Test

Malcolm Gladwell discusses the Race Implicit Association Test in his book Blink. The test assesses your unconscious preference for African American or European American people. Often, one's conscious attitudes do not correspond with those that are unconscious. Gladwell was rated as having a "moderate automatic preference for whites," despite being half black. I half-expected to get the same results; after all, as Gladwell says, "We live in North America, where we are surrounded every day by cultural messages linking white with good." 

I was thus surprised - but very relieved - to be rated as having "little or no automatic preference between African American and European American." Seventeen percent of web respondents received the same rating. On the other hand, Gladwell states, "It turns out that more than 80 percent of all those who have ever taken the test end up having pro-white associations."

Click here to take the Race IAT.

Telephone, Broken

Eavesdropping is an enjoyable past time when I am alone amid conversations between strangers. Unfortunately, my poor sense of hearing means that eavesdropping often becomes analogous to a game of Broken Telephone, where the results are often incoherent and/or ridiculous. 

I recently overheard a girl say: "My murder mystery class was cancelled, so I went to a British club. It was nice to get away from the city."

Talking

Different volumes of speech are associated with specific personality traits. Soft voices belong to those who are reserved and well-mannered. Loud talkers are perceived to be confident and outgoing.  

Do people subconsciously calibrate the volume of their voices to correspond with their personalities?

Or does it have to do with how sensitive one's ears are to sound? For instance, high aural sensitivity coupled with a soft voice.  

Tale of Transportation 2

I was the only one on the bus. A few stops later a middle-aged man got on and stood behind me. I suspiciously monitored him in the rearview mirror as he muttered incoherently to himself. I held my cellphone tightly on my lap, as if the sight of it alone would discourage any predator from targeting me as a victim of malicious fantasies. He got off shortly after and I felt relieved.

The bus soon began to fill up. The young man standing next to me was carrying a navy blue duffel bag in his right hand. He and his female companion exchanged words in Korean. I imagined that they had just stolen some serious cash from a bank, and that the blue line had come to their rescue just as the police were about to arrive. Just like Bumbleblee in the film Transformers. I decided that they were debating which exotic island to flee to - either Cuba or Mexico. Whether Cuba and Mexico are in fact islands, I am uncertain.

At this point I noticed that there was a disturbingly high number of people on the bus wearing tan coloured jackets.

As the automated voice spouted street name after street name, I began to imagine what each street was like. Castlefield was a vast green expanse in which a medieval castle was centrally situated. Montgomery offered quaint homes and apple trees. If one were to get off at Alcorn one would fall knee-deep into an infinite pool of acorns.

Finally, it was my stop. I hurried off the bus, pleased that I had survived the trip without incident. And it was all thanks to my cellphone.

Tale of Transportation

I was waiting at the bus stop alone, quietly humming I Hate This Part by The Pussycat Dolls, when a Korean dude about my age ran across the street to where I was standing. Here is how the unsolicited conversation proceeded:

Him: "Which bus are you waiting for?"

Me: "The blue line that goes down to Queen's Quay."

Him: "That bus does not exist. Where are you coming from?*" 

Me: "A party."

Him: "Me too. But it sucked. I liked a girl there and she ended up making out with another guy."

Me: "That sucks."

Him: "Where do you live?"

Me: "Ummm...I live in multiple places."

Him: "Don't worry, I'm not going to stalk you. I live at Drewry!"

Me: "I don't even know where Drewry is!"

And then his bus came and he left me alone in the bus shelter, doubting whether the blue line existed after all.

*Isn't this a question you would expect from an old, bearded man chugging whisky from a flask if you were both train hoppers sitting on the hard floor of a train car in the dark? 

Tea and cheese party

Some of the most memorable moments from this evening's party include:

+ "I love breasts. And I love camel toe." - Zach (75% gay, 25% straight)

+ Janice and Zach emotively singing Mariah Carey's We Belong Together to each other across the dinner table.

+ "You have always had nice breasts." (Or something to that effect.) - Kar

+ Tessa lamenting the lack of curliness of her perm. (It was impossible to console her sincerely by reassuring her that her hair was indeed extremely curly, as she had straightened her hair for the party. No one could have guessed she even had a perm...)

Trapped

Something I hope to never say: "We're surrounded by lava!"