Parking at StFX! There's alot of things you'll find during your experience at X, but parking is a rarity. This year seems to be worse than ever for parking on campus, relieved only slightly by the use of the St. Ninian's Place parking lot. Now, I'll admit the campus does look good, but do we really need that much green space? It seems like every week they're putting in new trees somewhere, is it too much to ask for a few additional parking spaces? And watch where you park, the campus security jeep is always on the prowl for illegally parked cars, $10 for a parking spot? Sometime's its worth not being late. Today there was a cross-country meet on campus, and as much as I like how the university supports high school athletics, it ties up roadways, and all the would be available parking spots for the students who are actually attending classes. And what about the state of the roadways on campus. This year money was invested in repaving two sections on campus, one patch near the football field, and another near Nicholson. These two sections were getting pretty bad, but the state of the rest of the ashphalt isn't that great. For one of the top ranked university's in Canada, you shouldn't have to worry about losing a hub cab while driving through campus. Could some of the money from parking tickets not be used towards paving? Oh wait, those tickets are issued by the town. Until the time comes when the parking issue is addressed, and the roads repaved, I'll just have to keep dreaming. Thanks for reading.

Comedian Gerry Dee is set to perform at the Millennium Centre on November 20th. You've seen him on tv, either through performances on the Comedy Network, commercials for Atlantic Lottery, or as a contestant on the show Last Comic Standing. He's a very funny guy, and you should all check him out when he visits campus. For tickets, or more information visit the box office located in the main entrance of the Millennium Centre.

Lastnight the Trews played live at the MacKay room, and I gotta say it was ne of the best concerts I've been too. The doors opened around 9pm and the the show got under way with opening performances by Tim Chiasson and Morning soul. The concert itself was a dry concert, which is not what was mentioned on the ticket, so like most other concert goers I headed down to the Inn to have a couple pre-Trews drinks. The Trews hit the stage at around 11:30 and the crowd was ecstatic! A sea of arms was all that could be seen throughout the crowd, and everyone sang along with songs such as, So She's Leaving, Paranoid Freak, Every Inambition, and many more. The energy from both the crowd and the band seemed to be undying, and when the Trews finally left the stage, the crowd cried out for one more song. The Trews retook the stage and played not only one more song, but 3 or 4 more! They kept saying how good it was to be back at home, and that wherever they go they always say that they're from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, which I thought was very cool. They also played a new song from their acoustic album which is out now and can be found on their website (www.thetrewsmusic.com). All in all the concert far exceeded my expectations, and I wish it didn't have to end. Check out one of the videos I took of them performaning Fleeting Trust from their album House of Ill Fame. The sound quality is not the best, but then again it was taken with my Blackberry. Enjoy, and thanks for reading.

Trews! Tomorrow the Trews will be playing at the Mackay room on 3rd floor SUB. The music on the Main committee has come together to bring the Trews back to Antigonish. I can hardly wait, the lost tine U saw them live was 3 or 4 years ago when they played at the Millennium Centre, and they were awesome. I was also fortunate enough to be a student at Dr. JH Gillis Regional High when they played at 2 of our high-school dances. l still remember back to junior high when their brother and his band mates were putting up posters for One Eyed Trouser, the former name of the Trews. Their young brother Paddy was in my grade. And was able to get my copy of House of Ill Fame autographed for me, I was so excited! I’ve been listening to them on my iPod for the past week, and it seems like every song I think, l really hope they play that one! There seems to be lots of excitement around the concert, and it arms to be a good time to be had for all. Hope to see you there, and as always thanks for reading. Also check out the Trews website for a chance to win an autographed Gibson Hummingbird guitar (www.thetrewsmusic.com)

Midterms Begin

It's October 14th and my first midterm has come and gone. Info 348, a lab class that offers hands on learning with information systems leading software company SAP. Preparation for this midterm was difficult, first of all there was no text book for this course, there were only three short slide show presentations, and the classes were mostly oriented around completing exercises. It was one of those midterms that you think is going to be really easy, since there is not much material to review, but then you get to thinking, am I overestimating this? I'll admit I didn't put as much effort into studying for this midterm as I would for a non lab class, but that seemed to be the general consensus amoung my classmates. The professor was early today and he allowed us to start 5 minutes early, giving us a total time of 80 mins to complete the midterm. I flew through the first page, I was actually starting to enjoy this, when I hit the second page, things got a little more tricky, but good old common sense helped out, and the third and final page, which consisted of true or false seemed to be a little tricky. I finished in only 30 mins, and was the second student to leave. This worried me a little bit, but then again, I was satisfied with my work. Two more midterms to come, marketing on monday, and ebusiness on tuesday, and both aim to be a challenge. Until next time, thanks for reading

Arts at X

Art Electives

So this year I chose to take two art electives, intro to design, and etching 1&2. I've always liked to draw, and create things when I was little, and still do enjoy these things when I have time. I took drawing 100 last year... boy was I surprised. Little did I know there would be homework involved, and forget the creative element, everything you drew had to come from real life, oh, and no drawing from pictures either. As painful as it was though, I did learn a few things, and in the end it was worth the late Thursday night classes. Etching, all I can say is I love it! The class is small, and freedom of creativity is yours. There are four techniques to etching that you will learn during Etching 1, which are, the use of hard ground, soft ground, aqua tint, and dry point. So far I have done a few prints using the hard ground technique, and am set to print using softground this week. I suppose I should briefly explain what etching is. Etching is where you take a copper plate, create a design on the plate which is burned in using acid, and then you apply ink to the plate and put it through a press which transfers the image onto paper. It's essentially print making. I would highly reccommend taking etching to anyone, although you must first take drawing 100. Intro to design on the other hand, has me completely lost. I took this course as a last minute option and also because I'm interested in design (mainly graphic design), but so far I feel like I have learned almost nothing about design. At least the book is interesting and easy to read. We also made paper cranes and collages, which was fun. Hopefully it will become more clear as time goes on. Until next time, thanks for reading :)

Love the SUB

Love the SUB

There's nowhere better on campus to spend time between classes than 4th floor SUB. The chairs are comfortable, the students are focued, and you can really get some work done. The SUB (Student Union Building) has become my second home this year. Many evenings are spent sitting in a chair, a book in my lap, and my iPod playing in the background. I remember back to first year, before I knew of 4th floor SUB, back to where I spent my time in the library. Exam time at the library was like playing musical chairs, except there was no music, and just try finding an empty seat. Now, granted there is a similar issue during exam time at the SUB, the lighting is better, its much more comfortable, and is open past 12am. Also, if you get hungry, just head downstairs and grab something to eat, DCB and cash accepted. All in all, the SUB is a great place for students to hang out and get things done, so if there are any 1st year students reading this, I reccommend checking it out.

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Feeling Overwhelmed?

So we're now experiencing the second week of October, midterms are beginning, course projects have been announced, and I am feeling overwhelmed. Okay, so maybe I only have three midterms this semester, but third year is alot more work. Not to mention that I have two group projects, a research eassy, and a research paper, to be completed, as well as constant readings. It's beginning to feel like you can never get ahead, you just finish catching up on all of your reading, and then, just like that, you're behind again. Group projects... there isn't much good I can say about them. Typically they consist of you and a few people you don't know getting together, breaking up the work, and then trying to piece it together last minute. Oh, and not to mention the slacker of the group, you know the one. The one who can never make it to the meetings, and does sub par work. All in all, I find the work performed on an individual basis is of much better quality, but as the professors always say, you don't get to choose who you work with, and group work helps you prepare for working with others in your future career. Now, as tired as I am of listening to the reasoning behind it, it does make sense. Research papers can be summed up in two words time consuming. Hours upon hours can be spent sifting through heaps of information just to turn out one paragraph. It's a long painstaking effort, and by the end of it, you're just happy to be done. Third year at X, bring it on!

Nicholson Hall Confusion?

Nicholson Hall Confusion :S

Now you may be thinking to yourself, how could Nicholson Hall be confusing, it's quite possibly one of the easiest buildings on campus to navigate... or so it was. About two weeks before classes started, I found myseld heading over to Nicholson Hall to pay a visit to TSG when I noticed new signage posted at each classroom door. At first I thought it was just a nicer colour scheme, but a second look told me otherwise. The classroom numbers, as I had come to know, had changed! Prior to the re-numbering, Nicholson had a very simple numbering system in place. The basement floor numbers had a "b" before them, the main floor numbers were in the 10's, and the top floor numbers were in the 100's. I continued to walk the basement floor and noticed that all the numbers were now in the 100's range, which transferred into 200's on the main floor, and 300's on the top floor. Now, I may be wrong, but I've never come across a basement level being considered level 1, but that's just me. I continued on to TSG thinking nothing more of the new numbers. Now, it's September, heading in to my first day of classes with my schedule in hand. Now surely the numbering systems has also been updates on our schedules... right? Wrong, the numbers on student schedules still correspond to the old numbering system. Confusing? just slightly, although they did have staff on hand passing out maps, and pointing people in the right direction. And yes, for once you did need a map to find your way around Nicholson Hall. Time has passed, it's now October, and numbers have been replaced by memorization. It just goes to show you how minor changes can make a big impact. Thanks for reading, and keep an eye out for my next post.

Introducing Myself

Welcome all to my first blog :)

So as you may have noticed, this blog is primarily about life as a student at StFX University. To start out, I’ll introduce myself. My name is Allan Berkvens, and I am in my third year of the Information Systems program and am majoring in ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). For those of you who know nothing about Information Systems, other than it involves computers, and were still baffled by the acronym, I’ll take a moment to fill you in. Information Systems are essentially large software programs designed for small to large businesses to help manage information. Think of it as Microsoft Office except on a much larger scale! Now what this software does, is allows information to be shared throughout the entire company simultaneously and in real time. Why is this important? For one, there is no need for one department to call the other to gather information, this leads to greater efficiency, and less chance for human error. The information in this system is also stored in one location, and any changes that are made will be made available to everyone the moment they happen, which can reduce costs associated with outdated information. The benefits go on and on, but I’m sure that’s not why you chose to read my blog. So aside from being a third year student at X, I also work for the Advancement department as their website administrator (www.alumni.stfx.ca). Administering the website has clearly been my best job yet, changes are easy, and it gives you a chance to be creative. Also, being a part of the Advancement team, I became largely involved in preparation for Homecoming. My role was to create all of the nametags for guests, update the guest lists online and look after online registration, working at the Alumni gear store that was set up in the Keating Millennium Centre, and chauffeuring Dr. Riley around campus. I gained a real respect for the amount of time and effort that goes into pulling off a successful homecoming weekend, and this year’s event was a success indeed! Between going to class, and going to work, downtime is rare. When I do have some time to myself I like to hang out with friends, go to the movies, work on my computer (usually ogling new technology), play pool, or just strum on my guitar. Hope this gives you a little insight into who I am, and you enjoy my future posts.