Yesterday was a big day.It was a pre-orientation day at school. I didn't do a tour because I already had earlier in the summer. I quickly learned the tour was barely useful for anyone coming from the other side of the building where the bus drops people off. In other words, a large chunk of the student body not living in residence. The bus station was far from the building I needed. After asking people for help along the way, I eventually made it to the common area where most of the services and the main theatre are located.
The next thing I did was get in line for my student card and bus pass. Thankfully, it wasn't too long when I did it. About 5 minutes after taking my photo, the cards were ready. Technology can be a wonderful thing. The bus pass isn't usable until September 1st, but I have everything I need to get to school on the 5th.
After cards, I tried to find out about books and software. Largely this was unhelpful. We learned later that those resources won't be available until the 28th. I'm unsure why the students in charge of the eTexts booth were not given this information.
I grabbed some lunch as I had time to kill. The gluten free options in the cafeteria weren't great, but there are quite a number of options on campus for food, so I'll check other ones out later. The bar wasn't open.
I headed to another building where I found my locker and claimed it. That building was easy to get to from the main area by popping outside and walking across an intersection.
Then I found my friend who actually used to be in derby with me and we went through the rest of the day together. Many of the presentations gave me ideas for what else I might want to do while there to add to my resume. I also learned about bursaries and such that I might be eligible for. I learned about the dental benefits available to me as well.
I came out of the day exhausted from the walking and the information injection, but also excited for school.
I'd love to go to the zip-lining event, but it's on the same day as my cousin's wedding. There are a bunch of other things coming up that I might check out though.
I had no trouble with the bus! And the driver gave me his day pass blessing, which came in handy. It's actually quite easy. From the station not too far from my house, there are 3 buses I can take. Shockingly, it's the same to get home! This is an unusual experience for me with the OC Transpo system. Also, the one on the way home goes through downtown, so I can stop and do something there easily if I want before going home. I think I'm going to do more because I don't have to worry about my car and the cost of parking it downtown.
Since it was right near the station by my place, I got a few groceries at Walmart on my way home and a rolling laptop briefcase because carrying things on my back made my neck sore. My feet were sore too by the time I got home and I went to bed a little early.
Something else I enjoyed about the day was that I didn't have time to spend on social media. I was too busy just living my life. I'm looking forward to doing more of this too.
I also learned I'll know at least 5 people on campus, which is exciting too! Some not strangers to eat lunch or grab beverages with depending on schedules :)
I have nearly everything I need now for school except software. That's something that I was told gets handled in the first couple days of school, so don't fret about it.
The next thing is meeting classmates on September 5th.
In the meantime, I'm already reading my books and trying to organize my home for the year ahead. I'm slowly decluttering and getting my life organized. I found a to-do list app called Taskary that I'm liking. I'll like it even more if they make the recurring tasks work properly, but for most of my stuff, it seems great so far.
There were some interesting bus characters that I'm sure will provide some inspiration in the months to come too.
Well, I better get to that to-do list.
Guid cheerio the nou,
R~