Wilting Greens
By: Carissa Wiens
I read once that in order to make a bunch of fresh herbs last longer you need to put the stems in a cup of water and they’ll keep for the week. That was a lie. When I meal plan for the upcoming week on Sunday, there’s always at least one or two recipes that call for fresh Italian parsley or cilantro. Since I’m an obedient chef, I pick up the herbs when I go grocery shopping that evening then use them in my recipe(s).
Once I get to Thursday evening’s taco night, the cilantro is already wilting; it’s weak and flimsy. But my delicious lentil and carrot tacos need the burst of herby greens, so I make do and chop up the skimpy leaves, all the while wishing I had purchased fresh cilantro that day instead of several days before.
Computers at UFV aren’t accommodating
By: Emma Dion
I wish that the computer lab or the computers in the library would allow students to adjust some settings of the display. The screen brightness is sometimes too high, which inhibits my ability to work on computers for a long period of time. I usually leave with a spinning head and aching eyes. The keyboards should also be more user-friendly. As someone who is studying languages, it’s always so tedious having to change the keyboard settings to add a different alphabet that I need to use. Different keyboard settings should be installed and ready to use so students don’t have to waste time downloading and installing them each time they turn on a computer. There’s a keyboard for English and Japanese, but none for French, Spanish, Russian, German, Chinese, or Punjabi. Given that UFV has an entire department dedicated to the study of languages, its computers should support multilingual use.
I lost my 911 virginity
By: Andrea Sadowski
On Friday night after a stressful day, I went out to eat with a friend at a cute little vegan diner only to walk in on the most intense atmosphere I have ever felt in a nice mom-and-pop shop. I went to the counter to place my order for a great big plate of nachos because I was feeling some serious munchies. The server taking my order looked like the most stressed out young lady I had seen in a while, and this was during midterm season, so I had seen a lot of stressed out people lately. Then I heard a conversation behind me between two men get louder and more aggressive.
I asked the girl if she was working there alone, and she said yes, so I said I would call someone. So I phoned the police. While I was still on the phone with them the man who was causing the tension walked out, and the situation deescalated. The server was visibly flustered and super anxious as she called her manager to tell them what happened. All I wanted was a plate of nachos, but instead I had to phone the police on some guy who claimed he was the reaper and wouldn’t leave this cute little establishment alone. Are you confused? Me too. Don’t worry, eventually I got my plate of nachos, and a mac-and-cheese burrito too.
A moment of time
By: Aneesha Narang
A moment. A moment is all that is needed. A moment is needed when you have to clear your head, escape from reality, or just to take a moment to reflect on the week. A moment is as time consuming as you choose to make it. It may be a minute, an hour, or whatever you choose. During this stressful time of year when you may encounter the busyness of midterm season, it is important to take the moment you need to remind yourself that you are only human. Enjoy the small things that life brings you, because they may not be there tomorrow. So take the hour, recoup, go on a run, or free your mind in anyway you please, but take a moment. Take the moment to shine and polish yourself to then go back and kick school in the butt as you’ve done before. You got this, so go kick it.
Illustrations: Kelly Ning/The Cascade
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
