Sorry about the title. I couldn’t think of anything else that mixed craziness, exams, and a rhyme all into one.
Anyways, people are sleeping overnight in the libraries and taking caffeine pills to “study”. Crazy? Yes. And not just a few people. Multitudes. My friend Kayla just informed me she had difficulty finding a spot in the library at 8:45am.
Whaaaaat the hell.
Tip of the Post:
Learn how to conserve your meal plan early instead of at the last minute like me. For example:
Did you know that your brain consumes about 20% of your energy on a day-to-day basis? It’s a fact – I looked it up. Given that, it only makes sense to take great care of your brain during exam season and make sure it has plenty of energy at its service (after all, I’m sure studying hard consumes even more calories).
I was reading some nutrition advice in Vanier awhile ago and it told me to make sure I eat slow-burning carbohydrates (like whole grains) and a large portion of protein (preferably from lighter foods – not red meat) to fuel my studies. It also mentioned staying hydrated. At the same time, I was feeling frustrated over the quick consumption of the extra $300.00 I recently placed on my meal card.
I decided that I would try to assemble my own entré from odds and ends in the caf. If you’re low on money and need a filling, healthy, and delcious meal to sate you for an exam, try this:
Steps: buy the following ingredients (or your own variation). Assemble them sandwich style:
I like to spread mustard on the side of the bagel touching the veggies. However, I’m mustard-obsessed. Yes, I know that’s weird. Also, I add salt and pepper to the eggs. Avocado slices (yes, you have to slice it yourself) also taste great but it’s hard to eat one alone and they’re a bit pricey in the caf.
Total price: $3.00 – $4.50
It’s incredibly filling – don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Plus, you get way more food/taste/nutrition from one of these breakfast sandwiches than any of the ones offered for a similar price at the Stone Hearth.
As for staying hyrdated, grab a glass of water. It’s free!
Some assembly required. Happy sandwiching!
Love,
Lindsay
ps. On the website where I found that brain fact, it told me they preserved Einstein’s brain for research. Isn’t that gross?
pps. Incidentally, it was found that both his brain and cerebrum were smaller than the average male’s but the density of neurons in his brain was much higher. Hunh.
Tip of the Post:
Intermurals are fun. Try signing up for a team.
I had my first futsal (indoor soccer) game last night. It was a complete gongshow and the score probably was – as Tyler described – very close to 27/0. Against, of course.
Personally, I think it was because the other team had a kickass name: “Multiple Score-gasms”. Really. Who could take that on? Coupled with the fact that they had intimidating black uniforms and were a seemingly cohesive group, their name gave them even more superpowers and allowed them to drive us into the ground.
So. Formerly a member of the tentatively dubbed “Team Sea Slug”, I brainstormed some slightly more inspiring team names like: “The Farting Ferrets” and “The E-lemon-ators” and “The Bad Intentions”. But there was only one team name that really felt right:
“The Shaolin Shockers”.
If you don’t understand that right away, it’s a play on the film entitled Shaolin Soccer. If you haven’t seen it, you should watch this clip. Then you’ll understand how outstanding my team is going to be.
It’s all in the name, people.
Love,
Lindsay
Tip of the Post:
I get stressed out about exams. We all do. The best remedy? Disney movies. Revisit your childhood! Remember a time when exams didn’t matter?
You can download them using DC++ (although I haven’t figured out how to use it on my computer) or visit Surf The Channel to watch movies and TV online.
Don’t have time for a full movie? Then I suggest clicking here to watch my favorite Disney song of all time.
Love (as always),
Lindsay
Tip of the Post:
Visit Harambe Ethiopian Cuisine on Commercial Drive! For those of you who live on campus, just grab the 99 B-Line from the bus loop and take it all the way to the last stop. It’s a SkyTrain station – easy enough to recognize. Harambe is about one block up the street and across the road from where you get off the bus. You’ll get a unique group dining experience (who doesn’t love to eat with their hands?) and a lot of deliciously spiced lentils, beef, lamb, and vegetables. If you’re like me and sick of carbo-loading at the caf, then this restaurant provides you with plentiful, all natural protein at a low cost of approximately $10.00 per person.
I was ecstatic when I found out we were going to Harambe for our floor dinner last night. I had already been quite a few times and was getting sick of coating all of my meals in black pepper – doesn’t taste great and my friends bother me for it.
On the bus home, while Kayla and I were grooving to some Kanye West and Timbaland (I don’t know what came over me… I may need to be institutionalized), I happened to be looking around at all the ads on the bus. Incidentally, I find it hilarious that ELSA (English Language Service for Adults) advertises their “Learn English now! Don’t you want to understand your grandchildren?!” campaign in English.
Suddenly, I was startled by a slam against the back of my seat. I jumped and was greeted with the “Oh, sorry” typical of Canadians who are apologetic for everything.
Now, if you’re a close friend of mine, you’re familiar with the following rant:
“I just don’t get it! Why do we apologize for everything? It’s so stupid! Whenever I open the door to walk into a washroom while somebody else is exiting, we do this awkward stutter-step and apologize profusely for getting in each others way! If I bump someone’s hand while reaching for the feta in the salad bar, they repent! Yesterday, I was on the bus and somebody stepped on my foot and I said sorry! Like, “Oh my God, I can’t believe my foot just got in the way of your foot! Please forgive me!”. Except I wasn’t even being sarcastic! Do you know how weird this is?”
Last night, however, I saw the flip-side. Post apology, I mumbled something about him not having to worry about it, that I was just looking around etc… when he shocked me with a:
“Actually, you know what? I’m really not sorry”
in this uber-grouch voice.
Of the top-ten things I least expected to happen in that moment, that was number three. And it only missed out on a higher spot because I really didn’t forsee the ancient Chinese woman four seats up leaping out of her seat and performing a strip tease using the articulated section of the bus as her stage. I also didn’t expect the planet to explode, sending a trillion pieces of Lindsay careening into the cosmos.
So you can imagine my surprise at this retraction of the most basic Canadian instinct.
And now that I’ve experienced the awkward, gross feeling of it all, I can promise I will never be a critic of apologies again.
In conclusion, I would like to say sorry, désolée, perdon, scusa, izvini, gomen, afedersin, aasfa, patawad… to any and all that I have criticized for apologizing. I know we’re all just trying to be polite.
Love,
Lindsay
Tip of the Post:
If you live in residence, keep your door open! Here are the top 7 reasons why:
1) You’ll make more friends. When people walk by my room (which is semi-rare, I live near the end of my hallway) and see that my door is open, 9 times out of 10 they will make eye contact, nod, and say “hey”. And sometimes they stop by for a quick chat. Or a long chat.
2) It will affirm your exsistence. The vast majority of students who are living in residence (and I’m estimating this majority to be along the lines of 99.99%) are used to living in a family unit. You don’t need to feel isolated in the residence community! When I have my door open, I feel comforted by the fact that I’m surrounded by so many people. Your floor is your new family – treat it as such, or at least make an effort to.
3) It makes your room look bigger. The whole 8 x 10 thing not working for you? OPEN THAT DOOR! Living in KU, the doors are indented about two feet from the hallway. With an open door, you get the illusion that your room is two feet longer (which, incidentally, is a 20% increase. That’s quite a lot).
4) It makes your room brighter. I have three light sources in my room: my desk lamp, my window, and my overhead light. With the dark winter months descending upon Vancouver, my window is a useful source until about 3:00 in the afternoon. And my overhead? What a joke. I think one of the bulbs is out. Either that, or all the dead moths in the bowl are blocking the light *shudder*. That leaves my desk lamp, which isn’t enough alone. Thankfully (and ironically) enough, I have an incredibly bright, double-bulbed fluorescent light outside my door. It makes a huge difference.
5) It gives you a reason to keep your room tidy. I am by no means a tidy person. If I can do it, so can you. You just need incentive.
6) You get to add personality to your floor. Got a wickedly decorated room? Show it off! Residence can be pretty bland – any decoration visible from the hallways adds a homey feel to the entire floor.
7) Maybe, just maybe, other people will follow your lead. Can you imagine how fun residence would be if everyone had their doors open? Of course, it’s not necessary all the time (like if you’re nakie – save us that aspect). But the sense of community and comradery would definitely improve. Think about it.
Most of us will only live in residence for one year. What sort of community do you want to remember?
Love,
Lindsay
Tip of the Post:
Take part in Shopping Week for UBC Rec. You get a week to visit as many conveniently slotted instructional classes as you want throughout the week in order to decide if you want to pay up and participate for the rest of the term/school year. Check out the Rec programs by clicking here.
Anyhow, I’m having a lot of trouble deciding what I want to do next term. Tae Kwon Do has been a huge part of my life since grade six (that would be… almost seven years now) and is my one spiritual outlet. Plus it keeps me in good shape. However, the class I’m taking on campus just doesn’t cut it:
1) It’s a recreational class. That means that uniforms aren’t required and most of the people participating are beginners.
2) Two out of the three instructors are at the same level as me and I often don’t feel comfortable accepting their criticisms on techniques that I learned to do a slightly different (but effective) way in my old school. Especially stretches. At times, I feel like they just want to prove that I’m the student and they’re the instructor even if it’s over a stupid, trivial thing (like how I grab my ankle when doing a forward-stretch).
3) It’s a late class that runs from 8:00 – 9:30 at night.
On the other hand, the head instructor has his fifth degree and is quite friendly and explains things in ways much different from my old teacher. Not to say that either way is better, but it definitely helps to hear things in two unique ways. And I really love the sport. I feel like I belong to Tae Kwon Do. I know the little nuances of foot placement and hip rotation. I know nine forms and am working on the tenth. The Rec class is cheap too (just $50 per month) and is my only real option in a city full of studios that charge upwards of $150 per month, not including the special studio uniforms and gear one is often required to buy. Plus it’s on campus, which makes for a convenient commute.
I’ve been considering trying a Yoga class to improve my flexibility and core strength, and to start from square one with a new activity where I’m at the appropriate level for the class.
I just don’t know if I can give up TKD… Any thoughts?
Lindsay
Tip of the Post:
In times of stress (such as a week concluding in two midterms and a chemistry lab), be sure to avoid the following:
I’m talking from experience, here.
Love,
Lindsay
Tip of the Post:
Get out and enjoy those fall colours before they’re gone. Specifically, if you haven’t been to Nitobe Garden yet (it’s near Vanier, at the bottom of Memorial): GO!
Me having fun with leaves (note the huge clump on the left – it was wet and it kind of hurt when it hit me on the way back down, haha).
I had the Week From Hell (WFH) last week, with a chem midterm; a 40-mark Mastering Physics (an online homework program with excruciating questions due every week) assignment; a math quiz and homework assignment; a chem lab… The list goes on. I locked myself in my room for all my spare time, and was averaging 14 hour days, only counting studying and lecture time. Laaaaaame.
SO: aside from playing outside today, I’ve done a lot of relaxing things this weekend. On Friday night, I discovered the wonders of the internet and watched two movies (Harry Potter and Superbad) online, as well as an episode of Survivor that I missed this week with my friend Kayla. I ended up getting to bed around 2am, although I’m not sure exactly how that happened. Last night I went to the Parade of the Lost Souls with another friend (Jonathan), my sister, and a bunch of my sister’s friends. It’s a yearly costume celebration that takes over around 8 blocks of Commercial Drive and fills it with live percussion bands, fire dancers, and thousands of people wearing some of the best costumes I’ve ever seen, such as:
There were a lot more. It may be easier to mention that the only bad costume I saw was this old guy with a smear of fake blood just sitting in the centre of his forehead. That was all. Or maybe it wasn’t fake… he did look kind of dazed.
After I got back from my walk this afternoon, I decided to do some vacuuming. I should mention now that Kayla also vacuumed today and, like me, loses a substantial amount of hair on any given day.The vacuuming itself went great – I now have a carpet absent of paper bits, pizza crumblies, and pine needles. But returning the vacuum! What a freaking nightmare.
*Note* – The following screenplay is based entirely on true events, but may be exaggerated in a meager way to enhance tone:
Scene: two girls – one redheaded and lugging a maroon SuctionMaster 260, the other a lovely brunette – approach the front desk of Vanier Commonsblock looking very hungry and eager to hit the caf. A stout blond man in his mid-forties looks up with disdain at their approach. He disappears from the desk to emerge several seconds later from a door at stage right.
Red (smiling): Hello! We’re here to return the vacuum!
Man takes the vacuum, rewrapping the power cord to maximize spacial organization as he does so. He checks the vacuum for cleanliness, first examining the filter. With a curt nod, he continues his inspection down to the rollers. He looks up with a sour expression.
Man (brandishing the vacuum, rollers up): I’m going to have to ask you to clean this.
Red (obviously not noticing that the stripy pattern around the rollers is actually hair): Oh… is it that dirty?
Man: …
The Man twitches the vacuum in the direction of the girls, and the Brunette takes it from him. Red keeps staring at him.
Red: We actually have to clean the rollers out?
Brunette (quickly): Okay so we’ll just go clean this…
Man (talking over Brunette): Yeah, well you were informed upon checkout that you were required to clean the filter and the rollers before returning the appliance.
Red: But they’re… oooooooooh! Okay. Alright well we’ll just go and –
Red stops speaking as she realizes that the man has already disappeared behind the door. The girls walk back across the commons. Balancing the vacuum on a garbage can, they begin ripping small chunks of hair from the rollers, discussing the pretty shade the combination of their hair creates and wondering aloud why the Man is such an insufferable bore. Ten minutes later, the Man returns, clutching a tiny pair of orange safety scissors in his meaty fist.
Man: How’s it coming?
Red: We’ve been at it for ages… we’re thinking we’re done.
Brunette: Yeah. This good enough?
Red shows the nearly immaculate rollers to the man, who does not appear impressed.
Man: I’m really thinking that you can get more out of the corners. Here.
Man places the scissors on the bin and returns to his hole in the wall. Red and Brunette exchange significant glances and attack the vacuum with the ridiculously blunt – and therefore useless – scissors. After another 5 minutes, they manage to remove 15 more strands of hair and appear quite pissed off. They return to the door and look at the Man at the desk. The group stares at eachother for an awkward pause. The Man finally moves and opens the door.
Red: We’re done. Here.
The Man inspects the entire vacuum once again and looks as if to say something, but decides not to. A wise decision has been made. He returns to his post with the appliance. The girls exit stage right. The sound of running water, scrubbing, and grumbling can be heard as the lights dim…
End scene.
From now on, I’m using the floor vacuum. Or avoiding that man. Either/or.
But! All in all, this weekend has been just the rest I need. I’m ready to tackle this week, and am dying for Halloween to arrive!
When I get the pictures from the parade, I’ll post them. Have a spooky week, everyone!
Lindsay
Tip of the Post:
Feeling blue (or, at least, not a sunny shade of yellow)? Did you know that bananas are the ultimate cure to your physical and mental ailments? I didn’t until today. Today, a couple of kind nursing students set up an informative booth on – take a guess – bananas in the Vanier commonsblock. Not only do bananas individually contain enough glucose to fuel a 90-minute workout, but they have also been scientifically proven to be the best post-drinking miracle food and to contain chemicals that combat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Being a person who suffers from SAD in those long winter months, I’ll definitely be investing in some bananas in the near future. So. Feeling crappy?
Eat a banana.
Click here for more banana facts.
Anyways, after visiting with the wonderful banana ladies, I went for a run down to Wreck Beach. It’s not far from The top of the stairs isn’t far from Vanier. For those of you who have ventured down to the nudie beach, you’re familiar with the ridiculously numerous (and steep) stairs that lead you down there. It’s annoying if you just want to relax in the sun, but a great workout otherwise. It was my first time down there in the daytime and, consequently, my first time experiencing the incredible nudity of it all. Bananas abound.
I even saw naked volleyball while I was running around.
It’s funny though – I felt out of place feeling fully clothed. But no worries, mum, I was good. I just kept jogging on my merry way, enjoying the… scenery. And I managed to run all the way back up the stairs, even though I nearly collided with a 60 year-old man on his way down. Needless to say, he wasted no time stripping down after passing the “Clothing Is Optional Beyond This Point” sign. It was pretty amusing.
So I’m feeling alive again. Exercise > mochas when you’re trying to wake up your brain. Plus, if you take a jog before a 1.5 hour Chem lecture instead of chugging a sugary cup of coffee, chances are you won’t be plagued with trying to ignore Lake Superior filling up your bladder after only 20 minutes of discussing the importance of H-Bonds. I’m sure I missed out on a lot of the more riveting points of that lecture due to the discomfort caused by my caffeine fix.
Oh, I had my first Math 110 class today. Y’know, the 8:00 am one? Yeah. We counted apples.
No joke. My prof drew a diagram like this:
He tied it into the classification of the number systems, though. He’s a really nice guy, I can tell. Even though it’s early, I enjoy the class. And hey, if I go to the class everyday for the rest of the year, my friends say I might even start learning division by December.
Awesome. Sounds like my kind of calculus.
All those naked people have piqued my appetite. I’ma go eat now.
Lindsay
PS. I apologize for the pointless pictures. I got really excited when I figured out how to insert them.