In a Tizzy

Category: friend time

  • I May do this and I May do that…

    A new month! How exciting (and occasionally rainy).

    I have completed another year of university (unless something goes horribly wrong with my final two grades that I’ve yet to receive) – and it was a pretty good one! That includes many aspects of it: my residence experience, my social/romance life, my academic standing, and my sense of satisfaction with what I’ve contributed to UBC through my time at the school so far.

    Now that May has begun, my term as the RHA Vice-President has officially ended, and the reins have been handed off to a new student leader to hold. While I experienced some sadness awaiting this eventual transition, I am too tired from exam season to feel anything but relief over it at the moment; I am pooped and have other things to sort out in the next couple of weeks (employment, living arrangements, travel plans).

    Of course, I have documented some of my recent activities on days that I have failed to upload anything new to the blog (which has been since April 24, evidently… Oops.) – so I shall share a few of those.

    TPRA reunion brunch! Vegetarian
    egg’s benedict for me.
    The TPRA family! Minus a few
    dearly-missed faces.

    There was the inaugural trip to Heirloom (vegetarian) Restaurant – I was surprised by how upscale and modern it was! I suppose those are the expectations held when one is more accustomed to The Naam, The Foundation, and Aprhodite’s for vegetarian cuisine…

    Grilled Cheese for him.

    Raw Falafel Salad for me!
    GD was experiencing great pride
    in her aged fruit that she saved all year.


    The time also came to move out of what has been ‘home’ for the last eight months – a bittersweet time of looking forward to the summer and looking back at what is being moved on from. And moving out means going out to eat a lot!

    As is my norm… With many food outings come many photos of the food acquired at these outings.












    Breakfast at the Sunshine Diner!

    Lunch at the Naam!

    Eastwoo’s first experience at the Naam with their
    Nacho Ensalada – an excellent choice.

    Enigma‘s apple juice-cooked
    oatmeal with fruit for brunch!

    Huevos Rancheros Burrito for him.


    We also celebrated the 10-year anniversary of JJ’s marriage!

    It seems apparent that food became my means of celebrating the freedom of not needing to study any longer.. It has been a very enjoyable celebration, though! It also kept me powered through moving my own stuff out of residence, helping others move into new residences, and going to concerts that I did not get enough sleep for (Luke Bryan’s That’s My Kind of Night WOO).






    Most recently (my my, was it only two days ago?) in my photos, I spent a 15-hour day away from home and did a lot of socializing in Vancouver. I began the day saying farewell to my fellow as he drove away to our neighbouring province for the summer (sad days for Katie – though, I do not think it has actually set in yet that we won’t just drive back to UBC and see each other in a day or two!). After that early morning venture, I helped WuWu with his move into a new residence, and then took him for his first experience at the Naam (I’m bringing many over to the good side, lately).


    I did a bit of ‘retail therapy’ downtown for some time in the middle of the day following this, and then had a nap at JJ’s house (and perhaps my summer residence if I make any decisions in the next week). Finally, I met up with J, G and her dad, and we went back to The Afghan Horseman for another delicious dinner experience (even if we sat on chairs this time)! I had the Vegan Plate again, and it somehow seemed a little better.. Perhaps because of how hungry I was.

    Afghan black tea
    (black tea with cardamom).



    Eggplant dip and pita bread appy.


    The Vegan Plate! Rice, potatos, salad, stew, and cauliflower.

    Baklava for dessert (wowza, yum).















    Yesterday was a day of cleaning and rest, so no super-exciting photos were taken – except for this one of a flowering plant at our house – and some needed laid-back time was employed. 


    I will work on keeping more photos and updates coming as they are taken!
    Until next time, I shall continue my search for employment, as I have missed out
    on an exciting internship opportunity and have not heard back from ANY 
    other places I’ve applied to! Perhaps something will come along soon.
    ADIOS! 

  • Looking Forward: The next 4 months.

    The next four months: a time I both welcome and fear.

    For the most part, I believe that I will enjoy the next four months – the weather will (hopefully) be summery and show signs of life blossoming everywhere, energies will be high, and a reprieve from school will be mine. However, he is going to be back at home, and visits will once again become once-every-few-weeks sort of occurrences; I do not know what job I will be holding (I would really rather not return to my old safety net and have chosen to search elsewhere). 

    1. Weather.
    – Get all the Vitamin D!
    – Wake up by natural light streaming in early through my window.
    – Be rid of the chills by simply laying down for 30 seconds outside.
    – Rain is exciting and rejuvenating and makes me happy for the plants.
    2. School reprieve.
    – I love school, but my body feels the strain of spending too many hours ‘loving’ it.
    – Social life, work life, and other ‘lives’ become independent of one another. 
    – Must come up with a schedule of my own when work is not in the picture.
    3. Absence.
    – Visits will be the most exciting of times.
    – Alas, my heart shall ache often and yearn for its partner in crime. 
    4. Employment. 
    – Where have I applied? Let us take a look: Chocolate cafes, healthy living cafes, jobs with the city in event planning, program coordinator, communications assistant, internship with local produce delivery company, summer camp counsellor, restaurants.
    – Where might I apply? Let us take a look: Favourite UBC-local cafes, restaurants, healthy living themed shops.
    – During the school months, I miss work! I miss that income and sense of having done a job well and making others satisfied through my service. Next year I suppose a great deal of my involvements will revolve around a sort of employment – even if it isn’t a regular paycheque like those I would receive during off-school months.
    – I want to try something new; I’ve had good times with my ol’ pal Safeway, but I’d like to feel challenged in what I do this summer.

    I expect excitement, friendship revival (for which I’m very excited), painful yearning, lots of family time, and hopefully a bit of travel this summer. It would be my wish to feel that I’ve grown a bit more, learned a few new things, and seen one or two new places. Many photos should be taken, and perhaps even a new friendship is to be made!

  • Spring is in the air! Plus a new dining discovery.

    All of my body’s sensory systems are being bombarded by signs of Spring:
    – Fully and pink cherry blossoms
    – The smell of food wafting from open patios at restaurants
    – Seasonally-appropriate Refreshers from Starbucks
    – Slipping into Toms every day
    – Tired and heavy footsteps during outdoor jogs

     I am struggling to determine if the end of classes (a) was perfectly-timed with the beautiful weather or (b) liberated my mind and allowed me to fully embrace the impending season and all of its glory – either way, it has been lovely.


    21 years of life – completed by MM!
    We enjoy mason jars over the
    traditional glassware.




    Block Party/MM’s birthday was fun this year! Many friends, amazing weather, and lots of dancing – followed by vegan s’mores on the beach (highly recommended). 

    Post-Block Party consisted of more birthday celebrations! And the beginning of studying. While the weather does not seem conducive to studying, it does lift my spirits and has served as inspiration to earn my time outside! Following an afternoon of studying, I had a nap to prepare to socialize more at The Afghan Horseman – a new dining discovery with delicious food! I had the Vegan Plate from their Vegetarian Dishes (pictured above), and zombied my way through dinner before collapsing into bed later that evening.

    The following day, GD and I moseyed down to experience The Juice Truck for the first time! This is something I’ve wanted to do since stumbling across their Instagram account. After sharing two very fulfilling smoothies, we grabbed some free ice cream from Leonidas at Waterfront (a Hot Chocolate Festival location!) for wishing one of their employees a happy birthday.
    After all of these birthday and food-related events… We had another birthday AND food-related event! On JS’s birthday, and to celebrate a triple-birthday week, I attended a birthday dessert potluck. Wu-Wu and I supplied healthy, vegan chocolate chip cookie muffins! Topped with coconut whipped cream and blueberries, we feel that they were definitely a baking success (thanks Chocolate-Covered Katie for the recipe!).


    Before further birthday celebrations continued the following day, I celebrated a belated National Grilled Cheese Day by making vegan grilled cheese (Daiya cheese) and homemade soup with GD, as we had neglected so far to eat dinner. 


    Finally, to cap off this entry, the sister and her fellow came over for dinner! We made vegetarian stir fry with a special sweet and sour “pork” recipe from the Calgary Farmer’s Market, alongside some homemade mango guacamole supplied by our guests. It was a good birthday dinner for GD and a good day overall!

    Now I am delving into studying before my 12-day exam break, where I hope to have more adventures that I can document and write about – until then…

    UBC REC full-team selfie!

  • Recognition Banquet in Photos

    Hello, and welcome to the NRHH/RHA Recognition Banquet of 2014!

    Here, we take a moment to recognize some of the hard work and successes of student leaders at UBC within the National Residence Hall Honorary, the Residence Hall Association, and the university as a whole.

    Gerri the gender-neutral giraffe welcomes you to our event, hosted on April 1st.

    And this was a little bit of my perspective, as an outgoing RHA executive, as the event played out that afternoon!




    Shaina has a talent for aesthetics.

     


    The RHA had a
    strong team this year.
    I’ll be sad to leave this executive team, but happy
    to have gained new friends and colleagues for
    the upcoming year!

     

    NT and KT, VP partners in crime!

  • A Photo Update: Barn Burner 2014


    As I await the professional photographs to be released, I will share some of my personal Barn Burner 2014 photos from a few weekends ago:
    The ever-so-mysterious Wu-Wu.
    R, K, and G!
    Chef Wu-Wu getting breakfast readied the
    following morning!

    French toast with lots of fruit!



  • Back from Hiatus

    Hello, M&M.

    If I’m not mistaken, it has been quite some time since we’ve interacted! My hope is to be back more regularly for updates as classes end… and the season of studying for final exams begins.

    In the last two weeks…

    My mom made special homemade soup for me!


    My sister turned nineteen and we went DANCING!









    I obviously ended up baking cookies (CCK recipe).


    In addition to birthdays, baking, and breaking it down, I have been preparing for the end of this term and what the next chapter of 2014 will hold. 

    For the end of this term: 
    – My final paper (the first paper I have written in about 16 months!)
    – The transition report for the incoming RHA Vice-President
    – Final events and socials for the RHA as a whole

    The next chapter:
    – Job interviews! One last Saturday, and one this coming Saturday with UBC REC
    – My official induction as a member of the 2014-15 NRHH
    – Applying for summer jobs!
    – Preparing for my stint as a residence advisor next school year
    Amidst all of these exciting upcoming opportunities and ongoing year-end preparations, I have been trying to get all of my socialization squeezed into these final weeks!

    There was the Welcome to Wonderland Boat Cruise:

















    There was also the 2nd annual Barn Burner:

    I also participated in my third Storm The Wall event! We placed first in our heat which was very exciting, and advanced to the next race – something I haven’t accomplished before with my team!

    Wall Me Maybe 2.0
    Wall Me Maybe 2.1

    Beyond attending and organizing events, I have been reflecting on what I’ve done and been a part of over the last eight months. 
    ~ Academics have been at a relative high for me, and my involvements have balanced well with school. For the first time in a while, I will miss courses that I’ve taken this year along with the professors that taught them; I also feel that my major has become more of a place that I feel at home, particularly in my gender and sex differences course (and my personality and behaviour disorders courses last term). 
    ~ I struggled through another visual arts class but enjoyed being able to use my camera for projects and was pleased that I applied something I’m passionate about in my final project (uploading to blog is currently being contemplated).
    ~ Being an executive member of the RHA has been great – it puts me in touch with every part of residence (mostly) and I have been a part of a forward-moving year for the organization. I regret the lack of closeness developed with my fellow executives early on, but am grateful that we’ve done so much as leaders and that we’ve bonded more in the last little while!
    ~ My personal life has expanded and evolved in terms of family bonds, friendships, and my relationship – all in ways that I think are taking me in a good direction. I don’t know what this direction is, but it feels like a good and enjoyable one.


    Overall, this year at UBC has been a good one.
    The summer is always a mysterious next chapter – travel plans, new job opportunities (sorry Safeway), and time for friends and family in abundance!
    I look forward to seeing where things go.

    Once my camera’s most recent photos have been uploaded,
    I’ll get back to this and update on the more recent events following
    the Boat Cruise! Barn Burner, food adventures, and more!

    Our cityscape view from the boat last weekend.

  • Weekend of March 14 – 16: Wine, Pie, and Comedy

    Appetizer dish with
    Moscato D’asti – Batasiolo Bosc 11/12

    The weekend began with Vine Fest – GD’s wine-tasting event which featured four wines and an array of cheeses, breads, meats, and fruits to snack on and pair with the drinks available. 




    As it was March 14 (03/14), it was also a night to celebrate pi(e)! To do so, he and I made our way to Aphrodite’s Organic Cafe and Pie Shop to indulge in a small dinner and amazing dessert; I was finally able to try one of their chocolate pies! I always miss the boat on those ones by the end of the day when they have sold out.

    (Vegan) Gnocci with sunchokes and hazelnut pesto.
    (Vegan) Chocolate pecan pie!

    In the rain on Saturday, NT and I made our way to the Vancouver Winter Farmer’s Market to indulge in many-a-sample item and purchase a couple of treats from local vendors with their seasonal specialties up for grabs!
    How to choose?

     

    I didn’t feel too hot on Saturday for the day’s entirety, so some kitchen therapy resulted in a triple batch of Chocolate Covered Katie chocolate chip cookies and a happier spirit (to make up for both a less-than-content stomach and an achey head).

    Homemade plantain chips!

    We finished off the weekend with a comedian’s show downtown and walked in with a beautiful sunset backdrop to the downtown nightlife just beginning to shine.

  • Last Weekend: Food

    Last weekend was one full of delicious meals and baking adventures. I shall summarize below:
    Marble Swirl Chocochip Banana Bread (CCK Recipe) – baked
    with AA while we caught up on life and drank tea.

    A sushi-filled double date with the sister and our novios!
    Sushi Topia is captained by a pleasant man who makes
    very delicious food – even for us veggie-heads!
    It was Waffle Gone Wild!’s 1-year anniversary event –
    we just happened to stop by for brunch on the right day!
    We were allowed to burst a balloon to find a giveaway
    inside – we ended up with free ice cream.
    J and M both ordered the Banana
    Nutella waffles – mmmm, chocolate.
    Delicious Bombay Chai tea.

     


    I went for the Cinnamon Apple option!

    (Not quite the weekend…) On Monday, I baked vegan cookies for my council meeting! Which was followed by my first full staff meeting as a future advisor – I got to meet my future team! It was very exciting, and all of my future colleagues seem like fun and kind people. The cookies were also great – adopted from a CCK recipe with added Ener-G Egg Replacer to see if they would fluff up. They did!

    A tour around campus to take some
    photos the other day led me to what
    I consider a sure sign of impending
    Spring – blooming daffodils! =D

  • Reading Week 2014

    With reading week already three days past, the midterm grind is on and I have become unnaturally fatigued following the men’s gold medal hockey game (the early morning seems to have triggered an insatiable weariness). However, I had a wonderful week off from classes and was able to do lots of adventuring thanks to an out-of-town visitor who wished to pursue some tourist attractions in Vancouver.

    The break began on the last day of the hot chocolate festival, with my fellow’s birthday and Valentine’s Day all making for a delicious three-way celebration:

     We chose Nuba restaurant as our spot to celebrate a 21st birthday and Valentine’s Day dinner.
    Our fuel of choice included delicious tomato and crispy cauliflower appetizers, and
    stuffed eggplant for the main course – all vegetarian or vegan and SO DELICIOUS!

    Following the Friday, we began our tourist adventures.

     

    Looking over the bridge’s edge!


    After our guest took a hiatus over on the island, I studied and made my way home for a couple of days to continue recuperating and Olympic-watching.
    (We won gold.)

     















    THEN we returned to our tour guide lives (after doing some morning muffin making).
    “Goddess Bowl” at Aphrodite’s Organic 
    Cafe and Pie Shop.

    And…. It snowed!

    Quite a lot!
    (By Vancouver standards.)

    My reading week was full of reading (for three midterms that I just overcame), family, friends, and an adequate amount of rest. Plus, a lot of exciting and emotional Olympic moments! Overall, I would deem it a success. Now, I am back to the home-stretch of this school year with finals to prepare for, papers to write, elections to get through next week, a couple more interviews to see through (as well as outcomes of previous ones), and the move out of residence.