About a year and a half ago, I fell completely in love with Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir – a team of Canadian ice dancers. In light of their gold medal victory, I feel completely justified as many of my friends have expressed their awe after watching them. Personally, I also find it hard NOT to love them – I mean, they’ve skated together since they were 7 and 9, it’s obvious that there’s a lot of love and joy in their skating, they’re skilled, beautiful to watch and after meeting them at Skate Canada, I can say that they are wonderfully congenial people. In any case, let’s recap what they did at the Olympics, how they won gold and what their win means in the grander scheme of things. Read on »

A quick scan through Ulife’s list of campus organizations show that student-run groups at U of T run the gamut from ethnic-based associations to academic networks, from student government unions to politically motivated affiliations, and from environmental and advocacy groups to faith communities. With all of these organizations trying to capture the student population’s attention, it’s pretty easy to get lost and blend into the background but there are a few out there that really deserve some recognition. One such organization is that of Peace by Peace, a student-run organization with chapters at York, Glendon, and of course, U of T. With the aim of empowering kids with the ability to prevent, manage, and resolve conflict in their everyday lives, students at the three aforementioned university chapters deliver an eleven week conflict resolution curriculum to Grade 5 students all across the Greater Toronto Area. By using interactive games and stimulating group discussions, youth members of Peace by Peace guide children through daily problems that will help them to develop valuable conflict resolution skills.

Every year the organization hosts what they like to call the Peace Bowl, a bowling tournament with funds going directly to PxP initiatives. Last year, they raised $10,000 and they’re hoping to up that amount to $12,000 this year on Sunday, February 29th. The students working behind this organization are so committed to their vision and goals, so much so in fact that,  Liisa Hyyrylainen, U of T Chapter President, vows to get a tattoo of their logo, the puzzle piece, if they hit that $12,000 mark (no turning back now, Liisa!). Proceeds from the Peace Bowl will go not just to the schools that cannot afford to fund PxP programs but also to the Peace Festival, a whole day’s worth of fun and games celebrating the culmination of the nearly three month program. Grade 5 students all over the GTA will get together this year on April 6th at Rexall Centre to enjoy a day especially for them, a day meant to commend and reward them for their hard work and effort. But PxP needs your help to ensure that the day goes smoothly so if you would like to volunteer for the event, contact them at pbyptoronto@gmail.com or drop by their office at 21 Sussex Clubhouse, Rm. 531.

Peace by Peace, in its 10th year of operation now, is undoubtedly an organization worthy of praise and encouragement. Run by university students for elementary students, it’s a sign that our generation is headed towards the right direction. Just their name says it all…

So let me make this open confession right now. I’m a Twitter fanatic and I don’t care what the rest of you think about that. No, it’s not just “status updates” like what we find on Facebook. It’s a place to interact, engage, and communicate with many like-minded and inspired individuals from the local Toronto community and beyond. It is a hotbed of many brilliant ideas from passionate, creative, and driven people. Let me demonstrate…

Speaker Mark Kuznicki of ChangeCamp. Photo by Andrew Louis/Torontoist

Last Thursday, #voteTOin416 was held at the Annex Live, an event organized by #voteTO, a group of self-proclaimed municipal geeks that came together through Twitter with the shared goal of a better Toronto. Hosted by writer, broadcaster, and organizer, Jane Farrow, and using the upcoming municipal election as a backdrop for discussion, the event showcased fourteen different presentations that captured various solutions for Toronto. And staying true to the Twitter style, each presentation was kept short and sweet…not quite as short as 140 characters but almost. Each speaker had 4 minutes and 16 seconds to share and discuss their vision, some of which included voting reform, the establishment of Toronto as a fair trade city, and the need to solve the city’s bedbug epidemic (yeah, you read correctly). Read on »

Taking the plunge into learning a new language can be terrifying, and the experience even more so. You’ve heard all the promos on how many doors it opens, but when you’re wading through yet another translation that just makes absolutely no sense, it can be really tempting to just conclude that languages are just not your thing. Maybe you’re just not cut out for it, right?

Not so! I’m on my third non-native language right now, and believe me, I’ve been through all of the painful “bloody hell how does anyone remember this” moments, the “why the f*** do you need subjunctive” moments, the “why does every *&$^% word start with q” moments, and everything in between. The thing is, it really does get better. I promise. If you’re brave enough to keep going with languages, or not sure if you are, here are some tips to help you on your way: Read on »

Just like any other university student out there, we are all bound to procrastinate. Sometimes, you just sit there are don’t feel like doing anything at all, other times, you’re just checking Facebook and Twitter every 5 minutes in hopes of something interesting. If you’re stuck on how to procrastinate, here are a few blogs and sites that are an endless source of entertainment. (I thank my fellow friend and blogger, Victoria, for introducing me to most of these sites.)

Read on »

Waking up in the morning is always an ordeal for me. Seeing that I sleep at 3 or 4 in the morning, nothing is harder than dragging yourself out of bed at 8:30 to get to your 10AM class. To make the process of waking up easier, my iPod docking station is always there to wake me up with lovely tunes at the proper time. Admittedly, my favourite music to wake up to has to be the music from Carmen – even if it is overused figure skating music. (Also, yes, I have opera on my iPod, go ostracize me if you dare.)

Anyways, tonight, I had the wonderful fortune of getting one of the rare tickets to the Carmen dress rehearsal staged by the Canadian Opera Company. (My source of dress rehearsal opera tickets told me that they were completely sold out.) Tickets for the regular shows – on from January 27th to February 27th -  may also be sold out, but if you’re interested and perhaps lucky you can purchase tickets on the Canadian Opera Company website.

As for the show itself, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The orchestra and sets were very impressive (my favourite set being the one from Act II where the gypsies are in front of an inn) and the cast, although rather large was charismatic and fun to watch. Rinat Shaham – who played the title character – had the misfortune of stumbling upon this reviewer (who is, admittedly, an opera newbie) whose standard Carmen is the legendary Maria Callas, who has no equal; however, she held her own for most of the performance. The unfortunate corporal, Don José performed by Bryan Hymel was well cast and delivered a steady and touching performance. Songs by the two gypsy girls, played by Teiya Kasahara and Lauren Segal were also highly entertaining and formed some of the best parts of the opera.

My special mentions however, will go to Jessica Muirhead, who played the innocent Micaela with so much commitment and passion that she sent shivers up my spine when she was pleading with Don José to return to his mother. Another special mention will be sent to the youth or children’s chorus who displayed a kind of professionalism that was beyond their age.

All in all, it was a lovely evening of beautiful music, interesting choreography and a wonderful opera. I highly doubt that Carmen needs any more advertising as it is, but if you do get a chance, I encourage you to see it.

Picture by the Canadian Opera Company.

I just thought that something like this would be amusing to write considering that I’ve been going through several weeks of non-stop total exhaustion all thanks to my courseload of 6 courses. Without further ado, here are 10 things that all or at least most of you should relate to if you are, in fact, a student at university. Read on »