the tenth month
I've been meaning to post for a really long time because a lot of interesting, exciting things have happened since my last post, but in between my internet expiring (temporarily, thank gods) on me and actually being caught up in doing said exciting things..., I kind of failed. So, this'll just be one really goddamn long post about University: The First Month (Plus Peripheral Activities and the Such Which Are Equally If Not Moreso Fun). Aren't you excited? :Db
This weekend in particular was very busy, what with DayMUN on Saturday, Nuit Blanche through the night, and then Word on the Street yesterday and all that jazz. DayMUN was a nice, low-pressure warm-up for Model UNs in general and a very helpful intro to university MUN rules. We discussed the topic of women and children trafficking, and got to pick our own countries. Haha~ I chose to represent Cambodia and was therefore the only small, "victim" state there. XD It was great because I got to point all sorts of fingers at the UK and the USA and asked (and received!) a great deal of "foreign aid" monies. Twas awesome.
Memorable moments included when Russia asked why we should give up a portion of our GPA's to fight this evil, and USA responded that their students heavily objected to giving up their GPA scores to end women and child trafficking, but that GDPs were fair game. Also, our chair called the USA "the delegate from the United States of Russia". XD The UN building barely escaped a nuclear strike from both sides.
Nuit Blanche, which was an all-night contemporary art exhibition throughout the city, was another experience altogether. I'm not much of a contemporary art fan personally, but Hailen really wanted to go and she had accompanied me to DayMUN and was going to come with me to Word on the Street too, so I figured I could do this little thing, right? Well, it was okay but omg SO MUCH WALKING for serious. DDX At least I persuaded her to allow coffee (STARBUCKS :D) breaks, so I didn't collapse on the spot. Despite my total incomprehension of most modern art, I did really enjoy the U of T display in King's College Circle. It was an accident scene with smoke billowing and big lights, and the wreckage of an alien spaceship. It was really really eerie and cool. There were some other good exhibits too, but I can't remember most of them. The only other really cool thing I got to see was a Harlequin figurines display at the Gardiner Museum, but it wasn't part of Nuit Blanche so I'm not sure it counts. XP
We got back at around three in the morning, watched an episode and a half of Firefly and called it a night. ... Until nine a.m., when we got up to see when Word on the Street started. It turned out to be at eleven, so we had breakfast slowly and watched some more Firefly. I love Firefly and I love converting people to what I love. :D ... hi, Yuxi. XD
WORD ON THE STREET. So. Cool. It was like a street book festival. Or rather, a literary festival. There were all these booths FULL of discounted books (all @ U.S. cover price or lower) and lots of activities and friendly people and AUTHORS. Kenneth Oppel was there, David Suzuki, who I actually got to see, Craig Kielburger (who is a Trin grad btw), etc. Very very exciting. I got Sandman: Endless Nights, two Calvin&Hobbes anthologies, and a hardcover copy of Good Omens for $48. My bank account was less than pleased, but I was (am am am!) ecstatic. Books are my drug of choice. Seriously. I was disappointed to see no more Neil Gaiman creations, but oh well. It was a very very good day. (This fact was not at all lessened by the FREE ESPRESSO the Starbucks tent was handing out. *g*)
Apart from that though, classes have been going super. (With one notable exception being SOC101, but I shall persevere.) We learned the origins of the miniskirt's popularity in Economics, and the History teacher is just pure win. Memorable line: "You'll have to excuse my amusement [right after the telling of a horrible pun]; I don't get much sensual pleasure these days." HE IS LIKE SIXTY. I LOVE HIM. XDD He also makes Britney Spears/Bill Clinton jokes. ... I rest my case.
The biggest highlight of academia right now though has got to be my Thursdays (seriously folks, highlight of my week right there). I have a two hour seminar about Sino-American relations in the morning and then an hour-long seminar with Dean Allen's Modes of Reasoning. Dean Allen is also my group leader. I have the best luck in the world. I absolutely love that course to pieces, even if I have the feeling that I will either come out of it very intelligent and sharp OR completely confused and paranoid about ever speaking again. I hope for the former, but rather expect the latter. XD;; The class is still amazing though; it's everything I expected and hoped for and more. I can't wait for second semester when we're going to look at using arguments in ethics and law. And logical fallacies is later on this semester, I believe. *____*
I realize that I have just cemented my image as the biggest nerd ever, but I am having so much fun it's actually quite sad if I stop to think about it. So I shan't. I have a 1000 word essay and an essay outline due in three weeks. Wish me luck. ^__^
Also, my icon totally embodies how I feel about Trinity. We rock.
This weekend in particular was very busy, what with DayMUN on Saturday, Nuit Blanche through the night, and then Word on the Street yesterday and all that jazz. DayMUN was a nice, low-pressure warm-up for Model UNs in general and a very helpful intro to university MUN rules. We discussed the topic of women and children trafficking, and got to pick our own countries. Haha~ I chose to represent Cambodia and was therefore the only small, "victim" state there. XD It was great because I got to point all sorts of fingers at the UK and the USA and asked (and received!) a great deal of "foreign aid" monies. Twas awesome.
Memorable moments included when Russia asked why we should give up a portion of our GPA's to fight this evil, and USA responded that their students heavily objected to giving up their GPA scores to end women and child trafficking, but that GDPs were fair game. Also, our chair called the USA "the delegate from the United States of Russia". XD The UN building barely escaped a nuclear strike from both sides.
Nuit Blanche, which was an all-night contemporary art exhibition throughout the city, was another experience altogether. I'm not much of a contemporary art fan personally, but Hailen really wanted to go and she had accompanied me to DayMUN and was going to come with me to Word on the Street too, so I figured I could do this little thing, right? Well, it was okay but omg SO MUCH WALKING for serious. DDX At least I persuaded her to allow coffee (STARBUCKS :D) breaks, so I didn't collapse on the spot. Despite my total incomprehension of most modern art, I did really enjoy the U of T display in King's College Circle. It was an accident scene with smoke billowing and big lights, and the wreckage of an alien spaceship. It was really really eerie and cool. There were some other good exhibits too, but I can't remember most of them. The only other really cool thing I got to see was a Harlequin figurines display at the Gardiner Museum, but it wasn't part of Nuit Blanche so I'm not sure it counts. XP
We got back at around three in the morning, watched an episode and a half of Firefly and called it a night. ... Until nine a.m., when we got up to see when Word on the Street started. It turned out to be at eleven, so we had breakfast slowly and watched some more Firefly. I love Firefly and I love converting people to what I love. :D ... hi, Yuxi. XD
WORD ON THE STREET. So. Cool. It was like a street book festival. Or rather, a literary festival. There were all these booths FULL of discounted books (all @ U.S. cover price or lower) and lots of activities and friendly people and AUTHORS. Kenneth Oppel was there, David Suzuki, who I actually got to see, Craig Kielburger (who is a Trin grad btw), etc. Very very exciting. I got Sandman: Endless Nights, two Calvin&Hobbes anthologies, and a hardcover copy of Good Omens for $48. My bank account was less than pleased, but I was (am am am!) ecstatic. Books are my drug of choice. Seriously. I was disappointed to see no more Neil Gaiman creations, but oh well. It was a very very good day. (This fact was not at all lessened by the FREE ESPRESSO the Starbucks tent was handing out. *g*)
Apart from that though, classes have been going super. (With one notable exception being SOC101, but I shall persevere.) We learned the origins of the miniskirt's popularity in Economics, and the History teacher is just pure win. Memorable line: "You'll have to excuse my amusement [right after the telling of a horrible pun]; I don't get much sensual pleasure these days." HE IS LIKE SIXTY. I LOVE HIM. XDD He also makes Britney Spears/Bill Clinton jokes. ... I rest my case.
The biggest highlight of academia right now though has got to be my Thursdays (seriously folks, highlight of my week right there). I have a two hour seminar about Sino-American relations in the morning and then an hour-long seminar with Dean Allen's Modes of Reasoning. Dean Allen is also my group leader. I have the best luck in the world. I absolutely love that course to pieces, even if I have the feeling that I will either come out of it very intelligent and sharp OR completely confused and paranoid about ever speaking again. I hope for the former, but rather expect the latter. XD;; The class is still amazing though; it's everything I expected and hoped for and more. I can't wait for second semester when we're going to look at using arguments in ethics and law. And logical fallacies is later on this semester, I believe. *____*
I realize that I have just cemented my image as the biggest nerd ever, but I am having so much fun it's actually quite sad if I stop to think about it. So I shan't. I have a 1000 word essay and an essay outline due in three weeks. Wish me luck. ^__^
Also, my icon totally embodies how I feel about Trinity. We rock.