Catching Up

The last month has been full of family, travel, work and, of course, food. Where to begin?

Summer sunsets.

Belated birthday outings, featuring friendship with
a side of veggie burgers and vegetable chips.

Canada Day relaxation.

A necessary 3AM trip to The Naam.

Drive-in dates!

Summer time BBQs of veggie
dogs and tofu kabobs!

Mischievous kittens.

Birthday sushi fun times!

Riverside chats.

Young entrepreneurial-themed discussions over
newly-discovered (and huge) vegan breakfast dishes. 

In the last month, I have knocked a few items off of my spring/summer to-do list:

• A new healthy food routine: I've gone devotedly into one of my favourite snacks - green smoothies - with new recipes from Simple Green Smoothies! The recipes are delicious and refreshing and give me a little cleansing boost in my days.
• Attended my 3rd Calgary Stampede and did some serious two-stepping.
• Consistently spent at least one hour per day outside - power walks with mi madre are almost essential in ensuring that this happens, while simultaneously offering good exercise!
• I tried out a new exercise regimen for one month, courtesy of the kind-hearted Sophie Gray and her Plyo Madness eBook (only $10!). It was intense and included 3 rest days per week and made me (especially my legs) feel tight and lean by the program's end.

I also started to read a new book (Gone Girl, for anyone who is curious), and am currently making my way through a philosophy book I bought in Portland that critically examines different aspects of sexual practices in college (from the "walk of shame" concept, to the act of gay/lesbian individuals experimenting with opposite-sex encounters).

Additionally, I have expanded my résumé further: This summer, I have been both a baking intern at Vegan Vices, as well as more recently a host at Nuba! For anyone who is in this city and is not yet familiar with Nuba's Lebanese cuisine - I can assure you, you will find something that you like, and the prices and service and taste will keep you coming back for more. It is very exciting to have been employed at a restaurant that I so dearly advocate for as a customer, especially a veg*n customer!

While I have not yet exercised my world-wide legality since my birthday, I enjoyed a relaxing day at home with my family and have used one gift received as inspiration to take up hats as a new wardrobe element.

The weekend before last, I partook in my first music festival! The Pemberton Music Festival was resurrected this year, and it was exciting to be there with my whole family and see such an array of talent and individuals all in one place over the span of a few days. More photos from that event will be posted following this.

Overall, the last month has been good to me. I can feel both the strength of the summer season and the imminent autumn, bringing with it my standard crazy year with some new twists. There is barely 3 weeks until I begin my residence advisor training, and from there it will only become more interesting as the school year rolls into effect, I'm sure.

More details and thoughts to come...

Third Time's the Charm? Interviewed Again

Tuesday night marked my third round of the carousel interview process of becoming a residence advisor. It is not part of the process that occurs once you KNOW you are an advisor, but rather part of the process leading up to one of the following three points of contact:

1. The phone call: You've got it! You will hear from the Residence Life Manager of the residence area that you have been assigned to, and will be informed that you've been offered a position to be an advisor the following academic year.
2. The "who knows what might happen" e-mail: You have been placed on the alternate list; it is not a "no", but it is not a "yes". Based on others accepting their offers, and the retraction of some of those offers throughout the next several months, you may be hired later on. This will be dependent upon how your conveyed personality and attributes (during the interview process), along with perhaps your schedule, will complement a tentative team of advisors that has lost one of its members through one of the aforementioned processes.
3. The e-mail: You have not been offered a position as a residence advisor. There were many applicants and many strong contenders, but unfortunately what was collected through the decision-making process did not leave you competitive above those who were hired.

This year's interview felt different than the two before it, as I went into it without expectations about what was going to happen after. I was not trying hard to impress anyone with my bouncy personality and peppy, cheery tone; I was simply being me, and presenting my honest assets and what I felt were the contributions I could bring to a team. Additionally, I had gone in without 100% commitment to the idea of being an advisor - a large part of me wants to, because I think it is a path that would fulfill me and lead me towards something I could really enjoy doing for the first part of my life (whatever it is); another part of me is resistant to the moderate control over my schedule (required to be "in" 4 nights every week). That is the biggest concern, I think, which goes hand-in-hand with being placed where they think I am suited which will most definitely be far from that guy I'm fond of.

I have several other opportunities: Peer Wellness Coach, Wellness Peer, UBC REC, Residence Hall Association (take 3), amongst other things that may arise; more feedback and interviews still lie ahead.

The usual order of events goes like this:

- Apply for residence lottery

- Apply for advising

- Get placed around 2,500 on the residence waitlist

- Hear that I have been "alternate listed" for advising

- Go for council instead

- Get council position

In less than two weeks I will hear about residency, and advising by the end of February. In the beginning of February I will hear about interviews and more applications to fill out.

The next couple of months will be full of craziness and elections and tests and fun times and frustrating times, I am sure. I look forward to finding out what may happen.

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As a celebration for my third interview being completed, we decided to go out for dinner - I wasn't wanting super filling food, but I was hungry and had not eaten very much, so I thought of a place I had been wanting to share with my fella: Nūba!

Halloumi Cheese, pita, Garden Falafel

Not pictured: Najib's Special (crispy cauliflower tossed with lemon and sea salt)

Dessert: Various baklava - vegan varieties!

Dining Discovery: Nuba - Authentic Lebanese Cuisine

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of sampling a "mezze" lunch appetizer from a restaurant on Broadway called Nuba. For someone such as myself, the appetizer sufficed for a meal - it was the perfect size, and happened to be gluten-free and vegan in addition to being DELICIOUS.

My particular appetizer of choice was the Garden Falafel:

"Victor’s secret recipe of organic chickpeas, fava beans, veggies and spices [VE+GF]"

It was only $7.50 and filled me right up to the brim - with pita to spare (I myself do not generally like to consume a lot of bread anyways). They event sent me home with a generous amount of extra pita - perhaps based on my empty plate... 

A definite recommendation for anyone - meat- and veggie-eaters alike!

Click the link to check out their website.

Until the next discovery,
Still Salivating