It’s 8:30am which means I’ve been hard at work for an hour and a half now.
I’ve just finished cutting and cleaning 120 pieces of raw material, aluminum bars.
Now I’m going to setup our Haas VF-8 to machine them to spec.
It’s all part of a days work here at the machine shop.
Hope you’re having a great morning too.
R.
One of the courses that I have to take in my last semester here at BCIT is stats for Broadcasters. This is important for a number of reasons. The main of course would be for calculating demographics and ratings because in the end, those numbers will determine the main reason we work… money. But, also it helps with more in-depth broadcasting for such things as calculating certain numbers for documentaries and to help with some investigative journalism ( where the serious money can be). HOWEVER, this class makes my head want to explode.. well at least it did for the first few weeks of the semester, but luckily we have an excellent instructor. I’m sure my math skills help as well, they are just a bit rusty. Slowly coming back to me, I am starting to realize this is just grade 11 algebra. I remember thinking I’d never have a use for this stuff.. I guess I was wrong (that’s a hint to keep up with your math skills, even if you think you’d never use it in your life.)
If you’ve had a chance to read Metro News today then maybe you spotted a column by one of our own Ceilidh Millar.
Millar is a media communications student in the first year of the broadcast and online journalism program. She compares her experience at BCIT with that of her peers in university. It is definitely worth a read and you can find it here.
R.
I hope everyone has been doing well in this gloomy weather! This week’s post is about commuting to work and about how I cope with these commutes. From my house all the way to the front door of my work place takes about an hour and ten minutes depending on the traffic of the bus since the Skytrain is usually the same travel length. It consist of ride to Park and Ride, bus, skytrain and walking. This means that the weather plays a huge factor, especially since if it snows or rains, the traffic slows down and I have to walk or wait in the rain or freezing weather. (My commute to BCIT is slightly better with 45 to 50 minutes depending on the traffic with the buses.)
So what do I do on my commutes? I usually listen to music to block out the noise from the commuters. Every morning I do my daily crosswords (both to school or to work). I have been doing that since my SFU days. I try my best to grab one every morning but sometimes I don’t when I am running for the bus. Luckily, there’s always someone handing it out at the Skytrain stations so I’ll grab one there. With the crosswords, I always manage to fill in most of them but I end up missing a few words in the end. I don’t like to guess and write anything down, so it rarely gets completed.
I also started reading again since I don’t have to read for school. So far I’ve completed 3 books. Sadly, I can only read on the Skytrain since I can’t read on buses or else I’d get carsick (or I can get carsick from the buses in general). I have a few more books borrowed already from the library. Right now it’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I’ve only started with it so I’m at chapter two. It is quite a long book. Have any of you read it before? I want to finish it before I watched both the movies. (I try to watch TV shows on the phone on my commutes but I get lazy to drift off because it requires so much of my attention span. And that I have to transfer the shows onto my phone and I get lazy with that too. I just sound really lazy now.) Sometimes I listen to educational podcasts too. Right now I’m listening to a professor talk about history and civilization – currently about South Asia and China in the 1500 BCE. Before that it was about the Egyptians and Mesopotamians earlier in the history. Fascinating stuff.
What does everyone do on their commute? How long is your usual commute to school or work? Any strange sightings on transit? I encountered one today that was very interesting…
I’m sitting with some friends from my set in the Rix right now and the topic of food came up… that doesn’t happen often! We’ve tried pretty much every offering available at the few dining establishments on campus. So, let’s take a look at our top five food choices here at BCIT (we’ve done almost two years of research)!
1. Forgot your breakfast? The all-day breakfast wraps from The Rix are stuffed with healthier ingredients than the usual greasy wraps/sandwiches you’re probably used to. They’re also priced right and you’ll stay full all day.
2. When your looking for comfort food: Try the chicken strips at Triple O’s. Paired with the honey mustard sauce, it’s the best fast food on campus.
3. You’re almost broke but are on a healthy kick: The $4 Mixed Green Salad at The Rix is HUGE! It’s got lots of veggies, cheese, and you can pair it with any of the salad dressing available. I find it’s enough on its own for lunch.
4. Got a sweet tooth? The brownies from the new coffee shop in sw1 (upstairs) are amazing. They’re often sold out, so in team meetings we sometimes have to share.
5. A beverage perhaps? The Stand sells Naked juice smoothies (orange, mango, mixed berry, or greens). They’re packed with servings of fruits and vegetables, something that students are generally low on. They cost more than your usual soda, but the health benefits are worth it.
Some tips and tricks…
- Looking for soy milk for your coffee at The Stand? It’s free when you pay at the counter, just ask!
- To save money, bring your own tea bags from home, a reusable mug, and get hot water from most coffee places on campus
Get the scoop on BCIT right from the source: the students! Click on a picture below to learn a little more about each of them and see their posts.
These students are sharing their experiences at BCIT, and you can follow their adventures through the year. Read about their experiences both inside and outside of the classrooms, labs and shops. Discover BCIT from our students' unique perspective.
