I want my A-Do-Be!

Time to get colourful!

If I hadn't already thought that Adobe's Creative Suites were the most fun way to get work done, the Creative Communications program proved it to me. My time spent on Adobe's mailing list yielded interesting but not so useful information, until earlier this week when an email titled Graduation Special! arrived. The entire Master Creative Suite for under one thousand US dollars? Yes please!

I contacted one of the helpful Live Chat reps on the Adobe site and learned that, since I haven't received my diploma, I am still considered a student. A few glitches later, and approval of my student status from The Adobe Store, and I am about to download the Creative Suite - Student Edition.

What does this mean when I am no longer a student? I will be able to pay just the upgrade fees, instead of purchasing everything from the get-go without my student status. My graduation is approaching, it's true, but why else would Adobe offer a "graduation special", if not to appeal to those of us about to enter the wild world of professional work?

May 31 is the deadline to take advantage of Adobe's Free Shipping offers as well. Soon-to-be grads still wanting to get their hands on Adobe: act now!

Image courtesy of www.sxc.hu

Any room for me at the inn?

I'll be spending a month out of town after school is out of session. I'm really looking forward to it, but I've run into one little hiccup. The family connection I'd planned to stay with rented out his condo and moved to the U.K., so I'm in search of alternate accommodations. I'm wary of hostels, since I need to put down roots for more than just a few days, and I'm also wary of hotels, because they aren't really set up for long-term accommodations and tend to cost a lot even when they are.

My discovery of something in between, called "apartment hotels" has really made the difference. These are set up for a long-term stay, with some including kitchens and looking almost like condos. The rates are a bargain if you stay for a solid month, or pay to stay for a solid month, sometimes as low as $60/night.

The other important discovery I've made is university dorm living. In the summers, most students have left their dorms to head home or travel or work somewhere other than the university's locale, so these areas are available for rent to travelers. One place I'm looking at has a rate of $38/night if you stay for a month in the summer.

I was concerned that without a couch to surf on, I'd end up in an exorbitant hotel far from the areas I'd planned to visit. But it looks like there really are affordable, apartment-style accommodations out there for travelers. And that's a big relief.

iHope I Can, iHope I Can!

Let's be friends?

I have a bit of a problem.

You see, as a busy second-year CreComm student, juggling an IPP with homework assignments, a blog, and squeezing in a personal life (which scant free time mostly consists of chores and a distracted "bye, honey!" as I tear out the door in the morning), I've found I really do need a smartphone. I could update my blog from the bus, do homework almost anywhere (but never in class!) and respond to the many emails I now receive as interim News Director for 92.9 KICK FM.

My small problem becomes a bigger one when I consider that I have an existing, regular phone contract. There's a year and 4 months remaining on said contract, meaning I will owe to my wireless provider either the monthly cost of the phone, or $200. I owe whichever is the smaller amount, but that's shaping up to be a tidy sum for a student trying to cover books, living expenses, and transportation.

Then there's entering into a new contract. I have my eye on Rogers and an iPhone, but that won't be cheap either. Data plans start at $25/mo and go as high as $60/mo, and that's without factoring in the cost of a phone. The 3GS is $99.99 and that's not even the latest model. The iPhone 4 with 16GB is $159.00, and the 32GB version is $269.00. There must be student plans, I'm sure, but if all goes well, I will graduate in 2011 and be a student no longer.

If I can find someone to take over my existing plan, that will cover some of the cost of the phone, but not the data plan. How much data will I use? Once I'm locked into a contract, can I pay for less if I don't use the full capacity I'm paying for? Can I upgrade? Will I even know what to do with an iPhone if/when I have one?



iHope I can!

Image courtesy rogers.ca

Sale: 50% off all clothing!

If vintage/secondhand shopping is your thing, don't miss Value Village's sale! TODAY-ONLY: 50% off all SECONDHAND clothing! This includes shoes and 'accessories' (which I'm guessing are things like jewellery and scarves and mitts, but don't quote me). There are 4 VVs in the city: 1560 Regent, 1729 Pembina, 942 Jefferson, and 1695 Ellice. You've got from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. today, so don't miss it!

I think I'm going to make a serious attempt to replace a pair of jeans that I loved, which were recently overcome by large holes at the knees. :(

Cheap ways to de-stress!

It's almost midway through November, and I find myself tearing out of the house, hair slightly more unkempt than usual, just-printed-and-stapled assignments trailing from my bookbag like streamers. There are bags under my eyes, my computer laughs maniacally at my attempts to get it to do as I wish, and I don't remember what I ate for breakfast. Is anyone else in the same boat?

As students, there's a lot of stress in our lives right now as we try to recall and apply everything that our brains are soaking up in class. We've also made school a priority over working, so we don't have unlimited funds at our disposal. How can we calm down without breaking the bank? Because the beer does add up, guys.

1. Go for a walk! Or a run, or a bike ride, or go rollerblading...half an hour of exercise can get those endorphins pumping and burn away stress as well as calories. (I need to do some more of this, myself!)

2. Have a bath. Sure, showers are the only option when you're pressed for time, but a nice hot soak in the bathtub will loosen up tense muscles. Add some scented bubble bath (guys, I'm talking to you) to truly pamper yourself.

3. Make yourself a nice cup of tea. Coffee and hot chocolate both contain amounts of caffeine that can actually rev up your system and make you feel more stressed. Decaffeinated or herbal teas, on the other hand, don't contain caffeine and can help you feel relaxed. Some teas can even help with insomnia. A personal favourite of mine is chamomile tea - no matter what I'm going through, a cup of chamomile tea will calm me down.

4. Do something other than stare at a screen before going to bed. Scientific research shows that looking at computer or TV screens before going to bed actually makes it harder for you to fall asleep! If you want to increase your chances of getting a good night's shut-eye as soon as your head hits the pillow, turn off those screens and read a book, or the newspaper. Maybe do some journal writing. Whatever slows down your pace at the end of the day - and oh, your iPhone screen counts too!

These are just a few suggestions. Feel free to share your own! Let's get through the next month of CreComm adventures as calmly as possible! (Ha, ha!)

Student Bottomless Passes!!!

Image of '09-'10 programming gratefully borrowed from the WSO's website.

You love the sweeping scores on movie soundtracks. You're smitten when the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra accompanies your favourite ballet piece (Moulin Rouge, anyone?). You'd love to attend a few symphony shows...but with tickets costing as much as $60 for a single show (yes, even for students), what's a student to do?

Luckily, the wise people at the WSO have realized that attending classes, studying for exams, and furiously procrastinating on assignments can leave us without much time to earn money for "extras." They present the Student Bottomless Pass, the opportunity to view as many shows as you want in a given twelve-month period, for only $75 per pass. You have to pick up the tickets yourself, but this is a small drawback since once you've purchased the tickets, the WSO will find you the best available seats in the house. And if you hate attending alone, you'll like this last part: bring a friend - your mother, your great-uncle, your boyfriend, your wife's great-uncle - and pay only $10 for the friend's ticket. The friend does not also have to be a student.

(This is the point at which my mother said to me "I could have been attending for $10 a pop the whole time you were in University!" Sorry, mom.)

So if gorgeous classical music is your thing, here's an inexpensive way to get the thrilling orchestral experience. And kudos to the WSO for a smart campaign to hook future listeners now, so that they'll want to pay full prices when they graduate.

Readers respond - PLUS a bonus website!

Hurray! For your reading pleasure, smart tips provided by other bloggers!

Rachel's shaving-cream secret: I swear by shaving with conditioner, especially the little samples left over in my roommate's hair dye kits. Softest skin I've EVER had, for next to nothing.

Angèle's favourite money-saving card: Another card that's my life saver for a while now is the Student Price Card, always "SPC". It practically pays for itself and is good for a year at so many stores and food places!
(Angèle, did you get yours in the UW student agenda? I don't know that they're available to us at RRC, I'll have to check it out!)

Yvonne's paper-writing fuel of choice is the Falafel Place on Corydon Ave. at Wilton. Sounds like an incredible amount of good food at a student's price! I highly recommed checking out her blog for a detailed description of the full experience.

And last but not least, the Winnipeg Free Press' Reena Nerbas serves up a comprehensive list of home remedies for the home! Check out her website to find out more about her books, and don't miss her column in weekend editions of the newspaper for more great tips! My current favourite: olive oil for doctoring leather furniture. I wonder if it works on shoes...

Coming soon: home stain-removal remedies. I'll post ones that I've tried successfully - unfortunately they haven't all been zingers!

Save locally!

Winnipeg's First Giveaway Weekend - September 26 & 27, 2009
Yesterday's edition of the Winnipeg Free Press contained an ad for what looks like a city-wide rummage sale. "Gather up all those reusable unwanted items...Place "FREE" stickers on each item, and put them at the curb on your front street. Everyone is invited to cruise the curbs and shop for FREE! Please remove leftover items from the curb by dusk on Sunday", the ad reads.

Contact 311 or visit the city's website for more information. I'll try to have a picture of the ad uploaded later on today.


Student Electronics Savings at Henry's
In the Free Press this morning - Henry's Student Savings Event features Nikon cameras, and mentions a Henry's Student Discount Card. More details can be found at http://www.henrys.com/student, or either of their two locations: 1580 Kenaston Blvd. or 1592 Regent Ave. While the two camera models featured in the ad are priced at savings of $30 (the D60 Digital SLR) and $10 (the Nikon Coolpix L20), the prices for accessories have been quite significantly dropped - a half-price gear bag and discounted telephoto lens are among these items.