across the wire

Have you ever been hypnotized? Do you think you even could be hypnotized?

A few years ago, I took a psychology course in which we talked about hypnosis and discussed some of the more fascinating uses for it rather than just entertainment. We looked at a case where an athlete underwent knee surgery with out anesthetic but was hypnotized to feel no pain. It was quite remarkable to watch the documentary on it. Then came the fun part: our professor hypnotized us as a class. It was quite the experience but very unlike what you see on TV or as a parlor trick. I have seen people wave their hands, tell you that you are going to get sleepy and 20 seconds later they are completely limp and sleeping. This was nothing like our experience. Or prof helped us relax through an almost meditative like speech and it lasted for about 1 minute. Some of the class at that point were hypnotized, some where not. He suggested that we would feel cold, or warm, unsteady etc. nothing unusual or embarrassing. I unfortunately was not hypnotized enough to feel it.

Here is a fun little exercise - take the quiz to see if you can be hypnotized and make sure you go on to the advanced quiz to be (slightly) hypnotized over the internet. (no, they didn't hypnotize me to give then my credit card number!). If you can't be hypnotized from it, at least it was a great 15 minute relaxation experience ;)

"Spinster and Lunatic" recently had an impassioned post about "culture shock" in the city of Winnipeg between her (and her usual group) and those that she works with. Honestly, I had thought that culture shock existed only when we remove ourselves from our country, but perhaps that is a limiting and short sighted view. Perhaps with in our small groups, we create microcosms of the national status quo, or for a lack of a better word, "micro-cultures." Leaving our "micro-cultures" and entering into another might just lead to the same symptoms or culture shock (albeit dramatically less severe) as leaving our home country.

Cluture shock is the emotional reaction to the removal of familiar social cues and symbols in our life and interactions. This is usually assumed to be experienced when we are immersed in a completely new culture such as that as moving to another country, or province/territory. But given the diversity of a city like Winnipeg, it is easy to see the dramatic differences in these "micro-cultures" by simply looking at geographical areas of the city and how they are perceived: the "granola crunching hippies" in Wolseley, the "red necks" of Transcona, the "rich conservatives" in Tuxedo and the infamous North End usually conjures up images of gang cultures.

In his article "Culture Shock and the Problem of Adjusting to a New Environment" Dr. Kalervo Oberg talks about culture shock, speaking about the symptoms that we are likely to experience, the different phases and how it is generally overcome. Although a "symptom" might be that we feel the other culture or group is bad/wrong and our beliefs are good/right, it is not always a conscious thought, but rather an unconscious belief and reaction that can live relatively unchallenged. It is not just how we see the other group that Oberg cautions about, it is also how we see ourselves that changes. We tend to see ourselves and our group as "better" and we perceive the other group to be "at us" or "against us." It may be why a person who is vegetarian and whose group is mainly vegetarian might perceive the reactions of non-vegetarians views and ideas as hostile/aggressive/uneducated etc. It may be also why we give the other group "othering" names that play to what we perceive as the "bad side" of the group and using it to define a negative quality we see in them. The example of "granola crunching hippies" is not a compliment when describing those living the Wolseley area.

Living in a specific group of people who help establish our values and beliefs, I suppose something as familiar as pizza toppings (which could be loosely interpreted as a social cue of sorts) may cause a reaction when we find ourselves with out those similarities. The result? Symptoms much like those described in Kalervo Obergs article: rejection of the new, and a strong bond to the familiar - so if tomato feta is your thing, then a new "micro-culture" proclaiming that pep and bacon is the best is met with things like "that kind is gross!" or "you would eat that?"

Obviously, there is no right or wrong way to create pizza, yet most of us feel strongly about a certain way and have a group that can support us in what our norms are. Same goes with so many other aspects of our lives - our group helps us create social norms and cues that help us interact well with our own group, but perhaps create more problems when find ourselves in another country, province, town, or even other end of the city.

Is it bad to have culture shock? Probably not, almost all of us will experience it at some level, whether it is when we start a new job, move to another city, or go to another country - we are being taken out of our familiar environment and our cues and our understanding of *our* socially constructed status quo becomes obsolete.

What do we do about it? In the article, one suggestion that was stated was that part of the final adjustments "the visitor just accepts the other culture as a different way of live" and that it is simply a matter of time before we can truly learn that lesson. In the mean time, we will continue to experience the symptoms of culture shock, create stereotypes, pass judgment, discriminate, value our own social norms, dislike the others norms, and exhibit intolerance towards groups or "micro-cultures" different than our own. I for one am not exempt from these shortcomings.

A second theory could be that this is all just be meaningless late night ramblings in which case, the best pizza is ham and pineapple with garlic and sweet basil in the cheese!

I bought a bicycle this summer to save money on gas, and increase the amount of exercise so to track some of these things, purchased a bike commuter to track my speed and kms.

It is the end of August, and I have had the bike for a few months and ride it pretty regularly. In total, I have biked 300 kms, I would say not bad for a novice biker. I must have been feeling ambitious when I bought the bike as I thought it would answer some of my problems with overspending on gas, but alas, I have in total saved approximately $20 and I do not feel more fit and healthy despite the increase in exercise.

I have figured that it would take me 2,250 kms on my bike to recover the cost of the it! Yikes. I thought this would be easier! It is going to be a long time until I see that pay off.

I am working from home for the remainder of the summer which needless to say has its benefits, but also has some major pitfalls. Personally, my biggest downfall is that I am disorganized. I create a lot of extra work for myself in the process of trying to keep everything straight, not only in my house/office but in my mind as well. I lose things, forget to answer messages and am terrible at booking appointments with out having to change plans a week later. How does one get to be organized, not just in a physical space, but organized (as a personality trait) to avoid missing tasks, missing deadlines, and missing opportunities? When you do not have an external motivator (like a boss close at hand) how can you stay on task?

There is lots of advice out there for people like me whose nature it would seem, is to be disorganized. Some suggest it is a matter of being right or left brained and must practice using skills of the left brain. Perhaps it is because I was not taught from a young age how to be organized that this characteristic evades me. It may be a matter of listening to the advice that suggests creating an organized space creates an organized person. With advice like plan, clear, set aside time, re-organize clutter, use day minders, etc. it seem that the problem is so simple - get the right tools and any fool can get it together. I have a day minder that I use religiously, but still cannot get it together. No matter the tool, I can always find a way to get my disorganized character to shine through.

Perhaps it is not a tool that needs to be used, nor a certain half of the brain. All of these things would help, but perhaps it is a question of motivation. Am I motivated to use my planner? Am I motivated to answer those messages? Am I motivated to stick to the phone calls all morning? The answer to all of these questions for me is "no." I have and use all kinds of tools for becoming organized, yet I still fail as I have no motivation to stick to them.

What are your tips for becoming organized? What works? What gets you motivated to work, when you are the only motivation?

...with my old coffee fling, Tim Hortons.

I have been avoiding this day for a long time, but it has finally arrived and I must end my love affair with Tim. You might be thinking - "WTF?" or "can this be true?" Yes I assure you it is, me and T-Hos are over. I have been disappointed time and time again and there is just no other way but to call an end to my relationship with Tim's and I must admit after 11 years together, it is not easy and I will have to shed a few tears.

I am breaking up with this Canadian coffee icon for several reasons: I am really bored with the coffee there, they have blasphemed the good name of espresso based drinks, and have become consistently bad with any food offerings. The only thing that I still order from T-Hos is a blueberry bagel.

They have a "blended" drink they call an "iced cap(puccino)" which is simply a sugary, coffee flavoured syrup mixed with milk and sugary ice crystals much like a slurpee. This drink only faintly resembles something like an espresso based traditional cappuccino, and I feel Tim Hortons is responsible for ruining the image of a quality coffee beverage. At a regular cafe, when one orders a cappachino, they get espresso toped with some steamed milk and lots of foam. Nothing like what they get at Tim Hortons. My friend who works at Starbucks had a customer ask for an "iced cap" and when he brewed the espresso, added the milk and toped with ice (no sugar added) the customer went nuts stating "this is not right, make it like Tim Hortons." Shameful, simply shameful. Tim Hortons, don't call it an "iced cap" when it is really a coffee*like* slurpee.

The coffee is always the same, no change in taste, no change in strength, nothing. One brew for all. I am getting really bored with the same dirty old acidic blend they brew which is only out done by the over pricing of their poorly made foods. The doughnuts have become worse and worse, and the food menu expanding is making what was once one or two good food items, into several under quality food items.

Sorry Tim Hortons. My consistent support of you is over. You were my first cup of "real" coffee when I was 14 and to that I truly owe you a lot. But, as my tastes evolve so must my coffee - and you have simply remained the same. I know you will make many people happy, just not me. Maybe you can win me back someday, and in a pinch I will still honour you by buying your coffee every once in a while, especially on the trips to Saskatoon.

So, to my first coffee love I say good bye. :(

And to all other cafes out there, here I come ready to have you win me over. So far, "The Fyxx" is in the lead followed by very closely by Starbucks.

*This post in in honour of "Spinster and Lunatic" as she is quite fond of lists*

Wow, it really has been a long time since I have blogged. I have been on a blogging vacation - which really means that I have been working and have not had the time to visit this place.

A few updates:

• I have been working as a Day Camp Director and that is over now.
• I still write in my dream journal, but the entries are becoming less and less, and more and more boring. I am usually a vivid dreamer with lots of content but for some reason, it has really slowed down.
• To supplement the lack of content in the dream journal, I am reading a book called "Personality Types: Jung's Model of Typology" by Daryl Sharp. I know a little about Jung's theories on personality (I vaguely remember finding out I was a EFSJ or something) but I do not know a lot. After reading "The Manticore" by Robertson Davies, reading about the typologies is making The Manticore" come alive in a new way. Perhaps I will meet my "shadow." on this journey.
  
• I fell off my bike again. It requires fixing now.
• I have been camping a few times this summer (more than last year anyway).
• I have still not registered for school. I gotsta get on that!

So that is about it for the brief up date. I shall post again soon!