Print Edition: January 28, 2014
Tim Hortons lids are evil
What is up with Tim Hortons’ lids? This is the only negative aspect of the coffee-drinking experience (granted, the actual Tim Hortons coffee might be a close second). These lids are truly the mark of El Diablo.
I’m not talking about the lids that come with lattés or the like. I mean the lids that come with the plain old coffee — or tea, if that’s your thing.
I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. These lids have the perforated tear-away that you pull back and it locks in place. At least, that’s what’s supposed to happen. Far, far too frequently I have pulled back, only to have the flip tear sideways. Another issue is when the flip doesn’t lock and instead sticks in a perennial 90-degree vertical state. And how about when coffee spills everywhere, because the lid and the cup’s seam don’t make a proper seal.
These things happen far too frequently and I for one will not stand for it. Tim Hortons, you’d better correct this lid issue or I will not be pleased the next time I’m drinking a steeped tea, double double.
Online and off-focus
We’ve all been in a class with that one person that can’t seem to live without their beloved internet connection for more than five minutes. Only about 10 per cent of the class is actually spent taking notes. The rest is spent on Facebook, Twitter, online shopping, or pretty much anything else unrelated to class. I understand that three hours can feel pretty long, and we all check our phones occasionally, but sometimes it gets a little over the top. If you really can’t pry yourself away from the internet and focus for a mere three hours, why even bother coming to university? You clearly have better things to do than sit in a room with people who want to learn.
Please don’t sit directly in front of me, either. I’m not interested in your friend’s baby photos or in watching entire World Cup games with you (yes, that’s actually happened). If you’re not ready to be detached from the internet sometimes, maybe you’re not ready for university.
The vegetarian conversation
Watching gravy dripping down their chin across from my mac and cheese, I spot the familiar gleam in their eyes. Wiping their mouth, they ask, “So, why are you a vegetarian?” However, the following conversation doesn’t go as smoothly as either of us intend. I look down at my hands and mumble, “I don’t really want to talk about it; it’s just a personal choice.” For some, that’s good enough and we change the subject. But in my experience, my response is often followed by, “Don’t you think it’s natural to eat meat?” “If you eat meat, do you spit it out?” Or even, “Don’t worry. I make great fried chicken. I’ll convert you!” In a world where people eat meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it’s pretty difficult to be a vegetarian. Granted, there are great options for herbivores and some wonderful, accepting people in this world — but there are lots of people who try to argue with me about my dietary choices like we’re arguing about the existence of a deity or the ethics of abortion. Meat is not a religion — but if you see it as one, I ask that you respect mine.
Students need to show up at games
I want to see you at the last pair of UFV Cascades basketball games at 6 and 5 p.m. on February 13 and 14 respectively.
Why?
So you don’t wish you’d been there, like Woodstock, or when the Pope visited Toronto. Sarah Wierks is projected to collect more rebounds per game this season than anyone in any season since records were published. UFV’s men are preparing before our eyes for one of the most classic Cinderella post-seasons in the history of Canada West competition across all sports.
Both teams are up against barriers put in place exclusively to make it more difficult for non-powerhouse (UBC, U of A) teams to compete.
Not only is it your chance to be here for that watershed moment, it’s your chance to show that UFV has world-class athletes and students supporting each other in the face of nearly universal, almost insurmountable obstacles: money, privilege, and geography.
