My Cal Student

Planning to visit Berkeley before the break?

Susan Kim — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:03:57 +0000

There are so many options for hotels in the Berkeley, East bay area. Of course the Claremont, with it’s spa and tremendous view is a first choice if you want to spend top dollar, but the Durant Hotel is an elegant option, especially if you have a sports fan in the group as their Bar/Restaurant, Henry’s has several flat screen televisions so you won’t miss any games. They also have killer garlic fries.

If you just need a place to lay your head and want the best deal,the Berkeley Youth Hostel has bottom of the barrel prices and quite a collection of eclectic musicians that liven up the place.

But if you are looking at mid to low price, with exceptional value and convenience, the Super8 in El Cerrito is the way to go. I can vouch for Super8’s cleanliness and convenience. They have a parking lot which relieves you of any nightmare parking situations on campus. Super8 is situated right across the street from the El Cerrito Bart station, a 5 minute Bart ride to Dntn Berkeley, and all connecting buses and campus shuttles. Aside from being my generous sponsor, there really isn’t a comparable mid-range establishment in terms of comfort and convenience.

It’s a great time to come into Berkeley to enjoy all the events that are being featured on campus and to see how your student is doing. Have a great time!

Post Turkey day Haze

Susan Kim — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:14:28 +0000

As I nibble on my leftover stuffing, my heart goes out to all the kids who were clubbed with batons on the Berkeley Campus last week. There were many demonstrations that I attended while studying at Cal and although one or two involved some police in riot gear, they were mostly there for show, keeping a respectable distance from the peaceful protesters.

I wasn’t there so I don’t know what happened. I imagine there were a lot of pumped up kids but batons and tear feels like something that only happens in other countries these days where student protesters are truly risking their lives for the causes they support.

No matter what the cause, parents of the students on campus should get involved so that they can ensure the safety of their kids and to let the police know that they should think twice before they club our kids.

Holiday Haiku

Susan Kim — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:48:45 +0000

For those expected a poised attempt on my part to tackle the beloved artform, I’m sorry to disappoint.

I thought I would share the fun and festive attempt by others this Thanksgiving to please the poetically inclined reader. The Tribune help a Thanksgiving Haiku Contest earlier this month.

Here are the winners. The winners are from San Ramon, Walnut Creek, El Cerrito and Concord.

Totoro! On a Cupcake

Susan Kim — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:52:39 +0000

Totoro on a Cupcake!

Oh man. This was in a Daily Cal Blog and I don’t know if this beautiful creation came form CupKate’s, a cupcake selling truck which inspired the blog entry as well as an article , but isn’t it beautiful? Just think of the cultural richness that your cal student is experiencing to be able to see Totoro at the PFA, and on a cupcake!

A Nurturing service

Susan Kim — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:31:26 +0000

Parents, you and I know that your hopes for your college age kids are that the get regular sleep, good nutrition exercise and work efficiently with focus to get there excellent marks at school as they did when they were home with you. But the reality probably doesn’t look quite like that. Whether your child is studious or a bit of a partier, organized and efficient or a whirling genius, when they get to berkeley, they’re gonna lose a whole lot of sleep.

And as they are wrapping up their ten page final paper on the fall of the Bysantine Empire into the wee hours of the night trying to meet the 9 am deadline that looms, they’re gonna be really hungry. But who will feed them? Not I.

Lucky for you there is a new service in town. Started by Berkeley Alums who know the deal, Pho Me Now is here to serve your child a piping hot meal in broth during the hours when the rest of us are sleeping.

Yes, I know I write a lot about food. But when it comes down to it, Pho is like Chicken Soup for the Soul only better because it comes with noodles and basil. Yum!

The Skinny on Russell Street Halloween

Susan Kim — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:27:28 +0000

I had to go check this rumour out. And it occurred to me as I was doing this that this could potentially count as an urban myth. Imagine every year there is a rumour that Russell Street was not holding Halloween this year. The only way that could happen is if someone on Russell Street got all their neighbors to agree to not do anything this year; and any one who is part of a home owner’s association knows that homeowners do not agree on much.

Evidence #1

Obviously there was no consensus but as for the kind of wild activity that would be expected 4 days before Halloween, there was only one lone house in the process of creating something big and potentially monstrous.

Will it be a goulish hut or a giant's forehead?

No matter, I think the other homes have elves that come by the night before Halloween to help build the insane displays.

The really important scoop is that Nabolom Bakery on the corner of Russell and College is again giving away cookies to children in costumes and will be open until 8pm, possibly accompanied by live music.

Cookies for costumed kids means cookies for everybody, right?

See you on Russell Street.

Can I buy a house for a dollar?

Susan Kim — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:04:43 +0000

Yes, yes I can. And not just any house, a historic house straight out of the hallowed grounds of the Berkeley Campus. I just need to be able to pay for it’s removal and have a plot to plop in on.

Parents, wouldn’t that be a fun graduation present for your dear Cal graduate this year? Their very own historic building to remind them of their youthful days on campus? No? Not really? Ok. Just a thought.

Russell Street on Halloween

Susan Kim — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:43:35 +0000

Ever since my daughter was born, I’ve taken her to Russel Street (cross street College Ave) for Halloween. Many of the houses on that street create amazing spectacles in front of their homes. Some of the displays are three stories tall and ingenious.

This is a must see for any new Berkeley student. It’s 3 blocks of Halloween bliss that often involves Hari Krishnas or the naked streaker dressed only in glow sticks wrapped around his body. I haven’t seen him in 2 years but maybe this year he’ll come around again.

Let’s talk Halloween

Susan Kim — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:06:34 +0000

Oh man, look what I ran across. This is so funny. First of all, there is a place called Playland-Not-at-the-Beach. It’s in El Cerrito, north-west of Berkeley. Secondly, they are having a zombie-clown weekend on the 24-25. Check it out here. Normally I am not an amusement park enthusiast, even if it has historical value. But when you add zombies and clowns to the mix, it’s irresistible. Here is their website.

http://www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org/index.htm.

Have fun and tell me all about it.

Shutting down libraries-Are parents going to stand for this?

Susan Kim — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:07:30 +0000

When I first heard that Berkeley was going to close their libraries on weekends to deal with budget cuts I thought it wasn’t the worse Idea. But Berkeley parents aren’t going to stand for it and in fact, there were additional donations from parents to make sure that their kids would get library access on Saturdays. That’s right folks. You don’t go to the best public university in the states and have no library access on Saturdays because if the state legislators and the university administrators won’t stand up for you, you bet your mom and dad will.

Go parents!