last-minute update
Apr. 22nd, 2006 01:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sub_dividedNOTE TO SELF: MAINTAIN PERSPECTIVE
I try to be good about this, but lately I've been slipping.
***
While I was writing this Girl/Mouse thing there was ACTUALLY A MOUSE going through the food in the kitchen. At first I couldn't catch it eating anything, but I could hear it scrabbling around. And then - and then I thought it might be in the cereal, so I opened the flaps on a box and it looked up at me.
Thirty seconds of hysteria later, I decided to pick up the box and put it outside. But every time I reached for it, the mouse poked its head out. ldkjsldkjf cue more hysterics. Eventually I told myself I was being cowardly, and picked up the box -- and then the mouse jumped out and ran across my arm.
In order to understand the true horror of this moment, you have to know that I once picked up a bag of grass clippings with a snake in it. That snake went across my arm, too, but it didn't bother me like this did. I've chased gigantic centipedes out of bathrooms with no problems. But I really, really hate real-life rats and mice. Even cute mice. Even squirrels!
This story has a happy ending, though, because an hour later the mouse was back to its old tricks and this time, I only shrieked once! And then I crept back and, holding the cereal box at arms' length, staring into the eyes of the mouse the entire time, I slowly made my way to the open kitchen door. Outside, it was raining. I started to place the box outside, broke down, threw it out, slammed the door, locked it, and bolted it. And then I put a chair in front of it.
I realize that mice can't open unlocked doors let alone locked doors let alone locked and bolted doors, and that it will probably return via the basement in a few days anyway, but this isn't about being rational.
***
McGill course guide descriptions = hours of fun for the the whole family. It's hard to explain what was so funny about these, except that the way they were written perfectly matched the personality of the kind of person you'd expect to find teaching a class like that. Or maybe I'm just weird. Anyway, here they are:
SOCI 321 Gender and Work
Focus on men and women's work in North American societies, historically and contemporarily, in order to understand the dynamisms of gender (in)equality in and outside the home. Topics explored include: housework; the relationship(s) between gender, organizations and bureaucracy; emotional labour; occupational segregation and stratification; sexual harassment; and family-work policy.
The first thing that makes this funny is the phrase "gender (in)equality," which immediately lets you know exactly what the professor thinks about this so-called "equality." But then, as you read on, you notice that although the author might be fond of adjectives-turned-adverbs ("contemporarily"...I know this is a real word, but it sounds ridiculous), she LOVES parentheses. Maybe she read one too many politically correct papers that use (s)he as the default third-person singular, so that now the appropriateness of the dual-implication parenthesis doesn't even register. Or maybe she thinks there is only one relationship between gender, organizations and bureaucracy -- the (in)equality of women -- in which case my point still stands.
SOC 477 Reactions to Deviance
The nature and variety of agencies that exist for the control or treatment of persons designated as "deviant." The rise and conjectured fall of institutionalization as a response to deviance. Canadian materials bearing on these subjects.
The professor shows his contempt for arbitrary, socially-imposed rules by not writing in complete sentences.
JWST 371 Jews and the Modern City
In the forefront of the development of modern society in Europe and North America, the Jews have shown a distinct preference for the metropolis. The influence of Vienna and New York on the socio-cultural development of the Jews and the Jewish contribution to the general culture. The contributions of Schnitzer, Frued, Herzi and the New York intellectuals.
Nothing specific about this description, except maybe that it is Jew-centric (but this is understandable) and a little bit arrogant (or maybe the author just likes grand statements). But the Jews have shown a distinct preference for the metropolis is hilariously like a something out of Wild Planet: "and here we see the Jew in his native habitat, the Metropolis."
ISLA 351 Survey Development of Islamic Thought
A survey of the development of Islamic thought in medieval and modern times.
It's so obvious, why get hung up on details? In contrast to:
ACCT 430 Operational Auditing
The internal use of auditing techniques to appraise the control provided by accounting and management systems. The challenge of reporting audit findings to prompt management action. Topics: objectives of internal audit, responsibilities and relationships, planning audit processes, preliminary surveys, sampling, computer auditing, operational areas, reporting.
ACCT 431 External Auditing
Auditing standards; auditor's legal rights and responsibilities; problems relating to: incorporated business; consolidated statements prospectuses; events subsequent to balance sheet date; audit of E.D.T. systems; audits requiring special considerations; investigations and special reports; current developments in auditing standards.
These professors are detail-oriented and really like organized lists. In other words, accountants to the core.
I try to be good about this, but lately I've been slipping.
***
While I was writing this Girl/Mouse thing there was ACTUALLY A MOUSE going through the food in the kitchen. At first I couldn't catch it eating anything, but I could hear it scrabbling around. And then - and then I thought it might be in the cereal, so I opened the flaps on a box and it looked up at me.
Thirty seconds of hysteria later, I decided to pick up the box and put it outside. But every time I reached for it, the mouse poked its head out. ldkjsldkjf cue more hysterics. Eventually I told myself I was being cowardly, and picked up the box -- and then the mouse jumped out and ran across my arm.
In order to understand the true horror of this moment, you have to know that I once picked up a bag of grass clippings with a snake in it. That snake went across my arm, too, but it didn't bother me like this did. I've chased gigantic centipedes out of bathrooms with no problems. But I really, really hate real-life rats and mice. Even cute mice. Even squirrels!
This story has a happy ending, though, because an hour later the mouse was back to its old tricks and this time, I only shrieked once! And then I crept back and, holding the cereal box at arms' length, staring into the eyes of the mouse the entire time, I slowly made my way to the open kitchen door. Outside, it was raining. I started to place the box outside, broke down, threw it out, slammed the door, locked it, and bolted it. And then I put a chair in front of it.
I realize that mice can't open unlocked doors let alone locked doors let alone locked and bolted doors, and that it will probably return via the basement in a few days anyway, but this isn't about being rational.
***
McGill course guide descriptions = hours of fun for the the whole family. It's hard to explain what was so funny about these, except that the way they were written perfectly matched the personality of the kind of person you'd expect to find teaching a class like that. Or maybe I'm just weird. Anyway, here they are:
SOCI 321 Gender and Work
Focus on men and women's work in North American societies, historically and contemporarily, in order to understand the dynamisms of gender (in)equality in and outside the home. Topics explored include: housework; the relationship(s) between gender, organizations and bureaucracy; emotional labour; occupational segregation and stratification; sexual harassment; and family-work policy.
The first thing that makes this funny is the phrase "gender (in)equality," which immediately lets you know exactly what the professor thinks about this so-called "equality." But then, as you read on, you notice that although the author might be fond of adjectives-turned-adverbs ("contemporarily"...I know this is a real word, but it sounds ridiculous), she LOVES parentheses. Maybe she read one too many politically correct papers that use (s)he as the default third-person singular, so that now the appropriateness of the dual-implication parenthesis doesn't even register. Or maybe she thinks there is only one relationship between gender, organizations and bureaucracy -- the (in)equality of women -- in which case my point still stands.
SOC 477 Reactions to Deviance
The nature and variety of agencies that exist for the control or treatment of persons designated as "deviant." The rise and conjectured fall of institutionalization as a response to deviance. Canadian materials bearing on these subjects.
The professor shows his contempt for arbitrary, socially-imposed rules by not writing in complete sentences.
JWST 371 Jews and the Modern City
In the forefront of the development of modern society in Europe and North America, the Jews have shown a distinct preference for the metropolis. The influence of Vienna and New York on the socio-cultural development of the Jews and the Jewish contribution to the general culture. The contributions of Schnitzer, Frued, Herzi and the New York intellectuals.
Nothing specific about this description, except maybe that it is Jew-centric (but this is understandable) and a little bit arrogant (or maybe the author just likes grand statements). But the Jews have shown a distinct preference for the metropolis is hilariously like a something out of Wild Planet: "and here we see the Jew in his native habitat, the Metropolis."
ISLA 351 Survey Development of Islamic Thought
A survey of the development of Islamic thought in medieval and modern times.
It's so obvious, why get hung up on details? In contrast to:
ACCT 430 Operational Auditing
The internal use of auditing techniques to appraise the control provided by accounting and management systems. The challenge of reporting audit findings to prompt management action. Topics: objectives of internal audit, responsibilities and relationships, planning audit processes, preliminary surveys, sampling, computer auditing, operational areas, reporting.
ACCT 431 External Auditing
Auditing standards; auditor's legal rights and responsibilities; problems relating to: incorporated business; consolidated statements prospectuses; events subsequent to balance sheet date; audit of E.D.T. systems; audits requiring special considerations; investigations and special reports; current developments in auditing standards.
These professors are detail-oriented and really like organized lists. In other words, accountants to the core.