School Starts

This is my second week as an undergrad.  Well, my second time around, that is.  Even now, there is a lingering ambivalence about this whole adventure.  What on earth is a 62-year old with a PhD doing sitting in a class of 200+ people young enough to be my grandkids?    

Learning would be the lazy person's answer, I suppose.  And there's some truth to it.  I am learning things that I have never formally studied.  But I would be lying if I say I know nothing about some of these courses I'm enrolled in.

I have never taken a college-level course in anthropology or sociology.  That much is true.  But what is left unsaid is that I have actually published in academic journals and conferences in these fields.  I have never taken a college-level course in history, but I believe I have read upwards of 50+ history books.  And horror fiction?  Again, never took a college-level course in literature.  But I have had short stories published.  And even won prizes.  In horror fiction.

Well, there is French.  Never took that either.  I do have a bit of trepidation about that.  Language is not my strong suit.  But then, Ottawa is a pretty perfect place to learn French.  Most people here are bilingual.  In fact, I don't know if one can even get a service job without French.  I used to have a lot more sympathy for French Canadians and their place in Canada.  This sympathy has turned more into annoyance and impatience these days.  So, well, learning French is perhaps just that.  I mean, why the hell not, eh?

So where does that leave me?

I do believe that a formal course of studies is beneficial for someone like me.  Someone with a very regimented lifestyle, an organized way of viewing the world.  Randoming learning is fine, but it lacks direction.  Also, one runs the risk of picking all the wrong things to read.  Or, at least, unknowingly picking only a certain perspective, and ending up with a rather biased view of things.

Time will tell how I feel about this.  Or, perhaps, whether there may be other motivations for this adventure.  For now, I have an urge to be a serious learner -- something I didn't do as an undergrad.  So let's see how things go. 

This blog has no agenda.  No plan.  No outline.  It will be a reflection of whatever comes to mind.  I expect some will be observations.  Some will be my thoughts.  Some will be, well, purely random things.  If anyone is reading this, I hope I don't completely bore you.  If I do, tough shit. 

University of Ottawa

This place is a hell lot bigger than I thought.  Over 40,000 students in a campus of only 100 acres.  How's that for congestion?  If nothing else, it's vibrant.  The main thoroughfare of the campus is perpetually like rush hour in a major city.  Pretty crazy.  As I walk around campus (more on this walking crap later), I hear a cacophony of languages from all over.  A real life tower of Babel, don't you know.  I see people of all colours and races, all integrated (well, the Chinese seem mostly to keep to themselves, but hell, it's their loss) and life seems grand.  I love it.

Did I talk about walking?  OK, this is what's going on.  I live within "walking distance" of campus.  That means I've been walking to school everyday.  Today I put in almost 6 miles.  And that's pretty standard.  If you know me, that's about 6 miles more than normal. 

I've actually been quite impressed by U of O.  Maybe academically it's not a top-notch university.  It's ranked somewhere in the 200-250 range for universities worldwide.  So, it's no Cambridge.  But it's respectable.  This is not what impresses me, though.  The university has embarked on so many sustainability initiatives it's just jaw-dropping.

There's a 50-ft tall indoor plant wall, for air filtration.  In the social science building, the heat generated in the computer room is used to heat the building itself (and nearby buildings too).  UO has banned bottled water, and instead invested hundreds of thousand to install filtered water filling stations all over campus.  There is a food bank for students in need.  There is a free shop for people to donate clothing and other stuff, and students can get these things for free.  Re-use and Re-cycle.  And everyone on campus has a bus pass, so better to encourage public transit and not driving.  Bike repair stations dot the campus.  I don't bike, but hey, how cool is that, right? 

Ok, I'm not writing a brochure for UO.  So enough said.  Maybe more later if something new strikes me.

So that's the backdrop.  More later.