Day in the Life Part One: Waking Up and Going to Class and a Map of Mount Allison University

I'd like to introduce the first of a multi-part series of a C-grade unnecessarily corny documentary about daily life at Mount Allison University.

Part of the sort of unease that I know a lot of high school seniors feel about leaving everything behind and going to University is that it is a completely new environment and that nothing is familiar. One of the things that in a way eased my anxiety was visiting and seeing where everything is. Seeing where I might sleep, eat, and go to class made it feel a little more familiar and the change not as daunting as some imagine it may be.

While nowhere near as good as a tour, I thought I'd take a few pictures in the hopes of giving you some idea of daily life at Mount Allison. So, without further adieu, here is part one of Daily Life at Mount Allison:

Wake up
Sometimes, it takes a little encouragement to get out of bed in the morning.
(Campbell Hall)




"North Quad" with Windsor residence on the right, Jennings Dining Hall just to the left of that, and Harper left of that. Harper is connected to meal hall, which makes some jealous when it is -30C.



Caffeine-A faithful friend to many



Morning Classes
(Sleeping...or meditating on unconsciousness?)

Sometimes classes can be a little slow

But most of the time (as with mine) they can be enthralling. (Great acting, eh?)

Lectures can be mind-expandingly cutting edge.
(One of the smaller classroom in Crabtree, across from the Library)


Fresh air helps...but it was -25C...so they were frozen in place.
(Picture taken between the library (left out of frame) and Crabtree (out of frame). On the left is the Chapel, Centennial Hall in the far background behind the tree, and Barclay Chemistry Building on the right)


And to give you a general idea of campus below is a map. For better map, I'd rec recommend Mt Allison's fairly cool virtual tour.

Stereophonic 6 Concert at the Vogue Cinema in Sackville, New Brunswick sponsored by CBC Radio 3

Last night I had the chance to go to a Stereophonic concert at the Vogue Cinema downtown. This year, the music festival, organized by the CHMA student radio station was sponsored by CBC Radio 3. It was a pretty good show. My favourite acts were Steve Fifield, Pat Lepoidevin, and Julie Doiron.

 Here are a few of the top tracks by a few of the artists there. I especially like Car Crash, Snowfalls in November, and Brother from Another Mother:


Unfortunately I couldn't stay for the night's headliner Old Man Luedecke, who I heard was great. I managed to take some photos of the event. Here they are:

Pat Lepoidevin







Julie Doiron











Al Tuck

Steve Fifield

'Barack Obama to visit Canada after inauguration'

I'll be posting soon about the first week back at Mount Allison, but for the moment there's a story I'd like to share. In case you haven't heard the news, Barack Obama has chosen to visit Canada in his first trip abroad as President. This is surely a great sign for Canadians, knowing that the American President appreciates the special relationship between the US and Canada.

Barack Obama to visit Canada after inauguration

U.S. president-elect Barack Obama shakes hands as he stops to eat at a Washington restaurant on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009. (AP / Gerald Herbert)

CTV.ca News Staff

Updated: Sat. Jan. 10 2009 10:13 PM ET

U.S. president-elect Barack Obama will visit Canada for his first foreign visit after his inauguration later this month.

"We're honoured and thrilled he has chosen Canada," Peter Kent, Canada's minister of state for foreign affairs of the Americas, said.

The planned trip will continue a longstanding tradition of new American presidents choosing Canada for their first official state visit.

The tradition was broken by President George Bush after his election when he visited Mexico instead.

The fact that Obama has revived the tradition of earlier presidents bodes well for Canada, CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife said.

"This has got to please the government and please Canadians, in general," he told Newsnet.

This "clearly shows that Barack Obama understands that Canada is an important player," he said.

Details of the trip are still emerging, but Fife said Canada and the U.S. have a variety of bilateral issues to discuss.

"There was a concern that with the American economy in such dire straits -- and the fact that there are so many global problems facing the Americans -- that he (would) not come to Canada right away," Fife said.

"(But) clearly, if the economy is going to be a major issue for (Canadian and U.S. leaders) they will probably want to work as closely as possible."

Besides the economy, Afghanistan and Obama's plan to close Guantanamo Bay are expected to be at the top of the agenda.

Experts say that the issues discussed during the leaders' first official meeting may not be as important as establishing a respectful relationship.

"What's more important is how the prime minister and the president get on in terms of their relationship with each other," Errol Mendes of University of Ottawa said. "(Their relationship) doesn't have to be chummy chummy . . . (they just) can't be aggressive to each other."

Fife added that the visit will also give Obama and Harper an opportunity to discuss climate change issues.

Harper has proposed a North American accord to deal with the issue. Obama, too, has indicated he wants to change American policies to deal with global warming and energy issues.

Obama has also said he wants to shift America's focus back to Afghanistan from Iraq, making it a bigger priority in the coming months and years.

"Clearly, there is recognition here that Canada has carried a significantly heavy load in Afghanistan with loss of lives," Fife said.

Journey

I've got a few minutes now and I just wanted to share a little something. Below is map of the major moves in my life...from Quebec to different places in Illinois to BC back to Illinois to Boston, and then here to Sackville. We were talking about what 'place' means in our Human Environment class...and it got me to thinking again of all the different places that I'm "from". And well...here's the highlights:

View Larger Map

It seems appropriate to include a traveling songs...and Tom Petty's Time to Move On is one of the best I can find:

It's time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, it s time to get going

Broken skyline, movin' through the airport
Shes an honest defector
Conscientious objector
Now her own protector

Broken skyline, which way to love land
Which way to something better
Which way to forgiveness
Which way do I go

It's time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, its time to get going

Sometime later, getting the words wrong
Wasting the meaning, and losing the rhyme
Nauseous adrenaline
Like breakin' up a dog fight
Like a deer in the headlights
Frozen in real time
I'm losing my mind

It's time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, its time to get going

Scare Tactics

If they had only shown us these in high school instead of the dull, decade old safety videos...then more people may have paid attention.

Edit: I was told this was video was especially disturbing without any warning, so in order to prevent any further trauma I'll use this over-used and almost entirely ignored warning: "This video contains images that may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised". Seriously...they're called "scare tactics" for a reason.

Back at Mount Allison

Before I begin writing about what it is like being back at Mount Allison I have a few last pictures to share of Boston in Winter:





That's right...that's Winter in Boston. Well...right after all the snow melted...and right before another big snow.

Traveling fifteen hours from Boston to Sackville wasn't the most enjoyable journey I've been on...but it was exciting at parts.... like getting pulled inside by Homeland Security while trying to leave the US (at the Calais/St. Stephen border), which, as I said before, is completly legal. I applied for my US passport while in Boston, so when I said that I was a dual Canadian-American traveling to Canada on a Canadian passport they decided that I needed to come inside. After looking things up I was allowed to leave the country...so no big problem...but it's not a great feeling to be told "you need to come with me" by someone with a gun.

I got back to Mount Allison late Sunday night, and I've only had a bit of time to hang out with all of my friends (exchanging a few great little gifts...and then of course being forced to watch a chick-flick...don't ask which one) before I had to go and sell my old books and buy new ones. I've had all my classes once so far, and I have them each once more before the weekend. They all seem pretty good so far...things that I'm at least moderately interested in:Human Geography, Canadian History, French, Macroeconomics, and American Government.

As far as last semester I earned all A's and B's, which I am happy pretty happy with. Adjusting to University involves getting past some of the distractions from studying, writing, and going to class. Just getting settled and finding your way around, not to mention figuring out how to use your time outside of class can have an impact on grades, and for a lot of people that means doing worse than you're used to doing in high school. So, when you get there...work hard and stay focused, but keep in mind that you're learning a lot outside of class, and you're adjusting to a lot of change.

I know that I'm very excited about the next semester, I've got an idea of what I need to do to earn the grades I want in my classes, how to study better, and how to really enjoy my free time. This semester there will be more time to get started on my assignments earlier, sleep enough, and enjoy my free time instead of rushing at the last minute.

This week is the first house party "Cancun Campbell"...I'm not really the partying type...but I might stop... by seeing as how I live there. Then Sunday is the start of season 7 of 24... I'm guessing Jack Bower will be in trouble for torturing people, have to save the world, torture some more people...and then somehow escape..and then do it again and again for a few more seasons. The 20th is Bararck Obama's Inauguration, and by the end of the month I'll be 19.