UCSD: Living On Campus

The Village Dine-In

2011-05-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

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?

2011-05-07T17:14:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

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)

2011-04-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

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

2011-03-08T18:18:00.000-08:00

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?

2011-03-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-26T16:44:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-19T22:47:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-13T00:58:00.000-08:00

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?

2011-02-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-29T16:33:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-28T14:14:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-01-19T18:43:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-17T21:16:00.001-08:00

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

2011-01-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

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.

Home: An Off-Campus Hello

2010-12-12T00:39:00.000-08:00

I just want to say... it feels good to be home. I think college is something that makes a lot of kids realize how important their families are. After the fracturing times middle school and high school can bring to the parent-child relationship, there's a lot that being away from home and being on your own can do to repair and revitalize it.

After an extremely difficult quarter, I am very happy to be home.

That's not to say I don't miss UCSD life as well.

There is something about being on your own that can be very freeing. My mom, after a lot of work on her part, is a lot less restrictive nowadays and accepting of me growing up and becoming an adult. I've been very blessed by her grace in the situation.

However, there's just something special about being awake at 2:30 in the morning and leaving your apartment to take a walk around a campus full of outdoor art pieces and interesting architecture, having your friends over late and loud, determining exactly what your schedule is for the day and deciding it's ok not to wake up until 2 in the afternoon. There's something cool about being able to do whatever you want whenever you want.

When you go home, I think for most kids, that freedom is definitely cut back. And it can be hard. My first winter break home, I felt caged in and when I wanted to take that early morning walk, I knew my mom would get upset if I just randomly left the house in the middle of the night on my own. Also, the streets are just not as safe as campus. It was hard and I resented my mom a lot. It felt like I was back in high school and not that I had taken care of myself perfectly well for a whole quarter. It definitely caused some fights and frustration. We talked and it's a lot better now. She's been really understanding and gives me enough freedom when I'm home that I have been able to go out and hang out with friends at 230 in the morning and not gotten flack for it the next day.

That feeling though was something I never expected. No one's ever talked about it, at least to me, and it's not something I've ever read in those "How To Survive College" books. (I don't think I read any of those though.) It was something I never even thought of. I just wanted to put it out there in hopes that someone can learn from it.

Going from home to college is a big change, but going from college to home can also be a big one.

Marshallpalooza!

2010-12-04T16:49:00.000-08:00

No food review this week, unfortunately :( I've been deathly sick holed up in my dorm room.

It seems a little contradictory to hold a carnival the Friday before finals week, but let's face it--you can't study 24/7! And what better way to destress than to spend a few hours playing carnival games with your friends? Despite catching the flu and winding up playing catch up in studies I let my friends drag me out to Marshall field and we challenged each other at all the games--duck races, basketball shots, ladder races, dunk tanks, you name it. They gave out rubber duckies and glow sticks as prizes to the winner of each game! Along with that, there was free food! Once you get to college, the unspoken rule in dorm life is free food shalt never be turned down. People walked around with trays of hot dogs and there was a stand serving corn on the cob with garlic and seasonings.

Lastly, there's the Ferris wheel--romantic, shiny, and a tad scary (are Ferris wheels supposed to go that fast?), but well worth the ride! I love Marshallpalooza!

I apologize for the delay in blogging. My internet has actually been down for the last few days because of a blackout in my building. Someone across the hall blew a fuse and our suite was left without light for about 2 hours--yikes. Definitely not a conducive environment for studying! That brings me to my second important point: always carry a flashlight. Remember that open flames aren't allowed in the dorms, for good reason! I also find a flashlight handy in non-blackout situations. Since I live in a triple and I room with athletes, I'm frequently up later than them (when you have 6am weights, you definitely want an early night's sleep!). Instead of turning on the light when I'm ready to turn in, I use my flashlight to make my way to the top bunk in the dark.

Good luck to all on their finals! Remember to eat and sleep well while studying too--studies show that students do better with a good night's sleep :)
Rosanne

Home Away From Home: Wishing Finals Week Was Over

2010-12-03T18:28:00.000-08:00

As much as I love being on my own here at UCSD, I do tend to miss my family quite a bit. As much as I love the people here who have become my family away from my family, my mom, my brother, and I are very close and, at times, it's really hard without them being near. My hometown is about a 12 hour drive from campus and that does not really allow for a quick weekend trip home or even for the four short days of Thanksgiving (sorry excuse for a) break.

So, instead of skipping classes on Wednesday to try and get in a travel day to go home and see the family, I surprised my brother and flew him down for Thanksgiving. It was so much epicness to be able to spend so much time with him since he has the full week off. He was here from the Saturday night before Thanksgiving week to the Monday afterwards.

It was a lot of fun! We went paintballing, started a pick-up dodgeball game in the iHouse basketball court (if you're ever down, let me know!), had a big Thanksgiving dinner with all of my friends here, played a large game of 7-11, raided Ralph's to create our very own Thanksgiving dinner, watched Netflix like no other, dragged mattresses out to the living room so we could wake-up early and watch the Thanksgiving parade in bed, saw Harry Potter, andpretty much just had a blast!

Now, I know that we're all about to go home in a week (unless you're an International student, but all of them seem to be going on trips around the country), but I thought I would give you a tip on how to feel like you're home, even when you're in the middle of Finals *cough* DEATH *cough* week or at any time of the year when you just wish you were home.

Decorate your room--- Seriously, your personal touch will make the world of difference. Whether you have a single or a cramped three to a room (hello, freshman year), bring things from home. Bring pictures, bring posters, bring your favorite blankets. Bring your stereo, bring your nick-nacks. Cover your walls, your closets, the surface of your desks, not the ceiling (only with blue painter's tape, of course!--which you can definitely get at stores around campus like M.O.M. in Muir). If you have an apartment, decorate the living room. Get together with your flatmates and take a trip to Target (41 bus on weekdays, 101 to UTC to 41 bus on weekends) and find some things you all like. I fill my mom's mini-van for our trek across the great Golden State with things that are simply used to make my room seem less of a "This is my bear white-walled dorm room, a continuation of the school" and more like a "Haven away from the stressful area surrounding me that's ALL MINE."

BONUS TIP, AWH YEAH: Comfort food. Yes, I know about the freshman fifteen, but a little comfort food to bring you back home is always a good thing. Go to Ralph's, or Vons, or any of the stores we have spread across campus (good way to use up those extra dining dollars!) and get cookin' in the kitchen. Cooking may seem scary (it was to me!), but just mess around until you get something you love. I've created two of my own recipes that I'll gladly share with you one of these days. If you have an apartment this works best because you can make your own at home, but if not, indulge yourself when you find something AWESOME at a dining hall. The taste of your cooking-parental-unit is only a short walk away.

An Introduction of the Nerdiest Sort

2010-11-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

I'm the UCSD: Living on Campus' newest blogger- Chelsey! I'm really excited to be able to work on this and give you guys the information you need to survive.... duh duh duhn... Living on campus.

To give you the general, run-of-the-mill about me, I'm a third year student living on campus in iHouse, but a Muir College (MUIRON PRIDE!) student. I am a psychology major and Lit/Writing minor (but considering making it into a double major). I am secretary for the iHouse events planning comittee, iHOP. I volunteer on campus at the International Center's Resale Shop every Friday morning from 10-1PM PST (and I highly advise coming to visit me or the shop because it's awesome there and you can get A LOT of things for cheap, cheap, cheap! And I'm all about the cheap, cheap, cheap.). I also am a KSDT radio DJ and I host the radio show Something Like That, But Not That on Monday nights from 8-9PM PST.

So, I would say I'm fairly involved with campus and will be able to give you the scoop on what's going on and let you in on the secrets of things you might have missed while living on campus.

I have to say, I'm not writing this at a particularly pleasant moment as I'm in a sleep-deprived, running on who-know-what state. I was out until 430AM last night seeing the new Harry Potter movie. It was AMAZING! The movie is... SPECTACULAR! I left campus

around 230PM to get to Edwards theatre in Mira Mesa and was there waiting in line the whole day through. I dress up at a Gryffindor Quidditch player (Yes, I had the t-shirt, the robes, the scarf, and was sorted by the Sorting Hat into Gryffindor while waiting in line. Oh yeah, I had my wand too! Something tells me 1. I would be able to pull the sword of Godric Gryffindor when I needed it and 2. I'm a nerd.) While waiting in line, one of my newest friends that I've just met this year, Jessica, drew a Dark Mark on my arm while waiting in line. IT'S THE BEST THING EVER.

One of the best things about the night though was being with my friends. My group was 17 people huge and EPIC. Some of these kids were the people I first met when I moved to UCSD, girls from my Tenaya suite whom I lived with last year in the Muir Apartments, and am neighbors in iHouse with this year. Some of these people I'd met only recently through iHouse or throughother friends. Some of these people I've met specifically through midnight showings of other movies. Some of these people are from Japan and Australia. Some of these people I met that day! But everyone was cool.

And I think that's one of the best things about living on-campus. You get to meet and live with so many amazing and different people and keep those relationships going. I know when you live off-campus, relationships tend to get a lot harder (I haven't even been able to say my first year roommates this year so far because they totally live off-campus now). Foster these relationships while you can because these people can be the foundation of your UCSD experience. I know for sure they've made mine. I know it's awkward to say this, but SKIP CLASS AND HAVE SOME FUN EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE. These moments, seemingly little now, are what you'll remember in the future. And I swear they're worth it.

Off Campus Grocery Shopping!

2010-11-18T21:19:00.000-08:00

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

Stir fry. $5.95. A customized dish: pick your meat, your veggies, rice or noodles and you're good to go! Sometimes they offer water chestnuts and bamboo as veggie options too, which is a huge huge plus.

When/where: Lunch, 11/18 (today!), Canyon Vista (CV)
Delicious? Always! I don't get my stir fry anywhere else because no other place serves it like CV does. The portions are huge and the price very decent. I tend to get the rice over the noodles--sometimes the noodles (pictured above) tastes a little too much like cheap ramen packages.

Last Saturday I headed out to Vons and Trader Joe's to stock up on groceries. I have yet to go to the weekly Farmer's Market (shame on me!), but I know for a fact fruit at the dining halls is super expensive. The easiest way to get some healthy snacks for cheaper prices is to shop off campus by taking the Superloop!

The Superloop runs counterclockwise (the 201 bus) and clockwise (202) and arrives at each stop every 10-15 minutes, depending on the hours. Besides taking students to grocery stores and restaurants, the bus also stops by the UTC mall full of small stores and a food court. To optimize my route, I take the 201 (counterclockwise) to do grocery shopping and take the 202 back (clockwise) so I don't have to wait for the bus to make its full loop. :) Yay for saving time!
Here's a map of the Superloop route.

The first thing I learned as a student who's never gone shopping without a car is mind what you buy--carrying a large amount of heavy groceries back on the bus is no fun. I once had bought fruit for three other people at their request, and that trip back to the dorms was one of the worst. Some solutions to buying bulky or heavy products? Taking the Campus loop could shorten your trip back to the dorms. I've seen a girl carry a sustainable grocery bag with wheels, too, which is an awesome idea:

I'm good for the environment, grocery shopping, and I fold into a handbag!

Sustainable grocery bags!

I went to a lot of suite/building events this week too. There was movie night with my RA--free pizza and Sherlock Holmes! My suite also submitted a design for the Building T-Shirt Design competition, which in actuality is more of a "suite design that one very artistic suitemate drew". Needless to say, we're going to win!

As a suite, too, we share a love for home decor and the combination of our efforts resulted in the following: christmas lights, sparkly baubles, cutout painted snowflakes...it's a little too early for Christmas, so we also added silk autumn leaves right after I took these pictures. A few suitemates and I definitely went a little overboard with the snowflakes!

Snowlakes colored with markers!

Probably the most decorated suite in Marshall--our RA was proud.

-Rosanne

Getting Around UCSD

2010-11-16T20:59:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
It's tuesday again and here's some more things I think future students or anyone that wants to get around UCSD should know. One of the most important transportation tools out there that I use is my skateboard. It might not seem too speedy to push your way uphill, but the fact that you can cut through campus on all the walking paths where the campus loop bus system has to go in a big loop- hence the name- makes a skateboard or scooter priceless on campus. Sure bikes are great, but the problems with a bicycle are that you have to leave it outside and risk its being stolen, which outweigh the benefits of mobility. Plus, a skateboard or scooter you can tuck under your feet in lecture and take up very little room.

The downside to any of these tools for getting around is if it rains, the wheels spin up mud and water and you will probably get your pants-legs wet. So if it rains, I recommend taking the UCSD campus loop- the L line. It might be inefficient, but if you're sick, tired, rained on, or just lazy, its great for moving across campus without exerting yourself. If you search for UCSD shuttle tracker in google, the first result gives you the nearest arrival time of a shuttle anywhere on campus. So you don't have to wait around in the rain... you can check when the next bus arrives and head out a minute or two before to get picked up.

Mostly, it doesn't rain, and the walkways and paths of UCSD are great for skateboarding- as I already said. Here's my personal favorite route on a skateboard. If you take the bus to Revelle, the college up at the highest point of UCSD, at about eight or nine at night, you can cruise past Clics, the Revelle library, across the Revelle square, down the road toward Main Gym, take a right to cut through the Old Student Center, push up a small hill that goes past Porter's Pub, then roll to your left as you crest the hill and skate down across the Sun God Lawn turnaround towards library walk, mostly without seeing anyone or having the crowds of the afternoon get in your way. From there, I cut across Library walk and carve down the Price Center hill with the Triton man on my left and the pine meridian on my right until I fly past the construction on the left and all the way back to Sixth College Apartments. As a side note, the pavement across from the Triton man on either side of the meridian is great for all you flatland skaters out there.

My Route is outlined in a black pen mark.
Have a great week UCSD.

The UCSD life...during midterms!

2010-11-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

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

Chicken Udon $5.25. Tender chicken with udon noodles, bean sprouts, green onions and seaweed.
When/where: Lunch, 11/10, OVT
Delicious? Yes, there's nothing like hot soup on a chilly day. The chicken was flavorful, the soup just a tad too salty. Worth the price? Not quite--I'm a small eater, and yet this bowl just filled me up. I bet my male friends went foraging for extra morsels after this lunch.

I'm in the middle of my studies for Midterms: Round 2. One of my biggest issues the week before Midterms: Round 1 was finding a nice place to study without distractions. If my suite wants to party it up or my roommates want to watch Glee with a bunch of friends (like last night!), I have to find other places to curl up with my chem text. The most obvious study place is Giesel:

...unfortunately, as a first year living in the Marshall residence halls, the walk to Giesel can be rather far. My friends introduced me to the lounge at the top of my dorm building, and I definitely like how it's just four short flights of stairs or an elevator ride away.

Cozy, quiet, and empty. My RA lives just outside, too, and he stops by now and then just to check up on us every now and then. Get to know your RA and don't be afraid to ask them for anything! Mines is full of all sorts of valuable and interesting information :)

My favorite reading chair in the library...

Another great study area close to Marshall is the IR/PS library in ERC. It's a small, two story building that's a little out of the ways, and no one can give clear directions to it ("walk down a sketchy path," "somewhere near RIMAC," "kind of near I-house..."). As I had to ask so many people for directions to this one cozy library, I'll try to describe the path best I can. From the intersection of Pangea and Scholar's Drive North, walk through the Great Hall and up the stairs. Crossing the small street, there's a narrow walkway that takes you to the entrance of the IR/PS library. Alternatively, you can walk up Ridge Walk until you see it on your left!

It's back to studying (at the lounge :P) for me. Hope everyone does well on their midterms!

You only see these kinds of sunsets in movies--or at UCSD.

-Rosanne

What's Up UCSD?

2010-11-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone at UCSD,

Or if you're not at UCSD but want to be... or if you ended up here by mistake, hello to you too. I've definitely been in your place before- cruising the web, looking for a history of Swedish Fish, then I zone out for a second and by the time I figure out where I am, I'm taking a survey of top twenty things I don't do in my spare time. Who cares what I don't do in my spare time?

So back to me... I'm a freshman in the sixth college Pepper Canyon Apartments and my blog posts will be about my life at UCSD and bits of advice about where to eat, what to do in your spare time, what not to do in your spare time, and other pearls of wisdom. Basically little things that I wish someone had told me before I did something that I shouldn't have and which I wouldn't have if that someone had told me before I did that something.

For example, I really wish someone had told me that you need a piece of towel, or cloth, etc, to get into the weight room at Rimac before I had run all the way there to realize that I needed a towel to get in. Listen to me because this is golden. You need a TOWEL to get into the weight room. But if you get there and your supposed friend who is there with you and who has a towel but forgot to tell you that you need a towel to get into the weight room doesn't tell you that little gem about needing a towel, you can still buy one downstairs at the equipment checkout desk right next to the stairs. I think they're two or three dollars, but still that's two or three dollars that you shouldn't have to spend. And to all you internet users who ended up here by mistake, who are still reading because of my magnificent prose, and who have no idea what Rimac is, it's the big gym at UCSD.

One more bit of great advice: don't spend your money on tissues. I was stressing so much on the ride down because I didn't bring any kleenex and now that I'm here I notice that I don't use any tissues. Use toilet paper. It works just as well and it's restocked every week by your cleaning crew if you live in a UCSD housing unit. And free things are good things. Usually. Plus, at least where I'm living, they stock the good stuff; double or triple quilted paper that's super soft on your nose.

I hope someone puts this advice to good use. Whether you go to UCSD, hope to go here, are the parents of someone who wants to go here, are my parents checking up on me, or are just lost and stuck here because I'm such a boss, remember, towel to get into weight room and all purpose t.p.

LOOKING FOR A FUN, EASY WAY TO GET SOME WRITING EXPERIENCE?

2010-10-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

Housing • Dining • Hospitality is looking for a creative type to blog about his/her life as a resident Triton. Talk to present and future students about your life on campus— What do you do for fun? Where do you live, and what do you like to eat? Work with the HDH Marketing Team, and spill your everyday thoughts with us!

It's great experience, it's a fun environment, and you’ll beef up your writing skills.

Have Qs or need more info? Contact Dave at ddecaro@ucsd.edu.

Another year, another chapter in the book of your life!

2010-06-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

What a rollercoaster of a year it's been!

There were many firsts we can look back on from the 09-10 academic year....
Including the creation of the EcoNaut position, the jump-off of Farm2U Farmer's Markets, the addition of the Village Transfer Housing community, and the rejuvenation of the Neighborhood Community Garden behind the Che Cafe.

I am so grateful I was able to go along for the ride with you all.

Keep that productive and adventurous energy flowing through the summer months!

keep in touch:
hilary_wilhelm88@yahoo.com

<3 Hilary

ZERO Waste MOVE OUT! Let's do this!

2010-06-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

Housing*Dining*Hospitality would like to remind you.....

Please watch the attached 'Room Raiders' video clip made by the
Housing*Dining*Hospitality EcoNauts.
It is a demonstration on how to have a Zero-waste move-out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfxqg0r375g

Most of your move-out items are reusable or recyclable!

*Reusable items (clothes, books, furniture, household appliances, and anything with a cord/working/non-working electronics) go into the white Disabled American Veteran (DAV) donation bins located in all six colleges and the Village.

All electronic waste (ink cartridges, batteries) can go in as well.

*All Recyclables (paper, bluebooks, newspaper, cardboard, paperboard, aluminum, glass, plastics, steel) go into the recycle bins.

*All non-perishable food (dry food like cereal, canned food, anything that doesn’t have to go in the refrigerator) can be donated in the Hand Up Food Pantry Bins located in Warren SAC & Res Life offices at each college and the Village.

*All dishes from dining restaurants should be returned to Toby’s Spots.

**Once an item is placed in a donation, recycle, or trash bin, it cannot be taken out. Please do not take any items out of the bins! Failure to comply will lead to disciplinary action.

-->Please go to the hdh.ucsd.edu/majorplanet website to find answers to your move-out questions.

-->Also, refer to the EcoNaut’s educational ROOM RAIDERS video, demonstrating how to move out in a Zero Waste fashion!

Email any questions to majorplanet@ucsd.edu.

Let's make move outs zero waste!

Thank you! Have a great week!

Sincerely,
The EcoNauts

and...*Hilary : )

This is it.

2010-06-04T23:49:00.000-07:00

So it has finally come the weekend before finals, if you have stress its about implode yes? Well remember to re-read Hilary's post on health! Its important!!! Other than that remember to balance book time alongside sleep time. So lets talk study, where should you go?

Everyone uses Clicks or the library, but there are more options! PC has group study rooms, computers and movable tables (great to push together). The dining halls especially Plaza, CV, OVT and Cafe V are the same, not to mention convenient food and coffee.

So other things to look out for this week are the awesome study breaks and events that your reslife is hosting for final relief. There are sure to be yummy food, and free testing supplies (both necessary for Finals week). Not to mention you can schedule a free massage up at PC (if you look through the Guardian there are other things PC is doing for finals).

Now to top everything off all the on campus people have to deal with move outs...

Dealing with moveouts is tricky, most people have already made arrangements with parents, and the airlines on to when and how, but what else should you think and plan about.

Remember to have things to pack your stuff into, boxes bags ect. Mail off anything thats going to meet you there. I am personally aiming to pack, sort and clean my stuff over a series of days to keep the rush and time limit off my back. Don't forget all furniture has to be back in the room where it was originally. If you are planning on leaving Saturday remember you will be competing with people for graduation (so try to get out early or plan to wait till after). If you do leave saturday remember you need the special parking pass and that it is 20 min loading limit (so be prepared).

Remember don't get overwhelmed there are people here to help you, and take time for yourself! Good Luck!

Angela =]

Take Care of Yourself : ) Your Health Comes FIRST

2010-05-26T23:02:00.000-07:00

Hey it's *Hilary...

There's no better time than NOW to take care of yourself. If you're feeling stressed, hit the gym, do some laps in the pool, or take a stroll on the beach. Honestly, there has never been a time that I regretted working out. It'll give you that little extra boost before that next study sesh.

Lookin to jump start your study snacks?

Check out these tips from Becky McDivitt, our registered dietician : )

Eating Strategies

Eat small, frequent meals to stay alert and energized.
Don’t skip meals due to marathon study sessions!
Have healthy snacks like these ready for study breaks:
- Nuts and dried fruit
- Cheese sticks and yogurt
- Sliced veggies and dip or hummus
- Fresh fruit
- Low fat popcorn
- Half-sandwich
Eat your snack away from your study area. Avoid mindless snacking while studying.
Stay hydrated with water, tea, milk or small amounts of 100% juice.
Manage stress with non-eating activities like exercise, meditation, yoga, talking with friends, and watching a movie.
Don’t over-do it with caffeine in an effort to stay awake. If your body is telling you to sleep, you need to sleep! Well-rested students perform better on tests.

Stay classy San Diego.

*Hilary

Oh and FYI...

Finals Week Approaching...

2010-05-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

I hope you are all having an enjoyable week! Wow, the quarter will soon have its end in just about three weeks! This is a good time of reflection (and studying of course).

There are some great places on campus in which to get alone and think or study ~.~

The Knoll grass in Muir outside of Main Gym is of course a most popular location for reflection and sun-basked studying.

The Treehouse Lounge in the Old Student Center is loaded with comfortable furniture and views of trees.

The Neighborhood Community Garden behind the Che Cafe also offers chairs to reflect in and maybe you'll catch one of the gardening folks who will swoop you into some gardening action!

The Pepper Canyon Farm is also growing! Check out the ambience and green going on down the path behind Outback Adventures and Pepper Canyon Hall.

If you would like less scenic places, I recommend the first floor of Geisel in the Social Sciences & Humanites Library. They have a bunch of computers for all your internet needs.

Please remember to take care of yourself and eat healthy these coming weeks. There will be two farmers' markets coming to you!

Tuesday is the large Farmer's Market located in Town Square (by the Student Services Center).

10 A.M.- 2P.M.

On Wednesday will be the Farm2U put on by Housing and Dining.

May 26~ Roger's

June 6~ Foodworx

3:30-6:30 P.M.

Please email me if you'd like more places I can recommend or comments or just a hello!

Remember to breathe easy and take care of yourself. Take in the sun and warmth of friendship.

Love,

Jessica

End of the Year Parties and Events!! GET READY FOR MOVE-OUT!!

2010-05-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hey people.

The end of Spring Quarter is fast approaching!!....and you know what that means... MOVE OUT!

To help you prep for Move Out, the EcoNauts are going to stop by RA events at all six colleges and The Village next week... to give them a heads up on the ZERO WASTE MOVE OUT PLAN.

FYI: These Zero Waste Move Out talks are for Res Life Staff only, but please feel free to ask them questions you may have after Tuesday of next week. ;)

The meetings will take place Tues. May 25th at these times:

7:00 pm- ERC

7:10 pm- Warren

8:00 pm- Village

Marshall

Sixth

8:30 pm- Revelle

so.... bug your RAs about MOVE OUT details, so you're ahead of the game!

p.s. CHECK OUT OUR "Recycling Box" MUSIC VIDEO DEBUTE starring the ECONAUTS! It's a spin-off of an SNL skit... enjoy ; )

Plastic in a Box

Help make UC San Diego zero waste!

oh and.... come hang with the Villagers and the rest of UCSD at the Village Block Party 2010

Facebook event: click below
Village Block Party 2010

Date:	Friday, May 21, 2010
Time:	1:00pm - 5:00pm
Location:	The Village

Description

FREE BBQ lunch, tie-dye your own shirt, cotton candy, snow cones, popcorn, carnival games, a giant slip n slide, inflatable twister, bouncy boxing, featuring music from DJ Colourvision!!

Tabling from your favorite UCSD transfer orgs.

Celebrate the end of the first year of the Village! We were here first!!

Live it up!

*Hilary

Sungod!!

2010-05-17T16:56:00.001-07:00

Hello!

I hope you all got to experience Sungod Festival in one way or another. This is the most festive day at UCSD where us bookworms get out and get super friendly with thousands of our peers we may never chatted with before. It is a day of friendship and fun! It is a day when the repertoire of UCSD being a boring, academic school dwindles and we show everyone some colors!

It is a day when you see artists like B.o.B. and Michelle Branch.

You also get to see men and women walking around campus dressed up in strange outfits.

It is a day when we all get together!

Let's keep the sungod spirit alive; let's keep being friendly and fun. We are all in the UCSD community so let's reach out a hand and a greeting to one another every day!

In high spirits,

Jessica

PS Check out the Sungod Photo captures here~

Sun God Rice Recipe

2010-05-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

Well I am naming this recipe in today's big event: Sun God.

This recipe is the easiest that I have posted so far.

Ingredients/Tools:

Soup of your choosing

Rice/Cooker

Can Opener:

Bowl

Fork

So 1st cook your rice

Second use a can opener that punctures the can, you want to remove the lable on the can, and puncture a hole on one side and then on the other side (2 holes give it air to replace the soup so it is easier to pour out)

And Mix. I add pepper =]

It is super easy, but super good. I like to use Amy's Organic Tomato Bisque, it tastes almost exactly like Chef Boyardee Canned Goods.... You can use any soup, Split Pea, Potato and Squash Bisque are my recommendations.

Now a lot of people do not have a can opener that can puncture but you can get one at Goody's Place and Market.

I buy most of my soup at Foodworx, but Earl's and the Village Place and Market also have a good variety.

So since EVERYONE is going to Sun God please be safe. If you are enjoying some of the more, well, frowned upon by authority liquids, make sure to EAT, it will make any side affects better tomorrow (I promise).

Angela =]

HEALTH=HAPPINESS -->Talk to Becky this Spring!

2010-05-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

Hey Tritons,

I have done a lot of experimenting during my first year as a Transfer student.
.....I'm talkin about food!

You know the expression "starving student"? Well honestly, I couldn't ask for a better place to be one than at UCSD. There are sooooo many healthy ingredients in the P+Ms, and opportunities to eat healthy meals in the dining restaurants on-campus.

If you don't know about your options, and want to empower yourself, hang out with professional Registered Dietitian: HDH’s RD Becky McDivitt this Spring.

"You’ll see a lot of her around campus for RD in da House program, when she visits Dining restaurants to chat, introduce healthy snacks, and offer nutritional advice."

You can meet Becky at these events:

RD in da House / Spring Quarter
May 13 - Café V
June 2 - Canyon Vista

Time: 11am - 1pm

If you don't personally have any questions for Becky, please spread this news to people you know and care about.

"College is not just about grades, or experience, or any of that "security" stuff, it is about people." -Jessica Baltmanas

* Hilary

Friendships

2010-05-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hello dear friends,
I hope you are doing great! I have lately been relearning the amazing gift that friendship is.
I have gotten so caught up in the activities of college life that I have forgotten the vital practice of having relationships with people. If you relate to this at all, take it as a sign before you get into it too deep! Love people before institutions, have compassion before living for a cause, and let that be the reason you live.

On the subject of friendship, I encourage revisiting old neighbors. I've done that a couple times today, it means so much to them! Let people know that you care, remember, and are thinking about them. College is not just about grades, or experience, or any of that "security" stuff, it is about people. Connecting with people. Building relationships with them. Learning from them. Loving them. That is what college is about.

So go on out there and live out your college experience!

Your friend,
Jessica

CHOCOLATE!

2010-05-07T23:09:00.000-07:00

Yummy Yummy Chocolate!!!

So the Chocolate Festival at Sixth College was today.

The had fountains of dip-able chocolate, a cake walk game, a pie game, a hershey kiss game, cookies and milk pong, cupcake chairs, a sundae eating contest, a photo booth and inflatable obstacle courses. Everything had some yummy chocolate involved.

It inspired me to have a new dorm room rice recipe:

Chocolate Rice Pudding

Ingredients: Milk (Any P&M), Rice (Trader Joe's), Chocolate Syrup (Foodworx), Cane Sugar (Earl's), Butter (Foodworx), and Instant Chocolate Pudding (Goody's).

Cook your rice in a rice cooker =]

Mix the instant pudding and 2 or so cups of milk, it won't mix well until you add the rice.

Once rice is finished mix in a little butter, estimate 1 tablespoon.

Add rice to pudding mix

Sprinkle in sugar as desired (the pudding isn't very sweet on it's own)

Once well mixed add Chocolate Syrup for extra chocolate-y taste =]

Chill or just eat

Angela =]

Get yo Leadership on!!!

2010-05-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

For all you seniors and underclassman alike......

Check out these FREE seminars that'll boost that confidence factor up a notch!

WED (5/5/10) ETS: Being an Assertive Leader

2:00 PM
Wed, May 5 - Roosevelt Rm, PC West Level 2

Express to Success: Learning how to express your thoughts, needs, and opinions is a critical skill for any leader. This workshop will focus on the development of assertive messages to help you get what you want. It will also help you learn the crucial skill of giving effective feedback to others.

Contact: gbagunu@ucsd.edu
URL: http://ets.ucsd.edu

(5/5/10) PASSPORT: Careers That Make a Difference Panel Discussion

2:00 PM
Wed, May 5 - Horizon Rm, Career Services Ctr

Passport to Leadership: Listen in as a panel of professionals gives you the inside scoop on careers with social impact. Learn how our panelists achieved their goals, how you can best prepare yourself for your career, and network with professionals! Presenters: Local professionals and Career Services Center staff. FREE and open to all students.

Contact: passport@ucsd.edu or 858-534-0789
URL: http://passport.ucsd.edu

(5/5/10) PASSPORT: Protecting Your Self-Image

4:00 PM
Wed, May 5 - Student Health Clinic 2nd Flr Conf Rm

Passport to Leadership: As leaders, we must be especially aware of our behaviors in public. Come learn more about actions that can hurt your public image and what you can do so others continue to see you as a respectable leader. Presenter: Lupe Samaniego-Kraus, Student Health Services. FREE and open to all students.

Contact: passport@ucsd.edu or 858-534-0789
URL: http://passport.ucsd.edu

Senior Special comin' right up....

THURS (5/6/10) ETS: Present Your Best Self! Public Speaking Skills for the Graduating Seniors

5:00 PM
Student Leadership Chambers, PC East Level 4

Express to Success: Whether you are speaking up in class, interviewing for a job, or giving a presentation, sharp public speaking skills make an impression adn allow you to present your best self to your peers, employers, or graduate school faculty. This interactive session will give you an overview of what it takes to be a successful speaker!

Contact: gbagunu@ucsd.edu
URL: http://ets.ucsd.edu

Above info was found on http://studentflyers.ucsd.edu/

Honestly for involvement/events, Student Flyers is one of the best resources you have access to as a UCSD student.

Try something new today!

:) Hilary

May Upcoming HDH Events

2010-04-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

http://hdh.ucsd.edu/diningservices/events.pdf

So this month features many events up and coming for you:

Cinco De Mayo (May 5th) ...party it up (stay safe)

Mothers Day (May 9th) CALL YOUR MAMA!!!

Memorial Day (May 31st) take a break... =]

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Day (May 27th) yummy

Memphis BBQ + Live Music (May 27th) @ Plaza

Not to mention all the regular, Meatless Mondays, Fine Dining Wednesdays, and Brunch Sundays.

Make sure to celebrate them!

Don't forget Housing Room Choices for returning students!

On another note, if laundry day is coming up and you need change/triton cash, go to one of the place and markets and get a Triton Cash Card for laundry! Much better than begging for quarters or charging the card.

Also, in my next post I would like to share some employee success stories with housing and dining so if you have ever had fine service or want to prop someone for a good job email me at amcooper@ucsd.edu

Angela =]

Sustainability Job Opportunity.....and Bubbles at Muirstock!

2010-04-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

As EcoNauts, we love what we do!

You can be a part of sustainability in your own way....

Here's a message from the SSC about job and intern opportunities on-campus, for the Fall 2010 term. Please e-mail Elizabeth Elman elizabeth.elman@gmail.com for the applications.

"Our good friends at The Student Sustainability Collective have some grand options for anyone looking to cultivate some change...read the message below for more info:

Want to be a part of the Student Sustainability Collective?

Want to get paid for supporting sustainability efforts on campus?

Apply to be an SSC Director, SSC Intern, or TGIF Grant Coordinator!

Positions available:

· Director for Water

· Director for Energy and Waste

· Director for Civil and Human Rights

· Director for Corporate Accountability

· TGIF Grant Coordinator

· Calendar and Website Coordinator

· Administrative Coordinator

· Graphics Media Coordinator

· Grassroots Marketing Coordinator

Application and resume due by 5pm on Thursday, May 6th to elizabeth.elman@gmail.com."

Muirstock was sooooo fun! Students had a blast in the Muir Quad just hanging out and having fun with bubbles provided by the EcoNauts. : )

Kim had her game face on for one of the many Muirstock activities, as she shot a recyclable item in what else but....a recycling box!As Kim would say, "Success."

Keep coming out in force Tritons! You're too much fun. : )

*Hilary

Trash Sort

2010-04-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

I hope you had a wonderful Earth Week and your week is off to a great start!

I want to thoroughly share the news coverage we got from the Trash Sort that kicked off the beginning of Earth Week celebrations.

All the major local news stations were there because trash is eye-catching! Check out the links below~

Campus Goes Dumpster Diving

Channel 6

Sign on San Diego

UCSD digs through 1000 lbs trash

The Guardian

There is also a great conference in LA June 20-23. Check out the 2010 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference site here!

I want to also remind you to register and attend the 8th Annual California Student Sustainability Coalition's Spring Converegence~ Right here at UCSD!

Here is a quick link for you to register: fun!

Registration ends at midnight on Wednesday, April 28th.

Wishing you a wonderful day full of laughter,

Jessica B.

Muirstock

2010-04-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

Muirstock is one of the largest events held on campus and is hosted by Muir and their Reslife. This year's Muirstock was excellent. As a closing for Earth Week it happened on Friday (today).

The beginning (2-5 p.m.) was lots of student orgs, the reslife, and hdh tabling goodies and fun things.

The Muir Commuter lounge gave away free hot chocolate, and talked about their upcoming event making mugs. HDH gave away Toby bags and helped sponsor the free Muirstock bags this year; we also gave out awesome Toby tattoos.

There were 2 booths for face painting, a recycle give away, rock band contest, hat making booth, and free hamburgers, chips and soda. All the while people were smiling laughing and learning ab

out the environment in small subtle ways.

Around 5:30 the first band went on stage. From their it was music and delight.

Angela =]

Earth Week adventures!

2010-04-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hey Tritons,

Earth Week has been a good time!
I ventured over to the Marshall Lowers last weekend (Sun. April 18th) to check out the cool trial run of the laundry racks being funded by HDH's very own Green Grants! woohoo

The lovely interns from Green Campus, Susan Kram and Jennifer Hull, had the event at Marshall RA, Jennifer Truong's apartment.

The event was a success, as residents from six Marshall apartments came by to collect their laundry racks. Two racks were designated per apartment, and by the end of the quarter, the Green Campus reps will send the recipients a survey asking for feedback regarding their experience using the racks.This is just another great way that HDH is helping to fund the many ways UCSD students want to green the campus, and impact the lives of their peers.

In other news, in case you guys missed it, there was a massive trash sort in Town Square this last Monday (April 19th) stemming from UCSD's Recyclemania results.

Videos: UCSD kicked off its annual Earth Week festivities with students digging through more than 1,000 pounds of trash to demonstrate how much could have been recycled.
UCSD digs through 1000 lbs. of trash to kick off Earth Week
Source: sdnn.com

The photo below is the aftermath of the sort.
Krista Mays, Truman Mak, and Kimberly Tran took a breather after an intense day that lasted from before 8am until after 12pm.
We collected bag after bag of recyclable material from the trash sort as seen here in the blue bags by Truman's feet.
I was proud to represent The Village, being that they placed first out of all six colleges, with a Recyclemania waste diversion rate of 31%.

The Earth Day pre-party went down today in Price Center East! The EcoNauts were out celebrating the Earth, while rockin our tye-dye Ts and "EcoNaut Approved" tats.

We had bubbles, face paint, temporary tattoos, and Recyclemania results!! woohoo
If you guys happened to be at any of these events, tell me what you thought of them!
hwilhelm@ucsd.edu

See you at Muirstock!....Fri, April 23rd, Muir Quad, 2-5pm!

Happy Earth Week!
* Hilary

Earth Week is Here!

2010-04-19T14:41:00.000-07:00

Let's celebrate :-)!

There will be a few more blog posts relating to Earth Week!

As Earth Week kicked off this morning, the EcoNauts were out sorting trash on Town Square. The "digging" was covered by all the local news stations. Make sure to keep an eye out for the recordings!

A chance to win a bike? Oh my!

There is Sustainabili-tweet challenge on Facebook and Twitter to win a bike. Part of it is free Coffee!

Follow Twitter.com/SustainUCSD and Facebook: UC San Diego Sustainability to receive daily
Earth Week challenges. Each day, the most creative answer posted on either site will win a free coffee at Perk’s Café and be entered to win a bike.

Check out the flyer here: we love earth!

More events are on this site: http://earthweek.ucsd.edu/

Please email me with any questions or words you have to share!
jbaltman@ucsd.edu

In love,
Jessica

Happy Earth Week!
(A picture of me, my sister, and one of our best friends at the Balboa Earth Fair on April 18th)

ALL YOU CAN EAT

2010-04-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

Canyon Vista has started a dinner buffet.

This Buffet is every Thursday and is $14.

Once you are in you can eat all you want, but you can not leave the premises with food.

They are offering most of what they have on a daily basis, not to mention a seafood station yum!

This is a great way you can satisfy your hunger, not to mention study. Bring your stuff pull up a

table study and eat. It is perfect an fulfilling with a price close to what you pay for a full meal.

Many other Universities only offer this style dinging UCSD is offering it alongside its take out, eat in, special order menus.

Angela =]

Free Healthy Cooking Class....yum

2010-04-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Recreation Fitlife Programs present:

Becoming a Healthy Chef!
Wednesday, April 14, 5:30-6:30 pm

RIMAC Green Room

FREE to students!

Come join us and be a part of an interactive healthy cooking event.

Learn how to cook and eat healthfully on campus.

Rebecca McDivitt, R.D., from Housing and Dining, and Executive Chef Vaughn Vargas will be guest speakers.

This is so great for the students living on campus that want to cook using ingredients from the Place and Markets.

I'm going!!

See you there Tritons : )

*Hilary

April 18th Earth Day Events!

2010-04-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring!

Next week is Earth Week and there will be tons of fun shared! Make sure to keep in the loop about Earth Week events on the website: http://earthweek.ucsd.edu/

On Sunday, April 18th there will be three great events you can be a part of~

The first is the 6k run (or walk) for water located at the Crown Point on Vacation Island in Mission Bay. They will be signing folks in and registering everyone at the blue roofed gazebo at the North East corner of Crown Point at 10 a.m. The 6k is meant to simulate the average distance girls and women have to walk around the world to get access to water, that usually isn't even clean. Registration is only $5 and the money gets donated to the Global Water Challenge, an organization that works to establish clean drinking systems (a cool little box they've invented) in underdeveloped communities. The intention is to raise awareness around how desperate folks around the world are for water and to remind us how fortunate we are to be able to walk a few steps to our nearest sink or water source when we crave some H20. Here is the website detailing more information about the event where you can also register: http://www.joinliveearth.org/page/signup You can join the Facebook group for the event and spread the word HERE

2. Balboa EarthFair http://www.earthdayweb.org/

Sunday, April 18, 2010 Balboa Park • 10am – 5pm

The world's largest annual environmental fair and Earth Day Celebration

– produced by volunteers

3. Multi-cultural Earth Day Celebration at the WorldBeat Center LINK

11am-7PM

WorldBeat Center Lawn & Pepper Grove

I hope to see you!

May you have a fabulous day!

~.~

Jessica

Spring Convergence

2010-04-09T23:41:00.000-07:00

"Hosted locally by the Student Sustainability Collective, University of California at San Diego, April 30 to May 2 Join hundreds of students from across CA to build community, share resources, plan action,

attend workshops, and celebrate."

This year UCSD is proud to host the SSC's 8th Annual Spring Convergence. This is a great event that allows students of UCs, CSUs, Community Colleges, and Private Universities. The Price to attend is:

Before April 18th: $15 for students, $20 for non-students
After April 18th: $25 for students, $30 for non-students
On-site registration: $30 for students, $35 for non-students

This is a great event to get involved in and become one of the leaders to help protect, prevent and create a brighter greener future.

Angela =]

SPRING into action: Upcoming Events!

2010-04-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you're loving the beautiful weather!

Spring seems to brings out the best in all of us. Why not use that extra energy to take advantage of all the great events happening this quarter? : )

If you are looking for an on-campus job for next year...

Come to the Career Peer Educator Program Info Session this Friday at the Career Services Center!
Friday 4/9 12pm-1pm in the Horizon Room.
(located along Library Walk, in between the Student Health Center and the International Center)

Get leadership training and experience in developing advising, communication, and presentation skills. You'll basically know the ins-and-outs of all the great resources they provide there!

If you're not looking for a job, it's also a great chance to stop by the center to browse around.

For more info go to: career.ucsd.edu

Feeling creative? Showcase your talent by entering the....

Earth Week Art Contest

Start Time:	Sunday, April 4, 2010 at 2:05am
End Time:	Monday, April 12, 2010 at 5:05am
Location:	UC San Diego

Rain Forest by Yukan Teruya (toilet paper rolls)

Description

Earth Week Art Competition
Art works entered in the contest may be up to 32 inches by 32 inches (including the frame) and may be up to 4 inches in depth. The art work may be:
• Paintings - including oil, acrylics, and watercolor
• Drawings - including pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, and markers
• Collage
• Prints - including lithographs, silkscreen, and block prints
• Mixed Media/Sculpture
• Computer Generated Art
• Photography
• Short Film (less than 5 minutes)

All entries must be an original in concept, design and execution for the following categories in relation to Earth Week:
Environment
Awareness
Responsibility
Teaching
Healing

Send an artist's biography, the category you're applying for, a brief description of how you think it fits that category, and a photo or scanned picture of the submission to earthweekart@gmail.com

Check out another event happening on-campus...

Books for Prisoners presents 4th Annual Prisoner Art Show
Monday, April 12th at 6pm in Price Center Ballroom B
$5 at the door.
All proceeds go toward sending book's to prisoners.

"amazing stories of prison, incredible artwork from the incarcerated"

GROW : )

*Hilary

Earth Week

2010-04-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

I hope you are all enjoying your fresh start in this second week of spring quarter. May your studies and friendships be off to a great start.

April is a very special month because it contains the day to the celebrate the Earth in it- what a thought! So here at UCSD, we will celebrate week-long the beauty of the place we live.

You can find most of the Earth Week happenings at UCSD on the following website:

earthweek.ucsd.edu

HDH will be hosting an educational Trash Sort on Monday, April 19th 11am-1pm on Town Square.

In honor of Earth Week, the Advisory Commitee on Sustainaiblity will recognize individuals or groups that have made the campus more sustainable. If you think of someone/a group that deserves this nomination, send it by midnight of April 14, 2010. Write and send your nomination Here!

~Wishing you a wonderful day following the earthquake and rains. Make sure to hide under a stable surface and use an umbrella for future safety procedures.

All the best,
Jessica

PAID Internships anyone?! On- and off-campus

2010-03-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hey Tritons : )

It's Spring! woohoo! This is the designated season for new beginnings, so what better way to start the quarter off than by getting an internship that will help build work experience before or after you graduate.

If you want to help make the changes that will shape the future of California's energy-use, then this is the position for you!

OFF-CAMPUS: SUMMER IN SAN FRANCISCO
2010 Internship Program- California Public Utilities Commission's Energy Division

The (CPUC)'s Energy Division is seeking qualified interns for 2010. Interns must be currently registered college or graduate level students. The CPUC's summer internship program is supported by a grant from the US DOE and funds provided in the American Resource Recovery Act (ARRA).

The full Internship bulletin is available here:

http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/Resources/

After clicking on the link above, look for the headline below, and click on "Internship Bulletin."

Energy Division News and Resources

2010 Energy Division Internship Program

Energy Division is accepting applications for its 2010 Internship Program. Review the attached Internship Bulletin and apply by April 15, 2010.

P.S. IT'S A PAID INTERNSHIP!!!

SO IS THIS ONE : )

ON-CAMPUS: UCSD

The Sexual Assault and Violence Prevention Resource Center is pleased
to announce three student intern positions! We would love to have any recommendations of students you have worked with and your encouragement to students to apply.
Our Student Interns will implement the objectives of the violence prevention grant. The students will gain the experience in cultural and diversity outreach, student life outreach, and
graphic and marketing activities.

The internship pays $10.00 at approximately 10 hours a week!

To apply for the position, login at Port Triton:
http://career. ucsd.edu/ PT_Login. shtml
the job ID #728785.

These are GREAT opportunities.

I wish you incredible success in the application process, and in all your new endeavors.

*Hilary : )

Spring Quarter!

2010-03-29T22:42:00.001-07:00

A time of consistently warm weather, where the flowers are blooming, the students are dancing and lots of cool stuff is going on!

Check out the calendar for March and April: HERE

March is almost over, but it is National Nutrition Month! Make sure to eat your fruits and vegetables.

In April, make sure you check out the Farm 2U Produce Patches

Wed., April 7: Roger’s

Wed., April 14: FoodWorx

Wed., April 21: Ventanas

Earth Week is coming up! Check out the calendar for where you can find organic meals!

Wishing you a wonderful first week of spring quarter!

-Jessica

BUS stuff: schedule updates, how to track it, renting one

2010-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Heads Up! If you're a student who enjoys the convenience of shuttle service, this info is muy importante.

this is the link for the following info:

http://blink.ucsd.edu/facilities/transportation/shuttles/holiday.html

Shuttle Services Holiday Schedule, 2009-2010

GPS live tracking

Watch your shuttle travel its route in real time:

Track one or more shuttle routes simultaneously at www.ucsdbus.com.
Track shuttles using text messaging or any Web-enabled device: Visit ucsdbus.com and click Mobile. The service is free, but your carrier's standard fees may apply.
Go directly to your shuttle route below and click "track it live."

....BECAUSE WHO DOESN'T LOVE A FREE RIDE?
Note: Students heading home for the holidays and quarterly breaks can catch a ride on the free holiday airport shuttle.

IN A CLUB? PLANNING AN AMAZING EVENT? EXPECTING A BIG TURNOUT?

Charter a UCSD Shuttle Bus for Campus Events

http://blink.ucsd.edu/facilities/transportation/shuttles/charters.html

Learn how to charter a campus shuttle bus for your group’s event.

Make sure your organization is eligible.

Decide if a bus fits your needs.

Submit your request to Shuttle Operations.

Change or cancel your reservation.

Comply with the charter contract.

Whatever mode of transportation you're taking, stay grateful for it!
A little gratitude can brighten your day ; )

*Hilary

Finals Week Study Locations

2010-03-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Heya friends!

We find ourself in finals week of winter quarter where the weather is beautiful! I encourage you all to study in some nice places outdoors or in natural-lit areas. Light is known to support better academic performance!

I'll keep it simple and tell you one of my favorite places to be on campus is in the area behind Canyon Vista restaurant that overlooks the canyon.

I also enjoy some quiet study moments on the various patches of grass throughout campus~ the hills in front of the Muir Biology building and the grass to the right of the Bookstore. They are great places to soak some sun.

Apart from being outdoors, check out JK Wood Lounge which is the to the right of Earl's Place. It is opened 24 hours a day for finals week. If you have a friend at Warren who knows the SAC Annex code, go study with them because it is also ope 24 hours a day.

Other nice places to study are in the Student Services Center, various seats throughout Price Center, and Roger's Place in Revelle.

I wish you all much productivity in your studies, and may you do your best on your finals!

In love,

Jessica

Cafe V and The Village

2010-03-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

If you haven't been by Cafe V, The Bus Stop by the Village or the Village Coffee house there is a new nicely trimmed walk through garden. Being water wise the "garden" is made of colored rocks, nicely shaped planters filled with San Diego native plants. The walk through provided a nice path for Village residents to Cafe V and ERC students a nice walk to the Village Place and Market. Not to mention replacing a construction workspace with a picturesque view.

Here is a photo from a Cafe V window:

Angela =]

Good Luck on Finals!

Need a study break?!! FREE DANCE CLASSES--> this saturday

2010-03-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

No experience required people! : ) try something new, improve your skills, have fun...

SATURDAY (March 13th) ON CAMPUS!!

This flyer is posted in the Wagner DANCE building (across from Stonehenge and next to Che Cafe) located in Revelle.

The info below is from the flyer above!!

DANCE DAY
Saturday March 13, 2010

FREE DANCE CLASSES
at the Molli and Arthur Wagner Dance Facility at UCSD

Studio I
10:30-11:30 Jazz- Kyle Sorenson

11:30-12:30 Hip Hop- Grace Jun

12:30- 1:30 Contemporary Ballet- Alison D. Smith

Studio II
10:30-11:30 Yoga- Terry Wilson

11:30-12:30 Contemporary- Allyson Green

12:30-1:30 Improvisation- Yolande Snaith

Come and experience what the dance program at UCSD is all about.
Take classes from some of the most diverse choreographers, teachers
and dancers in San Diego.

and come see
winterWORKS directed by Patricia Rincon

with choreography by:
Faculty- Liam Clancy, Allyson Green and Patricia Rincon
MFA II Choreographers- Alicia Peterson-Baskel and Rebecca Salzer
Guest Artist- Divya Devaguptapu

Saturday March 13 at 2PM just following DANCE DAY
at the Sheila and Hughes POTIKER Theatre right next to the dance
building.

FREE winterWORKS dance performance tickets
to the first 25 high school and community college students
registered!

$5 tickets to all others who participate in a class, UCSD
students included.

Pre-registration: to guarantee your place in class and your tickets to
winterWORKS please contact egeiger@ucsd.edu

Registration: 9:30 AM, Saturday, March 13th, at the Molli and Arthur
Wagner Dance Building, UC San Diego

Directions to dance building:
http://theatre.ucsd.edu/places/theatres/dance.html

Come on people....talk about a killer way to take a break from studying!!! sooooo FUN

I'm doing the Jazz class and Hip Hop class on Saturday!!!

PLEASE EMAIL Eric Geiger...to reserve a spot in the class : )

Eric Geiger

Department of Theatre and Dance, UCSD

ericgeiger@cox.net

egeiger@ucsd.edu

619.322.8812

He'll give you any details you want to know.

Be good to yourself : )

*Hilary

March 4/ Room Selection

2010-03-08T17:16:00.000-08:00

Howdee my dear friends!!

I hope you are all enjoying these times that we live in. You can check out videos from March 4th on the following playlist from YouTube:

March 4

The highlight of it for me listening to the ~Art Collective~

Art Collective- Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Apart from all that activity, make sure you are active in continuing your student room selection! It's time to think about who you would like to live with the next school year on-campus, or investigate off-campus living options.

On-campus room selection for 2010 will be available in late March or early April on the following website:

Room Selection 2010

Off-campus living options are posted on the following:

Off-campus Housing

Wishing you

Your friend,

Jessica

"March 4 Day of Action" Listen, speak, march, educate yourself.......

2010-03-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

Big round of applause for Jessica's post on Monday! :)

I'm sure many people are feeling the energy on campus. Everyday the story gets bigger and the issue more complex!

Just look at the article that made the home page today on YAHOO!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_black_history_mock_party

Mind you, this article presents the opinion of ONE writer for the Associated Press.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK (hilary_wilhelm88@yahoo.com) about this article, the comments left by others who read it, or the fact that it has now been seen by millions as a top story on YAHOO!

Tomorrow at UCSD, there will be an entire day of events revolving around the UC Fee Increase and events regarding the recent issues erupting at our campus.

If you feel confused, want to hear more, show your support, voice your opinion, want something to do in between classes, the day is rich with opportunity.

Events at UCSD on March 4:

ALL DAY: OPEN UNIVERSITY TEACH-OUT: We are asking professors and TAs to teach their classes/sections outside as a sign of solidarity with the March 4 protesters. If you have class on Thursdays, help us spread the word about this by asking your instructor to participate in this.
9:00am-12:00pm: Free breakfast at the Sustainability Resource Center (next to the Price Center Theater)
9:30am- Black Student Union Rally in front of the Chancellor’s Complex (3/4 is the deadline for the admin to respond to the BSU’s demands).
11:00am – Press Conference (w/ panel of Workers, Staff, Undergrad, Grads, and Faculty). Location: Cross Cultural Center Art Space (2nd Floor, Price Center East).
11:30am – Meet up in front of the Gilman Dr. Parking Structure (corner of Villa la Jolla Dr.) and march on over to Library Walk.
12:00pm-2:00pm – Rally in front of Geisel Library (Silent Tree) on Library Walk (there will be lots of speakers and performers; more details to follow).
2:00pm – Mobilize people to go to the big march downtown to the governor’s office. Buses will be leaving from the front of Student Services center at 2:30pm (we’ve rented 4 student buses). You may also take the #150 buses and go downtown for March to the Governor’s office but be aware that it only passes through Gilman Dr. every hour (see below).

Events in downtown San Diego on March 4:

As part of The March 4th National Call for a Day of Action, The Save Our Schools Coalition of California will be marching from Balboa Park to the Governor’s Office. We are asking all UCSD students, faculty, and staff to join this march. The schedule for that is:

2:30pm – 3:30pm – Gather at Park Blvd & Presidents Way (in Balboa Park, adjacent to the World Beat Center).
3:30pm – 4:15pm – March to Governors Office (in Front St.). The walk is about 1.2 long (approx 35 mins).
4:15pm – 5:30pm – Demonstration in front of Governors Office in San Diego

***

More details can be found at this website:

http://ucsdcoalitionforeducationaljustice.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/march-4/

Please talk about it here or my e-mail--->hilary_wilhelm88@yahoo.com

Hilary : )

On-campus Life in the Midst of Protest

2010-03-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!

I hope you are all well in the midst of the activity on campus and around the world. We find ourselves in quite the place with the sorrow of Haiti, Chile, Japan, the Olympics, and the list goes on. But closer to home, we are constantly surrounded by the new age of protest in which the UCSD campus finds itself. As an on-campus resident, I must admit I find myself overwhelmed in a somewhat helpless way. The campus has energy each day~ and when you live on campus you absorb that energy in a sense. With all of the recent protests going on, I can't help but want to hide, to emerse in beauty, dig myself deep in warm sand or soil and be relieved for a few moments of silence, not of ignorance of world happenings, but just a quiet place of meditation in a neutral environment. That is how I feel about you, the Neighborhood Community Garden at UCSD. You have been like a shelter to me. Your soil can absorb my tears and my weight, and in return I get joy and the overwhelming peace and beauty of nature.

My dear friends, please use UCSD's transportation to explore off campus. The beach is right there- hop on a bicycle or take a walk if you prefer to do so. Take advantage of the closeness you have to the pulchritudinous ocean~ it is right there, waiting. And don't forget about the dear Garden behind the Che Cafe. I know I won't.

Me in the midst of the Garden:

Wishing you love and peace,
email me with any questions/concerns/needs of support/feedback and feel free to post comments of opinion.

I am your friend and open ears.
Jessica
jbaltman@ucsd.edu

Dinner Out

2010-02-26T23:31:00.000-08:00

So I don't often get away from the nearest restaurants here on campus, the two closest to me are Foodworx and Canyon Vista. But there are times when I feel that I really want to "go out and eat". Most people would assume I want to leave campus, this is not true. I find it quite like going out when I visit Cafe V. It takes either a decent walk or a bus ride to get to that side of campus, not to mention it is completely different than Foodworx. I love sushi and here I can get fresh sushi, there is a giant salad bar, soup/chili, a grill, a full scale meal, and pizza/pasta.

The food at Cafe V is a lot like going out for me. But I think this would be the same for you but at different locations. I suggest that you break your habits and get out, try a new place. For example if you mainly eat at Canyon Vista try Goody's, if your at Plaza try Cafe V, if your at OVT try Foodworx, I think you will find the experience rewarding.

RECYCLEMANIA is ON at UCSD and ACROSS the NATION!

2010-02-24T16:37:00.000-08:00

It's going on now! Here is an excerpt from the website: http://recyclemaniacs.org/index.htm

"Sunday, January 17th marks the beginning of the 2010 competition. Runs until March 27th!

Over a 10-week period, schools report recycling and trash data which are then ranked according to who collects the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate. With each week’s reports and rankings, participating schools watch how their results fluctuate against other schools and use this to rally their campus communities to reduce and recycle more."

WHEN THE WASTE IS COLLECTED, THE AMOUNT IS COMPARED TO OTHER SCHOOLS AND RECORDED EVERY WEEK!

Here's the latest update from the website...

"RecycleMania Passes Halfway Point: The 2010 RecycleMania is off to another great start with over 600 colleges and universities participating across the United States, Canada and as far away as Qatar. With each bottle or piece of paper they place in a recycling bin, over 5 million students and 1.3 million staff and faculty are participating in this year’s competition. To see the full list of colleges and learn more about each, visit the Participating Schools section and click on specific school’s names to see their profile."

Just to reiterate, all this info can be found at http://recyclemaniacs.org/index.htm !

Woohoo! It's on Tritons : )

Step up to the challenge!

~ Hilary

Chocolate

2010-02-22T08:57:00.001-08:00

There is nothing in the world like good chocolate.

So it's a real treat that all of the marketplaces on campus carry Endangered Species Chocolate!

My absolute favorite is Tree frog – Organic Health Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs, Yacon & Acai (70% cocoa). Not only is it organic, it is considered health chocolate because it contains healthful ingredients to the already antioxidant-rich dark chocolate.

Try all three dark chocolate bars in the Organic Health collection knowing that your indulgence helps support species, habitat and humanity.

They are:

• Tree frog – Organic Health Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs, Yacon & Acai (70% cocoa)

• Toucan – Organic Health Dark Chocolate with Golden Berry and Lucuma (70% cocoa)

• Spider monkey – Organic Health Dark Chocolate with Goji Berry, Pecans & Maca (70% cocoa)

But remember that there are only 3 kinds of the Endangered Species Chocolate that are Organic Health– so make sure you buy those!

Chocolate will put some kick in your step and is a nice treat to get the brain working.

Happy crunching,

Jessica

http://www.chocolatebar.com/index.asp

Produce Patch Keeps Gettin Better!!

2010-02-17T22:00:00.000-08:00

Hey hungry Tritons!

The patio of Cafe V was the setting for Farm 2 U today.
Nancy Filtz, Retail Manager of the UCSD Place and Markets, came out with yet another gorgeous display of local and organic produce. Woohoo!The samples keep getting better and better! Today there were three beautiful glass dispensers filled with incredible naturally infused waters.
To the left was pineapple water with orange slices, in the middle was water infused with cucumber and mint leaves, and finally (my favorite) cantaloupe water to the right.
They were the most delicious natural flavor combinations when paired with ice cold water!

The Villagers are familiar with these Chico bags, but for those of you who don't live in the transfer housing, these bags are awesome! They are made from several recycled plastic water bottles (7 I believe).
They're cool because they collapse into themselves to fit into a little bag (seen here), and can be pulled out to the size of a book bag. They come equipped with a carabiner, so you can hook the bag onto your key chain. Yep, HDH hooks it up!

Gotta love samples....slices of organic grapefruits, oranges, and lemons were free to try.
I sampled the Pink Lady Apples because I had never heard of them before. They were amazingly crisp and sweet!
Nancy was being the gracious host that she is, by offering to cut up some lemons for me to try. She's the greatest!
Check out how the setting sun highlights the broccoli.......so fresh and so green green. : )

The freshly picked local flowers were bursting with color. I was told the organic strawberries to the left were selling fast!
I sampled the free hummus that complimented the three different pita chip samples, which all can be found in your local Place and Market on campus. The pita chip variety consisting of cinnamon and sugar, cilantro and jalapeno, and garlic were all incredible!
Dining dollars go a long way at these farmer's markets because you get incredibly fresh produce, and the comfort of knowing you're contributing to fair-trade practices in support of local farmers.
These venues provide a chance to come hang out, and enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having. Today we had the privilege of experiencing the incredible sunset on the Cafe V patio.
Come out next Wed. the 24th to Foodworx Place and Market (3:30-6:30pm), where you can expect more Farm 2 U treats.

Housing and Dining truly loves to see UCSD students and the surrounding community happy and thriving! Keep up the great work HDH!

Wishing you health and happiness Tritons. : )

~Hilary

Tritons love Farm 2 U fresh and local produce !!!

2010-02-10T16:55:00.001-08:00

Wow! Who'd-a-thunk-it........that people love easy access to fresh and local produce. : )

Honestly students are consistently making it out to the farmer's market that now travels to dining halls all over campus. Every Wednesday Tritons!

Today the place to be was Roger's Place and Market.
Look at this beautiful fruit!
There was an awesome mix of colorful carrots. I sampled one of the purple ones to find it was surprisingly sweet. Yes there are samples people!I had to get some avocados again because they were so creamy last time. Yum.

That's broccoli at the end of the table.

The white carrots were not as flavorful as I'd hoped, but they were really good with some fesh salsa that I got in Roger's. No joke. They make a great substitute for chips! They're crunchy, so I challenge you to try it. : )

The fresh lettuce was impressively beautiful.....and yes, I'm raving about lettuce. It's at a whole other level when it's organic.

They had bags of fresh greens that could easily make a few salads. The Produce Patch hooked students up with free samples of Naked juice too. Other samples included chocolate, coffee, and yummy protein bars.

Jess and I both went crazy for the organic apples, mainly because of their size. If this apple was directly in front of her face, it would take up most of it!

The natural size variety of the apples was noticable, which differs from the carbon copies of fruit you get at the chain supermarkets.

Right at 3:30, when the market starts, there was a line of happy customers forming to purchase their goods.

Jess was checking out the locally cut flowers. Some of which I actually bought for my boyfriend for Valentine's day. : )

HEADS UP: Next Wed. Feb 17th, Farm 2 U will be on the patio at Cafe V (3:30-6:30pm)!!

THEY ACCEPT DINING DOLLARS!! IT'S A WIN-WIN GUYS!

live in love

*Hilary*

Rush EKO!

2010-02-08T23:47:00.000-08:00

Rush EKO Feb 2-5, in pictures:

Above is a photo of your beloved Housing and Dining EcoNauts during fifth week tabling on this day specifically about the $10,000 Green Grant opportunity for students living on campus.

Below are some "graphics" done by Marketing to illustrate the gloom of the growth of our local Miramar Landfill--- reduce, reuse, recycle, restrain.

Below shows some opportunities we provided for students to get more involved.

If you have any questions about Rush EKO or would like to get involved, please do contact us!

jbaltman@ucsd.edu

Best of wishes on midterms and papers!

-Yessi.

Super successful screening of "FRESH" film!!! Thanks for comin out!

2010-02-03T19:38:00.000-08:00

You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for coming out to our "Fresh" screenings!

We had a screening at the Village tonight.....

It was held at the top floor of the Tower (bldg. 1). So we got to catch an epic sunset!Students from all over campus came out to enjoy this fantastic film, the food that Dining provided, and a chance to mingle with other attendees. : )
The attendees got to check out the EcoNaut's extensive spread of informative posters on our eco-initiatives, sign up to "pledge for the planet", preview our Rush EKO shirts, pick up a "Farm 2 U" farmer's market flyer, and look at a list of San Diego restaurants that incorporate sustainable ingredients in their dishes.
Thanks again to the group of 25 strong that came to the 5:30pm screening, and the handful of students that made it to the second round at 7pm!!

The chance to talk about the film with students was great, and I hope you guys took something away from the experience. : )

Keep inspiring others...

*Hilary*

Missing: Plates

2010-02-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

Greetings friends!

I hope studying for midterms and midterms are coming along swell.

OVT is having a little bit of a problem.. it is just so happening that 200 plates from dining halls are not returned every week. Sysco can't keep up with the growing demand for plates, so we cry out to you, "Please return the plates!" It will make HDH very happy and you will be doing the right thing :)

On a similar thread, there will be a Fresh film screening tonight in OVT at 6 PM. Make sure to come by to be enlightened and inspired!

Keep shining,

Jessica

Earl's Place

2010-01-25T22:01:00.000-08:00

Earl's used to be a place that I would rush through to pick up a few goods.

Now, it has become a great place to study, to socialize, and to get organic and locally grown fruits!

Earl's now serves organic and locally grown tangerines and blood oranges. The blood oranges are S-U-P-E-R-B.

Earl's Place is also a leader of the marketplaces in proving Fair Trade Certified foods. They have a nice selection of teas to choose from!

Being a student of Warren College, Earl's is now another little comfort in my vicinity. I encourage you to check it out friends.. maybe during your studying break :)

Happy eating, and happy studying.

In love,

Jessica

The Lunch. The Snack.

2010-01-23T22:53:00.000-08:00

I will admit I have become addicted to this wonderful light rice crisp, matched with some sour cream for a snack, tuna for lunch or many other dippings or trappings. It is delicious. Not to mention they come in two separate packs per box and are easy enough to toss in your bag on the way to class or work. I purchase mine at Foodworx because it is closest, but I have seen them at Goody's too.

Bringin the "Farm 2 U"! Plus awesome "green cleaning" tips.

2010-01-22T00:39:00.000-08:00

Woohoo! The Produce Patch Farm 2 U farmer's market made it's much anticipated debut today in front of Goody's.

See the tents in the background? ; )
Students that happened to be cruisin by usually ended up buying something from the market. I mean, it's hard to resist delicious looking produce that's local and organic!Mmmmm.....the pita chips were a popular item, and the fresh flowers were gorgeous. All items were locally produced.The pita chip and hummus samples were a definite plus! While snaking, you could read up on where the pita chips came from, by reading the print-outs they provided. : )An incredible list of all the local farms involved was stationed on the table. Under each farm listing was the produce they provided for the market, and the prices of the items.
Check it out guys.....they had garlic, fingerling potatoes (by the basket), orange carrots, swiss chard, onions, and more. Some of the bios about the local farms were propped up right next to the produce they grew. How convenient!
I bought a bundle of the organic white carrots because I was curious to see what they tasted like. : ) And I jumped on the chance to get some avocados, Fuji apples, and oranges.

ALL PURCHASED WITH MY DINING DOLLARS! Yay!

They also accept cash, Triton cash, and at the next location (Earl's Place and Market) they are going to set up a system so students can use credit cards.Every Wednesday people! Different location. Be on the lookout.
Better yet, mark your calendars because here's the list of where to be when. : )
Happy shopping Tritons!

On another note, in case you were wondering how to clean in a "green" way....
Here are some of the tip from on online article on the subject:

Cleaning “Green"

http://www.backtohealthcare.com/doctor.asp?chiropractor=10379S&X=658345:359339:901
(To see the full list of tips, just click on this link).

So what about cleaning green? How would you go about making this transition in order to keep your home environment safer and healthier? Here are some tips on living and cleaning green:

• Open windows and let the fresh air in and toxins out, weather permitting.

• Don’t rely on product advertising claims that a product is “natural,” since there really are no standards in place to monitor this. Look at product labels instead.

• Use baking soda in the wash cycle as a fabric softener or vinegar to soften clothes and reduce static cling. Just a little bit does the trick!

• Chlorine bleach is highly caustic and can be fatal if swallowed. Bleach that goes down the drain produces reproductive, neurological, and immune-system toxins. Use a white vinegar/water solution that helps to kill mold, bacteria and viruses and can be used to clean bathrooms and windows.

• Avoid the use of all types of aerosols that can irritate eyes, noses and lungs. Aerosols contain toxic and flammable ingredients, as well as fragrances, that can produce allergic and asthmatic reactions.

You're awesome Tritons!

<3 Hil

Give a shout out to UCSD with a testimonial. Plus a "FRESH" sneak peek!

2010-01-19T16:23:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

Whew this rain is intense! We can expect more rain, so please do your best to dress according to the weather, for the sake of your health. ; ) I got caught out there in sandals the other day...oops.

Are you an on-campus resident, and want to express all the reasons you love UCSD?
Well Laurie Chambliss wants to hear from you.
Here is the request Laurie sent to me, Jessica, and Angela:

Testimonials needed!

I'm looking for testimonials from campus residents for future UC San Diego
publications!

Please spread the word and / or drop me a line to let future residents know
what you love about living/eating/playing on campus.

Email Lchambliss@ucsd.edu with your testimonial, name, graduation date and
college. Thanks!

Examples:

"The annual Halloween costume contest at the Price Center is such a
crazygood time, it's great to see staff and students get creative!" --Coco

"I love the vegan options at Café Ventanas... It's awesome that the Dining
restaurants offers something for every diet." --Hans

"Living on Thurgood Marshall college is amazing because you are SO close to
the beach!" –Biff

This is my testimonial:

I am so grateful that I got to be a part of The Village Transfer Housing on campus. It's just one of the incredible communities that made my transition to UCSD so fulfilling. My advice is to explore all that UCSD has to offer because the diverse social scene is there for those who want to get involved!

Hilary Wilhelm

Graduation year: 2012

Muir College

This is a great opportunity to give future residents an idea of campus life. Have fun with it!

P.S. everyone......
I just screened the film "FRESH" that will be playing every night during our Rush EKO week. I absolutely loved the film! I watched it with Tina, one of the Village CCs, and we felt so inspired afterward. It has a great message of truth, and an even greater message of the importance of vision on our part.
Here's the trailer for the film if you want to get a sneak peak. :)

Enjoy the rain!

take care of "you" : )

~Hilary

Farm 2U

2010-01-18T20:09:00.000-08:00

Do you love Farmers' Markets?

Wish the Tuesday Farmers' Markets accepted dining dollars?

Well.. we have good news for you, friends!

Produce Patch… Farm to You is a weekly event introducing campus residents to local farmers.

The farm will move to a different college each Wednesday to present fresh and delicious seasonal produce and goods.

Look for the debut of Farm to You at:

The Village Place & Market,
North Campus
January 20, 2010
3:30 to 6:30 pm

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO THE WEATHER.

Please join us at future Farm 2 U events:

Additional Dates/Locations:

January 20, 2010 - The Village Place & Market POSTPONED

January 27, 2010 - Goody’s Place & Market

February 3, 2010 - Earl's Place & Market

February 10, 2010 - Roger’s Place & Market

February 17, 2010 - Cafe Ventanas Patio

February 24, 2010 - FoodWorx Place & Market

March 3, 2010 - Muir Quad

Time: 3:30 to 6:30 pm

Check out the website:

http://hdh.ucsd.edu/farm2u/

Eat locally, eat in love,

Jessica

Make Up For Break

2010-01-15T22:44:00.000-08:00

So how much weight did you gain this holiday? Feeling guilty? Don't. If your going to loose weight, or just want to eat healthy for a change (don't act like it won't be a change). Do it with our dietitian, Becky.

She will be out on Library Walk Friday the 22nd with the Econauts and at CAfe V on Thursday the 28th.

Or email her at rmcdivitt@ucsd.edu

Until then check out this video that shows you how to proportion your plate in order to be healthy!

Rush EKO with the EcoNauts, and look out for traveling Farmer's Markets!

2010-01-13T15:50:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

Want to get involved with the "green" scene on campus? Come out to "Rush EKO" for a week of events happening in January. We will keep you posted!

If you would like to help contribute to the success of the event, please donate your empty plastic water bottles to the EcoNauts! You can drop them off in designated cardboard boxes at The Village laundry mats.

The Villagers do their laundry at "The Launderette" in building 1 and "The Washboard" in building 3.

Thanks guys!! : )

FYI: If you haven't been to any of the farmer's markets on campus, awesome news!

The market is coming to you!!

It'll be a traveling caravan around campus every Wednesday.

Next Wednesday, Jan. 20th, the "farm 2 U" Farmer's Market will take place at The Village transfer housing on campus from 3:00-6:30pm.

It's an event that truly caters to students because you can use your UCSD Dining Dollars at the market! Just another way you can use those meal points to enjoy the fresher things in life. : )

Here are some iconic images of The Village, in case you havn't been there yet, and don't know what to look for.

The Village is North of ERC and Cafe V. So head over to check out some deliciously fresh goodies!

Have a great week, and be good to yourself!

*Hilary* : )

You can make change!

2010-01-11T18:05:00.001-08:00

Greetings friends!

This is my first time writing since before winter break. I got ill with winter stress travels (going around the East Coast in an intense snow season is not the lightest on the bones). Anyways, Angela kindly covered the gift of being a blogger for HDH while I was recovering last night. Now I am refreshed and ready to write!

While being ill, I was diverted from eating predominantly raw vegan, and sought some warm comfort foods. Earl's Place provided me with delicious organic and vegan burritos made by Amy's. My favorite kind is the bean and rice, non-diary type... mmm delicious!

I was also flattered but a little embarrassed with the other "services" Earl's Place provided. Things like "passion meters", "grow a lover", and "love dust." All for the sake of your contentment on that day of February 14th. We are really taken care of living on campus!

And onto the subject of my more raw diet, it is amazingly catered to on campus. The reason is pretty obvious: everything raw is not cooked. So I load up on the fruits, vegetables, nuts, and kombucha which I can find all on my college campus. Soon, there will be farmers bringing me locally grown food called "Farm 2 U." I even went so far to ask HDH on their facebook, which is regularly maintained, that they supply sprouts at Earl's. (Sprouts are a very nutrious and important part of the raw diet.) Before, I was walking to the Village all the way from Warren to get my hands on dem sprouts, but now, not fortuitously, Earl's Place carries sprouts! What kindness. I encourage you all to make change by the power of suggestion. Feel free to post your comments on the HDH facbook. The link is below.

Well friends, I have said so much. Until next time!

In love,

Jessica

HDH Facebook:

CLICK ME!

Got Rice?

2010-01-08T22:19:00.000-08:00

So one of my favorite things in my dorm room, other than my coffee maker, is my rice maker. I make rice about every day or two, and have discovered a few things extra I could do to make it better. Here is one of my recipes that you can make in your dorm room with items you can purchase from the Place and Markets.

This is a breakfast meal:

Ingredients:

Sugar

Cinnamon

Milk

Rice

Optional:

Butter

Brown Sugar

Chocolate Syrup

Step 1: Cook the Rice, put in bowl

Step 2: Add cinnamon, sugar and any optional ingredients

Step 3: Pour in milk like a cereal.

Step 5: Eat

Its super simple and really good, not to mention sweet.

Enjoy Angela =]

Have a New Year's Resolution to eat healthy? UCSD hooks you up!

2010-01-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

Yumm....The great thing about being back at UCSD is the food! Am I right people? Honestly I eat better while I'm at school than I do at home over break.

Why? Well it's all provided for you on campus. The selection of healthy and vegetarian options gets better everyday in my opinion.

Today was no exception. I checked out the Dining Events Calendar before I headed out to eat lunch.

Wednesdays are jam packed with good stuff!

At OVT they were celebrating Waffle Cone Wednesdays, and a Fajita Station that happens on the first and third Wednesday of January.

I strolled over to Cafe V with my roomie to see what they were working with. The first item to catch my eye was a delicious-lookin' Chile Relleno.

A chile relleno is like a lunch omlette because it's made with eggs. This meal got a UCSD upgrade because it's made with the cage-free eggs that are used campus wide. : )

The roasted chile inside was paired with onions, tomatoes, cheese, and herbs. Sooo good!

I went ahead and got a side of veggies too. It was a meal that I hope is a repeat sometime soon.

F.Y.I Tritons.....
Every Wednesday this month is Fine Dining Dinner at Cafe V, and Fine Dining Lunch at Plaza in Revelle.

You've got the hook up! Enjoy : )

*Hilary*

Meatless Welcomes

2010-01-04T21:15:00.001-08:00

Welcome back! I hope your winter break was relaxing, interesting, and the travel wasn’t too hard.

So, let's jump right back in the mix... the long awaited Meatless Modays have begun!

There was a trial-run of Meatless Monday at Plaza Cafe today. It was very crowded, but also very good. I had a plate of Greek Food, a type of rice pilaf and a spicy noodle with Bell Peppers and Snow Peas. It was delicious.

I paired my dish with a Holistics peach amalaki herbal elixir that I got at Roger’s next door.

Check out the next Meatless Monday near you... they are on a rotating schedule throughout the Dining Services restaurants.

1st Monday of the month / Canyon Vista

2nd Monday of the month / Plaza Cafe

3rd Monday of the month / OVT

4th Monday of the month / Cafe Ventanas

Angela Cooper =]

Winter Break!

2009-12-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

Greetings friends!

How tumultuous the past few days have been... the rain and cold and wind.. packing for three weeks away from UCSD... and oh yeah, finals!

Can you believe this is in San Diego?

If you are still on campus, check out Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders on Monday December 14th at the nearby theater near Trader Joe's. For more info click HERE

And for your return back to campus, click here for the Free Holiday Airport Schedule on January 3rd.

San Diego Airport to Peterson Hall
Day/Date	Departure Times
	10 a.m. 11:30 a.m. 1 p.m. 2:30 p.m. 4 p.m. 5:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 8:30 p.m. 10 p.m.
Winter break 2009-2010 Sunday, Jan. 3

Congratulations on the completion of the first quarter of the 2009-2010 school year! I wish you all a renewing and refreshing winter break!

Happy Holidays!

Warmly,

Jessica

This gift that keeps on giving!.....& recycling

2009-12-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

Just when you thought this campus couldn't get much better, the awesome people at Housing and Dining went ahead and bought gifts for all on-campus residents!

The best thing about this item... you will get a lot of use out of it. SO WHAT IS IT?!
YAY! YOUR VERY OWN UCSD RECYCLE BAG!

Each resident has their own, it's washable (rinseable), and it helps UCSD meet its ZERO WASTE goal!

You can put all recyclable items in this bag, and take it to your nearest recycle dumpster or down the hall to the recycle shoot (if you're a Villager).

; ) Not sure what to recycle? They've got you covered.

There's a complete list of all possible items to recycle, as well as items that can't go in the recycling bins on campus.

P.S. See the big plastic bag stuffed with contents in the background of this pic? My roomies and I improvised by using that before we got the recycle bags. We still use it as our community recycle bag, and just empty the recyclables and reuse the bag.
So when you don't have your very own recycle bag provided to you, get creative! IT'S EASY BEING GREEN.

Non-recyclables include hazardous waste aka e-waste, such as microwaves, cell phones, batteries, and light bulbs. Trash, styrofoam, and plastic bags won't work either.

The bag even gives a shout-out to Toby's Spots. Please use Toby's Spots, residents! They're there for YOUR convenience. : )

One last super feature that I absolutely love is...the handle on the bottom of the bag, so you can easily dump out its contents. Sweet!

Happy recycling!

Please let me know if you, your res hall, or your building has not received RECYCLE BAGS yet. I will be happy to make that happen for you. : )

hwilhelm@ucsd.edu

-Hilary

Two more days, and we're done with FINALS!! Finish strong Tritons!!!!

Rainy Days

2009-12-07T22:53:00.000-08:00

So finals have started, and even the sky cries... which just makes us students even more miserable, not to mention cold and wet.

Yet, one of the great comforts to cold weather is warm drinks, cozy chairs and hot food.

Warm, good drinks:

Mexican Mocha: cinnamon, steamed milk, chocolate, and Espresso

Hammerhead: espresso and coffee

Hot Chocolate: classic chocolate and milk/water

Cozy Chairs:

My favorite chair to curl up on is in Canyon Vista, it also has a nice sized coffee table for plates, papers and such.

Roger's has a nice couch and a big screen TV.

Hot Food:

Soup! The best is tied with Foodworx and Cafe V, the second best is at Plaza.

Pasta! The best is at OVT, and the Cafe V.

Angela Cooper =]

UCSD: Living On Campus

The Village Dine-In

Say Chocolate?

ID's and Architecture

Lending a Hand (In a small way)

Salads and Tajins

Passport to Leadership

The Guardian

Early Morning Hunger Monkey Jumping on Your Back?

Going Vegetarian

A Surprising Discovery: Foodworx

My DH Review Post

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

A day in the life of res halls

UCSD's Secret Store

Whale Watching!

Social Life Building

Well Worth The Wait: UCSD Quidditch

Getting back on schedule

Back to Campus

Home: An Off-Campus Hello

Marshallpalooza!

Home Away From Home: Wishing Finals Week Was Over

An Introduction of the Nerdiest Sort

Off Campus Grocery Shopping!

Getting Around UCSD

The UCSD life...during midterms!

What's Up UCSD?

LOOKING FOR A FUN, EASY WAY TO GET SOME WRITING EXPERIENCE?

Another year, another chapter in the book of your life!

ZERO Waste MOVE OUT! Let's do this!

This is it.

Take Care of Yourself : ) Your Health Comes FIRST

Hey it's *Hilary...

There's no better time than NOW to take care of yourself. If you're feeling stressed, hit the gym, do some laps in the pool, or take a stroll on the beach. Honestly, there has never been a time that I regretted working out. It'll give you that little extra boost before that next study sesh.

Lookin to jump start your study snacks?

Check out these tips from Becky McDivitt, our registered dietician : )

Stay classy San Diego.

*Hilary

Finals Week Approaching...

End of the Year Parties and Events!! GET READY FOR MOVE-OUT!!

Hey people.

oh and.... come hang with the Villagers and the rest of UCSD at the Village Block Party 2010

Description

Sungod!!

Sun God Rice Recipe

HEALTH=HAPPINESS -->Talk to Becky this Spring!

Friendships

CHOCOLATE!

Get yo Leadership on!!!

May Upcoming HDH Events

Sustainability Job Opportunity.....and Bubbles at Muirstock!

Trash Sort

Muirstock

Earth Week adventures!

Earth Week is Here!

ALL YOU CAN EAT

Free Healthy Cooking Class....yum

April 18th Earth Day Events!

Spring Convergence

SPRING into action: Upcoming Events!

Earth Week Art Contest

Rain Forest by Yukan Teruya (toilet paper rolls)

Description

*Earth Week*

PAID Internships anyone?! On- and off-campus

Energy Division News and Resources

2010 Energy Division Internship Program

Spring Quarter!

BUS stuff: schedule updates, how to track it, renting one

this is the link for the following info:

Shuttle Services Holiday Schedule, 2009-2010

GPS live tracking

Watch your shuttle travel its route in real time:

Charter a UCSD Shuttle Bus for Campus Events

http://blink.ucsd.edu/facilities/transportation/shuttles/charters.html

Make sure your organization is eligible.

Decide if a bus fits your needs.

Submit your request to Shuttle Operations.

Change or cancel your reservation.

Earth Week