UCSD's Secret Store

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Whale Watching!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rosanne

Social Life Building

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

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

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

Well Worth The Wait: UCSD Quidditch

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

Specifically, UCSD Quidditch.

YES!! YOU HEARD ME RIGHT!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Getting back on schedule

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rosanne

Back to Campus

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

Home: An Off-Campus Hello

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.