When I was pledging my sorority Freshman year – for 10 freaking weeks – all I could think about was the day it would all end; I would be a full-fledged member of the house and I wouldn’t have to get the older girls ice cream at 3am, carry cigarettes around for them just in case they might need one while they were out on campus, or have to sleep on the floor of a very cold sorority house every weekend. I was absolutely miserable, but I always knew that there was a bright light at the end of the tunnel (read: date parties and a private cook!) and it would all be worth it in the end.

It may seem crazy to put yourself through hell to join a group, but there is a purpose to pledge term: group bonding and appreciation as you work towards something. I worked hard with my pledge class to succeed at many (mostly ridiculous) tasks, which eventually ended with a very large and exciting payoff.

Payoff being the operative word. Because why else would someone slave away like a dog for weeks without any sort of payoff – unless, of course, they were into all that S&M shit?

Maybe we should ask the people over at Princeton. One of the residential colleges over there recently started a new “program” (service, really) for seniors working on their theses. Obviously, writing a thesis is super duper hard (which is why I decided not to do one, naturally) so someone thought it would be a great idea to offer those thesis-ites a little help. Read More »

The votes are in, and it’s clear: Sarah Silverman is, indeed, living out all of our dreams.

For those of you who haven’t checked YouTube or read gossip blogs or engaged in casual conversation, or, I don’t know, LEFT THE ISOLATED LOG CABINS YOU’VE APPARENTLY BEEN LIVING IN for the past several weeks, the story is as follows: Sarah Silverman gifted her boyfriend, Jimmy Kimmel, with a lovely music video entitled “I’m F*&king Matt Damon.”

It’s pretty much what you’d expect, although I think the sexually charged dance-off in the middle took us all by surprise. (Another surprise: brilliant, hot-as-hell Sarah Silverman is dating Jimmy Kimmel. Never has there been such a clear visual demonstration of the term “settling.”) Jimmy, not too shy to ride on his lady’s coattails, responded with “I’m F*&king Ben Affleck,” which may be the crowning achievement of his life to date, if only for the fact that it features a singing Don Cheadle.

Yet, singing Don Cheadle aside, most of you seem to feel that Jimmy has come out on the losing end of this deal. A recent CollegeCandy poll shows that, if given the choice, most of our readers would rather be making out with Matt.

Never have I felt such confidence in our readers. Read More »

I believe that spontaneity is the spice of life. If I’m going to be bored; I’m better off dead. Something about monotony turns off my brain…as well as my spirit…soul…and yeah…well, you get it. It’s surprising to me how many people are comfortable doing the same thing every day with all of the same people in the same place…and looking the same way.

It’s one thing to be happy with your life and to have no desire to “spice” it up. However, if you’re feeling like you’re missing something…I’d recommend going out on a limb and trying something new, particularly when it comes down to your looks.

Every time that I make getting ready fun, I find that I end up looking better. People notice small changes in your look on a daily basis and, at least for me, small things like this can really make me feel better throughout the day.

So what should you consider mixing up?

YOUR HAIR Read More »

While catching up on my celeb blogs this week, I discovered that among a smattering of other celebrities, the Jonas Brothers have confided in US Weekly–which is exactly where I’d go if I wanted to bare my soul–that they’re all still carrying their V-cards around in their velcro wallets. And they’re keeping it that way til marriage.

US Weekly said on February 22:

“The popular band of brothers wear purity rings as “promises to ourselves and to God that we’ll stay pure till marriage,” Joe, 18, tells Details magazine in their March issue.”

Twenty dollars says at least ten teenybopper girls heard about this and demanded a Tiff’s ring from Daddy on the spot. And what father wouldn’t oblige to keep his little girl pure til marriage?

Mine might not, depending on how expensive my taste was.

Sex is such a debacle for single stars, isn’t it? Especially when they’re obligated to spill to the tabloids. Damned if you do (to hell?), damned if you don’t (by society?). I honestly couldn’t handle the pressure of being a teen pop sensation. Whose morals do you follow, your own, or the ones created for you by the people who happen to sign your paycheck? Read More »

After a 4-year hiatus, Usher’s new single dropped on Tuesday. Featuring Young Jeezy and titled, “Love in This Club,” it’s a catchy tune, but has lyrics that slightly disturb me. Since it’s Usher, there’s not doubt the song is going to be huge and soon you’ll be grinding to it in all the frat houses basements and bar dance floors, but that doesn’t stop me from being just the tiniest bit skeeved out.

Okay, so the lyrics. The main chorus claims, “I wanna make love in this club” over and over. Does that sketch anyone else out? I wasn’t aware that doing the dirty in a club was considered acceptable these days. I mean, can’t we make love when we get home from the club? You know, a little bit of privacy is always good. Or at least avoiding the promise of getting arrested. Usher doesn’t “care who’s watching,” but I think I might. Read More »

Spring means a lotta things: the runways are aflutter with new collections and we can finally stow our dowdy winter gear in the closet and start rocking fresher duds, just in time for the requisite mid-year debauchery of Spring Break.

Flowers are in bloom, the sun is peeping, and love is hanging in the air with the sly promise of an unfinished flirt session. We’re all ready to turn new leaves with the season, and if we’re going to do it in style, we’re going to need a really good soundtrack.

With the music-festival craziness of SXSW coming up in a few weeks, there’s a bonanza of new spring albums to choose from. Here are three cherry picks from three phenomenally talented women, just in time to usher in a truly dreamy springtime.

Valet: Naked Acid

Valet is Honey Owens, a California transplant who’s been a legendary figure in the Portland, Oregon experimental music scene for almost a decade now. She’s lent her blonde elegance and burnout guitar riffs to projects like the legendary drone outfit Jackie-O Motherfucker — not to mention World, Nudge, Dark Yoga (yes, that’s a real band), and the newly-formed Atlas Sound. Not only that, but she’s got amazing style and co-owns one of Portland’s most unique boutiques of vintage gear, Rad Summer.

The amazingly-titled Naked Acid will totally save you the trouble of ever dabbling in the titular drug: it will blow your mind with its snakelike guitar work, the seemingly endless layers of delay-laced chanting, and the semi-conscious, gauzy tones of Owens’ whispery voice. Read More »

My friends are constantly complimenting me on my cooking. It’s always difficult for me to figure out exactly how to respond to a, “THIS IS SO F&*ING GOOD” remark. Typically, that’s because now in my post-Ramen noodle days; it really does seem so simple to me. I can just imagine ingredients that will taste good together.

Granted, some recipes CAN take all afternoon. However, since I have a life…I try to stick to those 15 minute or less recipes when I can. I seem to find that chicken is great for this. I’m always thinking of new flavors for chicken and making them happen WITHOUT taking the time out to marinate. Surprise, surprise: meats can soak in awesome flavor if they’re just cooked with a sauce. You no longer have to plan your meals three hours in advance.

So here are some concoctions I’ve come up with for my chicken. AND how to make them healthy–without sacrificing any of their yummy goodness.

These are all for four skinless chicken breasts. And they’re all pretty great in wraps, too.

CHEDDAR RANCH BACON Read More »

“What do you know about Belgium?”, I recently asked a friend.

Looking slightly bemused, she dug into her mental recesses of 10th grade world history and replied, “WWI… no wait WWII… well something with Germany at any rate right? ummm… a city with a weird name– Sprouts?… no… Brussels! And…oh oh oh! Waffles!!!”

She gets full points because lets be honest, unless you are an international affairs geek like myself, most Americans probably couldn’t come up with five facts about this little state if their lives depended on it.

Recent events, however, have catapulted Belgian politics into the front page of international headlines.

Most recently, on Monday February 28th, the Belgian parliament finally came to an agreement after months of deadlock which some feared would split the country in half.

Yes… serious concerns that the country would split in half! Read More »

A friend of a friend of mine once told me that she didn’t see me as the “relationship girl”.“I see you more as the girl who goes to the bar to find random guys to bring home,” she told me. At first I didn’t know what to think. Was she calling me a skanky whore?

“Well, yes. That is exactly what I am calling you.”

The more I thought about it, though, the more I could understand. Our friendship hadn’t extended much past seeing each other at bars or parties, places where I do indeed spend my evening flirting with unsuspecting males.

What this girl (and other people) doesn’t see are the intimate talks I have with these men in my room, and my attempts to turn these randoms into something more. For example, the following story: Read More »

So, maybe this is old news–but all news worth hearing should be renewed news. And though this may have been a huge topic of conversation for women over chocolate martinis, Sex and The City episodes, kleenex and post break-up mending, something tells me that (crying over what might have been), will never be old news.

Naturally, when you listen to a friend (and we’ve all be “the friend” before too) gripe over a man who is completely undeserving of her time, you want to say, “MOVE ON! YOU CAN DO BETTER!!!” and if you’re a good friend, you do say that.

Usually, she won’t listen and sometimes the truth of the situation is : He’s Just Not That Into You. Period. Thank God for the authors, Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, who wrote this little gem.

I don’t know about you, but I always feel like a crazy, bitchy friend if I say those words, even if it’s true. Not because the words are harsh, but because 90% of the time when you have to tell somebody whoever they’re chasing, or dating, isn’t as “devoted” or hell, “interested” even, they usually already know deep down.

No one likes to acknowledge that they’re “unwanted“, because it makes them evaluate something about themselves; then goes the endless wheel of, “why isn’t he interested? Why did he say he’d call? Does he think I’m ugly? Does the new girl have a better body?? Did I have a piece of spinach in my teeth the first time we kissed?? WHAT HAPPENED??” WHY DOESN’T HE WANT ME??” Read More »