Queen's, etc.
I had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning in order to be ready to go to Queen's at 5:45. Neal woke up at like 5:00, and my mom gets up that early anyway, so she spent some of her usual morning exercise time making us breakfast and packing some snacks.
The drive there was ... pretty quiet. Neal and I didn't talk much. I brought my iPod and massive headphones (my iPod ones don't work well anymore), so I listened to a lot of music. Neal had the radio, which kept the Toronto signal until Napanee.
Once we got to Kingston, we got stuck behind massive construction vehicles. Everything around campus was under construction. It was quite inconvenient, but it will be cleared up for us when we actually get to school in September.
The plan was I go for orientation by myself and Neal go to the Stauffer Library (best university library in the country, by the way!), and do some work on his laptop since he needs to for his new job. Oh yes, he got a job. Ooooo! ^^
So we found the biosciences complex, and I went in, while he went to go look for free parking. lol I was there at 8:45 and SOAR didn't start until 9:30. I bought a Tim's coffee and sat at the table and read Wicked for a while. I'm smart and brought entertainment. I left the headphoens with Neal though because he probably needs them more than me. :P
When SOAR started, I got a little package with the events of the day and a couple of maps. The first presentation would start at 10:00, so near that time, I found the lecture hall and took a seat. We were rearranged according to who our peer advisers were (mine was Steph). So I met the other kids in my group. We had an ice breaker activity which was kind of... not that fun. We had to find out who came the farthest (in my group, I did), and whose birthday is closest to today.
The presentation outlined stuff we needed to know about school, residence, etc.
We got a bit of a break, which I was glad for. My stomach was rumbling so loudly during the presentation. So embarrassing... XD;; I ran back to Tim's (which was conveniently in the buliding) and bought some food. Then I found the lab where Steph would talk about courses and how to read the course calendar.
We did some ice breaker stuff, though it was more introductory. You say your name, where you're from, and what your favourite movie is. We learned how we pick our courses, and how to use the Queen's online resources. Then we signed up for one on one counseling with her, so we can get ourselves organized, course-wise. Lunch was at 12:30 and I didn't have to be back until 2:45 for my meeting.
I called Neal and we ran around campus looking for a good place to eat. We were told about the Common Ground, which is a student run coffee house (though they do more than coffee), and it's supposedly really popular. We had no idea where it was, but then I realized I had it in my frosh handbook. We were actually right in front of the building that housed it.
However... lol
The construction wouldn't allow us to cross the street. So we had to go down the street, cross a makeshift bridge (the street was actually a massive ditch), and go around a building to get to where we wanted to go. The Common Ground is actually really cool. It's PURPLE lol and they have great music and good food, except their home made iced tea sucks. It's like regular tea but... cold. I tried to add sugar to it, but I forgot that sugar won't dissolve into a cold drink like that, so it was kind of settled at the bottom of the cup.
We came back to Biosciences and looked over my courses that I wanted to take, and I was trying to decide what I can fill in some remaining slots with.
My meeting came a little early because the person before me never showed. I talked to Steph about my course options. She liked how I had most of my stuff planned already. She told me about different courses and what she wishes she took (speaking as a graduate), and I asked about the art classes. Fine art classes for non-fine art students are only in the summer, and you can't do a minor in it (or a major obviously). I thought about my courses and I decided to do a double major (medial) in English and History. So I'm graduating with 7 credits in each area, plus som electives.
I went to the lab afterwards to figure out a fake timetable (just to make sure there are no conflicts). Spanish and Japanese were full. I decided to take Italian instead of Spanish, and I had to find another course to fill in for Japanese.
Neal was asleep in the car by now.
I was finished with the lab at 3:30, and campus tour started at 4:00. Neal was back in Biosciences complaining that he woke up all wet because the car was so hot. lol Ew. I forgot to check which residence I was in so he told me to go back and check and he'll ask the tour to wait if I ran a little late.
I went back to the lab and Steph was there, so she helped me find the residence listings.
I'm on West Campus, far off from everyone else, but the dorms are nicer, and it's all single rooms. I don't have a room mate! It's good and bad because room mates are fun, but not always. lol It also has full kitchen facilities, not that I need a kitchen. I burn everything.
I actually thought it was all-girls at first, but the house I'm in is coed.
So onto the tour! Most people on the tour were on West too. The tour was really fun. Our guide, Colin, was a little soft spoken but it was a small group, so it wasn't that bad. We went to Summerhill, the first building of the school, made in 1839. Then we walked around and saw some more of the original buildings. Super historic school. Love it. :] I saw a residence. Not MY residence because West is too far to go. lol I saw what a single looked like, and it's roomy enough for me. :]
I got all of my questions answered. We went into the Stauffer Library. He told us a bit about it. And he pointed us towards the other library which has a room that is very reminiscent of Harry Potter. Also, he pointed us to the Ban Righ Dining Hall, which is just like the Great Hall. rofl Oh this will be grand.
I asked about the weather in Kingston. It's very temperamental, cold and rainy. lol Fun. But I have a sexy new jacket to fight off the cold in. :] Except I have to walk from West to Main campus in the winter, which will suck.
After the tour, we head back to the car and I was... well, knocked out in the back seat. I work up at 7:00 and it was pouring rain and we were like, out of gas. lol We filled up but then go lost because we missed an exit or two (due to very very bad visibility). My mom called and she helped us find our way back.
I told her I got a single room and she was really happy. :] We go back home at around 8:00, and that's when she hit us with the bad news.
My dad went for his ECG, which was mandatory for his truck driving thing. An ECG is like a heart test. It was so bad he was immediately sent to the hospital. He has a blood clot near his heart and actually suffered a silent heart attack that he wasn't aware of. If he didn't get it fixed, he will suffer a major heart attack.
I nearly cried. I felt like it was my fault. I put him here. I gave him so much grief and stress it put him in the hospital. We went to go see him. He asked for certain things, like food some magazines, etc.
We ate dinner then went to go see him. The nurse said only one visitor at a time. My mom went in first with all of the stuff, and she asked a different nurse if Neal and I can come in too. We were allowed to, so we went in. He was behind a curtain and I didn't know what to expect. When I saw him, he was sitting up, leeds attached to his body, and in good spirits eating the Indian food we brought. He was happy. I was really relieved. He looked good. Completely normal. He asked us about Queen's, how our drive was, etc. I told him about my courses and that I got into a single room.
He noted that both Neal and I had very red eyes. That's because we were nearly crying, but I just said "we were up since 4:30."
Today, he's going to see a cardiologist and he'll get a new diet to keep him healthy. He's going to be fine. My mom called today and said his tests are going really well and the medicine for the blood clot is working. He's scheduled to stay in the hospital for 3 days, but he might come home today.
It's going to be okay. My mom went to see him this morning because he asked her to bring a thermos of chai. rofl They ACTUALLY don't have a vegetarian meal. What douchebags. But we kept him well-fed, so it's okay. We'll pick up the slack.
By the way, for those who are interested, next year I'm taking English, two Histories, Politics, Italian, and Philosophy. I was forced to take Philosophy because it's a half credit and I needed just another half to make 5 credits. Italian is the other half credit.
The drive there was ... pretty quiet. Neal and I didn't talk much. I brought my iPod and massive headphones (my iPod ones don't work well anymore), so I listened to a lot of music. Neal had the radio, which kept the Toronto signal until Napanee.
Once we got to Kingston, we got stuck behind massive construction vehicles. Everything around campus was under construction. It was quite inconvenient, but it will be cleared up for us when we actually get to school in September.
The plan was I go for orientation by myself and Neal go to the Stauffer Library (best university library in the country, by the way!), and do some work on his laptop since he needs to for his new job. Oh yes, he got a job. Ooooo! ^^
So we found the biosciences complex, and I went in, while he went to go look for free parking. lol I was there at 8:45 and SOAR didn't start until 9:30. I bought a Tim's coffee and sat at the table and read Wicked for a while. I'm smart and brought entertainment. I left the headphoens with Neal though because he probably needs them more than me. :P
When SOAR started, I got a little package with the events of the day and a couple of maps. The first presentation would start at 10:00, so near that time, I found the lecture hall and took a seat. We were rearranged according to who our peer advisers were (mine was Steph). So I met the other kids in my group. We had an ice breaker activity which was kind of... not that fun. We had to find out who came the farthest (in my group, I did), and whose birthday is closest to today.
The presentation outlined stuff we needed to know about school, residence, etc.
We got a bit of a break, which I was glad for. My stomach was rumbling so loudly during the presentation. So embarrassing... XD;; I ran back to Tim's (which was conveniently in the buliding) and bought some food. Then I found the lab where Steph would talk about courses and how to read the course calendar.
We did some ice breaker stuff, though it was more introductory. You say your name, where you're from, and what your favourite movie is. We learned how we pick our courses, and how to use the Queen's online resources. Then we signed up for one on one counseling with her, so we can get ourselves organized, course-wise. Lunch was at 12:30 and I didn't have to be back until 2:45 for my meeting.
I called Neal and we ran around campus looking for a good place to eat. We were told about the Common Ground, which is a student run coffee house (though they do more than coffee), and it's supposedly really popular. We had no idea where it was, but then I realized I had it in my frosh handbook. We were actually right in front of the building that housed it.
However... lol
The construction wouldn't allow us to cross the street. So we had to go down the street, cross a makeshift bridge (the street was actually a massive ditch), and go around a building to get to where we wanted to go. The Common Ground is actually really cool. It's PURPLE lol and they have great music and good food, except their home made iced tea sucks. It's like regular tea but... cold. I tried to add sugar to it, but I forgot that sugar won't dissolve into a cold drink like that, so it was kind of settled at the bottom of the cup.
We came back to Biosciences and looked over my courses that I wanted to take, and I was trying to decide what I can fill in some remaining slots with.
My meeting came a little early because the person before me never showed. I talked to Steph about my course options. She liked how I had most of my stuff planned already. She told me about different courses and what she wishes she took (speaking as a graduate), and I asked about the art classes. Fine art classes for non-fine art students are only in the summer, and you can't do a minor in it (or a major obviously). I thought about my courses and I decided to do a double major (medial) in English and History. So I'm graduating with 7 credits in each area, plus som electives.
I went to the lab afterwards to figure out a fake timetable (just to make sure there are no conflicts). Spanish and Japanese were full. I decided to take Italian instead of Spanish, and I had to find another course to fill in for Japanese.
Neal was asleep in the car by now.
I was finished with the lab at 3:30, and campus tour started at 4:00. Neal was back in Biosciences complaining that he woke up all wet because the car was so hot. lol Ew. I forgot to check which residence I was in so he told me to go back and check and he'll ask the tour to wait if I ran a little late.
I went back to the lab and Steph was there, so she helped me find the residence listings.
I'm on West Campus, far off from everyone else, but the dorms are nicer, and it's all single rooms. I don't have a room mate! It's good and bad because room mates are fun, but not always. lol It also has full kitchen facilities, not that I need a kitchen. I burn everything.
I actually thought it was all-girls at first, but the house I'm in is coed.
So onto the tour! Most people on the tour were on West too. The tour was really fun. Our guide, Colin, was a little soft spoken but it was a small group, so it wasn't that bad. We went to Summerhill, the first building of the school, made in 1839. Then we walked around and saw some more of the original buildings. Super historic school. Love it. :] I saw a residence. Not MY residence because West is too far to go. lol I saw what a single looked like, and it's roomy enough for me. :]
I got all of my questions answered. We went into the Stauffer Library. He told us a bit about it. And he pointed us towards the other library which has a room that is very reminiscent of Harry Potter. Also, he pointed us to the Ban Righ Dining Hall, which is just like the Great Hall. rofl Oh this will be grand.
I asked about the weather in Kingston. It's very temperamental, cold and rainy. lol Fun. But I have a sexy new jacket to fight off the cold in. :] Except I have to walk from West to Main campus in the winter, which will suck.
After the tour, we head back to the car and I was... well, knocked out in the back seat. I work up at 7:00 and it was pouring rain and we were like, out of gas. lol We filled up but then go lost because we missed an exit or two (due to very very bad visibility). My mom called and she helped us find our way back.
I told her I got a single room and she was really happy. :] We go back home at around 8:00, and that's when she hit us with the bad news.
My dad went for his ECG, which was mandatory for his truck driving thing. An ECG is like a heart test. It was so bad he was immediately sent to the hospital. He has a blood clot near his heart and actually suffered a silent heart attack that he wasn't aware of. If he didn't get it fixed, he will suffer a major heart attack.
I nearly cried. I felt like it was my fault. I put him here. I gave him so much grief and stress it put him in the hospital. We went to go see him. He asked for certain things, like food some magazines, etc.
We ate dinner then went to go see him. The nurse said only one visitor at a time. My mom went in first with all of the stuff, and she asked a different nurse if Neal and I can come in too. We were allowed to, so we went in. He was behind a curtain and I didn't know what to expect. When I saw him, he was sitting up, leeds attached to his body, and in good spirits eating the Indian food we brought. He was happy. I was really relieved. He looked good. Completely normal. He asked us about Queen's, how our drive was, etc. I told him about my courses and that I got into a single room.
He noted that both Neal and I had very red eyes. That's because we were nearly crying, but I just said "we were up since 4:30."
Today, he's going to see a cardiologist and he'll get a new diet to keep him healthy. He's going to be fine. My mom called today and said his tests are going really well and the medicine for the blood clot is working. He's scheduled to stay in the hospital for 3 days, but he might come home today.
It's going to be okay. My mom went to see him this morning because he asked her to bring a thermos of chai. rofl They ACTUALLY don't have a vegetarian meal. What douchebags. But we kept him well-fed, so it's okay. We'll pick up the slack.
By the way, for those who are interested, next year I'm taking English, two Histories, Politics, Italian, and Philosophy. I was forced to take Philosophy because it's a half credit and I needed just another half to make 5 credits. Italian is the other half credit.