Christmas, Almost Here

I can’t believe how fast Christmas is approaching. I have not taken time to look at the calendar and realize that it is only 3 weeks away.

I love Christmas time; it would probably be my most favorite time of the year. I think with all of the homework and exams coming up in school I have not taken time to notice that Christmas is so near. I haven’t even set up my Christmas tree yet. I will have to tune out of homework for a few seconds and get caught up with the festive season and also remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Happy Christmas shopping to all.

 

School Work, Overwhelming?

The end of the year is approaching, and homework has crept up dangerously close to deadlines. That explains student life oh so well.

I wonder sometimes who the end of the semester can be so taxing on students. The only conclusion that I can come up with is… Procrastination. That has always been the biggest post secondary killer to date. Even though an assignment could have been assigned a month in advance, students will wait till the last day giving the excuse that previous appointments were a lot more important then the eight page paper due.

Even though I know how much procrastination can affect a student’s life, I always seem to get caught up in all the fuss. But I have come up with my own coping mechanisms. The strategy that works best for me is to get a calendar and record on the calendar when all my assignments are due. This allows me to process and time out my schedule accordingly. With out this strategy I find myself stressing myself by continuously thinking about assignment that are due and assuming that they are due a lot sooner then they actually are. I find writing everything out helps my brain process everything better.

This semester seemed to pass by in a hurry, so I guess I should enjoy the end of semester stress while my student life still exists.

 

Close Calls!!

Lately my commute to Providence has been filled with many close calls with injury or death.

I have definitely realized that a long commute twice a day can be mentally taxing. On my drive to school on Tuesday I had a near encounter with the front of a semi-truck. I was driving down the highway going west towards prov, it was quite snowy and the visibility was low. I wasn’t sure if I was driving on my half or the other half of the highway until out of the haze I saw big bright lights looming upon me. I proceeded to enter my lane as fast as possible.

Another episode was at the junction of highway 52 and 59. I came to a complete stop and looked both ways, noticed nothing to my left and a car about 4 seconds away on my right. I proceeded to wait for the vehicle to pass but when I started to pull onto the highway I did not look back to my left and there was a truck blaring his horn as I tried to get out of his way.

These encounters definitely get your heart pumping, and make you think about how fragile life is. I hope my commutes to Providence no longer include these heart pumping events because it adds to the stressful life of a student.

Stay smart and drive safe.

 

Wedding Production

This past fall has given me some new experiences. I have gotten the opportunity to help film and edit wedding videos.

I recieved this oppurtunity while I was working at a bible camp this past summer. My adventure at bible camp would have never come about if I was not attending Providence College. Through friends at Prov I eventually caved and made the decision to work as a camp counselor throughout the summer. I was glad I did because I learned alot about myself and I met a guy who films weddings.

I told him that I was in a communications and media program and I difentitly would be interested in producing wedding videos.

My mentality of late is to try new things and just not let the “what ifs” affect my decisions. I use to always say to myself “what if I can’t do it,” or “what if I’m not good enough.” I think that effects everyone, but I think you just have to not let it control you.

I have another wedding to do this Friday, and I have just started editing my first wedding this past week. The oppurtunities I have been receiving lately have been really encouraging. To see things slowly starting to come together makes me want to work even harder.

 

Making New Contacts

This weekend was pretty awesome for my future in Communications and Media.

I decieded to attend a birthday party which I really didn’t want to attend. Luckily I did atend, because I bumped into a guy named Chris Ratkey. Chris works for Firegate Flms in Winnipeg and has his own smaller company called Ratkey studios. I told him I attend Providence College and that is where things hit off between us. He had attended prov as well, and he actually came to prov this past Wednesday to do a chapel on communications and media. I had considered going to that chapel at the time but decieded to do homework instead.

I told him my plans for the future and that I was not totally sure what I really wanted to do. Chris really encouraged me to keep on going with my program and not to get discouraged. He also told me that I was suppose to email him and set up an appointment to come down to Firegate Films studio in Winnipeg to see what they do. He told me that if I was willing to learn then he was willing to teach because no one was there to teach him when he was starting out.

In the media it is so important to make as many contacts as possible. This has now added another person to my contact list and also informed me that I should always be on the alert where ever I go because I may bump into somebody who could help me in the future.

 

High Flying

I got a pretty amazing opportunity last Wednesday. I got to ride in a small airplane over the Steinbach area. I got a totally new perspective on what the terrain looks like in the area I live in. Here are some pictures from my experience.

 

Thanksgiving Bowl!!

Hey I am pretty pumped. This upcoming Thursday is thanksgiving in the states. No, I am not American, but I sure do love the NFL.

Every thanksgiving Thursday the NFL broadcasts two games one at 12 and the other at 3. This year they have added another game to the mix at 7. The awesome thing about the whole situation is that I get Thursday off due to my class scheduling; this allows me to watch football all day. I might regret doing this later because that is usually my homework day.

Another cool thing about this Thursday is that my favorite team is playing as well, so I will be guaranteed to seem them play. I hope this week zooms by, because I can’t wait for football.

ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE!

 

Assigned Parking?

This has been a big issue for me of late. I thought that the new changes with the parking lot this year with assigned parking would fix the problems of last year. So as I arrive to school now with my fancy little tag telling me where to park I feel good about my park, in our dilapidating parking lot.

I think assigned parking will solve all the problems when it comes to snow removal in the winter time. Last year people who live in dorm and commuters would park where ever they pleased. This led to many problems when there would be a 4ft dump of snow, because of many vehicles being in the way of our great snow crew. This leding to many occasions where I thought I wasn’t going to make it out of the parking lot. I could understand if the snow isn’t removed the day of or maybe a day later, but when it comes to half a week to a week to properly remove all the snow that seeemed abit stupid; especially when parking is paid for.

So far this year has still been a disappointment. Day in and day out there is always someone parked in my spot. This has led me to park in guest parking repeatedly. I have reported this to the parking director numerous times and things just don’t seem to be getting any better.

So far this year’s parking lot has been an utter disappointment, and winter hasn’t even arrived yet.

 

 

Where is the Snow??

    Wow, I thought winter was upon us for good.

I guess the snow is gone for now but it is definitly on the horizon for the near future.  In my mind I kinda want winter just to be here or not, so I hope winter just comes and gives us that much needed shot of cold.

 

CHVN

This past week I got a prety neat oppurtunity.  I got to go to CHVN and record a commerical for prov.  This was pretty big for because I am an advid CHVN listener, this might sound stupied but to see Terry Van Veen and the rest of the CHVN cast was an awesome experience.  Now when I tune in to CHVN I can put a face to the voice.

This oppurtunity came about because of Providence.  They needed people to write a commerical about their experiences at prov and then read them on the air.  I volunteered right away because I thought this oppurtunity would help me learn more about what a radio studio is all about.  I was pretty excited that I got the change and that prov would give us that change to go on air and get a better feel for the radio medium.