November 2015 – come get a little lost with me

*glances at post time*

you might be wondering what the heck is becky doing up at this late hour-not that she, being a full-fledged university student for all of three months now, was the type to be able to go to bed at 9pm-but 3am is quite late considering she’s been losing sleep over assignments and projects this past week.

well, let me tell ya: if you’re going to be living in a dorm building complex, you better be prepared for thrEE AM FIRE ALARMS.

i guess it’s a trade-off in being able to coexist and share spaces with thousands of other sort-of-adult teenagers from all over the world. i mean, i love meeting people in elevators and greeting people in the commonsblock and puzzling over the laundry system together in the basement. it’s practically free-friend-scoring (cough roommates) when you’re quite shy like me.

however, i definitely wasn’t prepared for the fire alarms. considering we already had quite a few this term, you’d think i’d be a little smarter about these unpredictable rude awakenings.

list of things to prepare for in case of unexpected and unwelcome emergency evacuations:

key card. always place by door to avoid walk of shame to front desk.
wallet, money, identity information, etc in a safe, easy-to-grab spot
wARM SWEATERS
seriously, have more than one at hand bc the wind here is monstrous
socks by the door
extra pair of sweatpants or just warm pants within reach from the bed
yes, clothing is just as important as your wallet
PHONE + CHARGER
glasses. don’t forget this one.

it’s definitely way past my bedtime, despite it being a friday night-no, haha, wait, it’s saturday now, hahahaha /fades into hysterical laughter

please, kids. don’t take fire alarms as jokes, or pranks, because
a) it’s not funny
b) firefighters could have gone to places with actual fires to save actual people instead of sleepy, freezing college students huddled outside a dorm
c) climbing up fourteen flights of stairs when you’re half asleep is. not. fun.
d) people are tryING TO SLEEP

alright, my angry rant is over, and my eyes are just about to close. hopefully i can survive these last few weeks until exams. i see how despite being in a completely new environment, with completely new people around me, and completely new habits and way of thinking, one thing will never change.

how much i love, love, love sleep.

accurate depiction of college students during november.

g’night everybody, and practice safe microwave usage!

halloween at ubc was… an experience. some things you should probably know:

professors DO still give out candy! hallelujah!
don’t eat all the candy in the middle of the night when you have an exam the next day.
buy your tickets to the parties early
no, seriously, people will try to sell you last minute tickets for triple the price. not cool.
if you’re not a party person, hit up some of the club events, like dances, movie showings, game tournaments, or the escape rooms!
don’t carve your pumpkin too early or it will rOT. AND FALL. AND GO SPLAT. (we are all still mourning our pumpkin, steve-bob-joe, who fell to its tragic death on one thursday morning, sending pumpkin gunk all over the floor. you will be missed. #ripdormpumpkin2k15)
dress up!! don’t be lazy! be creative!
please keep in mind that it is cold in vancouver this time of year
make sure you have a designated driver??
saying ‘no’ is perfectly fine!
know your limit in drinking. at the very least, make sure you have a friend who can take care of you during.
fireworks start going off in the middle of the night like, a week before the 31st
you’ll pass out with the sound of firecrackers going off alllll night

since parties weren’t my favourite things (i’m all for socializing and giggling with friends, but preferably somewhere quieter, less crowded, less sweaty, less smelly, less expensive…), my friends and i decided to go to the l’escape reality event held by UBCLE and UBCRC. it definitely lived up to its expectations! good puzzles and scary effects, at one point we were even blindfolded and tied up 😮 and even though we didn’t manage to escape in the end, we still had looots of fun! 10/10 would recommend.

say goodbye to the spoopy season, and say hello to wet leaf piles, boots, puddles, warm sweaters, toques, hot cocoa, and the reason why we call this city “raincouver.”

i should really invest in a raincoat, actually.

things i am not looking forward to:

wet socks. wet clothes. wet hair. wet books. wet bags. wet everything.
cooooold
getting sick?? please remember to drink lots of water and wear lots of layers!
exams. deadlines. grades.
so much greyness

things i AM looking forward to:

curling up with a mug of hot tea and marathoning studio ghibli films (who’s with me, y’all?)
an excuse to wear sweaters ALL. THE. TIME.
getting all these assignments over with, finally
have i mentioned hot drinks?

my advice for everyone this november is to bundle up in layers! wake up earlier if you have to, even though i know the bed is warm and inviting and soft and waaarm… on second thought, don’t think about the bed. just get up. trust me, it’s better than running for the bus or running through mud to your class because of those extra five minutes spent hovering between dream and wakefulness. (if you doze off in class, make sure to sit behind someone bigger than you??)

ultimate advice for surviving in raincouver: do not. under any circumstances. foRGET YOUR UMBRELLA.

this is me. without an umbrella. heartbreaking, i know.

don’t trust the weather forecast. don’t trust the view outside your window. don’t trust the sun peeking from behind the clouds. don’t trust anything or anyone. trust only your umbrella. trust me, as someone that has already made this fatal mistake twice already, and had been drenched from head to toe as a consequence (and i call myself a vancouver native?? i have shamed my umbrella and spare umbrellas).

that’s all for this slow and late update on becky’s adventures at ubc. i hope you all stay healthy and awake for your exams! have a good one, and tune in next time to see if becky survives this perpetual grey vancouver seems to live in half the year.

’til next time~

Month: November 2015

stress eating, nap taking, and rude awakenings.

november: sweater weather and so. much. rain.