As Aggies all around begin to descend upon the caffeine-fueled, hyper-stressful and terrifying experience that is finals week, they best be prepared. If you need to get off campus, the city of Davis has an abundance of cafes providing Wi-Fi, tables, couches and coffee. Lots of coffee.
To start a good study day off right, head to the Cloud Forest Cafe for a breakfast panini and some fresh squeezed juice. Your brain will benefit from a hot egg sandwich with onions, roasted peppers, pesto and melted pepper jack cheese washed down with the Davis Sunshine — a blend of orange and carrot juice. This solid breakfast should keep you fueled for a few hours and allow you to take advantage of Cloud Forest’s Wi-Fi at one of the cafe’s many tables.
As the lunch hour grows near and your focus begins to wane, a change of scenery may be in order. If the sun is out, scoot on over to Delta of Venus and pick a table on their patio. Delta also provides free Wi-Fi and has a large lunch menu — try the Curry Tofu sandwich for something delicious and different. If finals are starting to overwhelm you, perhaps this would be a good time to enjoy some fresh air, order a sweet and soothing licorice tea and casually try to osmose the material from your textbook. It could work.
Once you’re refueled and refreshed from your sunny Delta lunch, you will be ready once again to hit the books. Mishka’s Cafe has many tables and an environment conducive to focusing. More importantly, though, is Mishka’s Mocha (it’s heavenly), which every hard-working student deserves during finals. So order one and receive your Wi-Fi code and set yourself to studying for the next two hours.
Looking for a late-night spot with plush couches? Between Saturday and the Dec. 18, Common Grounds in South Davis is extending its hours and will be open until 11 p.m. each night. Try something slightly different than your normal cappuccino with their “Cuban.” This espresso drink is lightly sweetened and has a salty twist. Yes, salted coffee tastes good: Be adventurous. And Common Grounds has lots of comfortable seats especially suited to skimming those books that you always promised yourself you would read.
In case you fell asleep at Common Grounds and are now in a 2 a.m. cramming session emergency, try the “911” drink from Dutch Bros. Open 24 hours and right down the bike path from Shield’s 24-hour room, Dutch Bros. is an Aggie essential. Their “ER-911” has six shots of Irish cream, which should ignite some productive fires in your mind and make you wholly unable to sleep.
Finals week is stressful not only for students, but also for the people who have to deal with us. Remember that the pain is temporary and try to find your inner grace amidst the stress. While it may not seem like it, sleep really is important and should not be disregarded. Treat yourself and those around you well and we will all do better on our exams, papers and projects. Best of luck to all!
Graphic by Jennifer Wu
