September 9th, 2015
A lone guide yells, “Engineers! What is your profession?”
The 200+ new engineers roar back: “TO DRINK BEER!”
“What kind of beer?”
“COLD, FREE BEER!”
“Why?”
“TO GET DRUNK!”
“Why?”
“TO GET HAMMERED!”
“Why?”
“WE DON’T KNOW!”
“Why?”
“WE’RE ENGINEERS!!!”
I’m going to take a few steps back and start my story from the beginning. I’m just writing this in the mess hall now, and have a lecture in half an hour, so let’s see how much I can finish. Chances are I’ll need more time.
My adventure started inside the YYC terminal, as I was boarding my flight to Ottawa. Everything was going fine. The line was moving, the usual tired shuffle.
As I handed my ticket to the flight attendant, she asked me to step aside. It was then I noticed that a few others had been pulled to the side as well.
Long story short, I was cut. The original plane had had mechanical issues, and a new plane was brought in, sans 25 seats. I was put on a direct flight 7 hours later, meaning I would miss residency check-in, getting my student card, etc. Fun, fun.
Upon my arrival in Ottawa, I expected my bags would be waiting for me, somewhere, as my previous flight has arrived a long time before I did. However, my bags were nowhere to be found. Not in the system. MIA. It was just me, my guitar and my small backpack which had virtually nothing in it. Adventure time. I asked a lady to point me to a bus to the university and jumped on. I arrived just in time to check in to my room. After walking around the campus a bit, the Air Canada office called me around 10 PM informing me that my bags had arrived, and I went and grabbed them in a taxi. Quite a day.
The next day was better. I picked up my Frosh kit (Or 101 week, whatever.) which had a lot of cool engie-oriented things in it. A beer stein, food, toiletries, gum, water bottle, etc. From that point, the past few days have been engineering events. Parties. Playing games. Concerts. Socializing. Drinking Beer. (Cold, free beer!) Shine Day. Terminus. Couch decorating. Walking around the city with said couch. One event that I do want to touch on specifically was Messy Day.
THE ENGINEERING HYMN
We are, we are, we are, we are, we are the Engineers
We can, we can, we can, we can, demolish forty beers
Drink run, drink rum, drink rum, drink rum,
And come along with us;
We don’t give a damn for any damn man
Who don’t give a damn for us.
Messy Day1 was an appropriate title. Every engineer received a pair of heavy coveralls and a hard hat, and then proceeded through a hilarious barrage of dirt, cornstarch, syrup, paint, slime, shaving cream, oatmeal, water, eggs, used lottery tickets, cake, and flour. The whole faculty then held a long rope and marched to Parliament for an ‘after’ picture.
Classes started today, and are just as difficult as I thought they would be. We plowed through the equivalent of high school Chem 20/30 in one chemistry lecture. Classes are fun, though. Really interesting material.
My Verdict: University is fantastic. I’m going to like this place.
September 19th, 2015
Classes have been good so far.
My algebra class has quickly thrown me into the world of nonreal numbers and vectors. Apart from these distant, currently abstract topics, my Chemistry, Calculus, Engineering Mechanics and Computer Science classes have built nicely upon my high school courses.
I have yet to go to bed at a decent time- each day so far has either been a wild party or intense study night. I’ve already had a few tests worth 10 percent (more or less,) of my final course grade.
Vectors and planes in N dimensions is really difficult to wrap my head around - maybe that’s the beauty of complex mathematics - we can define things that only exist in some other place.
Computer Science is great. We’re learning the Python computing language, which I already have a good handle on, so that course is going to be smooth. Some students are struggling with defining their own statements and functions…
Already, I’ve seen a few people walk. One guy, who I liked, transferred to Psych. Others have gone to business. Most have simply left. It’s an eerie feeling, knowing that you, too, could be crushed by some great conceptual wall.
To all those back at home,
Firstly, I apologize for my brevity.
Secondly, thanks for your silent (or communicated,) support. I know and appreciate that many of you see some potential in me… I won’t let you, or myself, down.
I’m gonna build some cool s**t now. ‘ts gonna be fun. Wish me luck.
R
This article is a collection of writing from my early years at the University of Ottawa, sourced from the following Medium posts: