5:49 am

It's the end of the semester and you have an 8 page term paper on genre theory coming up. You haven't put it off (of course not, who does that?) but somehow the due date is tomorrow and you haven't started writing it yet. It's two o'clock in the afternoon and your class is tomorrow at 6. What do you do?

Recipe for an Awesome Term Paper in 28 Hours:

1. You need at least one comfortable work space in which to spread out all your papers. Ideally several in a close vicinity so that as you get bored of a certain position or vantage point, you can move to a more interesting one. Work spaces must be close to food/water and a washroom. They must not be in places where you will be easily distracted. I prefer my own apartment but cafes such as Waves that stay open 24/7 may be a good option as well.

2. Laptop computer. Important for quick writing and editing.

3. Printer. I've only recently got one and have found that they're such a luxurious luxury. I love printing out drafts of essays that need to be edited so that I can cover them in black ink, input my corrections into the laptop and print off an improved draft. There's just something about doing it by hand. The ability to circle and scribble more easily perhaps?

4. Two pots of tea (Earl grey, hot). That's eight mugs of essay writing power. Essential for Awesome term papers.

It is now 5:49 am and birds are starting to sing outside my window. I can just see a tiny hint of a light in the sky somewhere in the east. I think it's going to be a beautiful day. Just two more drafts to go!

Easter Balls

So I had grandiose plans for Easter crafts this year. I saw a picture of a papier mache bunny and I vowed to make one for each of my nieces. Here is what I did:

Step 1: Prepare the paste and the newspaper strips (courtesy of SFU's newspaper, The Peak).



Step 2: Cover balloons in strips of gooey paper.




Step 3: Repeat step 2.





Step 4: Hang your creations to dry.



*****WARNING*****
Papier mache takes a long time to dry! Longer than you could ever imagine! Please prepare your craft well before it's needed.

After a day and night of drying (with only two layers) it's time to paint.

Step 5: Paint a base coat.
Note - If you have lame paints like I do (Crayola washables from Superstore bought the night before 10 minutes to close) it will take a few coats of paint to cover the newspaper satisfactorily.



Step 6: Let dry.

*******WARNING******
Having to do several coats of paint will probably leave you behind schedule if you don't plan for it. Please prepare your craft well before it's needed.

If you have run out of time like I did (a couple of hours before we were supposed to head over to my sister's for Easter dinner I was still applying base coats) the best project you can probably do is an Easter egg. The bunnies require more time and effort, unfortunately.

Step 7: Apply designs onto egg.

Step 8: Fill with candy.

It's no lie that I'm ashamed of my Easter balls (that look nothing like eggs) however hopefully someone can learn from my mistakes; hence, pictures and a detailed record of my bungles.

I ended up putting them in a plastic bag to take over to my sister's while the paint was still drying so they got a bit smudged. However, the candy inside the eggs made up for the deficiencies in aesthetics and my nieces were happy. Success!!




Here are a few photos of the lovely Easter dinner Amelia provided. She's quite the host. Happy Easter!

Serdar

My Politics and Ethics TA deserves a tribute, I think. His tutorial was the funnest and most interesting in all my long two years of post secondary education. Paige agrees (she's the pretty one on the far right), therefore it's true.

1. He would present two opposing views of an issue and tell us to "attack, attack" one another's arguments.

2. Whenever he needed to think up an example, it always somehow involved murder.

3. He would interrupt us continuously, sometimes to ask what we thought about legalizing marijiuana.

These are just a few reasons why I name him Teaching Assistant of the Year!