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!

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...

Looking Forward: The next 4 months.

The next four months: a time I both welcome and fear.

For the most part, I believe that I will enjoy the next four months - the weather will (hopefully) be summery and show signs of life blossoming everywhere, energies will be high, and a reprieve from school will be mine. However, he is going to be back at home, and visits will once again become once-every-few-weeks sort of occurrences; I do not know what job I will be holding (I would really rather not return to my old safety net and have chosen to search elsewhere). 

1. Weather.
- Get all the Vitamin D!
- Wake up by natural light streaming in early through my window.
- Be rid of the chills by simply laying down for 30 seconds outside.
- Rain is exciting and rejuvenating and makes me happy for the plants.
2. School reprieve.
- I love school, but my body feels the strain of spending too many hours 'loving' it.
- Social life, work life, and other 'lives' become independent of one another. 
- Must come up with a schedule of my own when work is not in the picture.
3. Absence.
- Visits will be the most exciting of times.
- Alas, my heart shall ache often and yearn for its partner in crime. 
4. Employment. 
- Where have I applied? Let us take a look: Chocolate cafes, healthy living cafes, jobs with the city in event planning, program coordinator, communications assistant, internship with local produce delivery company, summer camp counsellor, restaurants.
- Where might I apply? Let us take a look: Favourite UBC-local cafes, restaurants, healthy living themed shops.
- During the school months, I miss work! I miss that income and sense of having done a job well and making others satisfied through my service. Next year I suppose a great deal of my involvements will revolve around a sort of employment - even if it isn't a regular paycheque like those I would receive during off-school months.
- I want to try something new; I've had good times with my ol' pal Safeway, but I'd like to feel challenged in what I do this summer.

I expect excitement, friendship revival (for which I'm very excited), painful yearning, lots of family time, and hopefully a bit of travel this summer. It would be my wish to feel that I've grown a bit more, learned a few new things, and seen one or two new places. Many photos should be taken, and perhaps even a new friendship is to be made!