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My Life As a Third Year… So Far

Now that I’ve seen all these posts on first years, I’d like to add to that mix and describe how it’s been in my third year at U of T so far.

This year is set to be the most challenging yet rewarding for me, I feel. I find my courses more difficult but definitely more interesting. I’ve fell asleep in only 1 of my lectures so far! Albeit it’s only been 2 weeks. Although I think I’ve made a little progress in terms of time management, discipline and hard work, and making a little more sacrifices here and there (i.e. less time at home and on Youtube = more time at library).

My first year was tough but second year was toughest for me since I slacked off even more. Trust me, first years, you don’t want to start slacking off after first year — it’ll only get harder to catch up! I’ve only started to learn how to study and it’s hard to get used to all that reading I must do before class. I used to not do any of my readings until right before the test, when there would be hundreds of pages to read.

I haven’t totally warmed up to U of T yet, though. Continue reading “My Life As a Third Year… So Far”

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Nuit Blanche With No B. S.

I have been called a pretentious art douche by one of my roommates, but I’m really not. I may be interested in the stuff but I don’t walk up to every expression of creativity and start interpreting hidden symbols and meanings. I do find truth in the quote, “art is anything you can get away with.” (Apparently said first by Marshall McLuhan, not Andy Warhol).

So, maybe we’re alike. We appreciate art but admit we don’t understand or respect every piece we encounter. If that’s the case, and you also think a white canvas with three black squares on it is a piece of crap, then I’m writing this article for you.

There’s an event starting at 6:55pm on Saturday October 3rd, ending the next morning, and you’re invited.

Originating in Paris 2002, Toronto’s Nuit Blanche is now in its fourth year, offering the city 130 free and accessible contemportary art projects brought to you by almost 500 artists from around the world.

Here are some picks that my roommates and I found interesting, and that can be enjoyed from a non-douchey perspective:

Continue reading “Nuit Blanche With No B. S.”

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Believe It or Not… This is Me

As a first-year I have to introduce myself to many people many times. I have highlighted a certain trend in this ritual. Before I open my mouth, people have already conceived the following perception of me:

– has a boyfriend

– is Spanish or Latin

– too intimidating to talk to

– likes POP music

– likes to part-AY!

– in her own world

Is it my hair, my cute heeled boots or is it my attitude? What about me exudes these characteristics? The funniest or most insulting to me is when after introducing myself I hear phrases like:

– “Really?”

– “I would have never guessed.”

– “Interesting I’m impressed.”

I like to think that I am a very unique person. I am not a compulsive liar (if I was I would mention my secret marriage to Lionel Messi). Then why do people think I’m lying or joking when I tell them: Continue reading “Believe It or Not… This is Me”

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Frolicking in the pastures of diplomacy

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…I was an awkward first-year, fresh-faced and  right out of high school. I was also an entire continent away from my beloved hometown of Vancouver (which, in my extremely objective opinion, is the best city in the world). Not really knowing anyone, feeling rather lost in the inexorable bustle that is the University of Toronto, I wandered lonely as a cloud…until I met a bunch of rather loquacious individuals with a penchant for placards and extremely polite insults–in other words, the joy that is Model United Nations.

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Image courtesy of www.namun.org

OK, I jest; that was an extreme (and rather melodramatic) exaggeration on my part. But like many lies, it does have more than a smidgen of truth within. Model UN, for the uninitiated, is a simulation of the actual United Nations, a conference in which people — often students — dress up in their finest “business formal” (a term that always inspires ferocious debate) outfits, and role-play a country’s diplomats trying to come up with solutions to the world’s many tangled problems that matches their foreign policy. Upon first perusal, Model UN does sound like an exceedingly geeky endeavour, but there’s something undeniably amusing about in engaging in polite but scathing verbal sparring matches. It’s also a great way to meet new people — it’s difficult not to be friends with people you’ve spent several days arguing and partying with — and it’s a fun way to hone one’s public speaking skills. Of course, the wild post-debate parties are always a plus, as is Model UN’s resume-boosting potential.

Before I bore you all to death by extolling Model UN’s many virtues, I’m going to assume that you’ve been swayed by my flawless rhetoric and are chomping at the bit to participate in Model UN-esque activities. Continue reading “Frolicking in the pastures of diplomacy”

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First Year Experience – Week 3

University can take quite a large toll on your energy and stamina.

After only two weeks of traversing a fraction of the university, and walking/TTC-ing/GO-ing to return to my home, I have to say that there are some days when you really need to just lie down and rest before doing all the homework, assignments, and doing all the reading.

If anything, university teaches you one very, VERY important thing – PRIORITIZE. This ain’t high school where the teachers will go easy on you, or give you a make-up test if you are suddenly sick for one day without any reason. You have to take responsibility! I learned that the hard way when I came late for an ensemble practice earlier this week, and got the short end of the stick from my classmates and prof. I did have a legit reason, but I still felt terrible for not being there for my fellow students. Oh yeah, for the non-music majors, an ensemble practice is basically when you and a handful of other musicians meet together to practice your set list.

You also have to be really organized with your time, or you’ll end up having clashes with your schedule, much like what I had. It’s not very pleasant..

Other than that, university life is tiring. But it’s the good tired! It’s the tiredness that makes you go home and sit down in front of your computer while thinking to yourself, “Wow, I did a lot of amazing things today.” There are days when I’d step outside of the classroom from choir practice, and really just stand there in awe. There was no way I was in that choir group, contributing my boring voice to the angels in there. But there I was.

Anyways, some advice to my fellow undergrads to top this all off: Get plenty of sleep, and use that free agenda. It’ll help a lot.

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My Experience Volunteering at TIFF

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The Toronto International Film Festival has just ended and I thought I’d review some movies for blogUT. But I’m not going to. I figure that since the movies are coming out in wide release soon, I’ll save you my opinion since you’ll be able to read about them on Rotten Tomatoes if you’re curious.

So today, fellow blog readers, I’ll instead give you the low-down on what it is like to be a volunteer for TIFF. You begin by signing up to volunteer. If you are chosen, you will go for orientation sessions and sign a simple contract which involves you promising not to stalk the famous or becoming star-struck when they arrive. You get one of those ubiquitous totes with little freebies, such as shaving cream, a Stella Artois glass, coffee and a volunteer shirt. On the shirt is the logo of NBC Universal, the main sponsor, so you become its walking billboard.

When the time comes, you sign up for shifts online. ID is needed at all times when picking up TIFF-related stuff. There have been horror stories in which some people steal volunteer shirts and sneak in repeatedly for free films and, mostly, celebrity-stalking.

There are various theatres you can sign up for, ranging from Roy Thompson Hall, where all the major premieres and gala screenings are held; Ryerson, famous for midnight madness films; Scotiabank, AMC and Varsity, which handle press and industry screenings or public screenings. First-timers (i.e. me) are mostly allocated the latter three theatres.

So what do you do at a theatre? Continue reading “My Experience Volunteering at TIFF”

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Overheard on Twitter

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Just for fun, I started searching Twitter for Tweets written about U of T. I have been saving them as favorites over time. Here are some funny ones I have found:

  • @shaelaska: “why doesn’t u of t have buffyology? http://bit.ly/fXmt3“
  • @StephenAlain: “I hope it storms superhard and washes u of t away…”
  • @Gregory188: “Campus is abuzz with fresh faces ready to have their dreams and GPAs crushed by U of T.”
  • @paulmarai: “The purell to student ratio at u of t is astonishing.”
  • @thegrubby1: “Latest report on uoft girls: so far, classics has the least hot girls per capita of any class, even Dostoevsky…”
  • @Zadkiel: “shared a cab with a belly dancer and a uoft grad….interesting end to an evening.”
  • @AakankshaT: “Overheard a bunch of froshies complaining about hard UofT is & how they hate first year..wanted to smack ’em. It just gets worse so shut it.”
  • @inesrosa: “‘As a man you spend all your time waiting on bitches’ – overheard while walking thru campus. Charming.”
  • @arahslife “I will not be setting foot on the U of T campus for three weeks and that makes me feel so good inside. Soo GOOOODD”
  • @meghansauve: “$7,439.04 tuition. The sum of outrageously expensive and 4 cents! U of T, you are completely mad.”
  • @timylee: “@alextruong It happens. I once got an email from U of T congratulating me on my enrollment to their Dentistry program. Prob an email typo.”

Speaking of Twitter, blogUT is on there now. Follow us! And for more stuff overheard on campus, check out the Facebook group.