The answer? A lot of red eye flights back and forth from Toronto. From one conference to the next and trying to keep up with my classes. On Monday I present at a conference in Ontario about youth in politics. I’m really stoked because I’m taking my creative juices in with me to the presentation. I was presented with a challenge from the conference organizers- to save money there will be no screens or projectors. So what do you do when you don’t have a powerpoint but you don’t want to just stand there and lecture someone? You create your own story book that tells the story of who you are and what you want to talk about for the entire audience. I’m working on that this week and super excited about it.

Also, I’ve always had the issue of never having business cards to give out. I could never figure out what I wanted to put on a business card that I wouldn’t get tired of after paying all that money to have them printed. My solution? I headed down to Deserres, the incredibly big and incredibly awesome art supplies store by the Granville stop on the 99. I’m making my own business cards by hand from hard copy scrap booking paper, cutting it to business card size, decorating it with thin strips of paper and stamping it with a bird on a branch. I’ll add my name and contact info in really nice print and make each card an individual experience. I actually think it is a great idea. It adds value, time, effort and tells a lot about who I am. I still struggle with what I should write under my name that captures everything I do.

With all of these conferences though, I’m spending a lot of time away from Vancouver and the weeks are flying by. I’m missing a day or two of class from the whole experience but that I’ve been able to manage. Some professors are scary but some are pretty cool. My French 101 Prof, Professor Bodolec, was awesome and was even willing to move my Chapter 3 test to another day so I could present at this conference on Monday. I let him know as early as possible (September) and he was really understanding.

The one thing that scares me is that I realized my first term paper is due in 2 weeks. TWO WEEKS! 30% of my grade! No one in high school taught me about intense research or how to write 2500 words! It’s super scary. I’m worried with being gone this weekend and preparing for the conference that it’s going to make 2 weeks turn into 1 week and then only a few days. I never realized how soon November 18th was.. especially since my Prof never mentioned the term paper in the lecture and I just so happened to think about it the other day and check the syllabus. This is the hardest thing I’m dealing with right now.. and this is what I’ve figured out.

1) I’m scared. 2) I can’t do it all and school on top of that. 3) Holy crap.

Here’s what I’ve done about it.

1 ) I’ve taken a leave of absence from my job. Even though I work under 10 hours a week, the commute kills me and it takes up my entire day. Don’t work! Don’t get a job! I am a shop-a-holic and I spend like there is no tomorrow but it is just something that has to be done. November is my focusing month and December is exams. I have a life size painting of myself that I need to complete, 3 term papers and 4 exams. I need those two extra days in my week.

2 ) I met with Vanessa Kam, the wicked-awesome Art Librarian in Irving K. She told me about how to research in the UBC Library (because I felt like no one so far has taught me much about research) and pointed me in the direction of who I can ask about writing. She also gave me an idea about the process of writing a term paper and offered more help if needed. It’s a good idea to seek help from subject librarians.

3 ) I followed Vanessa’s advice and I went to the Chapman Learning Commons and found out that there is drop-in writing help from 4-8pm Monday to Thursday for stuff like grammar and writing styles. There is also research help from 12-2pm Monday to Friday and 4-6pm Monday to Thursday which is great to get you started when you have no idea what to look for or what to do. I was told it gets really busy within the next two weeks and will continue until the end of the semester but right now it’s not so bad! I should meet with them next week. Turns out that room is for something more than just looking pretty.

4 ) I’m reading on the bus. Usually I sit there and relax on my long rides down Broadway. Now I’m diving into Canada’s Judiciary and reading what Prime Minister Harper had to say back in 2001 about building Alberta’s “firewall.” I can get through so much on a bus ride and I didn’t realize it. I recommend that everyone tries this. The only hard thing is when people are talking and distracting. That’s when you start to read the same sentence 6 times or you get through a page and then you don’t even know what you just read.

5 ) I’m trying to limit what I do during the week to make more time for school work if I’m gone all the time to Ontario for conferences. I can’t do it all, right?

6 ) I’m finding quiet study spaces other than Irving K Barber because as much as I love the environment- it is often hard to concentrate there. On Friday I studied in the 1960’s study space located in the 2nd floor links in the Totem houses. So quiet. No one knows they exist. They are ugly. Why go there. Exactly. Get stuff done.

7 ) Sleep is helping me stay awake during lectures! I actually didn’t feel sleepy yesterday in Art History for the first time in a while. I’m retaining more from the lectures. I still need to work on this, for example, it is almost midnight as I write this and I still have to start my readings for tomorrow. Long story to why it is midnight and why I am just starting now but let’s just say let’s not smash our lamps at nine in the morning, kids.

8 ) “Be Awesome.”

9 ) Don’t even bother putting in contacts instead of glasses. Don’t even bother with a hair straightener… people liked big hair in the 80’s anyways. And my boyfriend is still sticking around me with my messy hair. It’s all cool.

10 ) Don’t sit next to people you like to pass notes with in lectures. If you do sit next to someone you talk to during lectures, tell me what your lecture was about afterwards. I’ve now started sitting on the other side of my Poli Sci lecture hall for the first time this semester just so I can retain information and learn. Every little bit helps.

Please send me positive vibes as I embark on the painting, those SCARY term papers (especially the one due in 2 weeks that we will nickname “the Beast”), and my final exams. I’ll send you positive vibes back and keep you updated on the Beast.