The Village Dine-In

The Bistro, a full service restaurant, is making its grand debut Fall 2011 in The Strand. Currently, it's open from Monday to Thursday 11am-3pm, and after hearing it takes dining dollars I just knew I had to swing by.

My friend and I decided to pay them a spontaneous visit last Thursday and managed to secure a spot within 15-20 minutes (reservations are highly recommended though--call 858.822.4275). I loved loved the well lit restaurant and the modern decor and design. The Bistro couldn't shake off that "dining hall" feel, with the drowning chatter of diners and your close proximity to the diner next to you. The service was also blindingly fast--not that it's a bad thing!

We were started off with delicious chips and sweet chili or hummus dip. My friend and I skipped the appetizer option and went straight to the entrees. My sweet miso northern halibut arrived in probably less than five minutes and it was so juicy and flavorful. The sauce was not too thick, sweet, or overpowering, and the orange zest added a nice kick. I'm not the biggest fan of brown rice but I think it goes very well with the halibut and vegetables.

The only catch when you choose to pay The Bistro a visit--it makes a nice dent in your dining dollars. As such, it's a great place when you've got money to burn or are interested in a nice treat to a mouthwatering ahi avocado poke (9), followed by a beautifully made sweet miso northern halibut (10) and finishing with some grilled pineapple with creme anglaise (4). I'd like to say it's worth every dollar.

-Rosanne

Say Chocolate?

Meal of the week

Thai chicken lettuce wrap. $5.95. OVT. Delicious chicken in peanut sauce with veggies and two generous scoops of rice. Messy to eat but definitely worth the taste!

What better way to end the week after midterms than playing carnival games and eating all the chocolate you can get? The Sixth College's sixth annual chocolate festival was held yesterday in the Res Hall Quad, a place I've never even passed by before. My friends and I started our journey at the Sixth college Pepper Canyon Apartments and soon found a mini canyon separating us from delicious chocolate:

I really love the natural green of our campus, especially now that it's spring and all the flowers are blooming. It makes walking to a campus event so much more enjoyable. My friends and I always have this urge to get out, go on hikes, and just explore the various trails throughout UCSD.

One of three at Sixth College!

We were limited to three items that we could dip, and it's terribly difficult trying to choose between bananas, cream puffs, marshmallows and the quickly snatched up strawberries. 

Besides the main attraction, the outside festivities were perfect for a sunny, breezy Friday. You could tell when balloon animals and figures were distributed by the rush of people towards the center of the festivities. People chatted and relaxed along the grassy field, or tried to out-eat their competition at a chocolate donut eating contest. First place gets an absurd amount of amazing prizes, ranging from free raffle tickets for Apple products to a free box of chocolate donuts.

Ready...get set...eat!

(I was second to last :'( eating contests are not my thing.) -Rosanne

ID's and Architecture

This last week has been great weather wise, but for those of us with lots and lots of midterms, this point in the quarter can be pretty hectic.  Trying to keep up in your classes and find time to eat and get some exercise can be super tough.  I have a substantial amount of work, not to mention that our lacrosse team made playoffs this year so this weekend I’ll be in Arizona tearing it up.  The point is that when you’re super busy and you have no extra time, it can be tough to figure out how and when to get your ID card fixed when it decides to snap in half and you need it to get into your apartment.  

Here’s the scoop: its free to replace your ID card if it’s damaged, all you have to do is take your old card to the student services building on the third floor and the ID card office will print you another.  Then make sure you swing by the transportation office located in the Gilman Parking Structure by Sixth college to get another bus sticker for your new ID card.  

If your ID card does warp or get scratched, or bend right down the middle of the picture of your face so it looks like you’re smiling, and you do what I had to do to replace your card, check out the architecture on the student services building.  I’m no architecture enthusiast, but I enjoy an interesting building and even though I walk by the Student Services building every day, I only noticed its style when I had to climb to the third floor.  I was in a rush as usual, so I took the stairs, and that’s when i noticed its resemblance to a treehouse.  See for yourself or take my word for it, but when you climb the stairs, there is a non symmetrical form to the stairs and upper floors and a lot of space to look down (not the place for someone who’s afraid of heights) that reminds me of being in a tree, not to mention the ivy that climbs with the stairs all the way up the side of the building giving a sense of foliage.  

Ever since my visit to the Student Services building, I’ve been noticing great architecture everywhere on campus.  Most obvious to a first time visitor is Geisel library, but most of the buildings down Warren Mall are aesthetically well designed.  So if you happen to be running around campus, which most students probably will be at some point or another, check out the buildings around you because you might see something cool.

Lending a Hand (In a small way)

Meal of the week:

The beginning of this quarter started with me being properly sick of dining hall food. My remedy? Buy a box of pasta and a can of tomato sauce from Goody's Market and cook myself a meal in my electric kettle / hot pot! The cost for both was around $10 (give or take $2?) but both lasted me through three meals. I would also buy spinach and broccoli from the salad bar at OVT, steam them, and eat them salted along with my pasta. I felt rather strange walking out with less than 50 cents of "salad" in my bowl though...

In light of the earthquake in Japan, a paper crane making event was held in the OVL by Marshall College. Each paper crane submitted triggered a donation from the Bezos Family Foundation, who promised to donate $2 for every crane donated from schools and students! This web site recently stated that a total of $500,000 in relief efforts were raised ($400,000 from the Bezos Family Foundation and $100,000 from an anonymous donor), and a total of 1 million cranes were tallied.

My small contribution:

There were plenty of other orgs and fundraising events to help provide aid to Japan. I think it's amazing how much small donations and efforts can add up.
-Rosanne

Salads and Tajins

Salads and Tajines

For anyone who likes to eat healthy or at least supplement their diet of fat and sugar with an injection of salad or something healthy but not so intensely green, the dining halls occasionally have healthier meals.  I try to eat healthy and at most of the dining halls, this can be accomplished.  Sometimes at foodworx it can be a stretch to try and find something worth eating that’s not super bad for you when you’ve eaten salads for the last few days, but overall, foodworx intersperses their pizza and ice cream with vegetarian food and the weekend hummus bar.  Since I live right next to foodworx and get tired of the same salad bar day in day out, I eat at Revelle on my chemistry lecture days and have found that the salad bar at Revelle is about 100 times better.  This is mainly because of the price and size of foodworx’s salads.  Foodworx might improve their salads by allowing different portions for different prices (i.e. charging less if you don’t want the usual size) and Plaza cafe has an open salad bar that goes by weight, so if you avoid the heavier items, you can get the same salad volume for half of what it goes for at foodworx.  

Along the same lines of healthier meals, last week I had a Tajine at Pines in Muir College that was really well done.  Tajins are traditionally a North African concoction that are characterized by the type of conical dish they are cooked and served in.  In many cases, Tajines have a signature blend of sweet dried fruits or nuts, honey or some other sweetener, and some savory meat and spices.  I’ve tried a lot of Moroccan Tajines and I have to say that while the traditional Tajine is a hard thing to beat, this came super close to matching them.  So good work Pines, you’ve finally redeemed yourself after undercooking my omelets.  Eating right is something that can be easily overlooked, but it’s important to eat healthy and although sometimes finding healthy snacks on campus can be tough (especially at sixth college) it’s always doable.  

Passport to Leadership

Meal of the week: a ten second review of dining hall food
No picture this week :'(
Mahi mahi. $5.95 with one side of veggies or rice. You can have both sides for an additional $1.75
Where/when: OVT for lunch, 3/11
Delicious? For one, I loved both sides very much--fried rice and broccoli with carrots! Instead of dreading the side or rice or veggies or another, I gobbled it all down with gusto. The fish itself was nicely spiced and flavored and a lot less dry than other fish dishes.

Leadership's always a little tricky to obtain, especially for those who entered college with very little experience in leadership positions (ahem--like me). Prior leadership experience is often strongly recommended when applying for current leadership opportunities--it's kind of a vicious and never ending cycle. However, when I asked my RA and my Orientation Leader for advice or leadership opportunities on campus, they actually directed me to a lot of places and events that would help you learn and develop leadership ability. I'd like to share the ton of resources that UCSD offers to people who want to get more involved in the community or better their leadership skills.

1) Passport to Leadership
This program offers a series of rather informal workshops, which anyone can drop in on. I attended one this quarter about using inclusive vs exclusive language. The workshop leader taught the importance of using inclusive language in a group setting or giving a speech and we participated in a series of activities exploring the impact the words we use have on us. They also offer other workshops on meditating conflict, making ethical decisions and becoming more culturally sensitive, just to name a few. And if you register and attend a certain number of workshops, you get a certificate for your effort!

2) Center for Communication and Leadership (CCL)
CCL offers quarter-long noncredit programs ranging from public speaking to interpersonal skills. For graduate students, they also offer a program on presentational skills! You have to apply at the site I linked and spaces are limited.

3) On-campus organizations
Not only do on-campus orgs let you get involved in your community and bond with people with similar interests (Quidditch, anyone?), they also offer opportunities to better your leadership skills by participating in club responsibilities and the like. My RA suggested that college-specific orgs (for example, SCORE in Marshall) are a good way to start if you don't want to tackle the huge list of orgs on campus linked here.

The Guardian

I'm not sure how many people on campus regularly read The Guardian. To be honest, I myself didn't really start reading it until this year. I feel like I missed out.

The Guardian, I think, is one of the best ways to really get to know UCSD and to really understand what's going on behind the scenes of the school, letting students know what's going on with new administration policies and rules and fee increases and much more.

But not everyone is interested in the political stuff. I'm not. Although I do try to be.

I like flipping over to the Opinion section. There, I read what students are really talking, what really going on in the minds of my peers, although probably much more elegantly said.

One of the Opinion columnists wrote in the latest issue of the Guardian about how they're graduating next year, like myself, and have no idea what they want to do afterwards. It's nice to feel like you're not alone in this life-boat of uncertainty and bewilderment.

Another column that I always really enjoy is Cheryl Hori's "Change of Pace." Each week, she writes about trying to change one of her bad habits and what kind of changes she sees. It's pretty interesting and I love all the outcomes and little life lessons you get out of her stories.

Anyway, The Guardian is great. I highly recommend perusing it next time you see and stand or a copy flowing in the wind near the campus loop stop near Peterson Hall where for some reason there's always a ton of them floating around.

If you're not into the columns or the politics... the Lights and Sirens will never fail you!

"7:31 p.m.: Medical aid

▶ A male in his 50s, possibly a

professor, was bleeding from his head

at Pacific Hall. He said he had the

stomach flu and kept falling several

times. Information only."

Early Morning Hunger Monkey Jumping on Your Back?

Hey everyone,

First, a quick announcement- the Lacrosse team is having an opening home game on Saturday at Warren field against Biola.  For more information, visit http://sportsclubs.ucsd.edu/sports/teams/lacrossem/schedule.php.

Second, I hate waking up early.  There's a kind of two part hatred involved- the fact that I have to drag myself out of bed before I am physically ready to function and the forethought required to put myself to bed at a decent hour the night before.  It's tough to say which one is less enjoyable.  Either way, if you find yourself in my position, forced out of the house in the AM, it can be difficult to find breakfast.  Many dining halls are closed and I heard a rumor that Earl's Place had stopped serving breakfast items.  I'll make it easy on you: OVT, ERC's cafe, Earl's Place, Revelle's cafe, and Pines all open at 7AM, so next time you have a reason to be out and about super early in the morning and can't find an open dining hall (mainly for all of you sixth college residents)  stop by one of these places and grab a bite.

Stay Classy San Diego

Going Vegetarian

Meal of the week: a ten second review of dining hall food

Cream of asparagus soup, peanut butter and jelly and honey sandwich. $2.75 for the soup, $1.50 for the sandwich. 
When/where? 2/24, lunch at Pines
Delicious? The cream of asparagus was a tad too heavy on the cream and could use a little more asparagus, but the taste was great, not too salty or too sour. I really like the way Pines offers peanut butter and jelly sandwiches--OVT has the jelly but not the butter.

For the last week I've been eating vegetarian (or more specifically, ovo-lacto vegetarian, where I can consume dairy products and eggs but not meat). One of my suitemates thrives on a largely plant-based diet and I thought it would be a nice self challenge to follow her meal plan for a month. It's a fun experiment in a way, too: what do people with meal restrictions eat in college?

I didn't think I could pull it off, to be honest, because of my dislike of tofu, onions and bell peppers (which are frequently substituted for meat in many dining hall dishes). In the last week I've never walked into a dining hall and found nothing appetizing to get. However, a lot of the offered vegetarian dishes simply substitute meat for cheese--there has to be better vegetarian entrees than that! I'd also recommend, if possible, a different variety of vegetables--a lot of the roasted veggies in the dishes are a random assortment of carrots, what looks like zucchini, and some unidentifiable yellow wedges (which, if you allow me to hazard a guess, also falls under the "zucchini" or "squash" range). Broccoli is a far more popular vegetable and packed with nutritiony goodness. I'm always excited whenever I see the rare broccoli in the dining halls.

In the past week, I have had pasta gorgonzola, cheese quesadillas, vegetarian pasta and a hummus wrap at this dining hall--which are all delicious. OVT also offers yakisoba or other meatless noodles and various tofu-substituted items (tofurkey and stir fry), fruit/parfait bar and the salad bar. The yakisoba was terribly sour in taste, and last week the sandwich station went several days without vegetarian options, which was a huge disappointment. I've also dined at Pines (vegetarian rolls, peanut butter for bread, hummus plate and delicious tofu stir fry for those who like tofu) and Foodworx (possibly the best place for vegetarians, with the yummy salads, waffle bar, nutella wraps and customized vegetarian pizzas). Minus yesterday, I'll hope to continue this vegetarian diet for the rest of this month :)

[On the exception of yesterday: it's hard to turn down free fish tacos! Marshall College had a Gastrotrucks event with food vouchers specifically for Marshall students...yum. That was definitely my kind of event. Baja fish taco aside, I also received a free Corner Cupcake in red velvet with irish cream. It was the most delicious thing in the world--the cake was perfectly moist and crumbled, the irish buttercream frosting not too sweet and not too heavy. It. was. so. good!]

I could do with another one of these right about now...

-Rosanne

A Surprising Discovery: Foodworx

Now, I know Rosanne just wrote up an amazingly comprehensive and detailed review of every single dining hall on campus, but I thought I would throw my two-cents in there to talk about my new favorite place to eat- Foodworx.

I know. It's a bazillion miles away from the main area of campus, down long rows, through jungles, across oceans, but... it's actually worth it.

I literally have stumbled upon Foodworx once before this quarter. I was taking a random midnight walk around campus with a friend my FIRST QUARTER ON CAMPUS. It was a tiny little building, bustling with people and food and we walked right past it without really thinking much except "Oh, this is where Foodworx is." As soon as that moment passed, Foodworx was out of my mind for good.

Until recently.

I've been to Foodworx three times now in the past week. My flatmate and I have been craving pizza and so far OVT's pizza slices have NOT been doing the trick. Neither did a Superbowl Day splurge on Papa John's pizza. Neither did an expensive perfectly cheesy pizza from Borelli's that was such a treat while staying with some nearby family last weekend. Nothing quite did it until... we decided to get off our butts and journey to Foodworx to try the incredible personal pizzas we'd been hearing so much about recently.

Totally worth it. We split between us a cheese pizza and a bbq chicken with garlic pizza. They were absolutely delicious. Now, I am definitely an extra cheese and only cheese pizza kind of girl, but this bbq chicken pizza was to die for. While we waited, we also noticed that there was a waffle bar, so we made a plan to head down there the next morning to try the waffles. Also, delicious and amazing.

Today, we decided to run to Foodworx on our way back from the mall, grab some pizzas, and head to the volleyball game. While three of us waited for three bbq chicken pizzas, our friend went to the other side and ordered a peanut butter wrap with apples and nutella. THIS WAS NOTHING MY TONGUE HAD EVER TASTED. It was AMAZING. It blew my mind away. It was SO GOOD. And plus, we noticed at night, they turn the breakfast waffle bar into a DESSERT waffle bar.

Another cool little tidbit- they have bottled Coke from Mexico. I don't know about you, but soda tastes infinitely better from Mexico. And I love drinking out of glass bottles.

The point is--go to Foodworx. If you're tired of Pines and its dismal selection, or if you're tired tired of the same old same old at Goody's and OVT, or if Cafe V isn't an option and never really was, or if Revelle is just too far away (all of these equal the general opinion of my apartment), then make the trek to Foodworx. It is UCSD's hidden gem of delicious, for sure.

My DH Review Post

I have to admit that I'm a bit of a foodie, though more in the sense that I love the adventure in finding good and new food (and eating it, for course!). For a blog that focuses on housing-dining-hospitality, I think I can ramble on the dining aspect until you're all bored to tears.

Expanding on the fact that I have finally tried all six dining halls (by finally taking the time to visit Foodworx), I thought it would be nice to give a semi-detailed breakdown of them. I remember searching up information for the six different colleges during my application process in high school and a lot of the information on dining halls in particular is outdated. OVT doesn't have late-night anymore. While that wasn't the deciding factor in ranking Marshall College as my first choice, I have to say I was a little disappointed to find that OVT closes at 8pm like the rest of the surrounding dining halls.

Plaza Cafe: Revelle College
First, a disclaimer: I've only been here once, and I don't think one experience allows me to adequately judge the place. My friend recommends the grill here, a recommendation I have to second. The salad bar isn't as happily stocked as Warren's CV. There was a smaller selection of drinks--larger than Foodworx but unable to compete with Pines or OVT. I had a meal of chicken tenders (liked the spicy aspect) and attempted to get a strawberry bagel, which I did not succeed in--the lazy cloud of flies over the box of bagels scared me away.

The lighting was good and I loved the booths offered, but--there was just a conspicuous lack of people during the rush hour of dinnertime that killed the nice ambience. I did go on a weekend, where attendance at dining halls is a lot less. In the spacious dining area, there was only a couple eating by the window; two men got their meals and left, and those were the only people I encountered in Plaza Cafe.

Pines: Muir College
There was a joke passing through our dining halls that all the Muir kids favor OVT and all the Marshall kids favor Pines. Older students told me the newly renovated and opened Pines doesn't compare to the old Summit, but that's not something I can comment on as a first year. The ambience is wonderful at Pines, and while it seems silly I really love the construction of the dish dropoff area. I usually stop by for lunch as my class is just nearby, and besides the everchanging entrees, the sushi and the stirfry/pasta stations always have the longest lines.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, the food here is wonderful but the portions are terribly small compared to other dining halls. After getting stir fry, sushi, or one of the entrees (like the chicken rice bowl a while back that was super delicious), I tend to grab garlic bread or a breadstick on the side lest I feel hungry later in the day. And while their stir fry is good, no dining hall can do stir fry as well as Canyon Vista.

Oceanview Terrace: Marshall College
As a Marshall student who lives two flights of stairs away from OVT, I'll try not to let my biases affect this short review. To start with, the prices at this dining hall have skyrocketed as of late. The trend tends to be that traditionally pricey items like Korean BBQ start at a hefty price of $8.95, then drop as the day goes on when not enough people are purchasing. Stir fry here is $6.95, compared to $5.95 at every other college that consistently offers stir fry. I still live for the "make your own pasta" days and don't mind paying $6.95 for a plate that is not always decently full, but everyone was a little disgruntled when they started limiting the amount of vegetables you can choose to 4. I don't think I've had to debate between choosing mushrooms and missing out on garlic before.

However, OVT knows how to serve breakfast, and serve it well. There are so many breakfast options that I wouldn't mind if breakfast replaced the lunch menu at OVT. The fruit and yogurt bar is amazing. The salad bar is decent, though frequently out of spinach--I'm not a fan of iceberg lettuce. My suitemate loves her quesadillas, and my friend the carne asada fries. OVT is the only dining hall with the full selection of Naked juice varieties. Despite the ups and downs in quality over the past two quarters, you can't deny that there is still good food here. Just watch out for the long lines during mealtimes!

Canyon Vista: Warren College
As mentioned above: their stir fry is consistently delicious. The food here is delicious in general, and they even offer pesto as a regular sauce (compared to the usual meat and marinara at OVT). Their fruit, yogurt and salad bar rivals OVT's. I have very few complaints about Warren with regards to the food and the service. They don't have bottled milk, though (tangent: while I'm all for being eco-friendly, it's a little strange that milk from the dispenser costs more per ounce compared to the milk in not-recyclable bottles). The ambience is also a little upsetting at times: it's a lot quieter than the hustle and bustle of OVT and Pines, and the dim lighting can leave you feeling rather lonely if you're eating alone.

Cafe Ventanas: ERC College
I believe Cafe V was voted for best ambience at the beginning of the year, and that's hard to disagree with. One thing about this dining hall is that like CV and unlike OVT, most (if not all) entree items can be requested a la carte (whereas at OVT, for most items you have to opt for double of one side or get none and still pay the same price). The salad/fruit/yogurt bar is decent, if not a little small. I prefer sushi at Pines instead of at Cafe V (where it is served every Monday, I believe), though that's more of a personal preference than anything. Cafe V also offers fine dining, and as pricey as it is it is definitely worth the meal--once in a while. I still remember the delicious prime rib from my last fine dining excursion...mm.

My friends from ERC always complain about the lack of options offered at Cafe V all the time. I haven't made enough trips to the dining hall to formulate an agreement or a dissent.

Foodworx: Sixth College
In my friend's words: you will get the same thing every time here, but it will always be the best you'll ever get. There's no indoor seating in this small dining hall, and there's only a sandwich bar, a salad section, a waffle/pancake section, a place for entrees and the personal pizza/omelets. All I can say is they have amazingly good food at Foodworx: fresh baked personal pizzas and salads filled to the brim of the container, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and personalized omelets. Of course, I get the same salad order and the same pizza every time, but why ask for variety when you have the best quality?

For downsides: only outdoor seating is available, and if you don't bring the food back elsewhere then you might have to endure the cold if you stop by for dinner. Personal pizzas and orders can take a long time, especially if you arrive at the 'rush hour.' And, of course, there isn't a lot of variety offered here. Foodworx is open the latest out of all the six dining halls though!--it's a nice change from the time where you walk into OVT at 7pm and find they're shutting down stations an hour beforehand. :(

-Rosanne

Canyonview: Is It Just Me or Does Nobody Know There's an Attached Weight Room?

Am I one of the few who know that there's a great little gym in the Canyonview aquatic center's main building?  It's funny because I was talking to my friends and none of them knew about Canyonview.  Most people will know (but if you don't its really not a big deal) that there's a rock climbing room in canyonview, but I think that there's some extra fees involved.  What most people are confused about or simply don't notice is the weight room, but if you like an empty weight room to do whatever you do to get in shape, check out the canyonview center.  Like the other weight rooms, you'll need a towel (for attached rant see earlier post)  but unlike RIMAC, and like I already said, it's pretty empty.  The best part about canyonview is that if you live in Warren or Sixth residence areas, getting to the gym takes no time at all.

Actually I've timed how long it takes me to cruise from my apartment by food works over to the warren lecture hall and usually I end up sitting in the lecture 3-8 minutes before I leave.  It's odd, but I swear that when I skate in that direction, I lose time.  And this is all being timed like a Swiss clock.  Someone needs to read this and try out my route and see if they can manage to take longer on the road than I do.  Usually I wake up at 9:40, get dressed, leave at like 9:50 and get to Warren lecture hall at 9:44 and then wait for fifteen minutes for the professor to arrive.  It's odd.

What you do is start by food works (the little white box to the right of the words "sixth college") and go left on that street until you get to the fork, where you take a right then a left on the dotted road until the next fork, where you continue straight, not left or right, off the road and that's the destination.  

Someone check it out for me.

Stay classy San Diego

A day in the life of res halls

Meal of the week: a ten second review of dining hall food

Personal pizza fresh out of the oven. $4.50. Four toppings of your choice and baked right in front of you. Extra toppings are 75 cents each.

When/where? Lunch at Foodworx!

Delicious? Sad to say, it took me an entire quarter before dragging myself to Foodworx. I only wish it weren't so far from my Marshall dorms! My pizza was super delicious (what pizza isn't, actually?) and enough to fill me up happily. Foodworx itself is a little small and out of the way, but I sure would like a wrap from there right about now...

We're in the midst of the first round of midterms. Yikes. You can do it guys! I've been catching up on all the work I procrastinated for the last four weeks of school....

Midterms and studies aside, my suite was hit with its fair share of problems in the last few weeks. First of all, we were hit with a string of internet problems. Mine was a result of not reregistering my connection at the beginning of the quarter--uh, yeah. Don't be forgetful like me and remember to register your computer! Don't assume they continue to give you access to the internet (like I did), because they sure don't...haha....If you did forget and need to register or if you have general tech problems, call 858-534-2267. The people on line are very nice, patient people and are skilled enough to help the less technologically savvy fix their problems all through the phone.

Our next problem in our halls came in the form of something dark and slimy: mold. I don't know the exact details, but our suite developed a very strange, foul smell for several days, and one of the girls fell very ill. When the girls first called maintenance (858-534-2600), the results were disappointing at first: they didn't believe there were any problems in our suite. However, actions were taken and after a thorough checking of the ill girl's room and our suite, we were declared mold free (at last)! 

These numbers, along with ones such as the RA on duty and the emergency help number, are usually listed on the main bulletin board or somewhere in your suite or building. However, I don't think people do know them as well as they should--personally, I've overlooked that small slip of paper listing the important numbers for the majority of last quarter. People would constantly tell me, "Call the help number if you get in trouble or call an escort!" but no one would actually know the escort number if I asked (which is, for the record, 858-534-WALK).

Lastly, my RA is hosting a building competition that involves raising fish! Meet our new suite pet Pig, a female betta fish who loves to hide in her blue decorative plant:

-Rosanne

UCSD's Secret Store

It's pretty surprising how many people don't know about the International Center's Resale Shop.

I must admit, it took me a year to find it. When my friend Josh told me about it, I thought he was talking about iHouse (International House). I scoured the place trying to find this thrift store extraordinaire but I couldn't.

When I started living in the Muir apartments last year, most of my Psyc classes were in Center Hall and I would walk the back way through the Old Student Center and straight past the International Center to get to class multiple times a day. I still didn't get it.

It wasn't until they put a chalkboard easel out on the path advertising their annual Christmas Sale that I finally figured it out. This was the thrift store Josh has been talking about.

I started going in once a week, picking up new books, kitchen supplies, clothes, whatever. I don't think I left without buying something. I am a huge thrift store junkie. It's been a family tradition of ours to get up early on Saturday mornings in the summer, make our normal garage sale circuit throughout town, then head to downtown to look at the thrift stores. My biggest obsession with thrift stores has always been to find books. I read like a crazy and love books, especially when they're so cheap! And this summer, I started a new obsessions of pouring through piles and piles of dirty, dusty records ever since I got a record player for my birthday.

Now, I know San Diego has some good thrift stores scattered about the place, but they're never really my scene. Take Buffalo Exchange for example. They do have some really awesome things, but they aren't really thrift store prices. At home, everything's what you would think a thrift store would be. I don't really seeing paying $20 for a t-shirt that someone else has worn and is now dirty, but because it's labeled "vintage" it's the same price as something brand new.

And that's why I love the ICRS so much! It's a real thrift store!

Gayle Barsimian runs it everyday, pulling things out of the large storage facility the shop has in the International Center, finding things that students, faculty, alumni, and those random people who come in just because they love. It's run entirely by a group of volunteers, myself included, who enjoy seeing all the new faces who come and those who come all the time.

The store is open from 10-4 in the International Center, opposite of Center Hall on Library Walk.

THe best part-- all money goes to scholarships to send students abroad!

So go and do a little shopping, folks! And if you pop in Friday morning, you might just see me as well!

Whale Watching!

Meal of the week: a ten second review of dining hall food

Salmon cream cheese sushi rolls. $5.95. Not much else to say--there's different types of sushi offered at Pines and Cafe V.
When/where: Lunch, Pines
Delicious? Yum. My friends have complained about the poor quality of dining hall sushi, but I've yet to run into that problem, and I get tuna/salmon whenever it's available. Portions are small in relation to price, but past experience says that's the trend at Pines. You could call me traditional in my sushi tastes (buffalo chicken roll? really?), and I always wish they offer tuna or salmon rolls more frequently.

The extended weekend and the days leading up to it have been busy, busy for me--I was determined to catch up in work before having a blast on our extended holiday. My friends and I aren't much on hitting up the party/clubbing scene. Instead, we took a nice, long scenic trip through La Jolla and its beaches, meeting lots of wildlife along the way.

We're in the middle of the gray whale migration period, which runs from December to March! We spent our Saturday heading to a cliffside in an attempt to spot some whales. The knoll, or officially known as the Scripps Coastal Reserve, is found by turning onto La Jolla Shores Road from N. Torrey Pines. You then take the first right onto La Jolla Farms Drive and follow the road until you see a low gated area on the left. Just duck under the gate and follow the path until you see the ocean.

It's a great place to go in general. There's plenty of green to see (flowers are supposed to bloom in spring!), a lot of couples went to watch the sunset together, the view is breathtaking, and my friend's professor recommended it as a spot to go whale watching! Make sure you bring binoculars--and if it was as sunny as it was when I went, bring sunglasses.

For the record, we never saw any whales :'( we did catch dolphins jumping here and there though! And the gorgeous sunset view pretty much made the whole trip worth it.
For people planning to attend UCSD or those who are attending the school now, I'd recommend you to go explore the area and nearby San Diego--either by yourself or with friends. It's fun to stay on campus, but you never know what you're missing until you go out and explore the gorgeous place that's right outside your doorstep.

Rosanne

Social Life Building

UCSD is renown for its lack of a social scene (see the urban dictionary definition online) but in all reality, finding other people who share your interests and making friends is super easy- you just have to not be a hermit.  Admittedly, there are those on campus who don't go the extra few feet required to meet someone (outside their dorm), but for those of us who like to be social, there are a wide variety of activities and social clubs on campus.  If you're an athletic type, I would encourage you to find a sports club, a school team (the crew team takes walk ons I hear), or one of the many intramural teams.

 Clearly the greatest club sport available at UCSD is lacrosse and our team is looking forward to a great year.  If you like to stay in shape and even if you have no idea what lacrosse is or how it's played, come out for the team next year.  Currently, we are having 7Am workouts 3 days a week and practice every day mon-fri, but this crazy schedule is only for january (preseason training) and you'll find something similar in nearly all sports teams.  For those of you who have never played, we have a wide range of skill levels and although it takes some practice to pick up, lacrosse is a sport that incorporates technical skill and team strategy similar to basketball and is played on a field resembling a hockey rink, but the size of a soccer field, so it's awesome.

Additionally, it's a really great way to make a lot of friends and meet new people.  So far, we have met several other club teams, so not only do you get in great shape, you meet lots of other people who share similar interests.  So play lacrosse next year.  And,
Stay classy San Diego.

Well Worth The Wait: UCSD Quidditch

So since my first post for this blog was basically written in a half-awake, nerd-hangover after seeing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, I figured it would be appropriate to start this quarter with a post about Quidditch...

Specifically, UCSD Quidditch.

YES!! YOU HEARD ME RIGHT!

UCSD now has their very own Quidditch team! And it is seriously the most amazing sport ever played. Sure you might think "A bunch of dorks running around on brooms," which it is, I'll admit, but it the most intense game ever. Even the few spectators who have come to watch the game are shocked by how much action there is going on in a Quidditch came.

So, I thought I would use this awesome forum to talk about a really great group on-campus that you can get involved in. Because... it's so worth it.

The UCSD Quidditch club (Search 'Quidditch at UCSD' on the bookface or go to UCSD's Quidditch website) meets every Monday and Wednesday evenings from 4-6 on Muir Field behind Main Gym. Two teams play each hour, eight teams in total. I'm sure there is one that will fit your schedule!

We follow International Quidditch Association's rules with some minor changes for recreational play, but will hopefully get a competitive, traveling team together soon! As of right now though, we've got a league going and we definitely want you to join. Dues are $10 and you get a t-shirt out of it. Even if you don't want to play or can't this quarter, you can still buy the t-shirt for $10.

Everything is about the same as how Rowling describes the books. Obviously, we're not flying because none of us got our Hogwarts letters and therefore are stuck playing by Muggle rules, but it's awesome enough! There are three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker per team. The Quaffle is a red soccer ball, the three Bludgers are dodgeballs, and the Snitch is a person who runs around a designated area within campus with a tennis ball inside of a yellow sock sticking out of his or her shorts. (You might have seen the Snitch and Seekers running around Revelle/Muir these past couple of weeks.) There are three hoops at each end of the field that the Keeper is in charge of guarding.

The reason the game is so intense is because... it's a lot of hard work. There is more running than I could have possibly imagined (think soccer, ultimate frisbee status) plus you are allowed to tackle, charge, or do most anything to get the balls away from your opponent (think football), you've got Beaters throwing Bludgers all over the place (think dodgeball) and not only that... you've got a broom between your legs (think, well, Quidditch).

Not only do we play, but once the team really gets going, we're going to start holding fundraisers in order to support Rowling's charity of choice Book Aid International. We'll have fundraisers selling butterbeer and other Potter treats and also a place to donate books. Book Aid is a really awesome opportunity to give other kids the chance to read the series we all adore and find their own niche in the Potter and other fictional worlds.

We're very excited to be UCSD's first Quidditch League and I really hope you can come out and

join us! Look for us in the Guardian out tomorrow!!!

Getting back on schedule

Meal of the week: a ten second review of dining hall food

Burrito bowl.$5.95. What Goody's is famous for--"meet Chipotle at UCSD." Also available in classic burrito form. I usually get spanish rice, black beans, carne asada, everything except cheese, salsa rojo and sour cream. Got my order down to a T.

 Delicious? I've never said no to going to Goody's, especially when OVT is lacking options and it's just too darn cold to walk anywhere far from my cozy Marshall dorms. However, it's pretty heavy, rich food and obviously not a meal you can crave every day (unlike sandwiches, which I've eaten for days at a time). The price is great in terms of portion size! On the downside, the portions you get are also heavily dependent on the workers (in general, every meal in the dining commons are dependent on this). There are workers who have piled so much guacamole it's in every bite I take, and there are workers who have difficulty scooping the corn and you literally end up with no more than three kernels in your burrito.

It's a little amazing how after a mere week back on campus it feels like us students have never left. Back to the same triple with the best suite alive, a few of my suitemates and I made a resolution to move our workout schedule at RIMAC from night to day. It's been five days, and for the most part we were pretty unsuccessful. For one, 8am is a difficult time to wake up when you've been sleeping in for three weeks during break. For another, RIMAC's elliptical machines are pretty much taken in the morning. The only ones open are the older models sprinkled at the edges and corners of the gym.

My failure at establishing a routine workout schedule aside, RIMAC offers recreational classes that are discounted for UCSD students! I think it's a great opportunity to go learn something new or do something fun, especially with the huge variety of classes. My suitemate signed up for a martial arts class last quarter and will be learning breakdancing this quarter! They also offer classes in sewing, guitar, ballroom dance, any a huge variety of sports, from tennis to archery. You can browse through the whole list at http://recreation.ucsd.edu/rec-classes.html.

On a last note, I thought it was nice to know that the Canyonview Aquatic Center in Warren houses a weight room alongside their swimming pools and jacuzzi. It'd be a nice alternative to those that want to avoid the walk to RIMAC or the constant crowds in the weight room. Staying fit this quarter is a great way to start off the new year :)

Rosanne

Back to Campus

After three weeks of sleeping, eating, and not thinking at all (which is great after a tough quarter), it's pretty tough to start doing homework and paying attention to class, but the worst part of having to be back is the waking up and getting to class.  Actually, I'll be honest- even waking up isn't as difficult as navigating to your classes when you feel like there's nowhere you'd rather be than in bed, asleep.  Plus, at this time of year (mostly just year round), people at UCSD are terrible drivers.  I'm speaking in the large scale of things, as I'm sure there is someone here who might be a closet driving guru, but generally people here are the worst of drivers.  Even the bicyclists here have a penchant for collision with pedestrians and most kids on a skateboard have just picked it up and have no idea how to slow down.  Which makes it even more of a challenge to get to class.  To avoid crazy bicyclists, kamikaze skaters, and the occasional carload of lost family who managed to wedge themselves across the widest section of a pedestrian walkway and park, you  really need to be awake.
But being back on campus, I realize that the dread of going back to classes that I may have felt in high school is absent.  I'm back with friends and all the classes I enjoy and even though it may be dangerous with concerns of avoiding construction and the massive potholes, I actually missed living on campus.