Skip to main content

Thoughtful Thursday - Getting Sorted

thoughtfulYesterday was a big day.

It was a pre-orientation day at school. I didn't do a tour because I already had earlier in the summer. I quickly learned the tour was barely useful for anyone coming from the other side of the building where the bus drops people off. In other words, a large chunk of the student body not living in residence. The bus station was far from the building I needed. After asking people for help along the way, I eventually made it to the common area where most of the services and the main theatre are located.

The next thing I did was get in line for my student card and bus pass. Thankfully, it wasn't too long when I did it. About 5 minutes after taking my photo, the cards were ready. Technology can be a wonderful thing. The bus pass isn't usable until September 1st, but I have everything I need to get to school on the 5th.

After cards, I tried to find out about books and software. Largely this was unhelpful. We learned later that those resources won't be available until the 28th. I'm unsure why the students in charge of the eTexts booth were not given this information.

I grabbed some lunch as I had time to kill. The gluten free options in the cafeteria weren't great, but there are quite a number of options on campus for food, so I'll check other ones out later. The bar wasn't open.

I headed to another building where I found my locker and claimed it. That building was easy to get to from the main area by popping outside and walking across an intersection.

Then I found my friend who actually used to be in derby with me and we went through the rest of the day together. Many of the presentations gave me ideas for what else I might want to do while there to add to my resume. I also learned about bursaries and such that I might be eligible for. I learned about the dental benefits available to me as well.

I came out of the day exhausted from the walking and the information injection, but also excited for school.

I'd love to go to the zip-lining event, but it's on the same day as my cousin's wedding. There are a bunch of other things coming up that I might check out though.

I had no trouble with the bus! And the driver gave me his day pass blessing, which came in handy. It's actually quite easy. From the station not too far from my house, there are 3 buses I can take. Shockingly, it's the same to get home! This is an unusual experience for me with the OC Transpo system. Also, the one on the way home goes through downtown, so I can stop and do something there easily if I want before going home. I think I'm going to do more because I don't have to worry about my car and the cost of parking it downtown.

Since it was right near the station by my place, I got a few groceries at Walmart on my way home and a rolling laptop briefcase because carrying things on my back made my neck sore. My feet were sore too by the time I got home and I went to bed a little early.

Something else I enjoyed about the day was that I didn't have time to spend on social media. I was too busy just living my life. I'm looking forward to doing more of this too.

I also learned I'll know at least 5 people on campus, which is exciting too! Some not strangers to eat lunch or grab beverages with depending on schedules :)

I have nearly everything I need now for school except software. That's something that I was told gets handled in the first couple days of school, so don't fret about it.

The next thing is meeting classmates on September 5th.

In the meantime, I'm already reading my books and trying to organize my home for the year ahead. I'm slowly decluttering and getting my life organized. I found a to-do list app called Taskary that I'm liking. I'll like it even more if they make the recurring tasks work properly, but for most of my stuff, it seems great so far.

There were some interesting bus characters that I'm sure will provide some inspiration in the months to come too.

Well, I better get to that to-do list.

Guid cheerio the nou,
R~

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Gauntlet That Was October

I had a lot of things happen in October. I watched Frankenstein in the cemetery with friends. I had tea with a friend. I started a new sport: curling. This is really fun and I'm enjoying the level of activity it provides and all the strategic elements. I'll do a separate post on it soon. Unfortunately, soon after my first game, I came down with Covid and so did the friend who I had tea with, so I think we both caught it at the place we went to. That wasn't fun. I already posted about that. I was fortunate to be free of it in time to attend Can-Con where I took in lots of panels, saw some of the wonderful writer community, bought many new books, and volunteered to help out in the rooms. The following weekend, I went to the livestream for Danielle Allard's new album release, followed by the in person release. As part of this, she has a 6 video series that releases every Sunday on her YouTube at 1:15 PM EDT. Video number 2, Falling Into Place, is one that I feel fortunate

December 2023 Holidays

The drive to North Bay was pretty smooth until I was 30 minutes away and ran out of windshield washer fluid. That was the first time that ever happened to me. Luckily, about 10-15 minutes later, there was one last gas station where I could fix that. Since it's my busy season, I worked the mornings and took the afternoons and evenings to spend with family and friends. My brother stopped by with a special gift, a new ornament for the tree. My mom loved ceramic Christmas trees, so it's a perfect way to keep her with us at Christmas. His friend, Fawn, helped him get it made. She has a YouTube channel you can check out here: https://youtube.com/@thethriftyfawn After that, I visited friends in the slightly rural part of Callander, Ontario. We were having a lovely time catching up and then the evening had a surprise in store. Someone in the area had hit a small deer with their vehicle. My friend's dad skinned and gutted it in around -20C (due to the windchill) weather.

Under Siege

My city is under attack. I wish I was being facetious.  The so-called "freedom" convoy is here and so far this is what has transpired: 1. They parked on the war memorial. These people who call themselves patriots. This is where the Unknown Soldier rests. This is where Corporal Nathan Cirullo lost his life in October of 2014. The cars were towed, but who knows what actual repercussions they will face. 2. Later, when asked to move away from memorial, one stood and jumped on the tomb itself while others cheered.  3. Despite having port-a-potties provided for by the mayor, they've been defecating on Parliament Hill, in snowbanks, and on streets nearby.  4. Flags being flown include the Confederate flag of the United States, Trump flags, the Quebec equivalent to the Confederate flag, upside down Canada flags, regular Canada flags, Fuck Trudeau flags, libertarian flags, and ones adorned with swastikas. Yeah, this is totally about freedom rather than racism, white su