My guide to getting free stuff

I didn't think about it much until I entered university, but I love getting free stuff. I really do. It's fun. I learned about more ways to get free stuff through my years and I have some recommendations. I will elaborate more on free stuff I have gained and how that happened on a blog post that is currently in work in progress.

College

1) Attend events on campus
-I have received free stuff from the different fairs on the quad, sport games, The Buzz, and so on.

2) Be involved in a club, program, or organization
-Once in a while, there will be potlucks, so free food. Some clubs might offer free stuff, such as stickers, blue books, or pens.

3) Whenever there's a line, check it out!
-If there is a line for something, it's worth the wait. Sometimes it's free stuff or something awesome.
-Also, it's the same situation in which you see a lot of people with the same item around campus during the same time period.

Social Media

What I didn't expect, however, was that I can get free stuff through social media websites. I have gotten free stuff from both Facebook and Twitter. But, how did this happen?

1) Follow/Like companies or celebrities of interest.
-Sometimes they feel like rewarding their followers and it's nice to receive stuff from companies or celebrities, especially if you are fan.

2) Follow/Like hosts of twitter parties/chats
-@Resourcefulmom, @busymommymedia are just a couple of twitter hosts of twitter parties, which usually include awesome free stuff! You can check out their website to see if they have any other giveaways coming up or in their blogs.

3) Pay attention to the tweet timeline or updated statuses!
 -Know about opportunities, so you can participate and receive!
 -You find about about most contests, twitter parties, or promotions through tweets.

4) Check out the latest trends!
-A lot of the times, the trends on twitter may just be random fan stuff or about the latest news, but it could also be about winning a prize. Some companies promote themselves and they might have a top or promoted tweet of a giveaway.
-Also, if you check out some hashtags or trends, you might notice opportunities for popular twitter hosts or giveways.

Other Tips:

1) Do those surveys!
-There's Harris Poll and other survey sites, in which, you can receive free stuff after accumulating enough points for a certain prize.
-You might get a notice from emails asking you to participate and they might offer a gift card to a place you like.
-Some businesses online may have a survey you can take online or a link to it on your receipt and it might be to get something free!

2) Check your email!
-Your listservs, colleagues, or friends may know of a great opportunity for you. They might provide you information about events or surveys that might provide something free.

3) Apply for those samples!
Sometimes companies provide free samples of their products. So, if you ever feel that you want to try a product, check out their website or whatever and ask for a sample.

I love pizza

If you were to ask me what my favorite food was when I was a kid, my most likely response would be Italian. If you were to ask my what I can eat everyday, it would be pizza. I love eating pizza. I know I don't mention it in as many blog posts, but at them moment and for a while I prefer pizza over hamburgers. I can finish a whole Costco box of pizza in one day. Gosh, I'm getting hungry just talkin about food.

When I was in middle school or high school, I already knew my lunch choice when I was waiting in line for about 10-15 minutes. It was pizza. Well, it was until I started learning how to say sandwiches in French. But anyways, I just love eating pizza. I'm glad that there is a pizza place, conveniently close to wherever I am in America.

I like pizza places in both Davis and Sacramento. I haven't been to every pizza location. But, I won't refuse to try the pizza. I'm going to share some pictures of some pizza places that I have been this past year. However, the pictures do not reflect the number of times I went back to a pizza place.

I'm surprised that I don't have a picture of Pizza Guys. I use to go there a lot during my teenage years. My baby sister loves their garlic bread. That's what she always requested.

Pizza Rock in Sacramento

I really like Pizza Rock. It's on K street in Sacramento. It looks really nice from outside. I was so surprised by place. I love the pizza here. As you can tell from the picture above, the pizza is different from other places and pizza is definitely a specialty. I love the pepperoni part of this pizza. The pepperoni's were crispy and the whole thing tasted just right. I also like the other end that had all these different vegetables. The only part I didn't really like was the middle since I'm not a fan of onions on a pizza. I'm glad that Sacramento has a place like this, especially in Downtown Sacramento it's in need of good businesses like this.

Costco in Sacramento

I love meat on pizza. But, two of my siblings tend to peel the meat off. I eat the meat that they don't eat. In return, they eat the onions. ahahas

Costco in Sacramento

Although only 5 members of the family member actually eats pizza in the household, we have to order two boxes of pizza and in different toppings. Part of that is the pizza will definitely be gone before we all fall asleep at night. There's no such thing as saving when something is good and another one of us is hungry.

Village Bakery in Davis

 I like this place. It's petite, but it also means to it's use to order to go. So, whenever I am in the mood for a slice of pizza that's fast and delicious, I go here. This place has pizza that you can buy from the slice and it doesn't take long to wait if they all run out.

Village Bakery in Davis

I just think that one slice of pizza is not enough. There has to be at least two for me to be content or consider it as a meal.

Ciao at UC Davis coffee house

I really like that this place offers marina sauce. My routine of eating pizza at this place is finish the pizza until all you have is the crust. Then, I dip the crust in the marina sauce. That's actually my favorite part of eating this pizza.

Cafe Roma in Sacramento

I been to Cafe Roma before this year, but I recently tried their pizza. I had participated in a twitter giveaway for pizza, so I finally had the opportunity to try their pizza. When I came to redeem my free pizza, they allowed me to choose the pizza that I wanted to eat. I wanted pepperoni at the moment, so that was my choice. The pepperoni  did not look crispy, but it was and I like that.

Village Pizza and Grill in Davis

I think Village Pizza and Grill is part of Village Bakery. But, Village Pizza and Grill is different since it's a sit down environment that you can order different types of food. I tried the place a while ago and I really like the place. The pizza was delicious. Me and my siblings each had two slices and we were still hungry. We also tried the garlic bread and I think that was the best garlic bread I ever had. yum.

So, it seems that pizza still take the spot as one of my favorite foods to eat. But, I think maybe sandwiches or hamburgers have a shot in the future.

Oh, and I will be getting free pizza tomorrow for a meeting that I will be attending.

Week #2 in February

This was a very busy week for me.

On Monday, I had an internship meeting. I went by pretty quickly. Afterwards, I worked on creating a master email list. This internship seems pretty chill, but I think it's going to get more busy when the day of the festival approaches!

I had a paper due Tuesday and I was almost done on Monday night. Just needed to edit it. However, I had another paper due on Wednesday. And, I didn't do much preparation for that paper. So, I tried to finish my paper on Tuesday first before Wednesdays. I thought that I wouldn't like Wednesdays this quarter because I have classes for about 5 hours straight. But, it's Tuesdays that I enjoy less. On Tuesdays, I have to spend the night preparing for discussions, readings, and assignments for my classes on Wednesday. When Wednesday finally approaches, it's actually pretty quick and that kind of surprises me.

I had my other internship meeting on Wednesday. It was picture day, so we had to dress up nice. Well, at least from the top. I like dressing nice, but most of my professional clothes are summer focused. I don't have a lot of coats or pants. I mostly have several skirts and blouses. We also chose a design cover for the publication next year, but it's still going to be edited further. Also, for the internship I supported the first fundraiser at Ali Baba's by just mentioning APIA Searchlight Directory.

hamburger @ Ali Babas

french fries with ketchup @ Ali Babas

 On Wednesday and Thursday night, I prepared for my midterm on Friday. I skipped a lot of interesting meetings to study. When Friday approached, I was really nervous because I certainly didn't study enough. There was so much more I should have taken in and known. I came to my first class on Friday exhausted as always. I don't know what it is, but I always feel exhausted in that class. But, I still manage to take my notes. After that class, I went to take my midterm. When I got in, the students were immediately told to take the blue book out, so that we could start promptly. And, the professor had a timer, so the class would know when we could all start. I think he was the first professor to have a timer go off for a midterm to start. We had 50 minutes to finish the midterm. I could have used more time, but I finished the midterm with what I could have said. Now, I just have one more midterm to go!

On Friday, I really wanted to watch Underworld. But, it wasn't showing anywhere in Davis anymore. My next choice was The Vow. I knew it was going to be very popular this weekend and probably make #1, especially with Valentine's Day coming up. But, first, me and my housemate decided to eat and we went to Hoa Viet Restaurant. My housemate got the seafood noodle soup. I was in the mood for beef vermicelli, so that's what I got.

seafood noodle soup

beef vermicelli

 

finished beef vermicelli

Yes, I finished my vermicelli. Well, there's a tinsy part of the sauce in the bottom and a few vegetables. But, I didn't want to lick the bowl at the moment.

After we finished eating dinner, we headed over to watch the 7:45 screening for The Vow. I went to the parking garage and had to drive all up to the third floor. When we got downstairs to buy the tickets for The Vow, I noticed that a sign that said the tickets were sold out for the 7:45 showing. I was sad since we could have bought the tickets before dinner and we could have watched the movie. Also, I really wanted to watch a movie that evening.

When me and my housemate were on our way back to our apartment, we decided to go to the ARC. While we were there we found out about the gymnastics game and decided to go. However, we only made it to see UC Davis in the floor exercise. We were playing against Oregon state and Sacramento State. We ended up placing in third out of the three. And, we were only behind Sacramento State by about 2 points. Oh, so close!

Today, I really wanted to go to the Davis Farmers Market. I went last time, but I didn't get anything. But, today, I got a pretzel, chocolate croissant, and kernel popcorn. I was so close to getting apple juice, but didn't.

Davis Farmers Market

I like the Davis Farmers market. People of all ages and backgrounds are in one spot to support local businesses or goods. Also, some businesses allow you to try samples. There was this one business that had cheese samples. I love cheese sampling. Also, when I try samples, it allows me to try something new that I haven't tried before.

Davis Farmers Market

Davis Farmers Market

 

pretzel, kettle popcorn, and chocolate croissant

The croissant was yummy. It was very soft and definitely tasted like a pastry. It wasn't very flaky, so I like that. When I got the kettle corn, the person asked if I would like it tied. But, then, I saw the person ahead of me had it tied, but also lost some popcorn in the process. I wanted more popcorn, so I decided to eat some before closing it. I haven't tried the pretzel, but I hope I will like it.