sgharms

Vancouver feels a bit like a small town, with everything in it, set by mountains and the pacific ocean. In this it shares something in common with Sydney ( small town, everything in it, by the beach ) or San Francisco. Take a college town, put it somewhere beautiful, stack some tall hi-rises and some luxury goods stores and violà!

However, the scenery of Vancouver is beyond comprehension, it’s full of amazing natural beauty wherever you go. The locals are friendly and the area is quite diverse.

At the end of last summer i started taking Latin and am now 3 classes away from the finish. I must say, I have worked very hard in this class and I definitely think that class structure made me work hard at it.

A second advantage, my teacher is pretty old-school, expects you to learn the grammar, expects you to know the forms and the exceptions and to remain on top of it all year long. It made the class challenging,but he really expected us to learn the material.

My world is so much richer for knowing Latin. My own english is enriched, my style of writing is enriched, my sense of the periphrastic style of communication of Latin writing ( the verb …it’s coming…..and…..uh, huh….there it is! )has enriched my own writing.

I love this subject matter and am very happy.

Amate semper linguam Latinam qui nos alit.

Step 1: Get rid of your TV for 3 months. Give it to a friend, put it in storage.

This will be hard.

Now, you will be thinking, “What will I do with my time?” Being active is key, a good step would be to sign up for a dance class. One this puts you in contact with the opposite sex ( not bad ) and two, if you are partnered then you will definitely appreciate interaction with the opposite sex. ;)

Dance classes are good, because you can go on class night and THEN go on dance night ( usually class teachers say, Oh, there’s a great salsa place or swing place etc. ).

So now you’ve got 2 nights a week TV free!

One night, make it book night. A person can reasonably read 250 pages in one night, that’s any chick-lit book or half of something worthwhile.

3 nights down.

2 nights a week, work on a dream project:
– Ruby programming
– Crafting
– Anything you’ve put on 43 things

5 nights down

Go see a band one night a week. This is easy as I live in Austin, but most towns have at least a bar. Pick a chair at the bar and make it yours.

Go do an athletic team thing. Join a bowling league. It’s laid-back, fun, and reasonably priced.

I didn’t even mention: do a martial art, take yoga, or go to the gym 3 times a week, see independent movies—these would easily eat up the balance of your time.

Do this for 90 days to 4 months. Soon you will slip out of the habit. Who did what to whom on some trivial show will no longer seem important. Did Uncle Charlie bang the hot chick will lose its relevance.

Now here’s where you can let TV back in … on YOUR terms, not its.

Join a DVD-by-mail service and the really good shows you hear about, rent them! Rome I/II, Conchords, Tudors, Heroes, etc. I’ve seen all of them this way.

I say this story after having had a Tivo + and HD recorder + and a huge 65” plasma. I moved and sold all three. A few months later I bought a small TV (no cable ) with a DVD player for movies.

Picking movies and TV series’ help you have that “veg out” content handy.

I admit, talk at the water cooler about some idiotic reality show won’t be there for you but, uh…so what?

If you’re a sportsperson, become a regular at a sports bar. Have a bigger set of friends to enjoy ‘da game with.

It can be done!