Oh Waterloo

A return to my alma mater was important for this trip. I was encouraged by my father from a young age that education was an important aspect of personal growth and would increase earning potential at the very least. I was able to attend university as a mature student with my father’s assistance for my first course. I was having difficulty maneuvering the student loan process that would soon become the worst experience of my university career. I truly enjoyed my life as a university student, particularly full-time with all of my classes on-campus in the various and assorted lecture halls and seminar classrooms. The libraries were a source of awe and nostalgia. When parked in the study halls for hours on end with my good friend N., it was very easy to become distracted by the towers of books on floor after floor. It didn’t matter that the arts library was built with a grievous error – the engineers neglected to account for the weight of the books and the building is slowly sinking. I loved it anyway. 10^th floor was the student designated “quiet floor” and the first floor was much more social and noisy. The other floors would vary according to height. N. and I generally stuck to the same corrals.  We bustled in gallons of Snapple and can after can of Pringles. The juice was quieter to drink (not as many burps as soda pop) and the chips were in a can, not a rustling bag.

I attended a couple of classes together with the friend I am stopping over with here.  We also worked together for the university for years. The campus has grown exceptionally since I’ve left.  RIM has had a huge part of that growth as they expand continually around the campus. With over 20 buildings now, they are a force to be reckoned with. The campus is losing its greenspace though, which is worrisome. I hope they know when to quit. They bought acres and acres of land when Waterloo was just a small town, however they have developing it quite quickly in the past 10 years. Some of the new buildings are quite cool. I rather like the Pharmacology building, and it’s built off campus, in downtown Kitchener.

The fireman monument is across the street from my friend's apartment. The detail on the bronzed map of Kitchener-Waterloo is awesome.The other monument is what locals call the pile of turd...it is an ugly piece of art shaped like a giant turd.

I’ve been out to supper with my friend, tonight to an old haunt of ours when I lived here. It’s just a small Asian diner with the best sesame chicken I’ve had, and we weren’t disappointed tonight. We took a scenic tour of some of the city before coming home for time-out. S. is napping, and I’m not far behind, heading down to the van very shortly in the warm late afternoon sun.