Spring Columbus To-Do List

For the remainder of my Columbus To-Do List, I decided to make a switch to the Coffee Shop list. I realized that the end of the semester had snuck up on me, and that I would not have time to do the OAC list before the deadline. I went in with an open mind, and found that I enjoyed the coffee shop list! I went to Mission, Imperro, One Line, Kafe Kerouac, and Boston Stoker coffee shops.

Mission Coffee is a coffee shop unique unto its own. The shop is in what was once probably a garage, and the front wall is to this day still a glass and wood garage door. Despite the humble space, there is plenty of room on the finished wood floors at tables and in chairs. While there, I saw many people studying, taking a lunch break, and meeting in business attire. The hot chocolate here is for real. Some of the best. I’d recommend this shop highly to anyone who needs to study or needs to chill. The store is open and has not only plenty of room for work, but also plenty of chairs for chilling for a few hours.

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Imperro coffee has a unique feel to it. Being right on High St., the shop has a little more hustle and bustle than other shops, but offsets this with a darker, more relaxed mood. The trek down to Imperro was not bad either, as the shop is closer to campus than Melt. I would definitely recommend this shop to a friend. The shop, even though it is right in the middle of High, feels a little bit out of the way, and is a good place to go to for some quiet.

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One Line coffee is an experience in itself. The shop is just a little ways down from Imperro, yet has its own unique feel. The shop is well lit, which is strange for coffee shops nowadays, and has large, street-facing windows. This gives the shop a very open feel, along with the interior, which is sparse, save for the counter where the coffee magic happens. The coffees offered may be a tad expensive, but are definitely exotic and flavorful. I would recommend this shop to a friend with a more serious appreciation of coffee. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that anyone attempt to study here, though. The tables and seating areas were sparse and compact, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for work.

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Kafe Kerouac seems like a nothing-special coffee shop on the outside, but inside the store has a comfortable, homey feel. The staff were friendly as well. I would recommend this shop to anyone who is willing to travel a little ways North of campus for a pretty decent cup of coffee. I completely forgot to get a picture of the shop, sadly, otherwise one could begin to appreciate the feeling of  hometown coffee shop that Kafe Kerouac gives off.

 

The Boston Stoker shop is a fairly long walk from campus. But, if one has some time and a bike, the shop is well within reach. The shop itself doesn’t draw much attention to itself, as it is located in a strip mall adjoined to a Giant Eagle. Though it is a small shop, what they sell is worth the journey. I got a strawberry banana smoothie, just to shake things up, and it was one of the best smoothies I have had. Though the drinks are a little pricey, a good drink every once in a while is well worth it. I’d recommend this place to any real coffee nerd, as the selection isn’t massive, but what the shop does have is not of poor quality.

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I enjoyed, more than the shops themselves, walking to the shops. It was a good way to see the city, and made me notice a lot of the smaller stores scattered along the city streets of Columbus. I want now to take some time finding my way round the city, stopping into new shops that you don’t really notice as you go by on a bus or in a car. I’ve learned to think smaller and more numerous when thinking of Columbus treasures. In this city, it isn’t about big monuments or landmarks, but about small shops and groups of people.

 

Earth Month – The Week After the Week After Week 2

For my last challenge of Earth Month, I decided to take only the stairs down out of Morrill, and the stairs up to my room at least once daily. This was a lifestyle change, for sure. I actually had a hard time even remembering to take the stairs, in fact, because using the elevator is so second nature to me now. I feel a deeper appreciation for the elevators now, after spending a week almost without them. Even though they break down all the time, don’t always come when called, and get pretty crowded early in the morning, the elevators are a central fixture in Morrill Tower life, and deserve a little appreciation now and again.

Overall, I would describe my Earth Month experience as positive. I learned a lot about how to find little, easy ways to reduce my carbon, energy, and waste footprints. I flt accomplished every time I turned off a light or took the stairs. I have a more acute understanding of how modern conveniences play into my lifestyle, and how unnecessary many of them are. I’ve learned that I can, more easily than I thought, make small lifestyle changes over time, culminating in big impacts. I will continue at least some of these challenges in my daily life, for sure, and hope to add many more little challenges going forward. Namely, I will continue to unplug the things I don’t use, and only charge my things during the day. I will use colder water in my showers, and will limit my time in the shower altogether. I hope to be able to keep up the motivation to take the stairs before the elevator.

I think it would be interesting to begin another challenge, maybe one in the field of food and waste. I hear often about how wasteful many modern practices are, with respect to food. I could start limiting my red meat intake every week, begin eating more vegetarian options, and maybe even have some days where all I eat is vegetarian options, cutting out meat completely for a day or two every week or every other week. I will continue to experience with ways to make my life more efficient in the future.

The Earth Month Challenge assignment as  whole is a very solid idea, I think. I really did enjoy trimming unnecessary habits from my every day life. As a student in ENR, I think it very prudent that ENR lead the way in publicizing and participating in green and sustainable activities, and I believe that this challenge is a very good way to do that.

Earth Month – The Week After Week 2

For my Earth Month Week 3 challenge, I chose to charge all my electronics (which consist of my laptop and phone) during the day, so that I would be awake to disconnect the chargers from the outlets as soon as the devices were charged. This challenge was supposed to help me reduce the wasted power my inactive chargers consume during a week.

This challenge was really a success. Depending on the charger, significant amounts of energy can be wasted by simply being plugged in for long periods of time. I found that unplugging the chargers was not a difficult task, and was one I could remember to do, until the point where unplugging all inactive devices became habit. I didn’t feel like this challenge was much of a challenge or a burden. Though, the ease of this challenge isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The Earth Month Challenge is, to me, a way to show participants that there are multitudes of easy, inexpensive, and economical ways to reduce our personal energy footprint. I believe I have found such a way in this challenge. For this reason, I say that my week three was a success! I will continue to unplug and consciously recharge my computers and phones in the future. My only difficulty in this challenge was finding stretches of time where I was home and could remember to charge my phone and laptop while I was awake, as opposed to my usual practice of doing so whilst asleep. This dissipated, though,as the week progressed and I became more aware of how little my life is made easier by overnight charging.

Next week, I move on to the most physically difficult challenge I have committed to; I will be taking the stairs all the way down from the 10th floor of Morrill Tower each time I have to leave. Likewise, I will be climbing all the way up these stairs at least once daily. This practice will reduce the energy I use in taking the elevator by about half. I anticipate he most difficult aspect of this challenge will be floors 8 and 9. That is to say, I’m probably going to be at a loss for motivation by the time I climb up to floor 8. I also anticipate coming out of the final week of Earth Month with a more profound appreciation for the Morrill Tower elevators and the legwork that they save.

Earth Month – Week 2

For the second week of Earth Month, I challenged myself to use my bedroom light only in times of true need. This challenge was designed to both reduce my energy footprint and serve as a lesson in appreciation of modern comforts.

Originally, I had thought this challenge would not be difficult at all, as I only really ever enter my bedroom to go to sleep at night. At least, this is what I thought. I had to remind myself each time I passed through the threshold of my room that I was not to use the overhead light if at all possible; that I was instead to rely on whatever light came through from the ridiculous floodlights trained on the outside of the building, urban light pollution, and natural sunlight. I realized I enter and exit my bedroom far more often than I previously thought, which is just an interesting insight into my own lifestyle and habits. By the end of the week, all in all, I had decided that the challenge went well. I only used the lights a handful of times, after all. There were however a few lapses in my memory where I used the lights. To aid with this, I could put a piece of paper or tape over the light switch so that there is a physical barrier actively preventing me from forgetting and mindlessly flipping the switch on my way into the room.

Next week I will be adopting the practice of charging my electronics only when I am awake and around to monitor them. I hope to, in this way, reduce the amount of electricity I use in my day-to-day life, as well as prolong the health of my batteries (or, at least the batteries that are old enough to be ruined by overcharging). I anticipate this minor routine change will go smoothly. I look forward to being without my phone for a few hours every day, and likewise with my laptop.