“Dear Natalie,
How did you make popcorn without engulfing the entire office in smoke?
Sincerely, Hungry”
Dear Hungry,
If this is the Ubyssey office, please don't fill it in smoke. We may have windows now, but they are not that big.
Never use the “popcorn” button. What you want to do is look on the bag for suggested times and pick something slightly on the lower end. Listen to your corn as it pops and when you hear 1-2 seconds in between pops, you know you're ready.
Live long and popcorn.
“Dear Natalie,
Is it a bad idea to start gardening when July is nearly over?”
Well, July is now over, but it's never too late to start an indoor garden. Grab a pot that drains, some seeds or a potted plant, and get ready to liven up your house over the fall and winter.
Make sure you get a big enough pot and that the pot has either rocks at the bottom or draining abilities (preferably both). Get rich soil or some way of giving your plants vitamins if you're not planning on changing out the soil often.
Water often or as directed. Good starter indoor plants include aloe, spider plants and English ivy. Flowers tend to be a little touchy and thrive less indoors, especially for beginners.
For solid advice, head to a local nursery — NOT the garden centre of a store — and ask the people there. I'm not an expert by a long shot, so I can't give you any more advice than this. My plants seem to have a 50/50 chance of making it through the winter.
“Dear Natalie,
Summer's nearly gone and I feel like I have not made the most use of it. How can we study and still enjoy the fall school term at the same time?”
I find many people during the school term have trouble justifying a night out because they know they have school work to do. The problem with that is if you don't give yourself time away from school, then you won't be able to fully engage yourself in that school work.
The best solution that I've found for when it gets hard to let go of school — even when you're away — is to categorize your time. Give yourself, say, two hours to get through six chapters or whatever portion of your work you'd like to realistically get through. That's all you need to do. After those six chapters, you get to go out and have fun. This also helps when making plans because you should know exactly when you're free.
This works too with work and other activities. It may be annoying to plan out your whole day in advance, but you should be set to move things around if something you want to do comes up. For example, you may have to schedule a whole night of paper writing, but then you can get Tuesday night free for your friend's birthday party. If you can stick to your schedule, then you shouldn't feel guilty about having a healthy social life.
Having time to relax and be social is an important part of your mental health. Overworking or stressing constantly will only lead to more stress. Similar to how you need a rest after a long workout, you need to give your brain a break sometimes.
Need advice? Contact Natalie anonymously at asknatalie@ubyssey.ca or at ubyssey.ca/advice and have your questions answered!