I had a really cool university experience last friday.
Every friday night at the campus Second Cup, they host an open mic night where musicians and stand up comedians gather and get to perform. With York having a half decent music program for majors and non majors, nights like these can pay off very well.
I didn't get to see any stand up comedians because this friday there was a power outage at the lanes and cafe was only lit up by the emergency lights. It created a very cool and classy atmosphere with these musicians just chucking away on guitars and singing from the soul. It was like a campfire indoors with coffee. But overall it was a very university, artsy like experience
One that I rather enjoyed :)
PJ
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
The Freshman Fifteen
a.k.a The 15 pounds you are supposed to gain from eating on campus in your first year.
Campus food is wonderful. Right now I'm blogging from a gourmet burrito place called zteca AND BOY CAN THEY MAKE A GOOD BURRITO. So in honour of this I decided to make this chapter of the survival guide about residence eating.
TIPS
Do your math: Your meal plan doesn't last forever, but at the same time you want to make sure you can suck every penny out of it before it expires for the year. York makes it mandatory to purchase a $3000 dollar food plan which lasts till April. I did a little divison and I figure I have a little more than $15 a day to spend on food. Therefore $5 a meal. Sounds tight but there are ways to spend more a meal and keep within the 15.
Healthy can be expensive, but also cheap: There are places on campus that make nice vegetarian meals but they go up in price very fast because all the food is "Fresh". Lost of places also have a vegetarian version of there food which can also save you a dollar, but I'm not much of a grass eater. The best thing you can do to be healthy is make sure you pick some at some point during the day. Some places on campus even give you a free banana or apple if you buy from there store.
You don't always have to eat out: One thing I do for breakfast is I buy cereal from the general store and keep it in my room so I can have a quick, somewhat nutritious breakfast in the morning. Campus general store stuff can seem pricey, and not on your food plan, but remember it can also last you a few meals, totalling under $5 a meal on average.
Buying off campus: I don't mean eating out off campus, but buying food off campus at Walmart of No Frills can be very beneficial, especially if your commuting somewhere anyways. Transit in Toronto is cheap ($2.60 if you have a presto pass and it lasts for 2 hours). One thing I dislike in Toronto is that milk costs $4.25 for 2 litres, but it is still a better deal than what you can get for a tiny carton at the campus store. You can also get fresh produce like cheese and fruit there as well and at the end of the day, it is very affordable. And again, this can last your for quite a few meals. Make sure you gets your hands on a bowl, a plate and some cutlery to do this :P
Dont starve yourself: It doesn't benefit you or your studying if you do.
I'm not going to lie, its hard to resist the temptation of eating pizza 3 meals in a row, but eating healthy is essential to feeling your best and being ready for classes. Keeping a banana or something in your pack is also a good idea because some profs give breaks for longer lectures, and right now I find all of this stuff very interesting so I need to be on top of my game.
Hope this tidbit of information helps you freshies out there who are looking for advice. Just remember 15 is the magic number.
Though in my case, it wouldn't be the end of my world if I had an extra 15 pounds. I would be a little less of a twig then :P
Till next time.
PJ
Campus food is wonderful. Right now I'm blogging from a gourmet burrito place called zteca AND BOY CAN THEY MAKE A GOOD BURRITO. So in honour of this I decided to make this chapter of the survival guide about residence eating.
TIPS
Do your math: Your meal plan doesn't last forever, but at the same time you want to make sure you can suck every penny out of it before it expires for the year. York makes it mandatory to purchase a $3000 dollar food plan which lasts till April. I did a little divison and I figure I have a little more than $15 a day to spend on food. Therefore $5 a meal. Sounds tight but there are ways to spend more a meal and keep within the 15.
Healthy can be expensive, but also cheap: There are places on campus that make nice vegetarian meals but they go up in price very fast because all the food is "Fresh". Lost of places also have a vegetarian version of there food which can also save you a dollar, but I'm not much of a grass eater. The best thing you can do to be healthy is make sure you pick some at some point during the day. Some places on campus even give you a free banana or apple if you buy from there store.
You don't always have to eat out: One thing I do for breakfast is I buy cereal from the general store and keep it in my room so I can have a quick, somewhat nutritious breakfast in the morning. Campus general store stuff can seem pricey, and not on your food plan, but remember it can also last you a few meals, totalling under $5 a meal on average.
Buying off campus: I don't mean eating out off campus, but buying food off campus at Walmart of No Frills can be very beneficial, especially if your commuting somewhere anyways. Transit in Toronto is cheap ($2.60 if you have a presto pass and it lasts for 2 hours). One thing I dislike in Toronto is that milk costs $4.25 for 2 litres, but it is still a better deal than what you can get for a tiny carton at the campus store. You can also get fresh produce like cheese and fruit there as well and at the end of the day, it is very affordable. And again, this can last your for quite a few meals. Make sure you gets your hands on a bowl, a plate and some cutlery to do this :P
Dont starve yourself: It doesn't benefit you or your studying if you do.
I'm not going to lie, its hard to resist the temptation of eating pizza 3 meals in a row, but eating healthy is essential to feeling your best and being ready for classes. Keeping a banana or something in your pack is also a good idea because some profs give breaks for longer lectures, and right now I find all of this stuff very interesting so I need to be on top of my game.
Hope this tidbit of information helps you freshies out there who are looking for advice. Just remember 15 is the magic number.
Though in my case, it wouldn't be the end of my world if I had an extra 15 pounds. I would be a little less of a twig then :P
Till next time.
PJ
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Moving in/Frosh
After all the heart felt goodbyes at the airport and while the tears are still drying, little time is given to grieve as I was thrown into the hustle and bustle of getting ready to move into my new dorm. The adrenaline is a good distraction to get my mind off of things back home, because moving somewhere new IS exciting, whether you actually want to move there or not.
The cost of moving me into res with everything I need roughly cost about $600-$700 which included awesome amenities as a new printer AND A BAR FRIDGE :D. Having a bar fridge is awesome. Seriously, there is something about owning a tiny little cooling box that really screams "Im independent now" because you can put whatever you want in it (like coca cola if you're me). The fact thats its tiny is also awesome, but most importantly, ITS MINE :D.
Unpacking an prove to messy at first, but after it came together (and some motivation from the "Back in Black" album by ACDC) I like how id organized and made it feel my own :)
In short having your own room is AWESOME.
Oh and in case you are wondering about the washrooms at res, they aren't that bad. Mine is very clean and the showers are locked with a change room, so you don't have to worry about someone stealing your towel, or the consequences of dropping the soap. Its quite nice :)
Frosh on the other hand is a different story.
Now this is just me, but I'm not going to university for the parties or the drinking or anything like that. I like to socialize with people, but talk of parties and drinking really turns me off. Just my luck I end up with the college known for the best and most frequent parties.
SIGH
This has sort of gotten in the way of me making friends within the college since people are mostly concerned with drinking their faces off, which is against my morals. I'm sure they're nice people, but during this week known for parties and drinking it may be best to let them be for now. Frosh isn't my kind of thing, So I'm going to have fun my own way over the next week :). I hope to explore york some more, then maybe go downtown so I can report on Toronto some more.
Im really excited for the faculty orientation so I can start to mingle with my classmates instead of my roommates. I can't wait to chat about people with similar interests to mine :)
Till next time
PJ
The cost of moving me into res with everything I need roughly cost about $600-$700 which included awesome amenities as a new printer AND A BAR FRIDGE :D. Having a bar fridge is awesome. Seriously, there is something about owning a tiny little cooling box that really screams "Im independent now" because you can put whatever you want in it (like coca cola if you're me). The fact thats its tiny is also awesome, but most importantly, ITS MINE :D.
Unpacking an prove to messy at first, but after it came together (and some motivation from the "Back in Black" album by ACDC) I like how id organized and made it feel my own :)
In short having your own room is AWESOME.
Oh and in case you are wondering about the washrooms at res, they aren't that bad. Mine is very clean and the showers are locked with a change room, so you don't have to worry about someone stealing your towel, or the consequences of dropping the soap. Its quite nice :)
Frosh on the other hand is a different story.
Now this is just me, but I'm not going to university for the parties or the drinking or anything like that. I like to socialize with people, but talk of parties and drinking really turns me off. Just my luck I end up with the college known for the best and most frequent parties.
SIGH
This has sort of gotten in the way of me making friends within the college since people are mostly concerned with drinking their faces off, which is against my morals. I'm sure they're nice people, but during this week known for parties and drinking it may be best to let them be for now. Frosh isn't my kind of thing, So I'm going to have fun my own way over the next week :). I hope to explore york some more, then maybe go downtown so I can report on Toronto some more.
Im really excited for the faculty orientation so I can start to mingle with my classmates instead of my roommates. I can't wait to chat about people with similar interests to mine :)
Till next time
PJ
An Introduction
After finally getting settled into my new surroundings I can finally wind down a tiny bit and start this blog :D
Moving to a brand new city is no easy task, and living on your own doesn't make that even easier. Im writing this blog to show the process of this transition so that maybe someone will stumble upon it looking for advice, or maybe just listen to my story.
So heres my situation:
-I'm from Winnipeg Manitoba.
-I am about to attend York University in Toronto Ontario
-I will be majoring in Film Production, a very competitive program at the university only letting in 50 or so students a year, with a little more than half actually graduating.
-The love of my life now lives more than 1000 miles away back in Winnipeg :(
Its quite a large step for me in my life. It has the potential to be very fun but also vey stressful, but I hope to get through it and have a great time. University is a very fun time and the experience of all this will pay off in one way or another.
Enjoy reading my adventure :)
PJ
Moving to a brand new city is no easy task, and living on your own doesn't make that even easier. Im writing this blog to show the process of this transition so that maybe someone will stumble upon it looking for advice, or maybe just listen to my story.
So heres my situation:
-I'm from Winnipeg Manitoba.
-I am about to attend York University in Toronto Ontario
-I will be majoring in Film Production, a very competitive program at the university only letting in 50 or so students a year, with a little more than half actually graduating.
-The love of my life now lives more than 1000 miles away back in Winnipeg :(
Its quite a large step for me in my life. It has the potential to be very fun but also vey stressful, but I hope to get through it and have a great time. University is a very fun time and the experience of all this will pay off in one way or another.
Enjoy reading my adventure :)
PJ
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