College Pranks Declassified

At the risk of making enemies out of current friends and spreading devious ideas, I have declassified a few college pranks. Proceed with caution!

Below you'll see some...

Pranks I've pulled:	Pranks pulled on me:
TPing a house	Fish placed in all our cups/toilet/tub
Taking all the furniture from an apartment	All our doors removed
Sealing a doorway with wood	Sword taken from our apartment
Stringing a room with yarn	Streamers hung from the dorm ceiling

From Dams to Drains: Adventures along Putah

I originally planned to recount a trip to Lake Berryessa with some friends, however, I decided to expand this post to include some of my other adventures along the 20 mile stretch of Putah Creek from Lake Berryessa to Davis.  The map below shows the locations of these adventures so you can go on a few of your own!

View From Dams to Drains: Adventures along Putah in a larger map

I'll begin with the point furthest west, Lake Berryessa.  Many of my trips here actually occurred a few thousand feet above the lake!  It's a great place to go flying and affords a unique perspective of the area.  Get in touch with some pilots at Cal Aggie Flyers and they may take you on a flight!

Another great way to experienced the lake is by foot.  There are a number of hiking trails to explore and geocaches to find in the Putah Creek State Wildlife Area.  An evening hike to watch the sunset over the lake is an especially good trip.  The lake can also be enjoyed at night.  A campfire by the lake and an midnight swim can be quite the adventure with friends.  I will add a disclaimer here though: the water isnt' the cleanest and I don't know the legalities of campfires in the area, so you might check on this before you go!

Monticello Dam and it's spillway can be seen well from both land and air.  This prominent structure (what creates the man made lake) makes a good halfway point for a round trip bike ride from Davis.  Be sure to watch for cars along the road and take plenty of water and sunscreen because it can get hot during the summer and there are long stretches without shade. Along the way, you can stop in Winters to enjoy the small main street or have lunch in the shade along Putah as you get closer to the dam.

About half way to Winters from Davis, where Road 95A branches off from Russell, is Stevenson's bridge.  This curious bridge is covered in graffiti and can be a fun place to take pictures.  You can climb down below the bridge to see even more graffiti and get a closer look at Putah.  It's a narrow bridge though, so keep an eye out for cars and if you venture below watch for broken glass.

One of the prettier places along Putah is in the UC Davis arboretum.  This redirected branch of the creek flows south of the main campus under bridges and through gardens.  The lawns by Lake Spafford make for a great picnic location.  You'll see students jogging or biking along the paths and plenty of ducks milling about.  The paths are lighted in many areas and safe for an evening walk (or even paddling around in a tub!)

My final adventure along Putah goes underground both physically and figuratively.  After flowing through the arboretum, the creek continues till it empties into a storm drain at Mace Boulevard.  With some effort, the grates can be removed and you can continue underground, but keep in mind this is likely trespassing so continue at your own risk!  The storm drain has one main channel that leads north under Mace with smaller tunnels that you can crawl through branching off the main.  You'll see graffiti on the walls and as the water gets deeper you may spot crayfish or other water creatures.  I've yet to explore the tunnel fully, so the rest remains a mystery!

What Happens at College Part 4

Senior year you look to the future. Your future career, schooling, and living arrangements. You'll likely be taking elective classes that will determine the focus of your major while you think of what line of work you're interested in pursuing. You'll also take the GREs, LSATs, EITs, CBEST, or other tests to help you in your pursuit of graduate school or a job.


In your last year at college, you'll guide the future of others too. Having taken most of your classes and most of the professors in your major, others will come to you seeking advice about courses and instructors. You'll also be able to direct the future of the clubs and organizations you are apart of by continuing to lead or by encouraging members to pursue their goals for the group. Before long, you'll graduate and move on to the next chapter in life.

What Happens at College Part 3

Junior year you grow deeper; deeper in your relationships and more deeply involved in your studies. If it hasn't already, school will likely feel overwhelming. However, the study skills you've developed in your first two years and the friends you've made in and out of class will help you pull through the tough times. Classes will be specific to your major and will really open your eyes to your area of study.

Despite the seemingly insurmountable amount of work and activities you'll be involved in, you'll find time to give back as well. If you're involved in student clubs or organizations, you'll be encouraging freshman to join or helping to organize events. As a Junior, you'll have established your priorities in college and will invest heavily into those areas most important to you.

What Happens at College Part 2

Sophomore year determines your direction.  After having taken some classes, you might find the major you chose as a senior in high school isn't all you thought it was.  Or maybe the weeder classes you thought you could push through, turn out to be more than you can handle.  Having been introduced to classes, professors, and the general workings of college, sophomore year you'll establish the course you'll take for the rest of college.

At this point you're not likely to be living in the dorms and have chosen some of your dorm friends, classmates or club friends to be living with.  This selection effects who you'll be looking to for support and how you'll be spending much of your nonacademic time.  By the end of sophomore year, you'll have an established group of friends and classmates that you'll be living and working with through graduation.

What Happens at College Part 1

Freshman year relationships are built.  Yes, you'll be taking classes and adjusting to life away from home, but the first year at college is really about building relationships.  More importantly, you learn how to build relationships.  Relationships with people from very different walks of life and very different world views.  This is the most important thing one learns Freshman year.

Living in the dorms introduces you to more people, faster than any other time in college.  Many of these friends will continue to be your friends for the rest of your time at college and quite possibly the rest of your life.

Upon leaving home for college, a former scoutmaster of mine told me, "If you survive freshman year of college, you'll get through the rest of college just fine."  Indeed, your first year at college can be a taxing time of change.  But as a general rule, if you can manage the first year, the remaining can be done as well.  And, more likely than not, they will go by faster than you'd like.