CeATou

 

Dealing with rejection for dummies, from a male dummy

By Siavash Emamzadeh

with women using a metaphor, I'd say

it’s been like a voyage. I have been a
voyager wandering the desert, looking for
some solace in a nice stream of refreshing
water or from a filling date palm tree (pun
definitely intended).

Tam still on this voyage that
commenced well before the millennium.
What’s more, I have long discovered that
I am immortal, for you see, not only were
those perceived streams of water and
date palm trees mirages, they were also
devastating quick sands. What appeared
like women indicating their attraction to me
was evidently anything but, sometimes even
animosity.

Interpreting potential signs of
attraction is a taxing undertaking for both
sexes, but I think I have picked up some
helpful methods for dealing with rejection,
from a male perspective. Unrelenting failure
does have its advantages after all!

For starters, have you heard the famous
saying, “there are plenty of fish in the sea?”
If you have, you must absolutely ignore
it! The comparison suggests that potential
lovers are like fish that can be reeled in from
the sea—society in figurative language.

I’m not sure one should approach the quest
for a partner with the duplicitous mindset
of attracting them using “bait,” in other
words, dishonesty. I also think it promotes a
selfish philosophy, as it neglects one of the
most important relationship principles—
mutuality. A relationship is not simply
about having your pick of a group of people
that most enamors you; rather, the subject
of your interest must also be attracted to
you. Of course, I’m aware that the adage is
only figurative, but a proper outlook is the
prerequisite to rebounding from and limiting
the number of rejections.

|: I were to depict my relationship

 

 

In case you were wondering, the
correct phrase you want to console yourself
with is not “serenity now!” either; in fact
there really isn’t one. A phrase can be
reassuring and encouraging, but it’s more
of a temporary fix or a sweep-under-the-
rug solution. A more practical strategy is
to simply review the sequence of events
leading up to the rejection. Don’t be too
hard on yourself if you made a mistake; just
start brainstorming on how you can improve
in future interactions. If you didn’t make a
mistake, pat yourself on the back. Whatever
the case, avoid useless rumination, which
is a common side effect of rejection and
absolutely don’t forgo hope of finding
somebody.

Furthermore, from my experiences, I
have found that the number one rejection-
evoker is not so much a lack of confidence,
money or good looks as it is over-eagerness.
The tendency to immediately fall in love
with somebody happens to be a major
turnoff. I had to learn this the hard way after
several miserably unsuccessful trials. After
the sixth time, I thought to myself, “perhaps
I’m doing something wrong.” Sure enough,
I discovered that in all of my futile attempts,
I had come off as overeager. Making the
advance, from suggesting a movie to see to
making cardiovascular references, requires
quite a bit of befriending, if not dating. This
way, people avoid making any emotional
investments until they are more certain
that their potential partners are compatible.
What’s more, it makes for a more enjoyable
and meaningful relationship due to the
intimacy established.

With this advice in mind, you can
re-embark on your quest for love, aware
of frowned-upon flirting etiquette and also
that every rejection you sustain serves as
a wonderful learning opportunity. Take it
from me; I’m a rejection veteran.

 

 

 

British Columbia: a salmon nation

By Trevor Dore, Acting Opinions Editor

itizens gathered outside the
q Vancouver Art Gallery in a rally

for wild salmon. The purpose of
the rally was to demand the Department of
Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) immediately
remove salmon farms from the B.C. coast,
in an effort to restore the wild salmon
stocks.

For years, conservation groups and
scientists have fought to remove open net
salmon farms and preserve wild salmon.
The issue of declining salmon stocks and
fish farms off the coast of B.C. is complex
and involves many different parties and
multiple views.

Pacific salmon have been B.C.’s
lifeblood for hundreds if not thousands
of years, supporting both ecosystems and
economies. A main source of nourishment
and a trading commodity, many First
Nations people still rely heavily on salmon
to maintain their livelihood. Salmon are
also a keystone species, which means they
have a widespread effect on the entire
ecosystem; bears, birds, whales, forests and
humans all depend on wild salmon. Salmon
are like the hub of a wheel to which all
of the spokes are attached. If you remove
the hub, the whole wheel falls apart. It
has also been proven that ecosystem
surrounding salmon bearing waters are
more ecologically diverse. And diversity is
a good thing!

The six species of Wild Pacific
Salmon hatch in fresh water and eventually
make their way to the Ocean where
they spend a good portion of their life
bulking up in the ocean and contributing
to the cycle. Once a salmon has reached
maturation, it heads back to the creek,
stream and river from which it came to
start the process all over again. When
salmon

juvenile salmon however, the story is
much different. As the wild salmon make
their way from the streams to the ocean

as juveniles, they pass by these farms and
the result is catastrophic. The fish farms
billow out clouds of sea lice making it next
to impossible for these fish to navigate

the gauntlet without being attacked by

this parasite. A sea louse will attach itself
to a fish and proceed to feed off it until

the fish dead. Once the fish dies, it can
obviously no longer contribute to the cycle.
Before fish farms, seal lice had never been
reported in juvenile salmon. Now, due to
the concentration and location of the fish
farms, they pose a potential serious threat
to the wild Pacific Salmon stocks.

A number of peer-reviewed research
shows that sea lice are detrimental to
juvenile wild salmon. Studies of fish
farms in Norway, Scotland and Chile have
shown that fish farms are detrimental to
wild fish stock and worst case scenario
can extinct a species. The Fraser River is
the largest salmon-producing river in the
world. This year the Fraser River sockeye
run, predicted to consist of 8.7 million fish
fell extremely short at 600,000, a mere
seven per cent of what was expected.
Coincidentally, as Fraser River salmon
travel north from the mouth of the river
on their way to the ocean, they pass by a
plethora of fish farms.

What are the proposed solutions?
Move the fish farms onto land or at
least enclose them. One hope for the
protection of these fish lies within educated
consumers. Asking whether or not the fish
you purchase is wild or farmed can make
the difference. Numerous environmental
groups exist for the sole purpose of
protecting the native wild salmon
stocks. Hopefully this drastic reduction
in returning salmon is not a sign of the

lay eggs, “This year the Fraser River sockeye run, predicted to consist

they lay
them
by the
thousand, this is because the odds of
survival are against them. Two out of every
4,000 eggs will complete the entire life
cycle. Predators and other natural factors
affect Salmon population, however so

do humans. Commercial fishing, water
pollution, siltation and fish farms all have
affects on salmon populations.

While many human impacts on
salmon populations have been focuses
of conservation efforts in the past, fish
farms were the focus of this week’s rally.
Fish farms raise massive amounts of fish
in open pen enclosures in many coastal
areas off BC’s West Coast.-Over 100 farms
containing more than half a million fish
each exist mainly for food production. The
fish are kept in vastly higher concentrations
then they would be in the wild. The high
concentrations create massive pollution
and environmental problems for both farm
and wild fish. Gold mines for bacteria,
“farmers” use antibiotics, which have
harmful effects on environmental and
human health.

Arguably, the number one problem
presented by fish farms is sea lice. A
common parasite among adult salmon,
they don’t normally poses a risk. In

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of 8.7 million fish fell extremely short at 600,000, a mere
seven per cent of what was expected.”

beginning of the end of the Pacific Wild
Salmon stocks and a Salmon Nation.

rotester outside the Vancouver Art
Gallery