otter reALM NEWSPAPER ARTICLES |
I do not need to be the one to tell you, but with Halloween and Thanksgiving now firmly out of the way, there can be only thing that rapidly approaches… Christmas.
Too many, Christmas might signal the best part of the year. A time for relaxation, a time for cold weather, for snow and hot chocolate by the fire. A time to eat food like there’s no tomorrow, taking peace in the knowledge that it’s ok because of course, it is Christmas. A time for gifts, for sharing, for yuletide cheer and a time, indeed, for friends and for family. A no doubt captivating and eagerly anticipated time of year is in store for these such people but I ask you my friends… is this really the Christmas you are blessed with each year? Is it not a time filled with unavoidable stress, screaming kids and awkward conversations with family members we don’t really know? Does Christmas not come and go with every passing year and leave in its wake, not but watered-down memories of the Christmas we once loved and cherished as children? After all, as a now 22-year-old semi-grown up, Santa Claus has well and truly vacated-the-building or has at least put me on his bad list for the foreseeable future given that the best I can hope to receive these days are socks and cheap deodorant. No but forgive me if you will, but I’m drawing the line on Christmas this year. No longer will I allow Christmas to rob me of what little I have left in my already moth filled wallet. The yearly routine of last minute dashes to buy (arguably) mediocre presents for friends will just have to stop. Nor will I be bullied into, sit through, or endure any more soul destroying conversations on how much weight the dog has put on or if anyone remembers that *insert song that no one remembers*. Love or hate it, Christmas appears to come loaded with a set of obligations that we as individuals feel compelled to uphold and as a student and young adult, it is my intention to question whether now, at this age, it is sometimes ok to ignore these obligations. For example, as an international student studying overseas, I have decided to spend Christmas in New York City this year because the opportunity presented itself and the likelihood of being able to do so again other than this year is unlikely. Naturally this means I will be away from home and family and will disrupt the usual traditions this year. Is this a selfish decision? The fact that I will be absent from putting up a Christmas tree on a certain date or singing Christmas carols in the village center? Maybe not. But being away from those who love us? Yes. The point being is that this is only just one such dilemma that we are likely to face as we get older and begin to build lives for ourselves. You may be in a relationship and torn between choosing whether to spend Christmas day with your family this year or theirs? Or perhaps your hometown friends want to go out on Christmas Eve because everyone is now twenty one, but this would mean skipping the annual Christmas party put on especially each year by your aunt. Evidently, the decisions we make at Christmas time are likely to cause some degree of change and/or disruption to someone or something. The best we can do is hope to not upset too many people. “I see Christmas today as little more than just another excuse for excess commercialism. Yet another holiday for companies to exploit individuals which just leads to greed. I love my friends and family and appreciate them every day. I don’t need a special day where I am obliged to spend it with them.’ Said Moritz ‘Mo’ Bartsch, Business Major and International Student of CSUMB. Mo will be spending his Christmas on Waikiki Beach Hawaii this year, a first for being away from home at Christmas time and as an active choice to drop the usual traditions and to spend it differently. He does also raise a point. We are spending more and more every Christmas and for what? Do we feel obliged to buy each other gifts and sometimes gifts that we knowingly cannot afford? I would say so and this again boils back down to my argument that these obligations we experience are at times excessive and hinder how we really would like our Christmas’ to be. That being the case, I say this year, allow yourself a little Scrooge time and do something for yourself on your terms. Down with tradition! For one year at least…
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Clothing – If it’s pre-loved clothing you’re into, it has to be Goodwill (266 Res Rd, Marina; 729 Broadway Ave, Seaside) and Plato’s Closet (402 Lighthouse Ave, Monterey). Each of these little gems offer great prices for minimal spending. I found a Versace shirt in Plato’s for $20 dollars. I’m not sure they realized it was Versace but I obviously didn’t complain. Not into trawling through second hand clothes? No problem. Instead, take advantage of Asos.com a 10 percent student discount upon registration with Unidays (it’s free don’t worry). If shopping online is more your style, you could enjoy six free months of Amazon Prime, allowing you free next day delivery on basically anything you order as well as a selection of 15,000 free movies to watch whilst you wait for that speedy delivery.
Happy Hour – Errebody loves happy hour. If you’re British like me (which you’re probably not) you might like the array of British pubs that are scattered around Monterey. The Britannia Arms (444 Alvarado St, Monterey) serves $4 drinks from 3:30-6:30 p.m. all week and has the best Karaoke in town… if you dare. The London Bridge Pub has happy hours from 3-6 p.m. and serves great, traditional ales like Old Speckled Hen, Black Sheep and Guinness from $3. They also have outdoor fire pits. Yes to the fire pits. Likewise, the Bulldog British Pub offers the same except its happy hour all day on Sunday and they also have fries and nachos at $5 as something to wash down with your drinks. Whilst we’re talking about food, I would encourage you all to check out secretmenus.com. It’s a website that tells you how to get food served at fast food restaurants that aren’t featured on their menus. Treats like the Monster Mac (it has eight patties… eight!) at McDonalds and the Burritodilla at Chipotle are up for grabs! And finally, if you’d rather just skip the food idea altogether and be about the drinking, you can use thehappyhourfinder.com to search for the happy hours of bars in your area or if you have one particular place in mind. Travel plans for Thanksgiving? Here’s what you need. Skyscanner- Without a doubt the most efficient, comprehensive, and reliable flight comparison website I have used in my time as a super scrimper student. The website scours, compares and delivers you the cheapest possible flights from every possible airline/independent travel website known to man in order to bring you the juiciest deal. If you can be flexible on your dates, the site allows you to search the entire week, month or year, customizing your outgoing and return dates to create the cheapest available trip. On top of this, all prices that you see on website are live prices meaning what you see at the time of viewing is what you get – no hidden costs or prices that don’t exist anymore. Simply click on the deal and Skyscanner will transfer you to the respective company offering the flight. Retailmenot– Is a website devoted to giving penny pinchers like myself, the opportunity to save money via online coupons and discount codes. You can search for any retail outlet/restaurant/attraction you like to see if there are any codes available. In terms of travel however, there are tonnes of codes listed for Hertz Rent-a-Car – perfect if you are planning on doing some travel around California this fall break, or if like me, your only mode of transport are the legs you walk with or the MST bus. Some codes included are ‘up to 30% off – any location’ ‘free car upgrades’ and ‘$25 dollars off weekly or weekend rental.’ Not only that, but once you have got the discounted price online, when you go in to collect the car, you need to ask (kindly but cunningly) for further discount. If you are under 23, the company charges you more to rent by default. However, by asking to have the underage fee waived, more often than not the staff comply which would knock off up to $20 a day. The morning of October 20th marked the official start to The Dunes Shopping Center’s next phase of expansion, spearheaded by the construction of a 5 screen movie theatre set for completion summer 2015. “A state of the art, NextGen, all digital projection with 7.1 surround sound” will come with the development of the theatre said Jennifer Wood, Cinemark representative and guest speaker for the day. A NextGen Theatre provides the customers with wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-ceiling screens, Barco DLP projectors as well as RealD 3D versatility. The theatre’s presence in Marina will be the fourth Century theatre in the Monterey Bay area and the sixty-sixth in the state of California. A long awaited process, both by investors and members of the surrounding community, Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado explained to the crowd of commissioners and community invitees in attendance at the groundbreak, that the theatre can be a catalyst for attracting future businesses and an important next step in The Dunes’ retail expansion. “Although the city has invested $275,000 as an incentive, it will be made up in sales and property taxes from the theatre, new business that will locate here because of the theatre and new customers that will come because of this development,” said the Mayor Delgado. Shea Properties are responsible for the existing retail outlets found currently at The Dunes on Monterey, which is anchored by Target and includes Best Buy, Kohl’s, REI and Old Navy. With Marina Community Partners, it will continue to expand the master planned-community set aside for The Dunes which is was selected by the State Department of Housing and Community as a Silver level Catalyst community that will impose innovative strategies to increase the supply of affordable housing. Plans for a theatre complex based at The Dunes on Monterey have faced setbacks over the past 10 years, with factors including high development costs on Fort Ord (demolition of blight) as well as “dark days in the economy”, specifically referring to the recession of 2008 that affected a countless people in the western world, have hindered the development process. However, through partnership with Marina Community Partners and “the vision and leadership of Marina city council members” could plans for development really transpire, said Jeff Melrose, Vice President of Shea Properties. “This will be a great addition to Marina, which is becoming recognized as one of the best places locally to enjoy a great entertainment and shopping experience,” Melrose said. The planned focal point and place of gathering, the Dunes on Monterey as it is so called, is set to include 42 acres of park, a transit hub with bus priority access and a Department of Defense/Veterans Affairs clinic. According to local press release by PR.com, is it thought that the theatre will stimulate local job creation and retention, generating as much as 800 construction jobs, several thousand permanent jobs with an expected $193 million annual payroll by 2020. The prospect of a new cinema to the youth, families and seniors of the Marina area is highly anticipated with “people asking for a cinema for a long time” Said the mayor. Students of California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) can hope to share in such benefits, with campus sitting just adjacent to the future theatre. Mayor Delgado concluded, “It’s a university town and you can’t have one of those without a theatre”. For eager cinema-goers, the first choice of movies showing at the new site include, Star Wars Episode 7, The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2, Jurassic World and The Minions. Such films are set to take huge box office revenues and with the Century’s latest addition to the area, will no doubt only increase takings for the blockbuster season. Otter Realm; http://otterrealm.com/2014/10/30/cine-mark-their-territory/ |
By James Morley
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