A new school year approacheth!

There are only 3 days left until I begin my journey back to school into my new role as a residence advisor, and with that will come the need to be structured and efficient with my time. 

The first month will be a time of testing the waters and figuring out how my schedule balances with all that I will have on my plate: Academics, extracurriculars, a shift at work once per week, my social life, etc. I hope to find time to keep a regular blog entry going, and I hope to find some structure to some of my posts in addition to my more personal photojournalistic updates!

I am not sure what this may look like right now, but perhaps more food/nutrition/fitness-related posts will occur, or more focused "thought" posts. Regardless, I will do my best to keep a reasonable post pace!

Recognition Banquet in Photos

Hello, and welcome to the NRHH/RHA Recognition Banquet of 2014!

Here, we take a moment to recognize some of the hard work and successes of student leaders at UBC within the National Residence Hall Honorary, the Residence Hall Association, and the university as a whole.

Gerri the gender-neutral giraffe welcomes you to our event, hosted on April 1st.

And this was a little bit of my perspective, as an outgoing RHA executive, as the event played out that afternoon!

Shaina has a talent for aesthetics.

 

The RHA had a
strong team this year.

I'll be sad to leave this executive team, but happy
to have gained new friends and colleagues for
the upcoming year!

 

NT and KT, VP partners in crime!

A Photo Update: Barn Burner 2014

As I await the professional photographs to be released, I will share some of my personal Barn Burner 2014 photos from a few weekends ago:

The ever-so-mysterious Wu-Wu.

R, K, and G!

Chef Wu-Wu getting breakfast readied the
following morning!

French toast with lots of fruit!

Back from Hiatus

Hello, M&M.

If I'm not mistaken, it has been quite some time since we've interacted! My hope is to be back more regularly for updates as classes end... and the season of studying for final exams begins.

In the last two weeks...

My mom made special homemade soup for me!

My sister turned nineteen and we went DANCING!

I obviously ended up baking cookies (CCK recipe).

In addition to birthdays, baking, and breaking it down, I have been preparing for the end of this term and what the next chapter of 2014 will hold. 

For the end of this term: 
- My final paper (the first paper I have written in about 16 months!)
- The transition report for the incoming RHA Vice-President
- Final events and socials for the RHA as a whole

The next chapter:

- Job interviews! One last Saturday, and one this coming Saturday with UBC REC

- My official induction as a member of the 2014-15 NRHH

- Applying for summer jobs!

- Preparing for my stint as a residence advisor next school year

Amidst all of these exciting upcoming opportunities and ongoing year-end preparations, I have been trying to get all of my socialization squeezed into these final weeks!

There was the Welcome to Wonderland Boat Cruise:

There was also the 2nd annual Barn Burner:

I also participated in my third Storm The Wall event! We placed first in our heat which was very exciting, and advanced to the next race - something I haven't accomplished before with my team!

Wall Me Maybe 2.0

Wall Me Maybe 2.1

Beyond attending and organizing events, I have been reflecting on what I've done and been a part of over the last eight months. 
~ Academics have been at a relative high for me, and my involvements have balanced well with school. For the first time in a while, I will miss courses that I've taken this year along with the professors that taught them; I also feel that my major has become more of a place that I feel at home, particularly in my gender and sex differences course (and my personality and behaviour disorders courses last term). 
~ I struggled through another visual arts class but enjoyed being able to use my camera for projects and was pleased that I applied something I'm passionate about in my final project (uploading to blog is currently being contemplated).
~ Being an executive member of the RHA has been great - it puts me in touch with every part of residence (mostly) and I have been a part of a forward-moving year for the organization. I regret the lack of closeness developed with my fellow executives early on, but am grateful that we've done so much as leaders and that we've bonded more in the last little while!
~ My personal life has expanded and evolved in terms of family bonds, friendships, and my relationship - all in ways that I think are taking me in a good direction. I don't know what this direction is, but it feels like a good and enjoyable one.


Overall, this year at UBC has been a good one.
The summer is always a mysterious next chapter - travel plans, new job opportunities (sorry Safeway), and time for friends and family in abundance!
I look forward to seeing where things go.

Once my camera's most recent photos have been uploaded,

I'll get back to this and update on the more recent events following

the Boat Cruise! Barn Burner, food adventures, and more!

Our cityscape view from the boat last weekend.