Hendrix’s birthday
Article by Aasha Khoyratty
On the day of writing this, it’s my dog, Hendrix’s, seventh birthday. I adopted Hendrix when he was just eight weeks old, so this year marks seven years since Hendrix saved my life the first time.
I struggle with mental illness, and seven years ago I attempted to end my life. During my subsequent hospital stay, I searched for a reason to live, and I thought, “what better a reason than a dog?” So I adopted Hendrix. While I still struggle with mental illness, and Hendrix is by no means a cure-all, he is a large part of the reason that I’m still alive today.
The older Hendrix gets, the less exciting and more bittersweet his birthdays are. Some would say that Hendrix being seven makes him old, but I like to think that he’s middle-aged. I like to think that he’s only halfway through his life, that losing him is as far away as getting him. But these seven years with him have gone by so fast, and I’m sure the next seven years will, too. While his birthdays aren’t exciting anymore, I’ll take as many bittersweet ones as I can get.
Printing as a requirement for wastefulness
Article by Alyssa Roth
While many courses have moved their assignment formats to online platforms, some may be surprised to find students involved in workshop-centered classes that still require printing hundreds of pages worth of assignments.
One might ask, for what? Simply for peers to be able to make comments, highlights, and edits. Not only is this wastefulness an unnecessary use of paper, but of money and time. From the price of ink and toner, to the time spent waiting for each copy to spit out from the printer, physical copies of workshop-centered assignments are simply the least sustainable option.
Regardless of the fact that many of these editorial recommendations are provided verbally in class, it is difficult to understand why some professors are still unwilling to consider alternatives. In this day and age of online documents that can be edited and highlighted digitally by peers either individually or in one mass document, little reason can be found for professors to require physical copies beyond their own stubbornness.
Stop canceling my shows
Article by Eva Davey
Lately I have not been able to go on Twitter without seeing the horrific news that no one wants to hear: another television show I like has been canceled. I have the worst luck of finding a TV show that I am sure is a smash hit. For if I like it then it will surely become a classic, right? No!
Now if I recommend a show to someone I have to add on “it got canceled so don’t get attached.” My very first cancellation heartbreak was Marvel’s Agent Carter, and my heart was so broken I ended up never finishing the final season at all. I didn’t want it to be over. Fifteen year old me would not be prepared for what was to come. The final straw was Netflix taking Glow away from me.
In the last couple of years it seems as though streaming services barely let shows even attempt to gather a following before they get axed, and it’s incredibly unfair. Some streaming services are even removing (!!!) shows from their platforms entirely. This year, multiple shows have either been canceled or pulled from streaming services before I’ve had the chance to watch them. I beg, please leave my children alone.
Selling my soul for a Michelin morsel
Article by Emmaline Spencer
I love food. I love it so much. I love it like Anton Ego does in Ratatouille. It’s half the reason I work to earn money. Recently, I spent a good chunk of that hard-earned dough so that I could experience what it’s like to dine at a Michelin star restaurant. I won’t lie, I’ve truly never had food so delicious and perfectly balanced in flavour.
It’s funny that I chose to go to Shoushin, a Japanese sushi restaurant. I don’t even like raw fish. The texture has always felt off-putting and the taste has never quite been something I could stomach, but the sushi served at Shoushin has got to be the best food I have ever had. Each dish was served with a sake pairing. I don’t like sake either, but each one they poured for me was excellent; they were clean, sweet, and reminded me of white wines or Korean soju.
I don’t know if this experience has made me never want to have sushi again or to spend the rest of my life finding excuses to return to Toronto so that I can feast at Shoushin once more.
Aasha is a BA student, working her way slowly and steadily towards graduating with a major in English concentrating in creative writing and a minor in philosophy. When she’s not busy with her studies, she’s hanging out with her dog, Hendrix, and spending as much time outdoors as possible.
Eva Davey is a UFV student majoring in English Literature and minoring in Media Communications. She is a fan of poetry, oat milk lattes, and the final girl trope. Currently, her worst enemy is the Good Reads app.
Emmaline is working on her BA and ambitions to become an English teacher. They always say, those who cannot do, teach. She spends her free time buying, reading, and hoarding books with the hope that one day she will have no furniture and instead only have piles of books.