Work Thus Far

It's about time I talked about my job. I've been working here for 3 weeks now and I think I can give a fairly good update about things. The environment is pretty nice, everyone is fairly close knit and we joke and laugh at each other all the time. The downside is that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, know about each other.

I mean, I've barely even know any of the drivers who deliver the concrete and yet I'll walk by the break room and get, "Hey, you're the new guy with the University degree!".

How much do they know about me?!

So I'm feeling a bit of pressure not to make mistakes or look stupid. I mean, I am an academic, I should be able to do my job better than most, right? Right?

Well actually if what I'm told is correct, I've moved along faster than most of the people I've replaced. I've learned the programs needed to do my job, the more important mixes of concrete, how to respond to customers and when to redirect them, etc. etc. all within the span of two weeks.

I've actually been on the phone taking orders for concrete on my own for this week and with more practice, eventually I'll be allowed to work in dispatch without supervision. Which would be great because not only is it more engaging, but it also pays significantly better.

Close enough.

Until then, I'll have to be delegated to dealing with orders of concrete. Whether it's taking, modifying, or cancelling them, someone has to be there to answer that phone. That's another perk to this job is that I can't fall asleep. Everyone wants something different, the phone is going off nearly all the time, and my shift goes by quickly.

And I'm pretty sure my coworkers appreciate the help. I remember one day when we only had one guy on the phones. Pretty sure he was there for a 12 hour shift with virtually no breaks, dealing with angry people who had to wait up to an hour to be talked to.

And while most of our customers are pretty nice and even enjoyable to talk to, we have a few notorious people who are absolutely horrid to deal with. One particular example comes to mind with a guy called Jim. The conversation goes like this:

Jim: Hi, so uh. I'd like to move my Thursday order to be on the Friday.
Me: So you want to get rid of the Thursday order and have it on Friday?
Jim: No, I want to uh, have the Friday order be like uh, Thursday, but have it 7 meters uh, instead.
Me: Ok, I can do that.
Jim: Except make it um, more. More like the Thursday one that uh, we're moving.
Me: Sorry? What do you want me to do?
Jim: If you could um have the Friday order more, but have it like uh, the Thursday.

This continues until my supervisor realizes who I'm talking to, grabs the phone from me, and later tells me that Jim is notorious for being like this,

Jim later called to change the order, again.

So asides from that things are good. I'll hopefully be having paycheques rolling in and we can begin to do serious damage to my debt. While I am supposed to just work 8 hours a day, that delicious overtime beckons, and I've been trying to find excuses to stay a bit later to learn dispatching.

That being said, my projects are taking a massive hit. It's hard to find the motivation to learn or write after a 9 or 10 hour shift while running on barely any sleep. I'll have to find a way to accommodate everything somehow.

The Job Hunts

It's no secret that I've been looking for more work. Despite having both my fast food and my marketing job there are still massive chunks of my day that probably could be spent doing something that is guaranteed to give me a paycheque at the end of the day.

As much as I'd love to spend more time in bed, I should be more productive. My Mother has also been really pushing for me to get another job during the day. Mentioning that X is currently hiring and really desperate for workers. Y is currently hiring, you should send a resume.

I really would not want to work at Starbucks though.

Ideally, I want to spend all my daylight hours working and nighttime hours working on my online projects. So I have been looking for other jobs, or at least things that would look good on a resume. I've been in touch with a few friends and they've directed me to various places and after throwing my resume around I finally got a response.

It wasn't much, certainly didn't pay much besides a small bursary at the end of the summer, but it would look good. An association for Parkinson's needed a researcher, or rather, someone to read through a ton of papers and see if anything important was inside.

It was like I trained for this job my entire University career.

At least I'm putting my education to good use.

I had to bus, and I hate busing. I'm also fairly certain it looks odd to bus around wearing a tie. Even worse when it's windy and your tie whips around your face in the open. But so be it, how else was I going to make it to my interview? Walk the entire way?

Actually, I missed the final bus to get my interview. Google maps said it would take 20 minutes to get there on foot. So I did the only thing I could do, I started jogging in the general direction of the building with my tie flapping about in the wind. I was late, but at least I made it.

I thought the interview went well, better than any other interviews I've done in the past few years. And a few days later, I got another email saying that they wanted me.

I actually did it, I finally got an internship of some sort.

I go back next Thursday to finalize some details and sign some papers. But it's nice to have something go in my favor. Again, I don't get paid, all I get is a small government bursary but hey, I'll take what I can get.

I'm still waiting for replies from a few other emails. There's one opportunity I really want to hear back on because it sounds like it pays well is a great for work experience. Fingers crossed for me.

Project Cold: Phase 1: The Marketer

The idea behind Project Cold was to find a way to force myself to interact with people. I'm by no means a socially awkward or anti-social person, but I feel that I could do with a bit more extroversion and comfort with conversing with strangers. But there's that caveat as always, I needed to find a way to monetize this project.

My first attempt was online. I failed miserably and we'll pretend like it never happened. Maybe I didn't have enough practice? However, a friend of mine was looking to hire marketers and I saw this as an opportunity to further my Project Cold in a different prospect.

I guess I basically just got myself a second part-time job.

Maybe I'm less trustworthy online or something?

I'm certain most of you are familiar with student painting companies. And so my job was to head out, knock on doors, find people who were willing to get an estimate of a painting job, and repeat. At first, I was only making commission. I was paid a set amount for every phone number/booking that I succeeded in getting. I needed to quickly learn how to convince people to give me their phone numbers or else I wouldn't make any money at all.

(Un)fortunately my friend had to stop for personal reasons but at least he transferred me to a different manager.

Who then started paying me a flat rate + commission which was a significant boost in wages.

Still, it wasn't easy. Easily half of the houses I visit have no one home. Then, most of people who are home aren't interested, or recently got painting done, or plan on doing it themselves. It's funny because I look at some of these houses and the garage door is literally peeling away. Yes, I'm sure you did a lovely job painting it last summer.

So it's that small fraction of "maybe" interested people I have to work at convincing to go and get an estimate. To put things in perspective, if I get even one booking an hour, my total earnings become over double that of minimum wage. 2 bookings? I'm making over quadruple minimum wage. So you have poor Damian running around, trying to hit up as many houses as possible.

During January and February it was cold, dark and miserable with snow everywhere. I'm jumping over snow piles and sliding on ice. Now in March all that snow is melting and I'm jumping over puddles and slush.

Puddles > Snow piles though.

And how successful have I been at persuading people? Maybe I've just been lucky but I've been consistently making at least double minimum wage. On my best days, I earn over quadruple that of minimum wage. Less than 20 hours work and almost $500 richer for it.

I know it's not much, a second part-time job isn't that amazing but this is way better than my part-time minimum wage fast-food job. Plus, I'm actually talking and interacting with people to the point where I can push them to get what I want. AND I'm getting exercise because I need to get away from my computer to do this. I also set my own hours which is great. I head out when I can and I'm motivated to do so because $$$$.

That is until I find a way to make money playing computer games.

Some of you may have noticed that this is Phase 1 of Project Cold. This is because I may have a way to improve and make things more efficient (i.e. more money, less work). Unfortunately I won't be start doing this until May.

Until then, if you live in Canada and are greeting at the door by a tall, out-of-breath Asian trying to get your number for a free estimate on painting, give him your number. He needs the money.

Project Derp: Phase 1: The Blog

A lot of people have asked about these projects of mine and I've been scant on information for a reason. See, contrary to popular belief, telling people that you're doing something actually doesn't encourage you to work on it any harder. A lot of people get a rush of satisfaction from sharing that "I am working on X". So much satisfaction that they stop working on X because they got that mental award already.

So I try to not to tell too much so as to better deny myself from that false sense of achievement. However, seeing as I've already succeeded on a significant portion of one of my projects, I think I can safely share the details here.

Also because nothing else amazing has happened in my life and I need to maintain my posting schedule somehow.

I'm so clever!

You hear stories about people making a living off their blogs, and so with a little research I decided to try it myself. See if it was possible or not. Yes, I started this blog as an alternate means to make money. Yes, I'm one of those people, you can crucify me later. But unlike most of those people I actually stuck with it.

I had a set of endpoints, goals, terms of success, etc. etc. and they boil down to the following:

Expected costs: $0

Skills to be learned: Regular posting, understanding how online advertisements work.

Estimated time: 50-100 hours.

Terms of success: 50< Blog posts, $100< Earned.

Bonus skills: Web design, basic coding.

Fairly simply, I didn't expect to spend any money on just a "theory'. For all I knew maybe some idiot got lucky and everyone else failed. But not any amount of money would be acceptable. Who wants to put in 100 hours of work and get $0.25? Not me. But at the same time, if I never posted and didn't make any money, that's my own fault, hence the 50 post minimum requirement.

Internet coupons are also not acceptable.

This would also serve as a chance to get into the groove of posting online in some sort of schedule. I would need to learn all the rules and requirements of having advertisements. If I was really keen, I would also learn how to make my blog look pretty. I didn't succeed. My blog has looked the same since day 1. But it was just a bonus requirement so I can let that slide.

I can safely say that I made well over the $100 requirement. Way over, much more than I expected. I don't feel comfortable revealing the exact amount though. I'm also actually nearing my 200th post so I beat the minimum post requirement as well.

So for these reasons I can safely declare Phase 1 of Project Derp to be a success.

Also, if you're wondering why it's called Project Derp, read the name of my blog.

But, I can hear a lot of you saying "$100 for even 50 hours of work = $2 an hour! That's not even minimum wage!". I'm certain that I've made more than many bloggers but you're right, these aren't the most amazing earnings. In addition, my earnings have been dropping for a long time now. Blogging is not an efficient way to earn money, or at least, not the way I'm doing it.

However, remember, what was phase 1 about? Testing. Testing to see if it was possible to earn money online by writing. And I passed with flying colours. It's not efficient though, but what is?

How can I possibly expand from this point?

Hmm...

 

And that's what phase 2 of Project Derp is about. Testing is over, it's time to kick it up a notch. It's time to try and make things efficient. Using the earnings gained from phase 1, I've been working on the next theory. 

The idea is that (if done right) you invest time into something and it perpetually earns you money. Forever. How awesome is that? It's like working for a month, stopping, but still getting a salary for the rest of your life.

However, I've encountered roadblocks, lack of time and sleep, and progress has not moved as fast as I wanted. I've literally been stuck at this phase since last summer and only since January have I really been putting in a lot of work into this.

But the last two weeks have been excited, I've started to show signs of phase 2 working. I just need to find time to make that (hopefully) final push into meeting the requirements for success. But based on my track record I'm not going to have a chance of finishing before April ends.

Oh well...

Phew! This post went on a bit longer than normal so I hope no one minds the massive blocks of text. I'm hoping that some of my other projects start working out so I can share them. Really handy for days that I have nothing else to talk about.

Comments appreciated. Feel free to call me an idiot if you think I'm wasting my time.

Happy Chinese New Years!

Happy Chinese New Years! Hope everyone who celebrates this day had a good one. So we move from the year of the dragon onto the year of the snake. I'm kind of ambivalent about the whole thing because I'm a horse so my zodiac year will be next year.

I spent it in front of a computer (as usual) and then meeting up with family for food. I know that pizza and sushi aren't traditional Chinese foods but I'm not complaining. I think I've eaten enough rice for this lifetime.

I'll pass.

I'm going to keep this post short. I usually do for holidays and what not. Plus, I really don't have much else to say other than yay for red pockets. When you're as in-debt as I am, every bit of money is appreciated for whatever occasion.

In less happy news, I think I may have found out why I'm so sickly. You know, the collapsing lungs, the sleep apnea, etc. etc.. A doctor's appointment later this week followed by some tests may confirm this.

I'll see you guys Wednesday.

Obligatory snake picture.

The Projects

I used to be one of those people who would see something and think to myself "It be pretty neat if I could do that". The problem was that I would never go beyond the thinking stage and keep telling myself how interesting it be but I'll do it tomorrow.

Well to be honest, I still do that, but a lot less so. Over the last few years I've been working to fix this and actually get up and do something. Over the Christmas break I finally pushed myself to initiate several projects at the same time and progress and speeds unseen before have occurred.

I don't want to go into to much detail about them until they've reached a point where I'm successful. Mostly because I want to do posts on them if I'm was successful. And if I fail, I can sweep the failure under the metaphorical rug, never to be seen again.

Nothing to see here, move along.

Project Pitch

I'm certain that I'm a good writer. Unfortunately this has only been proven within the bounds of academic sorts of writing. So to see if I can write for other sources this project involves me writing elsewhere. I'm going to test and hone my skills hopefully.

I've wanted to write for these guys for quite some time so I've finally gotten off my butt and thrown some ideas at them, I'm averaging one a week. One proposal has been rejected (but has the option of being rewritten in another way), one has been moved up to consideration (second editorial), and one is currently waiting to be moved into the editorial.

Oh and if I actually get something published, they'll pay me. It's not much but I'm not complaining. If I'm successful I'll link my writing on the site from my blog. Fingers crossed.

Project Derp

Project Derp is what I would consider a 3-phase project. My blog was actually phase 1 and I would consider it to be a resounding success. Work on phase 2 started back last summer but unfortunately, things got busy, I got lazy and distracted, traveled to China, and things were pretty much at a standstill during the school term.

Fortunately, I got motivated again during the Christmas break and things are looking good. The project is moving along, I'm seeing significant signs of improvement and hints that we can move onto phase 3 by the end of the month if things continue like this.

And of course, there's monetary gain if this project is at least moderately successful. Am I motivated too much by money? Maybe. Do you blame the University student with debt in the thousands? I hope not.

:(

Project Vegas

This project doesn't involve making any money but rather, saving money for a rather expensive thing. I was particularly excited when I started this one because I met all the requirements for it to be successful.

Well, all the requirements except one.

For whatever reason, it's extremely easy for Americans to abuse this loophole. Canadians? Not so much. So right now I'm hunting down the Canadian equivalents in hopes of attaining something close to the benefits an American would get.

'Murrica!

Rejected/Backburner projects

Project Cold is on indefinite hiatus. I'm going to have to learn and practice various skills before I try this again. It was actually kind of embarrassing for both parties when it became painfully obvious I didn't know what I was doing. I'd also be hesitant to admit success with this one because some people would definitely consider it morally questionable.

Project Pandering is on hiatus as well. I lack hardware that produces results that I'm satisfied with. Plus, I'm going to have to relearn a few computer skills if I want to create anything worth showing.

And if it wasn't obvious by this point, all of these projects are being done online. Because I love my computer, and internet, and I don't like going outside. If I can find a way to live a sedentary lifestyle, I'll be happy.

Wish me luck.

Preperation for China

Less than a week remains until I head to China. It's a combination of dread and excitement for me. I'm excited because I love traveling and seeing new things. And so many things in China are so cheap, especially the food. I am stuffing my face there until I die.

Unless you know, the heat and humidity kill me first.

Yeah, not the greatest time to go, in the middle of summer but it's the only time we are able to go there. Also, I love my internet and China has terrible internet. I lost all job opportunities due to this vacation and I'll miss out on a roadtrip that my friends are going on as well. But what can you do?

Well, I'm getting ready for trip.

1. Internet Access

I'm addicted to my Internet. China, hates the internet. Surprise surprise. I'm certain most of you are aware of the Great Firewall which prevents people from accessing certain sites such as Facebook, Youtube and (sometimes) Gmail. There is a way around it however, by using a Virtual Private Network or VPN you'll be able to bypass the Firewall with no problem.

Unfortunately, I lack the technical abilities to set one up for myself so I'll probably just rent one for a month for $5 again. Not bad. Let's just hope my Macbook doesn't catch on fire...

Uh oh.

2. Money

Theresa completely failed to buy herself anything with the money I gave her when she went to China. If you want something done right, do it yourself.

But not just that, we're going to be going to Hong Kong, a Shanghai tour and then to Taiwan. 3 places, 3 different types of currency. I'm really hoping I've brought enough because I'd rather not try and exchange money in Asia. I've heard enough horror stories of people losing their credit cards and what not.

I am fond of the way the coins look though.

3. Locations

In China we'll be mostly on tours. We'll be running around on our own in both Taiwan (Taipei area) as well as Hong Kong. If anyone has any ideas of what are interesting things to see mentioned it in the comments below. I haven't found anything that really appeals to me yet.

4. Clothing

My worst enemy is heat. I burn extremely fast and it doesn't take long for me to get heat rashes. Seriously, I get rashes on my body from being too hot. This is complicated by my style of clothing which is long jeans, t-shirts + dress shirts.

I'm forced now to wear shorts in an attempt to stay cooler. There's a reason why I refuse to wear shorts unless completely necessary. I'm fairly certain I have chicken legs. It's a curse, being so thin. And my dress shirts usually do a good job at making me look like a normal weight.

So graceful.

So again, anyone with memorable locations in either Taipei or Hong Kong let me know. Preferably indoors or with air conditioning.

There has to be an Easier way.

I think I'm looking in all the wrong places. Because everyone else is getting employed this summer except me. My old fast food job doesn't count, though at the moment it's all I have.

I mean, my friend comes back from a 2 week long vacation from Japan, and within a week of him sending out applications he's already got interviews.

I still have nothing and it's really starting to irk me. University jobs haven't responded. Same with nearby campuses, government positions and the retail stores I've applied to. No one is responding. Really not sure what I'm doing wrong. Or if I'm even doing something wrong. For all I know my applications are being dumped into a junk folder.

Or a garbage can.

I suppose going away to China for a month isn't helping my case either. Who wants to hire someone to work for 2 months. Oh and it's two months split by a month long vacation in the middle. Yeah, unless I find a good temp job that'll let me do that, I'm not making my hunt any easier.

I guess I could keep working the fast food job. My boss is going to try and give me more hours. At least Theresa is in China so it's not like working more is taking away time potentially spent with her.

I smell like this after every shift regardless if I'm near the fryers or not.

But I think it's also time for a bit of a confession. Those who have read my very first blog post will recall that I started this blog in hopes of chronicling my attempts of figuring out what to do with my life. So far, I haven't been very successful.

But the secondary reason that I started a blog was to test its potential as a secondary source of income.

Allow me to explain. I know it sounds kind of silly, stupid or even like a scam. Making money off the internet always is suspicious. But there are tons of people who have managed to turn it into a living. At best, the amount of money earned can far exceeds the amount of work put in.

The problem is, how do you do that, efficiently.

And without potentially harming yourself.

This blog has earned me some money. More than I ever expected it to. However, it is far from optimal and if I were to make it more efficient, it would take away most of the fun I get out of doing this blog. I do enjoy blogging, don't get me wrong, but the way I'm doing it isn't going to pay for my tuition anytime soon.

Right now I'm doing some experimentation with other online things. I know that they can work but the goal is to get them to work for me. I might have to accept that this could be more only source of significant income this summer.

Give me money oh magical box!

And for regardless of it works or not, it'll make for a good series of blogposts in the future.

New Years Resolutions

Alright, it's time for the generic end of year and/or next year resolution's post. But you know what? Yes, I'm going to have a list of things I want to get done by the end of next year. But I'm going to be different by actually posting updates to my progress at the beginning of each month. That way I can keep on track.

And you guys can laugh at me if I should fail due to laziness.

A big problem for a lot of people with these things is that they set vague or unrealistic goals. I know I've been pretty bad for vague goals myself. Thus, let's fix that right now.

Goal #1:

I'm a skinny guy, really skinny. Like, I'm borderline anorexic skinny. My girlfriend Theresa saw me without my shirt once and she told me I looked like one of those starving Africans you see from National Geographic.

Now I know it's unrealistic to become a bodybuilder and if I say "I'm going become healthier next year" nothing's going to happen. So let's try this instead. The link I provided is a site that claims by the end of 6 weeks you should be able to do 100 push ups. At the moment, I can do 20 so let's see what happens.

 

 And maybe you'll see some meat on me.

Goal #2:

I am in need of money. A part time job just isn't going to pay for tuition or spoil Theresa. I'm going to need to find an additional source. Whether that's through an internship, this blog, or some crazy idea I find online I need to try it.

The goal here is to try a new thing each month and report on its success and/or failings. Yes I did mention I was making some profit with this blog but unless I'm making more than minimum wage it's not something to boast about.

EDIT:

Added requirement of trying to pay back debt of $5500 to parents.

Goal #3:

Too often I tell myself "That looks neat, I should really try it" and then I never get around to doing it. This include recipes, small projects, and places to go to. The goal here is to try at least one new thing each month and post about it. I need to learn how to cook, I want to make that hollow book and take Theresa out to that restaurant.

Actually for the longest time I've wanted to start a blog so I guess yay for me?

Woohoo!

Goal #4:

I have an obsession with the number 4. So I need a 4th goal if it kills me. Uhhh...

Uhhh....

. . . .

You have no idea how long I spent in this pose.

You know what? You guys decide for me. Long time readers will have a better idea of what to chose but I'm good with whatever. I'll pick the best one from the comments and hopefully it won't be something like eat 100 endangered species or set yourself on fire for a minute.

And that's it from me. I'll see you guys in the New Year!

Edit: Thanks to D4 and Heddin for their combined suggestion of completing a game from my backlog and/or reading a new book each month!

Financial Situation (Part 2)

Thank you for the suggestions for savings costs such as the online textbooks. I haven't had any luck with the sites I've used in the past but maybe this year will be different. And while the money earned by being a male escort would be great (as suggested by Mr. Soccer Picks with his awesome dino drawings) I don't think anyone likes borderline anorexic Asian males.

 Unless you're Korean. They can't get their men thin enough.

In the meantime, money for me will probably come from one of these sources:

• This blog

Google isn't afraid to use this. This section has been modified appropriately I believe.

EDIT: Mr. Islander (as well as many others) suggest completely removing this section just to be safe. It has been done.

EDIT: There have been suggestions of a donation button on this blog but that feels wrong, the fact that you guys are even reading this blog is enough and I don't think I should be asking for more.

•  Scholarships:

Unfortunately I messed up a year of University so that removes me from a lot of the prestigious scholarships that people put on their resumes and applications. But if you're me, you don't care, you just want the money.

Which is why I'm going to try and apply for scholarships that no one has ever heard about or even bother applying for. In fact, I'm going to try and do what a friend of a friend of mine did a few years back and apply for Aboriginal scholarships.

I could totally pass for a Native American.

What my friend's friend did was submit a fake application to one of these foundations as a joke. This guy is completely Caucasian and a month later he received a cheque for $5000. Why? Because the foundation hadn't had an applicant in over 5 years and they wanted to get rid of the money before they got taxed for it.

If I have any success with this, I'll let you guys know. Feel free to try it out yourself, what's the worst that can happen?

• Investing

I've read a lot of investing blogs lately such as Jammer's and I've actually always wanted to give it a try. You know, trading stocks and what not. Yes it's high risk, yes there is a chance I could make nothing from it but I've been doing some research and I've come to a few conclusions as to why people sometimes lose so much.

It appears to me that a lot of people don't do their research on stocks, instead, they rely on tips from friends or enthusiastic news reports and then dump a chunk of their money into a stock without a second thought. To makes things worse, they don't bother checking up on said stocks, reducing opportunities to make a profit or reduce losses.

Either that or they don't ever sell their stocks, becoming attached to them. The purposing of stocks is to sell them at a higher price than you bought them for. Other times people are too greedy and hold onto their stocks even after they could make a considerable profit.

So in theory, if I avoid these pitfalls I should do ok. I'm not here to become a day trader, if I make a few extra bucks a month that be great.

But if this happens I won't complain.

So that's my plan for now besides working part-time at a fast food restaurant. These ideas appeal to me because of the lack of time I have due to classes. You guys are more than welcome to offer your opinions as you probably have more experience than me. Most comments are quite helpful and very much appreciated. Except the spammers, I hate you guys.

Speaking of classes, I start tomorrow so off to be for me.

Financial Situation (Part 1)

Ok, classes resume on Wednesday for me. Fortunately I've been able to get my parents to cover for my tuition for this term because I've barely got a grand left in the bank. And the sad thing is that most of that grand will be spent on textbooks which CONVENIENTLY have had the prices raised. Again.

The used ones are probably outdated by now too.

I'll be working part-time at my fastfood job but due to time needed to study I'll only be making about $200 a month. But then I have expenses that need to be taken care of. I'm the kind of guy that likes to plan and ahead and prepare. I have blog posts stored in my head, half written (or actually half typed out in advance), I do things like buy presents way months early and store them in my closet, you get the idea. But due to having no money I can't exactly do that now can I?

 I'd starve if it weren't for my parents.

I have considered 3 other forms of potential income given my current situation, but I'll share those in my next blog post. I've gotten a mild cold in the summer of all times, I need to to try out a device to hopefully help with my sleeping (I'll post pictures later) and based on feedback on the last post I'll guess I'll keep doing what I'm doing. Thanks again, and feel free to suggest anything at anytime. I'm open to suggestions.

Why Medical School Might Not be the Best

I think almost everyone is aware of the stereotype that all Asians are forced to be become doctors or risk being shunned by their families forever. Fortunately, my parents aren't batshit crazy and actually respect what I want to go into (whatever that'll turn out to be). But for a while, I actually wanted to go into Medical school like most of my peers. But after a while, I wasn't so sure anymore.

Well the first problem was my grades. My GPA isn't exactly the most pristine thing anymore after a terrible 3rd year. I hear that I could get into a Medical school in the Caribbean but I can't stand heat or humidity and it be extremely expensive. Like tens of thousands of dollars a year. And I didn't get a job so either parents pay (which doesn't feel right) or I get a loan (which kills me later on).

Not so appealing now, are you?

But if I were to get into Med school here in Canada, the costs aren't much better. My friend Geoff who recently got in has to pay a confirmation fee of $1000. My confirmation fee was $175. He has to pay over ten thousand a year. And it would probably be double that if he was living by himself. And no one becomes a doctor in just one year. If I'm correct, 4 years to be a General Practitioner and ~5 years for most specializations? I heard it's even more expensive in the states though so I guess I can't complain.

And there's another thing, time. From Elementary to High School that's 13 years. If I were to enter Med School that's easily another 9 years on top of the 4 years of University I've completed to get my degree. I'd be in my 30's when I'd be done, using my 20's to do more studying. I don't think that's how I want to remember spending my young adult years.

Sadly enough, this is what I mostly remember doing as a child.

Fine, let's cut that down by half a decade and just become a General Practitioner instead. It wouldn't be so bad, recent study suggests that these guys have the most job satisfaction. But another study also reveals (in just my city) that over 90% of them encounter verbal and/or physical abuse from their clients. And the stress is also ridiculous. I remember my old family doctor actually was forced to take a 3 week vacation after he suffered a nervous breakdown.

But it be ok right? Doctors make a ton of money. Yes, yes they do. Except they're usually too busy to do anything with it until they're retired. I heard of a world-renown doctor who traveled all over the world to attend conferences and give speeches. Guess who spent his money? His wife, who traveled with him and would shop while he would give his seminars.

She was probably pretty happy.

One last thing would be corruption. Yes, it exists even within Medicine. I actually only have one clear example and to be honest, it's kind of scary. There was a head surgeon around here, 20 years at a hospital who spoke out against something.

They got rid of him immediately. 20 years at a hospital and without a second thought he was gone.

I remember the complaints and articles in the paper, people being confused but it caused me to wonder. What else is happening in our hospitals that is being repressed? I'm sure that newer doctors are seeing flaws and problems in the system but they're forced to stay quiet. I mean, if even a senior doctor can be sacked so easily I'm sure they'd have no problem with anyone else.

It's ok, there are plenty more where he came from.

But you know what? If for some unlikely, insane and miraculous reason I got accepted into Med school, I'd probably take it. I know about the problems and horrors and yet I'd still freely hurl myself into this. Why? Because at least it be something. I still don't know what I'm going to do with myself after I graduate.

And the thought of any secure job opportunities is enough for me to go through all that nonsense.

A Change of Plans

Well, I finally heard back from the job interview and as it turns out, I didn't get the job.

Oh well.

They were nice about it though, and even sent me an email apologizing for not accepting me but guess what they were looking for? Someone who already had a considerable amount of experience/education for the position.

And what was my reason for going after this job? To gain experience in an area in which I had none. So obviously I'm not going to have any experience to start with. I was kind of screwed before I even applied.

Herp derp.

So I'm a bit of a bind here, I'm heading off to another year of classes, with limited funds, limited work experience and then to graduate with barely any idea of what to do with my degree. The job was to delay all of the above for a year as well as alleviate some of them but we saw how well that went.

I'm currently trying to get into either an Organic Chem or Economics course to fill up my schedule and I don't care which one I get, I can always take the other one in the winter term. As embarrassing as it is I managed to get my parents to pay for my tuition this year because I wasn't able to find a stable summer job this year either.

It's hard being a student.

So this will be kind of exciting and hectic I guess. I have even less time to figure out what to do with myself on top of attending another year of classes. For the first time in years I have to restrict myself to a budget and watch every penny I spend (normally I have a decent surplus from a summer job to spend during the school year).

So I'm just going to charge in to the next school year and hopefully work something out. Again, not sure what I can really do with just a Science degree so maybe Grad School is a possible solution? Any suggestions are welcome, I'm really open to anything other than becoming a bum.