Archives: Events

Car-Free Vancouver Day

On Sunday June 14th, many areas of Vancouver went “car-free” for the day. On Main Street for example, instead of the usual congest one sees on the weekend, there was a street festival stretching a few dozen blocks. As a part of the Leave Out ViolencE campaign, I had a booth for PeerNetBC (non-profit organization that provides workshops and training for peer-led groups) near King Edward which was also next to a stage!

There were four or five booths beside the PeerNetBC one and it really goes to show how connected the non-profit/youth-led groups in Vancouver are! I knew the colleague of the guy who was there from Check Your Head (above). One of the Points Youth Media girl beside my booth (below) was the sister of this girl I knew from my organization. One table over, the girl participated in the My Circle program with my friend. And the City of Vancouver ladies two tables away I knew from Youthpolitik and also from presenting a workshop at City Hall a few months  ago. Wow!

For those of you who read the Vancouver 24 Hours newspaper, you probably have seen the cynical comments in “letter to the editor” about how useless Car-Free Vancouver is when it comes to reducing traffic and helping the environment. That part is true, in my opinion. I had to have one of my colleagues drive me over and park a block away to get the board there. A lot of people simply drove as close as possible and parked infront of someone’s lawn. However, I don’t think the value of a street festival-type event such as this should be measured by how much it helped the environment. I saw tons of kids and families there having a blast and I think it’s just a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Not only does it gives non-profit organizations a chance to showcase their services, but also lets merchants/performers promote their products/acts. It sort of adds a little culture and recognition to a city that sorely lacks it. I know I would’ve spent the day couped up at home if it wasn’t for Car-Free Vancouver.

QOTW: Do you think there should be future Car-Free Vancouver Day’s? Have you been to other street festivals?

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Tedx Terry Talks 2009 Applications Open

Got a message from the lovely folks over at Tedx Terry Talks. Get in the action everyone!

CAMPUS EVENTS FORECAST #4

Got something to say? Apply to TEDxTerry talks 2009.

Imagine the University’s most fascinating and engaging students coming together for a day to give the talk of their lives, share ideas, and discuss their visions for UBC and the world.  Now imagine being there, on October 3rd 2009 at the TEDxTerry talks 2009, an independently organized TED event, watching this unfold.

This event will provide a platform from which to communicate your passions and desires with your peers. Apply now to participate in Terry talks – deadline for application is September 15th 2009. For more information, check out www.terry.ubc.ca/terrytalks.

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Pensive

Lately I’ve been caught in a whirlwind of ‘je ne sais pas’. Everything just seems to be happening, happening, happening, and I’m almost losing in touch with myself. I felt LESS busy back when I still had two jobs. *sigh* But the oddest thing is, when I settle down and blog and think about what exciting things happened in the last while, I come up with nothing at all. That is not to say that people or events are dull, but rather I’m going through the motions and the daily grinds mechanically without any thought whatsoever. To quote my dear friend Andrew, “losing the conscious thinking, becoming such a daily routine”.

Well, this blog entry is to just let you know that I’m still alive. I’m hoping that by actually writing things down, I’ll add a little more meaning to my life.

Hmm, speaking of life meanings, I went to the Me Inc AMPLIFY workshop the other day (aha! So exciting things did happen, maybe I just have a horrible memory). Great speakers. Amazing PowerPoint slides (especially the last one). Powerful messages about what to do in life. Sign up for the conference if you haven’t already! Matt Corker, who hosted my Sauder Frosh back in September, was one of the speakers. We’re both bloggers so I had to go over and introduce myself afterwards. We had a nice chat so I’m quite glad I did! Thanks for knowing my name Matt!

ALSO ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to involvement, THIS IS THE MOST EXCITING TIME OF THE YEAR ON CAMPUS. Almost every organization is hiring for the coming year so get out there, update your resumes, and APPLY APPLY APPLY. Rejection are no fun (I’ve had one already), but the experience is worth it.

CAMPUS EVENTS FORECAST #3

International Business Club AGM [Facebook Link]

IB Club

Description in ten words or less: wonderful guest speaker, election of executives, events overview

My two cents: You’re all probably aware of my non-creepy adoration of the International Business Club already. If you’re not coming to show your support for the wonderful folks who brought you State of Gateman Address, World Cities Night, Language Groups and Emerging Economies, or the future execs who will bring you even more goodies, at least come for the food, mingling, and o!m!g! election!

Food: Dinner will be provided.

Other info: Tuesday, March 17th 5:00-6:30, Irving K. Barber 261.

I’m calling it a night. Slept at 5AM yesterday and adrenaline’s all about gone.

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BizzComm SpeakOut Public Speaking Contest

So there I was, all dressed up in business formal and (literally) killer patent heels, standing in front of an audience of a hundred in the Ponderosa Centre, ready to launch into the speech that I have been working on for the past month. Why do I subject myself to the scrutiny of the public, the shaky nerves, and the horror known as Impromptu Speech? Because I actually find it VERY. VERY. FUN. *cue fangirl squeeeeee*

SpeakOut 2009 by UBC BizzComm

UBC’s Business Communication Club hosted a public speaking contest this past Thursday called SpeakOut – the first of its kind on campus in almost a decade. We went through an auditions round earlier in the month where they narrowed it down to six finalists. We then paired up with professional Toastmaster coaches and practised our speeches with the topic “The Next Great Idea”.

I passed along my two complementary tickets to my parents, as it has become kind of a tradition for them to attend all my speech contests (and give me their brutally honest opinions). The room was set up with a dozen or so round banquet tables and seated about a hundred. I along with a few of the other finalists got there early to test out the lapel mics. The event was heavily sponsored by CGA (Certified General Accountants) hence we had a wonderful keynote, John Noonan, from CGA to talk to us about the fascinating nuances of public speaking.

SpeakOut 2009 by UBC BizzComm

The competition itself was AMAZING, mainly because all the finalists were talented in so many different ways! A big congrats to Samantha (Sauder ’09) for winning the competition! You rocked girl! And a big congrats also to Roy (Sauder ’11) for winning People’s Choice!

What I Liked

  • Classy atmosphere in the room – each detail was meticulously attended to, such as the flowers on each table, the banners etc.
  • Amazing keynote speaker
  • Transparent judging criteria
  • Awesome pamphlet introducing all the speakers
  • Giving complementary tickets to finalists was very thoughtful!
  • GREAT FOOD – salads, bread, lasagna, pasta, CHEESECAKE <3
  • Smooth information flow – the BizzComm execs knew exactly what they were doing and kept us in the loop all the way since the audition round
  • Starbucks cards taped under random chairs was a nice touch
  • Opportunities to network with CGAs at every table!
  • No technology malfunctionings that I was aware of (they even video taped the audition speeches!), well done guys
  • Nice incorporation of promotion for Style and the City

SpeakOut 2009 by UBC BizzComm

Points for Improvement (personal opinions)

  • One more mic would have made the transition process smoother
  • Voting ballots for People’s Choice were not collected from at least one table
  • Postpone voting for People’s Choice to perhaps after dinner – hmm… I understand that it’s nice for people to vote when the speeches are fresh on their minds, but it’s easy to be heavily influenced by the last Impromptu speech (though the last one just happened to be my favourite!) when the evaluation should’ve have been about the Prepared ones as well
  • Now to be just a little harsh on the dear contest chairs… it would’ve been nicer – since this is a public speaking contest – if they didn’t read off a piece of paper when introducing the speakers. But seriously, they already went above and beyond what many other clubs have done in terms of a professional events, so no complaints!
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AMS Election Winner Predictions

I just voted. Go vote!

I’m surprised that there hasn’t been any formal betting going on as to who’s going to win the UBC AMS elections of 2009. Here are my predictions (not necessarily who I voted for … in most cases actually, I like rooting for the underdog).

  • President: Blake Frederick will beat Alex Monegro by a hair, unless enough commerce kids are rallied to get off their blackberries for a second and vote. I wish Paul got involved with the AMS earlier. Charisma + experience = success.
  • VP Academics and University Affairs: Johannes Rebane, with Sonia Purewal as a close second thanks to the condorcet voting system
  • VP External: Tim Chu, because his facebook group has double Iggy Rodriguez’s number 🙂
  • VP Administration: Tristan Markle, followed by Crystal Hon who try as she might would not awaken the “silent majority”. Kommander Keg will draw a significant number of votes and inspire a revival in future ams elections.
  • VP Finance: Tom Dvorak, due to prettiness (haha OH GENEVIEVE!)
  • Board of Governors: Andrew Carne for sure, call it intuition, everyone else iffy
  • Student Legal Fund Society: no idea, half the candidates didn’t even bother sending in write-ups for the AMS page, are we talking about activism here?! To quote Genevieve, “It will be the six people that manage to get all of their roommates to vote for them”.
  • Voter-funded Media: UBC Insiders takes a huge chunk out of the money pot for its long establishment. The Devil’s Advocate and The Radical Beer Tribune draw similar number of votes. The UBC Spectator falls a nice fourth and AMS Gossip Guy is swarmed by crazy GG fans dressed in skanky private school outfits and red tights, never to be seen again.

Don’t want the chips to fall this way? VOTE TODAY.

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