Useful links:

UCLA Calendars(the academic ones are the most useful)

UCLA Blogs:

Pacific Ties

FAST(Fashion and Student Trends)

Misc:

Ackerman store: you have 14 days to return things after you buy them, but if you ask nicely or pretend ignorance sometimes they’ll let you return it after that.

Kerckhoff Coffee House – the food is terrible, mostly organic, dry, day/s -old stuff, and wildly overpriced for small amounts of it. The only actual food item that I consider worth the money is the $3 Soup du Jour – it’s a portion large enough to fill you up and more(& tastes good & comes with crackers). Their drinks and pastries are good and the Baskin Robbins ice cream bar to the left is reliable as always.

Places to study in the Powell area:

-Powell – the library is (surprisingly, I know) a fantastic place to study – believe it or not it’s not just the place where you go if you’re desperate, nor is it the place where all the nerds hang out. Instead, anyone who’s a dedicated student usually ends up there; in fact I’d go so far as to say that if you’ve never studied there, or seldom do, you’re probably not a serious studier. The Reading Room, in particular, is excellent – enter the room to the right of the entrance and you’ll see a rather depressing area, but go through it and turn to the left and voila! rows upon rows of study tables with lamps appear, almost always at least half full of students. There’s enough light, it’s quiet, there’s always company, there’s outlets on top of every table, and best of all the chairs are wide and super comfortable(more comfortable than my desk chair at the apartment, in fact. what’s that about?)

-ASUCLA lounge – semi-hidden/secret study lounge made up of a small room beyond the art gallery in Kerkchoff and a large room upstairs(can be accessed by the stairs in the small room, the stairs across from the Kerkchoff coffee shop, and the outdoor stairs in the Kerckhoff plaza). Has both large and small tables, is always a good temperature, and has wide, deep, amazing arm chairs equally good for studying or falling asleep in. Again, only for serious studiers – you’ll only find out about its existence even if you a)are clever and b)care enough to go on the hunt for good study spots. Or of course if you read this blog. A friend showed it to me my second year and I’ve used it on and off ever since.

-Kerckhoff Coffee House – best for individual study or small groups of two or three. The tables are small and space is always fiercely contested; it’s also usually a little too warm. But there’s a decent number of outlets and if you enjoy the hustle and bustle of a cafe then this is an excellent spot. The “cool” study alternative.

-Humanities/English Reading Room – I think only humanities students ever venture in this building, but if you do you’ll find the English Reading Room on the second floor, which is a decent (and very very quiet) place to study(it’s essentially a small library) and more importantly there are wide flat couch things lining hall alcoves in a small part of the first floor and the entire second floor of Haines. When I have classes there I always curl up in one of these and get some reading done.

UCLA professors:

Sianne Ngai – she talks rather rapidly  but so clearly genuinely enjoys what she’s teaching that you are thoroughly engaged anyway, and she’s very clear in expressing herself. Also encourages class discussion/student participation, is willing to go off on tangents as long as they’re interesting, and brings to what could be extremely dry topics a bundle of energy and passion.

Mitchum Huehls – the content of his courses is challenging and he doesn’t pamper you, but what he does offer is an excellent and very clear teaching style, honesty, a dry sense of humour that comes out in unexpectedly funny quips and asides(watch for the stories about his son), and respect as a student and human being(all too rare from professors I find). One of the few professors I’ve had at UCLA whom I thoroughly respect. I took 140A with him, a class which you will love if you like philosophy and playing with abstract ideas and will hate otherwise. Fortunately, I fell in the former category, and the combination of the material with the professor made it hands-down one of my favorite classes at UCLA – that rare class which is both intellectually challenging and engaging without being impossibly difficult.

Kareem-10B-didn’t like her at all, her lectures were dry and disorganized, delivered essentially by rote without any passion at all, and worst of all she has a soft, droning voice which would kill any excitement her lectures had if they had any to begin with. I usually don’t have trouble listening to professors or staying awake in class, but I struggled through every single class with her.

Apartment-hunting in Westwood:

Essentially you’ll just have to walk around and call the numbers on the signs, but a few places at least do have websites-

415 Gayley

Atrium Court 10965 Strathmore

Midvale Plaza-527/540 Midvale

Movie theatres in Westwood:

Mann Bruin
948 Broxton Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024

Mann Village(previously known as the Fox or Fox Village theatre):
961 Broxton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024 United States. 310.248.6266

Events Calendar

Winter quarter:

Dance Marathon(Feb 13th-14th,2010)

Spring quarter:

LA Times Festival of Books

Spring Sing

Dormal

Lotus Steps

Jazz Reggae Festival

Most of the cultural nights: Samahang Pilipino, Korean Culture Night, etc.

Best Places to study/Cafes:

Novel Cafe

Iso Fusion Cafe

Boba Loca – very nice interior with cute little tables and cushioned seats for the window tables. Main drawback is that it’s small and there’s only a handful of power outlets. Wifi password changes every few days and sometimes twice in a day because the manager’s eccentric like that. Best for individual study as there’s only two large tables. Only other thing is that it’s rather stuffy(no air-con) so not a great place to be on hot days.

It’s a Grind- one of the best places to study in Westwood for one person or small groups of people -has a bunch of small tables with power outlets for every table. Menu is not extensive but what’s offered is good(ask for their chocolate milk -not on the menu but amazing). Free wifi, password is a1b2c3d4e5. Music is mostly jazz and the particular brand of pseudo-indie and radio-friendly pop that coffee shops seem to universally favor.

Le Pain Quotidian-1055 Broxton

Corner Bakery – 1019 Westwood(just beyond CVS on the corner) -this and It’s a Grind are my favorite places to study in Westwood, and each has its own advantages. It’s a Grind has plenty of power outlets but the tables are very small. Corner is much bigger with bigger tables and cushioned booths, but there’s only one power outlet in the whole place(in the front on the right wall) and it’s always heavily contested. Which makes Corner a good place to study if you don’t need a computer or only need it for an hour or so. Menu is basic American comfort food(which means delicious by my book) – mostly sandwiches, salads, and soups, but they also make excellent breakfast food – I always get the baked French toast which comes with bacon and fruit.  Free wifi. They play a rather odd brand of music – soft rock and oldies country I think I would categorize it? Unfortunately it’s always a bit too cold in there so you can get thoroughly chilled if you stay too long. I like shifting between this and Boba Loca.

Elysee-1099 Gayley