Sarah, The Farmer

So today was another exciting day in the UBC Graduate department. I had my T A orientation this morning, which introduced a series of people I need to know, and answered a number of questions that I didn't even know I had. There was this interesting little impediment that made me laugh most of the day. They are filming the Fantastic Four on campus and they had set up the extra tent right in front of Buchanan Tower... which meant that all day I was walking past and in between tents filled with people dressed in flashing clubbing outfits with some seriously crazy hair! I'm talking a lot of shirtless guys wearing gold chains, girls in barely-there skirts and sparkly tops smaller than their hair, and a lot of rap music and dancing. It was weird, but fun.
After out TA orientation we had a presentation/intro from the T A union reps which I found... well I don't know how I feel about unions exactly. I'm trying to sort out how exactly the union fits with my academic goals. I understand that they're here to protect me, but I am always wary of mandatory protection that I have not asked for. I dunno. I will think on it.
After the Union reps there was a mandatory pizza lunch and then a little break during which I picked up my keys to the new place (more on this later) and then coffee hour up in the reading room.
The reading room is a lovely little mini library with plants and desks at which I may work, and comfy chairs to read in. It's lovely, and can double as both a quiet space to retreat to and as a friendly social space.
After coffee hour a bunch of us then hit up the liquor store and walked to the UBC Farm. Now, I think the UBC Farm must be UBC's best kept secret because nobody I know has ever been there and it is a little patch of paradise (and bugs).... bugs and paradise and roosters. We went there and had a bar-b-q and had a quick chance to visit and chat and drink without professors being there. I think everyone seems nice, though perhaps a bit odd (a possible prequisite for having an interest in English?).
Mark joined me there. Afterwards we had a quick peek at our new place and it is incredible! I think we are spoiled to be there, really. The carpets are clean and look near new, the linoleum is clean(-ish) and not marked, we have a dishwasher...
There are three floors to the house and a seriously nice amount of storage/closet space. The ground floor has a half bathroom, a dining room, a spacious kitchen, a little nook for something or other, and a living room. Our master bedroom, on the second floor, has three closets in addition to a large storage area that slopes with the roof. Miles' room, across the hall, is large and has a decent-sized closet. The two bedrooms on the third floor are smaller than we would have liked, but they are bright and airy with high ceilings, and one room has a sliding glass door that opens onto a small balcony. The kicker: we have three bathrooms. Even to my mind that seems a little much. I was excited to have even just 1.5, but in this house we have a bathroom on each floor, with full bathtubs/showers on the top two floors. We even have a storage space outside out house on top of all the internal space.
Wow! We are very fortunate! It makes me want to invite you all over to visit....