MarvinMouse's Journal: Go to Waterloo... take math... be single...

It's amazing the things I have given up just to get my degree. First, it's the insane amounts of money I give to this university (1/3 of which goes to a bunch of organizations that I don't respect or don't use.)

Then there's the ever prevalent fact that I have given up a real Univ students social life. it's like welcome to Waterloo, now you know how you heard that people actually have time to hang out with their friends... hell meet new friends... Well, that's all inaccurate here. Instead we are going to stick you in a class and give you so much to do that you may as well tie yourself to a seat and enjoy the ride.

Oh yeah, and then there's the number one thing you give up when you go into math at waterloo. Unless you are gay, incredibly attractive (I mean movie start attractive), have a g/f before hand, or just have incredible luck. You are guaranteed to be single. There is no surer contraceptive at Waterloo then just telling a girl which dept. you are in (if you are in math).

Common conversation:

Me: Hey, I'm [name omitted]
Her: Hey. I'm [name] nice to meet you ... Conversation lasts about 5 minutes discussing music, life, etc ...

Me or Her: so what faculty are you in
(if me)
Her: Oh, I go to WLU, (or) or I am in Arts. (or) Oh, I don't go to University. What are you in?
Me: Math
Her: oh... well... umm.... I have to go over... there... um... now....
(Conversation ends)

(if her askiing me) Me: Math.
Her: oh.. math... well.. that's... hmm.. great... yeah... hmm... Well, I should go see my friends now... bye.. it was nice meeting you.

It's amazing how just telling the truth and saying that you are a math student is like spraying them with Mace or saying you have an STD. How can a math student have an STD, they can't even have sex. {Laugh}.

Well.. I guess these are the sacrifices you give to have "higher education". Sometimes though I wonder if it is really worth it... Well, I won't know until I am finished I guess.

So, here's to being a mathie at Waterloo... :-P

Chuckle...

[Interrobang]

I'll agree with you that WatLife doesn't give you a lot of WatTime on your WatHands. Try going to grad school there -- or are you?

As to your problems with women, I'd suggest rereading your journal entries (and thinking about your personality in Big Life) with an eye to what women might see of (or in) you. That is, as a woman, I'm suggesting that (at least according to what limited insight I've gotten from your journal entries) your "first impression" skills might need a wee bit of tweaking. Of course, I say that with the greatest possible degree of affection, as, for someone I know only through his writings, I like you a lot.

I dated a mathie a few times until we realized that we made better friends than girlfriend/boyfriend; among my exes number a physicist and a geologist, now I'm seeing a reporter who's really a hardware geek in ink-stained wretch's clothing, so I'm sure mathies can be just as personable, charming, and attractive as anyone else -- maybe more so if you play your cards right.

I also suspect, judging from your "ha ha only serious" journal entry on the subject, that you aren't looking for/at the right kind of women. If male geeks persist in chasing after the pretty, (ahem) "feminine" (your word, not mine -- I wear a 38D bra and have short hair, hips, and never wear a skirt; am I feminine? What's "feminine"?), party-girl types, you probably won't find anyone who's interested in you. Likewise, female geeks who chase lantern-jawed jocks don't usually get too far, either, unless they're cheerleaders on the outside. I know it sounds stereotyped and awful, but it's true.

In any case, there are lots of things mathies can do to make themselves attractive. The trick is learning which things work for you, and doing them. Good luck.

Also, if you would like to chat about All Things Waterloo, Life, the Universe, and Everything, women, and men, and all the rest of that stuff, my e-mail is [e-mail].

Interrobang, Master of Arts in Language and Professional Writing, University of Waterloo, Class of 1999.

Re:Chuckle...

[MarvinMouse]

Actually feminine for me is the opposite of the party-girl type. Attractiveness though, may include some party girls. Feminity is more to me that maternal nature. That softness of touch, delicateness, beautiful ideas and thoughts that some women have. Feminity is nothing physical. It's really an indescrible thing. Most "party girls" are attractive, but don't have that feminity.

The only way I can really put it, is that when a girl hugs me or holds my arm to show affection, you can just instinctively feel the feminity in their touch.

I hope I don't sound shallow or anything. 'cause to me feminity is something that only some women have that just makes them so adorable to me, regardless of their attractiveness. To me, an intelligent, feminine woman outshines an attractive woman anyday. I hope you understand better now what I mean by femininity (and don't think worse of me. :-) )

Are there women like that at W'loo?

[Interrobang]

(I don't know.) I taught a class full of Arts Accounting students taking a compulsory English class, and floated around campus enough. Seems to me that most people (including the females) at UW are very driven, "goal-oriented" (sorry!) types. The school just doesn't seem to attract people like those you seek. I may be one (other than the "maternal" thing; I dunno), and as far as I'm concerned, I stuck out like a sore thumb there, what with all the career/social-climbers, when, although I have ambition, I'm not nearly as cut-throat competitive, focussed, or "Type A Personality" as they seemed.

Sorry about the late reply; I was off doing tech writer stuff in Toronto (the ACM SIGDOC conference).

Re:Are there women like that at W'loo?

[MarvinMouse]

I have not yet found many that fit that perfectly at Waterloo, unfortunately. You are far too correct about the Type A Personality.

That's why I stand out like a sore thumb too... I am just taking university because I want to do research and development, and Waterloo is the best to get a math degree from. Yet, There are so many annoying ambitious buggers.

That's okay aobut the late reply. I understand. It takes me a while to reply too.

I'm not trying to be flip, but...

[Interrobang]

Have you tried meeting people across the street at Laurier? Laurier students in general seem

(No! Stop! Don't throw that logic textbook at me! I know a Hasty Generalization when I hear one!)

more like what people think of when they think of "students" and less "apprentice-like" like most of the W'loo inmates.

I chose to go to W'loo because I wanted to pick up some skills and connections so I could make money at writing, something I was doing already for fun, and about the only thing I thought I could stomach doing for hours on end every day. It worked (finally). Nevertheless, I'm not big into professionalization [slashdot.org], as you can see, for a number of reasons. There are a lot of good reasons for leaving certain disciplines in the hands of amateurs (did you know that 'amateur' literally means more or less 'a lover of something'?)... Professionalists (who are in a line of work because it pays) suck; anyone who's ever had to deal with an IT dweeb who's just in it for the money knows that. Vocationalists or professional hobbyists will always be the true leading lights anywhere, which is probably why the vast mass of Waterloovians just seem so...drab and shallow, and in the main, seem like they wouldn't know a good dose of passion if it came up and bit them on their collective brown nose.

I don't think it's the major, per se...

[Hal-9001]

...but maybe the approach. Statistically speaking, many females are math-phobic, so you probably don't want to have it come up too soon after meeting someone. Seeing as how you have multiple majors, you might want to mention one that's less likely to scare them off...

Oh, and this [slashdot.org] is definitely a bad idea. I know you're a math guy, so you probably like to try to describe everything mathematically, but romance definitely defies mathematical logic. And NEVER let a girl find out you've computed her attractiveness...that should just be common sense... :-p