Author Archives: pwettlaufer

10 Fun Things to Do in Vancouver for FREE

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by Ahmadreza Farsaei

Have you recently moved to Vancouver? Are you an international student? Do you want to find more information about Vancouver? If your response to any of the previous questions is “Yes”, then I strongly recommend the followings. They are not only fun but also will expand your knowledge about one of the most beautiful cities in the North America.

  • Visit Granville Island

o   Once home to some serious industry (hence its former name, Industrial Island), Granville Island is now one of the best places for families to experience Vancouver.

  • Hang Out in Stanley Park

o   Stroll along the sea wall, picnic on the greens, smell the roses…it doesn’t get much better than Vancouver’s pride and joy.

  • Hike the Grouse Grind

o   The famous Grouse Grind hike is a must-do for outdoor enthusiasts. Your legs might hate you afterward, but the views at the top are incredible. Walking is free, though many hikers like to pay the $10 for the gondola ride down.

  • Walk around Canada Place

o   This is simply a great place to relax and watch the cruise ships glide into the city. Plus, the photo-ops are fantastic.

  • Visit the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

o   Staying here might cost a pretty penny, but it doesn’t cost a cent to check out “the Grand Lady,” which has become a verifiable tourist destination for its distinctive history and architecture.

  • Window shop at Vancouver’s best shopping areas

o   Robson Street, Yaletown, and Commercial Drive…the city’s shopping neighborhoods give new meaning to “shop ’til you drop.”

  • Richmond Night Market

o   During the summer, this Chinese night market is free and definitely worth the trip to scope out (and dig into) fried squid, fish balls and Chinese knick-knacks.

  • Wander around Lynn Canyon

o   This is one of Vancouver’s most popular free activities. Hit the hiking trail, and be sure to brave the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge for epic views.

  • Visit Vancouver’s free museums

o   The city’s handful of free museums (BC Golf Museum) and learning centers (Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre) offer a great way to spend the day without spending money.

  • Visit the beach

o   Vancouver’s quintessential beach experience presents views of the mountain, water, downtown core and forest – all absolutely free of charge.

Healthy Study Snacks

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One common issue that students face at university is managing appropriate eating and snacking patterns. With a busy schedule, it can be difficult to fit in time to grab a full meal, but leaving long gaps between meals can leave you feeling low in energy and unable to focus. If this sounds like you, read on to find tips about how snacking can help you feel and live better!

 

How much is enough?

  • This will vary person to person, so listen to your body. I like to stop snacking when I’m no longer hungry but I’m not yet full.

Will late night snacking make me gain weight?

  • Eating at any time of the day or night can lead to weight gain. Any excessive food energy will be stored in your body, which may lead to weight gain.
  • If you tend to get hungry at night, consider eating dinner later, or check out one of the healthy snack options below.

How to choose a good snack

  • A good snack should contain 2 of the food groups in Canada’s Food Guide:
    • Vegetables and fruits (ex: grapes, baby carrots, cucumber, orange, bell pepper, or berries)
    • Grains (ex: whole grain crackers, oatmeal, cereal, or toast)
    • Meat and alternatives (ex: hummus, nut butter, bean dip, nuts, or canned fish)
    • Dairy and alternatives (ex: low-fat cheese, 2% milk, soy milk, or yogurt)

Snacking on the go

  • Pack snacks the night before and remember to bring them with you.
  • A small, leak-proof container and Ziploc bags can be helpful for carrying snacks.
  • When choosing a pre-packaged snack, go for options that are higher in protein and fibre. Both of these nutrients will help keep you fuller for longer.

Movies and TV Shows Filmed at UBC

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We all know that our university is one of the best for a variety of reasons and one of those is that many of our favourite movies and TV shows were filmed on campus!

Location 1: Iona Building

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UBC’s Iona building is disguised as a building at Harvard University the popular TV show Fringe, as seen in the picture above. Another TV show filmed in Iona building is Psych where the the building acts as a mental health facility.

Location 2: Chemistry Building D-Block

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You’ve probably noticed that the Chemistry Building is a popular film location, but what exactly are they filming? TV shows Psych, Fringe, Supernatural, Caprica, Stargate Universe, and movie Kingdom Hospital are just a few. The image above is a shot of two characters of Caprica on their way to court.

Location 3: Chan Centre

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UBC’s beautiful Chan Centre was featured in several movies such as Battlestar Galactica, seen in the image above. Other movies include, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Kyle XY, Antitrust, Human Target, Bionic Woman, and more!

Location 4: Walter C. Koerner Library

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Walter C. Koerner library was featured in both TV shows and movies! Some examples are The L Word, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica (seen above), The Butterfly Effect, and 88 minutes. So the next time you find yourself studying away in Koerner, just know that you may be sitting on the same chair that Ashton Kutcher sat on.

Location 5: Irving K. Barber Learning Centre

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Irving has been featured in the hit TV show Fringe as a Boston Federal Building, Massachusetts Port Authority, and a part of Harvard University. It’s also features in Emily Owens, M.D. as the exterior of Dever Memorial Hospital. You might also have recognized the foyer of the library in Human Target, as seen in the image above.

 

Location 6: The Buchanan Towers

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The Buchanan Towers have also been a popular film site in the recent years. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, seen above, along with Supernatural, Fringe, The 4400, and the Exorcism of Emily Rose were all filmed in or outside Buchanan!

 

Location 7: Rose Gardens

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The UBC Rose Gardens have been a popular site for filming in both the summer and the winter. For example, lat summer Tomorrowland, featuring George Clooney was being filmed by the Rose Gardens. Other movies and TV shows include The 4400, Battlestar Galactica featured in the image above, Martian Child, Stargate Universe, and The King of Fighters.

by Shazia Damji

Planned Happenstance – Embracing the Opportunities That Come Your Way

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In today’s society, many students are told to “follow your heart” or to “do what you love and the rest will follow”. However, these words can seem empty and vague for those who know how competitive the job market can be, especially as an increasing number of students are emerging with university degrees all over the world. When going through the motions of life, there is often a tendency to think that in order to achieve success, students need to move forward in a logical, linear direction. But what exactly is the “correct” decision to achieve success? What happens when your “game plan”, the plan you have worked towards your whole life, is no longer an option? What happens when a problem or life-changing situation occurs to you or the people around you, and your plans need to be drastically altered? Indeed, it can be quite devastating to find yourself feeling panicky and lost when you have calculated out your life to the tiniest detail, only to have those plans derailed.

Moreover, in a world with thousands of job possibilities and schooling opportunities, students are often pressed for time. With the engrained notions that “you should finish school as soon as possible” in addition to “keep going to school until you figure it out”, it can again, be stressful to think about life passions and “doing what you love”, when students are pressured to choose something right away. As a result, many students end up concentrating on one field, and often, this choice occurs more out of necessity, rather than through a student’s enjoyment or genuine interest of the field. While in a whirlwind of lectures, papers, research, volunteer, work, family, friends, and having a social life, sometimes it can be a struggle to find out what your true passion even is because of the daily grind of everyday demands.

With all of the above in mind, how can students become successful, happy, and find a career path in something that they enjoy? According to Mitchell, Levin, and Krumboltz (1999), the answer is Planned Happenstance. This theory emphasizes upon the role of chance, and taking advantage of unplanned opportunities that come along. This theory suggests that “by engaging in effective behaviors, students can turn chance events into productive opportunities by developing skills in areas like curiosity, persistence, flexibility, optimism, and risk taking.”

Here are some tips from UCalgary (which is mixed in with some tips of my own) for using planned happenstance to your advantage:

1. Explore things that you are curious about: hobbies, occupations, school subjects. Try a new activity, or look up that occupation that you are interested in, check out volunteer opportunities, attend a presentation on a topic that interests you, or take a course in an area new to you, either for credit or for fun! Increasing your exposure to more things will increase the likelihood of discovering exciting opportunities.

2. Be open-minded and flexible to new experiences: Don’t let fear of failure, indecision, or a bad first impression throw you off from exploring opportunities, both big and small. Perhaps you will find one or two experiences to be very enjoyable, and these experiences will lead to something in your future. Of course, the opposite can also happen, where the opportunities that come our way don’t match our perceived “ideal”. In that case, great! Now you know that at least you have tried it, and probably won’t do it again in the future. It’s all about the experience.

4) Be optimistic: assume good things may result from accepting unexpected invitations, attending networking events, and trying new activities. You might meet new people with common interests through work and volunteer, and make some great connections by being open to the different types of people and places you will go.

5) Take risks and get involved: It’s not always comfortable to contact people to ask them about the work they do, or to apply to a job, or to travel to somewhere new, or attend a networking event where you may meet important people. They pay off (meeting someone who can help you with your career planning, being offered a job, experiencing the adjustments of traveling and discovering more about yourself as you do, and learning about your career options), however, is worth it!

6. Accept failure as success: Sometimes situations or risks you take will not work out in the end. And that’s okay. It can be due to bad timing, luck, lack of experience, or perhaps it was not the right fit for you. Just remember that every experience is a learning experience, and that you have grown and uncovered more about yourself and your preferences because of it. If you think of things in this light, then you will not regret anything that you have done.

Lastly, remember that YOU are the one who is responsible for yourself, so something to think about as you venture through your university years is getting out of your comfort zone and taking initiative in bettering yourself. If you are constantly working to discover new things, you are also on your way to discovering yourself and what the world can offer to you.

Mitchell, K., Levin, A. & Krumboltz, J. (1999). Planned happenstance: Constructing unexpected career opportunities. Journal of Counseling and Development, 77, 115–124.
Planned Happenstance. UCalgary, n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014.

by Eva Chan

TED talks are coming to Vancouver!

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The Vancouver move, my favorite talk & the 20 most popular talks

For the last few years TED has become a regular talking and reference point for me with all the new and innovative ideas being shared by extremely talented people. I’m especially excited for the conference this year (in March) because it is being held in my home town of Vancouver! In celebration, I want to share the reason why TED decided to move, some popular talks that anyone new to TED can watch to learn what all the hype is about and share my personal favorite talk.

TED has spent five years in Long Beach, but have decided to try a new space in Vancouver, a city that’s itself an inspiration — cosmopolitan, energetic, innovative, yet with unrivaled natural beauty, surrounded by mountains and water. The conference will be held in the recently completed convention center because it is a truly spectacular meeting space in a beautiful, peaceful corner of the city. TED isn’t moving to accommodate more people — in fact they’re slightly reducing audience size. Vancouver was chosen because it is a venue that can do even more to inspire creative thinking and dynamic ideas.

So what is TED all about? Well with over 1600+ posted talks, each representing an idea worth spreading, it can get fairly daunting. So below are the 20 most-watched talks as of December 2013 which anyone new can use as starting point to see what it’s all about. What really makes this list so incredible is the fact that it spans so many areas of interest, from education to happiness, statistics to creativity, tech demos to illusions. This list revels in the wonders of the human brain, as well as in the incredible creatures of the deep sea, and far beyond.

Sir Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity (2006): 23,510,221 views
Jill Bolte Taylor‘s stroke of insight (2008): 14,343,197
Simon Sinek on how great leaders inspire action (2010): 14,228,854
Brene Brown talks about the power of vulnerability (2010): 12,703,623
Amy Cuddy on how your body language shapes who you are (2012): 12,682,694
Pranav Mistry on the thrilling potential of SixthSense (2009): 12,068,105
Tony Robbins asks why we do what we do (2006): 10,425,014
David Gallo‘s underwater astonishments (2007): 10,266,221
Mary Roach on 10 things you didn’t know about orgasm (2009): 9,435,954
Daniel Pink on the surprising science of motivation (2009): 9,176,053
Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense (2009): 8,363,339
Dan Gilbert asks: Why are we happy? (2004): 7,788,151
Hans Rosling shows the best stats you’ve ever seen (2006): 7,685,726
Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing your creative genius (2009): 7,593,076
Steve Jobs on how to live before you die (2005): 7,223,258
Susan Cain shares the power of introverts (2012): 6,807,240
Keith Barry does brain magic (2004): 6,371,778
David Blaine reveals how he held his breath for 17 minutes (2010): 6,359,084
Pamela Meyer on how to spot a liar (2010): 6,256,589
Arthur Benjamin does mathemagic (2005): 4,951,918

And finally, my personal favorite TED talk, “If I should have a daughter …” by poet Sarah Kay. Her poems rip at my heart strings and inspire me to be a more creative human being. Sigh. I love her. A little about her: A performing poet since she was 14 years old, Sarah Kay is the founder of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool.

I hope this blog and the upcoming TED talks in March inspire you too.

by Liam Loxton

The Clothesline Project

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T-shirt donations are being sought for Clothesline 2014. Please bring donations to The SASC – SUB #249M during centre hours.

Bearing witness to the impacts of violence

What is the Clothesline Project?

The Clothesline Project was started by a group of women in the United States in 1990. Historically, it was a vehicle for survivors of violence to express their emotions by decorating a shirt. They then hung the shirts on a clothesline to be viewed by others as testimony to the problems of violence against women.

As The AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) supports male, female, and trans* survivors, our clothesline is not restricted to only women’s experiences of violence. Through the project, survivors are invited to express their feelings about the physical, emotional, and/or sexual violence that they have survived.

Friends/family/loved ones of survivors, and anyone concerned by the levels of violence in our society are also invited to decorate a shirt.

Clothesline 2014 will be hosted during the week of March 3rd-8th between the hours of 11-3 outside in the space between The SUB and Brock Hall. Please join us and bring your friends!

Creating a shirt. We would like each shirt to reflect an individual’s personal experience or sentiment. You may include memorabilia, dates, or images. The AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre will provide paint, shirts, and other materials. Shirts will be hung on the clothesline to be displayed and to bear witness.

Upcoming self-defense class at UBC

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Following last semester’s on-campus attacks, ensuring student safety is more crucial than ever.
Join Hillel at UBC for weekly Monday krav maga sessions starting February 3rd, 5-6pm, running until the end of the semester. Led by Jonathan Fader, an expert krav maga instructor and the founder of Urban Tactics Krav Maga, these sessions are with the collaboration of Israel On Campus and the UBC Sexual Assault Support Centre. Students of all levels are welcome!

To reserve your spot, follow the link to: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aghub-TERrTWdGhrMkIwS2FFS2FUTDc1dnBjSVh4bFE&usp=sharing#gid=0

$5/session, or sign up for 4 sessions and pay only $4/session. Bottles, pens, and more freebies for the earlybirds!

30 Uses for Bobby Pins (as borrowed by WiseBread)

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Though this article is geared more towards females, males generally know that the elusive bobby pin tends to marks a females territory. Yes, they tend to be everywhere and probably annoy you when you see them – but there are uses for both males and females outside of their usually purpose of styling hair! They can be quite handy 🙂

Here is what WiseBread suggests:

1. Nail Holder
Do you always hit your thumb when you’re hammering a nail? Well, say goodbye to those old (and painful) experiences when you use bobby pins! Take a bobby pin and clip it onto the nail. As you hammer, you can secure the nail without getting your precious digits too close.

2. Toothpaste Clip
If you’re like me, you never get all the toothpaste out of the tube. With a bobby pin, you can keep the empty part empty and slowly move the pin up to get the most toothpaste for your buck!

3. Fish Hook
My dad would love this little bobby pin hack: if you’re in a pinch and fishing, bend your bobby pin into a makeshift hook.

4. Pitting Cherries and Olive
This hack is one of my favorites, as I hate to pit olives! Bobby pins are the perfect size to get around the pits in cherries and ripe olives, especially fresh ones. Just push the ends in, making sure that the ends are on either side of the pit. Push until the ends pop out the other side of the cherry or olive. Grab the ends and pull them all the way through, bringing the pit along with it.

5. Bodkin
A bobby pin is a great substitute for a bodkin. Slip the closed end of the bobby pin through the slit, and then slide the thread straight into the bobby pin. The bobby pin serves to help hold the slit open.

6. Smoking
If you have one cigarette left and you don’t know when you’ll get another pack, use a bobby pin to smoke that thing down to the filter. If you’re smoker in this economy, you can’t afford not to!

7. Tape Roll Marker
I can never quite tell where the roll of clear tape ends, and it takes me a couple minutes to peel the end off of the roll itself. When you’re done using your clear tape, pin it so that you won’t spend the extra time and frustration searching and peeling every time you use it!

8. Hair Styler
The traditional use for a bobby pin is still a good one! Bobby pins can keep your hair looking magnificent in French twists, bouffants, and more. Keep a couple in case your original pins fall out, and you’ll be golden.

9. Nose Plug
This hack won’t work for everyone, but for some a bobby pin will be the difference between keeping water (or smells) out of one’s precious little nose. One’s sense of smell is key, so protecting that nose during a particularly bad trash day or during a swim is super important!

10. Zipper
Zippers are definitely prone to breaking. If that happens on the go, grab a bobby pin and thread it onto the broken part of the zipper.

11. Jewelry
Bobby pins strung on wire or string can be a unique accessory choice — not to mention, a very inexpensive way to show you’re fashion forward. Check out some ways of making bobby pin jewelry here! (See also: 10 Places to Find Affordable Accessories)

15. Hem Helper
If a hem starts coming undone while you’re out and about, a bobby pin can hold it in place until you can sit down and hem it up properly.

13. Nail Art
Love to get detailed when you’re painting your finger or toenails? Let bobby pins help you out! Use the tip of a bobby pin to get those unique nail details when doing patterns like animals, flowers, or stripes. It’s like a professional helped you…but way cheaper.

14. Lock Picker
If you’re like me, you tend to lock yourself out of your own home.

15. Earring Bling
We’ve established that bobby pins are great for jewelry, but you can get even more creative when it comes to earrings. Paint your bobby pins, glue charms to them, and then affix them to an earring base for the most unique look ever!

16. Sew Helper
Instead of straight pins, bobby pins will hold two pieces of fabric together while you sew or put a pattern together

17. Bag Clipper
Instead of buying those giant clips, use bobby pins to keep chips and other baggies closed and their contents fresh.

18. Opening Plastic Seals on Food Jars
I don’t have long nails, and I don’t like to use knives (dangerous!), so opening plastic seals on things can be tough for me…until now!

19. Screwdriver
If you don’t have a screwdriver handy but need to get something unscrewed, a bobby pin will do the job (not quickly, but it’ll work.)

20. Resetter
If you need to reset one of your electronics, you’ll typically need a small pointy object. A bobby pin will do just fine.

21. Diving Practice
Apparently, divers throw bobby pins into pools and go after them to perfect their dives. If you’re training or just looking for a fun pool activity, this hack might be for you!

22. To Short Circuit Electronics
Yes, you can short circuit something using a bobby pin. It’s important to be careful and know that you’re ruining the pin when you attempt to short out an electronic device or outlet!

23. Crystal Holders
Are you really into crystals and want to wear them around town (or at least, not lose them)? Bending a bobby pin into a crystal holder will help you take your crystal from knick-knack to bona-fide jewelry art. For directions on how to make your own talismans, go here!

24. Thread Spool
Wrap thread around a bobby pin to use as a makeshift spool. This tip is great for travel (as many of these bobby pin tips are), and also great if you’re keeping lots of thread together in a sewing basket.

25. Fitting a T-Shirt
If you’re stuck with a baggy tee, use a bobby pin to make the shirt more fashionable and fitted. Simply bunch excess fabric and pin it up. Whatever you’re wearing, you’ll be able to look like a million bucks! (See also: No-Sew Ways to Update Your Wardrobe)

26. Anti-Clogging Device
A bobby pin can easily get inside of a drain if you’re trying to dislodge any hair or other debris. It’s also cheaper and faster than a plumber.

27. Crevasse-Cleaner
Extra putty in a wall or a painting imperfection? Use a bobby pin to clean crevasses that brushes, fingers, and other tools can’t get into.

28. Makeshift Chain
Much like safety pins, bobby pins can make you a pretty strong chain in a pinch. Unlike safety pins, bobby pins you can string together much more quickly for things like necklaces and decorations.

29. Clothespin
For smaller garments, hanging clothes with bobby pins is just as easy as a normal clothespin, but cheaper and more space-efficient. Of course, if you’re drying a comforter, bobby pins aren’t going to cut it. Socks, washcloths and shirts, however, are the perfect size for the bobby pin clothespin!

30. Toothpick
If you need to sample some food but don’t want to touch the samples (or don’t want the samples to be touched by you!) a bobby pin will work just like a toothpick, and sometimes better! Use the pin’s ends as pincers or just stab that piece of food, and you’ll be sampling in style.

by Kaity Lalonde

Dealing with Mondays

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Ever dreaded waking up on a Monday for an 8am class, reaching Starbucks or Tim Horton’s and the line seems never ending, so you leave for class without a hot beverage? Well dread no more! These five easy tips for making your Mondays brighter will allow you to enjoy a better start to the week.

Tip #1: Get a travel mug and prepare your first hot beverage for the day at home. A tea bag, instant coffee, or my personal favourite warm chocolate milk can help you skip the morning rush and then you can get your usual drink after your first class.

Tip #2: Prepare your favourite lunch the night before; this way you have something delightful to look forward to for the afternoon and make sure it’s nutritious an filling to replenish your energy levels. You could even spoil yourself a little by treating yourself to a cookie – I personally love a good lemon bar on a Monday.

Tip #3: Organize your backpack with your books and notes on Sunday. It prevents you from scrambling around early in the morning, wishing you had your mom around to do these things for you.

Tip #4: Pick a really great TV show or movie that you can treat yourself to at the end of the night just before bed. This will keep you at full throttle for the day in excitement of that great relaxing hour – it may help you have some pretty creative dreams.

Tip #5: Smile. A great day starts with the right attitude – so when you wake up, just smile and if you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours! You never know the impact you’ll have on a stranger by just flashing your pearly whites.

Hope all you grumpy cats now have fabulous Mondays!

by Sanaah Dodhia

The Anti-Violence Ally Program

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The AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) hosts The Anti-Violence Ally Program: an educational opportunity, informing people about the facts about sexual assault, as well as getting more people involved in conversations about this issue. The opportunity aims to foster a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere for all people.

The next training will be on February 7th at 10am. If you would like to register please email sasc@ams.ubc.ca