Antlered visitors

Had an interesting visitor to the office. in fact he's hanging outside our window right now.

Forget EagleCam... we should get the GSS Antlercam!

Working during a reno

Well, I never really believed the office part of the reno would be done exactly on time. Looks like it will take two weeks, rather than just the one week we all took off and closed the office.
As such, the staff are camped out amongst our haphazardly boxed office supplies and records.

Here's Juliet valiantly checking her email at the one internet-connected computer!

It's all for the good, however, as the result will be a better workspace for the staff.

We are adding two private office spaces, which will mean (for me) I can talk to students in private when they come for advice or support, and for our bookkeeper, she can have some quiet and order in a room also used for Executive and staff meetings.

Here's a peek at the main GSS office thus far:

This is the view in from the door. Directly ahead students will see the person to talk to, and there will now be a waiting area for students to sit down if there is a line.

Perhaps we should get a video game terminal in the waiting room like my son's dentist?

One thing about this renovation, you can really see how dirty our office carpet is. Yech!

Escape

For those of you new to victoria, here are some suggestions of how to escape your studies for a brief break this summer

Swan Lake hike. Accessible by Bus 26 from UVIC. Gorgeous! A couple hours of walking gives a total getaway! And what could be better than free?

B-Movies in Beacon Hill park! Check it out--here--it's free!

Moss Street Paint In, the Dragon Boats Festival, Simphony Splash and much more Victoria arts activities--here

Camping! UVic outdoor recreation can rent you all the camping gear you need at a reasonable price. Check out the BC parks camping website for ideas of parks nearby. For quick getaways, check out Goldstream Park--accessible by Victoria transit bus--thank you U-pass!

Cabin rentals! want to pool funds with some friends and rent a cabin? Some of the best deals around are available through the Land Conservancy!

UVic outdoor pool. Sweet! Victoria's only outdoor pool (except one in a hotel), and you are already a member so no charge for you if you paid fees for summer! Check out the schedule here.

Cadboro Bay /Gyro beach. Steps from UVIC, a gorgeous beach, shallow water for wading or swimming. Watch the sailboats! Check out Gyro here and other free parks programs here.

Rename the IQ contest

Hey! We are renaming Room 114 (currently "IQ Bistro") because I just cant take being made fun of for using an acronym that claims "intelligence" at the same time as misspelling "quisine" for one day longer.

Got a great idea of what the grad students's restaurant should be named? Submit it to gsscomm@uvic.ca --you could win a $50 gift certificate to the restaurant formerly known as IQ.

What about the small side, you ask? Well that is just about the worst kept secret on campus... what has happened to your gossip networks?

Chesterfields retire!

Renovations are about a million tasks. One of them is getting rid of stuff we are replacing. After many years of service, the ol' blue couches are off to a new life. Sadly for them, no Winnebago in Texas or golf tournaments.
Off they go! At the GSS we love these moving guys--some of the friendliest staff on campus. Even posed for my photo! They are taking the couches to Biochem and English. Happy lounging folks!

Coooooool

A surprise peak at what UVic might be using to transport staff and goods to various locations on campus. Electric cars and van!

That's campus live wire Sara Webb standing there with her fair trade organic coffee!
I even got a free ride around ring road. If "happiness" is to be measured in the cost benefit analysis in there, the amount of silly giggling from various UVic staff in the van definately weighs heavily in favour of purchase.

Dig it!

There's really no going back now! The digger is in the back ripping out our GSS delivery drive.

I must say I greet this with a bit of relief. Deadlines for completion being what they are, and the demand for construction workers being so high, I was nervous the whole week between the GSS Executive approving the release of capital funds, and the various levels of approval going from my notice up to the Vice President Finance office, and then the letter to the contractors to say they can go ahead.

Hopefully, now all our various levels of approval and bureaucracy are done, construction will speed along handily. (I will keep you posted on progress!)