Category Archives: Involvement / Leadership

AMS Clubs & Speakeasy

Posted on 18 September 2008 | 2 comments

Last year, I spent a lot of money joining 9 clubs and then dropping all of them by the end of the first term for one reason or another.

This year, to better save my money, I’ve been signing up for mailing lists with the intention of paying only for those clubs I end up going to regularly. (Though I’ve found out that Youth Outreach doesn’t require membership fees at all, which I think is cool.)

Such as the Thai club. While I have not yet paid my membership fee for that, I trust my Thai friend will chase me up on it.

Hearing that I joined the Thai club, I also got recruited by a Taiwanese club and the Vietnamese club, neither of which I have any heritage with whatsoever or have paid my fees for either. But the promise of food is very enticing.

(The Thai club is offering a one-off 10% per table discount at an authentic Thai restaurant, so take advantage of it!)

So far I have successfully managed to avoid joining any Chinese clubs, though I foresee myself giving in to peer pressure and joining for the sake of an umbrella, two folders and a possible discount on a ski trip. While there seem to be many times more exec positions than regular membership positions, I’m not interested in going after one, even if it would be good on my resumé. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll regret this attitude.

I’ll tell you what I have done, though.

For the last couple of months, I’ve been thinking and working on my application for AMS Speakeasy, the peer counselling service. I had my interview yesterday and got the position today. Training is this weekend all weekend, and while I’m as tired as ever, I’m really happy and relieved to join the team. I’ve been wanting to get involved with this for a long while now.

I did a lot of soul-searching last term and discovered a number of things that have me targeting a lot more specifically now. Namely, I don’t know enough about anything to know what I want to be doing with my life; my experiences thus far are mostly confined to entertaining young children. My aim this year is to get a variety of new and different experiences — not just any random experience, but in things I care about.

What do I care about?

I care about English lit. I care about creative writing. I care about being able to help another person face-to-face.

So I’m working with that for now. The academics side takes care of itself, thanks to school. I mean to see what can be done about the writing/editing/publishing side of things with the English Students’ Society, which is the only one I know thus far that has any kind of English literary publication. And now I’m volunteering with Speakeasy.

I also joined a dance class at the REC, I’m applying for co-op, and a few other things I’m sure to talk about as well as time goes on. But the point is, I hope I’m doing okay even if I am not a club exec of any sort.

I’m open to trying completely new things in the hopes of stumbling across something I would never imagine adoring if I hadn’t given it a go.

Guess that’s where the Thai and Taiwanese clubs come in, eh?

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Posted in Academic, AMS, Involvement / Leadership, Recreation

Herstmonceux Textbooks

Posted on 7 May 2008 | 3 comments

For those people who talk to me through more than one avenue (i.e. beyond this blog), I pity you for listening to this for the millionth time, but I am just so ecstatic about it!

So if we take the conversion rate to be about $2 to £1, you can do some simple maths for yourself:

Original price of my economics textbook: ~£47.80 (I forget the amount of pence)
Second-hand price: £5.00

It’s not even marked; the only sign of it being a second-hand book is that its cover is creased in several places but it is still flat. Now I wish the UBC Bookstore gave deals like that!

Besides raving about the Castle here, the other fun thing to do over summer is to plan out what kinds of activities I want to get involved with next year, now that I have my perfect schedule sorted out. (I’ll be very surprised if I get into all the classes I want, but am hoping so regardless and am refreshing my SSC page crossly to find out my registration date!)

Unfortunately, I can’t share the exact details of what I’m going to do as my plans involve world domination on a microcosmic scale. In coded form, they look like this:

– Go about learning the tricks of the trade in order to prepare self for position of authority.
– Introduce preliminary reforms to ready the populace for later, more drastic ones.
– Create a marketable image, gain people’s trust, be voted into power and then take the rest for myself.
– Be the grey blur who delivers results and works her way up into power.

Okay, poli sci and history buffs, you should enjoy working out which point corresponds to which infamous dictator, particularly the last one. It is the unfortunate truth that all my knowledge about government revolves around one-party states and I am ignorant of any other methods regarding political opposition.

3 Comments

Posted in Academic, Go Global, Involvement / Leadership

The Final Stretch!

Posted on 25 April 2008 | Comments Off on The Final Stretch!

Less than a week left before the school year is officially over.

Such mixed feelings, especially when I think of how I felt at the beginning of the year.

I was afraid of moving to a new place without my friends, afraid of not making friends as close as my old ones. I panicked every time the slightest thing went wrong (and of course things always go wrong). When classes didn’t turn out the way I expected, I thought I’d made a huge mistake in coming to UBC. I didn’t feel like I belonged. I seriously considered leaving. I was bored out of my wits and simultaneously stressed out all of the time. I was desperately homesick and hung onto everything that reminded me of the way things used to be.

Now I’ve moved from juggling papers and exams to studying and packing. I felt my first wave of homesickness in the longest time today. I discovered T&T sells the same shrimp crackers that I smuggled over from HK. (Although I swear these are smaller, they’re better than nothing.) I’m envious of the people who are going home already. I’m sad to say goodbye to people I’ve met and befriended over the past nine months, as I’ve found out that you can go a long time without seeing someone these days, but it’s also so easy to bump into someone months later and chat anyway. I’m excited about moving out myself, though I’ll miss being able to walk right out of my door to knock on someone else’s and get dinner together. I’m anxious about travelling to Herstmonceux but also hoping that I’ll make the most of the experience. I’m a little regretful that I’m only home for two weeks this summer, but looking forward to that short, precious time so much. I have so many plans for the rest of my summer back here and even more for all the things I’m going to do next year.

I can no longer imagine doing my degree in only three years. Three years is simply not enough for all the things I want to accomplish by the end of my time here.

Comments Off on The Final Stretch!

Posted in Academic, Involvement / Leadership, Recreation

Being a UBC Blogger

Posted on 4 April 2008 | 2 comments

Someone asked me, “What does it feel like to have other people come up to you and say they’ve read your blog?”

It’s not the first time I’ve been asked something similar to that. Every now and then I’ll be having a conversation with someone and they’ll suddenly repeat something that I said here. I’m always a little stunned. Don’t worry — I’m not creeped out. I don’t think that you are stalking me. Actually, I’m quite touched that you’re reading this. It’s always gratifying to know that my blog is achieving its purpose. I want people to read my blog — and if it helps, I’ll be even more glad.

I admit it: I love writing. That’s why I leapt at the opportunity to blog for UBC students, particularly my fellow first-years. Let me reemphasise that point: I’m writing for UBC students. I write about my experiences as a first-year student, both good and bad, because I really hope that it will resonate with other people, or at the very least entertain them. Or if it doesn’t — if what I say seems really wrong or inaccurate — then I’m keen to hear other opinions. I’m not writing here just because I like it.

Believe me, when I want to do that, I write plenty of stories and poems that will never see the light of day.

Do I dislike talking about my blog in person?

It’s true I don’t mention it very often. I’m not great at self-promotion; I much prefer it when other people bring it up. Any short silences don’t mean that I’m offended, though — it’s usually me trying to reorientate myself. An unexpected reference to one of my blog posts is like the continuation of a conversation I wasn’t aware that we were having. I just need to remember what the conversation was about before I continue it. After I’ve found my bearings, I’m quite happy to talk.

Am I creeped out by how much you know about me?

At first I did find it mildly unsettling to have people know random details about my life. Then I got used to it. I’m the one putting myself out here anyway. If I don’t want you to know something, I’m not going to talk about it — and there are some aspects of my life I am fiercely private about.

Being honest is scary. I started out my blog determined to be all peppy and happy, until I hit this phase when I thought I didn’t belong at UBC. It was scary admitting that UBC isn’t this perfect place for me — I thought there was something wrong with me because I wasn’t as happy as everyone else seems to be. Turns out lots of people felt the same when they first moved here. Admitting UBC isn’t perfect was the first step to realizing that I have to work really hard to make a place for myself, but that it is possible. It’s kind of sad it took me so long to settle in and deal, but on the up side, if I can do it, then anyone can! It’s normal to take some time to adjust to a new school setting or country or living on your own.

And so I blab a lot and put myself out there for you to make judgments about, but hey. I figure that you would find out what I’m like if you met me in person anyway. This way, you’re a step ahead of me and we can focus on you when we do meet, no?

P.S. Sneak peak of the next post: The rarely heard legend of the magical creatures that haunt UBC’s laundry rooms is about to be revealed…

2 Comments

Posted in Involvement / Leadership

Yay :) x2

Posted on 2 April 2008 | 2 comments

I’ve just received an official email that I’m offered admission into Herstmonceux for May and June. Hurray!

And I received another email with the unofficial announcement that all four AMS referenda questions passed, which means we are going to pay more money to renew the SUB, the bylaws are passed, we’re supporting refugee students and we’re keeping the U-Pass.

Three cheers for us (that is, you).

2 Comments

Posted in Academic, AMS, Commuting, Involvement / Leadership