The start of a dream; the start of a new beginning.

Holy crap!!

Can you believe it? I’m wondering right now, where our freaking summer has skittered off to. This whole summer, has basically been university prep and saying goodbye to friends, and now that both are officially done, you wonder…what now? Well, I guess the next step is moving in. But damn, did that ever come fast.

So the past week has been crazy. As mentioned before, Katy took me on a wild adventure around campus. We started by exploring Dene, which, to my suprise is pronounced “deh-NAY”. The floors were pretty deserted, but I did meet a few people that moved in early, including my advisor on the first floor. We sat around Katy’s super single and talked for a bit, planned out our day, even admired her two pretty fish Blair and Sarina (and if you’re thinking it’s a gossip girl thing, you are absolutly correct).

Our first stop was the UBC bookstore. So before we went to the carding office we decided to check out some of my books. For those of you who have yet to buy their books, prepare yourself. Buying my textbooks, may have been one of the most painful things I’ve ever had to do. After looking through the columns and columns of books and throwing them in the basket, I cashed my visa for over 800 dollars. Made me sad how someone could put a pricetag of $150 for 100 pages, paperback.Ces’t la vie. Guess people weren’t kidding when they told me University is expensive.

Next I waited in line to get my UBC ID and upass. It wasn’t a long line, thankfully. Seriously look good for this photo. Because they weren’t kidding when they say that picture stays with you for four years. Word of advice? Don’t try anything fancy. Stick with a look that you know is simple and makes you look good. I really wish I knew this beforehand. I decided to get fancy and try and flare out the ends of my hair. Well, by the time I got their, my hair was a semi waved mess. Majority of the ‘flare’ flattened so I was left with something nasty. Also smile. Show your pretty teeth. Don’t grin, don’t NOT smile, and definitely DON’T smirk! I have this thing, where everytime I smile, my left eye squints a bit more then my right. I thought a smirk would fix this problem, but it only made it worse. Needless to say, my kind british UPASS man told me I looked high in my photo. That’s great. Nothing looks better then a messy haired stoner kid as your University ID pic. Blah.

So afterwards, we stopped by fairview to pick up Katy’s forgotten UBC ID, and then with like 50 pounds of books to carry, we took the shuttle to Dene and dropped them off. We still had much to do, but we couldn’t bear carrying them around everywhere we went. It was murder for the shoulders. So we threw those in her room, chilled a bit, had a breather, and we were off again.

We realized we were actually starving, so we went to the subway in the SUB (haha!). Ordered footlong veggie subs, since we’re both vegetarian, and had some more conversations. Shortly afterwards we departed and the campus tour ensued. We checked out the rose garden, a bunch of buildings where my classes were being held, and the Irving K barber Centre I think? The “Harry Potter Room” is as amazing as people say it is. Check it out, it’s legit.

So its like 7 PM by this time, we’re so exhausted, we make one last trek to Dene. We sit around, talking about our experiences in highschool, some good reads, and afterwards realizing that I bought two of the same book. That was upsetting. I took care of that yesterday though so it’s all good. My sister came to pick me up, and me and Katy parted knowing how much of a great day we had.

The next few days I bought the rest of my belongings, and I’m happy to say everything is packed and ready to go; excluding posters for the walls. The bedsheets were also a pain but I managed to grab the last one at Sears today. Huzzah!

Which leaves me anticipating tomorrow morning. Moving into Totem is gong to be huge. A giant shock to the system. But I know it’s going to be something to remember for a long while. I’ll be moving in around 11 AM tomorrow, so if anyone wants to come visit me in 132 Dene, don’t be hesitant! My door is open, and all visitors are welcome!

Off to bed ! I seriously need to stop writing these blogs past midnight. Night!

WHOA.

Lets start with that phrase right there. It’s a pretty intense word. But then again, so is the chapter of my life right now. The Hamiltonian in me is lost and confused right now, but the Vancouverite is rejoicing and screaming at the top of it’s lungs.

My flight, was like any other flight. Normally when I fly out to Vancouver, I’m immensley happy and im stoked for weeks of excitment. This time, I should say was no different. Actually thats a lie. I was happy, I was, but the puffy eyes from the phone call before boarding may have caused the emotional discomfort I felt the whole time. I made use of my unlimited long distance and gave one of my best friends a last Ontarian phone call. It was like saying bye all over again; have I mentioned that I’m really bad at those? It probably didn’t help that I torentted The Notebook to watch during the first 4 hours of my flight. Nothing special really happened during the majority of the flight. When we made our pit stop in Calgary though, I needed to get off the plane and get starbucks. I was starving. I ordered a parfait (which are MASSIVE), and a green tea soy latte. Needless to say, they screwed up my latte and just gave me steamed soy. I asked for the right drink and I got what I wanted + the steamed soy they made by accident. When I walked on that plane with two ventis and a giant yogurt cup, I got some nasty death stares from the already food deprived passengers. The cabin crew was switched around, and I’m happy to say my new stewardess knew how to cheer me up! She called me her little ray of sunshine, and even dedicated a rap/lullaby jingle to me at the end of her flight over the intercom, something I shall not soon forget!

I arrived at about 11:30 (2:30 ON time), so I was dying because I was so jetlagged. My sister and brother in law went straight to bed, and me and my mom proceeded to unpack all the cold pierogies and cake that I brought from home. My mom insisted that I take it out of the freezer and pack it; as if I didn’t have enough stuff to fit. Can’t go wrong with home food though! I went to bed at about 12:30, thankfully.

I woke up and made my way to the balcony. I was greeted with this beautiful sight.
Welcome to my view at my sister’s house. With all the gorgeous weather Van has been getting, how can you not appreciate such a sight? Next thing you know, my phone is ringing, and I chat with her for two hours.

Over the next few days, I get some shopping done. This includes a variety of food like cereal, snackbars, and tons of tea. Sme personal hygene stuff like febreeze (an absolute must in rez), toothpaste, shampoo, etc. We also picked up a printer at costo thats $60 bucks off. This thing, is a BEAST. It prints, scans, compies, faxes. It has wireless connection, video card ports, and printing speeds that will blow you away. For $120 dollars? Why not. That leaves me with stuff like bed sheets, decorative stuff like posters, and organizational tools like whiteboards and pinup sheets.

Also as mentioned before, my phone has been off the hook. I’ve talked to 7 people from Ontario already, a few of them more then once. With the convo’s that we’ve been having, I’m confident I won’t be losing touch with them as I feared. I’m on the emotional teeter totter. But good news is, the hardest part is behind me. Now I just need to keep those damn priorities straight.

Anyhoo! I’m off to bed. I need to get this three hour time change in check. I wake up too early for my tastes, yet im perfectly fine going to bed super late. Not only that, but I also have a fun filled day of adventure with your Dene TPRA Katy Burtinsky! This entails a tour of Dene, getting my ID, cheking out all the books I need, a tour of campus and seeing where allmy classes are, lunch, and whatever else our imaginiative youn minds can think of.

I’ll let you know how it goes! Night!

Currently 1:33 AM. I’m writing this entry instead of sleeping because I won’t have the time tomorrow ! And why is tomorrow such an important day you make ask?

Mark Antczak flies out to Vancouver.

But before I start rambling about the thoughts running through my head, I need to get this introduction out of the way! Not ! I actually discovered that one of the widgets does this for me. On the right hand side of your screen, you’ll see a little section that provides you with fun facts about moi. If you have any other questions about me, throw them my way.

So back to the freak out part. I have under 16 hours until I leave my safe haven, and start my new life adventure. Exciting, yes. But right now I feel like that kid in grade 8, who has his first day of highschool tomorrow. We’ve gone through change our whole lives, yet it’s one of the things that we can’t get used to. Is there anyone who wouldn’t be nervous about something like this; even though you know in the back of your head it’s going to be one of the most amazing experiences you’ll ever have in your life?

Give it 3 weeks at most. You’ll notice my posts will have a much happier vibe to them, not all this worry nonsense. I couldn’t prevent even if I tried !

But for the most part, I’m packed, and apart from the nerves I’m ready to go . Almost all of my bye’s have been said, I have my laptop loaded with movies for the plane, and even a new book to break the seal on the bookless summer I’ve had.

I need to keep this short and sweet. I’ll make sure to give you guys an update on my flight and itinerary before the move in!

Night!

p.s. Anyone have the mug group Hawthorn, 26? Let me know!

The Infamous 4, SADM

Glancing at my title now, Im thinking I probably should have called feelings, worries. I firmly believe after saying goodbye to a very important person in my life yesterday, moving to BC is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. People warned me, specifically my sister, that I’d be leaving people behind. I thought none of it. Its weird, because you take everyone around you for granted, until you realize how big of a difference they make in your life.

It can be the simplest of things. An easy 4 letter acronym, SADM, for example, can be more important to you then spending time with your parents, or can bring all the best memories into your head. I am talking about close friends of mine: Sarina, AJ, Danielle, and Mark. These three are by no means the only people I will miss, but when we are all together, we do crazy things that make you think preschool. If you can even imagine this scenario, after waiting in line for over 6 hours into a Lulu Lemon Athletica warehouse sale, we went to one of my friend’s house just to sit around, have chats, and play some guitar hero. An hour into this, harmless doodling on my friends leg with sceneted markers turned into a full out marker fight. That night, everyone was marked up with unmentionables except me, I somehow got away. That didn’t stop all of us from uncontrollable hysterics at 1 in the morning though. Think it through, do you really think that such things can still happen in university? Whether it be coldplay concerts and exploring Toronto, eating dinner and introducing me to UFC at a sports restaurant, or partaking in a bromance, the memories will always be there.

Do not get me wrong though people, this is by no means regret. British Columbia had been in my head for the past half decade. I have accepted the fact that this is a part of life. Time to further spread my wings, and literally fly away. Its impossible to stay friends with everyone that you hang out with in high school. University will simply show who your true friends are, and if you try hard enough (and oh will I ever), you keep in touch with those that matter to you most.

Reversing out of this hard to accept twisted truth, I’ll begin explaining why BC is a good thing. As mentioned, a million times before, its been in my head for far too long. I need change, because frankly, the Hammer is the most boring thing of life. In addition, the people I care most about in this world, are fully supportive and are so happy and proud for me. That justifies BC not being a bad thing. Among a few other unmentionables, some of the second year students that I’ve been talking to have been extremely helpful, and the way they speak of BC leaves me highly optimistic. To name two in particular, Sarah Dash and Katy Burtinsky. Sarah is the one that takes me on kitchen webcam adventures, and sends me pictures of forest fires, my residence, a nice day at kit’s beach, and even my future starbucks through bbm. Katy on the other hand is the enthusiastic RA that only wants to help. Since both of them are from Ontario as well, it’s easier for me to relate and level down with them. These two are keeping me on track.

Oh, and I dont think I’ve mentioned the Olympics yet. Once in a lifetime experience much?! Its so convienient that they occur my first year, of all years. I may even be volunteering around UBC for some of the events.

So I just got hit with a giant bag of tired, so this blog is being cut short. I received a whole 3 hours of sleep last night (If I’m lucky) and woke up to doodles and quotes all over my stomach. As I go start the shower, I’ll leave you guys a piece of advice that I have learned through months of anxiety, tears, and words of wisdom. Life lessons are inevitable. They can seriously suck, but go with the flow. Try not to worry, and keep your priorities straight. Your friends act as the water that help you grow, and the roots will always be there (unless something really scary happens and you’re uprooted), no matter what.

Ttyl ! I promise my next blog will be a nice formal introduction, silly facts and all. For all you know I may be some creep that hasn’t even been admitted to UBC !

p.s. The picture I’ve uploaded shows me and the other three that I’ve been raving about. To explain the awkward stances that we’re taking, I quote Dani; “It’s not about us being ugly, it’s about our lovin.”

I remember, almost a year ago when I first discovered the blog squad. It was the time when our grade guidance counsellors were throwing advice and facts in our faces, getting us prepped and pumped for university. It’s crazy sitting in front of my lappy writing on the blog myself. Lets see if I can fill these shoes.

So back to my story. The whole grade started the crazy university research, tried deciphering the course codes, determining requirements, etc. What made me different then the vast majority, was my real choice; Beautiful British Columbia. As it turns out, it’s because of my sister, that I discovered the province. She moved to Vancouver about 6 years ago, and in turn, it was inevitable that I visited.

I remember exactly when it happened. It was grade 9, it was both me and my mom’s first time flying out to visit Marlena (sister) after her move. They decided it would be a great experience if we travelled around, namely Tofino and Whistler. It was in August, and the first day we did some shopping on broadway and hung out at kit’s beach. Me and my mom were definitely noticing that we weren’t in Hamilton Ontario anymore. Next on the agenda was the island! We rented this cute little cottage for a few nights, and my brother in law Andy decided to take me surfing. The heart strings were being seriously pulled at this point. I remember the four of us all took a walk along the beach. The tide was up, and the waves were gently crashing, the moonlight and stars were shining, and the rocky edges and peaks of the shore perfectly framed it all. Looking back at the beauty, the serenity, and then noticing the giant smile on my face 5 minutes later, made the gears click into love mode. I knew I wanted to make British Columbia a part of my future. Whistler was like the icing on the cake. Taking the gondola to the ‘Peak to Peak’ station was nothing short of insanity, in the good way. Looking around at all the towering mountains made me want to whip out my camera and take postcard photos. But really, how can you not appreciate that?

Time to fast forward a bit. In the course of the next 3 years more university research was done, I visited a few more times to whistler, and explored the city. (If you’ve never been the Vancouver aquarium or planetarium, I INSIST you do so. It’ll make your day). Oh, and I discovered the University of British Columbia *cheers and  whistles*.

December 2008 was when I applied to UBC. Disbelief and anxiety from the parents, excitement and optimistism from me. Fast forwarding like 5 months, I got to choose from the follow schools. Beside it is also the reason why I declined the offer.

Lakehead Univerrsity (Thunder Bay) – Doesn’t have the highest rep, 2 hour PLANE ride from home!

Brock University (St.Catherines) – Nothing special, your average Joe school. I’d rather not commute either.

York University (Toronto) – Considered, but not a fan of the campus. It looks like a giant city made of steel. Homey.

University of Toronto (duh) – Strongly considered. Great residences, awesome programs. It’s just not BC though.

University of Victoria (Victoria) – It was scary how close I came to accepting the offer. Beautiful campus, beautiful town, decent dorms. But a ferry ride away from the only family I had in the province.

Vancouver Island University (Nanaimo) – Never visited, so cant comment much. But it was still a ferry ride away.

University of British Columbia (Vancouver) – Among the giant novel written above the school’s list, it was closest to my sister, I was most familiar with it, and it was my first choice from the start.

I really didn’t mean to write this much. But blogging isn’t you’re average formal writing. I write what comes to mind, then branch of any ideas that may be thought of. The plan was to write this giant entry on how UBC came into my life, what I feel about it now, less then 3 weeks before moving out, and why I’m sticking to the plan, just more in depth.

Its already past midnight and I have an opening shift in the morning at work, whoo! So I hope you enjoy this first entry, and you stay tuned for the other two parts of this blog. Oh, and maybe an introduction? I probably could have started with that instead. Alwell.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave any, creep me on facebook, or even add/email me at mark.antczak@hotmail.com.

Night! And blog ya later. :]