The Village Dine-In

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

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

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

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

-Rosanne

Say Chocolate?

Meal of the week

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

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

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

One of three at Sixth College!

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

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

Ready...get set...eat!

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

ID's and Architecture

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

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

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

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

Lending a Hand (In a small way)

Meal of the week:

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

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

My small contribution:

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

Salads and Tajins

Salads and Tajines

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

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

Passport to Leadership

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

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

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

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

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

The Guardian

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"7:31 p.m.: Medical aid

▶ A male in his 50s, possibly a

professor, was bleeding from his head

at Pacific Hall. He said he had the

stomach flu and kept falling several

times. Information only."