11/2/14

Caffè sospeso

“A man’s true wealth is the good he does in this world.”

— Muhammad (570 – 632 CE)

We entered a small coffee shop with a friend and ordered. As we were walking towards a table to sit down, two other people entered and ordered: “5 coffees please; 2 to go, and 3 suspended”. They only took 2 coffees and left. I asked my friend: “What is this suspended coffee about?” He smiled and replied: “Just wait and you’ll realize”.

More people entered. Two girls ordered one coffee each and left.

The next order was 7 coffees from 3 lawyers–3 coffees to go and 4 suspended coffees.

As I was thinking about this “suspended coffee” and enjoying the beautiful sunshine, a man with ragged clothes lethargically entered the coffee shop. With kindness, he asked the cashier: “Do you have any suspended coffees today?”

It’s simple! You pay the price of two or more, but only pick up one. The rest will be ‘suspended’ at the store as an act of charity.

This tradition started from the city of Naples in Italy, and slowly spread throughout the world. This summer in Edmonton, an anonymous customer paid for 500 suspended coffees at Tim Hortons.

“How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment; we can start now, start slowly changing the world!”Anne Frank (diary entry, 1944)

By Ghazaleh Alamaki

Residence Advisor

11/2/14

With Midterms Ending

By Gabi Diner

Residence Advisor

With midterms ending, and finals around the corner (sadly), everyone is starting to think of their study crunch schedules. Along with late nights comes the wave of unhealthy snacks and high sugar/caffeine drinks to keep you awake during the early morning hours. Be nice to your body and brain this finals season, and dig into some healthy study snacks and drinks!

1) Frozen Grapes

Go to the supermarket and get some seedless grapes. Stick ‘em in your freezer overnight.

These crunchy, super sweet delights always make a fun study snack. You can also pop them into your water as delicious grape ice cubes.

2) Apple and Peanut Butter

Warm up some peanut butter in the microwave and slice your apples for a crisp’n’smooth study snack. This snack is perfect for keeping the hunger at bay, and satisfying your rich food cravings.

3) Trail Mix

Go to your local grocery store and dabble in the bulk foods isle – you can make your own scrumptious trail mix. It’s easy to sneak in some dark chocolate among the dried fruit and nuts, and good for you too, in small quantities. If you’re not sure what you like, there are many pre-packaged trail mix baggies to pick from.

4) Coffee and Tea

Yep, it’s time to ditch the energy drinks and caffeine pills. You can get all the wakefulness you need from a nice cuppa joe or tea. Coffee gives you a quicker caffeine fix, but caffeinated tea keeps your energy up for longer.

10/19/14

Quick n’ Easy Recipes with Chloe 3.0

On Today’s Menu:
Prosciutto, Arugula & Tomato Naan Pizza
The last recipe that I would like to share is one of my favourite dinner meals: prosciutto, arurula and tomato naan pizza! You can usually buy naan bread at the grocery store which is much faster than making your own dough! Try for whole wheat naan bread if you want to be healthier! Other ingredients to spice things up: smoked salmon, pesto sauce instead of tomato sauce, or mini shrimp!

YIELD: Makes 2 pizzas // 8 slices
INGREDIENTS:
1 (8.8 oz.) package Stonefire Naan (2 pieces)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella
10 thin slicesprosciutto, torn into smaller pieces
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup fresh arugula

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place naan on a large greased baking sheet and brush tops with olive oil (1 Tbsp. each). Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup mozzarella. Top with prosciutto, tomatoes and remaining cheese.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is melted. Sprinkle fresh arugula over top of each pizza. Slice and serve.

Enjoy!

10/14/14

Quick n’ Easy Recipes with Chloe 2.0

On Today’s Menu:
Crispy Baked Yam Fries

The second recipe is some classic crispy baked yam fries! These are great sides to every meal! Or even good as a snack! They are super healthy compared to the deep fried fries you buy at restaurants!

YIELD: Makes 3 large servings

INGREDIENTS:

3 sweet potatoes, peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
Generous amounts of salt, pepper and desired spices (see below for ideas)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Slice sweet potatoes into thin, uniform fries. Toss fries in olive oil, cornstarch, and desired spices. Lay fries out in one layer on prepared baking sheets, making sure not to crowd the fries, otherwise they will steam and not crisp up.

Bake for 30 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning. Serve warm with ketchup, Ranch dressing, or your desired dipping sauce.

Enjoy and get ready for my final recipe next week!

10/8/14

MUSIC BLOGS TO TRY

music-equalizer-wallpaper-3840x2400 What do you use to play your music and find new gems? In a rut with the same old same old? Perhaps it’s time for a switch up. Try one of these music blog sites.

The Hype Machine

This site compiles lesser-known music blogs all into one site, with thousands of blogs to choose from. There are lists of Freshest, Latest, and Popular tracks to browse through. If you sign up (which is valuable), you can skip through songs as much as you want. With time, you’ll find some amazing gems you would had found any other way. Check it out here.

Spotify

Songs are categorized in playlists, genres, moods, new releases, and radio. THE BEST part about this site platform is it keeps a record of the playlists, songs, and artists you listen to, recommending others to you based on your history. This feature alone will lead you to places other platforms only dream of. Check it out here.

Songza

This is more similar to your 8 Tracks with the typical genre and mood searches. However, this platform has playlists categorized with different activities the music may fit, like “Walking the dog” and cool categories like that. It’s more easy to find those cool playlists with this. Check it out here.

Happy listening Music Lovers,

By Matthew Loss
Residence Advisor

10/8/14

If you are like me and have intense FOMO, here are some tipds to deal with it! 🙂

1) Realize where you are now and where you want to be:

Short term fun can get in the way of long term gains, therefore before deciding to drop everything and go party, think about how that will affect your long term goal. Are you as focused as you need to be right now as this moment? I’m NOT saying turn into a hermit and dissociate from life. All I’m saying is it’s good to have balance, which I am trying to practice right now!

2) Turn your surrounding into your ideal (BEYONCE) zone:

If you are like me again and LOVE LOVE LOVE dancing, and like to go out to dance, here is my tip to you. Turn up those speakers, click on your favourite 8 tracks playlist and jam out with some friends in your room, or even by yourself. A good let loose session gets some blood flowing, gets you moving and allows you to express yourself! Also, this way you saved about 2 hours of your time showering, getting ready, looking good, etc, etc. I save money and time, which is every student’s dream.

3) Create a fun study group:

Sometimes your FOMO can be diminished by having some friends around you! Instead of trying to focus in your dungeon, might as well have some friends around to have some social interactions to decrease your FOMO. swerve

Hope these tips help you get over your FOMO! For now, good luck to everyone on their exams and hope you have a fabulous year with us at GAGE 🙂

Your friendly advisor,

Sharon Sehrai

10/8/14

best napping spots on campus

By Sanjana Akella sleep
Residence Advisor

Sometimes your bed is too far away, even if you live on campus. Sometimes your book/laptop isn’t nearly as comfy as you thought it would be. BUT…if you need that nap ASAP, I’m here to help you with that.

1) That couch – 3rd floor, Buchanan D

Comfy and warm but high chances of you being that person taking up prime napping space #sorrynotsorry . For y’all Arts kids – possibly near your classes so you *might* not be late.

Bonus – couches in Law library (Allard Hall), Brock Hall, Abdul Ladha Science Student Center, Kaiser, Woodward, First Nations Longhouse, Asian Library.

2) That flag – Rose Garden

When you’re that eager first (or third) year student wanting to spend every moment within eyesight of the sea AND mountains. Not as comfy but you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, enlightened and with your phone filled with a million pictures (of the same view).

3) That grass – Marine Drive Courtyard

You went there to study with some friends at the commonsblock. You “ate too much and felt sleepy”. You promised to nap for 10 minutes, set 2 different alarms and made 3 friends verbally agree to wake you up. This was all in vain – sweet, cushiony grass + warmth from sunshine + shade from tree = deep naptastic sleep.

4) That bench – Near EOSC by Main Mall

You know those fancy, reclining benches adorned with students reading fancy books (for pleasure)? Show off your best (embarrassing) nap face in this public, occasional frisbee-in-yo-face zone.

5) That chlorine – UBC Aquatic Center

Umm…I don’t know who does this. Why? Kindly explain.

Honorable mention: Every 8 am, afternoon and past 6 pm class (especially in Hebb, CIRS and Forestry!)

Happy napping and stay sleepy my friends!

10/6/14

Question of the week #1

What was your favourite Gage event so far?

From Gage-wide to just your floor, any size event Questions counts.

Leave your comment below for a chance to win a tasty prize!

10/6/14

Video Art

“Video art is a term used to describe art that uses both the apparatus and processes of television and video.”

Throughout my time in UBC, I’ve filmed and produced several video art pieces both for classes and for my personal interest. I hope to share some of these works with you folks. 🙂

1) 00:00
A piece I collaborated with a close friend, Rebecca. We made awkward elevator rides even more awkward.

2) A Short Story
The story of master and shadow.

3) Flowers from Magritte
A surrealist attempt.

4) Day One: Audition Tape

2046 – Day One: In an effort to get people to look into each other’s eyes more, and also to appease the mutes, the government has decided to allot each person exactly 55 seconds of speaking time per day. Every person in the city is given a tracking device that records how long a person talks for every single day. Once installed, the device cannot be removed. Upon hitting the 55 second mark, the device will beep, serving as a reminder, in hopes of easing the citizens into this transition. One can stop the beeping sound by pressing a button on the device.

5) 3902.64km

The advent of modern communicative technology has drawn hearts closer, enabling two people who are physically apart to share intimacy in a rather compelling manner. Phone conversations, text messages, Skype dates and finding comfort in that one voice message for the nth time — long-distance relationships thrive by exploiting the intangibility of human connectivity. “3902.64km” illustrates the intricacies of such a relationship, accentuating the fact that technology is merely the medium in which we begin to unravel the enigma of love, intimacy and shared memories.

By Skyler Wang
Senior Residence Advisor

10/6/14

Quick n’ Easy Recipes with Chloe

On Today’s Menu:

California Cobb Salad
The first recipe is a Cobb Salad which usually have for lunch after class, it is really light but will keep you going until dinner time! I also like to add avocados and substitute the chicken with some beef for added protein!

YIELD: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices low-sodium bacon
3 large eggs
10 ounces baby spinach, rinsed and pat dry
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup chopped plum tomatoes or halved grape tomatoes
2 avocados, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup crumbled feta or blue cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, fry bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to soak up excess grease. Roughly chop into small pieces and set aside.

In a small pot, add eggs and cover with cold water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 10-12 minutes. Drain, rinse eggs with cold water, carefully remove shells, and chop into small pieces. Set aside.

Just before serving, toss spinach with olive oil and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add bacon, eggs, chicken, tomatoes, avocado, and crumbled cheese. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Enjoy and watch for a new recipe coming next week!

By Chloe Lam
Residence Advisor