El Supermarketo

That's probably not the right spelling is it, oh well, it's MASTERPIECE MONDAYS GUYS!

Hah I just made that up. 

Alrightey let us get crack-a-lackin'. I went to the supermarket yesterday, not really a big hippity-do because I go every Sunday.. and sometimes Saturday too, but! Normally Sunday's are reserved for my supermarketing. I'm touching on this oh so interesting subject not just because organics may be polluted as we speak by GMO's but because the supermarket isn't normally the first thought on a person's mind when they are moving to a new college. Well it wasn't on mine... Not sure about you crazy kids.

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Anyway, it was on my mum's however, so she made sure I was situated right next door to one. Guys.. it's necessary. Not just to be close, but to go once a week. I know so many kids, well pretty much 97% of my classmates go maybe once a month, the rest of their cash is spent on the numerous fast food places on campus. And you know hey! Maybe that's works for you, but it definitely wouldn't work for me. First of all because I detest fast food like no other, but also because preparing dishes at home has kind of turned into a routine for me that I couldn't live without anymore. There is so much freedom! It's fun.

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So, this isn't just a PSA for international students, but just college kids in general! I can guarantee you that shopping at the supermarket not only puts you in a position of a 'healthier' diet, but also you kinda save money guys... I know, crazy thinking! Hope you can handle it :)

Housing, Apartments, and Dorms

When planning for Canada, I knew I would be sharing a room. The school was nice enough to provide a bed, nightstand, desk, and cupboard space for each of the kids they accepted. Each room also had their own bathroom... Fairly sweet set-up when compared to the University next to us that had to share a bathroom between about 20 people!

Oh goodness.

Well that left us with having to buy very little by all means furniture wise. So my only crisis was picking out a bedspread, which at the time I didn't even care about. I was just worried about my parents leaving me in this strange place filled with moose. (I've actually never did see one, shame eh.)

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Anyways, so as you can see we were all flying high in Canada. Now fast forward two years and I've stepped onto American soil and a completely new ballgame. As I've mentioned before, my new University does not provide dorms of any sort, rather they help us find an apartment around the area. They provided pretty precise booklets that listed price, size, distance.. pretty much anything relevant. That booklet completely saved my life, as did YouTube. No joke. Guys YouTube is also good for finding little videos on apartment complexes, who knew.

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So! After finding a perfect apartment, I also found a great roommate and I was set! Moving to the States was pretty easy, I just packed basically every article of clothing I owned into three very large suitcases (maybe not every article) and hopped on a plane with my family. Arriving at the completely bare apartment was a breath of fresh air, I could for the first time in my life decide every last bit of detail in my room and kitchen and dining area. It was crazy.

IKEA became my best friend. Not going to lie. Target had some pretty sweet deals on desks at the time too. But IKEA is like crazy amazing. I think that was my first time in that store, and it blew me away. I wish they had a better online shopping thing going on, but oh well, it's probably for the better hey.

My tips for moving into an apartment? Make sure you have a good means of transportation for moving everything in. I mean IKEA is pretty sweet making a bed fit in a tiny little box, but you can't always count on that. And buy some tools! You'll find a few things around the house might need fixing up. Make a list, and if your apartment's management is as amazing as ours they'll send someone over to deal with it. And at the end of your term you won't have to pay for things you didn't break! Win win right? Above all! Plan out and keep track of all the things you've bought. Especially if you were like me and moving into a brand new empty space, new University and all that jazz.. your going to be buying a ton of stuff. Make sure it all fits! Put love in the space yeah :)

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Because A College Student Watches Youtube Videos Part II

With the end of 2010 behind us and the beginning of 2011 along its way, most of you music lovers must have seen all the "Best Albums/Artists/Songs" of 2010 plastered all over the interweb. Amirite?

Well! I've gone through some of the mainstream charts and while there are definitely a few crazy good songs making it on there.. I myself prefer the indie scene.

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One such chart in said 'indie scene' is on Stereogum. Now most of you chaps probably recognize this site, it's a great reference point for anything related to the Indie music scene, news, mp3's.. basically a crazy cool site. Check it out! 

 

Another favourite of mine that isn't so much along the lines of indie but rather a whole mass of people just loving music is Hype Machine. This site is crazy popular but the reason I bring them up here is that their end of year chart is off the hook. They've featured some remixes that they say "are the most popular" of that year on their amazing site, but too be honest who cares even if they weren't?! These songs are a great sense of the music industry these days, a part of this huge media monster that doesn't get to shine as much as the multi-million artists we worship these days. So check that site out too!

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Guys want to know a crazy music fact? The guy that just created/produced the beat for Brit's new "Hold It Against Me" track also is behind Ke$ha and Katy Perry AND he is super known in the dubstep community. That same community is crazy amazing and talented and I can guarantee you that we'll be seeing a lot more of that style, especially now with Brit's single doing so well.

That's all for now! Have a great Thursday-day-before-Friday day fellas!

The Return!

Welcome back!


I have been away for a long time and have finally made the long trek back to the US of A. My vacation was amazing.. So amazing in fact I didn't want to leave but I just keep reminding myself I'm this much closer to Graduation!

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Well, down to the nitty gritty. This will be a rather personal post folkies. See the past couple of days I've been thinking a lot about my future. And like any normal young adult.. I've been panicking. See I've got this crazy decision to make.. After graduating I have the option to live in the States for an additional year, working in the field of my degree and basically gaining a ton of experience and creating a nice foundation for my career. Now here's the problem..

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I have lived away from home since the age of 16. The first two years were spent in the beautiful British Columbia of Canada, and now at the age of 18, almost a full year in the States. I love my parents unconditionally for giving me these amazing opportunities, studying in three different continents and countries by the age of 18 is an experience many would give a lot for, but it has gotten to the point where I just want to go home.


I know, I know.. how could I?! How could I possibly even dream of giving up the chance for living in the states an extra year to do what I love?! I would be crazy to give up this opportunity and when it comes to this time next year maybe I won't; but at the moment I'd be hard to convince that it is the right choice.


See I believe I should hurry straight back home after grad. Not just because I miss my family like crazy but because I think why not start investing my time in a place where I believe I will spend the rest of my life? I love my home, I love my island, I love my country. I would like to do what I love and make money for it with my family nearby. These days the closest I get to them is a computer screen and a microphone.. and that's just not enough sometimes. 

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Basically I'm making the decision that I may live to regret for the rest of my life in a year. Or.. I could be making the decision that I live to love for the rest of my life. Either way, I just hope for a happy ending.