Month: September 2007

Categories
Personal Recreation

Disqualification Nation

DISQUALIFICATION! WOOO!

That’s right, my Longboat team was disqualified, and it is entirely my fault. Don’t worry, we are really quite okay with it. On the awesome side, our race was against MacKenzie’s team (that’s right, Blog Squad MacKenzie!) and her team WON! Yay MacKenzie!!!

Actually, I had a pretty good time, besides the whole waking up early to freeze my butt off part. (It was rather frigid.) I was my team’s navigator, so I basically yelled at everyone and steered our boat. Though, by the first turn we were pretty far behind. Actually, we were so far behind that they started 2 other races while we were still in the water AND we finished with a whole other heat, so we were DEAD LAST. On top of that, I didn’t steer us around the last marker (I was cold and tired and just wanted to be on land) so we were disqualified. Sorry, Wicked Waves.

Now I want to sleep. Longboat makes me ache…in all the right ways.

Categories
Academic AMS International Recreation ResidenceLife

It’s Raining Men (whee hee!)

Ah the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, place where I spend most of my study time on the computers or sitting in the amazing Ridington Room. It seems this is the second entry I’ve written here. I just find the atmosphere so…blog-worthy.

Anywho, it’s raining. Hard. I don’t think I could begin to describe how much I love the rain. I love it so much that I walked about in it this afternoon without a raincoat, umbrella, or hat. I look like a drowned rat. Seriously, you should see me in all my sopping glory, you’d laugh. I wish more people shared my love of the rain. Live in California for a year and you’ll miss it. It rarely rains there. Here it’s so refreshing.

I don’t know if you’ve heard, through the channels of Blog Squad or all that hot campus gossip (I sincerely doubt the latter) but I now have a boyfriend. His name is Max. Yes, it’s true that Blog Squad has somehow managed to not only bring a group of ten amazingly articulate and interesting students together, but it has also made a couple of two of its members. Everyone seems to find this to be rather cute. I, well we, beg to differ. I don’t know what we are, but it’s not cute. Anyway, yes. Sam and Max. In a relationship.

So I am currently taking all of two classes. This is because I am in Arts One. I don’t know how familiar you are with Arts One, but basically we read a book, discuss it at great lengths, then go off and write an essay about said book. That essay is then handed out amongst our professor and three of our peers so we can go into a tutorial session and have our work critiqued. I went through that dance last Tuesday, when I sat staring straight ahead as my essay on Genesis was picked apart by those around me, admitting to my faults and answering tough questions on my thesis and writing style until my time was up and I was handed back my essay with a grade, 68%. (Looking into the UBC numerical grading system this is a B-, and who am I to complain about a B-, but it was still a shock.) The whole thing sounds a whole lot scarier than it was. There were some low blows, but nothing I can’t improve upon. Although it still makes me nervous about my next essay.

Besides that I am taking PSYCH 100, which is interesting, but nothing to really write home about.

What else? Clubs Week! I am now a proud member of the UBC Improv Club and the UBC Food Society, though I am a bit concerned about the latter, seeing as I tend to be a bit of a picky eater, oh well, what a way to bring me out of my shell.

Oh! Longboat! Me and 8 of my closest friends, including Max and Cory (both from Blog Squad) are all going to be participating in Day of the Longboat, under the team name The Wicked Wavers! I get to be the navigator, as I have a rather loud voice and like to yell at people. We have training tomorrow, and I am super psyched. I am also going to see Across the Universe on Sunday, so there is a lot to look forward to this weekend.

Part of me hopes the rain keeps up just for the sounds, smells, and sights. But I know I am almost alone in that opinion so, for the sake of everyone else, I hope it dries up!

Categories
Academic International Recreation ResidenceLife

Lost and Found

I am sitting on the grass, beneath the trees outside of the SUB. I have the sneaking suspicion that there is something crawling up my leg, but I am going to ignore that for the sake of my own sanity. I sat down here with full intention to do some reading, as I am already behind in both my classes (Arts One and Psych 100) but instead my mind wandered to my blog…this little window into my life that I keep forgetting to prop open.

It’s hard to imagine that I’ve only been in class a week, as it feels like so much more. Already I’ve had more meals in the Vanier cafeteria than I can count. (The Totem cafeteria is currently a tent with food that isn’t awful, but isn’t all that great, either). I’ve walked all over campus to the point that it actually seems to be shrinking in size. I’ve done laundry twice, dishes once, and cleaned my room, just to have it filthy the next day. I’ve made friends with countless (well, according to Facebook, 55) people. I’ve procrastinated, I’ve wandered about Vancouver, I’ve listened to Canadian friends talk about Canadian (as well as American) politics, I’ve laughed for no reason and danced into the night on the grass (all thanks to Laughter Yoga). To say the least, I’ve experienced more in this past week than I had this past summer.

I am still lost when it comes to how I am supposed to read all this before my essay is due, on how, exactly, Canadian politics work, or the proper drying time for my clothes so I don’t walk around smelling like mildew, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am at UBC for an education, not just one in philosophy and history, but one in life. If I wasn’t so lost now, how could I be any help to those who will be lost tomorrow?

I have learned to approach every experience as one to learn from, and as corny as that sounds, I know I’ll be better for it.

Categories
AMS International ResidenceLife

Observations of University

I am currently sitting in the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre…which has an astounding reading room on the third floor, if anyone is interested. I’ve just had my first day of classes (which was really just one class, seeing as I only take one per day, lucky me) Anyway, I am going to try and just basically, quickly, go over the past couple of days (which should not be easy at all) to give you the jist of my first real experiences of UBC life. Actually…I think I would rather make another list of things I’ve learned thus far.

1. Dorm showers take about 20 minutes more than the ones at home did. First of all, there are those bothersome floors, which your feet can’t really (or shouldn’t really) touch, so you’ve got to go about washing them while wearing flip-flops. I made the mistake of not fully rinsing them following soaping and nearly had a breakfast of dorm shower tile. Secondly, there is the whole process of gathering everything you need to take a shower and carrying all the way there…heaven forbid you have to run back to your room. And that whole, not being naked in the hallway thing doesn’t help, either.

2. Campus life never really shuts down. There aren’t true quiet hours. There are always people to meet, places to go, things just to do that it is rather hard to be bored, this I like.

3. Professors, in general, and this is a big general, are pretty cool people. Well, they are pretty smart, in the least. Already my brain has ached from new knowledge, I’ve laughed at one of those lame first day jokes, and basically wanted to know who is teaching me. School is different here than it is in the states…though the true details are subtle ones. I enjoy this learning environment more.

4. Making friends is easy. Not much else need to be said about that.

5. The AMS and all those other student-run societies are just that, student run, and basically everyone in them is nice and helpful enough to listen to any questions or thoughts you have. Oh, and all the people that used to intimidate you back in highschool, the teachers and the older kids, they become your friends.

6. There is a lot more, but I think I will close with one final observation…you can fall asleep practically anywhere and not worried about someone messing with or stealing your stuff, but you can lock your bike up with a $100 lock and not trust it enough to go more than a few buildings away. This worries me, as I rather like my bicycle. [EDIT:  From the opinion of a very astute older friend, ALWAYS watch your valuables, even in the library they are never really safe unless they are strapped to something very hard to steal or you are in complete control of them.]

So far I have only been impressed with UBC. It’s all rather romantic in it’s complexity. I look forward to getting to know every secret, every little detail, by the end of my time here.

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