BA, Bcomm, BSE, ABC? My educaiton of a degree

So, I've been meaning to blog more but obviously still never do. I was trying to figure out which of my 30 outlined posts to actually finish writing; this one just seemed so fitting.

With September here, and a new cheap "school laptop", it's definitely feeling like 'Back to School'. A feeling I absolutely hate. I hate it because it reminds me of how old I am and the fact that I do not have my undergrad.

Here's a quick summary from High School graduation to current day: Graduated, started school with an  aggressive goal, life slapped me in the face, changed my game plan a little, started working full time, and  now still pursuing my degree.

My degree is BA in Political Science with a minor in commerce. Most people are absolutely shocked to find out that I'm a poli sci major - I guess I don't fit the stereotype. Often I look back and question why I never went for a Bcomm. I was just so passionate about politics and law. Now, I've come to realise that it was through my love of the politics and law that I discovered I love the corporate world.

Working in the corporate world, I've come to realise that you can move forward in a career without a degree. I've also come to realise that this is not an option for me, I need my degree. Yes, I want it so I can add the initials to my signature but also so I can take the next big step forward. Not having a degree is not an option, and if it's for any one purpose it's to say that I have the discipline to go through classes, acquire knowledge and write some great papers and exams. Demonstrating I can do all these seems to be the key to opening more doors.

So with this in mind, I'm still enrolled as a "full time" student.. 3 classes. I have so much respect for individuals who work full time and go to school. It is so challenging. I've come to realise how lifeless my life will be for the next 10 months when I'm consumed with work work work and school work. Working 40+ hours a week plus 3 classes? Ouch. Not fun at all. However, I know it'll be worth it. Gotta keep the end in mind.

So why complete the degree if I already have a job? One, because it's an un-achieved goal currently. Two, my job is just a job.. I have much more to accomplish career wise. Three, I've been told there's a pay increase - thank god! Four, flexibility - I feel stagnant and stuck in Calgary until I have my undergrad.

So, what`s next? I plan big. My goal is to get my undergrad asap, using whatever means possible. My next steps right away after my undergrad will include getting my PMP and then followed by an MBA. But that's not all. Getting my degree means moving on out of Calgary!

What are your thoughts? School or no school? What'd you do?

Rules of the House: Vegas

By boarding flight XXXX YYC -- LAS; you agree to the following terms:

1) At any given time if you want to do something and others do not, you cannot guilt, coerce or forcefully make someone go with you. This excludes but is not limited to using blackmail, monetary gains and or threats to expose previous indecencies. No matter how intoxicated you, or are pretending to be.

2) At no time shall anyone purposely bring up past indecencies inorder to hurt, harm or shame another person. No matter how intoxicated you are, or are pretending to be.

3) If at any point a conflict arrises each person involved will take a 90 second time out, think and then act. No matter how intoxicated you, or are pretending to be.

4) At no time shall one party member cry or start drama over a person of the opposite sex or same sex. Same sex drama will be throughly questioned but still allowed. No matter how intoxicated you, or are pretending to be.

5) At any given time if someone is being a 'Debbie Downer' 'Bitter Betty' or any other middle aged women, they will face a time out. No matter how intoxicated you, or are pretending to be.

written by twitter.com/jassie_87

Marriage... the why

Ah... this was a topic I had outlined back in December 2010. With one of my closest cousin getting married in exactly 2 weeks, I thought it was absolutely essential to talk about the forbidden topic of Marriage/Shaadi/Lifetime-of-Hell/ whatever you wanna call it.

I'll start with a quick over view of why marriage seems as though it's so much more important in our culture than any other -- it's basically the foundation of our parents being. It's a sad realisation, but our parents will never feel as though they can retire until their children (more importantly daughters) are married. In turn forcing us to get married so our parents can be truly happy.

Now at the age of 23... I've actually started to notice my parents trying to "clean me up", what use to be fun cooking lessons are now a test to see if I'll be able to please a future mother in law. Cleaning your house is no longer a chore, but  now a drill. The worst part? From 17-22 it was all fair game to hit up any ole club/party/parking lot any time, any day... now? My phone (fine my cousins' phone too) gets blown up by my Mother and Father if I'm not home by 9:30. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with my parents... until my mother dropped the "Finish your degree, lose weight, learn how to make a perfectly round roti, we need to start looking for you" line.

FML. My poor parents, I tried to kindly explain to her that marriage is no where in my near future. She had a difficult time understanding this. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of a wedding, and gifts, and jewelry and double income, and a vacation home -- but a marriage? Please, no thanks.

So.. with two very typical, very conservative desi parents, and one bad ass daughter, what's my solution? *clears throat* MBA. Law School. Yes, that's the only viable solution. Take the academic route, "School is too important to get married, I'll get married later, bla bla, bla". We'll see how far this takes me - who knows, this could always end with me inviting you to my big fat desi wedding in India next year to some "doctor".

Stay tuned, I have about a 100 other perspectives about marriage to share; from failed institution, arranged marriages, to why I'll have a wedding.

So, what are your thoughts on marriage? Go on, don't be shy, share.

ps. You ever notice how a desi bride is NEVER happy on her wedding day?! mmhmm.

Plenty of Syph

Sure I have 33 other topics to blog about.. but I just couldn't get over this. 

I've heard the radio ads, the TV commercial scared me so bad I moved away from my BFF, and the site killed me. 

This has got to be an awesome viral campaign, from a media standpoint they've done a great job at getting the awareness necessary for syphilis. I had barely known about this STI until this recent awareness campaign. 

I haven't quite figured out why they targeted plentyoffish.com, it's slightly unfortunate. I know some real great people who've met through that site. POF doesn't exactly encourage you to just f*&%, so why the parody? Because it's catchy? 

My major concern with this whole awareness campaign is their ultimate solution no not contracting an STI.... wait for it..*drum roll please*.... don't have sex. UH... really? that's your advice?  They have got to be joking.. I can't take that seriously at all. What about just ensuring people are consciously aware of their decisions? Not only that, but I don't find their site as informative as it could be, they waste too much time mocking the dating site and not enough educating. Most people won't spend the time I did trying to figure out this disease. 

On the other hand.. they got my attention and thousands of others too. 

So, what are your thoughts about the PlentyOfSyph.com site and this awareness campaign? 

Old Friends

I believe that each person you meet in life causes you to learn something new about yourself. I've been very fortunate to have met some amazing people in my life. I have a ton of friends that I've lost touch with and continue to wonder what they're up to. And others who when I catch up with - months and years seem like they were just days ago. 

It's hard getting in touch with some old friends, but sending an email doesn't take much effort. But as I'm writing this post there's still certain people that I know an email will never be sufficient enough for, so therefore I cannot bring myself to contact them. 

This blog is dedicated to the friends I hope to reconnect with soon, and to those who I hope some day our paths will cross again. 

To all my old and new friends - I wish you all the happiness in the world. 

33 Posts

I think I've said the word "BLOG" about 75 times this past week. Each time I say it and it makes me think of this sucker page that I've neglected like an unfit teen-mom. 

The interesting thing is that I have 33 posts for my blog outlined already! It's just a matter of writing the rest of the content and publishing it! 

I have faaaaar too many thoughts to not blog, and I already flood everyones twitter timelines with my 140characters-or-less thoughts. 

So here's to blogging again, and hopefully this will be my last post about how I need to blog again. Get ready for tons of random topics, anywhere from growing up desi, my aspirations to drugs, sex and booze. 

ps. I'm looking for help with fine-tuning my blog. Any help is appreciated!! 

Rotis for Dad

I use to be the type who'd find recipes, go buy the ingredients and follow them to a T -- when I was 12. Over the years I've discovered my love for food and preparing dishes for others. Over the past week I've been working on lots of things, amongst one of them is cooking and experimenting more. Have  you noticed the shift to healthy foods at the grocery stores? It's never been easier than now to swap ingredients for a healthier and more nutritious alternative. Some of my favourite dishes over the past week were made with yams, quinoa, chipotle peppers, avocados, and salmon. 

Regardless of whatever I can whip-up on my own, I fail  at making the perfect round rotis. As a Desi girl, I feel as though this is a bare minimum skill that I must acquire. So how will our generations of females make the perfect rotis? We weren't raised in front of open fires, or tasked with the job of making rotis for the whole fam- just the occasional request here and there. Will we learn in the months prior to getting married? Will we ever be able to whip out 10 rotis in 5 mins? Will our mother-in-laws just make it? Will traditional Desi cooking eventually become obsolete? Will I be able to pick up 10 rotis through a drive through? Or even better... will there be a roti maker by KitchenAid soon? 

So, am I the only one who can't make the  perfect circular roti? Are there other mid 20s females who can't? Or even better, does it even matter nowadays? 

O yeah - I've tried learning at the Gurdwara, but I don't stand a chance against the Bibi with a rolling pin. 

(I did succeed this morning! I had the perfect blown  up rotis -- but then again I only needed to make 3)