9 Common interview questions and answers

Valentine’s Day: tell ‘em how you really feel

Tina Fey continues to be a-mazing

Should I call him?

College girl admits to loving masturbation

Have to admit that Justin Bieber has been pretty funny latey

I’m kinda jonesing for Pacey right now

WHOA Liftime! They already cast the actress who will play Kate Middleton

Boo, we thought Bruno Mars was perfect

Why does Glee hate Lilo soooo much?

Rihanna’s latest video for her song “S&M” hasn’t even been out for a week, but it’s stirring up a controversy.  Due to the sexual nature of the video and its subject, “S&M” has been banned in 11 countries, restricted on YouTube (it’s only available if you log-in with an account that proves you’re over 18), and pulled from play on some radio-stations until after 7pm.  Some radio stations have even changed the name from “S&M” to “Come On.” (Read all about the scandal and watch the full video here.)

But seriously, come on! While some critics and fans are outraged by her sexual lyrics and fetish-filled video, I can’t help but wonder where the boundaries of entertainment actually stand.

Women are seen as sexual beings, but when they express that sexuality in any way that would make someone uncomfortable, it’s not okay. Even recently, the indie film Blue Valentine with Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling came under fire for the scene where Ryan’s character performs oral sex on Michelle. We live in a world where it’s OK to fellate a man in a movie, but it’s not accepted for a woman to receive cunnilingus. Although the NC-17 rating was eventually dropped (thanks to Ryan Gosling fighting for it in the press), it shows that double standards still exist in movies and in music. This isn’t 1950! Read More »

It’s Parent Weekend, or your birthday, or just a Thursday night and you’re craving a free meal a la parentals. Either way, your parents are coming to campus and that means one thing and one thing only: it’s time to clean.

It’s not like your place is dirty – at least by your standards – but something about having mom and dad sit on that couch (where your roommate hooked up last night and – oh! – her bra is stuffed between the cushions) is just not right. You don’t need your parents seeing the cans from last night’s impromptu party, or the empty Doritos bags littering your
bedroom floor.

You run home from class/work and get moving on the deep clean. You start with your bedroom. You fold all of the clothes that have been piled on your floor for three weeks and put them away.  After you make your bed, you decide some vacuuming is in order. Good idea, too, as you find some less than parent-friendly goodies (your bowl or some empty condom wrappers, perhaps?) under the bed. You remove the dirty dishes (AKA the cereal bowl from last week filled with congealed milk) from your desk and replace them with books and binders.

You take a moment to survey the room. It just screams, “I’m studious!” Read More »

Love, schmove.  When you are a couple, Valentine’s Day is one of the most exciting days of the year.  When you are single, you sometimes want to throw things at those happy couples.  I still remember that devastating feeling as I walked through the union seeing all of the bouquets of flowers waiting to be picked up by ecstatic classmates while I went to my student post office box to find my own special valentine…..from my parents.  Turns out I am Bear-y Special.

However, the one thing we forget is that Valentine’s Day is not just about couples (and the gifts they give each other). At it’s core, it’s a holiday that is simply about love.  And whether or not you have a “special someone” at the moment, there is probably lots of love in your life and you get to celebrate that just as much as someone who is going to the Olive Garden for a $10 meal. Read More »

How many times have you said that? Or has your roommate, or your best friend, or pretty much any female in college for that matter? I know I’m guilty of starting my “Super Healthy Diet And Exercise Regime” only to be thwarted a week later when my pants don’t feel any looser and the small shirt I bought (you know, to give me inspiration) still isn’t fitting quite right.

By the end of the week I can never figure out where I went wrong. I mean I’m putting in at least a solid hour at the gym every day (well except for Wednesdays, because they’re my long days..and Fridays…oh and the weekend because who is exercising then anyway!) And I’m eating so healthy (when I’m sober….)

But in general, it seems it is impossible to lose weight in college. Why? Well, here are the biggest offenders: Read More »

We all have our go-to stores that we, uh, go to when we need to stock up on some new wardrobe essentials (or when we have an hour to kill and the mall reaches out and wraps us in its warm embrace). But what about all those other stores? The ones that you walk past on your way to Auntie Anne’s without a second glance? The “mom” stores, the old department stores, the stores that don’t start with “Forever” and end with “21″? Surprise! Many of those stores are filled with major cuteness that you’re missing out on! (Except Chico’s – keep walking, little lady.) We know you’re not one to pass up a cute cami, so we scoured these under-the-radar shops (Walmart? New York and Company??) and pulled out all the goodness you never realized existed.

Since I live in Canada, and rarely make it down to the US, I haven’t actually stepped foot in a Kohl’s before. There are several similar stores to Kohl’s around me, and one thing I can say is that I would never go browsing the clothing aisles in any of them. I mean, my mom buys sheets there.

However, if you’ve been thinking the same think about Kohl’s, it’s time to throw out the ‘tude and get your shop on.

The Kohl’s online store has become one of my go-tos for Fashion Porn and Shop Your Closet. Every time I pull an item to use in one of these posts, I curse the fact that Kohl’s doesn’t ship to Canada (neither does Target – seriously, what do the discount fashion Gods have against us?) Why such a love for Kohl’s? Well, beyond the fact that everything is c-h-e-a-p and then they throw an additional 30% off on top of that, the stuff is cute. Like their line, Simply Vera by Vera Wang. Unlike most diffusion lines, this one is available 24/7 so you don’t have to fight throngs of women to get the goodies before they all run out. “Fashion designer” (if you can call her that) Lauren Conrad also has her line available at Kohl’s, and while it’s nothing extraordinary, there’s some great pieces to choose from in a reasonable price range.

If I haven’t sold you on checking out Kohl’s next time you need new clothes, maybe these nine items will help. Read More »

I think it’s obvious by now that there are a lot of things I’m going to miss about being a college student. Friends. Three day weekends. The ability to plan my schedule around the latest episode of Glee. Things like that make the idea of leaving in three months and never looking back completely horrifying.

But as I inch closer and closer to graduation each day, I’ve taken the time to consider that maybe it’s not all bad. Four years is enough time to realize that college has its pros and its cons. And maybe I’ve just been looking at this whole thing the wrong way. I’m going to try for optimism instead. And that’s why I’ve listed for you a few of the things I absolutely won’t miss about college.

1. Writing papers. I’ve done my fair share of paper writing over the last four years and it never gets any more entertaining or interesting. The research is annoying. The outlining never works. The writing process is disastrous. And the entire thing just makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs and pull out ALL. OF. MY. HAIR. I’m grateful this part of my life is almost over, if only to prevent the need of wigs at such a young age.

2. Dining hall food. Even if you go to one of those schools where the food is actually edible, after four years of the same choices on rotation over and over and over again it really is time for a change. Plus, dining halls aren’t exactly known for having the healthiest dining options. That personal trainer I’ve been meaning to get will appreciate my sacrifice of no longer eating chicken fingers and fries for lunch every day.

Read More »

The protests in Egypt continue, and they’ve started to have some pretty big effects. Today is day 14 of the protests, and the gatherers’ biggest demand- that President Mubarak be ousted immediately- has not yet been met. Many journalists who have descended on the capitol to film the over 100,000 daily visitors have been arrested, though the government claims this is unintentional. What’s the American take on it all? Apparently, Obama’s administration is backing a plan that would put the current Vice President, Omar Suleiman, in charge of the government’s transition. Suleiman has already begun meeting with opposition leaders. This story has been going on for weeks and will continue to do so, so stay tuned.

Read More »

Have you ever stayed up all night studying for a final? Blood shot eyes, empty coffee cups, pages and pages of notes…you know, the works. Do you remember sitting there wishing you had diligently studied all semester long, gone to class or stayed awake during the Powerpoint presentation?

Yeah, me too.
Every. damn. semester.

Well, I’m here to let you know that just like studying, the same goes for good health and fitness. We can’t expect to do crash diets or spend 3 hours at the gym on one day to achieve our goal body. There’s no way that’s healthy or realistic. Just like school, it takes a little effort every single day in order to see maximum results. And with Spring Break and summer just a few months away, if you want to feel beach body confident by semester’s end you have to start now.

The secret to having the body you want is actually pretty simple. If you know and understand these three key factors in exercising, you’re off to a very good start. Read More »

If there’s one thing that can counteract even the most negative emotion for me, it’s an all-new episode of Glee.  It’s something about the combination of Cory Monteith’s slightly lopsided smile, Mark Salling’s intense stare, and Matthew Morrison’s dance moves that make it all better than any therapy session.  And it’s free.

So it’s probably a good thing that Glee snagged the highly sought-after post-Super Bowl time slot (although I’ve always wondered…who would want to air a show during the one hour where pretty much everyone over the age of sixteen is absolutely wasted?) because that Steelers loss wasn’t goin’ down easily.

Glee came back with a vengeance after its second season hiatus.  Let me remind you of where we left off: Emma and Carl got married, Brittany and Artie are cuter than ever, Quinn and Sam are irritatingly symmetrical, Kurt left McKinley because Karofsky was bullying him, and Rachel cheated on Finn with Puck after hearing Finn slept with Santana, so Finn dumped Rachel (whew!).

Our reintroduction to the halls of McKinley started with a typically impressive Cheerios routine. But polished and provocative as it was (hello, flaming boobs!), tyrannical Sue was “bored.” Read More »