Everyone by now is a week into Fall Quarter, adjusting from summer break, and getting into the groove. Likewise, I am more settled living at home, working my first post-grad job (!!!) and back into blogging.

So, what have I been up to since I last posted…

Well, I graduated! After I picked up my cap and gown, my friend Todd and I did a photo shoot around campus to commemorate the occasion. Here’s a select few:

Graduation day itself was pretty amazing. My friends and I scored front row seats! It was funny because the back row had filled up for the middle column and we were very hesitant on what to do and the ushers kept motioning us forward until we were like,”Ohhh!”

Melanie, Me & Jessie (Thanks Martin Wong for the photo!)

How my cap was decorated To infinity & beyond!

Graduation was just how I expected it to be – unmemorable speeches, a long long list of names and yet one of the happiest surreal moments of my life. I contemplated recording myself receiving my “diploma” but I am glad I decided to just live it with my fullest attention. I swear, I think I walked ahead before my name was even announced because of the adreneline running through me. It was almost an out of body experience with slow motion smiles and nodding, looking to the crowd, and BAM – over in an instant!

Here’s a little video from the day:

I am grateful to have experienced the whole thing with my lovely roomie Melanie & to have had quite a few friends in my half of the L&S commencement ceremony – more people to cheer for. Also, loved that my family had a great view of us from right behind the stage and lots of friends came to greet me afterwards with flowers and hugs. When all the photo taking was done, my family and I headed over to Fenton’s in Vacaville to celebrate with their biggest sundae – The Banana Special.

That’s it folks! My summer was spent enjoying my last days in Davis, moving my stuff back home, venturing off to New York for three weeks, working in Detroit for AAJA Voices on scholarship with a wonderful bunch of people, then flying back home on a Sunday mid-August only to land a job the Friday afterwards.

I feel pretty lucky to have found a job that I love right out of college. But I also know that I put in the work to really discover who I am and what I want out of a career and UC Davis definitely helped me do that. Interning at UComm, starting this blog, joining AggieTV, minoring in writing – all of these things helped me explore my interests and at the same time build a portfolio for a job I never knew I would want when I first started college. That’s my biggest advice – get to know yourself through trial and error. College is a buffet, try a little bit of everything and go back for the stuff your gut loved. Trust your gut instinct! (oh ho ho!)

If you ever want to talk anything UCD related, career advice, which restaurants you must try, feel free to contact me any time. I love receiving messages and love talking about Davis. Email me at rcagana @ ucdavis dot edu. Tweet me @RachelAgana. And to follow my life after college http://blog.rachelagana.com/ (It will soon be filled with my summer adventures)

Go Aggies!

Graduation is coming up but I don’t think it will hit me until the day of. Or probably not until I actually move out of Davis. Going to pick up my cap and gown yesterday made it a little more real.

II came almost 30 minutes before doors would open and to my surprise there was already a line.

Thankfully, I was able to wait in line and catch up with my friend Athena. We both met at Diablo Valley College and look at us now!

They had music playing and the line was divided as if we were about to ride an attraction at Disneyland.

Bumped into my TCS 191 buddy Jessy

I bought the Grad Pack which, in addition to the cap and gown, came with a blue stole with the a gold UCD seal, a blue and gold souvenire tassel, a fancy UCD keychain, a padded diploma cover and one year Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) membership.

Go Ags!

You can still pick up your cap and gown:

Today, Thursday, June 2nd 9AM -4PM

Friday, June 3rd 9AM to 3PM

and during normal open hours at the bookstore

Late Rental/Pickup will begin on Saturday, June 4th at the bookstore, during normal open hours.

I have a bunch of little Toy Story alien figurines that I may glue onto my hat. How will you be decorating your cap? Please share any photos of crazy awesome graduation caps from the past

For the past 6 months my life has been consumed in planning this music video. It is our love letter to Davis showcasing all the unique parts of campus. You can spot me at 28 seconds and a couple other places. Share with friends and family!

Press coverage:

KCRA | Davis Students Make Music Video On Campus

The Sacramento Bee | Lip-dub ‘happening’ takes UC Davis by storm

iSeeDavis

The California Aggie | UC Davis LipDub a success

I’ve been wanting to go to Mikuni’s ever since my roomie Melanie told me they have $5 rolls on their happy hour menu. Happy hour is 4:30-6:00PM during weekdays.

Last Thursday was a beautiful, sundress weather day. My friends and I made it just in time for happy hour. It was the last day to buy a Rescue Roll to go towards the American Red Cross for Japan disaster relief and so a perfect day to go.

Spicy Scallop Hand Roll – $3. Amazing! There were chunks of scallops all the way to the bottom.

Spicy Tuna Roll $5

Fair Oaks & No. 8 Rolls. Unagi and shrimp tempura goodness. Both $5

Rescue Roll $5

Lauren, Todd & I ready to get our grub on – AggieTV fo lyfe. Lovely place to eat quality sushi on a budget. I’ll never go to Oshio’s for a $5 roll again. We were so full at the end we sadly had to skip dessert. What is your favorite thing to order at Mikuni’s?

Melanie and I met up to play badminton at the ARC. I don’t think I’ve played since high school – so fun! It was a pretty good work out when we were running from sides of the court. It was also relaxing when we got into the swing of rallying back and forth.

We’re planning on meeting up twice a week to get our work out on. What’s your favorite thing to do at the ARC? Reminder: I’m scouting new bloggers! Apply here: http://bit.ly/ucdblog

Yesterday marked the first day of finals and of course my hardest one was scheduled bright and early for 8AM. Thanks to Campus Unions and Campus Recreation I was able to celebrate right after with some delicious free pancakes. I thought about going at 7AM but I’m the type who likes to study up until the last second.

The lovely servers.

Hit the spot. The school has been taking good care of us this week. Campus Unions in partnership with the Student Academic Success Center, Health Education and Promotion, Student Recruitment and Retention Center, ASUCD Coffee House, University Dining Services and the UC Davis University Library are providing 24 Hour study space and support programs through Friday in the MU. My friends appreciated the free coffee they were giving Monday night. Well, I best be off to study for one last final. Best wishes to you all and have a fun and relaxing spring break!

For the past couple of weeks, my Developmental Psychobiology class visited the Hog Barn for lab. It was nice getting out of the computer lab and travel to the outskirts of campus.

We covered our shoes to protect the pigs from our germs.

Professor Schank explained how to identify each individual pig.

Their ears have a combination of notches that sum up to a unique number. Their left ear represents which litter they belong to and their right ear represents which individual pig they are.

It was not the most pleasant smell but the piglets’ cuteness made up for it.

Each of us picked a piglet or sow to observe their activity levels. After all our data is complied, we will analyze the information to create a poster presentation in our lab groups – science fair style.

My piglet who I named “Spots” is in the back right.

Yesterday, I met up with friends at Raja’s for their lunch buffet.

My friends Sam and Claire love this place and it was Nicole‘s and my first time. Boy, was it a treat! We couldn’t believe it’s took us this long to eat here especially since it’s just off campus. Right as I entered, Taranbir, the owner greeted me as I spotted my party and welcomed me to grab a plate and get my feast on.

Everything smelled so good and my mouth was watering as I filled my plate.

The berry colored sheers dressing the window made the place feel very homey. I felt like I was treated like family, Taranbir always checking if we had enough naan and bringing us delicious chai tea. Eating with real dining ware was a nice change compared to eating at the CoHo every day. The Bollywood films playing were also very amusing to watch.

Me and Sam. UComm buddies fo lyfe.

My first plate. Mmm. I really liked the fried potato slices.

Claire & Nicole with Taranbir.

Great company & food – what more could I ask for? What’s your favorite thing to eat at Raja’s?

Yesterday, I met up with my friend Jennifer who you may know as the foodie writing  for The Aggie last quarter. We actually met in a journalism class with Gary Goodman, where we both discovered the joys of writing and decided to minor in it. I chose Cloud Forest Cafe for lunch because my friend Saher and roommate Melanie both recommended the cafe’s panini’s to me. I love any opportunity to use a coupon from my Campus Special booklet. It’s located in downtown on 222 D St. between 2nd and 3rd.

Nice outdoor area to eat and observe the passersby.

I ordered The Cloud Forest Panini, #1 on the menu.

I’m not much of a coffee person so I love they offer fresh juice and smoothies. I heard their orange juice is the best so I’ll probably get the Davis Sunshine next time.

Also, I love Italian sodas! But only with half and half. The first time I ever had an Italian soda it came with half and half and every time afterwards I’d be very confused when it didn’t. You must try it if you haven’t.

The space is very open and looks like a prime study spot.

I always appreciate when places showcase local artists work – especially photography.

They have free wi-fi but I wonder how they regulate the 2 hour limit. I imagine they let it slide if there are empty tables. This would be the only reason I would not come to study.

They roast their own beans which you can purchase.

There’s also pastries to go with your coffee from Village Bakery.

Jennifer ordered The Villager with potato salad.

The sandwich was so delicious I lost my concentration listening to Jennifer and had to pause our conversation just to focus on eating. I swear avocado makes the world go round. Avocado and garlic pesto. Not to mention focaccia bread is my favorite. That and ciabatta bread which both are the only options for sandwiches. Focaccia bread absorbs the spreads much better which makes each bite flavorful. Definitely going back again! Have you been here? What’s your favorite thing to order?

A few weeks ago, I fell in love with a pen. An Avery eGel Retractable pen to be exact. I have no idea how I became in possession of it but I am ever so grateful. Note taking in class and for homework became enjoyable because the pen writes so smoothly, does not bleed at all and the ink’s color is so rich. Now, I’ve never been one to be excited about buying writing utensils except the time in middle school when I HAD to have Paper Mate erasable pens. My family keeps a bag of free pens we’ve accumulated over the years and that has been my school supply source. It’s only natural that in my last year as a college student I become OBSESSED with a pen. I first checked out Target when I was doing other shopping errands and ended up buying a pack of gel pens from another brand that seemed comparable. Boy was that a disappointment – the pen bled so much my test paper looked like it was about to suffer from an oil spill. Then I checked out Office Max and to my surprise they did not have it either. They said I could have an order sent to the store but it was only sold in dozens. I loved the pen but did not want to make that kind of commitment yet. I searched online but did not want to fork over money for shipping. To my delight, a girl in my class last week asked what kind of pen I was using. I gladly let her try it out and right after she said that she would be down to split an online bulk order. Right after class I wanted to check one more place before resorting to buying online – the campus bookstore.

I looked and tried out their other gel pens but was not satisfied. I noticed there were lots of other pens dispersed throughout the store so I decided to go to the customer service desk to have them do a search. The girl who helped me said they did not have any in store and that Avery is more of a paper company. (That’s why the pens so hard to find!) She was very empathetic and nice and introduced me the bookstore’s catalog.

The Bookstore can special order all sorts of things – even medical supplies for the MedCenter.

I found it amusing there was a Breakroom section.

She found my pen! They also have it available in blue.

So I decided to order 5 more black pens and 2 blue pens to try. What’s awesome about special ordering at the bookstore  is you don’t have to pay for shipping. Special orders take around 2-3 business days to arrive.

They called me yesterday to say my order was in and I picked them up today after class. I was super happy because my original pen ran out of ink on Sunday – such perfect timing!

The blue is beautiful and I thought I’d doodle on my order form for you to take a look. I feel a little silly sharing this with you all but it’s the little things in life – right? Definitely check out the store catalog if you don’t find what you’re looking for in the bookstore. Do you have any favorite school supplies? Any purchases from our bookstore that you absolutely love? Let me know in the comments – I would love to try out other writing tools.