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Prep Courses

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November sucks. The professors and course coordinators have all ganged up and decided to just bleep us all over for a whole month. It doesn’t get better. There will be the illusion of a break before the December exams hit, but it is only that: an illusion. Want to party for the last time? Exams are going to sneak up on your when you’re hung over. Need a break? You’ll be dreaming about your notes. If you’re lucky, you will relive a lecture in a dream, except your professor will be speaking in a dialect of Mongolian. Imagine learning about fly embryos in Mongolian.

If you are anything like me, you’re seriously considering all those multicoloured pamphlets about prep sessions that have been handed out to you around your classes, especially if you’re a first year life science student. I’ve had experience with a couple different prep courses and centres, and I’ve decided to break them down for you and maybe give some advice on studying I’ve gathered over the past two years. Continue reading “Prep Courses”

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13th Annual Regent Park Film Festival

Celebrate diversity, community, and creativity at the 13th Annual Regent Park Film Festival. The best of emerging filmmaking talent and films from around the world.

November 18 – 21 at Daniels Spectrum (585 Dundas St. East, Toronto).

FREE ADMISSION | FREE CHILDCARE

FULL PROGRAM SCHEDULE

As Toronto’s only free-of-charge multi-cultural community film festival, we are dedicated to showcasing local and international cinematic works relevant to inner-city communities. Continue reading “13th Annual Regent Park Film Festival”

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My Kingdom for a Course

At some point in the famous Shakespeare play “Richard III” the title character gets knocked off his horse and starts foolishly yelling that he’ll gladly give up his entire kingdom for another horse. Clearly, King Richard doesn’t know the first thing about haggling.

A key lesson in Haggling 101 is that you never, ever start out with your highest bid. You can’t just throw all your chips on the table at the start. That’s just bad bartering. Opening negotiations by offering up your entire kingdom for a horse robs you of all your leverage.

Instead of the whole kingdom, Richard should have kicked things off by coughing up a couple of manors and maybe a few towns. After intense discussion, he could  have sweetened the deal by throwing in a royal title like “duke” or “baron”.  The fact that someone was trying to stab Richard at the time not withstanding, you gotta play hardball!

I’m not a Literature student, and I haven’t studied Shakespeare since highschool, but right now I’d gladly give up ol’ Richard’s entire kingdom for a course in Shakespeare. As a matter of fact, I’d accept a course in a lot of things right now. In my final year before graduation, I need one more full credit to hit 20, and with all my degree requirements completed it can be in just about anything. Sadly, as of right now I remain a credit short.

I admit, I could have started my search for a course sooner. I could also have just stuck it out and taken a hard course no one else wanted to take that still had room. Ideally, I’d like to take an interesting course that isn’t the hardest course I’ve ever taken, but a rewarding learning experience. Something I find interesting, but haven’t had the chance to learn about while completing my major. It seems like all the good classes like that are full.

So yeah, this is mostly my fault, but I find it a little frustrating the insane number of people on waitlists for so small a selection of courses. For a guy in my situation, looking for a course in just about anything hasn’t been as easy as you’d think. Don’t make my mistake.

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The Most Important Lessons You’ll Learn at University

It’s October, and for us fourth years that means it’s time to apply for graduation. Oh my. For many of us, we joke about our degrees and how we’re going to starve once we graduate and how we’ve spent so much time, money and sanity just to get this stupid piece of paper that says we’re smart. Or something like that. In any case, before you despair about the fact that you didn’t feel as if all that time, money and sanity was worth it, here are a few things you should think about and keep in mind before you graduate.

  • You’ve grown and developed as a person more than you might think.
  • The truth is, you’ll continue to grow and develop whether you’re at university or at work.
  • You are your own harshest critic.
  • You know yourself better than anyone else. Follow your gut.
  • Life isn’t all about the little numbers in your bank account.
  • It’s okay to be wrong sometimes.
  • Your educators are people too.
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So You’re in Second Year, Huh?

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Now that the whirlwind of craziness and confusion that is first year is over, you’re left to survey the damage and start planning the next one. Right about now you’ve all picked courses to fit your shiny new majors, but graduation is closer than you think, and now’s a great time to start looking into your options afterwards.

You obviously don’t need to make any decisions – most third and fourth years I know still have no clue what they want to do – but you should start preparing for the possibilities. Pick a couple grad schools, preferably the ones you think will be the most difficult to get into, and print off their applications. Most grad schools post their applications in July or August and take them off their websites in the late fall or early winter, so try to do this over the next few months. Take a look through them and see what they’re looking for. How much do they stress academics? Extracurriculars? Standardised testing? At the same time, don’t forget to look into a few scholarships you might want for graduate schools, as their expectations can be very different from what the schools themselves are looking for.

At the same time, look into what you’ll need to get the jobs you’re considering. For me, this was always the most overwhelming part of things, but luckily the Career Center can help. Their Get Experience Program will guide you through the whole process; you can meet with someone who will go over your resume, and help you identify its strengths and weaknesses. They will also tell you how to figure out what you need to do to research your chosen field, find internships and professional experience, and even put you into contact with alumni who are successful at the job you may want. Once you know what qualifications you need for the jobs you’re considering, you can tailor part-time jobs and even courses to give you an advantage upon graduation.

Most importantly, don’t rule anything out. You may be absolutely sure you want nothing to do with grad school right now, but a lot can change in two years. Make sure you don’t close any doors.

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My TAs: A Confession

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We’ve discussed professors in the past, whether they’re nice or loud or mean or weird… but have you been observing your TAs, too? Here is what I think of mine!

I have three TAs this semester. The first one for film studies is a near-middle-aged man, light-brown skinned, possibly from Romania or Italy or Spain or somewhere in the Middle East. The day I saw him, he was wearing an oversized brown-buttoned shirt, and a pair of grey jeans. It was not interesting. I thought that he was experienced in the subject matter, but whether he was or not, he didn’t seem to want to share his experiences with his students. He spoke with the voice of a dying mosquito, and seemed very nervous. He can never finish a sentence in one breath, like he’s always thinking madly about the next possible word to say so we won’t think he’s talking rubbish. AND he said he did not know what Twitter was!

My next TA is in my computer science tutorial. Unfortunately, and ridiciously, his voice is shy monotone. He’s young and tall, and  the first time I saw him he wore a maroon turtleneck with a pair of old blue jeans. The class gave him the silent treatment, and he just stood there, hunched, with a silly smile on his face, and I suspect that in his head, he was screaming “Somebody say something for God’s sake! I am so terrible at this.”

My last TA was also in film studies. She is very talkative and easy-going! Hurray! This TA gave us a pretty thoughtful and fun lesson with plenty of questions and discussion. So, does this mean that females are better at being TAs? I sure hope not! Man! What are all you male TAs doing these days? Straighten your backs and show us your strong, confident male selves! That being said, despite all their different characteristics I do like all of my TAs. I hope I can say that for the rest of my degree!

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blogUT Eats: iBento Review

Bulgogi Bento box is a complete meal of nutrition: you've got your grains (rice), protein (bulgogi beef), vegetables (deep fried tempura and the salad in the small styrofoam box) and dairy (miso soup).
Bulgogi Bento box is a complete meal of nutrition: you’ve got your grains (rice), protein (bulgogi beef and shrimp tempura), vegetables (assorted deep fried tempura and the salad in the small styrofoam box) and dairy (miso soup). Also comes with 2 dumplings on the side!

What is iBento?

iBento is a small family run restaurant located on 235A College Street; right across the UofT Bookstore. They serve Korean as well as Japanese dishes ranging from bulgogi to sushi bento boxes. Although this place is mostly grab-and-go there are a few individual seats, about five in the style of counter-seats. They’ve got a nice radio station and bento boxes come with a free bowl of warm, hearty miso soup. Green tea is also sold for a dollar a cup.

Taste: 8.3/10

Compared to the other Asian dishes served on UofT campus such as Spring Rolls on the Go, iBento beats it by far. So far I’ve tried the bulgogi bento box (pictured above) and the spicy chicken rice plate (S2 combo). Both meat portions had a fresh aroma and there was a limited amount of oils/fats. One of the biggest meal-breakers for me is saltiness. When I taste excess salt, I can’t help but think of the possibility that they prepared their meals with MSG (monosodium glutamate- look this up if you don’t know what it is!). iBento’s meals are flavourful in it’s own unique style.

Although it’s prepared quickly, it’s taste is nowhere near that of fast food. After consuming fast food, I feel groggy and to be honest, less efficient than I usually am. When it comes to iBento I feel fueled and ready to get going!

Price: 7.4/10

For it’s quality taste, iBento’s prices are extremely reasonable. The bulgogi bento box was around 12 dollars while the spicy chicken rice meal was about 6 dollars. The portions, however, are a bit smaller than average. I have a small appetite when it comes to lunch but I’m able to finish these entire meals. Not only am I able to have a tasty, hearty meal for lunch, I’m also able to go on the rest of my day without feeling the guilt of trashing my leftovers.

Convenience: 8.1/10

Right around the corner of College and Huron, iBento is a convenient place for those with classes situated near College St. So if you’ve got class in Con Hall (like me!) or the engineering buildings, Galbraith or Bahen this is definitely a go to place! Continue reading “blogUT Eats: iBento Review”