Monthly Archives: September 2012

We’re number 1!

Warning: could appear to be an extreme case of faculty pride.

Imagine Day was awesome (oh yes, I mean it in the slack-jawed-astonishment type way).

First off, I’m pretty sure our (kinesiology) day started way after almost everyone else’s. We started at 9am, whilst most other faculties started around 8:15.  I think this was because they went in for their respective deans’ speeches.  If you remember from my first post, however, kinesiology is not a faculty.  We’re a school within the faculty of Education; thus we were treated to a speech by our (awesome) Director of Kinesiology, not the Dean of Education.

Between the introductory gathering and the pep rally, we were fed a huge amount of information.  We went through dozens of buildings, trekked all the way to the village, and noted the best parking areas.  We met a number of professors and instructors, each of whom gave us invaluable information about succeeding in our kinesiology courses.  I tried my hardest to absorb it all, but I’m pretty sure I’ll forget the course structure of Kin 103 by January.

UBC’s pep-rally was the epitome of awesome.  I painted my face and arms green with body paint, and felt pretty cool (by the way, nothing gets a group of quiet people revved up faster than a bottle of sparkling, bright green body paint).  It was an exhilarating feeling, shouting at the top of my lungs in an effort to drown out scores of other students.  It felt like Kinesiology was cheering the loudest; but at the same time, I felt obligated to cheer even louder and secure our spot as the best faculty in the arena.  Having heard comments from some other non-kinesiology friends, I decided there is no doubt about it: KINNERS RULE.  and shame on you Sauder for stealing one of our chants

All in all, I felt rather inspired today.  There’s an unlimited amount of things I could do to enhance my time at UBC, and it’s up to me to take charge and initiative.  Within multiple orientations, I’ve come to realize that UBC offers so much, and that I’m incredibly lucky to be receiving an education at this institution.  My program and my university feel like a perfect fit, and I am prouder than ever to finally be a student of  UBC, the awesomest ever university.

PS. Not to wreck the mood or anything, but where was all the free stuff? I didn’t get anything 🙁

TOMORROW’S IMAGINE DAY!

Imagine Day 2012

So obviously, I’m excited for Imagine day.  I can’t wait to run around UBC’s beautiful campus with people I’ve just met (and will hopefully be friends with in the future).  I especially look forward to the end of the day rally, when ALL the freshmen gather around in the stadium.  Imagine 7000+ students, each bellowing out our respective faculty pride!  In case you’re wondering, the kids frolicking in bright green (hello, bright green nail polish) will be the kinesiology students (on a side note, it is now the goal of everyone reading this to know the colours of all the faculties).

To be honest, though, I’m a little nervous about meeting people tomorrow.  How are you supposed to greet people you casually “met” online?  Formally introduce yourself, or act as if you’ve been buddies all along?  Awkward handshake and small talk?  And what if you forget someone’s name? There’s a whole lot of social pitfalls that could be out there tomorrow, and I’m doubtful about my ability to successfully navigate them all.  But no matter what happens, tomorrow will make for a good story 🙂

See you all tomorrow!

PS. Weather forecast? Sunny!

Touching on Vanier vs. Totem

I went to UBC again today!  This time, I went to visit some friends living in rez.   The rooms in Vanier were alright!  They were a little cramped for my liking, yes, but then again there’s plenty of space around UBC .  I love the entire layout of Place Vanier.  The  grassy area was definitely perfect for today’s barbeque (and yes, I did buy a burger for $1).  But then  I went to q’elexen house in Totem Park.

Oh. My. Goodness.

It’s unfair, how nice the building is.   My friend lives in a connected single room, and it looks just like a hotel room! In fact, it even smells a little like a freshly serviced hotel room.  There’s so much space, the furniture has more useful features (bulletin board, locked drawer), and the windows are big and clear.  Oh, and did I mention the shared bathroom? My friend is a lucky boy, indeed.

But a major downside of living in Totem Park is that it’s so far away from, well, the centre of everything.  For me, it takes 10 minutes to walk from Totem to Vanier, and even longer to get up to the Main Mall.  Bah!  In my opinion, Place Vanier gets one up on Totem Park, because location, location, location.

Still, I’m a little jealous of everyone living on campus. I’m not excited for  early morning commutes. At all.

Hey look!

I went to Brock Hall this morning to pay my tuition fees, and I picked up a free AMS agenda! It looks pretty neat; there are lists of clubs and services at UBC, as well as spaces to write your daily schedule.  It’ll be dead useful once school starts and things begin to get hectic.  Also, there’s coupons for on-campus food stops! Yay! I suggest that everyone goes to pick one up.

To those of you who will be living in residence: Happy moving-in! 🙂