May 2, 2024
Keeping in time with the Mills Community since 1917
Many might assume that Kavita Ramdas, the president and CEO of the Global Fund for Women and the featured speaker for this year's Commencement, would be an austere presence - all dignity and respectability.
After all, she is a trustee for both Mount Holyoke (her alma mater) and Princeton University.
One of the best-kept Oakland secrets is that the Oakland Public Library, just like its better-funded Berkeley sister, currently has a tool lending library.
This means you can go and borrow anything from a power saw to a wrench or putty knife totally free, provided you return it on time.
It may seem a little early to think about summer travels, but in this economy, the earlier the better. Traveling can be expensive. There are transportation and lodging costs, food and entrance fees. But like anything, there are some good ways to save on traveling.
If you are one of the many students who plan to stay on campus this semester for spring break, don't dread a week of boredom and sleeping in. (Who dreads sleeping in anyway?) The Bay Area is filled with opportunities to get outside, get exercise and be one with nature.
I love the flea market but the only large one in Oakland, the Laney College Flea Market, has a suspicious amount of car radios and other small electronic items. The vibe is more back alley deal than fun treasure hunting. So I must wait every year for the mere two days when the White Elephant Sale throws open its doors to rummage sale heaven.
The expression "There is no such thing as a free lunch" has never been at its most accurate.
Now that the global economy is feeling the post Housing Boom blues, expect to see a lot more invitations to events where the lunch is "brown bag," meaning you bring it yourself.
It occurred to me the other day as I was happily searching for coupons online that I had become something I once feared, but now embrace: cheap. Some people, and I used to be among them, would be horrified to be called cheap. But after years of being a student, I have come to the conclusion that being cheap does not imply being ungenerous and that unless I attach a moral value to spending money, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being cheap.