They're all about thought-policing and it is impossible to have a date with one without politics coming up right away. Unfortunately, it seems like that is all that exists on campus.

It must be nice to just sign-up for that.... I wish I didn't try. I have the slightest bit too much money so I do not qualify, but work my ass off. I can see why people just quit their jobs and work their way into the permanent "take care of me government!" system.

Like, why aren't people getting along? It's a relatively safe area that people want to live in... instead, people are being forced to agree with ideas like it is some extremist totalitarian time?

I was asked to download an app to follow someone’s baby, after receiving an impersonal group email about the newborn. The sender has never followed me on any social media, yet was asking apparently a bunch of people to follow her baby boy. I decided not to as I felt like I was expected to join this impersonal fan club. I just don’t have it in me to give kudos endlessly for baby stuff right now. If you want to connect your baby with me, I’ll gladly hang out in person. But I’m not gonna follow your baby and idolize it like it’s some kind of celebrity. The ask is too much.

Well, I finally wrote to Translink recently, beseeching them to come up with a way to get riders to take off their backpacks when on the Skytrain. I even gave them some suggestions. They did reply. It was some boilerplate language about how they appreciate rider feedback. This isn't new news to them but am at a loss as to why they don't bother doing anything about it. I pay the same price for a ticket as other riders do, except many have a two-foot deep sack slung to their backs taking up the space of 2 people. Meanwhile, we're all jammed in there, crab walking around each other trying to find space or get in or out. The best is when pack-toting riders attempt to "get out of the way" and turn sideways - sending their Santa sack careening into some other rider. Then, after hitting them, they look all doe-eyed...."sorry" they mumble, and then turn the opposite way, swinging back in the direction from whence they came, plowing into the person at their other side. If it wasn't so frustrating, it'd be comical. Get out of your head and have a look around you. I, (and a few others) are there blinking, dumbfounded as to how you could be so oblivious to your own actions. Having an just an ounce (or 29ml if you prefer) of self-awareness, could be such an easy collective solution to what is a chronically overcrowded transit system. I don't get angry or cause a fuss. There's no point. But I do regularly ask people to please lower their backpacks. It's my ticket's space too. And if I had wanted to dance, I'd have asked.

I wonder if I’m the only person who feels that the word “Wokeness” is so overused these days. It’s just another laughable “controversy” created by people who claim to hate cancel culture but spend their time cancelling groups they don't like.

I can’t help but feel ripped off left, right and centre. What used to be a loaf of my favourite bread is now 1/3 smaller at the same price. Like the bread manufacturer thought consumers would not notice. It’s so obviously smaller! My previous go-to pastry used to have a full egg across the bun. The egg is now a 1” wide strip down the middle. I threw it out in disgust. A mid-level comedian is coming to town next year. I searched for tickets, and it will cost $2200 for 1 ticket. So I’ve decided that while restaurants are struggling, and theatres need filling, I’m not partaking in these consumer shenanigans on my dime. Not buying Xmas presents, not giving my money away for the next several months. So tired of this “new normal”.

It was easier to love you and our friendship when we were both in the same boat. We hated where we lived but making the best ot it, struggling to make ends meet. Now you've taken a great leap of faith and I'm completely stagnant. I don't know why I'm stagnant, just that I am. Time is flying by regardless of who's enjoying life and who is miserable. Listening to how great your life is going is dull and makes me depressed. Yes I realize that sounds selfish.

I've considered reaching out to an old friend that I lost touch with (circa 2003). If we were being honest, she was more than a friend at one point and, as most things turn out during our formative years, she turned into a fleeting memory (Great white Buffalo) that would occasionally come up from time to time. Since the city is small, we would inevitably run into each other over the years. We were "respectful" in that we would acknowledge one another, and off we would go on our separate way with our separate friends - so healthy. It's hard to believe that at a moments notice one can be so close, and then be strangers the next. The heart of the matter is that I have never felt fully understood by another human being than I did when I was with this person. This may not have been rooted in reality, but at least it felt that way. Back in those days, you would actually talk to people on the phone - four hours - while simultaneously watching the Simpsons, Buffy, and Electric Circus on Muchmusic....Anyhoooow, you really got to know someone back then is my point. In retrospect, the first thing I had to ask myself was, "would this be beneficial to the other party, and would I be reaching out for more selfish reasons?" Did the "me" portion outweigh the "we" portion? After balancing the two, it leaned more towards the "me" - so I nipped the prospect in the bud almost immediately. Since we are now in our late thirties, we are (hopefully) very different people than we were back then. But every once in a while, I think about us finally meeting again as old friends - not as heartbroken teenagers - over coffee or a pint - cracking jokes. As a realist, I don't see this ever happening. Thoughts of distant memories in Kerrisdale, 41st and Granville, Wendy's, Metro, UBC pool, and Oakridge Mall Movie Theatres will more than suffice "respectfully."

I am working 80 hours a week and am barely getting by in this City. Between rent, cost of food, and everything else its like I am saving barely anything at the end of every month. I don't care what anyone else thinks I need a guy that makes decent money. I can't marry for just love.