Phone, Internet, TV

These are 3 of the things we cannot live without in a modern day. You would be amazed how we are unable to operate in our daily lives without these 3 things in our lives. Some of the things listed above are more important than others, but we all know that we wouldn’t last a day without any of these 3 things. Sometimes I wish to live a life without all of these complications, but little did I know that I would get my wish sooner than I expect.

Let me update you guys on what has been happening to me lately. These past few days I have been living in a cave. Yes, quite literally in a cave. I just moved to a new house, and while the house itself is beautiful, it is pretty much a modern cave. It has no internet, phone, or TV installed yet but it does have a nice looking kitchen, nice looking furniture, and nice looking bathrooms. See what I mean? Sure the house is modern and quite spacious, but what really makes a house “modern” is the technology. Without a phone, I felt secluded from the outside world; without an internet connection, I had no access to the World Wide Web; without cable for my TV, I am not updated on the latest news!

I felt like I didn’t exist in the world, out of the radar, not to be seen or heard from again. But then I discovered the great invention of Libraries!

I have forgotten about these great establishments, these buildings that seem to be put aside because of the fast paced world we live in. (I think the last time I went to a public library was elementary school, no kidding!) We tend to forget that close to where we live there are places where people are willing to share their internet connection. Ahh, what a great place to be in. What I’m trying to get at is our day to day lives will drastically change without the access to free internet services. Think about it, how would you check your marks on ROSI? Or how would you change your courses on your timetable? Our lives are made much easier due to the fact that we have technology. Heck, I wouldn’t even be able to write this blog right now if it wasn’t for the internet. I am truly grateful for it and you should be too!

Just look at how happy I am when I finally got Wifi at my house! (This is literally the first picture I took when I first got internet access at my home). You can tell I find Internet the most important of the three.

At UTSC we have numerous ways to stay connected with the outside world. The library for one is a great place to use computers or just find some space to study. Also people tend to forget the vast amount of information the library contains: books. For anyone majoring in English, the library is a great resource for any papers or assignments (and sometimes has access to special articles and books published by the university). We also have the computer labs located on the 4th floor of the Bladen wing. While most of the time these computer labs are occupied with classes, there are 2 rooms that are always open to students at any time during the day: BV(482) and BV(490) . And for those of you who still want to use the other computer labs, just make sure to look at the timetable posted outside the classroom and check if there is a class scheduled during that time.

I know some of you still won't be able to find study space here in the campus, well then try the new IC building! (For those of you who haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favour and check the building out, it's Super Awesome!) Ok secret time, shhhh, don't tell anyone but I have another secret space that I just discovered just a few weeks ago. If you take the stairs up to the 3rd floor of the IC building there is a large computer lab with a weird stock exchange bar hanging in the room. If you assume that it is reserved only for management students, you're wrong! It's open to all students, and the great thing about it is each computer is equipped with 2 monitor screens! Isn't that awesome? Consider this space your "last study space" for those of you who read my first blog, and if you haven't yet please do: http://utscpulse.blogspot.com/2011/10/study-space-what-study-space.html .

Computer Lab in the IC building

I know that maybe some of you are probably reading this blog in a public library or a computer lab because you don’t own a personal laptop to bring to school. No problem! The SCSU offers the Toshiba Loaners Program, where 20 laptops are loaned to those students who in most need for one. It operates in a per semester basis (unfortunately this semester’s deadline for applications already passed), but applications for the winter semester should be coming soon.

Wow, this blog is getting too long but just imagine what the world had to throw at me before I could finally appreciate the technology we have today. I am really grateful for a community like UTSC, without your free Wi-Fi, I wouldn’t be able to live.

Please subscibe to us by clicking the link above that says "follow" and follow me on twitter at @RaphaelSantiag5, also follow our twitter @utsc_pulse! For more information about the Toshiba Loaners program click here http://www.scsu.ca/toshiba/. Have a great weekend everyone!