Month: September 2008

Banned Books Week!

Did you know that Banned Books Week started yesterday? It always falls at the end of September, with libraries and book stores putting up displays of books that have been banned or challenged, all in the spirit of the freedom to read. I know last year the UBC Library had a big display, tracking news stories of book bannings and marking each banned book with why it was challenged, and I sincerely hope they do it again this year.

Some truly amazing literature has been challenged in the past and most of my favorite books are in that mix. Actually, here is a list of the top 100 Banned/Challenged Books from 2000 to 2007 from the American Library Association (click the link to see it)

Personal ResidenceLife

This is just to say…

Just about an hour ago,

Max and I baked our first loaf of bread together in our tiny, tiny oven.

…and it was delicious.

Wellness

:)

Please visit this site:

CLICK HERE!

Thank you.

Personal Spirituality

Poetry

I think in the deepest, darkest, little spot in the core of both my heart and soul I am a poet. I can spend hours pouring over the work of Plath and Eliot, trying not to cry from the truth and beauty hidden in all those little stanzas and words. I simply cannot shut up in Poetry class, and I walk around afterward, lost in a haze of meter and rhyme. Sometimes little quips hop into my head and stay there, so I pace about repeating them aloud, seeing how I can tweak them (for an example, see this entry). I understand that, while I can be a poet, I cannot make my life as a poet. This is disheartening. Sure, I can teach English, which would include some poetry, or I could just forget my lofty little dream and move on to advertising or law and make lots of money, which I might do from necessity and drive. I’m still not even sure what I am majoring in…

What I do know is that this blog is mine, just as this passion is mine, and I have decided to combine them thusly. And so, from now on, every now and then, I will be posting some of my poetry. You don’t have to read it, you don’t have to tell me it is awesome or terrible, or anything like that. I just want to express what is inside me while I still have an outlet to do so.

So, to start, here is Scattered.

He lives a life of questions with no answers,
ideas bigger than this narrow little house,
with stairs that curse like they might do you in.
His thoughts are reflective,
fireworks across the night sky of his mind
equations I could never comprehend.
Sometimes he talks.
I listen with my mind a little in the trees,
I wish there was more I could say
My thoughts are scattered across the floor.

Tags Poetry

AMS International

Club Craze

As Max and I were walking to AMS Club Days I was wondering if I would join any clubs at all. Last year I joined both Improv and the Food Society, but wasn’t all that great of a member, with little club involvement. Imagine my surprise when I walked out of the SUB, just over half an hour later, having signed up for seven clubs. Yes, seven clubs. They are (in order of joining):

The UBC Debate Club – I joined this because I did some debate in high school and liked it, also Max was really into it, and I thought we could go to meetings together.
Yanks Anonymous (an American Politics Club) – I joined first off because I am an American, I love American Politics, they were registering people to vote, and selling Obama t-shirts. (Which I now own one of)
The English Students’ Society – I am an English Student, they publish “Uprooted” towards the end of the year, which is the closest to a literary magazine I’ve seen on campus.
The Philosophy Student’s Society – As I am now taking Existentialism and pondering the world with Max, I felt this was a natural step, plus I got a cute little pin that reads, “While you are reading this pin, I am pondering your existence.”
The NDP (Canada’s Social Democrat Party) – This one was mostly to support Max and the party. I can’t personally vote, but I like the NDP, and I like what they stand for.
The Freethinkers of UBC – Again, this was mostly to support Max. I don’t know too much about the club, but the guy we were talking to about it seemed really passionate about the club and Max was totally sold.
The Film Society – namely for the discount, and the ability to be a projectionist, something I’ve always wanted to do.

I know I won’t make it to every meeting of every club, but I am excited for this year. Most of the people we talked to at the fair seemed really passionate about their clubs, and I think I could use that sort of passion in my life.

Wellness

something jotted

I cannot be
a wafting leaf
between earth
and tree

Tags Poetry

ResidenceLife

I Heart Fairview

Okay, so last year you heard me talk about my former home, Totem Park, and how it’s not really all that different from it’s counterpart, Place Vanier. This year I am back in rez, but in Fairview, which I can honestly say, is quite different than Totem.

First off, Fairview, by definition, is different. Fairview is one of many suite-style residences on campus, meaning several roommates live in one unit and share one common area (living room, dining room, kitchen), as opposed to Totem and Vanier, where you have your own room on a floor with a cafeteria close by. Though, Max and I are not living the true suite-style life here in Fairview as we are, awesomely, staying in a one bedroom unit. Don’t get me wrong, I think I would enjoy sharing a place with 4-6 of my closer friends, I just prefer to share a place with my best friend. We’ve made our own little nest, the walls are decorated, everything put away, and we’ve already had our first Dungeons and Dragons game here. But back to Fairview…

I think what I have found I love the most about Fairview is the atmosphere. I feel like we live in a rustic little ski village nestled in the forest. There are squirrels and spiders and everything in between. When I look out my window I see trees and grass and my fellow Fairviewians going about thier business. Everyone in the commonsblock is warm and welcoming and seem earnestly interested in how our lives are going. No longer do we have to venture into the basement to do our laundry, we just take a short walk outside. The Beanery is GLORIOUS, with it’s fantastic food and friendly staff (Max and I have had peach smoothies there everyday for the past WEEK). We have a kitchen, which we use to a great extent, making all sorts of dishes, from Shepard’s Pie to Rice Krispie Squares. True, the walk from Fairview to Buchanan that I make each and every day isn’t always fun, but it’s a good pre-class wake up, and I can already tell I am getting healthier.

Don’t get me wrong, Totem Park gave me the perfect first year experience, immersed in student life, living and breathing and learning about what it is to be at UBC. I miss Totem, and the friends and fun I had there, and I see the same potential in Fairview. The people are just as open and friendly, the events just as welcoming and fun, and the atmosphere, is, if anything, a little bit more open. I feel as though I am living on my own now, surrounded by support, should I need it, but basically left to my own responsibilities and duties. This is a very nice feeling.

I am really quite happy with the way things turned out. Max and I have made a nice little life in our nice little home, and I owe all of that to Fairview, and it’s ever present coziness.

Personal Spirituality Wellness

Year One

As of today, Max and I have been together for one year. I am the single luckiest, and happiest person in the world from that fact alone. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been fun. I love him more than I ever thought I could love a person, and I owe it all to UBC, and Blog Squad especially.

Then:

: Max and I, just days after first meeting, one year ago.

Now:

: Max and I in Washington DC this summer.

I can honestly say that I have never been happier.