ELDERLY LADY (waving): Go ahead dear. ME (graciously): After you ma’am. ELDERLY LADY (smiling): Thank you dear. She started pushing her cart forward once again. I felt jars of peanut butter on my back as I pressed against the shelf to make space — right, that was on the list. …

Eight years ago, I took a sociology of crime course in university. The class met just once each week — a 3-hour session on Thursday evenings. There was someone — let’s call her Jen — who I had the privilege of sitting with from time to time. A significant chunk…

This was a paper I wrote for a Culture and Communication in Virtual Learning Environments course. Do you listen to music when you work? I do — anything to make work seem a little less like… work. Whenever I write for example, I look for something instrumental — jazz or…

Many university students have not had in-person classes for months. Where I work, courses began transitioning online as early as mid-March! Since then, a lot of attention — and not unfairly so — has been placed on delivering virtual lectures. What is Zoom? How can instructors be their charming selves…

A few weeks ago, I went to a late dinner — Montreal, 10PM, steakhouse— with a dear friend of mine. It was $29 for an appetizer (caesar salad), main (steak, duh), and coffee or tea. There was coleslaw (complimentary refills) as well — tangy and fresh. Anyways, we were on…

“You know I can’t approve this.” “Someone was killed, sir. This is my job.” “The problem is not with what happened, but what might.” Rick said nothing, standing with his hands clenched by his side. …

Whenever I find myself in a new city, I try to walk as much as I can. Walking minimizes commute costs, facilitates digestion, and lets me observe people and places in more detail. Here is how I spent the third of my three days in Ottawa. Checkout for the Airbnb…

Whenever I find myself in a new city, I try to walk as much as I can. Walking minimizes commute costs, facilitates digestion, and lets me observe people and places in more detail. Here is how I spent the second of my three days in Ottawa. Double-decker bus!

Whenever I find myself in a new city, I try to walk as much as I can. Walking minimizes commute costs, facilitates digestion, and lets me observe people and places in more detail. Here is how I spent the first of my three days in Ottawa. The significance of this…