November 30, 2011

First snow of the winter. 

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Last Saturday, I was walking back home with grocery bags and saw a car being parked at a driveway of a nice home. When I saw the driver getting out of the car, I thought myself 'he looks rather familier'. When the man looked at me and I was definitely able to tell by his look that he knew me from somewhere too. There was a few seconds of uneasiness in the atmosphere and both of us were making an eye contact constantly on and off, then I finally shouted "Professor Bunce? You are professor right?". At first, it was hard to recognize my professor outside of the lecture hall and at such an unexpected place, but it was professor Bunce who lectures the 'Geography and Global Processes' course. He after told me that he didn't know my name but recognized my face and the fact that I'm in his first year class. When I heard this, I was quiet amazed that he remembered me from the lecture hall with more than 300 students and recognized me on a street. This totally made my day.

Just today, I went to see professor Meriano during her office hour to ask her about karst formation around Guelph region, to gain some background knowledge before travelling there this weekend. Very surprisingly, the moment I walked into her office, she recognized me and greeted me by name. It also seemed like she was very happy to see me. At first I was a bit confused, but then, I remembered an occasion that happened a month ago in the 'Environmental Hazards' lecture when she asked my name after when I helped her to gather up some survey sheets from the students. The fact that she remembered my name really touched me. During the office hour, She has shown great amount of interest on my trip to Guelph this weekend and I was able to discuss about it in detail for an hour and gained some valuable informations. The professor also asked me to report back to her after the trip, with some photos of karst topography, so that she can consider it as a potential field excursion site for her next semester- second year geomorphology class. + she also asked whether I would like to be part of that field trip and I immediately said yesss.

These little, what might looks like events without any significance, have been really brighten up my days (:

University of Toronto.

I am not standing here as a tourist vising Toronto 

or photographer taking architectural shots,

I am standing here as an undergraduate student.

Cavalcade of Lights.

Lighting of the City of Toronto's Official Christmas Tree

The number of people on the Philips Square skating rink last night

 reminded me of a first weekend of the Winterlude festival in Ottawa

I have a week of regular lectures left, then it's a final exam period.

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Although it hasn't snowed here yet, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Subway Tunnel.

When you get on a subway, always take the first car and stand infront of the window,

and look through the dark and deserted underground passage lit up by electricity. It's pretty fascinating.

Ottawa - The Final Days.

These are few images from the walk I took, on the night before the departure.

To think that I won't be able to see them again, what used to be a casual walk path felt much heavier.

There are just too much memories and feelings attached to each parts and scenes of Ottawa.

where you could unconsciously fall into day dreaming as the sunset crawls down

where I used to walk across in the midnight and could see the time on the Peace tower

where I always used to question how to get to the other side

November 21,2011

I always love taking photos, because photos can show people how you perceive the world.

Writing paper is just like taking a photo, it tells people how I see the world.. but in more literate medium

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Almost every weekend goes somewhat like this:

On Thursday night, I treat myself with Subway and start brainstorming. Start doing research on Friday morning.

Then Boom. The next thing you know, the weekend is already over with finished paper on your hand.

I don't like spending weekends like this but at least I enjoy doing research and writing good papers :D

항공 우편

My good friend Nora has sent me a postcard during her visit to my hometown, Seoul, Korea!

She spent a week in the city through a Korea-Germany Exchange Program last October.

Thanks Nora, I hope you could visit the city this summer again (:

November 16,2011

I had a short meeting with my geography TA at the Sidney Smith building, St.George Campus.

(Several floors of this building are solely dedicated to the Department of Geography!)

Apparently, she is a PhD candidate in Geography and she has an office of her own like the other graduate students.

She kindly answered my questions regarding geography major and told me about her experience as an undergraduate.

+ she also introduced me to a physical geography graduate student, so that I could ask for some advice from him too

My marks aren't that great for now, but the university and its academia are awesome.

I just love this network of people with similar 'scholarly' interest. It's very different experience from high school.

Three views of space.

Interesting lecture note from GGRA02H3

Geography and space: Human geography is inherently concerned with space. The followings are three important implications for the way we understand the world and conceptualize space.

- Absolute space - units of territory which can be numerically measured and are ontologically given (i.e. they exist independently of the way they are perceived - they are real). Space is ready to be filled by the features that make up geographies. Referred as cartographic space - measured in units

- Relative space - space is 'perceived' by humans and this perception may vary according to their culture, available technology and resources. It is the 'sense of space' rather than actual measurement. It constructs and is constructed by human activity and experience.

- Metaphorical space - Space that does not refer to any territorial unit at all. The 'space of views' - thinkers in one paradigm might be spread out but don't share an absolute space. For example, internet, virtual reality, and the advent of cyberspace. It doesn't exist 'on the ground' but it can have real effects.

(Murray W. E. (2005). Geographies of globalization. New York: Routledge)

   

2011-11-11-11:11AM

What are you doing in this historical moment? I'm re-watching a lecture!

(screen was captured before an hour though)

Don't be disappointed if you've missed this special moment whatnot

because we will have 2011-11-11-11:11PM tonight!

+ Lest we forget, Canadian veteran

November 10, 2011

   
Right at this very moment, my friends back in Korea would be writing their College Scholastic Ability Test.
This all-day test will evaluate their effort of the past years and determine their future path.

It's weird to think that I could've been one of those people writing this test of a lifetime.
I'm already too distant to the idea.
   
 

Papers.

'Avalanche hazards and mitigations, in regards to socio-economic status of a nation'

I've been reading papers and writing papers for the whole weekend

p.s) At one point, I was considering putting the soviet russia joke on it

I obvisouly didn't.. because I take academics in very serious manner 8-)

T.A. Nathan

   
I had a 30-minute meeting with my favourite Environmental Science T.A. Nathan last Monday, and he was kind enough to answer all the questions I had about experience and prospect of being a physical geography major. I don't know if it's because he's done his Bachelor's at the OttawaU where I visited often or lived in Sandy Hill area where I used to skate, I feel very interested in talking to him.

His story was very interesting. He originally started off his undergraduate doing major in bioscience field, but later changed to geography in his second year. Along with his geography major, he has choose minor in Geomatics and has worked for the City of Ottawa as an environmental engineer for the co-op term. During his term, he has worked on a GIS project regarding environmental effects of road salt usage. Upon his graduation, he has done mapping expedition in various regions, including Yukon, Alaska, British Columbia, and most recently in Indoneisa. Oh yeah, and at some point of his career, he also worked for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Now, he is a graduate student and a teaching assistant at the University of Toronto, and I happen to be in his tutorial session.

It seems like he and I had similar interest of broad aspect of geography. He has answered my questions regarding the difference of geoscience and physical geography, and the level of science that is usually requirement to comprehend the subjects. Through out the whole time, I was just happy to be listening from someone who has close academic interest, but only a handful years ahead of me. I also thought myself, If I'm really willing to be in geography/geoscience field, he could be both my role model and best source of advice.

At the moment he's in Minnesota with Professor Mitchell, whose my EESA01H3 lecturer, for the purpose of collecting instruments that were used to gathering data of mercury bioaccumulation level in the wetlands of southern states.
   
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Beside Nathan, I found all of my teaching assistants very helpful in terms of academics and beyond. They are more approachable than professors and have better understanding on what the undergraduate students go through. They are mostly graduate students but they and I have same common ground of being a student. How exciting is that!

 

Human Development Report 2011.

I woke up 7 in the morning, just to watch this interesting live webcast. For a note, it means a lot for a college student to wake up early on the day that has no morning schedule.

The webcast briefly overviewed the newly updated human development index for the year 2011 and possible challenges for sustainable growth of human well being, equally for every nations. According to the presentation, two central challenges for the upcoming years are on equity amongst the nations and environmental sustainability. In the mean time, on going world issue includes, the people in disadvantageous part of the world taking both vulnerability and deprivation, as known as double burden, and climate change effecting the poorest nations that are incapable of self-recovery.

The detail report can be found on the United Nations Development Programme website: http://hdr.undp.org/en/

Federal Reserve System.

This is the food bank, Cabinet branch.

There are two more branches located in the fridge and frizzer

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I'm done with all my mid-terms :D

Where Will I Be?

'Talk' by the Coldplay

"You can take a picture of something you see
In the future where will I be?
You can climb a ladder up to the sun
Or write a song nobody has sung
Or do something that's never been done

Are you lost or incomplete?
Do you feel like a puzzle, you can't find your missing piece?
Tell me how you feel?
Well I feel like they're talking in a language I don't speak
And they're talking it to me"

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Imagine a boy wearing a school hoodie and a sweat pants running around the campus
with stapled papers, looking for a dropbox in the science wing. That's me.

Imagine a boy who's walking back home at 3 o'clock.
Not because he's been partying but studying. That's me.

Imagine a boy who's eating morning toasts on the way to a lecture,
while carrying a travel mug full of milk. That's me.

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By the way, new album from Coldplay just came out; 'Mylo Xyloto'.
This album got some potential.

Unexpected Face-off

What are you suppose to do when there are three racoons waiting for you at the door?

#awkwardsilence

Children are Precious.

Schedule of the week.

I started to use the iCalc and my outlook for a week became crystal clear.

*sigh* the very first mid-term in the university is imminent...

Thanksgiving Weekend.

I just came back from my aunt's in Guelph, ON

where I had a really relaxing weekend with the family and a fine thanksgiving cuisine (:

One month in the University.

I'm quiet into what I'm studying here. It's exciting to go to lectures and listen to the professors have to say.

Hopefully I can say the same thing even after the mid terms that are coming up in a couple of weeks.

My Environmental Science T.A. told the tutorial class that he did Bachelor's at the University of Ottawa;

majoring in Environmental and Physical Geography with minor on Cartography (yes!)

and spent many years doing field research around the world from Alberta to the South Asia.

I can't wait to chat with him about Ottawa and his study. 

Since the university is very research-based, most of the professors are very active in their current research

and extremely passionate about their field. A few of them seem to be living in their own world though haha.

- The followings are some of the academic journals that I particularly found interesting -

1) Hardin, G (1968). The Tragedy of the Commons. Science, 162, 1243-1248

2) Tenenbaum, D. J. (2009). Oil Sands Development: A Health Risk worth Taking? Environmental Health Perspectives, 117, A150-A156

3) Yeh, S., Jordaan, M. S., Brandt, R. A., Turetsky, R. M., Spatari, S., Keith, W. D. (2010). Land Use Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Conventional Oil Production and Oil Sands. Environmental Science & Technology, 44, 8766-8772.

4) Jackson, P (2006). Thinking Geographically. Geography, 91(3), 199-204.

5) Sachs, D (1999). Twentieth-Century Political Economy: A Brief History of Global Capitalism. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 15(4), 90-101.

Nighthawks.

Art Side Out.

How can I make my photos stand out amongst the others?

TTC: Ride the Rocket.

Scotiabank Nuit Blanche

October 1, 2011

7pm to 7am. Free all-night contemporary art event in the downtown Toronto.

For a little note, I was totally blown away by all the art projects and ideas

and couldn't stop thinking about it on the subway heading home at 5am :)

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LeuWebb Projects (2011)

Installation

"Yonge Street will become a public space with furniture created from vanishing media merchants:

photoshops, record stores and booksellers."

LeuWebb Projects - Toronto, Canada

The Heart Machine (2010)

Interactive Sculpture

"How we perceive technology guides our interactivity with the machine.

Do we watch passively for the machine to react to our presence or do we take active control?

Do we reach out and explore without fear or do we wait to take the lead from others?"

Christine Irving - Toronto, Canada

Interactive Art - Toronto, Canada

Flightpath Toronto (2011)

Installation

"An interactive visual airscape, and enables hundreds of peoples,

enwinged, to re-imagine the city and the way we move through it."

Usman Haque - London, United Kingdom

Natalie Jeremijenko - New York, United States

Cardiac Combustion Chamber (2011)

Performance Installation with Live Drummers

"Car parts are suspended into space becoming a drum kit

propelled by the drummer's amplified heartbeat."

Camilla Singh - Toronto, Canada

New Dawn Fades (2011)

Installation

"New Dawn Fades utilizes light therapy technology to beckon a coming day

with the rhythmic pulse of light. Their cyclical transmission of a perpetual dawn

signals the stutter of an impending future caught by a statsis in progress."

Michal Maciej Bartosik - Toronto, Canada

I just know that something good is going to happen (2011)

Interactive Installation

"Simulated rain, lights and fog; These physical effects augment the location,

transforming an innocuous underpass into a fantastical scene."

Curtis Grahauer - Vancouver, Canada

Memorias (2011)

Installation

"The artist's broader questioning of the cylical reproduction of human

and material labour within trans-national economies"

Camilio Ontiveros - Los Angeles, USA

Barricades (2011)

Installation

"Sculputres that fail in their original purpose to guard anything,

and act instead as sources of curiosity, absurdity and faith."

Jeremy Jansen - Toronto, Canada

Niall McClelland - Toronto, Canada