It seems to me we have a crisis of epic proportions on our hands. Something so horrible, I’m not even sure I can type it without bursting into tears. There may come a time where people will speak of this day in sadness; for now, subdued whispers must occupy this moment of unparalleled urgency.

As many of you are aware of, I am speaking about Muchas Gracias. Not the restaurant itself, per se. But the lack of freshman affiliation with the famous Oregon burrito.

Now there was a time when a kind-hearted upperclassman would befriend an incoming student and teach him the ways of Linfield. The really important things to know about, like Cat Cabs and football games and to not mix liquor and wine together (I WISH I’d learned that freshman year). And, of course, Muchas Gracias. A small, podunk, dirty restaurant run by some of the friendliest people you’ll meet at 3 am. Open forever and serving Hispanic food that doesn’t resemble mush (Taco Bell/Dillin both can’t claim that), it’s been a staple of every Linfield student who’s hungry past midnight.

It is with sadness that I note that freshman don’t seem to be aware of this gloriousness yet. Most of the freshman I’ve spoken to are aware of Muchas, but haven’t been given an opportunity to indulge themselves yet. Considering it’s one of the most important rite of passage at Linfield, this needs to rectified.

Immediately. Colloquium advisors, take your freshman out this coming week. Peer advisors, workstudy students, all others who actually read this blog (so nobody?), come together and seek out students who haven’t truly experienced the unique state of being a giant burrito offers. Let them taste the joyous flavor of a thousand calorie pile of steak, fries, and more steak, wrapped in a flour tortilla bigger than your hand.

Soon, we will all be swimming in finals and there will be little time to enjoy one of the greatest gifts Linfield has to offer. There is still time. Break through the ignorant protests of all who refuse and guide them to something bigger than themselves. And remember that while it may be a big burrito, they still don’t accept credit cards for less than $5. Luckily it isn’t just about a burrito, it’s about bringing change into their lives.

Make a difference in a freshman’s college experience. Hey, it beats actually getting to know them, right?

Another lovely update to the ole’ bucket list. My time at Linfield is quickly coming to a close (and not soon enough, I might add) and I’m double and triple checking my mind, trying to think of things I’ve always wanted to do while here.

I found something else. I’ve never been a particularly good student (actually, the word abysmal comes to mind) and one of the reasons is my flat refusal to include myself in most discussions. I’m usually well prepared, but I’m so bad (think George W. bad) at speaking that I generally convey something completely different from my intended point.

In high school, I took this to heart early, letting my work outproduce my classroom presence and calling it good. However, in college participation is far more important and much of my grades have reflected my inability to communicate even basic facts intelligently. When I am forced to speak, I always look and sound unprepared, leading me to rarely even try anymore.

Which leads me to my next goal. I’m going to be working on talking more. Because I don’t have the wherewithal to do that of my own accord, I’ll be utilizing the number one form of courage I have at my disposal- alcohol. A few shots and I become way more talkative, and I think it’s time to see if I can jumpstart my own studies. I’m not condoning getting before a class obviously, just a few shots to loosen up (for a 21+ person of course).

So one my goals is get a little tipsy for every one of my classes this year. I’m inclined to think it could help. Should be fun either way.

What’s always been intriguing to me is how little we seem to care about the food we put in our mouths. We’ll pretty buy anything that sounds good, caring much more about the presentation of the food than where it came from. Sugary foods, fattening foods, foods made entirely out of artificial ingredients… we’ll eat anything and everything.

That alone should be concerning. I’d hate to say the food industry has completely control over us, but they’re definitely winning the battle for our wallets over natural, healthy, more expensive food. Americans aren’t fat because they’re cheap (not explicitly true, as many lower classes do experience this problem), they’re fat because they make bad choices.

And who’s to blame? It seems like American culture always needs someone to blame. We get fired and we sue the employer. We flunk out of college and we protest our terrible school system. We have a disorder for every form of deviant culture known to man. We love dumping our problems on somebody else.

Well, in this case we might be one to something. The system set in place isn’t exactly conducive to healthy eating, and it’s difficult to know how food was prepared at your local grocery store. Rarely do we find truly organic things beyond a few markets and its way more expensive usually.

This means the burden of eating healthy falls entirely onto the thinking individual. You can’t just go to the store and find a healthy diet aisle. You need to constantly plan and budget this extra food in. I actually get a copy of the food pyramid and attempt to plan out my meals in advance, which gives me time to buy and prepare everything I need for a healthy meal. It’s smarter, simpler, and forces you to eat better.

Give it a shot for a week or two. I guarantee you’ll feel more comfortable knowing what you’re eating and probably lose a few pounds too.

Matt Olson- Food Blog

Recently I’ve been intrigued by all the cooking tricks I’ve never learned. I have, for example, no clue how to properly cut vegetables. I spend a portion of my time hacking them into bits every night, which takes way longer than it should. Slicing and dicing veggies properly is easily learned through instruction. I just need some advice from that food network all the cool people are watching these days.

But why, though, am I even needing advice? Something as simple as cutting veggies seems so easy to teach, you’d think we’d all have had a lesson or two by now. Perhaps the females in my life have, and the gender walls we’ve built have kept me from learning this. If so, I’m jealous. I mean, ignoring all those male privileges, guys have it pretty rough…

It would seem I’m not the only one coming to college missing a few essentials. I’ve met enough freshmen who can’t do their own laundry or operate a vacuum. Way to look ahead, kids. Shoulda learned that in middle school. Of course, why blame the kid when we can point fingers at their educators? High schools have been booting Home Economics all the over the country. Brilliant.
Luckily we spend all that time in school learning how to pass standardized tests, which is extremely helpful after high school. I love being adequately prepared for life success.

Hmmm… If only Linfield had some sort of college preparation course for freshman? Good news! We have this Colloquium thing that does all sorts teaching to… Wait, maybe not. The only thing I remember from my Colloquium is that most people, including the professors, aren’t sure what it’s for. Might be time for a change. I’d love sessions on food preparation, cheap nutritional meals, daily health seminars, and living advice. A session run by college seniors on things they bought that dramatically improved their college career would be amazing. It’s like people enjoy watching me bumbling around, hacking at vegetables. Embarrassing.

Bucket List Blog- Matt Olson

I’ve recently completed one of my first check marks on my bucket list! I was able to participate in a Cat Cab (technically it was the open mic). My goal was only get on stage, not be the headliner, which never would’ve happened. I’m a terrible, atrocious singer who can’t hold a beat and has trouble following a rhythm. I also have zero experience playing an instrument, which makes me think I’m embarrassingly ill-talented (likely true).

Nevertheless, I went up to support a friend of mine who was singing (a lovely Junior lady named Kate) as she sang a Colbie Caillat song. My main plan was to stand there awkwardly and dance, which turned out to be more challenging than expected. See, I’m not used to being on the spot. I don’t even enjoy talking out loud in class, so imagine my mind when put in front of a bunch of people who I actually respect (not saying I don’t respect my classmates, as there are a few I do). I was freaking out.

I mean, have you ever actually been at a Cat Cab? It’s dark and crowded and you can’t see anyone onstage beyond the first row. You’re stuck beneath a number of bright colorful lights that the techs randomly placed on the stage (it’s true; I’m an A/V tech myself). It’s nerve wracking. I pretty much just froze and stood there for the whole song. I don’t remember a lick of what Kate sang (although I saw it all on video later) and I’m not real sure what I did. Something about snapping and swaying. I’m thinking my life will not be governed by big speeches or stage work. There’s a reason public speaking is the number one fear in America (death is number two, people are ridiculous).

But my night ended (finally) and I completed my goal. I got myself in the spotlight (or as close as I could, really) without embarrassing myself. I survived. And that, I think, is the goal of this bucket list. Sometimes thrive, sometimes survive, and always try something new. I did that and while I’ll never do it again, I’m glad I did. I’d call it win and I’m marking off it off the list. Whoo!