By Molly Lai, Residence Advisor

For some of us, our time in residence is swiftly drawing to a close and it is time to start thinking about where we want to go next. By where, I mean where am I going to live next year. I personally had no idea how to go about the next step of moving out of residence and finding an apartment. As a person who always needs a plan the uncertainty of this change sent me into a near panic, so I took a deep breath and started to ask everyone I knew where I needed to start. Here are the three first steps that everyone seemed to agree on:

1. Be realistic. What are you able to afford? Will you need a roommate? If you need a roommate, who would you be able to live with? (This is probably one of the hardest questions. It is not always your best friend.) Are you able to live on your own? Do you need to live about the 12^th floor?
2. Location. What are your top three priorities for a place to live? Do you need to be close to campus? Close to bus stops? Grocery store? Library? Work? Do you have a car? Do you need water access because you’ve decided to kayak to UBC everyday? All of these questions are important factors in the choice of where to live. Maybe you need to have access to parking or maybe you want to live along the 99 B-Line route.
3. Amenities. What are your top three must haves in an apartment? Do you need a dishwasher? Laundry on-site? A north-facing bedroom? A furnished apartment? A personal chef?

After you have made a decision on these questions and (possibly) decided that you cannot afford to live in a penthouse in Yaletown with a boat launch and a personal chef, check out the UBC housing site for some other helpful hints. They have a brief guide to the more common abbreviations used in classified ads as well as some places to start your search.

PS. If you can afford the Yaletown penthouse, I’m looking for a roommate willing to pay most of the rent on a similar apartment. If not I guess I’m resigned to be just another average student.

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Quick Cheap Food – Final’s Survival Guide
Courtesy of jwblackwell from: squidoo.com/studentfood#module57659882

1. Thai Green Curry (<$12)

2 Chicken breasts
1 can coconut milk, or low fat coconut milk
1 Onion
1 Aubergine
1 Chopped green chilli
Thai Green Curry Paste Continue reading →

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by Johanna Webber, Residence Life Manager

Your residence contract terminates at 12:00 noon on Thursday, April 26th, 2012.  Residents are required to vacate their room by this date.  For information on check-out requirements, please refer to this link on our website:  http://www.housing.ubc.ca/moving-out/moving-out-single

The following residents may be eligible for a Residence Contract Extension, if they apply for a contract extension by April 15, 2012.

1.    Residents holding confirmed, pre-paid travel arrangements.  You may be required to provide proof of confirmed, prepaid travel arrangements.

2.    Residents moving to off-campus housing where their rental agreement commences no later than May 1, 2012.  You may be required to show a copy of the off-campus rental agreement. Continue reading →

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By Richard Hou, Residence Advisor

We’ve all heard it; it may be from our friends, colleagues or even parents, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s plain wrong.

Lets look at the biological effects of stress on our bodies.

• ·         Release of a chemical soup from your brain, containing steroid hormones such as glucocorticoids and stress hormones such as cortisol which “primes” certain body parts and functions such as the heart, lungs, circulation, metabolism, immune systems, and skin
• ·         The HPA system also releases certain neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) called catecholamines, particularly those known as dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine (also called adrenaline).
• ·         Stress shuts down digestive activity
• ·         The immune system is boosted with the steroid hormones reducing activity in some parts of the immune system so that specific infection fighters and other molecules can be repositioned
• ·         Catecholamines also suppress activity in areas at the front of the brain concerned with short-term memory, concentration, inhibition, and rational thought.

We can see that most of the effects have something to do with how our ancestors prepared for and faced danger in everyday life. Our muscles swell with blood, non-vital functions are put on standby and we’re put in fight or flight mode. You may think that some of these features would be useful for cramming for that exam you have the next morning, but you may want to reconsider.

The human body is built to endure occasional bouts of extreme stress, but with a long term stressor such as exams or midterms that may last from days to weeks, our sympathetic ANS and parasympathetic nervous systems are thrown way out of whack, with our sympathetic nervous system essentially never shutting off and keeping our body in “fight or flight” mode for long periods of time.

This causes susceptibility to infection, skin problems, pain, diabetes, infertility and a whole load of other problems, in addition to screwing up our ability to learn and concentrate.

So next time you hear someone in your class tell you they work better under pressure, just play along and tell them that extreme stress is good for studying. Hey, maybe they’ll throw off the curve and you’ll get an extra couple of percent!

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By Adam Stich, Residence Advisor

 Preparing completely vegetarian meals may seem a daunting task at first, but once you get a hold of some key recipes, the meat-less alternative may prove to be a delicious and actually relatively easy choice. I have been cooking vegetarian since September and although I was nervous to make the switch at first, once I discovered a couple staple ingredients, my new diet was an easy adjustment.

Here are some ingredients that made the switch really easy.  Now I’m not a nutritionist, but I do know that when you’re not consuming meat, it is especially important to ensure you’re getting your protein and iron. So below is a list containing some delicious, as well as nutritious vegetarian ingredients. Continue reading →

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By Sonia Shao, Gage Residence Advisor

Always afraid to look at your credit card bill at the end of December? Check out these awesome ideas for gifts on a budget! Continue reading →

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