Author Archives: Maggie de Barra

School’s Out

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And now, for a brief interruption to our scheduled study session.

Just remembered that I am studying for my last exam. This could very well be my last exam EVER. Six years of post-secondary education comes to a close tomorrow afternoon and yes, I am freaking out.

When people ask about me I can only answer in a handful of ways: I’m a trivia nerd,  I’m a runner, I’m a part-time waitress etc. etc. But the main thing that I have identified with for the past twenty odd years or so is that I’m a student! And tomorrow I am a student no more.

And now comes the daunting task of finding out who I am when I can no longer offer up that easy answer. I’ve always considered this blog to be a student-life blog, and where do we go from here when that no longer applies?

But first thing’s first: my small claims court exam. Wish me luck.

Quarterly Review

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So far, so good.

It’s strange to think that I have just one month of school left. It’s scary to think that I’ve been out of university for two years! That is frightening. Reminds me of the good old days blogging for Maclean’s. I think I summed up how I’m feeling right now here. One month of school, four weeks, four exams and that’s all folks. It is overwhelming and I sympathize with my fellow graduating students.

The first quarter of 2012 has been pretty great so far.

Re: New Years resolutions- I’m trying to take lots of photos, waiting with my fingers crossed for the Lollapalooza lineup, and happily managing the stress of my final semester through painting my nails, writing exercises, transcendental meditation and working out on a regular basis.

Here are a couple of things that have helped to make these last few weeks a bit brighter:

world peace crossword
• inspirational fence signs • monday morning crosswords

valentines korean bbq
• homemade doily valentines • korean bbq at korean village restaurant on bloor

toronto map flowers
• craigslist antiques breakthroughs • beautiful flowers on the walk to school

combo royalewords with friends
• live music • 73 point words

My name is Margaret Grace Larkin de Barra and I lost my wallet at Fairview Mall. If you found it, please get in touch. Reward. $$$

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Vegan Black Bean Guacamole

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I could go vegan if everything tasted this good.

At our Ottawa potluck a few weeks ago my friend brought a huge tub of the most delicious homemade dip I’ve ever had! I’m a little obsessed with avocados at the moment. Avocado smoothies, bacon and avocado sandwiches, guacamole on everything. I even had a fleeting idea of opening a gourmet nacho restaurant the other week just so I could make some money on my guac obsession.

True love aside, here is the recipe for this unreal dip. Thanks Mal!

ingredients

Vegan Black Bean Guacamole

Ingredients:

1 Can of black beans
2 medium Roma tomatoes
2 large, ripe avocados
1 lime
1/2 cup of salsa (or to taste)
salt+pepper to taste

blender

Directions:

1. Halve the avocados, remove and discard pit. Scoop out the greens into a large bowl. Mash with a fork, leaving it a little chunky.
2. Cut the lime in half and squeeze in the juice of one half. Leave the other half aside.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Wash and chop tomatoes into one inch cubes. Empty into a blender or food processor.
5. Open your can of black beans and rinse some of the juice off over the sink. Empty the beans into your blender and blend with the tomatoes.
6. Add 1/2 cup of salsa and pulse to combine with the puree.
7. Stir in the black bean puree with your mashed avocados and stir thouroughly until combined.
8. Add more salt, pepper, lime or salsa if you so desire.
9. Enjoy with tostitos, nachos, or quesadillas! Just don’t eat an entire bag in one sitting like I did. Whoops.

black bean guacamole

Leftovers:

After polishing off a jumbo bag of chips, I still had some black bean guacamole leftover so I threw it in some tupperware and decided to have it a little later. After I got home from work later that night, I had a brilliant idea to make a hearty (non-vegan) soup.

1. Empty leftover bowl of black bean guacamole into your blender or food processor.
2. Add either two cups of milk or two cups of chicken broth, but not both! If you don’t have a lot of guacamole left, just use one cup.
3. Puree until smooth.
4. Heat on stove top, stirring to combine.
5. Serve with a dollop of hummus, chopped tomato or a handful of tostitos if you have any left! I didn’t.

Peace. Love. Avocados.

Ottawa: Unplugged

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Getting back to basics in the Nation’s Capital.

I spent the weekend in Ottawa. It was great to visit my sister and a lot of friends who still live there. As the Duggars would say, I really enjoyed their fellowship.

The strangest thing about the weekend was how old-fashioned and low-tech it was! Lots of board games, some sweet tunes on the record player, cooking, baking and sharing food with each other, cat’s cradle (it’s coming back) and a whole lot of laughs and stories shared between us.

My favourite thing about Ottawa in the winter has got to be the Rideau Canal. We had perfect ice conditions on Sunday.

Rideau Canal

It really was a great weekend, and I’m still on cloud nine. I feel recharged and ready to get back to homework. It was just what I needed to help me get through school for another month until reading week.

 

Carleton Legacy Continues

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de Barra hat trick.

I’m very proud to say that my little sister recently heard that she has been accepted to Carleton University. With her acceptance, that makes a grand total of three de Barra sisters at Carleton! Hat trick! I was Class of 2010, Caroline is Class of 2013 and Kathleen is Class of 2016.

Carleton University

I am so proud of my little sisters and the little legacy we have created there. I started university in the fall of 2006, and by the time Kathleen graduates we will have had at least one de Barra at Carleton University for an entire decade! Can you believe that?

Is there some type of finder’s fee I can collect? Really, they should put us in some kind of marketing campaign or something.

Just kidding. But not really.

Go Ravens Go Ravens Go!

2011: A Year in Review

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Cities– Waterloo, Kingston, Ottawa, Arthur, Chicago

Books– Getting to Yes, A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance With Dragons, World War Z, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

Discoveries– Trivia at the Drake on Wednesday night, 8tracks, cows, iPhones, instagram

Concerts– Whitebrow, Said the Whale, Broken Social Scene, Weezer, The Tragically Hip, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Lights, Wye Oak, Tennis, Young the Giant, The Naked and Famous, Foster the People, Two Door Cinema Club, The Bloody Beetroots Deathcrew 77, Skrillex, Ok Go, Coldplay, Grouplove, An Horse, Maps & Atlases, Super Mash Bros., Local Natives, Cee Lo, Eminem, The Joy Formidable, Fences, Little Hurricane, Noah & the Whale, City and Colour, Flogging Molly, Boy & Bear, Best Coast, Damian Marley & Nas, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, Library Voices, Kanye West and Jay-Z, Born Ruffians, Tokyo Police Club

Fantastic Holiday Weekends– May24 + Canada Day + Thanksgiving

Raptures– None

Lollapalooza– One Amazing Weekend

Steamwhistle Tours– One

Birthdays– 23!!

Oktoberfest– Prosit

Wrapping Up– 2011 was magnificient!! I read some great books, visited a few new places, saw an outrageous number of concerts and spent a lot of quality time with friends and family.

New Years Resolutions– learn how to walk in high heels, see as many or more live shows as this past year, head to Lollapalooza again and maybe Osheaga as well, keep reading great books, take more pictures, win one of these trivia nights at least once, spend as much time with friends and family as possible, get straight A’s, and just try and be a better person.

Cheers to 2012!!!

Carleton University Flash Mob

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Best students. Best campus community. Best school spirit. Best life.

I am an extremely proud Carleton University grad.

On February 15th about 400 Carleton students gathered on the Rideau Canal for a brilliant flash mob.

The flash mob was organized by Graeme Owens as part of the Blackberry Best Life contest. More info here. Donations are being accepted to the Ottawa Mission. To donate click here.

The story has been picked up by CTV news, the Globe and Mail, and even Premier Dalton McGuinty has been tweeting about it.

Good luck to Graeme! And a huge congrats to everyone who participated.

Summer?

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It’s about time.

“Cross the Line”

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A Breakthrough in Negotiation.

I have a class about alternative dispute resolution. On our first day of class the instructor told us that we would all be participating in an experiment. We all had to choose a partner and line up along the middle of the class. We all faced our partners and were told to imagine that there was an invisible line between us.

The exercise is to try to convince our partners to step over the line using whatever methods we could, while you are supposed to stay on your side no matter what.

After a few minutes, nobody had budged. Offers of coffee, lunch, and class notes didn’t convince anybody.

Yes, I wanted a coffee, but I wanted to win even more. So I didn’t cross the line. Nobody was making any progress.

During the standstill I got an idea. My objective is to get my partner on my side of the line. His objective is to get me on his side of the line. I had figured it out.

“What if I cross the line and go to your side, and you cross the line and come to my side at the same time?”

It was so simple, I was amazed it took so long to figure it out. Everybody else was bickering over their imaginary lines while my partner and I swapped spots and broke the game.

About two or three other people crossed the line. But in their scenario, there was a clear winner and loser. We were the only pair to come up with this solution. In the end we both conceded by crossing the line, but we also both came out on top because we both got what we wanted.

There you go. Think outside the box. Open your eyes. The answer is right in front of you.