Listed: Food wars > Advantages of not buying on the spot Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor b: you see people with packed lunches as a lesser species? Do you pity those that come prepared because they'll never have the joy of a hot, fresh slice of pizza? Well, those individuals might be smarter than you think. Bringing a packed lunch or dinner, as opposed to buying on the spot, has some definite advantages, even if it does lack the excitement of racing off to your favourite fast food stand. It may be more work, but here are the top 10 reasons you should consider bringing food with you to class. 1. It’s cheaper. All those fancy coffees and burgers can add up, even if there is a lot of cheap food available. 2. It’s healthier. Cheesy grease bread and French fries may sound amazing, but your arteries will not thank you, and neither will your tush. 3. It teaches better organization. Packing a lunch or dinner requires pre-planning, which is always a good habit to get into. Treat this as a gateway into planning your day. Today: sandwiches. Tomorrow: healthy financial investments! 4. Youcan snack in class. My main motivation for bringing food with me to class is that I’m constantly hungry, but I’m also radically impatient. Bringing food with you means you don't have to wait until break, or until class is out to start chowing down. Of course, that is unless your instructor is some anti- eating-in-class monster. EN -W-lOM(o(-t- Mich mB cela ee M lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca 5. You'll have more private time. Bringing food with you means you don’t have to enter the hustle and bustle that is the cafeteria, or brave the cold outside. You can just settle down in a quiet place to enjoy your meal. 6. You'll have less leftovers. Packing meals means you can use up leftovers, either that you've made or that your family has. This means less food goes to waste and you have a cleaner fridge, and one ready for potentially more deliciousness in the future. (Y Essay essentials (¥ The Uncanny Valley (Y¥ Meatless Monday: Blondies And more! 7. It’s environmentally friendly. Most people don't do the whole paper bag and saran wrap thing—instead we now have cute Tupperware and lunch kits that keep things cold or hot. Buying food on the go creates more garbage. 8. Youcan make friends. Want to get someone to talk to you? Bring food that smells delicious to class. 9g. Youcan avoid making friends. Want to avoid talking to people in class? Stuff your face till you can't speak. Bonus points if it will also make your breath smell terrible. 10. You get to relive your glorious culinary past. Have you ever made something so delicious that you just have to eat it over and over again until you explode? Packing your own food allows you to do that more. It also allows you to try playing with different flavours without too much risk. Didn’t work out? All well, give in and go get the bagel from Tim Horton’s. Exploring the Evergreen extension > A day spent in the growing communities of Coquitlam Greg Waldock Staff Writer he completion of the Evergreen line and its stations in Coquitlam allows for new, young communities to grow around them. I decided to spend a day exploring each station, finding out what's in walking distance, and seeing what I can look forward to in the future. The mission was an over-caffeinated success. Burquitlam Station Burquitlam is a weird neighbourhood. The first thing you notice stepping out of the station is what looks to be a Korean pizza and karaoke joint. Going inside will reveal that it is, in fact, a Punjabi/ Korean pizza and karaoke place with an Italian chef and a proud “Best Dressed” award at the counter—don‘t ask, I’m not actually sure how this award is given out. The pizza is decent, but it’s worth visiting mostly to marvel at the wonders of globalism. There’s also the Connected Minds Café and Roastery, a lovely little coffee shop with great atmosphere and even better tea, as well as a very nice- looking but completely abandoned pub that’s been closed since early last year. Moody Centre Station Nestled in a forest of auto repair shops and strip malls is the most humble Honethor Bay beers Coaee< for I I Vancouver Rapid Transit 2016 % * ZONE 2 st ecco teakun ZONE 3 % Towne Ferry Coanertion 4," 1] Biqptrain - SAberviars Lie ‘wont Connt forme ins ant Weak Come Lapeer Bei (ari Beagpiel Tinkertct | Image via via Translink train station here. There’s not much going on—yet!—though it does offer an excellent view of the mountains, and of a guy drinking Everclear straight from a bottle in a park. Regulars to King George may find it to be a familiar sight. Inlet Centre Station For now, this whole area is just condos and car dealerships, but it’s going to be one of the fastest-growing areas in Coquitlam, as evidenced by all the development plan signs posted everywhere. For now, the only things worth seeing are the cool modern art statues speckled over the station. Coquitlam Central Station The main attractions here are a West Coast Express station, a really large parking lot. Although it is within walking distance of Coquitlam Centre, a fairly large mall that has many sit down restaurants, shopping, and a T&T, Lincoln Station is even closer to the mall. That means this station is mostly a high-traffic transit stop for other places. Lincoln Station Do you miss the slick veneer of the 1980s? Lincoln is the station for you. Surrounded on all sides by massive shopping malls, such as Coquitlam Centre and Henderson Place, and condos that look several decades out of date, it’s still a pretty cool place to wander around. There are a lot of niche stores hidden away inside those malls if you've got the time to look, including a Korean taco restaurant and endless knick-knack shops. The Coquitlam Public Library is surprisingly comfortable, and close-by to boot. Lafarge Lake Station The last and best stop (in my opinion) on the Evergreen Line. Cozy coffee shops and trendy restaurants are scattered around the area. Sleek apartment buildings loom over a grove of cedar trees. The eponymous Lafarge Lake is absolutely gorgeous with scenic benches, dozens of PokéStops, and art pieces from the nearby Community Centre. Wandering around this area was the highlight of the trip for me. Students who regularly trek it to the New Westminster campus can get a lot from taking a break from studying to walk around the water and enjoy the fresh air.