(Written by the Place Vanier A-Team)

Here are a few tips for the post-midterm blues shared by Michael Griffin, the professor in residence in Totem Park.

Don’t let the midterm define your year!

Doing poorly on a midterm can be scary for those who have never failed before, but make sure to remember that university standards are significantly higher than in high school. Recognize that you didn’t do as well as you wanted, but don’t dwell on it. Move on quickly and think about how you can improve for next time.

Make a plan.

Decide what went wrong this time, and figure out how to improve for next time. Maybe you focused on the wrong material, or your study methods weren’t effective. Regardless, use this midterm as a learning opportunity! Usually it’s still possible to get a good grade, despite a bad midterm.

Go to office hours.

Most profs and TAs are willing to go over the midterm with you. Don’t be embarrassed! Before you go, make sure to prepare some specific questions so the meeting will be productive. Also, remember to be respectful at all times and don’t go in with the intent to argue for marks! Sometimes, professors are willing to give you opportunities to make up for the grade, if you ask nicely. Try to take away lessons about content and methods of studying!

Talk to academic advising.

Especially in exceptional circumstances (e.g. sickness, family emergencies), academic advising can advocate for you if you did poorly on a midterm. This can take the form of an official note to your professor, future academic concessions, or various other ways that can help you succeed academically moving forward.

So you bombed a midterm. Don’t let this one midterm bring you down. University is hard, but despite common belief, your average doesn’t have to drop 30% from high school.

Until next time,

The A-Team

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By: Noelle (Residence Advisor — Tweedsmuir)

Step 1: Find out your partner’s address and your own address. Your mailbox number/address is on your Welcome Package that you got on Move-In Day.

Step 2: Get a box.  You can buy one from the Post Office in the SUB or you can see if anyone in your community has a spare shoe box.

Step 3: Go to Shoppers, the bookstore, or even Save-on-Foods and buy small gifts to fill the care package. Consider inexpensive but thoughtful items that fall under the following categories:

a) Needed items. Ex) Warm socks if it’s cold where they are, or tissues if they keep telling you about their runny nose.

b) Souvenirs. Ex) Pictures of where you are or a UBC keychain.

c) Food. Seriously, food. Who doesn’t love free food? Ex) Snacks for studying, goodies that they like or something that you have baked especially for them (as long as shipping time is no longer than a couple days and the item isn’t extremely perishable/squishable).

d) A letter or hand-written note. It is just nice to tell them how much that they are missed or how excited you are to see them next.

e) Pictures. Attach a collage of pictures of you two together to bring back memories. Find these pictures on social media, on your computer, or on your phone.

f) Seasonal decorations. Ex) Stickers or items that they can use to jazz up their room, if they also live in residence.

g) Cute jokes, pick-up lines or paper captions that explain why you packed an item. The cornier, the better! Ex) Item: Arctic Rush Tictacs. Message: I’ve got an Arctic Rush Crush on you.

Step 4: Decorate the box. Inside, outside or both! Attach pictures, hearts, messages, pet names, inside jokes or whatever else makes you happy!

Step 5: Write both of your addresses on the box and use packing tape to seal all edges.

Step 6: Send at the Post Office and notify the recipient that a package should be arriving at an approximate date, so that they may wait in anticipation. What a great thing to look forward to after a stressful week!

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By: Kevin (Residence Advisor — Mackenzie)

Ever wanted to try a new cuisine but didn’t know where to look? Crave some late night foods but already had Dominoes every day this week? If you’re like me and love to eat food (from the cheap all-you-can-eat type to the finer, but more expensive and exotic tastes), try the following places that I’ve personally had the pleasure of taste-testing:

Tapas:

The Denman Taphouse Restaurant (Downtown Vancouver)

Every Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays are $6.49/lb wings special (with the purchase of any drink) and personally, these are the best wings I’ve ever had. If you crave spicy food like the Bobby wing from WINGS, then ask for an EXTRA SPICY pound of Denman’s Scorcher. As a bonus, the chef may give you a free pound, should you finish it! My personal favourites here are the Teriyaki Sake and Jamaican Jerk.

Suika Snackbar (West Broadway)

This delicious restaurant looks a bit bland on the outside when you see through the 99 bus window, but the inside is filled with unique decorations and a welcoming staff.  Although the prices are a bit higher and the portions a bit smaller, the food is of the upmost quality. The must try dishes are the negitoro (onion + tuna) tartar, grilled sable fish, and kakuni (pork belly) bibambap!

Late Night:

Ramen House (Kitsilano)

If you arrived late on residence past 8pm and are thinking about delivery, I would recommend Ramen House (the name is misleading, no ramen or Japanese cuisine here) for their lamb skewers and juicy pork dumplings (Xiao Long Bao); for some reason they always give us 8 when we pay for 6 of these but I never complain.

No. 9 (Richmond)

If it is past 11pm and you are lucky enough to have access to a vehicle, then your best option would be to grab a couple of friends and head over to Richmond for a satisfying meal at No. 9 Restaurant. It has an extensive menu ranging from BBQ duck and chow mein to burgers and fried chicken. However, it is best known for its large (one dish will make me uncomfortably full and is enough to fill two regular sized stomachs) authentic Chinese dishes. My favourites here are the Honeymoon Fried Rice and Beef Brisket (sub broccoli). BONUS:  it’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and according to their website, they also do delivery (no personal experience with this).

All You Can Eat:

New India Buffet (West Broadway)

My favourite place for Indian food is in Delta (which is pretty far) so the best and closest to UBC would have to be New India Buffet. It’s best to come here for lunch since it is cheaper and I have not found a difference between their lunch and dinner menus. Being an all-you-can-eat buffet, get ready to stuff up with sweet saffron rice, tasty butter chicken, and unlimited gulab jamun (the tastiest dessert ever).

Kyo Korean BBQ and Sushi House (Granville)

Come here for lunch and you won’t be disappointed! Their menu is approximately $15 for all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ and Japanese cuisine.  They offer aburi (lightly seared) salmon and tuna, as well as an interesting deep fried mochi (sweet rice cake) stick. I prefer the BBQ chicken and beef (you grill it yourself), and I had a strong desire to eat their honey garlic potatoes but they were out of stock—try it for me and let me know!

Everything Else:

G-men (Richmond)

If you like instant noodles, why not try the real dish—they’re based off of an authentic restaurant like G-men Ramen. Basic shio (salt) is actually very filling and if you like peanuts, try the tan-tan ramen—the broth will blow you away! As with all ramen that I order, no meal would be complete without the delicious marinated eggs (I get two) and if you like them runny, try an Onsen egg.

Kamei Royale (Downtown Vancouver)

This place is located upstairs and is quite spacious, known for their healthy options such as imperial sushi rice, but I come for the view and other tasty entrees. This place has the most flavourful miso sable fish (black cod) in Vancouver and if you’ve never tried this dish, this should be the first and only place that you go to. Highly recommend: the lobster miso and heart blossom rolls.

Stepho’s (Downtown Vancouver)

The most affordable and largest portions of Greek food you’ll find anywhere—this place is so popular, the lines are out the door and on the street on most nights. To beat the lines you can make reservations for parties of 6 or more; check out the Robson street location or order take-out and enjoy a meal on the pleasant outdoor tables offered by Davie Street. If you do manage to stop by here, a must try is the roast lamb, avgolemono (chicken and lemon) soup, and dolmathes (meat and rice stuffed in vine leaves) BONUS: Everything on the menu basically comes with complimentary rice/pita/tzatziki, as if you weren’t full enough.

Cazba Restaurant (Downtown or West Vancouver)

My friends introduced me to this place a while back and I became an instant fan. The names are not very descriptive of the dishes so I would strongly recommend taking a look at their website before visiting either location. The entrée with the best value (and in my opinion also the best taste) would have to be chelo kebab koobideh (ground beef kebabs with rice/salad and a roasted tomato) and tahdeeg (crispy rice).

Ag Gu Jung (Downtown Vancouver)

I was craving Korean food (BBQ pork belly, in fact) and was headed towards my favourite spot called Pork Belly Beer House (that name I know) but unfortunately, when I arrived, the business appeared to be permanently shut down. However, not to return hungry, I managed to find another Korean restaurant up the street called Ap Gu Jung and have made it a favourite ever since. The Jap Chae (sweet potato noodles) and bulgolgi (beef and vegetables cooked on a hotpot in front of you) are a must try! BONUS: Your meal comes with 3 Korean appetizers: spicy kimci, crunchy seaweed, and (the best ever) honey garlic potatoes—don’t forget your free refill!

Memphis Blues BBQ (West Broadway)

If you like to eat meat, love BBQ sauce, and don’t mind messy fingers, then Memphis has it all. Their platters are the best way to sample a little bit of everything and will satisfy 4, 6, or 10 people! The Memphis Feast includes 6 different meats and 4 different sides and fries, but my favourites from the platter were the rib ends, pulled pork, and corn bread.

Hope you enjoy trying these foods as much as me, and if you know of a great place to eat, let me know!

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By: Taylor (Residence Advisor — Korea-UBC)

I am an Acting major. You do not encounter us particularly often, because within the UBC community of approximately 50,000, there are only 42 of us in our entire program.

On a typical day, I wake up at 8:15 for a 9am class, throw on some comfortable clothes, fill a water bottle, and then I am out the door and off to Binnings. All of our days start with an individual warm-up, which allows us time to check-in with ourselves. As an actor, you are often told to “leave your issues at the door,” so I take this time to acknowledge any physical or emotional issues I that may be having that day so they do not catch me by surprise while I work.

We then move on to group warm-up, followed by a variety of exercises, depending on the focus of the day. Our week is split into three elements: Voice, Movement, and Acting. We are currently learning about body alignment, breath, and the aspects of storytelling. Each day is different, and every day comes with its own challenges.

We finish in the Studio at 1, and after class I like to spend an hour practicing, to help cement what we learned that day. Then, I will have a quick lunch and buckle down to do work for my other classes, as we are required to take 48 credits outside of theatre. I personally enjoy Linguistics, but it can be difficult finding courses that fit into my schedule. Online courses have been a blessing. When I have time in the evening I like to go out and watch live theatre; as an artist, I think that it is so important to support the Arts. Then I head to bed, wake up and do it all again the next day!

Sometimes I am asked why I have decided on a career that can be so difficult and uncertain. I think that I am looking for the same thing that every other UBC student searches for – fulfillment.  When I tell people that I am an Acting Major, they often look at me questioningly, not seeming to understand that they could not ask me a single question that I have not asked myself a hundred times. I have chosen this career path because it is my passion. I consider myself so lucky that I get to spend my university days, and hopefully the rest of my life, pursuing an avenue that gives me joy.

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By: Jon (Residence Advisor — Mackenzie)

Lifeguarding: what’s not to love about it? Sure, the people you have to deal with sometimes aren’t the greatest (I don’t know who your child is, lady!) and we get a lot of flak (No, it’s not my fault the hot tub is broken, please stop getting mad at me), but it’s the little things about the job that I love.

For instance, working outdoors on a non-Raincouver day is just awesome. Being out in the sun for an entire shift is quite relaxing, especially when it’s a quiet day at the pool. Teaching, although not a favourite of most, is something that I enjoy and find an extremely rewarding experience, especially when you work with someone for so long and they finally do it right! I also love turning those “I don’t know how” moments into “This is so much fun” moments! Sometimes it’s fun to just be mean and do the distance swim all class.

Either way, there’s always something that somebody finds great about being an instructor, and that’s all AWSI and WSI really are—finding the style that effectively fits you. When it comes to the actual guard courses, however, there’s not much to them. Take them seriously though; imagine that all the simulations are real. You don’t want to be stuck out on deck with something happening and have no idea what to do.

What you need (Some courses may be bundled together, check with the pools!):

o   Swim Kids 10 or Equivalent (All pools offer an adult equivalent if you don’t have it. Make sure to check with them if it’s the one for AWSI)

o   Bronze Medallion

o   Bronze Cross

o   Assistant Water Safety Instructor (AWSI)

o   Water Safety Instructor (WSI) [Recertified every two years]

o   AWSI and WSI are Red Cross and are meant to be the same internationally

o   Standard First Aid [Recertified every two years] and CPR-C [Recertified yearly]

o   National Lifeguard Service (NLS) Pool Option [Recertified every two years]

o   NLS Waterpark [Recertified every two years] (Optional, depending on city)

o   Lifesaving Instructor (LSI) [Recertified every two years] (Optional, depending on city)

So you’ve taken all those courses, now you’re looking for a job. Good! UBC Aquatic Centre is almost always accepting resumes, so make sure to keep asking the front desk! Also, keep an eye on city website job postings around February—that’s when applications are typically being accepted by cities—and, like always, make sure your resume is up-to-date, cleaned up, and ready for submission (I missed out on 1.5 years of guarding because I forgot to put First Aid on my resume…).

The application process typically revolves around these steps: 1) Resumes submitted, 2) Candidates are contacted for skill screening (strut your stuff), and 3) A formal-ish, dry interview. None of these are very stressful if you go in with a good attitude and try to have a good time.

Remember, everything is a learning experience! If you want to get a chance to network with the aquatics community, during the summer, Lifeguard Competitions are a fun way to get involved in the community, so keep an eye out! It’s the best and most fun way to meet your future supervisors.

Good luck everybody and happy hunting! Any questions? Come find me in Mack 110 and I’ll be glad to answer them!

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