Today's soundtrack:
"Ciao Monday" by Emm Gryner
"Kiss Cam" by Arkells
"It" by Rich Aucion
"When I Write My Master's Thesis" by John K. Samson
Apologies in advance as parts of this post will only be intelligible to those few U of S alumni... and even then it's iffy.
After the New Year I flew out to Saskatoon for a few days. I'd not been on the University of Saskatchewan campus since jeggings became an acceptable substitute for proper trousers. As a result, the U of S became this oasis of pants in my mind's eye, unspoiled by the ridiculousness of campus like the University of Calgary which has mounted a thorough, although not effective, "leggings are not pants" campaign.
Still, expecting Saskatoon and the U of S to remain frozen in time is childish, so while I was working in the library (with its new Starbucks - there's coffee in the library! Grad students rejoice!) I kept an eye out for what's changed and what's remained the same.
In a lot of ways, the U of S campus hasn't changed too much at all. There are still magpies, chickadees, and that guy that works at the Copy Central as you go into the North Wing of the Murray Library. I still found my beloved focaccia sandwich, although they are no longer made at STM (pro tip - go to the Arts Buff). I think the unicyclist I spotted outside Thor is new, as is the bike maintenance station, but I suppose both were inevitable.
Because the temperature was well over 0ºC all week, U of S students were showing more skin than usual. Well, I saw well over. We reached a scalding 5ºC one day. Positively tropical, although I didn't see anyone in shorts or flip-flops, nor any frisbee in the Oval. Instead, there was a firm refusal to wear winter jackets and scarves. Throats and hands were visible!
And no leggings.
Now, maybe I was visiting on the 5 days all of Saskatoon was busy washing its leggings, but I didn't see any leggings-as-pants up on campus. And the January weather, for the first winter a while, would've allowed it. Starbucks? Leggingless. Arts Building? Leggingless. Place Riel? Leggingless. 2nd Floor of the North Wing of the Murray Library? Leggingless.
Okay, my search may have been less than comprehensive.
My point is that even though some things have changed or shifted, the U of S can safely remain my oasis of trousers for another year.
@ BFF
ReplyDeleteA haven to be sure, but a miserably cold one with no chinooks for a brief reprieve.
On the other hand, we do have great beer and people who wear trousers, sometimes even at the same time. So I guess it's a draw.