importance of developing a long-term relationship between buyers and suppliers. The key component to that relationship is open communication/sharing and trust - if this sounds kind of like a relationship between two people, don't be alarmed, a business relationship or any kind of relationship is exactly that - it needs those ingredients. Everything in world is interconnected in one way or another.

Have you heard about this before? We were talking about "Game Theory" and we discussed about The Prisoner's Dilemma. What this model illustrates is how trust can determine the outcome of a situation. Consider the following situation: there are 2 prisoners (e.g. thieves who tend to trust no one) and 4 possible outcomes. If the 2 prisoners both rat each other out, they both get 5 years jail time. If only one of them rats out, then one walks free and the other gets 10 years. If, however, they both trust each other and not rat each other out, they both get only 1 year each. Evidently, this demonstrates that most benefits are reaped when there is trust. This model is related to the Nash Equilibrium, which is devised from John Nash, the mathematician in "A Beautiful Mind". This model is applicable to a lot of things - in economics, social science, politics, and many more. Interestingly, psychology contributes a lot to game theory - which again demonstrates that everything when broken down to its elements, relates back to fundamental relations between entities.

I sound like a total nerd right now. But ah, knowledge fascinates me. :)

La vie d'une étudiante: Tu me manques bientôt

Dans environ 4 semaines, je vais graduer de cette université où j'ai passé 4 années de la vie. Je me rappelle pendant mon premier année quand j'étais une étudiante inexpérimenté, beaucoup de choses étaient nouveaux. Il est difficile de croire que je serai indépendant. Pourtant, je suis enthousiaste de l'avenir. Cet été, j'irai aux nombreaux lieux dans le monde. C'est un occasion que j'ai voulu depuis longtemps.

Les jours de liberté vont me laisser bientôt. Beaucoup de gens ont me dit avant que les années d'université sont les meillures années de la vie. Mais, j'espère que les années prochaine seront mieux.

Starbucks sur la rue de Bloor

Fill me with Positivity

The start of anyone's day can be affected by so many things. It could be as simple as how rushed you are, if you eat breakfast, if catch your bus on time, the bus driver's friendly nod, and oh yes, the weather. Whenever I take the really early go bus (I go on the 6:50am bus on Wednesdays), I always catch the sunrise while I'm on the highway. The feeling of seeing the sun rising, the morning rush hour traffic representing people hustling and bustling another day, and the music I listen to is the perfect recipe for me to think about things and life. Those alone times I get on the bus are actually quite enjoyable--it's a time for me to just wind-down and have some space to myself (even though I'm surrounded by strangers). I think most of you would agree that it's really important to have this alone time to yourself. Imagine if you never had the chance to just stop and reflect - I think a lot of us would be living life quite blindly and aimlessly.

And you know what just makes my day sometimes? The waitress at Timothy's/Tuchners that just can't seem to contain her positivity and cheerfulness. She honestly could make anyone smile, even if they are having a bad day. We definitely need people like that around more! :)

Stickers on my bedroom window

This was my birthday cake - green tea mousse :)

I think this is what Mind Speak is about

Here's a string of random thoughts on an early Wednesday morning:

One of the things we regret the most are the things we never say.

In our lifetime, we only really connect with a handful of people even though there are billions of people in this world. That's why you should always cherish every single meaningful connection you make.

People's character never change. The only thing that really changes is their lifestyle and maybe their attitude. I usually call these changes "phases".

Is anything definite? What we can't be sure of we can only trust and believe.

We are the main characters in our life. Everyone else is your supporting actors and actresses.

Do feelings follow actions or do actions follow feelings? I think this was discussed before in my psychology class but I forget what the theory was...

I believe in change--for the better. Those who stay stationary fall behind because the world is always changing.

That's all for now. It's time for class!

Below are pictures I took from "Rock the Runway" Charity Fashion Show put together by the students at Woodsworth College. The benefiting charity is War Child Canada.

Transition

I feel like blogging today...because I tend to think more when I am a little sad.

There are certain things I want to do when I'm young - like travelling around the world, sky-diving, going on a hot-air balloon, being in a film premier, going to art shows, and many things of the sort. Then I wonder, what if I never get the chance to do these things? What if I'm only able to do these things when I'm too old to have the same enjoyment? This is definitely nothing new but that thought of not being able to accomplish these things suddenly made me feel really afraid of growing old. I don't ever want to grow old. The older I grow, the less time I have to achieve these things. The realization that I may not do everything I want in life is daunting, although it is a blatantly obvious fact. My religious friends may look beyond what we do in our life time and strive for life in eternity - a practice I fully respect, although I do not comprehend entirely. On the other extreme are those that live in the moment and make the most out of present life - a perspective that I relate to more but not to its full extent. What I seem to strive for is something in between: I want to make the most out of my life right now but I am also interested in finding something beyond that - things that will answer the bigger questions like our purpose (as corny as it sounds).

It's the fourth year syndrome - I seem to be thinking more and more about this stuff as graduation inches closer. The future is full of excitement, challenges and new things. This summer will be the first expedition in this new chapter in my life.

Photoblog update: I meant to have moved this blog to a new host during reading week, but didn't get around to doing that. I am in the process of determining if I should go with wordpress or tumblr! Please stay tuned!