February 2007
Monthly Archive
A Suicidal Week
Posted by miryam on 18 Feb 2007 | Tagged as: Life at UVIC
I made it! I managed to get through the week before reading break mostly intact, and it only took me one day to recover! I really was beginning to doubt I would make it. 
Why was the week before reading break suicidal, you ask? Well, I don’t know what made suicidal for other people, but for me it was four midterm exams, a visit from one of my best friend, my other best friend’s birthday, the visit of my favourite author, and the ballroom dance formal.
Monday was fairly average. I went to my classes, studied in the afternoon/evening, then went dancing with Andrew at nine. The class this week took over the floor and the music, so we participated to make numbers more even. It was kind of boring, but at the end I danced the a fellow named Camisa (I have no idea how you actually spell it). He was fun to dance with, and we chatted a bit. He asked me if I was from the Middle East. I was extremely pleased. It was because of my name, of course, but it still made me happy (don’t ask me why, it just did). Unfortunately, I had a lot of energy after holding back to dance with beginners, so I was rather out of time. After exasperating each other, Andrew and I left a little early so we could get snacks from Caps before it closed. We ate outside and I calmed down and enjoyed myself.
On Tuesday I wrote my first midterm, which went quite well (I got it back the next day, and my mark was extremely satisfactory). I studied for a while after lunch, and then went downtown with Sara to meet Olivia, who was in Victoria visiting. We went shopping for Andrew’s birthday, until he and Devin joined us and they bought second-hand suit jackets for singing Valentines the next day (which I explained in my last post). We went back to campus for dinner, then Olivia and I walked down to Hillside to see Guy Gavriel Kay. We were a little later, so heard the last bit of the reading, and then he spoke for a bit. Then we chatted happily about very English geek subjects while we waited to get our books signed. At last we left the bookstore and went to a little cafe and chatted some more. Then we walked back to campus and shortly after we got back Olivia had to go. It was hard to say good bye (I won’t see her for ten months because she’s on her way to Europe), but we had a wonderful visit, so I refused to be too sad. I had forgotten how interesting the conversations we have are.
Wednesday I went to class and studied as much as I could. I had dinner with Andrew, Sara, and Joelle which was fun. Then I went home and studied some more.
Thursday I wrote my Creative Non-Fiction final and my English midterm, which went respectively alright and quite well. After Latin, I went with Sara to her room and we worked on Andrew’s apron, which I will describe later. Then a bunch of went to dinner, and after that Andrew and I got ready and left for the formal. It was amazing! I had sooo much fun! I mean, really, what’s better than dancing in a pretty dress? There were lots of people we knew there, and a nuber we didn’t. Andrew and I mostly danced together, but I danced with a handful of other guys, and Gwen. She and I have a lot of fun dancing Salsa together. Since Andrew isn’t much of a Salsa person, it works out nicely. Andrew and I mostly danced Swing, and when the music wasn’t swing but we wanted to dance, we made up our own dances. We’re actually getting pretty good at improvising. I was very sorry to have to leave.
On Friday I wrote my final midterm, and then I was done! I went back to DT (where all my friends live), because Diane (Andrew’s mom) had come over and was cooking waffles for us for Andrew’s birthday. We all hung out in the second floor common room and ate the excellent waffles. It was fun, and Diane and Brandon (Andrew’s youngest brother) hung out with us too. We played a game where you had to say what you would do if you were given ten thousand dollars every day, and you had to spend it that day. It was definitly interesting to hear what everybody said. I think Brandon’s was the best: he was going to buy expensive balsamic vinegar and cooking books, and then he was going to buy and island and build a cooking school on it, and then a pyramid. On the other hand, I also was rather entertained by Joyce’s decision: she wanted to buy Nelson and build a huge castle above it, and turn the Orange Bridge into a giant piano. To get in or out of Nelson, you would have to play the song of the day, and if she didn’t like someone she was going to throw them into her dungeons and make them play on out of tune pianos. Yes, we were getting very silly by this point. Something to do with too much whipped cream and lots of friends around, I think.
Eventually, we cleaned up and dispersed. Ironically, Andrew was left on his own, because his oh-so-prepared friends all had to buy/finish making his presents. We reconvened that evening around six and went to Martin’s Place (a restaurant in Cadboro Bay, just down from the university). Fortuitously, a jazz trio from the university was playing there that night, so we had live music and amazing food at the same time. We didn’t talk much.
After dinner, we went to a concert in which Joyce was playing. Joyce is an amazing pianist, and we were all blown completely away by her performance. I honestly didn’t know it was possible to move your hands that fast. She looked beautiful up on stage, and she was played soooo well. The other pianist were good too. 
Afer the concert, we went back to DT and ate cheese cake with berries. Diane and Brandon sat with us for a while, then they returned to their hotel room (literally in the next building over). We hung out until midnight, then we gave Andrew his presents. Oh yeah, Andrew’s birthday is actually the seventeenth, but we were celebrating on the sixteenth. I don’t think I’ve ever seen more random gifts. He got a stuffed animal sheep (with no explanation), a bunch of knick-knacks from Chinatown (including a feng-shui compass), socks and a joke magnet. And, the apron, which was the crowning glory, if I do say so myself. We had bought an apron with a bear standing on its hind legs with the word “hungry” written above it. We sewed on pockets and an apron on the bear of crazy fabrics, and wrote “Mandrew” above “hungry” (Mandrew being one of Andrew’s nick names).
A while later, all twelve or so of us went down to Hollydene beach, and a few people went swimming. And yes, it was one thirty in the morning on February 17, so it was cold! We made it back up to campus by about two thirty, in two different groups. I was in a different group than Andrew, and I wanted to say good bye to him before I went to bed (he was leaving the next morning and there was no way I was getting up to see him off). Since he was having a shower, I chatted with Devein, which I thouroughly enjoyed, as we don’t often get a chance to talk. Then Andrew returned and we chatted for a while longer, because he didn’t want to pack, and me being there gave him an excuse not too. At last I was going to go, but Devin started telling a long story from drama class, so it wasn’t until about twenty after four that I actually left.
Needless to say, I slept in very late that day. In the afternoon, Jen and Andrea and I went to Beacon Hill Park and lazed about above the ocean because we were all too tired to do anything else. We watched French Kiss that evening, and we all went to bed early-ish.
And if that wasn’t an insane week, I don’t know what is! I also think that February 16th is an interesting day for me. I wonder if it has any astrological significance to me? Last year I was kissed by the boy I loved on the 16, and this year, well, I had a very long and interesting day… I wonder what will happen next year?
Love you all!
Mim