Columbus To-Do List: Spring

The Columbus To-Do List was one of my favorite experiences this semester and this year. Last semester, the downtown list helped me get out and away from campus and into the city that we are so close to. I feel like the city is a big part of being an Ohio State student now that I have experienced it for myself. This semester however, I chose to stay close to home and pursue some relaxation points where I can go to get out of the dorm or just to enjoy a book.

The coffee and tea to-do list was a lot of fun, beginning with Mission Coffee off of High Street. As I said in my earlier post, it is a place I see myself going to every so often to enjoy. It may have also been my favorite of the coffee shops I visited. I went to a total of five coffee and tea spots around High street and the Short North, which is refreshing because they are so close. Also, a COTA bus runs up and down High street every 15 minutes, making it even easier to get to and from.

I actually ended up visiting Mission Coffee twice, since it was so close to the other shops on the list. It was very surprising the second time, because it was warmer out and they had opened he front garage door. The first time I visited, I didn’t realize that the front wall was a door that they could raise and lower. After Mission coffee, there was a short walk to Zen tea salon. Zen tea was a little fancier than mission, we had to wait to be seated before we could order anything. Zen may become my go-to to restock tea that I keep in my room. Right around the same area is Impero, a small coffee shop very similar to Mission. Though it was about half the size, it had the same feel as Mission which I really enjoyed. Out of chance, I ran into another ENR scholar who was there unrelated to the Columbus to-do list project. Next, a bit further than the other shops, was the Fox in the Snow Café. This café was located on a street perpendicular to high, about five or ten minutes from the cluster of other shops. The Fox in the Snow was larger, freestanding, and more like a restaurant than the rest. Unfortunately, when I visited, they had just closed. I arrived at 5:08 and they had closed for the day at 5:00. That was a little disappointing, so we chose instead to head to Cup o’ Joe.

This Columbus to do list was really enjoyable. I got an excuse to drink even more caffeine than I normally do, plus the weather could not have been better for the day I did the majority of the shops. I will definitely be going back to these spots next semester. I would also recommend this list to anyone who is a fan of coffee, tea, or a nice study spot.

This Earth month challenge was a great experience for me. Now that the four weeks are complete, I can look back on my challenges and be proud of those cold showers and energy saved. I believe that I made a difference with the challenges that I made for myself without going to far from my daily life. The experience I had doing it was also very positive, and I have no complaints at all about what I needed to do.

I have definitely learned more ways to conserve energy easily. There are hundreds of things to be done in any given day that don’t affect my daily life, but do affect my carbon footprint. My challenges included only four of the many things that I chose to do in addition to my weekly tasks. Simple things such as choosing food more carefully (reducing the amount of red meat or meat in general that is eaten) are a great way to begin making positive changes in your life. I plan on continuing things such as this, and eventually introduce new challenges to my life. Some things however, I may go back to. I enjoy hot showers too much to remove them completely from my life. Instead, I will reduce my time in the shower while keeping the water warm.

I would very much like to take on a new challenge from a new category of conservation. I may try my hand at vegetarian weeks or days in the future, but I feel that this will be more difficult than the challenges that I completed this month. If not that, than maybe something involving the waste and toxicity category. I don’t really know what changes I could make in order to affect the Earth in that aspect. I would be up to take on someone else’s challenges from this month if they took mine in return. I am curious to see what other people have done in order to reduce their carbon emissions and their footprint.

My Earth month challenge was a positive experience, and I would happily do it again next year or even next month with a few changes. My major change would be the challenges I do, because I love to experience new things in my life -even if they are challenges. Next year I plan on doing this again to a greater degree to see how hard it would really be.

The Earth month challenge is quickly coming to an end. This past week, I have been participating in each of my prior goals to reduce my carbon footprint, plus that week’s goal. The shorter, colder showers were basically what I expected them to be -not too fun, but not awful. It helps that I also reduced the time of the showers, because I don’t really enjoy standing in cold water. Ultimately I am happy with how it turned out, because I was almost used to it by the end of the week. This is very fortunate, because I have to continue doing it for another week. While the week progressed, I learned that every challenge I have done so far is not nearly as difficult s many people would expect them to be. Also, I expect that the amount of power I have saved is a lot larger than many people would expect. Water takes a lot of energy to heat up, and a long shower used a huge amount of energy is you are using hot water. I think that this will be the biggest energy reduction that I have done.

Next week, I will o longer be using the elevator to get from the lobby to my room. I am not excited for this, but I expect to get used to it like all the other challenges I have done so far. I don’t have to change anything about my days to participate in this challenge, which is nice. There is no lifestyle change, just a few extra minutes a week spent walking. I think that this is a good trade-off for the energy I am saving.

The Second week of the Earth month challenge has come to a conclusion. This week, I cut my usage of the campus bus system, and instead chose to walk around campus anywhere I needed to go. I found this week to not be terribly challenging, which is good to see. This is a good thing because that means that saving energy doesn’t have to be difficult. I did find however, that i should have left my heavier coats in my closet rather than taking them home. I assumed that winter was over, but this week has proven otherwise. For whatever reason, it was extremely cold -even snowing one day. This made walking around campus a little less pleasant, but still doable. Next year I’ll be sure to keep an extra winter coat in my closet, just in case another rouge snowstorm decides to show up.

I learned that saving fuel does not have to be difficult and many minor things can make a difference if everyone participates. Next week, I will be reducing the time and temperature of showers. I expect this week to be a little more difficult than the prior two weeks, mostly because I enjoy a hot shower. I’m not too worried, because I also don’t mind cool showers. I imagine that after the first few days, it will be habitual enough that I will not mind at all. The first few mornings will be a it more difficult. I look forward to adding this new routine to my life in addition to the past two weeks’ challenges.