How to Beat the Cold

It’s official. We’ve transitioned from the surprisingly mild December weather into the blistering cold winds of February. I wished for snow in December, during the days of Christmas break when I had nowhere to go and just wanted to sit by the fireplace. Now that school has become an obligation again, assignments and tests are popping up, and I’m back to spending a significant amount of my time commuting on public transit, I’m wishing for that bearable December weather to come back.

Waking up to news reports of freezing temperatures can make it difficult to get out of bed in the morning. But despite the weather, life must go on. Which means getting your butt out of the house for school, work, and other obligations.

Here are some things to keep in mind while bracing yourself for the cold weather:

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UTM Prepare, For Winter Is Coming

theodysseyonline
theodysseyonline

 

It’s that time of the year again.

The chilly nights are a clear indication that winter is coming. If you’re the kind of person who just hates winter, here are some helpful tips to survive the frosty months on campus:

Double-check your bus timings

Next up are those of us who take public transportation. Know the timing for your buses—I know it sounds trivial, but during wintertime, buses have a nasty habit of arriving late, so its always good to give those MiWay service representatives a call and confirm timings so you don’t have to wait outside for too long. This also means that you should take advantage of those beautiful heated bus shelters when waiting at UTM. For my fellow UTMers taking the shuttle, wait inside IB.

Stay indoors and plan ahead

When traversing the campus, use the halls and stay indoors to minimize exposure to the treacherous winter winds. Remember, as the weather gets colder outside it gets crowded inside, especially in the library, so plan ahead and book the study rooms if you need to in advance, get there early, and most importantly, respectfully share space with your fellow UTMers.

Be prepared!

Finally, some items you would want to keep on your person at all times are a coffee mug, a pack of Kleenex, an extra pair of socks (I promise they will come in handy), gloves/mittens, a beanie, and some Halls.

By the way…

Don’t forget to check for cancellations (via Blackboard or the UTM Twitter account) before you leave for class.

Most importantly, enjoy yourself; a lot of fun things happen around this time of year, so keep an eye out for something that might interest you.

 

Do I Have To Die Before UTM Shuts Down?

Kimberly Johnson

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There was a time when news of a winter storm brought a sense of hope to my soul. As a child, it was tradition to crowd around the big grey box (remember those?) at 6am and wait for the weather man/woman to announce the cancellation of your board’s school day.  The night before, my brother and I would pray extra hard that tomorrow our dream would come true, and then (because we shared a room) we would fall asleep under the gentle glow of street lights reflecting off of piling snow.

That was the dream.

And then I grew up and went to UTM.

Now, if there’s anything I know about this school, it’s this: if there was an apocalypse and zombies were feeding on the limbs, brains, and hearts of faculty and students, UTM would still be “open and proceeding as normal.”

While I appreciate UTM’s “Go get-em” spirit, sometimes I just wish UTM wasn’t so persistent on staying open. Frankly put, sometimes you gotta shut down, take a nap and wait for the storm to pass.  Sometimes, Kim must return to her blankets away from the mean, horrible thing called snow.

On a certain Tuesday a few weeks ago, there was a particular storm that ravaged my beloved Mississauga. I awoke, rather disgruntled, because mornings aren’t my thing (unless a coffee is promptly handed to me…then and then only are they my “thang”). I glanced out my window and gasped. My beautiful city was under attack. Snow flew everywhere and my surroundings were despicable. I immediately grabbed my phone to check Twitter. I scanned my feed.

Surely this will be the day. Surely classes aren’t running. Not with this abomination called snow, I thought. Nothing. It was 8am, which means my fears were realized. I had school. My brother didn’t.

My heart sank and so did my stomach there after as I got ready. I slipped on layer after layer, wrapping myself in sweaters and jackets. I looked like a very terrified brown snowman – scratch that – a super hot, mostly disgruntled, terrifically brown snowman. I examined myself in the mirror and muttered a line from “Sexy Back.” It felt fitting.   I wobbled to the door, mumbled a prayer and that speech from Brave Heart (even though it has nothing to do with my particular predicament), and I left my home – that sweet comfortable home. I journeyed across the wintery tundra, muttered the twenty third Psalm like an old man with conviction, caught my bus and wondered:

Do I have to die before UTM shuts down?