Christmas time means gifts, new things, boxing day sales, and time off from classes to go shopping! It’s a terrible idea, but I’m in the mood to spend a sliver of savings this holiday season on new things for me. After all, I did promise myself a new longboard if I passed my Modern Art 227 midterm and indeed I did more than pass and I didn’t follow through on my promise to myself. Here is my collection of the cool new things I’m bringing back with me to Totem in a few days or that I hope to buy really soon! There’s also links for you to follow to find cool stuff for yourself too.

TOMS Shoes– a personal favorite. Click Here to learn more about the One for One movement where they give a pair of shoes for a child in need for every pair of shoes you buy from them. They even offer vegan styles or styles that feature enough glitter to make you sparkle. I want to add this sleek black pair to my collection for a everyday and for a conference in Toronto this February so I can look professional while creating social change at the same time! They’ll be arriving in the mail by the time I get back into residence this week.

Landyactz Bamboo Totem 41″ Longboard– something I’ve wanted for a long time. Click Here to visit the site of a longboard company based out of BC and started by two kids growing up on the North Shore. It offers everything I want out of a board and I feel like the purchase is well deserved after pulling off a great mark in Modern Art 227- and that wasn’t easy. I can’t wait to ride it around campus when it isn’t raining. This purchase is going to wait under tuition and res fees are due.. I’m also still interested in buying a Loaded Pintail instead and I can’t decide.

Product (Red) 5G iPod Nano– After my house was broken into last spring, I’ve been living life without an iPod and surprisingly it has been hard. This little baby is my birthday gift from my mom. Not only will it make those long walks from Totem to Buchanan a little less painful and that it is Product (Red) to fight Aids in Africa, it was ordered from apple.ca which means free engraving! Click Here to visit Product (Red)’s website. On the back of my iPod it says, “In the beginning there was nothing. Just the water.” It’s a quote from Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King.

The New Kings of Nonfiction by Ira Glass. To start, anything by Ira Glass is worth a read. Glass, who you might recognize as the host of This American Life, picks out 14 of his favorite journalistic features from writers who share incredible stories. It’s like This American Life in a book. If you have never heard of This American Life, you should Click Here and subscribe to the free podcast on iTunes and I promise you that you will be forever changed and become more intellectual because of it. Right now it’s still only a dream to order this baby from amazon.ca!

Cool Gifts for a Student in Residence, Thanks Mom

A little dust-buster vacuum that can be tucked away in a drawer so I no longer need to try to find the brother & sister floor shared vacuum when my room looks a little dirty.

An alarm clock that continually gets louder until you turn it off so I can wake up in time for my 9am classes. The alarm on my cell phone just isn’t doing it anymore.

Finally, a mini electric kettle for my late night Magda’s runs to get some Mr. Noodles.