In Antigonish with some environmentalists

So this random weekend in March I headed to St.FX in Anti-go-nowhere for the APICS Environmental Conference. It was a pretty cool conference, with people in undergrad and masters programs from universities all over Atlantic Canada. Dollie, Yukari, Chels and I headed out in our sweet rental car. We got to the sketchy motel on James Street to find no t.v., but wireless internet. A call to the desk confirmed that no one stole it, but we would be getting a tv the next day sometime.

During the conference there was lots of iteresting research presented and cool posters. I was a little nervous to present my thesis research. I don't usually get nervous but this was because there were lots of smart people there, my supervisor came for the day, and I wasn't completely done my research and data analysis. During the awards banquet, Dollie won best poster, congrats!

Other than just being at the conference, we got to check out the sights in antigonish. We did a little bit of 'shopping' downtown and visited a crazy busy liquor store. It was cool that I got to see Laura Gay. It was only for a bit, but we still got to catch up a little. It was aweseom to just hang out and drink with the Environmental studies people, because we really don't get to do that much outside of class. I got to know them a lot better. We showed everyone in Antigonish how to party like we do in the city, and how dollar drinks are really done. The finaly night there was a crazy rain storm, but we still made it home safe. One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to hear Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party speak, more to come on that later.

Many thanks

I just wanted to take a second and say thanks to everyone who helped out with my campaign for VP Academic, especially everyone who voted yes for me. Even though I was unopposed, it was still a stressful time. I would like to think that I worked hard during campaign regardless.

I am really excited to work with the incoming team and fulltime staff. After I found out that I won, it hit me that now I have to accomplish all these things I said I was going to do.I think I am ready for the challenge. This year, SMUSA has to overcome some major challenges like a governance restructuring, campus sustainability, and making SMUSA and its services more relevant to students. It is going to be a busy year, but I am looking forward to it.

I wonder who we'll kidnap this year??

Going to Cuba!

It is getting closer and closer until the day we leave for Varadero. I really can't believe it. It seems like I have too much to do to be going away for over a week, oh well. I procrastinate from getting work done and studying too much by looking up travel reviews and what to pack.

I think we got a really good deal on our trip. We watched all the sales on all the websites and finally picked our dream placce for really cheap. It was really hard to find a week where we were all available, between exams and summer work. We ended up flying out of Toronto, so there hopefully won't be any issues making any connecting flights (knock on wood). In the end, there's only 4 of us going, but it's still going to be an awesome trip. Too bad 10 or more of our friends couldn't go though. The reseort is awesome. It has lots of stuff to do, a big new pool, amazing views, and right on the beach. There is also 24/7 all you can drink liquor, which might make remembering the trip difficult. Hopefully we can take a road trip into Havanna to experience culture and see some sights.

We are going shopping soon to get a lot of stuff for the trip. The shopping is going to get us even more excited. Of course, there are lots of environmental issues with going on a big trip down south, and not to be a downer, but I find it hard to ignore them. There are lots of issues with the local people accessing the nicest beaches, which most of the resorts are on. Maybe I'll just have to see it for myself in order to form an opinion. Flying that far is also bad. It is kind of ironic that we fly out on Earth Day (April 22). Of course, we will try to lessen the impact while travelling, and I'll work even harder to save the world when we get back.

I would do anything thing for love