Curriculum Vitae

One day when you have some spare time and you're mucking about on the computer, pull up your CV, preferably an older version.

CV as we all know is short for curriculum vitae. What isn't always so well known is that this is the Latin for "the running order of life." CV's tend to be lists. I went to school here and here and here. I worked. I volunteered. I have these skills. It's a running inventory of everything you've done in point form.

That's why every now and then, I like to take a look at mine. I tend to feel that the person who did all those things isn't me. I rediscover things. I was once on a WUSC SRSP committee. This experience had become relegated to the back of my memory. But just seeing Finance and Fundraising officer of, brings back a whole host of memories. I remember sitting on a chair in my faculty counter-part's office drinking tea and eating kitkats as we discussed the legality of the receipts we'd been presented. We decided they were not valid. The entire debate surrounding the issue floods back. From not having thought about it in several years, I know exactly what happened and what I thought and what I thought should have been done. My annoyance level is par to what it was at the time.

However, as I go further back in time, things are not as clear. I don't like geography - on principle. This is based on a prejudice against a high school teacher. I didn't like his class. I don't remember anything from his class. I remember quite a bit of geography from public school. Ask me about plate-tectonics. I'm a pro. I don't even know what we were taught in grade 10 geography. Apparently, I won the geography prize. I did not know this. But it's on my CV, so I know it's true. Somewhere in a box at home there is a plaque with my name and geography. I still don't like geography - on principle.

This is why it's a good thing to check your CV once in a while. You rediscover things about yourself. It's a good way to stir up the memory. It's also why it's a good idea to keep it up-to-date - it's the running order of your life and it's best to keep it in order. You're not too sure what you'll forget in the mean time.