getting involved like it's my job

when i'm not busy working, in class or doing homework, i'm still keeping myself busy. i guess i like to constantly be busy, and while sometimes i feel like i would do just about anything for some downtime, i do get myself involved in some pretty rad stuff. i firmly believe that university is what you make of it, and that the more you put in to it, the more you will get out of it. i've made a point of getting involved in all sorts of different things from the beginning, but since my drinking has gone down, i find myself busier than ever. this is some of the stuff that i've been up to over the past week...

last saturday, nathan and i went down to veritasse for 'nourish north bay', an event featuring local musicians (including dave and cole) in an attempt to collect food and raise money for the food bank. i had heard all sorts of great things about this place so i was pretty stoked to check it out firsthand. it's a relatively new, not for profit coffee shop across from cibc. the variety of warm drinks is stellar (i recommend the white hot chocolate!), and i personally love that the food is primarily vegetarian/vegan. you would think that something like this would be expensive, but the prices were totally reasonable. in addition, the atmosphere is modern, unique and relaxing. soooo, i'm pretty much in love with the place. the music was awesome, and the fact that the money is going to such a great cause is just the icing on the cake. while i don't often venture downtown, i hope to make a point of going more in the future. nathan was so impressed that he's now arranging his own show down there with some other local musicians in january. i'll keep you posted!

on sunday, i had my second nusu street team meeting, where we gathered for a pot luck (i made my standby spinach dip!) and started making nusu's float for next weekend's xmas parade. to the best of my knowledge, this is the first year for an official street team, but i think it's a pretty rad idea. essentially, we're just a group of people who meet now and then to help marianne out with creating and promoting social events! most of us are frosh leaders, but anyone is welcome to join. i think it's a really great opportunity for people who want to get involved on campus, so hopefully there will be new faces turning out throughout the year. plus, i haven't been involved in a santa claus parade since elementary school...i'm thinking it might be kind of fun :).

this week i also got involved in the eac's clothing swap. the event was so successful, we extended it all week, and i really hope that we can do another one next semester. if you missed out on it, basically it's the perfect opportunity to get rid of old clothes and to get some new ones for free! lots of people have perfectly good clothing that either just doesn't fit right, or isn't quite their style; however, one person's trash is often another person's treasure! why waste money on brand new clothes if you can get them for free?! this is pretty easy to organize, opposes consumerism, encourages reusing and is exciting! it just makes sense.

on monday, we had our third official zombie club meeting! while it appears that monday perhaps isn't the most suitable night for a meeting, we still managed to have some pretty solid discussion! we examined some of the best and worst places to be on campus in case there is a zombie outbreak, and considered how we would use the limited resources available to us. this lead to discussion about which personal assets and skills are key in surviving a zombie attack, which we're hoping to discuss further at our next meeting (which will be on tuesday). oh! exciting news! we've been declared an official club by nusu/csrc, and have received $200 funding! now we need to come up with creative ways to spend the cash :).

from wednesday until today, i've been super busy volunteering to do road crew stuff for the coca (canadian organization of campus activites) conference, which was held in north bay this year! it's been pretty hectic (like 10 hour days), but it was sweet getting to check out some talented new bands, who really haven't made it big yet (my favourites were forest city lovers, uss and rudeboy). plus, meeting new people and the occasional free meal or t-shirt are always perks.

somehow i still find time to attend classes, do some homework, shop on-line, pay off some debts, chat with my grandma, get a sweet haircut from the hair designers, hang out with nathan and drink some steamwhistle. oh, and constantly revamp my plans for the future. of course.

life is good. always busy. but good.

ps: props to a gaping void. i seriously love this guys work. i'm actually toying with the idea of getting one of his drawings as a tattoo! whee!!