Friend/family/stranger/etc: Yikes…isn’t Stockton boring?

Oh the common misconception. This always comes up when I talk about my school. Does it get old? Yes. My answer is usually the same:

It’s what you make it.

I love having fun, exploring new things, aka not being bored. I was not about to spend the next years of my life loathing this city. I want to have fun while I’m here! So don’t fret, if I can beat the stereotype, you can too!

Dining:

Breaking bread is a wonderful way to start, spend or end an evening. Here in Stockton, you’ll never run out of places to try. From high-endHors d’uvres to tight-budget Thai food, the 209′s got it all.

Americana

The Valley Brew: I go here all the time. Though I don’t eat meat, I love noshing on the yam (or yum!) fries. They are famous for their burgers, homemade brews and broadcasts of sporting events. It’s one of the most entertaining eateries of the area. The Duck Nook: This place has been here just about as long as UOP has. By survival of the fittest standards, this place is pretty fit. The Duck Nook is most renowned for its breakfast selection. Manny’s California Fresh Cafe: This place is a fast food/sit down combo. You order at a counter, but are then free to explore the neat little places to sit. I always opt for the outdoor because it’s a great place to eat on a nice day. Everything is tasty and, as the name says, FRESH!Asian CuisineCocoro: This place is very very tasty, bustling and close to campus. I love everything about it! I can never get enough Dave Wong’s Restaurant: This restaurant is really large and really unique. They have a normal restaurant setting, but also have these curtain enclosed tables so that you can experience a private room-ed meal. The staff is very attentive and food comes fast!Siamese Street Thai Restaurant: The smell that hits you as you walk through the door is intoxicating. I had the most delicious fried rice that came inside of a gutted pineapple! OtherPapapavlos: Can you say warm, fresh pita bread and hummus? I can! And it’s complimentary. Swoon. This place is the best Mediterranean stop in Stockton. La Palma Mexican Cuisine: I love this place because it is fast, family owned and everything tastes fresh. It’s never too crowded and it is very close to campus!

So I always brag to my loved ones about the striking aesthetics of UOP. I got wind of a new bragging rights title today that is much less shallow! It turns out that my college was named one of the greenest campuses in the US by the Princeton Review. Gorgeous and Green?? What more could I ask for!?

(how could we not get ranked eco-friendly and fabulous)

Out of some 4,000 colleges the US has to offer, the Princeton Review narrowed it down to just286 that fit certain environmentally focused requirements. We were in that tiny winner’s circle!

The DUC was one of the reasons we were chosen. It was built to be LEED-certified, which, according to my good friend Wikipedia, means that it meets specific criteria in various categories:

Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality.

(Oh the DUC, I love your tasty snacks and taste for sustainability!)

UOP’s Board of Regents just passed a regulation that all new buildings are to be constructed LEED-able or LEED-able equivalent. This means more new water saving toilets, natural lighting and awesome other features!

(Helping us remember to lessen our carbon footprint in colorful ways!)

To top it all off,MICHAEL POLLAN is coming TOMORROW!!!!!!!! Check it out!http://web.pacific.edu/x33289.xml or here too!

I thought this university couldn’t possibly make me any more proud, but I was wrong. I am passionate about sustainability issues, so this made me so happy!

( I love the greenery of the Admissions Office! )

Have a wonderful and environmentally conscious day!

Thanks for stopping by

For those whohave also forgone flesh eating, finding veg optionsand being an eco-friendly individual is a piece of cake(not necessarily a vegan cake, but I’m working on it).

Start off by filling up a reusable water bottle to ensure a quenched thirst throughout the day! Don’t buy countless disposable variations that harm both wallets and the environment. Talk about a waste.

Though the elevators are physically there, use of them is restricted. Hello mini stair workout!

I opt to walk or bike to my classes depending on how far away the buildings are or how much I have to carry. (Huge box + bike = no bueno)

For breakfast, the University Center provides a wide variety of meatless options. Cooks stand by ready to make French toast, chocolate chip pancakes, omlettes and some other hot dishes.

Aside from the stove-top selections, students can choose from oatmeal, cream of wheat, cereal, smoothies, breakfast burritos, tater tots, rice, beans, fresh cut or whole fruit, yogurt, granola and more.

GRAPEFRUIT IS MY FAVORITE!!!!!!!!!

Milks of cow and soy variety are available in different fat percentages, flavors and sizes.

I loooooooooooooooooove Naked brand juices. There are also Odwalla brand juices available that are just as delicious!

In the words of Daniel Day Lewis in “There Will Be Blood,” I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE JUICE PUREE! I DRINK IT UP!

For the later meals, students can find meatless varieties at every station. Craft custom noodle dishes at the pasta bar. Enjoy succulent tofu over rice and vegetables from the Pacific Rim. The Taqueria offers nachos, taco salads, burritos and more! There is so much to choose from!

On the go? Daily made to go dishes are available. Garden Roll sushi is fish-less andgrilled vege sandwiches are chock full of vegetables.

The salad bar is a delight. There is an abundance of odds and ends to toss into a bed of spinach, romaine or other leafy variations. I literally click my heels when I see the occasional plate of asparagus available.

The University of the Pacific’s eateryhas sufficed my picky diet and conscious lifestyle well. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to scoop up a grapefruit or two… or three.

I was trudging through the grass to class when I came across a tree that I always pass, but it was blooming and the sun was shining down on it and I couldn’t help taking a picture of it!

(The picture doesn’t do it justice!)

Besides the ever exciting 8 am class, there is a lot going on in these next few months that I am tres excited about!

At the top of this GIANT banner, you will see a picture of Bill McKibben, environmentalist extrodinaire. He is coming to speak next Thursdsay! He founded a group called 350.org, has written big name books and can be spotted quite often in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, etc.

Not saying that any event is better than another, I AM SO EXCITED FOR MICHAEL POLLEN TO COME SPEAK ON APRIL 22! I am completely passionate about the subjects he writes about and may or may not pass out when I see him… I hope I can keep my cool and maybe shake his hand. SWOON!

Much sooner than the above events, I am attending the National Mock Trial Competition at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, which is Pacific’s law school campus, on Saturday. I will be playing a witness in two trials! This should be interesting!

I hope spring forwards soon, I am too anxious for all of these events!

9:00 am WAKE UP! Even though this is about an hour later than MWF morning rise time, it is, nonetheless, painful.

10:00 am Public Relations class to learn how to publicly relate to people

12 pm Meeting for The Pacifican, the student newspaper. Time to talk about the next few issues, get story assignments, chat and what not.

1 pm Hit up the library. Yay for Tazo tea and what ever is on my lap top!

3 pm Work Work Work in the Admissions Office. Prospective students’ question answering is the name of the game!

5 pm Normally I just get off work and either go to the library or back to my dorm room. Today is a bit different; I’m going to the Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship to check out the weekly meeting. I’m excited to see what they’re all about!

http://www.pacific.edu/x10228.xml

7 pm I try to go to the gym after all of my prior activities have been completed. After that, tonight that is, I have to write a massive essay (that is due tomorrow…). yikes.

(“I just went to the gym!” “COOL! I’ll take a picture!”)

And that’s about it! Between the hours of 11-2, I snuggle back into my bed and dream of sugar plums, etc.

Well I’m off to write sieze the day! Carpe Diem!

I have stuff to do and places to rush off to,

but at least it is a GORGEOUS day!

Simply maaaarvelous darling!

Not a bad place to take a breather

I will not be studying in here today!

The grand pillars!

To be quite honest, I have no idea what these pillars mean.

Warning: I may be loping across this lawn today. Watch out!

C’est tres jolie, non?

I left campus on Saturday and caught my usual Amtrak train to Fresno where I was greeted by my family,a home cooked mealand my old bed.My few days in Fresno blurredtogether like ahazy, comfortable dream. Before I knew it, I was driving to Los Angeles to be interviewed for summer internships.

(What I feel like at home, portrayed by my sister’s rabbit, Twinkie)

For the next 4 days, I wasspeeding around LA in buisness wear practicing my interview behavior. Firm hand shake, eye contact, smile– I was good to go.

After business was taken care of, my family and I tried to do some Spring time relaxing. We visited The Huntington Library in Pasadena. It was built by Henry E. Huntington back in 1919 and includes an huge garden, art collection and library.

(me and my new goose friend)

(crazy cacti in the succulent portion of the garden)

(Hey mom!)

(My sister’s boyfriend Michael and I just had a race to this fountain. I lost)

(My sister and Michael in the Japanese garden area)

We also squeezed in some time for shopping, hiking and watching the UOP men’s basketball team play in the semi-finals of the Big West Tournament in Anaheim.

(Camera phones don’t take the best action shots)

Something crazy happened when I woke up on Sunday. I realized that it was over. My break had ended, and it was back to the real world. Apparently I can’t live a life of perpetual vacation. C’est la vie!

When we all graduated last year, some of my friends and I scattered about Californiato pursuehigher education. I missed seeing my companions every day, but having them in different colleges allowed me to explore various cities and see what other campuses are like.

Being in the center of the state, Stockton is a pretty nice starting out point. I was lucky enough to have a roommate with a car (thanks roomie!). This took a lot of the difficulty out of our journey making.

(Our first trip to SF! My brave roommate drove!)

If you have wheels, some great destinations to check out are San Francisco, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz.Warning: if you’ve never driven in San Fran, beware; the streets can get violently steep, traffic can get painfully congested and parking can get mighty expensive!

To avoid these woes, try driving to Dublin and taking the Bay Area Rapid Transit (aka the BART) from there. Parking is free on the weekends! It takes an hour to get todrive to Dublin and then a little less to get to the city.

Another way to travel is by taking the Amtrak train. This method is better for going south to places like Fresno, Bakersfield, Madera or getting you half way to Los Angeles (the next half is on a bus). I love taking the train to go home to Fresno; I just bring my laptop, pop in a movie and relax without any hassles or worries!

Getting away for the weekend is quite the treat, but by Sunday, I’m always ready to get back to the 209, my new home.

(I was so happy to come home, I couldn’t keep my eyes open for the picture!)

Another important factor that many people overlook is the aesthetic appeal of their future school. Most students spend four years in college; this means four years of the same architecture and landscape.

Fortunately for those who go to the University of the Pacific, the Stockton campus was ranked fifth most beautiful by the Penn Group.

Sunshine and stock options flood the Eberhardt School of Business

These lush lawns are located in front of Knolles Hall which houses the admissions, registrar’s and financial aid offices.

Spring flowers popped up right before Spring Break!

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