How tidying up can be fun, profitable

With the rise of minimalism and Marie Kondo’s new Netflix show “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,” which stresses decluttering and organization, many people have begun to question the items and clothing they own. They can now ask the famous question, “Does this ‘spark joy’ in my life?” If not, Kondo advises how to get rid of those items.

While many people have turned to online marketplaces such as Davis’ “Free and For Sale” group on Facebook, an online marketplace for buying used items with over 40,000 members, some students have decided to use Facebook as a platform for advertising their own in-person sales. Since Kondo’s show, there has been a rise in sale posts that start with “Marie Kondo made me do it” or “this doesn’t spark joy,” partially joking, but very genuine. While there are subgroups such as “Clothes for Sale” and “Textbook Exchange,” it can often be daunting to post a large amount of items all at once or to organize pickups with a large amount of people.

Returning to the past, students have begun hosting yard sales, using social media to advertise their events and setting up on their lawn to sell a collection of clothes, baked goods, and a variety of other items. These events have also served as ways to engage with the community. As people walk by, chat, look at items and stop to hangout, these yard sales are a nostalgic return to the childhood excitement of finding items to cherish that other people no longer want.

Nadya Eddy, a third-year political science major, hosted a successful yard sale on her lawn that made almost five hundred dollars and plans to hold another one soon.

“I haven’t gotten rid of any clothes I’ve bought since 2015,” Eddy said. “I literally didn’t have any room, so I got rid of half of my closet. I’m a big Hayo Miyazaki movie fan, and I recently just watched “Howl’s Moving Castle,” and there’s a scene where the main character’s clunky hoarder house gets reduced to a little platform when he sheds his emotional baggage, and I felt like I could use some of that. I had the yard sale the next day and made $480 worth of my things.”

For Eddy, word about the event was spread through Facebook posts in different groups, by word of mouth and by people walking by her lawn, which is very close to campus and sits along a popular route for people to stop by on their commute.

Recently, another house had a yard sale titled “Go Yard or Go Home” that used Facebook to invite around 200 people, with the description inviting friends to share the word and invite everyone they know to join in for what was described as a “yard sale/ bake sale/ lawn party/ skill sharing for money (more to come on what this actually means)”. This yard sale took place across the street from the Davis Food Co-Op on G Street and served as a collective house effort.

Cielle Watjen Brown, a fourth-year wildlife fish and biology major, explained their yard sale was an exciting and social way to declutter and make money.

“What inspired the sale was that we have way too many things and no place to put them,” Watjen Brown said. “It went really well in part because we posted on social media and told a bunch of our friends, but a lot of random people came too. We all tried to contribute something, so whether it was clothes or chairs or fresh baked goods, we all had a part in it.”

Watjen Brown also took the opportunity to use the yard sale as gateway into entrepreneurship.

“Some special things about our sale was that it also served as the first time that my roommate and I sold our little granola business ‘Wake the Funk Up,’” Brown said. “We sold our choco-berry flavor and people really liked it, [so much] that we sold all of what we had available, and people even placed more orders for the future. We made some new friends who ended up staying all day and playing music with us towards the end of the sale and trying to make some tips, which was a great way to end the day.”

While these two yard sales differed in their planning and collectivity, they both were extremely successful in making money, decluttering and engaging with the Davis community. It seems that for college students, yard sales are not always the first option for selling clothes due to planning, organization, and the appeal of other options, such as bringing clothes to consignment stores or selling them online. Nonetheless, the yard sale has resurfaced as a reminder that decluttering can be an exciting chance to make money while having a fun event.

Haley Noble, a fourth-year communication and psychology double major, attended Watjen Brown’s yard sale and explained how it was more than just an event for buying clothes.

“I was invited on the Facebook page, and I had never been or heard of a house of Davis students having a yard sale before,” Noble said. “There were good clothes, great food and live music. It started to rain halfway through the sale, and they moved it to the porch until it stopped raining, which was exciting because everyone was having so much fun that they wanted to stay regardless. I bought some of their granola as well which was really good.”

Both Eddy and Watjen Brown plan to host other yard sales because of the popularity of their first attempts and their success may spark the idea for many other yard sales to come. As people walked away, they were heard saying, “This is such a good idea. We should really do this.”

Written by: Rosie Schwarz — arts@theaggie.org

Lyonne delves into the universal human experience

Netflix’s new dark comedy “Russian Doll” aired on Feb. 1 and was met with critical acclaim. The show was created by a powerhouse trio including writer and director Leslye Headland, “Orange is the New Black” star Natasha Lyonne and the award winning actress and producer Amy Poehler. Lyonne stars as Nadia Vulvokov, a snarky, loud New Yorker type who, after leaving her 36th birthday party, gets hit by a taxi and dies — all within the first 10 minutes of the series’ pilot episode.

“Russian Doll” loosely follows the format of the 1993 film “Groundhog Day.” Nadia is forced to relive the same day over and over again, stuck in a constant loop that recycles each time she “dies.” With every cycle, she ends up right back where she started — at the bathroom sink in the middle of her birthday party, with Harry Nilsson’s upbeat “Gotta Get Up” playing in the background. The song becomes more ominous and threatening with every loop, instilling dread in the viewer for Nadia’s fate.

The “Groundhog Day” format was recently made popular with the “Happy Death Day” franchise, but this bizarre creation pushes the format beyond what has been seen before. “Russian Doll” is complex, exploring deep and personal quandaries such as the repression of trauma, the intricacies of interpersonal relationships and the profound sense of existential dread one feels as they age.

The complexity of the series relies on constant layering of characterization, which explains the metaphor behind the series title. The concept of the show comes from the Matryoshka doll, or the Russian nesting doll. Matryoshka dolls come in sets, where each wooden figure fits within one another until they are all stacked within the largest doll. The concept of having layers within oneself drives this Netflix original series. As Nadia tries to find a way out of the perpetual loop she is stuck in, she is forced to wrestle with aspects of herself that she buried behind a successful career, loving friends and a strong personality.

One of the highlights of the series is Lyonne’s expert portrayal of Nadia. After six years of playing a compassionate drug addict on “Orange,” Lyonne seems to have mastered the craft of dark comedy. Lyonne can bring weight and levity to particularly bleak scenes and is able to get the audience to laugh when they know they really shouldn’t. While Lyonne’s talent has always been undeniable, “Russian Doll” pushes her to new depths. Lyonne carries the narrative and much of the show’s success can be attributed to her New Yorker charm and expert delivery of both dramatic and comedic lines.

In an interview with the LA Times, Poehler praised Lyonne’s performance.

“She is one of my favorite actors, and I think that this show is a complete tour de force from beginning to end,” Poehler said. “In showing her range, in showing her vulnerability and showing her real, true comedy chops. It’s very hard to have those three.”

The show also stands out due to its all-female writing and directing staff. While Nadia is an incredibly likeable character, the writers ensure that she is also complicated and flawed. They don’t rely on typical stereotypes of femininity; gender does not seem to play a role at all in the series. At its core, the show is about deeply human quandaries, and how Nadia deals with them.

While she works as a software engineer in a male-dominated office, she never feels inferior; though she may be having a midlife crisis, it is not due to the fact that she is single or childless. All the struggles the viewer expects Nadia to have, as a female character, are quickly deflected in the series in order to get to more profound questions about life and the experience of trauma. She seeks to find the meaning of life that transcends typical male or female exploration.

“It was really important to explore a show about a female protagonist that asked spiritual and existential questions,” Headland explained in an interview with Variety.

Although the series constantly loops one day over and over again, it’s undeniably fresh. Lyonne and the writers keep viewers on their toes as each episode never quite plays out the way viewers expect. While Lyonne carries the show, the supporting cast is brilliant as well. Charlie Barnett plays Alan Zaveri, a man Nadia meets halfway through the series when the two literally die in an elevator together. Alan’s humorous indifference to being in a plummeting elevator tips Nadia off, and she discovers that Alan is stuck in the same loop that she is.

Barnett’s performance is subtle, and may be overlooked at times behind Lyonne’s scene-stealing energy, but is nonetheless intricate and poignant. The two become an unassuming duo, and develop a sweet relationship that, refreshingly, does not become romantic.

“[Alan’s] basically a child that the universe has tasked me with babysitting” Nadia explains in one episode to a confused friend. Alan concedes that it is a fair description.

The two seek to understand why the universe has lined their fates together, while also managing their own traumas and personal issues.

The series also stars Greta Lee as Nadia’s friend and the host of Nadia’s birthday party. Yul Vazquez is Nadia’s ex-boyfriend who, while not literally, seems to be stuck in his own cycle of destruction as he desperately tries to win Nadia back.

The show is delightful, poignant and deeply frustrating. The viewer feels the most satisfying form of dread as they experience Nadia’s perpetual loops. One can sympathize with Nadia’s and Alan’s trauma but also hope desperately that they overcome their circumstances by dealing with their problems.

Elizabeth Ashley plays Ruth Brenner in the series, a therapist and Nadia’s surrogate mother. She has known Nadia since she was a child and upon noticing her distress in one of the many loops, she sits Nadia down and the two discuss a traumatic moment in Nadia’s childhood.

“You were this tiny seed buried in the darkness fighting your way to the light,” Ruth explained to Nadia. “Where is that gorgeous piece of you pushing to be a part of this world?”

At its core, that is what this bizarre and utterly unexplainable show is about: Nadia discovering what it is about life that made her once want to live it so desperately. Lyonne herself is open about her almost fatal struggles with addiction, and Nadia seems to reflect the desire to find a purpose and meaning behind the daily minutiae of life. Just like a Matryoshka doll, that small part of her that once found meaning in it all still dwells within. The ultimate battle in the series is trying to uncover it.

Written by: Alyssa Ilsley — arts@theaggie.org

Vegan take on Asian cuisine opens inside Lazi Cow

Chay Corner, a pop-up eatery located inside of the popular boba and dessert shop Lazi Cow on G Street, had its grand opening on Jan. 19. Chay Corner specializes in Asian cuisine that is entirely free of animal products. Menus for the vegan eatery are available alongside Lazi Cow’s menus at the front register, and purchases for both can be made in one order.

Chay Corner offers fried spring rolls, five different spice-fried tofu appetizers and three types of bánh mì, a Vietnamese sandwich. The spring rolls were fresh and perfectly crispy, pairing nicely with the sweet chili sauce. The Grilled Goodness bánh mì was especially delicious. Unlike many meat substitutes, the bánh mì’s garlic and lemongrass-marinated imitation pork had a convincing texture and packed a surprising amount of flavor. All three bánh mì are served with vegan mayo-butter, jalapeños, pickled vegetables, cilantro and house marinade.

In addition to bánh mì, Chay Corner serves imitation beef phở, miso ramen, Japanese curry and fried rice. Chay Corner also offers four vegan drinks including Vietnamese coffee and milk teas, all prepared with organic soy creamer.

Chay Corner is refreshing because it offers more options for those with dietary restrictions. While their food is prepared in the same kitchen as Lazi Cow’s non-vegan menu, the kitchen area is divided and cleaned to avoid cross-contamination.

Chay Corner is reasonably priced for the freshness and high quality of ingredients. Both appetizers are $6 and the bánh mì and rice dishes are $9 each. Both noodle dishes cost $11. Drinks are $5 without toppings, making them comparable to what Lazi Cow charges for its non-vegan tea drinks.

With the addition of Chay Corner, Lazi Cow is a great place for mixed company. Lazi Cow serves an array of creative boba milk teas, rolled ice cream and brick toast, as well as alcoholic tea drinks for those over 21. Lazi Cow previously did not offer many vegan food options, but Chay Corner fixes that.

The atmosphere of Lazi Cow and Chay Corner is relaxed. Customers can sip tea on an indoor swing or savor a bánh mì on a bench shaped like a cow, making the restaurant café a popular hangout spot. Lazi Cow has ample seating and space. Students are welcome to study, collaborate on projects, and socialize.

Lazi Cow is already a Davis favorite, and so far, Chay Corner has been well-received by the Davis community. Its Yelp reviews are positive. Those who have had bad experiences with vegan cuisine or have never been exposed to it may be hesitant to try Chay Corner. However, considering how flavorful their food is, it’s surprising that there’s no meat or dairy in it at all. Anyone who is uneasy about trying meat substitutes can’t go wrong ordering one of the tofu dishes.

As Davis becomes increasingly involved in healthy and environmentally-conscious practices, Chay Corner represents a general shift toward meat-free and dairy-free eating. A hidden gem, Chay Corner is a fantastic addition to Lazi Cow and the community in general. It has the same hours as Lazi Cow — open from 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. on weekdays, and 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. on weekends.

Written by: Cheyenne Wiseman  – arts@theaggie.org