AtC April Edition

12
April 2011

description

April Edition of AtC

Transcript of AtC April Edition

April 2011

[AtC]Across  the  Creek  is  a  crea(ve  publica(on  funded  by  the  

St.  Jerome’s  Students’  Union.

[In  this  Issue]

The AtC Bulletin - You’ve got mail!

(from the SJU administration) [2]

Blue Sneakers - Many Canadians are first generation and have some of the best stories to tell. AtC features Eleonora Mezsaros with

a personal piece on her journey. [5]

Ode to a V6 - So what do you do after your car has been in an accident? Mark

Carter gives us an inside look. [3]

Restaurant Review - Want to try something new in the KW area? Check out Aleena Khan’s 3 recommendations for good

eats! [4]

The Little Things - Reflection on

autumn by Krista Dow [9]

On Constructing a Sorrow - Poetry by

Tabinda Khan [7]

An Assortment of Poems - by St.

Jerome’s’ own Katie Zettel [8]

Wanna Publish? It’s as Easy as AtCSpecial thanks goes out to Eleonora Meszaros for her contributions to the formatting of this issue. If you would like to be a featured artist,

columnist, help to create some of our layouts, or have your work featured as the

cover of an upcoming issue, send an email to [email protected].

Contents

I  recently  watched  a  middle-­‐aged  man  puzzle  over  a  

le@er  at  Tim  Horton’s.  His  brow  furrowed,  he  spent  

a  while  reconsidering  his  words.  I  had  just  given  up  

people  watching  when  the  man  rose  from  his  table  and  approached  a  dark-­‐haired  woman  

reading  the  paper.  She  was  physically  turned  away  from  the  hustle  of  the  shop;  soaking  in  a  

few  minutes  of  (me  away  from  the  world  before  it  demanded  her  full  a@en(on  once  more.  

Only  gathering  parts  of  their  exchange,  I  heard  the  man  ask  the  woman  to  proofread  his  reply  

to  his  daughter’s  first-­‐grade  report  card.  

You  can  tell  a  great  deal  about  a  person  based  on  the  way  they  react  to  an  approaching  

stranger.  I  don’t  mean  to  be  cynical,  but  n  an  age  when  so  much  is  based  on  keeping  up  

appearances,  many  who  feel  threatened  may  glance  at  surrounding  people  indica(ng  the  

guest  is  not  necessarily  someone  they  know  or  welcome.  Some(mes  the  approached  will  

feign  ignorance  to  any  poten(al  ques(ons  just  to  be  leL  alone,  and  most  (mes  it  seems  the  

person  has  no  (me  to  be  interrupted;  they’d  like  to  be  perceived  as  too  busy  or  important  to  

be  bothered  with  poten(ally  trivial  things.  

Instead  of  any  trace  of  apprehension  upon  being  approached,  the  woman  smiled,  her  body  

language  displaying  relaxed,  and  she  welcomed  the  man  to  sit  down.    

While  many  might  have  seen  this  as  a  mundane  exercise  in  politeness,  this  woman  made  

remarks  about  how  the  care  he  took  that  morning  was  evident,  how  she  could  tell  he  was  very  

proud  of  his  daughter,  and  even  began  asking  about  her  favourite  subjects  at  school.  

This  woman  was  in  an  infamous  Canadian  coffee  shop,  surrounded  by  other  immigrants  to  this  

country  who  sacrifice  to  see  their  children  succeed,  and  she  was  exhibi(ng  a  kindness  I  beli

eve  

not  only  characterizes  our  na(on,  but  is  something  we  could  all  do  with  a  li@le  more  of.  

In  taking  a  few  moments  to  help  someone  with  something  simple,  this  lady’s  ac(ons  and  

approachability  meant  more  than  any  edits  and  I  hope  her  kindness  is  as  inspiring  to  you  as  it  

was  to  me.  We  can  all  use  a  reminder  that  our  everyday  interac(ons  shape  the  communi(es  in  

which  we  live  and  the  people  we  share  them  with.  

Ul(mately,  be  crea(ve  when  you  can,  be  kind  always.

Jen  Pepper  AtC  Editor

[Le3er  from  the  Editor]

Cover  Photography  by  Shamraiz  Gul

Shamraiz, a second-year student at UW, watches and makes films in his spare time. For 2 years now he has been a member of the the university`s film creators club. He also enjoys photography, especially the experimental kind, and hopes to one day become a dentist who creates award-winning films.

[AtC] April, 2011

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I  hope  you  all  had  a  great  fall  term  and  enjoyed  your  holiday  break!  On  behalf  of  all  Students’  Union  members  I  would  like  to  thank  you  all  for  a@ending  and  making  Trivia  Night  and  the  Parade  of  Lights  a  huge  success!  

Students’  Union  has  one  more  amazing  event  planned  for  you  all  on  March  25.  The  St.  Jerome’s  Gala  is  an  end  of  year  celebra(on  to  bring  the  faculty,  staff,  and  students  together  to  build  community  and  celebrate  the  accomplishments  of  the  year!  We  look  forward  to  seeing  you  at  the  dinner,  and  dance!

Away  from  the  social  events  Students’  Union  has  been  working  hard  to  represent  you  academically.  There  are  many  projects  on  the  go  right  now  including  Opera(on  Go  Green,  studying  how  to  provide  be@er  informa(on  to  students,  and  an  in-­‐depth  analysis  of  Students’  Union.  We  con(nue  to  appreciate  hearing  from  you  and  will  always  work  to  address  issues  to  make  the  student  experience  here  at  St.  Jerome’s  the  best!

This  will  be  my  final  (me  wri(ng  to  all  of  you  as  Students’  Union  President  and  I  would  like  to  take  this  opportunity  to  thank  all  of  you  for  your  support  these  past  two  years!  It  has  been  a  wonderful  journey  and  I  sincerely  hope  that  you  have  all  enjoyed  your  (me  at  St.  Jerome’s  as  much  as  I  have.

I  wish  you  all  the  best  in  the  rest  of  the  term  and  encourage  you  all  to  go  and  change  the  world!

Andrew  LessardStudents’  Union  President

The  months  have  flown  by  since  the  new  academic  year  began  in  September.  I’ve  observed  a  lot  of  enthusiasm  and  energy  on  campus  –  you  are  really  engaged  in  what’s  happening  at  SJU.  It’s  great  to  see  so  many  students  involved  in  the  many  volunteer  ac(vi(es  and  op(onal  learning  opportuni(es  like  the  Beyond  U  and  Beyond  Borders  programs.    Also  going  full  speed  ahead  are  the  many  opportuni(es  for  students  in  residence  to  provide  service  for  the  larger  K-­‐W  community.    The  Students’  Union  is  also  visibly  engaged  in  so  many  ways  –  like  the  Parade  of  Lights  that  was  so  successful  in  December.  St.  Jerome’s  is  about  educa(ng  the  whole  person  –  through  learning,  studying,  building  friendships,  and  exploring  new  interests.  This  is  a  place  where  you  can  discover  a  passion  for  something  that  will  shape  your  life  aLer  university.  I’m  thrilled  to  see  you  taking  advantage  of  all  SJU  has  to  offer.  From  my  perspec(ve  I’m  very  much  enjoying  the  planning  that  is  going  into  preparing,  for  our  150th  anniversary  in  2015.    In  a  short  4  years  St.  Jerome’s  will  be  celebra(ng  its  sesquicentennial  –  wow,  now  that’s  a  mouthful!  I’ve  enjoyed  cha_ng  with  many  of  you  this  year  –  be  sure  to  say  hello  next  (me  our  paths  cross!  Wishing  you  con(nued  success  as  the  rest  of  the  school  year  unfolds.  Dr.  David  B.  PerrinPresident  and  Vice-­‐Chancellor

A Message from the President

Shout out from Students’ Union

You’ve got mail...from the SJU administration!

{AtC Admin Bulletin}[AtC] April, 2011

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When my parents’ 2002 silver Ford Taurus (SE—not the really nice package with leather and everything, but still nice) broke down for good, it was replaced and forgotten. A shiny new Subaru sat in their driveway, and it festered in the garage for a few weeks. “The AC compressor is broken, you can’t drive that,” the mechanic had said (in response to some strange sounds and even stranger smells). Apparently, air-conditioning, far from being the non-essential part one would think it would be, is completely and intimately built into the engine itself—a broken compressor could at any moment cause the engine to simply forget its lifelong commitment to never being on fire. And so the Taurus sat. I missed it; this was the car I had learned to drive in, the car I had spilled countless cups of coffee in, and the car—let’s face it—whose AC compressor I had probably broken somehow in between long drives and cups of coffee. A hundred kilometers away, I made a proposal—I paid for the repair (okay, I paid to have a dummy AC put in for a third of the price; it wouldn’t condition air, but it would keep the car from catching on fire), and the car was mine. A car owner, at last; free from those miserable GRT buses, at last. When you’re learning to drive, they don’t tell you about what it feels like to walk out of your front door and see that shining hunk of metal, only steps away, whispering “Let’s go! Go buy some groceries—it’ll be fun!”

Of course, there are plenty of other things they never tell you about when you’re learning to drive—even if you pay extra to take a course from some useless driving school or another; some things you just need to figure out as you go along. Like the stop lights on University Ave. going west at the railroad tracks, just before Seagram Drive. For those who have never driven through these lights (or haven’t figured out how to yet), while the lights are only a metre away from the tracks, cars are actually meant to stop at a line about ten metres farther back—don’t worry, there’s a huge sign explaining this that you just can’t miss.

On  Tuesday,  January  11,  2011,  at  9:27am,  I  found  myself  stopped  on  that  very  line  ten  metres  away  from  those  very  lights,  just  a  metre  away  from  those  railway  tracks.  The  lights  were  red,  and  I  was  alone  in  the  through-­‐lane—my  Taurus’  trunk  was  full  of  empty  canvas  bags,  just  waiHng  to  be  filled  with  groceries  (my  stomach  was  similarly  empty  and  waiHng  to  be  filled  with  those  very  same  groceries).  I  looked  up  at  the  red  lights,  down  to  the  clock,  back  to  the  lights,  and  then  to  my  rearview  mirror.  I  wish  I  could  say  that  when  I  saw  the  black  SUV  conspicuously  close  and  obviously  not  slowing  down  I  had  thought  something  more  profound  than  a  deadpan  “that  car  is  going  to  hit  my  car”,  but  unfortunately  that  would  be  an  exaggeraHon.

Think  back  to  your  driving  lessons—what  do  you  do  when  you’re  hit  by  another  car?

Presumably  it’s  all  anathema;  either  the  car  works  or  it  doesn’t—it’s  either  towed  away  or  driven  away.  Get  their  license,  insurance,  ownership  papers,  first  born,  whatever  you  can.  If  it’s  more  than  $1000  of  damage,  call  the  police.  Blah  blah  blah.  In  real  life,  

it’s  a  liXle  less  clear-­‐cut  than  what  I  had  thought.  Do  you  know  what  $1000  worth  of  damage  looks  like?  I  really  wasn’t  sure  if  it  was  enough  to  bother  calling  the  police  about—that  aZernoon,  I  found  out  it  would  be  a  $5000  repair.  Can  you  sHll  drive  the  car?  The  Taurus  ran  well  enough  to  get  down  to  the  collision  reporHng  centre  half  an  hour  away,  and  just  as  well  all  the  way  to  the  Ford  dealership  for  a  repair  quote;  and  both  the  reporHng  centre  and  the  dealership  just  sent  me  on  my  way  without  so  much  as  a  “by  the  way,  if  you  drive  that,  you’ll  get  pulled  over.”  It’s  been  over  a  week  and  I  sHll  don’t  know  what  to  do  with  it.  I’ve  erred  on  the  side  of  cauHon  and  not  driven  it;  I  have  no  idea  what  kind  of  real  damage  was  done,  and  I  have  even  less  of  a  clue  about  the  legality  of  driving  around  in  a  car  that  looks  like  the  Terminator  with  half  his  face  melted  away.  Will  your  insurance  company  fix  it?  That’s  the  one  answer  I  got  right  away,  and  of  course  it  was  a  big  “no.”  Obviously,  my  car  isn’t  worth  $5000.  But  what  will  I  get  for  it?  A  week  later,  I  sHll  have  no  clue.

I  wish  I  could  say  I  learned  a  lesson  about  safe  driving,  but  being  stopped  at  a  red  light  isn’t  exactly  supposed  to  be  dangerous  driving.  I  guess  the  best  lesson  is  that  you  should  never  get  in  an  accident,  ever,  even  if  it  isn’t  your  fault.  Do  whatever  you  can  to  avoid  it;  open  up  some  kind  of  riZ  in  the  space-­‐Hme  conHnuum  or  drive  a  monster  truck.  Whatever  I  get  from  the  insurance  company  isn’t  going  to  be  enough  for  a  car  half  as  reliable  or  made  in  the  last  decade.  And  even  then,  how  long  will  it  have  taken  to  seXle  everything?  I  wish  I  could  say  I  knew  what  was  going  on;  I  wish  my  insurance  company  would  use  some  of  the  hundreds  of  dollars  I  give  them  every  year  to  return  my  phone  calls,  or  even  just  check  in  to  tell  me  what’s  going  on.  Of  course,  they  don’t.  The  biggest  irony  is  that  if  I  was  middle-­‐aged  and  drove  a  new  SUV,  I’d  probably  be  paying  them  a  lot  less,  and  they  would  have  fixed  my  car  by  now.  Maybe  there  just  isn’t  room  on  the  road  for  an  ‘89  male  driver  in  an  ’02  silver  Ford  Taurus.

[AtC

] Ap

ril,

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Ode to a V6 {MARK  CARTER

Whenever my parents visit or I'm trying to make plans with friends, I always think, "Waterloo really

needs better restaurants". Being a student and living close to the universities can be limiting but lately, long-term Waterloo residents have really broadened my indulging horizons. When you’re

looking for something different make sure you pay these places a visit. They really make you

appreciate the cozier and specialized restaurants that only a smaller town has to offer.

Burrito Boyz

I  love  Burrito  Boyz.  I  can’t  ever  have  enough  of  it  and  I  know  that  a  large  populaHon  of  Waterloo  ciHzens  agree  with  me  based  on  the  line  at  lunch  Hme.  Once  I  saw  the  line  going  out  the  door  and  around  the  corner.  Totally  worth  it!  They  have  huge  burritos  with  fresh  veggies  and  guacamole  and  any  main  meat  you  want  (chicken,  steak,  fish,  bean),  and  their  signature  (read:  killer)  hot  sauce.  I  normally  want  to  give  up  aZer  having  eaten  half  of  it,  but  it’s  too  good  so  I  normally  keep  trying  and  then  accept  my  defeat  when  I’m  two  thirds  of  the  way  through  it.  The  thing  is,  it’s  hard  to  store  a  burrito  to  eat  later,  so  they  also  have  quesadillas  which  are  nice  and  light,  but  it’s  not  on  the  same  level  as  the  burrito.  I  have  tried  the  chicken,  steak,  and  fish  (everyone  seems  to  think  that’s  a  strange  thing  to  put  in  a  burrito,  but  you  try  it  and  then  we’ll  talk).  The  small  

size  is  from  $6-­‐8  and  the  large  $8-­‐10.  The  place  is  open  late  and  that  only  means  good  things,  especially  if  you  live  nearby  or  are  in  the  area  partying  late.  They  also  have  a  pre-­‐ordering  opHon  so  call  in  advance  and  you’ll  be  inhaling  that  burrito  in  no  Hme.    

Village CreperieThis  place  is  in  Belmont  Village  and  really  does  look  like  a  village  with  the  small  shops  and  lamp  posts  everywhere.  The  Creperie  is  really  cozy  and  I  believe  it  is  reservaHon-­‐only.  I  went  with  a  group  of  eight  and  the  staff  were  incredibly  organized.  Their  hours  are  a  liXle  different  so  they  are  only  open  at  specific  Hmes  for  lunch  and  dinner.  The  menu  is  unbelievable!  It  took  us  all  forever  to  order  because  everything  looked  delicious.  It’s  a  short  menu,  but  it  includes  desserts,  appeHzers,  and  entrée  crepes.  I  got  a  Chipotle  Quesadilla  and  added  chicken  to  it.  The  quesadilla  was  made  with  a  crepe  so  I  figured  it  would  be  light.  It  came  with  sour  cream  and  salsa  and  honestly,  my  mouth  waters  thinking  about  it.  The  others  I  was  with  ordered  things  like  the  Smokey  Texas  Chili  Crepe  and  Chimmichuri  Chicken.  The  entrées  were  huge  and  the  most  expensive  thing  on  the  menu  was  about  $17.  The  best  part?  The  service!  Our  waiter  was  hilarious  and  so  helpful.  If  you  want  to  show  off  the  culinary  wonders  that  Waterloo  has  to  offer  to  an  out-­‐of-­‐towner  or  just  want  to  try  something  new,  I  would  definitely  recommend  Village  Creperie.  

Yukiko’s (Hometown Eatery)

Located  behind  Waterloo  Town  Square  in  uptown  Waterloo,  this  place  looks  like  a  liXle  red  house.  They  have  a  great  selecHon  of  burgers  and  starters.  There’s  a  few  wraps  and  lighter  opHons  but  my  sole  focus  was  on  the  burgers  (I  think  the  menu’s  main  focus  was  the  burgers  as  well).  The  cool  part  is  that  you  can  really  customize  your  burger.  They  had  fun  names  for  the  different  topping  combos  and  you  can  choose  a  chicken  burger,  beef,  fish,  or  a  vegetarian  opHon.  The  names  of  the  toppings  made  for  hilarious  lunch  conversaHon  because  some  of  the  toppings  had  countries  or  ethniciHes  in  the  name  and  others  had  personality  traits.  I  ended  up  with  the  “American  Billy”  (goat  cheese,  pesto,  spinach)  and  a  coworker  got  a  “Flirty  Asian”.  I  have  no  idea  what  he  had  on  it,  but  the  name  of  the  burger  was  worth  menHoning.  The  meal  came  to  about  $12  and  the  service  was  quick  and  painless  –  perfect  for  the  lunch  hour.    They  also  had  a  cake  selecHon  that  I  was  too  full  to  look  at  aZer  my  burger,  so  keep  that  in  mind  when  you’re  ordering.

[AtC] April, 2011

Aleena  Khan  -­‐  Restaurant  critic

Image courtesy of loudlunch.com 4

[AtC] April, 2011

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[AtC] April, 2011

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[Contributors]

Aleena KhanAndrew LessardDr. David PerrinEleonora MeszarosKrista DowKatie ZettelMark CarterTabinda KhanShamraiz Gul