Archive for August, 2009

What to expect after your Cal student has settled in

Friday, August 28th, 2009

I always assume that this is when parents sit by the phone and students forget for a couple of weeks that they even have parents. There is socializing, getting to know the area, fast friends, slow nights watching movie marathons. Oh, of course there are classes. It’s quite the mess putting one’s schedule together as kids compete for the best and most impacted classes. Freshmen will most likely get a smaller glimpse of what that is like as they are not going to be competing for the most sought after upper division classes however, it is very important that they show up to there first three weeks of class or they may lose their seat.

Aside from the mayhem over staking their territories in their coveted classes, there may be some anxiety over dorm-mates, social inclusion or exclusion and severe competitiveness. Help your student understand that this is all part of being out in the world with less parental protection. If they don’t want to discuss it, just let them know how loved and respected they are by you.

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First day of classes tomorrow!

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

New students and parents are probably having breakfast together this morning with great anticipation and concern.  A peaceful way to ward off the butterflies over the first day of school is to reconnect with nature.  I am heading up to Tilden today, not because I have classes tomorrow but because it’s a lovely day and one must make a day of it at least once each year before winter comes around and it’s too wet to enjoy.

There are wonderful things to do, like the Little Farm and the Steam Train. Yes, perhaps it’s more for little children but grown ups and young adults will enjoy taking a ride around the tracks too and maybe remind everyone how it was not that long ago that the college students was a child.

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Thank goodness for the heavens and the Sierras

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Folks, if you haven’t heard, the Perseid meteor shower is on, right now!  Lucky for us, we have the Sierras to escape into when we so happen to need to run from the city lights and view the sky in all it’s glory.

For Berkeleyites, a quick drive up past the stadium to the reservoir is enough to give you the best, literally the best, view.  Why? The San Pablo reservoir has no street lights and it is surrounded by Tilden and other National Parks.

Guess where I’m going tonight.

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Summer is coming any minute now

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

These past few days have been foggier and chillier than some Novembers around here.  It reminds me that living in the Bay Area is an odd juggling of moods and a constant safeguarding of ones health..  If you are a  four seasons person, you know you will gain 10 lbs in the winter because you are cozying up at home and eating a lot of comfort food. You also know that as the sun diminishes, your mood may be a bit glum and that spring will take care of minor doldrums when it comes.

In the Bay, it is quite unsettling how the weather effects your mood.  After two weeks of sun, you may experience severe allergies (at any given time of the year) as one or another plant variety is triggered to pollinate.  Then two days later you may realize that your head has cleared up from the allergies but the sun has been obscured by deep blankets of fog affecting your joints and making it really really hard to get out of bed.  You wonder if you are sick or if you are still allergic. Two days later, the sun is out and it’s impossible not to overexert yourself as you frolic with friends for hours on end, which may trigger a cold, which may trigger lethargy and a resistence to exercise, which may trigger a sluggish immune system, which may lead to bronchitis. Or you find yourself under dressed for the micro-climate ten blocks away at your friend’s barbeque and the next day you are beset with chills.

For Cal Students this means there are even more excuses not to stay focused as these minor emotional and physical set backs are unpredictable.

My suggestion is, oh I have said this many times, layer your clothes so you are never caught under dressed.  Know that fog makes it harder to get out of bed so brace yourself to make that added effort so you don’t miss that very important lecture or breakfast before that dreaded midterm. Frolic on sunny days but be aware that you will have to pamper yourself a little that night with some hot tea or warm soup and antioxident rich foods (like blueberry burgers-I know, crazy). If you tend to be allergic, know that there is not one allergy season but about 6-7, depending on what folliage you are allergic to and prepare. And finally, keep tabs on the weather in advance. After a few years, you will start to get the hang of it.

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Transportation… not so much

Saturday, August 8th, 2009

I was talking to a friend about how a post about getting around the bay would be so good for the new students and their parents to read. But he reminded me that living without a car in the Bay Area is a huge hassle.  Eventually, in 2 or three semesters, you may make friends with cars who may be kind enough to shuttle you around to shared destinations; until you do, here are some tips.

1) Your Cal ID gets you free rides on AC transit, including the lines that go to SF.  No whining that it takes too long. If I were a single person with no children and only the burden of college text books to weigh me down and I had free bus rides to SF, I would be singing and dancing for joy, with my textbooks in hand.

2) Get a bike, a really great bike that doesn’t look so hot.  You may purchase one from Karim’s on Shattuck and benefit from the countless bikes that were stolen on campus and brought over to Karim’s  for resale (disclaimer: this is purely speculation and is commonly conjectured by many on campus, including the police who told me to go look for my stolen bike there; so it’s hearsay but not slander).  You will be glad you got yourself a bike. Or you can regret you didn’t get yourself a bike when you were in college b/c you realize years later that you would have probably had an easier time fighting off the freshman 15 which never really goes away, and a way of getting around in between the “transportation system” so that you actually get around more.

3)  If you do plan on staying in SF late into the night, have 2 plans. One that involves a friend’s couch or car, and a second one involving a www.transit.511.org tripplanner print out in your back pocket for routes you predict might be helpful to know if you find yourself stranded in the middle of the night. (This obviously applies if you live in SF and happen to find yourself in Berkeley late at night.) There is little and periodic transportation between 12:30AM and 5:30 AM crossing the Bay.

4) Explore everywhere but not alone.  You don’t want to find yourself in a compromising situation while you are wandering around looking like a tourist for months.  I once ended up in Dade Couty, FL with a very nice camera walking through several miles of hostile territory, where even the old men sitting in front of the barber shops told me I don’t belong there and warned me to get out quick. If it wasn’t for the very nice OG in a wheelchair escorting me part of the way, I think I could have easily run into trouble.  So I suggest you wander with a friend and save solo traveling for known destinations.

5) Don’t buy a car.  Hahaha!  I know. That is so mean. But the truth is, you will be overwhelmed by car tickets. Unless you are living off campus and have a garage and are not planning on bringing it to campus, just forget the car.  Disregard this if money is no object.

I think that’s it for now. I will post more if I think of them. Oh, if you are a Cal alumni and have a transportation tip, feel free to comment.

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It’s almost moving time for our new and older Cal students

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

Are you excited? So am I. Just wanted to make a quick note that there are two places in town worth scouting for cheap furniture. Before you settle for Target, you need to visit the Just Futons on Shattuck near Sacramento. They have really great deals on all sorts of furniture and they have a very firm, futon for a fraction of the cost of most futons and mattresses. I know I sound like a commercial but honestly, it’s the best deal, unless you are a futon purist who believes only wool or cotton should fill your futon. They also have other very inexpensive furniture.

The second place is obvious, Ikea. If you are going to get cheap stuff from a big warehouse store, it might as well be Ikea. You can get cute, quality dinner ware for almost as little as the big tub of plastic dinnerware that Target offers only it’s stainless steel, not plastic.

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