Winter in Orillia, ON

I've been to North America before, but never during winter, not even fall. I was more fearful than excited about winter, and snow was just one more thing I needed to deal with. Nothing to blog about. Except when I got to play in the snow.

Through the International Student Centre, I was able to join the free, annual International Student Weekend hosted by the very generous and accommodating Rotary Club of Orillia, which is about two hours north of Toronto, and has had the most snow this year in the province of Ontario. I also enjoyed interacting with other international students, including those from continents I've only ever dreamed of visiting =)

My first photos in heavy snow...


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On the snow mobile...



Snow tubing...

FIS3005: Journey 4

The presentation above is based on "Untangling the relationship between displayed emotions and organizational sales: The case of convenience stores" by Robert I. Sutton and Anat Rafaeli (Academy of Management Journal 31 [1988] 461-487), which is discussed in "Journey 4," in Doing Exemplary Research (ed. Peter Frost and Robert Stablein; Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1992). The article may be downloaded as a pdf file via Anat Rafaeli's website.

I came to class wearing what I used to wear in a previous life as a "banker": long sleeves, slacks, leather shoes... and my smiley tie! I then started by showing a video of Cumberland Bank and Trust because it was the only one I could find online. It was almost like being back at a service quality seminar =)

It won't make much sense unless you were actually at the presentation (that's if it made sense to the class at all), but I'm really just putting this up for posterity. Some garbage was added when the file was uploaded (e.g., not all bullets were converted, there's a missing title), but that's SlideShare Beta.

Goodies

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Yesterday my parents arrived in Canada. It was like a family reunion with three aunts, one uncle, husbands, wives, cousins and kids. I brought home so much stuff that I knew it was time to put together a "goodies" slideshow and post =)

I got the MasterCard freebies a few weeks ago when I applied for a credit card. I don't know if they'll give this student with no credit history a card, but the water bottle has been very useful.

Cards are now being used for so many things! Who knew that you could put dental floss and perfume in them? And I got them just by walking around.

Then there was the org fair where just about every org was giving something away: Ballpens, Post-It pad, Excel gum and KitKat.

I attended an orientation for graduate students and won a Broken Flowers DVD and free entrance to a movie at Cumberland. Now I just need to figure out when I'll have time to watch...

Last night, my relatives gave me a lot of stuff on my wish list: a desk lamp, scarves, gloves, hand towels and magnets; plus instant noodles, lotion, tissue paper, fabric softener and a first aid kit! And the marinated chicken breasts are already in the freezer =)

Here's what my parents brought (some from my sister, others from my brother): Sustagen, Fibermate, Chippy, blank CDs, and instant lomi. Guess which one I didn't ask for? =)

And then there's Scripture and the Quest for a New Society, the book that I started editing in Manila and finished from Boston; and the eighth edition of History of the Filipino People, which I'll be using for my dissertation.

Paraisong Parisukat (Square Paradise)

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It isn't quite square or paradise, but it might as well be =)

Graduate House (GH) is where I live. I cross the street to work out and swim at the Athletic Centre (AC). Robarts Library, where I've been spending a lot of time, is the main library. The Faculty of Information Studies (FIS) is where I'm doing my PhD.

None of the buildings are particularly attractive. In fact, despite winning architectural awards, GH and Robarts have been nominated as the ugliest buildings in Toronto. And while I agree that they are pretty ugly, it must be said that I'll be spending more time inside the buildings. My roommate Mustafa says that our room reminds him of a jail cell... but it's a very comfortable one =)

So it's probably appropriate that Paraisong Parisukat was, in fact, a movie about a woman who worked in a shoe store. It wasn't quite paradise, but it was comfortable...

Graduate House

Tita Gee and Tito Bill helped me move in today. Pictures will follow.

In the meantime, check out the website of Graduate House.

This is my first post from my home for at least the next eight months.