Congratulations Overachievers!

Melissa Pucci has just told me that fifty-nine of you have already registered for BTFO, an incredible accomplishment, since registration only went live yesterday.

For those of you who haven't registered yet, you can do so here. Go ahead, you know you want to!

"Life off the Hill:" Flying

I’ve received several e-mails about area airports recently, so I figured that would make a great topic for this week’s blog post. After all, as you may have realized, YDS’ academic calendar is full of weeks off (which we like to call “reading periods,” even though very few of us do any reading until the last day off), which gives you plenty of opportunities to visit home, visit friends, or vacation in the south of France (for the record, I’m a great travel buddy if you settle on that last option).

Tweed New Haven Regional Airport is the closest choice, and it’s served by local public transportation. However, only US Airways flies to and from Tweed, so you can’t use it if you’re shopping around for cheap fares.

Personally, I’m a loyal Southwest Airlines customer, so the majority of my trips to the airport involve going to Bradley International Airport, which is located in a suburb of Hartford. (Southwest also services La Guardia, for the record). Bradley is located about an hour’s drive from New Haven, and you can get a ride there from Connecticut Limo [http://www.ctlimo.com/], which offers a Yale discount. (The downside of Connecticut Limo is that they only pick-up and drop-off at Phelps Gate, so you’re going to have to find your way to and from downtown New Haven.) Bradley is serviced by most major airlines.

Farther afield, you can get to both LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport via public transportation. However, carrying suitcases on subways and busses can be a hassle; luckily, Connecticut Limo will also take you to both airports.

Some people choose to fly out of airports in Boston or New Jersey, but travel to and from can become problematic or expensive. You’d likely be depending on the generosity of your fellow YDS students (who are a generous bunch), but it might be worth it for a good deal on your airfare.

Div Dictionary: Dale Mail

Dale Mail (n): A clearinghouse for communication to YDS staff and students from…well, just about anyone it seems. The primary means for sending and receiving information as mass emails.


Our dear and beloved Dean Peterson (at left), is in charge of many things. First and foremost, the Candy Bowl. Secondly, Dale Mail. Third in my hierarchy of Dale’s jobs is being Dean of Students. But that’s for another day perhaps.

Dale Mail, in short, is a sort of free-for-all communication device. People can send information to Dale that they want passed out. He screens it (I assume) and then passes it along to all of our @yale.edu accounts. Sounds great, right? If someone hears about how to get cheap tickets to the Yale Rep, if financial aid information needs to be passed along, info on a new program, a speaker coming to town, etc, then they send info to dalemail@yale.edu, and almost as if by magic we all share in the good news.

Now when I heard about this last year, I had two thoughts: 1. greatest thing since Nebraska’s last national championship, and 2. I need to sign up! Now, while it may be the first, there is no worry about the second: you will automatically receive Dale Mails.

In fact, you may sometimes wish you didn’t receive so many. It can be overwhelming at times. If you don’t check your email for a day or two, you may find 132 Dale Mails about the upcoming All School Conference, the joint Lutheran/Taize/Episcoterian service, and threads of the “Lost tote bag” and “Bag found, thanks” variety. Some people find it best to have Dale Mails sent to Gmail or sent as one email once a day. Great idea, but sometimes you miss out on timely info if you don’t get it until 12:00 that night. It’s also easy, with so many Dale Mails, to either glance over or delete them without reading. I would not in any way recommend this, and actually strongly advise against it. Info on scholarships, jobs, lectures, prayer requests, and other things that are quite important get announced through Dale Mail. Dismiss them too easily, and you miss the info (and “but I didn’t get the memo” doesn’t work when everyone knows you automatically receive Dale Mail).

So never fear, when you arrive and get email set up, you will soon be receiving the same insider information we currently get…just one of the many perks of this Village on a Hill.

"Life off the Hill:" Yale Locations You Need to Know

While YDS is a wonderful place, every once in a while you’ll need to venture down the hill to mingle with other Yale students. While it can be frightening at times to leave our “holy hill,” many essential Yale services are located downtown. Here are just a few to keep on your radar.

The Payne-Whitney Gym (70 Tower Parkway) offers free admission to all Yale students with ID. Remember the freshman fifteen? Well, now that you’re starting grad school, you’ve got more reading, more stress, and less free time, so your weight gain could be exponentially more. Plus, working out increases endorphin production, which means that you’ll feel happier.

The Yale Health Plan (17 Hillhouse Ave) provides free primary-care coverage to all Yale Students. For those of you enrolling in Yale’s health insurance program, the pharmacy here will provide your medicine co-pay free. Additionally, all Yale students receive twelve free counseling sessions an academic year through the Health Plan’s mental health services.

246 Church St (Yale likes really creative building names) houses the Student Employment Office. If you’re planning on being employed by Yale, you’ll be stopping by here to fill out forms and get on payroll.

Sterling Memorial Library (120 High St) is Yale’s central library, and the second largest library in the world. While you can have any books you need delivered to the circulation desk at the Divinity School Library, you should go see Sterling. It’s pretty.

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (121 Wall St), houses, you guessed it, most of Yale’s rare book and manuscript collection. Items in the Beinecke aren’t in general circulation, so you’ll have to visit this architecturally-significant building yourself.

Finally, the majority of your course packets will be available at Tyco Printing and Copying (262 Elm St), a local Kinkos-alternative. For the record, whenever you buy a course packet from Tyco, you get a 20% off coupon for any other printing needs you may have.

"Village on a Hill": Introductions: Patricia Ojeda



It’s the end of the week. For you, that could mean many things. For me, it means the end of week four of my Hebrew Intensive class. I am pleased to report that I am alive, and—despite some claims—actually capable of smiling still. Being Presbyterian, Hebrew and Greek are required for ordination. Some claim it’s to encourage lifelong personal education of the Bible. Some claim it’s just so Presbyterians have one more reason to feel superior to others. All I know is that one of my classmates is in the class b/c as a UCC member, he doesn’t like the thought that a Presbyterian would “one-up”/know more than him. While I am still very excited to learn Hebrew, at times I do find myself thinking about some simple solutions that would allow me to be more rested this summer. Usually this involves dropping Hebrew, changing denominations, and taking up tree-hugging. Then I remember that Hebrew used to be required for all Yale freshmen, my Puritan guilt comes into play (which Google must feel that I learned reading this book), I feel that I’m not living up to the standards of the school, and back to Hebrew I go.

All that goes to say that I’ve been busy of late, and so am only now starting another part of “Village on a Hill”. When I was a prospective/incoming student, the YDS website was helpful for finding pictures of various smiling professors and staff members. Very professional. But they pages didn’t tell me about the people as much as I would have liked. Take Jeremy Hultin for instance. He’s interested in “discourse” and is working on “obscene speech”. He went to Ohio State, the site says (which is INSANE because everyone knows it’s The Ohio State University. But what about his passions outside of the classroom? I didn’t know that he was an avid sportsman, loves to bike (and has a bike so great that even someone with no knowledge of bikes can see it’s pretty stellar) and all-around swell guy until I got here. Yale, take note: I think that’s important stuff to know!

So I’m on my one-person crusade to let you meet these people as people, not just as Deans, professors, custodial staff, IT specialists, etc. The first person I’m introducing you to is the one and only Patricia Ojeda. If you have been lost at YDS, chances are you’ve sought her services. She is the smiling, bubbly, ever-so-slightly-snarky-when-she-arches-her-eyebrow-because-you-did-something-silly woman at the front desk. Her actual title is “Office Assistant/Receptionist/Mailroom Director”. Really, she knows it all. So, below, a few extracts from an interview with THE Patricia Ojeda…


Q: How did you get to YDS, and why are you still here?
A: As part of a program from New Haven—which is now expired—called New Haven Resident Training Program. I graduated with a 2-year degree from Gateway. This (YDS) was one of the first places to pick from the program and I’m still here. I got here five years ago, and I love it. I love this environment, I love working directly with the students.

Q: Many people see your face first when they come to YDS. Does this make you the “Face of YDS”?
A: Am I the face of YDS? I feel I’m the first face, I have that connection of face-to-face. I’m not a teacher or dean so students can feel free and talk. Students will ask for help getting somewhere—getting ANYWHERE—and the staff is always here to help…even asking people where their shoes are*. So I’m not the “Face of YDS” but I am here to help and be a friendly face.

*remember the arched eyebrow look I mentioned? I hadn’t been wearing shoes for a few weeks, and so I earned the look. If you ever get the look, just remember that it comes from love.



Q: What advice do you have for students coming to YDS?
A: This is like a family. A big community, but a small family, and we help each other. Even though this is a work place for many of us, we’re still part of the family. Does the family always get along? Huh, no, you kidding me! There are some characters out there. But we’re still a family. Also, my favorite yogurt is Yoplait Light Orange Crème, and I recommend it.
Q: Following that up, what specific fashion advice would you give the incoming student who needs wardrobe assistance?
A: If you want to fit in, just be yourself. We like fashion statements. Wear a bright yellow mid-winter. Be you. Please don’t use shorts in the winter, or sandals in the middle of the winter. It’s cold.

Q: What should people call you during BTFO?
A: The Lady (laughs), or Pat or Patricia.

Q: What is the most pressing thing people need to know from you?
A: I am in charge of the mailroom and the lockers in the Commuter Lounge. Every student will get a mail box, and keys will be given out during BTFO. Keys are returned each summer, and there is a $25 fee for lost keys. For lockers, we have a limited number available, so priority is given to commuter students for lockers. We provide a padlock for them, and the lockers will be ready for pick the week of BTFO.

Q: Do you know everything?
A: Yes, and if I don’t then I find out. I got some connections…I always find the answer. Or if not, I can direct you.

Q: It seems that people come to you for assistance of any kind. What does your job NOT entail?
A: Checking final papers. People have asked, and I’m like ‘no, thank you’ and direct them to Micah Luce (of the Student Book Supply) instead. I’m more than happy to help you with The Spanish, though. Spanish is good. If you need help, people kinda practice their skills with me. The people who went to El Salvador, I had them on target. If they want to practice with me, or if not, I am here to help.
How good is your Spanish Alex?

Q: Muy mal. So what is the most odd question you have ever been asked?
A: Someone recently asked me where to get girls’ clothes for a guy.



Q: Can you tell us a bit more about yourself? What makes you you?
A: I have been married 11 years as of June 2, I have two sons- David and Dylan (4 and 5). David is the “I got things to do” kid and Dylan will be a heartbreaker. I was born in Puerto Rico, am ½ Cuban and Puertaricana, and have been here in New Haven 11 years.

Q: I have noticed that this summer you always have a bowl of Jolly Ranchers available. Usually, our Dean Peterson tries to have a lot of candy in his for people who need a pick-me-up. His is called The Candy Bowl (thus the name of this blog). But his has been empty of late. Are you a better bearer of the candy?
A: I will always try to have my candy bowl filled. I don’t want to be seen as competition for Dale’s Candy Bowl.
Q: But your bowl is filled and his is not, correct?
A: It’s that time of year, budgets start to get crunched.
Q: So are you saying you have better candy-budgeting skills than our Dean Peterson?
A: (an arched eyebrow and) You’d be surprised. I still got Jolly Ranchers.

"Life off the Hill:" The Ultimate* Guide to Eating out in New Haven

It’s summer, and after perfecting your mastery of the regular very λύω, you just don’t have the energy to make dinner from scratch. Or, you’ve just moved to New Haven, have family in town who just might pay for dinner, and really, who cooks after moving all their worldly belongings across state lines anyway? Or, it’s the middle of the semester, you just aced that OT midterm, and you want to go out to celebrate. Well, when you find yourself at one of these points in your life, this guide will help you figure out which New Haven restaurant you want to patronize.

*While I’m calling this the “ultimate” guide to New Haven restaurants, it’s not quite that, really. There are a ton or restaurants in New Haven, and any ultimate guide should be much more comprehensive than this one. Plus, I’m ignoring many of the restaurants that are simply out of the average graduate student’s budget. However, you’re still getting a myriad of options. Bon appétit.

Pizza

I’ve always believed in starting with your strengths, and New Haven is famous for its pizza (both Sally’s and Pepe’s made it into GQ magazine as one of the “Top 25 Pizzas in America” last year), which it claims to have invented (along with written language, irrigation, democracy, the Magna Carta, and the frisbee). New Haven is lousy with pizza parlors, some of which are really, well… lousy. However, here are, in my attention, the top four. I’m not even going to attempt to rank them, since whatever I pick will be wrong, given the hotly contested nature of pizza devotion in New Haven, which has its own Wikipedia page. No, I’m not joking. The only downside is that none of these places deliver.

Sally’s Apizza (237 Wooster St), like its counterpart, Pepe’s, often has patrons standing outside for hours waiting for a table. However, it’s definitely worth the wait. Sally’s ranked sixth on the GQ list, and I second GQ’s recommendation: get a white pie with potato. It’s amazing.

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (257 Wooster St), affectionately known as Pepe’s, is the original New Haven pizza parlor (at least according to Wikipedia). It, like Sally’s, is a New Haven landmark, and you should eat here at least once, even if it does mean standing in line for pizza. It ranked twelfth on the GQ list, and once again, GQ picked out the best pie on the menu: the original tomato pie. Pepe’s may have the best crust in New Haven, for the record.

Bar (254 Crown St) is nestled downtown among New Haven’s bars and nightclubs. If you’re planning on eating, rather than drinking, you’ll be headed to the Bru Room, which features the massive vats in which they brew their own (excellent) beer. Again, expect lines, but it’s worth the wait. Try a salad, since it’s excellent, and it just might help offset the massive coronary that’s going to result from what may be my new favorite pizza: mashed potato with bacon. Your heart may hate you, but your taste buds will thank you.

Modern Apizza (874 State St) is, hands down, the best pizza in East Rock. It’s located within walking distance from the Div School and is larger than Pepe’s or Sally’s, which results in much shorter lines. Their “bomb” pizzas (Italian and veggie, respectively) are great, but the real show-stopper is the clams casino. I know sea food on pizza sounds weird, but we are right on the Long Island Sound, after all.

Hamburgers

Again, New Haven claims to have invented the hamburger. According to Wikipedia, the Library of Congress substantiates this claim, which I dispute, since everyone knows that the hamburger was invented in Athens, TX (again, source Wikipedia). Still, origins aside, here are the burgers worth checking out:

Louis’ Lunch (263 Crown St) claims to have invented the hamburger and is a New Haven landmark. While you’re at Yale, you need to eat at Louis’, just so you can say that you’ve done it. While the hamburger itself is excellent, the folks at Louis’ are to hamburgers what Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi” was to soup: they know the way to serve a hamburger, and there’s no arguing with them if you want an authentic Louis’ burger. Unless you agree with them, you’ll probably want other options.

Educated Burger (53 Broadway) is my favorite burger in town. As good as the burgers are, the fries are even better. It’s got a bit of a 1950s diner flair, and the “educated” bit comes in in the décor: which aside from pictures of Yale sports teams features scores of books arranged on shelves near the ceiling. Prices are reasonable, but they don’t take debit cards (they do have an ATM, however).

Prime 16 (172 Temple St) is a bit more upscale than the other options and, in its role as a tap house, has twenty beers on tap. The burgers are pricier than Louis’ or Educated Burger, but they feature 100% organic beef and a wider range of fixings, which includes avocadoes and blue cheese. Plus, if you can put off lunch until 2pm, you can get a $5 burger Tuesday-Friday.

Italian

Caffe Bravo (794 Orange St) is an East Rock staple. It’s a little on the pricy side, but the food is good. The only downside is a lack of weekend hours.

Tony and Lucille’s Little Italy (150 Wooster St) is located near Sally’s and Pepe’s and is a great second choice for when their lines are too long. It’s also a great first choice if you’re looking for a more romantic atmosphere. The prices are a bit on the high side, but the portions are huge.

Consiglio’s (165 Wooster St) is a great sit-down Italian option. The service can be slow, however, so it isn’t always the best choice for lunch.

Sushi

Miya’s Sushi (68 Howe St) is hands-down my favorite restaurant in New Haven. Bun Lai, the owner and chef, is a genius. The first time I went to Miya’s, which features fusion sushi, I wasn’t sure about eating rolls which paired tuna with mascarpone cheese, orange marmalade, and pistachios, but now I swear by the “Italian Stallion roll,” which is exactly what sushi should taste like. Miya’s is one of those places where you can get out spending less than $12 per person or more than $100; it all depends on what you’re ordering. From the dirt cheap to the ridiculously expensive, I’ve yet to find something I dislike. Do yourself a favor and order the curry okra rolls. The service can be agonizingly slow, since the place is almost always packed, but the staff is great about providing free appetizers or bowls of miso soup to make up for it. Oh, and Miya’s just happens to be on the cutting-edge of sustainable seafood.

Sushi on Chapel (1022) is located around the corner from Miya’s and offers more traditional sushi options. Try the Dragon roll.

Sushi Palace (1473 Dixwell Ave, Hamden) features all-you-can-eat sushi. I’m going to be honest, I’ve never eaten here, because I find the idea of all-you-can-eat sushi suspect. However, the place comes highly recommended by other Div students, and we are right on the Sound, which means that the fish is going to be fresh.

Indian

Thali Too (65 Broadway) features an inexpensive vegetarian menu. I don’t especially like Indian food, but I like Thali Too. This is the best bet for affordable Indian food in New Haven. Its sister restaurant, Thali (4 Orange St), is similarly excellent, but very, very expensive.

Thai

Thai Taste (1151 Chapel St) is arguably the best Thai in downtown New Haven. It has an extensive and affordable menu. Their curries are amazing.

Rice Pot (1027 State St) is conveniently located in East Rock. It’s got a similar menu to Thai Taste, but the service can be a bit spotty.

Mediterranean

Mamoun’s Falafel Restaurant (85 Howe St) has a small, but excellent menu, excellent prices, and great service. It also features parking in the back. Portions can be a little small, but the prices are great. The biggest downside is that there’s a $20 minimum on debit/credit card purchases (although there is an ATM, with a high surcharge, right outside). After one visit here, I haven’t bothered finding another Mediterranean restaurant in New Haven. Come for the shawarma, stay for the baklava.

Mexican

Mezcal (14 Mechanic) is my favorite Mexican food restaurant in New Haven (and, being from Texas, I have high standards). Their mole is to die for. The menu is a bit pricy, but the trick is to go at lunch; the lunch enchilada plate comes with two enchiladas, a side of flank steak, rice, and beans for $8.99. Still, just like in Mexico, the service is often inexplicably slow. It’s a great choice if you’ve got over an hour for lunch, but not so much otherwise.

El Amigo Felix (8 Whalley Avenue) is an excellent alternative to Mezcal. It’s certainly cheaper. Located downtown near the Yale campus, it’s a great option if you’re planning on spending the rest of the evening studying at Sterling.

Bars

Gryphon’s Pub at GPSCY (204 York St), or just GPSCY for short, is the graduate and professional bar at Yale. It’s hard to beat GPSCY’s prices, especially on Wednesdays, when drinks are two for one (Wednesday happens to be the unofficial Div School night). There is a small cover, or you can purchase a membership for the entire year (which pays for itself in three visits or so). There’s no food, but you can bring your own in.

Anna Liffey’s (17 Whitney Ave) is a traditional Irish pub. They have a weekly trivia night and live music on Fridays and Saturdays.

Archie Moore’s Bar and Restaurant (188 Willow) is a Div School hangout. It’s conveniently located in East Rock, and it claims to have the best buffalo wings in Connecticut (which are pretty good). Wings are half off during their 5-7 happy hour, for the record.

Div Dictionary: Refectory

Div Dictionary: Refectory

Refectory (n.): Sterling Divinity Quadrangle’s source for meals.

Josh did a great job talking about some of the food options off the hill. He missed out on one thing: the Carts. So here’s an aside on the Carts, before I get going about the Refectory at the Div School (wow, that’s a lot of capital letters on words that don’t always get them).

The Carts are one of the most affordable ways to get lots of food options. Mexican, Thai, Ethiopian, Thai, Indian, Thai, Thai, and Thai are all available. They’re located at a few places, the nearest cluster to us being outside the School of Management.

$4-$7...cash, not Eli Bucks... gets you a great lunch, only a 5-7 minute walk away. Think about that: you essentially pay a dollar for each minute you walk, and get free food. Some people pay rates like that just to walk on a treadmill at the gym, and so you’re getting both a workout AND food. Great times.

For those of you who have 3 classes in a row some days, and cannot enjoy the glories of HGS or Commons, Mother Yale has given the Div School its own dining hall, known as the Refectory. It is open every day from 7:30a.m.-2p.m., serving breakfast stuff (egg sandwiches are usually not an option until about 7:45 a.m., fair warning), lunch, and snackie-stuff. There are four main areas: a ‘hot dish’ area where you find daily hot options and soups (such as baked chicken with mashed sweet potatoes, ziti, or various Indian foods over rice). The salad line bar is next, comes with three kinds of greens and lots of fixings that I can’t talk too much about since I pretty much ignore that area. Third is the cold area, where you can get pre-made sandwiches, drinks, sushi, hummus snacks, fruit, etc. Again, I know little. Finally, my favorite…the grill. Good times were had by all there. At least in the short run until arteries clog and such. But seriously, good times in the short run.

As Josh said, when you begin the school year, you’ll automatically be charged a board fee (Eli Bucks). You’ll get that money back though – it’s loaded onto your student ID so that you can use it to purchase food at lunch or between classes (or, for the ambitious among us, before classes too). If you don’t use up all the money in the fall semester, it will roll over to the spring semester. If you don’t use up all that money during the spring semester, you will never see it again. This leads to many people spending lots of money at the end of the year and carrying cartloads of food out the door.

To spend the money, you may need to employ a little strategy. Since the refectory stocks canned goods and household items, you can buy a lot of tissues or buy cans and donate them at Marquand Chapel (for those in need at the school that the Chapel Team has been made aware of, and also those in other locations around the area). Some commuting students buy more than they need to take home to hungry kids or spouses. You could also just be me, and spend money like a sieve, and be forced to beg from your counterparts who are better with their money.

Here is a point that needs to be said a few times, just as it was to us last year: the refectory is hardly a money-making operation. The refectory is designed to provide space for the community to eat together, a remnant of the old Refectory…and a throwback to the crazy notion that people actually can become a community through sharing food. Insane, I know, but they think it can happen. (In case my glibness is hard to read: I agree with that completely, and I truly think that the Refectory is one of the best ways for us to come together as a community. We don’t always use it very well, but I firmly believe that if you share a meal with someone, there is less chance you will dislike them. The Refectory is one of the many gifts at YDS, and often under-utilized for the benefit it could give us as individuals, as colleagues, and as classmates.)

You will find some professors eating there all the time--John Collins, Chloe Starr, Denys Turner among the most common profs who take an active interest in eating with students and engaging them in this space. You will also find that the staff is great. Seriously. You are lucky to have them here, and you will realize this time and time again over the next few years I trust.

So, there you have it. Food is good for community, we have a place to get food and community right in our halls, so those of you who run away to HGS or Commons are just anti-social. That’s the moral to draw from this, right?

"Life off the Hill": Grocery Shopping

By popular demand, this week’s “Life off the Hill” covers all the joys of grocery shopping in New Haven. It’s something that we all do, and it can be trickier than one might think.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the only supermarket in New Haven recently closed. Shaw’s closing is more than an inconvenience, it’s a social justice issue.

As things now stand, the closest supermarket to East Rock is the Stop & Shop located at 2335 Dixwell Ave in Hamden (which is located about 4.5 miles from YDS). One of the perks about shopping at Stop & Shop is that their free rewards cards let you accumulate points that can be used to buy gas, which helps offset the cost of driving to Hamden. Stop & Shop also runs a grocery delivery service, which makes it a shopping option for those of you without cars.

For more upscale grocery options, there’s a Whole Foods in Milford (1686 Boston Post Rd), and a Trader Joe’s in Orange (560 Boston Post Rd). Milford is also home to a Costco (1718 Boston Post Rd), for those of you who prefer to do your shopping in bulk. There’s also a BJ’s in North Haven (555 Universal Drive North), for those of you who need eighty-eight packs of tp, but don’t enjoy Costco’s romantic ambiance.

Food can be purchased in more reasonable quantities at any of several smaller markets in New Haven proper. Within East Rock, there’s Nica’s (603 Orange), Romeo and Cesare’s (771 Orange), and Orange Street Market (721 you guessed it… Orange). For those of you who plan on living closer to Yale’s main campus, there’s always Gourmet Heaven (15 Broadway and 44 Whitney). These markets can be pricier than the Stop & Shop, but they often feature much better produce.

New Haven does have several farmers’ markets, which are your best bet for produce. On the plus side, the State Street Farmers’ Market has more business days than any other farmers’ market in the nation (at least according to an NPR broadcast that I kinda-sorta remember).

Life off the Hill: Movies in New Haven

Alright, so you’re in New Haven for a summer language class (or, come Fall, you need some time off from reading for Old Testament), and you’re looking for something to do. Although there are other options in New Haven, (such as student rushing a play at the Schubert or the Yale Rep), nothing beats the tried-and-true standby of going to see a movie (in case you haven’t picked up on it, I’m a pretty big movie buff, and I will be seeing as many of the summer’s “pop corn” movies as humanly possible).

There are two good options in the New Haven area: Showcase Cinemas in North Haven and Criterion Cinemas in New Haven.

Showcase Cinemas is a pretty standard multiplex. For those of you who will have a car, it’s a nice way to take a break from Yale and New Haven. It also has more screens than the Criterion. I couldn’t find ticket price information online, and it’s been a while since I saw a movie there, so I can’t provide you with exact pricing information. Matinees run somewhere around $8 and regular show times around $12, though. That’s a pretty standard price for tickets in the area. I’ve never had a problem with the projection systems there, but the theaters themselves don’t have stadium seating and could really use a remodel.

Criterion Cinemas is my preferred theater. Like Showcase, it doesn’t have stadium seating, but it has been recently remodeled. It has fewer, and smaller theaters, but it manages to have a good mix of mainstream blockbusters, foreign cinema, and independent films any given week. The “projector” in the smallest theater is little more than a nice Blu-Ray player, but if you’re there to see a major release, you’ll be in one of the larger theaters. Concession prices are about the same as at Showcase, but the quality seems a little better, and there are discounted prices on Tuesdays (when Criterion Club members also get a discount on movie tickets; prices for other show times are available on the website). They also run special features such as “movies and mimosas” on Sundays (which is the best way ever to skip church) and “Insomnia Theater” on Friday and Saturday nights, which typically features a cult classic. All in all, it’s one of the better small independent theaters I’ve been to. With all the fuss that people make about supporting local produce and businesses, you’d think we’d talk more about supporting local movie theaters, too. So get out, go down to 86 Temple St., join the Criterion Club, and support your local movie theater. If you do, I promise that I’ll get down off my soapbox.

Also, some general advice: do yourself a favor and skip “Prince of Persia.” It looks like it was edited by a monkey with a short attention span.

"Life off the Hill": Owning a Car in New Haven

You don’t need a car to live in New Haven, but it can be helpful. Yale runs a shuttle service, but it has limited daytime service in East Rock (the Orange Line now runs through East Rock between 6pm and 7:30am most days of the year, however). Yale additionally provides Zip car service for a fee. There’s also the CT Transit buses, which are run by the state of Connecticut. Still, with the closing of the Shaw’s in New Haven, the closest supermarket is now in Hamden, which is not on the Yale shuttle route (there are smaller markets scattered through New Haven, and the price difference is usually negligible for most staples; my roommate’s grocery bill has gone up less than $10 a month since he started shopping at Nica’s).

However, a good portion of you are planning on bringing cars to New Haven. I certainly did; in Texas, no one walks any farther than it takes to get from the parking lot to the store, and I couldn’t imagine not having a car. It’s come in handy; I’ve been able to make trips to Ikea (and take friends to Ikea), buy more than a few day’s groceries at a time, and make it to class on time on days when I slept through my alarm. However, there are some things about car ownership in New Haven that are worth pointing out.

First, relatively few of the homes in East Rock have off-street parking (which would be something worth paying extra for, for the record). This means that if you don’t know how to parallel park, you should learn how to before moving. I didn’t take the time to do this (again, in Texas, you never have to parallel park, and my dad neglected to even talk about it when he was teaching me how to drive), and I definitely regretted that decision. So, for any southerners who are reading this, practice parallel parking now; it will probably save you several embarrassing moments where you’re crying in frustration in public because you’re smart enough to get into Yale but not smart enough to park your car.

That leads into the second point: since there’s a scarcity of off-street parking, New Haven requires a permit to park on most residential streets. The City of New Haven website has instructions on how to apply for one of these permits. They’re only $10, but there’s a catch: you have to register your car with the city to get one.

I know, that sounds simple, but it’s not. You see, most municipalities in Connecticut raise revenue through local property taxes. Now, where I come from, property taxes are levied on your house and land; in Connecticut, they’re also levied on your car or motorcycle. New Haven provides this information on its property tax policies. To make a long story short; to register your car with the city, you have to pay a property tax on 70% of the Blue Book value of your car. Currently, the tax rate in New Haven is $42.21/$1000 of value.

Unfortunately, this applies regardless of whether your car is registered in Connecticut or your home state. In fact, the entire time you’re in New Haven, you’re going to be taxed twice on your car; it sucks, I know, but I have to keep paying Texas registration fees and Connecticut property taxes, too. If it’s any consolation, I still come out slightly ahead when I compare what I pay with what my insurance would cost if my car was registered in Connecticut. Still, when I think of the property tax, I’m reminded of the consequences of taxation without representation discussed in my high school U.S. History class.

You can choose to not pay the property tax and park illegally on the streets. However, New Haven is very aggressive about parking tickets, and you run the risk of being booted or towed.

However, there is some good news; while all parking downtown is metered, you don’t have to pay to park after 7pm. It’s a small consolation, I know, but at least you’ll be able to afford downtown parking at night after paying your property tax.