Bio Brew: The Place to Be!

I hear “Grande Iced Mocha and Venti Upside Down Caramel Macchiato!” as I sit down at one of the round tables under the stairs in the science lab building. I have a clear view of Bio Brew, which is also where I work to earn some extra cash for gas and groceries. It is a whole other perspective watching on the other side of the counter as customers come and go. I see some familiar faces go up to the counter and order their daily coffee. As I am observing the unit, I notice that there is always a massive rush and the formation of a long line whenever classes just end or are about to start. Bio Brew is their one key pit stop to staying awake in class. Some of the students in line looked as if they were robotic with their tired and expressionless faces. It was obvious that they mastered the routine of going up to the counter, telling the cashier what kind of drink they wanted, paying, and then automatically going around the corner to wait for their drink to be made. Then as soon as their drink is called they grab it and rush off either through the halls of the science lab building, exit through one of the four glass doors, or run up the stairs to go study in the lounge. Researchers and professors are some of Bio Brew’s biggest fans and they always know to come and order their coffee during the middle of the hour when there are less people. I see the same man that looks like Einstein with crazy white hair and glasses hand over his 20 mL beaker to the cashier for a double shot of espresso. I see other people bring in their own mugs and coffee cups as well. One man asked for a refill of House coffee in his 7-Eleven Big Gulp cup. How does he sleep at night with that much caffeine in his system? So it seems like a lot of students and professors use Bio Brew as a general meeting area to grab a quick drink and then they all disperse to where they are needed next. A common look that I saw, especially when people were waiting in line was an exhausted and irritated look. Most students were slouching and some were out of breath as they walked in from the heat; but no matter where each person had to go next, there was always a look of relief as they walked away with coffee in their hands.

Writing Requirements

In class we discussed why the university requires us to take English courses, especially those who have majors that require them to write all the time. Personally, I think that English classes are more useful than some of the GE classes that I have taken. I tried to enroll in UWP 101 during spring quarter but after attending class for four days the professor said that she was going to drop me. Reason: You can’t be in this class because you’re not upperclassmen standing. So with no choice I was forced to go look for another class. By that time there were a limited number of classes available because it was already a week into the quarter. After searching on the open course list for about an hour, I finally found a class that could fit into my schedule. Unfortunately the class was GEL 36, which is about the solar system. Even though, the class was interesting it was honestly a waste of my time. It was pure memorization and I walked away with more information that I ever needed to know about Neptune. It also didn’t help me with my biochemistry major.

We all have to take classes that we don’t feel will help us further in our major. I think that the University requires us to take these courses so we get a chance to learn about different topics outside our majors. With a science major, I don’t mind taking English. It is a nice change from dealing with pure science and hard facts. In English classes, your take on a topic is different from the person sitting next to you. I like the subjectivity and ambiguity. Also, these English courses will be a good way to brush up on writing and just practice writing. In my science classes the only hardcore writing that I have had to do in these past two years is answering questions and completing two page lab reports. The comments that I receive from my peers will help me when it comes time to writing my resume and personal statements for graduate school. I have to be able to write clearly and express myself when I am not able to talk.

2012

History is the story of the past and the knowledge was originally passed down orally and through written documents. Now we can record our history through photography, filming, and typed files. History is being created everyday at every moment but some events are considered more significant than others. We can learn from history and turn to our past for answers to help with present day. For instance, many people believe that the world is going to end in the year 2012. They are supporting their opinion based on history and what ancient civilizations believed in the past. The ancient Egyptians believed that 2012 was a year of great change. Others bring up ancient Mayan cyclical calendars and how the calendar will end in 2012. Using science, NASA even predicted that there is an increase in the number of sun flares for 2012, which will cause electrical failures and satellite disruptions.

I don’t know if I believe that the world will come to an end but this prediction could pertain to other factors that our world needs to worry about such as, global warming. There are a lot more floods, droughts, heat waves, and the ice in Antarctica is melting faster. Wildfires, earthquakes, and other ecological disasters have also increased. A quote that my history teacher always used was “Those who don’t learn from history will be condemned to repeat it.” This is true because if we don’t learn from our mistakes then we will continue to make the problem worse. Right now we are seeing how our ozone layer is being destroyed. We are consuming more than we are producing and sometimes it is not in the most sustainable manner. We have all seen a significant increase in the gas and oil prices and this has made a huge impact on the economy and transportation. So by retracing and looking back on history we can learn from the mistakes and it could potentially change the future.

"I want this and this..."

“Do you really need that? Are you really going to use/wear it?” are common questions that my mom always asks me whenever I go on a crazy shopping spree. In return, my answer is always “YES! I really need headbands, jeans, nail polish…” There are certain items we “need” in order to survive such as food and water and others we obviously don’t so they are categorized under “want.” However, many people, including myself are so determined and want something so bad that we consider it something we now “need” because that is all we can think about. After we have determined what we “need” then there is the brand and what kind to get. People are naturally drawn to vibrant, colorful, and unusual objects or images because it catches our attention. That is why advertisements and commercials have such a great effect on consumers. It is inescapable as ads are everywhere from: magazines, newspapers, television, movies, billboards, and the internet. Consumers are being sucked into buying and buying more with good deals and advertising. Phrases such as “buy one get one free,” “only two payments of $9.99,” and “three for the price of one” all catch the eye of the consumer and makes them rethink whether they need to purchase this item because of the special deal.

Ads help consumers familiarize with the product. If the consumer always sees an ad or commercial for a certain product, they might choose it over another brand. This leads to the debate of which is better, generic or brand name medication? Pharmacists conclude that a generic drug has the same active ingredients as the brand name drug. Generic drugs are usually less expensive in comparison to their brand name counterparts because the advertising and marketing costs for brand name drugs are extremely high. To make up for this cost, the drug’s retail price will also increase. However, many consumers don’t know this and most people will end up picking up Tylenol instead of acetaminophen (generic Tylenol). Most consumers recognize the word Tylenol and its packaging but not acetaminophen. Some will choose the most expensive of the two just because they think that the brand name will work better and faster (especially if the product is unfamiliar to them).

Good Ol' Scotts Valley

I grew up in a small town called Scotts Valley, near Santa Cruz and the majority of the population is upper-middle class white citizens. I was one of six other Asians in my class and three of them were not even a hundred percent Asian. Most of my classmates, including myself had economically stable families. The families that were not as well off didn’t seem to want to stay in this town for long. In fifth grade, my best friend, Chelsea moved to Oregon because she said that her family could no longer afford their house and they were having trouble with money. At the time, I was shocked and I didn’t understand her reasoning. I never thought that money could be such a big and demanding issue.

I love my hometown but at the same time it feels like I was living in a bubble. My community shelters their children and sugar coats situations, which is not reality. For instance, if a cop sees a homeless person then they will automatically be directed towards the homeless shelter in Santa Cruz. Scotts Valley is not very diverse when it comes to social class and we are constantly penalized for this. One time when I was in downtown Santa Cruz waiting in line to buy my ticket to go see the movie, Napoleon Dynamite, I heard a group of kids from a local high school yell out how Scotts Valley is just a town full of white, snobby, rich kids. Even though I didn’t say anything directly to them, in my mind I was thinking yes, a majority of the population is white and most of the people in town are well off, but this does not make us snobby. Being put under this class title whether economically or socially does not define your personality nor should it justify behavior.

Just Too Expensive

“$4.55!” Just this morning, the price for unleaded gas was $4.54 and it has already increased by a cent. This is unfortunate news considering the gas light in my car has been flashing at me for the past two days. So forced to get gas, I make a quick detour to Valero before grabbing lunch at Subway. Out of all the gas stations in South Davis, Valero is always the cheapest. I figured this out by scoping all the gas stations while riding the bus to campus. That is if I’m not half asleep at 7:30 in the morning. As I’m paying for my $5 foot long I noticed that there is an extra 50 cent charge if I pay with a credit or debit card. The extra charge seems unnecessary because my credit card is still a form of money. Without even knowing it at times, I deal with the economy in some form everyday. Economy is such a broad term because it encompasses so many other words. For instance, New Keywords associates economy with money, markets, commodities, wealth, industry, labor, enterprise, finance, investment, employment, consumption, production, credit, debt, competition, monopoly, and development. Truthfully, I never really cared about the economy and found little interest in the subject. However, now that the economy has gone down and prices for gas, food, clothes, and other resources have gone up I started to pay more attention. As college students, most of us are just getting by. So we can all agree that we dread the first day of classes knowing that we have to go to the bookstore right after class to buy the expensive books and lab manuals.

First Day of School

Okay, I won’t lie. I probably would’ve never found the book if my boyfriend didn’t point to the exact spot it was at; because the thought of looking under the English section would never cross my mind. If I was by myself, I would search all over the UWP section, and then once more to make sure that it wasn’t there (and that my eyes weren’t going crazy on me). My last resort would be to find an employee and bug them until they found it. So I would say that my trip to the bookstore was pretty successful today. No one managed to run into me and the line to pay was fairly short. Now that we don’t have to store our backpacks and bags in the lockers the bookstore is not a complete nightmare, especially since it’s the first day of classes. I got everything I needed and I was in and out of the bookstore within fifteen minutes. Afterwards, when I was waiting for the bus I started flipping through the book and it wasn’t what I expected. It’s not a book full of grammar lessons and different writing techniques. It definitely looks way more interesting than the UWP 1 textbook I used. And as for the blogging, I think I’m already starting to get the hang of it!