Monthly Archives: February 2015

By: Maximilien Azorin

For reading week, some residents of Vanier took the opportunity to go home. Not only did they enjoyed finding their good old bed or the video games they didn’t manage to bring to Vanier, they were more importantly CRAVING for a home-made meal that only mamas and grandmas know the secret!

Everybody in Vanier knows that eating is one of the most important parts of the life of a student after, well, school! Some well deserved sushi after a long day of intense studying are always a great (and cheap!) way to reward yourself! But how can you ask your palate to make you feel better when you’re eating the same food day after day?

The amazing folks from the Place Vanier Residence Association fortunately saw this coming and were, as usual, on top of their game to welcome everyone back from reading week on Sunday evening, gathering house councils and offering free food from all over the world! CRAVING Italian, French, Korean or Mexican? All of these nationalities had a stand in the commonsblock offering delicious (sometimes even hand-made by your lovely RAs) dishes! A great way to welcome everyone back from vacation!

But what about the rest of the year, when you’re fed up with the chicken strips you have been eating in the past months at the Vanier caf? Well, eat something new! Every day the Vanier dining hall is putting in incredible efforts to renew their array of food, so that they can offer as diverse food as possible! By the way, they really hope you’ll be keen to try everything! More importantly, the Vanier food committee opened once again to hear all of the feedback YOU have for the food in Vanier – and they want to hear it!

So, as the French say, Bon appétit bien-sûr!

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By: Maahin Ahmed

It was almost noon and the traffic on the Main Mall was dense. Thousands of students shuffled between classrooms—some of them rushing to opposite corners of the campus, some brushing past in a flash as they swiftly crisscrossed their way around the crowd on skateboards, and yet others juggling their coffees, breakfasts, and cellphones as they walked to their first class of the day. The girl in the red scarf shoved her notes and books into her backpack, pulled the hood of her jacket over her head to avoid eye contact with anyone, and hurried out of the classroom to join the herd. Bits of overheard conversations, parts of the lectures from the day, and her own thoughts constituted a cacophony inside her head.

Her gaze fixed on the ground, she walked with quick, short steps and made sure to stay exactly within the straight lined pattern of the tiles that lined the pathway. The straight lined pattern was akin to how she had always understood life—orderly, with clearly defined rules and norms that everyone accepted and no one questioned. The straight lines on the pathway felt like the right way to follow; just the way she had always known the right path in life. Indeed she drew a fair bit of adulation from friends and family for her sense of clarity and judiciousness. She based her judgment of right and wrong on the unquestionable social, cultural and religious beliefs that she had grown up with. Conformity to preconceived beliefs was, somewhat paradoxically, empowering for her—following the rules made her feel in control of her life. It was as if the rules helped her retain her sanity by protecting her from daunting thoughts like finding a purpose in life or finding a meaning in existence. In other words the rules that she lived by had become an end in themselves rather than a means to an end. It is not surprising then that walking along that straight lined pattern was inexplicably comforting.

She continued to walk along the straight line, trying to ignore the now almost deafening voices in her head that told her otherwise. What she did not realize, as she plugged her ears to disassociate with the voices inside her head, was that when life has a lesson to teach, it does so in peculiar ways. Just such a lesson was waiting for her a few strides down the infallible straight line of tiles. The pattern of the pathway changed, the straight line of tiles disappeared, and instead the tiles were now set in place in a disorderly manner. The disappearance of the straight lines only increased her frustration—it seemed to signal the impending victory of those malicious inner voices that had been telling her to abandon the straight line all this time.

Perplexed and deeply uncomfortable though she was, she imagined her straight line of tiles within that disorder and continued to walk on it. Nonetheless, the physical absence of the straight line of tiles meant that she could not fix her gaze on the ground anymore. Hesitantly, she looked up and around; she started taking in her surroundings. Somewhat unconsciously the pace of her steps was beginnings to decelerate, and she observed the herd that she was a part of. The crowd, the motley crew that it was, was comprised of people of all colours and creed. She thought of all the different shapes and sizes of noses, ears, hands and feet that she caught a glimpse of, as people hurried past her. She was trying to consolidate her thoughts about the heterogeneity of the people around her, and the confusion and discord that inevitably accompanied that heterogeneity. At the same time, she could also feel a mysterious sense of harmony in the crowd—something that everyone had in common held everything in place. At this point she realized that individuals in the crowd were walking in several straight lines, some parallel, others intersecting, and each individual had their own imagined straight line—a unique version of the right path.

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by: Carrie Borowy

While living in residence, sometimes the meals that the dining hall serves up get a bit repetitive. Below is a compilation of ways to spice up your food in the dining hall, and a few simple recipes that you can cook in the microwave!

Hack your breakfast: Coffee cup Quiche:

• 1 egg
• ½ tablespoon milk
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• ¼ of a piece of bread/bagel
• 2 teaspoons cream cheese
• ½ slice of ham

Beat egg and milk together with a fork in a coffee cup, adding salt and pepper to taste. Tear bread into dime-size pieces; stir in. Add cream cheese; stir in. Tear or cut prosciutto into small pieces; add to mixture. Microwave on high for 1min 10 seconds, or until done. Enjoy!

Make your own parfait in the dining hall:

Use one of the plastic drink cups instead of a bowl and make perfect layers of whatever you like. You might have to walk around to different stations to get all your ingredients, but switching up at breakfast can be a nice change of pace. Consider adding yogurt, cutting up your own fruit, and snagging some cereal from the cereal station.

Hack your lunch: Coffee Cup Chilaquiles:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sharp cheddar cheese
• 5 tortilla chips, divided
• 1 tablespoon salsa
• Sour cream
• Queso fresco
• Chopped green onion

Beat egg and milk with a fork in a coffee cup, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add cheddar; stir to coat. Break 3 or 4 tortilla chips into small pieces to fit in the cup; stir into the mixture. Add salsa.

Cook in the microwave for about 1minute and 10 seconds. Garnish with tortilla chips, sour cream, queso fresco, and green onion.

Bored of the salad dressing choices? Whip up your own.

• Lemon, Honey Dijon vinaigrette
• Oil
• Vinegar
• Mustard
• Salt
• Pepper
• Lemon
• Honey

Add each ingredient to taste, and toss over your choice of veggies.

Coffee cup mac & cheese

• 1/3 cup pasta
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup 1% milk
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine the pasta and water in a large mug or bowl.

Microwave on high for two minutes, then stir. A lot of times the water will overflow while it heats up. It is OK if this happens. If you don’t want it to overflow just make this in a very large microwaveable bowl.

Repeat this for at least 2 to 4 more minutes, stirring at each 2-minute interval. The water should absorb completely and the pasta will be cooked through. If the pasta needs another minute it is okay to add one more teaspoon of water and microwave for another minute.

Remove it from the microwave and stir in the milk and cheese. Microwave for another minute. Stir the cheese thoroughly into the pasta and eat up!

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By: Diana Varga

This year, UBC Rec will host its 37^th annual Storm the Wall – a UBC tradition where students swim, sprint, bike, run, and then scale a 12-foot high wall in front of the SUB. Last year, the event attracted over 3,000 participants, creating around 720 teams. Some competed in teams of 5, while others chose to face the challenge of the course alone. However you choose to participate, you are certain to enjoy this unique experience and the feeling of accomplishment that comes along with it when you and your team (or just yourself!) finally make it over the wall.

Once you have formed a team, you will have to register online and submit your roster. You and your team will then select a mandatory pre-race clinic time that works best with everyone’s schedule. It is recommended that most of your team, if not all, attends the pre-race clinic. During the clinic, you and your team will receive valuable information regarding the structure of the race and the day of the event. Furthermore, you and your team will also get to practice climbing over the wall. There are many ways to scale the wall, so use your clinic time wisely to figure out what works best for your team in preparation for race day!

Even if you are not interested in participating, you will likely find yourself running into Storm the Wall participants racing beside you on your way to class or to the SUB for lunch. It’s difficult not to get pulled in by the high spirit of surrounding students. Many students enjoy watching from the sidelines and cheering on their friends in between classes, so feel free to show your support and join the high energy crowds!

One of the most entertaining heats to watch is SuperIronPerson, where competitors complete the course and scale the 12-foot wall entirely on their own. Last year, only very select few students were able to complete the SuperIronPerson heat.

There are 7 different heats to choose from:

Just for Fun Heat – Grab your friends and have fun completing the course as a team.

Female Competitive – Grab the ladies and make a team of 5 to complete the course as fast as you can.

Male Competitive – Grab the guys and make a team of 5 to complete the course as fast as you can.

CoRec Competitive – Make a team of 5 and complete the course as fast as you can.

Ironman Competitive – Guys, take on the challenge of swimming, sprinting, biking, and running all on your own, and then storming the wall with the help of one other person.

Ironwoman Competitive – Ladies, take on the challenge of swimming, sprinting, biking, and running all on your own, and then storming the wall with the help of one other person.

SuperIronperson Competitive – Challenge yourself to do the entire course yourself, including the 12-foot wall!

Storm the Wall presents a great way to get involved with UBC rec and show your school spirit with your friends.

Interested in participating? Don’t forget to mark these important dates in your calendar!

Storm the Wall registration deadline: Friday, March 13^th 2015.

Mandatory Pre-Race Clinics: Monday, March 16^th to Friday, March 20^th 2015

Team Roster Submission Deadline: Friday, March 20^th 2015

Storm the Wall Event Date: Sunday, March 22^nd to Thursday, March 26^th 2015

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By: Kai Williams

I once walked in someone’s shadow, and it took me a few months to realise that I didn’t know who I was. I was lost. Lost in the shadow of someone I aspired to be. I told myself that I had to be as talented and as funny as the individual who I compared myself to daily.

It’s very easy for us as human beings to strive to be like those who appear to be more successful, more popular or even happier. Although I believe that we are able to learn valuable lessons from the lives of others, we often reach a point where we know so much about others, yet so little about ourselves. And so, sometimes, we either lose ourselves trying to chase someone else’s dream or walk in someone else’s shadow.

A shadow usually emerges when an object hinders a ray of light. In this situation, the “object” was the individual who I compared myself to, and I tried to emulate her behaviour by religiously following her shadow. I was completely oblivious to the fact that she blocked my view of the light, until one day, I stopped and I realised that the light which I could not see was a symbol of truth and joy – two elements which had been absent from my life.

Therefore, I now know that for as long as I live, on I will find people who are more academically inclined, people who dance with more grace or even run faster than I do, and that’s okay. We can’t all hit the high notes and shatter the same wine glasses. Someone has to sing tenor or alto. Someone has to play the instruments while someone else has to direct. Hence, a violinist and a pianist cannot be compared because each has a different role in the orchestra. Each human being is an instrument in the orchestra of life.

Love yourself. Embrace yourself. Appreciate yourself. There is no one in the world exactly like you. Therefore, you are valuable.

However, if you still want to compare yourself to someone, here’s my advice. Compare the person you were yesterday to the person you are today. Do not walk in the shadows of others, rather embrace your own light, and create your own shadows.

So this week, look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I am beautiful, and I am strong. I am neither superior nor inferior to my peers and I am bold enough to face all my fears”.

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by: Ernest Mintah

Let’s put them walking boots on

We’ve all been there and we’ve all been tempted to take the Campus shuttles or drive to places that we could easily walk to without much stress. Melanie Ludwig, owner of Prestige Fitness, suggests walking a lap around the buildings that you have classes in before class starts. For a 68-kilo typical student for example, walking for 40 minutes at a pace of three miles per hour burns 200 calories. Calculate how many calories you burn from walking from Vanier to the village, now aggregate that over a year!

Get them chores done!

For most of us, those 8 or 9 am classes are a real rush for us mortals. We can easily fall into the convenient bliss of having a messy room. The early morning rush to class means that your bed is left unmade and your clothes are scattered around your room. The absence of the mum factor leads us to, at times, live in our mess without anyone to tell us to clean up. But if you desperately need to take care of the mess in your room, burning calories is a great incentive to get those chores out of the way!

Have no fear, you now have an incentive to do your chores: Burn calories and staying active. Light housework like doing laundry, burns 170 calories an hour and you get the added benefit of having your clothes all clean and smelling great. You might just find that long lost shirt you thought got lost at that party! J

Put on your dancing shoes

Everyone needs a good dance session now and then. What better time to have one than while you’re doing dreaded chores?

“Need to clean you room? Put on some music and get a swifter duster and voila!” Ludwig says. “You will be dancing while cleaning and not even notice that you are really exercising.”

You’ll be able to burn calories, have fun and cross off your to-do list in a breeze. Just 40 minutes of dancing can burn 200 calories – smooth moves not required!

So crank up some fast-paced songs like “Wake Me Up” by Avicii and “Alive” by Krewella and channel your inner Beyoncé!

** Inspired by: “12 Easy Ways to Burn 200 Calories (Without Exercising!)” found at http://www.hercampus.com/health/fitness/12-easy-ways-burn-200-calories-without-exercising

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By: Jesh Barrun

Remember the beginning of January when you were setting all those goals for the New Year? Going to the gym every morning, waking up in time for class, getting readings done ahead of time. 2015 was supposed to be the year where “new year, new me” actually meant something. Well forward to February and let’s see where those dreams are now. If you’re one of the seemingly rare people that still have your goals and motivations intact, then that’s great – keep it up! But, if you’re like the rest of us –people who commit for a week then go back to old habits – then maybe it’s time to do a bit of a check-in, don’t you think? Here’s some tips to (hopefully) get you back on track with those goals you had!

1. Remember why you came up with those goals to begin with. You must have had some reason for each goal, no matter how small. Maybe you just forgot along the way, or the everyday busy-ness of life made you lose sight of your intentions. Take some time to revisit why each goal is important to you.

2. Take it step by step. You’ve probably realized by now that one big, abstract goal like I’m going to be better at time management isn’t just going to happen. What you should do is think about real palpable steps you can take. Going from the time management example, maybe a first step could be buying a calendar or day to day agenda, and a second step could be making a list of priorities. Thinking of and pursuing smaller steps make your main goal that much more digestible. Take enough steps, and before you know it, you’ll reach the finish line!

3. Visualize your goals. Actually seeing the end point that you’re trying to reach might help. Stick your ideal image on a wall in your room, or maybe put up a picture of one of your personal heroes. Visualizing is an easy reminder to keep your motivation up.

4. Tell a friend. Yes, motivating yourself from the inside is important but telling someone about your goals can help keep you accountable to your word. Additionally, a good friend would give you encouragement and maybe even some much-needed pep talks! It’s harder to give up when you know there are other people there rooting for you to achieve your goal. That friend might even be willing to join you in accomplishing a similar task.

Well, those are my four tips to try and help you get back on track for those New Year’s Resolutions. It’s never too late for you to go back to try accomplishing your goals. One last thing to remember: make sure to be consistent, patient, and hard working – your success will come soon enough!

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By: Niklas Agarwal

In some regards “sustainability” is just another buzzword created by the same people who thought of “environmentalism” and “eco-friendly.” It is a feel good word, but what does it really mean?

In 1987 a groundbreaking report was released by the UN titled “Our Common Future” describing sustainability as a process that “that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” As is no surprise to most people, at the current trend that we are going at we will not leave future generations (or this one) the ability to meet their own needs. Sustainability is often referred to as three pillars: Social, Economic, and Environment. To truly live in “sustainable” world we have to balance all three.

Residence factors into this because recent data from Campus Community Planning has revealed that residence is responsible for 21% of all energy on campus, 13% of water, and a significant portion of waste. Living in residence is when most people learn life patterns that they will follow throughout their lives. That is why it is imperative that we change our behaviour and our peers’ behaviour in this portion of our lives. Here are some tips/ideas on creating a more sustainable lifestyle in residence:

1. Get your Eco-To-Go card and use it frequently. Not only do you get a discount off your food, but you also help reduce waste and promote a culture of sustainability. You can get your first card for free by going up to the Dining Hall office by the dessert station.

2. Learn how to #SortItOut. UBC is pushing to achieve 80% diversion by 2020. Right now we are at 50%. You can see a simple guide here: http://sustain.ubc.ca/campus-initiatives/recycling-waste/sort-it-out/what-goes-where

3. Take shorter showers! Try to limit your showers to 5 minutes. Pumping water takes a huge amount of resources, so let’s try to limit it. When others see you taking shorter showers it will also affect their behavior – selective peer pressure!

4. Join the sustainability committee in Vanier! Ask your RA to get involved. You can collaborate on a larger scale to create behavioural impact here in Vanier.

5. Turn off those lights. Not only in your room, but in the floor lounges when no one is using them.

6. Say hi to your floor! Behavioural change does not occur in silos, and if we don’t have connections that target sustainability in multifaceted approaches, nothing will ever change. Social sustainability feeds into everything.

7. Check out the toolkit to get more info: http://sustain.ubc.ca/get-involved/students/sustainability-residence/sustainability-residence-toolkits

8. Lastly, come to Place Vanier Sustainability Week! Not only will you learn new things and get free hankies, but you’ll have the opportunity to participate in a residence advisor auction! All the proceeds will go to Forest Ethics which seeks to protect BC’s prime wilderness.

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