Print Edition: January 15, 2014
How do you say “I’m Sorry” from the car?
It’s always aggravating when some other driver cuts me off, but even more so when I don’t know if that person is sorry or not.
True, the odd driver will raise a hand or flash lights in an effort to apologize for a wrongdoing. We use the horn when we’re upset or when we try to get someone’s attention, but why don’t we have an official signal for an apology?
Some eastern European countries use flashing emergency lights in order to apologize.
A simple flash of the emergency lights doesn’t seem like a hassle, especially considering how much road rage could dissipate as a result. No longer would we have to awkwardly use hand signals to apologize through tinted windows, or fret over an accidental faux-pas.
It’s true that a flash of someone’s lights might not eliminate all the frustration you have, but the mood will shift from “what an asshole” to “he should take another driving course,” which would be an excellent way to diminish road rage and reduce the stress caused both by anger and feeling sorry.
Winter blues, social cues
“How about this weather we’re having?” I say. “It’s really coming down out there, huh? Well, that’s a BC January for you.” I smile and laugh, and so will they, most of the time.
Ah, the weather, the universal experience, concern, and observation – one of the few aspects of life that has yet to be conquered and manipulated to suit man’s ever-shrinking comfort zone. Yet this topic, so affecting and encompassing, has been relegated to the lowest form of conversation there is: small talk. But why?
Weather changes our lives: it dictates what we wear, makes or breaks our plans, and can determine our moods. Sunshine and rain alternate as miracles and plagues, but in any conditions, the weather saves us (or at the very least, it saves me). The weather saves me from commercial breaks, the awkward silences working the drive-thru at Starbucks, from my embarrassingly aimless fidgeting in the presence of acquaintances, and the few endless minutes between sitting down and the start of class.
Thank god for this wet, grey, and petty misery.
Pick up your own garbage!
The right side of McCallum Road right after the Gillis Avenue parking area is now a no-parking zone. At first my normal reaction was to assume UFV is plotting to squeeze another few dollars out of us. But on further examination, you notice the road hosts a sign from the Abbotsford-Sumas Aquifer Stakeholders Group. This side of road has now become a ground water protection area.
There are, in fact, mounds of garbage strewn on the roadside. While some could definitely be from passing traffic, it is undeniable that some people parking there have abused that stretch of road by making it a garbage pit. But even though the sign is up, the garbage is still there.
The City of Abbotsford pays people to clean the sides of the highway weekly, so why not this road, since it is now part of this aquifer protection agency? If you’re going to say you’re protecting something, shouldn’t you do something about it as well?
Rats are good pets
Fun fact: you won’t die of the black death if you have a rat as a pet. After all, it wasn’t the rat that carried the bubonic plague across Europe; it was the fleas. Rats are actually the cleanest of pets in the small animal category — beating out guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, and mice. They groom like cats.
For students like us, they make fantastic pets, and not just because they’re so cheap. Rats are extremely social. They come to trust you, and will chill out on your shoulder while you study. They are the most intelligent of small animals, and can be trained to do tricks and respond to their name. You can feed them tablescraps and they’ll love you for it.
They are basically tiny dogs with long bald worm-tails. And come on — they are cute. Just ignore the tail. There’s a little Templeton or Scabbers out there waiting for you. Take a rat home!
