Caltech

Ditch Day: Adventure is Out There (Part 2)

After a morning of games and puzzles around campus, we took a lunch break, enjoying some barbecue in the Student Activities Director’s backyard. Then, the Pixar stack seniors rounded up all the groups in our stack, and we drove out to… laser tag! They’d reserved the whole arena, and so we split into teams and played three exhilarating games. (Undefeated, YEAAAH!) Let it be said that my roommate squad was our team’s breadwinners. Sweaty but satisfied, we drove to Lacy... Read more →

Ditch Day: Adventure is Out There (Part 1)

Today was Tomorrow! That is, it was Ditch Day, an annual Caltech tradition in which we skip class and instead spend the day doing escape room-esque puzzles and games designed by the senior class. Each house has several “stacks,” each planned by a group of a few seniors. Bright and early, at 7:45 sharp, sleepless seniors run throughout the houses pounding on doors and yelling, “Wake up, frosh, it’s Ditch Day!” A mad rush to find out the themes of... Read more →

The Edge of Tomorrow

It’s 11:44 PM on a Thursday night, and something seems out of whack. All day, seniors have been spamming their house mailing lists with strange messages, with subject lines ranging from “Dinner is really yummy tonight, especially at 6:30,” and “RULES FOR TOMORROW.” Dinner was fine, I guess? There were a bunch of old people (like ages 23+!) there, including some friends who graduated last year. Then, during announcements, a bunch of seniors stood up and told stories about back... Read more →

Dourmet Dishes: Creamy Marinara with Fresh Basil

I have this vivid memory as a kid of the first time I encountered so-called “pink sauce.” Staring up at an overhead menu in a bustling Italian restaurant, trying to make sense of all the -oni’s, -oli’s, and -ini’s, I read “white sauce,” “red sauce,” and “pink sauce” in their descriptions. I knew I liked cheesy, buttery Alfredo and the classic savory marinara, but what was this tainted compromise of the two? Nothing to tempt me. I ordered a calzone,... Read more →

Dourmet Dishes: Spiced Roasted Almonds - final

Living off-campus, my roommates and I eat a lot of nuts. They’re inexpensive, filling, and healthy. Although we typically buy peanuts, one of the cheapest and tastiest kinds, raw almonds were on sale, so we decided to stock up on them and do our own roasting. It was fun to experiment with the flavors! Spiced Roasted Almonds, adapted from An Oregon Cottage Ingredients 2 cups raw almonds ¾ tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. cardamom 1 Tbsp. water Method... Read more →

Dourmet Dishes: Pizza!

My roommates and I impulse-bought a container of yeast last term. We were going to use the yeast to make whole grain sandwich bread, roasted garlic rosemary loaves, tomato-herb buns, and… and then we didn’t touch it for two months. This Sunday, however, we finally opened it up to make pizza. We found a quickie whole-wheat pizza crust recipe on the Cookie and Kate blog—it took a whole fifteen minutes to prepare. For the toppings, we used some of the... Read more →

My First Formal

I finally went to a formal! After skipping homecoming and prom throughout high school and staying behind when friends attended Caltech’s formal last year, I decided to buy a ticket this spring. It was… an experience. As expected, there was the bustle of getting ready, a tasty dinner, fun photos, and slightly awkward dancing, but this was followed by the unexpected experience of stepping out into the streets of downtown LA barefoot. More on this later. My excuse for never... Read more →

Field Trip!

This term, my English class took a field trip to the Huntington Library and Gardens. The class is all about Jane Austen—we spent the whole term reading her six completed novels—and the stated purpose of the field trip was to view some early editions of her novels and other related books from her era. However, our professor also got us day passes so that we could spend the morning before the class session strolling through the gorgeous gardens. This is... Read more →

Dourmet Dishes: Pumpkin Peanut Butter

This is the part of a series of posts on food that can be prepared in a dorm kitchen amidst the craziness of life at Caltech. I absolutely love peanut butter. Whether on toast, in oatmeal, in smoothies, or spoonfuls straight out of the jar, I love the rich, creamy texture and salty-sweet flavor. It’s perfect in every way but one—it needs to lighten up. It’s a little too dense and sticky. (This is especially inconvenient when eating it out... Read more →

Licensed at Last

When I was fourteen, I begged my parents to let me start Driver’s Ed so I could get my permit promptly after my next birthday. I was so excited to start driving. However, they decided that I would have to wait until my older sister had finished the process. At this injustice, I was furious for half an hour. Why should I have to wait? Working on the online course would bother nobody. However, over the next few months, to... Read more →