Dumping.

I learned that Winstrol, a synthetic male hormone found to stunt growth in American children, was sold in Brazil as an appetite stimulant for children.

I learned that mushrooms are grown in manure at mushroom farms.

I seriously didn't know mushrooms could be grown in manure, haha! I learned this in ethics class (ethics? long story). Needless to say, I don't want a mushroom farm anywhere near my house (if ever I do own a house). I am the not-in-my-backyard type of person.

Today I learned that it is really hard to find a restaurant on Valentines Day

And much more expensive than usual! $60 per person!

I learned that it is always good to ask questions

Breakdowns in communication and misunderstandings suck. Never assume, always ask. I also learned about damage control and retraction letters. Whoopee!

I learned that it is important to submit forms on time

I forgot to tell the federal government that I was in school full time from September-December. It cost me $113 :(

I learned how to use the washing machine

Pretty sad isn't it?

I learned that the treadmill is not good for my poor little knees.

I am really frustrated with my weakling tendencies. I thought I found myself a good start to working out by running on the treadmill, as I found I enjoyed it. But alas, even my stupid knees can't take the run. I am now restricted to that machine that has your legs moving in circles, and of course, weights. I told Charles I would buy a jump rope... maybe I should. And I think I should go to She's Fit more, because I pay good money for that place and I haven't even been there in two weeks! Why must life be so difficult? Hahaha!

I learned that the skin of a kiwi is edible (and actually quite healthy) plus a bit about a male horse's anatomy

It is possible to eat a kiwi like an apple. The skin is hairy, but I don't mind. I also learned that horses hide their dicks in something called a "sheath". When they are relaxed or too warm their whole dick hangs out. If you see a horse and think "that horse has a boner" it is likely taking it easy. Horses only get boners when they are ready to mate. Horses also have huge dicks.

I learned that it is important to slow down for school zones, especially when there is a big sign that shows how fast you're going.

I was so upset to get a letter from the Speed Watch Program, saying I was travelling in excess of the posted speed limit. I was travelling at 45km/h, and the speed limit was 30 km/h. As you may have guessed, I sped in a school zone.

I didn't get a ticket, I didn't have to pay a fine or whatever. It's just annoying that it kind of tarnishes my really, really clean record. Kind of. I really thought I slowed down enough when I saw the blinking numbers. I should pay more attention. Or better yet, leave earlier so I won't even have a need for speed. Hahaha!

I learned a lot of things...

Cucumber is a fruit?!?! What the heck? Also what is with the T9 function on phones. I guess it makes texting easier, but it never spells the words I want it to. At least I learned how to use it. Lastly, I have fat thighs and it is impossible to lose fat in just one area. I will have to look like one of the Olsen twins before my legs get to a reasonable degree of skinnyness. It is also important to make sure that quantities read teaspoon and not tablespoon; it is an easy mistake to make.

I learned that Best Buy won't match educational discounts.

Le sigh. I knew it right from the beginning, but I tried anyway. No harm in trying at all.

I learned that getting angry is never a good thing to do...

A sequence of events last Monday made me lose my cool a little bit. Losing my cool then led to other bad things happening such as losing my credit card and breaking my cell phone. It is nice to know that when Hastings street shuts down I can take Georgia instead.

I also learned that stocks are crazy and addicting. They can go up and down really fast and I need to be patient and less obsessive. Small packets of sugar have only 16 calories. I thought they had more.

I learned that I really need to leave my house an hour earlier to make it to class at a decent time.

Wow, that's a long title!

For the past couple classes, I tested out different leave times. I first tested leaving my house thirty minutes before class time. That was really pushing it, so obviously, didn't work. Next, I decided to leave my house forty-five minutes before class time. That test taught me that there are going to be things such as old drivers who can't seem to go beyond 40kph, or trucks that will block you right up until the street you have to turn onto, or every red light along the way. So, forty-five minutes don't do the trick either. I should leave an hour earlier. What's surprising is that it is the same amount of time I allot before going to work, and unless I'm totally screwed in the head, I know that my work is further away than school. End of story.

I learned that login pages suck and not to leave things till the last minute

Online test due Sunday, 11:45pm. I try to sign on to my Kwantlen account, which I sign into just about every day and for some fricken reason it won't let me. Then my account gets suspended. I am stuck sitting here watching the time go by before it is too late and I get 0% on my test. Technology pisses me off!!!!

I learned that you can sign something even if somebody else's name is on it

I ran into a problem. I needed to send out a letter, but my name wasn't in the signature block. I was told that I can simply write "pp" before my signature.

From Wikipedia:

"Also rendered per procurationem. Used to indicate that a person is signing a document on behalf of another person. Correctly placed before the name of the person signing, but often placed before the name of the person on whose behalf the document is signed, sometimes through incorrect translation of the alternative abbreviation per pro. as "for and on behalf of"."

I learned that 8 hours of sleep and breakfast doesn't always do wonders

I went to bed at 10:30, ate a healthy breakfast, yet felt like crap all day. Tired since I woke up and constantly hungry. I learned a lot today but have been too tired to remember any of it...

I learned that Chinese food can be either really good or really bad, depending on the mall.

All I know is, the Chinese food at the Lougheed Mall in Richmond sucks so bad. I remember being so hungry at the time and the chicken I had was disgusting. It was dry and lacking flavour. Today, I had Chinese food at Central City. I was, again, hungry, but this time, the food did not disappoint. I had honey garlic chicken with noodles. Dee-lish! I'm sure I'll be sick of the food soon.

I learned that my Honda Civic isn't that bad in the snow.

I was scared to take my care out in really bad weather conditions. Heck, I wanted to bring the wonderful Matrix. I thought though, meh, might as well just take my car. Although there are so many horrible things that could happen, I always seem to convince myself that the worst that could possibly happen would be me getting stuck in the snow.

Anyhow, that's exactly what happened today, but I got immediate help from a guy with a rope and from another guy with a shovel handy and a newly shoveled driveway. Later on in the evening, Charles was able to get my car out as well, with not much trouble. I was far better off than that guy in the big show-off truck. I am pretty sure he blocked traffic for about an hour. I was able to squeeze my way out thirty minutes in. My dear car didn't fail me this time. :)

I learned that advice must not be taken the wrong way

It is natural to ask for advice. There is good advice, and there is bad advice. It is important to know the difference. Sometimes advice can be misunderstood or taken the wrong way. I learned a great lesson today. Unfortunately it cost me quite a bit of money, but I learned a lesson nonetheless. It is important to go with your gut feelings and only take advice so far. If you follow your heart you have nobody to blame but yourself. But how can you? Is it possible to regret, after feeling so strongly toward a decision? I believe that it is easier to regret if in fact you do not follow your heart's desires. Next time, I know to be more careful. It is also dumb to sell on the way up, but I think I already knew that :(

I learned that it is good to write things down

The mind can be forgetful. I felt that earlier today I had learned something valuable. Instead of writing it down I relied on my memory and alas, I have no idea what I learned. My mind, in particular, is especially forgetful. Whether it is a month, a week, a day, or even a few hours, the likelihood of me forgetting something is quite high. Maybe I will carry a pen and paper. Pens explode in pockets. A murse (a man purse) could be a solution to this problem. Either that or eat fish. I remember hearing that fish is good for the brain. More sleep and less coffee, more sleep and more coffee, or maybe just more coffee? I forget what I was talking about...

I learned that sometimes it is good to go with your gut feelings, especially if there is not a lot to risk.

Sometimes when you have a good feeling about something it is best to go for it 100%. I was placed in a situation where I had a great feeling and there was not a lot to lose, yet I half committed. Ultimately I made the right decision as it appears that, up to this point, I am going to win anyway. But winning and losing is not always black and white. I appear to be situated between neutral shades of grey. Next time when I have a gut feeling I am going to go all out, well not all out, but a conservative all-out (which in my case is not much of a gamble at all). I may decide to go gamble on a gut feeling and lose. In which case I will contradict myself and realize that maybe the decision I made on December 22nd was a smart one after all.

I learned that some people will never accept they are wrong.

It's really frustrating to deal with people that cannot accept they are wrong. It's almost as good as talking to a wall. In the instance you get to know a person with this kind of attitude, I advise you to avoid getting into conversations about what is ethical. It is pointless!

I learned that people should not be judged solely for their annoying qualities.

I can easily be turned off by a person after seeing one, annoying quality about him or her. After witnessing or experiencing the said quality, I usually feel like I don't want to be associated as much with the person anymore. But I realized this attitude towards people is not very healthy. It inhibits friendship from growing. It's important to see what's beyond, not so much as what is right in front of you.

I learned that there are still nice people in the world and forward is better than reverse.

I pulled into a parking to turn my car around to go back to Stella's house. Unfortunately, the parking lot was unplowed and on a slope, resulting in skidding tires and a stuck car. After 15 minutes of trying to back out we decided to get help. As soon as Stella walked out to the road, she made eye contact with an older gentleman driving with his wife. They stopped, turned around, and asked us if we were stuck. The man got into my car, drove into the parking lot, turned around, and drove out to the main road with ease. He mentioned that he lived up north and that it is always better to drive forward than backwards when stuck. He told me that using less gas means less skidding, resulting in more traction.

It is great to see that some people are willing to share their expertise in order to help somebody in need.