Life at IKBLC: a Survivor’s Tale

In short, my life’s been:

1. spending 12+ hours inside IKBLC everyday since December 4th.
2. coordinating with friends where and when to meet to bus home.
3. knowing that all spots at IKBLC except for Ike’s is full around 10 am.
4. avoiding all nighters are IKBLC after last term’s memorable experience.
5. learning that leaving your laptop or phone unattended means hilarious times of Facebook statuses and texts.
6. watching people prey on others leaving IKBLC and pouncing once/before the table space is empty.
7. becoming too familiar with the people who are at IKBLC all the time, me included.
8. appreciating friends, food, and sleep that help you survive exams season and it’s shit without them.

My exams end on the 15th and then it’s party time from there on out: iPhone 4, sushi, casino, downtown, trip to the states, hanging out with friends, and endless good times. Also on my list: STAYING THE HELL OUT OF IKBLC.

Good luck, drink lots of water, get some sleep, and don’t leave your laptop open with your friends around unless you want a good laugh when you get back.

UBC 101 – Irving All Nighters 109

UBC 101 - Irving All Nighters 109 is the result of a personal experience and several attempted experiences. I hope that you never have to pull an all nighter, a.k.a not sleeping all night, at Irivng K. Barber Learning Center (Irving as I call it). It’s not fun, but it’s bearable and doable, especially in such a nice place like Irving.

1. What’s this “Irving” that we’re pulling an all nighter at?

Lots of new students to UBC might not know where or what Irving is, so it’s appropriate to start here.

Irving is the main library of UBC. It is across from the Hennings building and diagonally across the SUB (the red rectangle in the map below):

Irving is arguably second most beautiful building at UBC, with the Chan Centre taking the title.

Someone on Overheard at UBC says a visitor mistook it for a church. I don’t blame them.

Some basic specs: 4 floors including the basement; a small deli called Ike’s Cafe that sells sandwiches, salads, fruit and other things; the Chapman Learning Commons which has many computers, a printer/scanner, some Mac computers’ and big comfy couches; and many tables and rooms close to plugs, which are in constant need among students.

I’ve studied at Irving all the time, perhaps only a few times in Walter C. Koerner Library, the second largest library at UBC.

In comparison with Koerner Library, Irving is closer to the SUB and bus loop which is great for getting food and when going home at night. It’s also brighter and has more open space, but therefore having less quiet areas to study which is the main benefit of Koerner. Irving has 3 rooms that are “silent rooms”: on the fourth floor, there is one at the end of the hallway (Nass Reading Room 459) and one half-way in the hall-way (Musqueam Room 455), and one in the third floor, at the back of the book stacks that lots of people call the “Harry Potter Room” (Ridington Room 321). It really does look like something out of Harry Potter. If you prefer a quiet area to study, these places are for you. However, the first 2 rooms tend to become warm and stuffed up because of the lack of air flow, and all of them are in frequent demand during exam times.

The largest appeal of Irving is that it’s the only building at UBC open 24/7, albeit only during finals season. During the rest of the year, it’s open until 1 am. People sleep there….for days…I’ve seen them. It gets nasty.