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! 

ABCs of: Denim, Easter, Food

The day of near denim overdose.

(See how I continued the "ABCs" with the words in my title?)

There is little to update anyone on during this frustratingly lengthy exam break (12 days between my first exam and my last two exams on the same day), but I thought it would be a nice time to throw down some photos and muse over things.

My last exam was welcomed, as I had a 9-day break between that and the last day of classes - and as it is a difficult course for my arts student background (Brain and Behaviour Psychology), I was very pleased with how it went! I finished in less than an hour and was given chocolate-covered almonds at the end. :) 




Following this exam's (and course's, I suppose...) completion, I began about 36 hours of intensive resume-depositing and driving between school, home, the 'Wack, and back! It was really nice to just kick back in the 'Wack after all of the driving and make some veggie meatloaf with my daddy-o while watching movies. 

Father-daughter camera dates!

The most delicious of unmeatloaves.

Josephine!

Bella!

After a too-brief but rejuvenating visit with mi padre, I ventured back out to UBC and put in some more study hours in preparation for a busy Easter Sunday back at home. 
Thus far, the study schedule I have devised has worked exceptionally well for being so simply-structured, so I've been on track for everything so far! I sense that I will be well-prepared for my favourite class and that I will make it through my least favourite.

Ah, dinner - one of the most magical moments to capture (not really, but it is a moment that can elicit salivation over and over, which is kind of magical, right?)! I tried a vegan "imitation ham" which added
some fun texture to dinner, and with the help of gravy and everything else on the plate, dinner was both filling and delectable.

Not a couple to let food fall by the wayside, he and I decided to celebrate 20 months of togetherness with a trip to The Reef for a Caribbean lunch! Plaintain chips, jerk tofu, Johnny cakes.... I still haven't tried one of their coconut cocktails yet, but I think when that day comes, it will take the Reef to a whole-new level!

Hopefully, more exciting and interesting adventures will arise in the week still left before my next exam takes place. In the meantime, I will continue to hunt for a summer employer, contemplate what courses I will take next year, and try to pack up some of the belongings in my dorm room to prepare for moving out in just over a week. 

Vacation seems both too far and too near at the same time.

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!