Seriously, who doesn’t love some combination of cinnamon and apple? No matter how you make it, you literally can’t go wrong with this stuff.

Apple pie has always been an American fave, sure, but that term “easy as pie” doesn’t really apply to me. What is easy about cutting up a billion apples, making a crust and then waiting to eat it? So when I decided I wanted something similar, I made myself something akin to a mini apple pie, sans the irritating process of cutting up apples. Preparation can be a bit bothersome, but trust me, it is WORTH it.

For Da Dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspon salt
2/3 butter (or 1/3 butter and 1/3 olive oil to be a little healthier)
6 tablespoons cold water

For Da Apples:
6 large Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups water
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Do It Up:
1. Preheat your oven to about 400F.

2. The pastry is easy: mix up the flour and salt in a bowl, then cut in the butter or butter/oil mix until everything is kind of crumbly. You might need a helping hand or just be really careful at this point, but you’ll need to pour in the water tablespoon by tablespoon while mixing to get that nice doughy ball of…well, dough.

3. Get a rolling pin (sprinkle a little flour on the counter and on the pin to make sure the dough doesn’t stick). If you don’t have a rolling pin, use a flat glass, or, at last resort, get a heavy textbook to flatten that sucker out. It should be about 24 by 16 inches, but there’s always room for error – if it’s not exact, then hey, it’s not exact. Cut this up into six even pieces.

4. Now core them apples! To core an apple, just cut the top off, then grab a handy spoon and to scoop out the core and the seeds. Somewhere in here, you’re also gonna wanna put the sugar, the water, the vanilla extract and some of the butter in a saucepan. Let it boil until the sugar is dissolved.

5. Sprinkle a little brown sugar and cinnamon onto the dough. (Quickie tip; if you don’t have brown sugar, I think they sell cinnamon sugar in stores; you could use that instead. In a crunch – literally – ground up Cinnamon Toast Crunch works!), then put the apple on top of it. Put more sugar inside of the apple and about half a spoonful of butter (hey, no one said this was healthy). Now, bring up the two opposite corners of the pastry so that they touch. Do the same with the other two corners. Then, pinch and form the sides (gently!) to form a little dough cocoon around your apple. When you’re done, put them in a greased baking dish..

6. That saucepan should be ready now. If there’s any extra butter, put it in, then pour what’s in there over the dumplings (don’t over do it, though; you want to put some on when they come out, too). Now bake that sucker for about an hour. When they’re done and the entirety of your apartment complex/dorm has come into the basement because they can smell your delectable desert, take them out and pour the last of the sauce over them. (Quickie Tip: These guys go GREAT with a scoop of vanilla ice cream right on the side.)

7. Use your rolling pin to fend off hungry friends and family, and enjoy!

Just thinking about it brings on the chills.

Imagine if you didn’t have to deal with that.  Imagine if you could have just stayed in your nice comfortable house, flicked on your computer, and had a friendly chat with the admissions counselor from your chair. Well, it seems like that’s what a whole lot of college prospective students are going to be doing soon.

Wake Forest University did it and other schools are catching on.  The process is pretty simple, it seems.  Take your usual IM client with webcam add-ons, like Skype; turn on your webcam;  hook up your microphone; and there you have it. Continue with your regularly scheduled admissions interview.

Now, this is pretty cool.  Usually it’s the student body’s job to be tech savvy and the school is the one who has to catch up.  The fact that schools are willing to use this manner of communication is pretty awesome on their part. Not only does it eliminate the “Oh my God, can the interviewer smell my fear?!” but it is great for students who want to apply to lots of schools and don’t have the money to get to all of them.

Still, it feels kind of strange, doesn’t it?  Part of the whole admissions interview period is that you get a feel for every part of the school that’s going to become your life: the drive, the faculty, the campus, and the students.  Sure, there’s the tour for that, but even Carrie Marcinkevage, MBA director of admissions at Pennsylvania State’s Smeal College of Business, admits that the webcam interview should never replace an on-campus visit.

This is a pretty useful tool to have available, especially for people who need it.  The concern lies in the fact that convenience may eventually override tradition, as is usually the case with technology related things.  So, like anything, there are pros and cons to this entire situation.  Will this help or hurt the admissions process? Could being too comfortable be a bad thing?  Only time will tell.  (But hey, in fifty years, they’ll probably have hologram interview, anyway.)

I mean being sick.

Not just “being sick,” though. Not just having a little cough or a small sniffle. No, I mean being sick as a dog. Having bronchitis. Having a box of tissues in one hand and pockets full of throat lozenges. When you’re on a small campus, one person’s cold is everyone else’s cold. Being stressed doesn’t help matters, either, so of course there are tons of other people in the boat with me – and not just seniors. And call me sadistic, but watching everyone suffer makes me feel a little less awful.

But my loss is your gain, folks. From my week-late thesis chapter, paper due on Friday that I still haven’t written, and a few other delayed things, I’ve learned some pretty awesome techniques to combatting exhaustion, delirium, sickness, and even lack of alcohol.

5. Caffeine naps. These beautiful things are possibly one of the best things ever. When you’re not feeling too hot for whatever reason, have yourself a Rockstar or a Red Bull or whatever (if you can’t swallow the way I couldn’t, have one of those coffee Rockstars, but heat it up. It helps a lot), then take a quick 20 minute nap. It helps refresh your system, and gives the caffeine a chance to get into your blood stream. And hey, when you’re working on that term paper all night long, one or two of these can save your ass.

4. Do’s and do not’s. DO take Nyquil with Chamomile Tea when you can’t sleep. Do NOT take Dayquil with a Rockstar when you cannot. DO spend time relaxing now and then. Do NOT relax so much that you are procrastinating. DO have all-nighters if you positively have no choice. Do NOT have all-nighters consoling yourself with all manner of drugs so that you pass out in class the next day. DO come up with ideas for that late-night paper that you know will work. Do NOT come up with ideas for that late-night paper based off of Adult Swim.

3. Eat right. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should be eating these things all the time, but there are certain foods that work super hard – probably harder than you are – at keeping you both healthy and energized throughout the day and night. Fresh citrus fruit, strawberries, blueberries, as well more as filling foods like salmon, tomatoes, and bell peppers all will keep you running as smoothly as an exhausted senior (or maybe just student). And incorporating these guys into your diet long-term while eating small and frequent meals could even help you lose weight. Who knew senior year could be healthy?

2. Sleep. Seriously, those caffeine naps are awesome, but nothing keeps you well rested and healthy enough but a good night’s rest. Guess who was feeling better shortly after she finished pulling all-nighters? Sur-freakin-prise.

1. Sleep…some more. Honestly, you guys, I’m not actually 100% yet. But once you’re done with that killer week (or two or three or…alright, so Thanksgiving break, I guess?), just chill. It’s honestly the best thing you can do for yourself. That’s why it’s on the list twice.

(That’s also why, as you’re reading this, I’m probably curled up beneath my blankets, recovering from my life.)

Of course, having a Bachelors doesn’t really do anything anymore. I’ve heard about a ton about people who have their Bachelors and are working at a Domino’s or something. Getting a Masters seems like the next logical step, for students and apparently their parents. So is it such a bad thing that I really don’t want to go?

Being around a ton of people who are all talking about getting recommendations and narrowing down their grad school list makes me realize more and more that grad school really isn’t for me. My mom’s look of horror when I told her this one day this summer is the only thing I see when I talk about wanting to go into vet tech after I get out of school. Issue is, as an English major, I’m mildly suffering with what-do-I-do- with-this-diploma? syndrome. Publishing and editing are options, sure, but I don’t want to deal with that crap. It seems that some people assume that because a field has something to do with your major, you will inevitably want to be a part of that field.

And of course, there’s that inevitable money issue breathing down the necks of graduates. Do you stay in school for another two years so you don’t have to pay off loans just yet? Everyone seems to sort of just assume that jobs are lining up to grab college grads, but with the economy the way it is, I’m thinking that this is somehow far from the case. More and more of my senior class seems to be regretting their major because there’s nothing they can do with it to get money. What ever happened to going to college to just learn?

I’ve never been too good at thinking about my future, anyway. Most people need to schedule, but I just work on the fly, and that’s not the easiest thing to do when everyone is shoving grids and boxes with terrifying numbers like “2010” on them (weren’t the 90’s just like a year or two ago?) in your face. Though I should probably start looking into vet tech stuff now – so, if anything, I feel less out of place when people say, “So what are you going to do after you graduate?” – work wise, I’m not really gonna look into that until after I graduate.

Future aside, it kind of surprises me that I only have about five full weeks of class left. Didn’t the semester just f**king start? Why haven’t I gotten drunk yet? How have I slept through three of my morning classes so far? Why does that one freshman keep flirting with me when I’m pretty sure he’s still jailbait? I’m not sure how well I can handle the fact that most of the freshmen were born in 1990 or later. That was only about ten years ago, right? …right?

Damn, am I ever out of touch with time.

After a week filled with tests, papers, about five gallons of coffee, and way too much spiked apple cider (Quickie Recipe: Apple cider + apple brandy, varying the amount of brandy for the amount of drunk, is f*ckin’ delish), a few of my friends and I decided to be a bunch of kids. We hunted down a corn maze and got utterly lost in it, went to a pumpkin patch, and picked apples.

We didn’t do anything particularly stupid or sophomoric — unless you count getting in a fight with a 10-year-old over the existence of infinity. No, we just had fun. Fall is my favorite season, and I hadn’t properly enjoyed it in years ’til last weekend. The only thing missing was a hay ride…

This week was/is slightly worse, with a ten-page-paper that was due yesterday (that still isn’t done, shhh) and a psychology test tomorrow I haven’t really studied for. But this weekend, after dealing with trying to write a paper for an outrageously vague professor (who I think really only teaches because he a) likes to hear his voice b) likes to make students feel stupid) and studying for a test in a class I sometimes think I’d enjoy more if it weren’t for the tests, we’re doin’ it again. No, not the corn maze and pumpkin bit. But hey. Come on, you guys. You honestly mean to tell me that you wouldn’t go to FrightFest if given the chance?

I’ve also done yoga twice this week. I have yet to work up the balls (probably because they’re still ovaries) to actually go to the yoga class my school offers, since I’m not sure how I feel showing up in an old band t-shirt and a pair of $5 Target sweatpants when everyone else is wearing stuff that I feel like they could go out on a date in. I know you’ve probably heard all of your gym-buddies say it, but yoga really DOES get those happy-endorphins flowing. I found a nifty little 15-minute routine that I’ve been going by, and while I’m not saying that I suddenly have the ability to breeze though War and Peace in about three hours, I do feel…well, lighter. And that’s a hell of a change from last week.

So. Moral of these past two weeks’ story?

Calm the hell down.

Taking 20 credits, working two jobs, and writing your thesis doesn’t leave for a whole lot of free time, and that’s a pretty hard thing to adjust to. I usually like to procrastinate – I work better with a gun to my head, it seems. But now I have to work in advance, because I don’t have time to do things the way I normally do.

This weekend, I don’t even have time to drink. What is my world coming to?

As for lessons learned these past two weeks or so, I realized the value of backing your sh*t up like your life depends on it. My thesis chapter was due on Monday. I didn’t finish it until Tuesday. Now, because I have an older version of OpenOffice (a free version of Microsoft Office, essentially), when my computer decided to spazz out, I lost 11 out of 12 pages.

Cue comfort food binging.

I binge eat when I’m upset. It’s a problem I’ve been working on for a while now, but I’m worried that this year might drive me back to it – especially when I’m this upset at the very beginning of the semester.

I started work this week essentially calling old alumni and asking them to donate to the college. Some of them ask me what I’m doing when I get out of school, and my uncertain answer usually consists of some variation of “I don’t know.” I’ve always want to work with animals, but I want to continue writing. There doesn’t seem to middle choice that I can find right now…and I don’t really feel like entirely looking for it. I don’t like thinking about the future as it is – planning the next couple years of my life nearly on my own has be a little upset.

Okay, who am I kidding? I’m flipping out.

For now, though, I’m just going to plow through the next couple of days. And maybe on Monday – because I don’t have time to do it on Sunday – I’ll get my drink on. God knows I need it.

I think my senior year might turn me into an alcoholic, you guys.

[Picture courtesy gettyimages.com]

But I’ve noticed something that has become so frequent that it happens at least twice a week. I don’t know if it’s because we have such a large freshman class that doesn’t know me as well as the rest of the upperclassmen, or if it’s something else, but while I’m walking to lunch, at a club meeting, or in a popular hang-out spot with my girlfriend, whether we’re just holding hands, play-flirting, or giving goodbye kisses, I’ve been catching several looks. And most of them are of utter confusion and/or disgust.

After well over a year of being with my girlfriend, it’s not exactly breaking news that we’re going out. We’ve gotten looks from some upperclassmen before, sure, but it was never so frequent or so extreme as it is now. And I’m certain that these looks aren’t being given to other heterosexual couples, or even other interracial couples (which, unless they are well-hidden, I have seen none of).

It’s bad enough that when I’m home, I can barely bring my girlfriend up in conversation without feeling awkward. But to be on campus, walking down the street and holding her hand and being gawked at like we’re some kind of traveling freak show? Forgive me, world, for saying that it makes me unhappy, uncomfortable, and angry. Aside from physical differences, we don’t differ much from any other heterosexual couple. We fight, we talk, we help each other, we have sex, we love. Sure, we might do it a little differently than John and Jane down the hall, but the premise is the same. So why should we be treated differently?

I know for myself that being raised in a household where nothing but heterosexuality was expected from me, it took me a little while to get accustomed to the idea that people of the same gender could love each other, too. And when I realized I was one of those people, it was hard. People seem to think that it’s something that can be turned on and off, or that it’s something people are starting to lean towards now because it’s “cool.” But why on earth would I ever willingly do something I know I’d be ridiculed for?

No, this is who I am. This is who I’ll always be. And I understand that people might have a little difficulty understanding other people who choose this lifestyle. People like me. It’s not “normal” or “right” by many standards. I wish that other people, people who stare and flare their nostrils, could understand us.

I know that not everyone can accept gays or lesbians. But trying couldn’t hurt.

You do it every year without fail. There’s a string of weeks where you’re nice and organized with all your notes in the right folders, laundry done as soon as you’re running low on undies and putting everything where it belongs. And then, you forget your planner and decide you don’t feel like really carrying it, or you’re too tired to do that load of laundry…

Okay, it might not happen to you, but it happens to me.

Barely two weeks into the semester, and my room is still pretty navigatable, but far from clean. I can’t see the desk calendar where I put all of my due dates and meetings down anymore. I just don’t have the patience to be neat. I’m sure it’s a problem – I’ve been messy all my life – but I don’t really feel like fixing it.

I still haven’t written a word of my thesis. Mind you, since I’ve been on campus I’ve gotten countless articles and books and am in the process of picking through them, but that whole thought-on-paper process has yet to start. The first chapter is due in about two or three weeks (I’d tell you the due date, but right now it’s beneath a plate of stale chips). It’s not that I’m out partying or working super hard in my other classes (sure, I have a fair amount of work that I need to do, but it’s not overwhelming); I’m just having kind of a rough time settling into my senior year.

Already, at least five or six of my friends have looked upset at the fact that I’m graduating. Because I transferred in, a lot of my friends are graduating next year and assume that I’m doing the same. My future isn’t really a topic of thought for me, since I’m much better with living in the present. Still, it’s kind of unavoidable now.

On top of that, the construction means that the campus is shaking, rumbling, clanging, and groaning like drunk revenge sex from seven in the morning until six at night, so I’m having a hard time finding a quiet place to study or even to sleep. With the influx of first-years, I feel like I don’t know anybody. I almost feel like I’ve transferred all over again.

All of that together has the tendency to make me a little depressed when I sit and think about it.

I have to admit, though; I’m impressed with some of the freshmen, even if most of them are less like people and more like five-year-olds finding out all they can do without mommy and daddy around. A ton of them are getting on-campus jobs, especially the less pleasant ones like working in the dining hall. I definitely didn’t make the attempt to get a job on campus until last year, so kudos to you, freshmen. Well, the responsible ones, anyway. (Not the ones who do not go to poster sales and ask, “Is that photoshopped?” when looking at a poster of Warhol’s Cambell Soup Cans, or say, “I thought these were carrots!” while staring down at a plate full of shredded cheddar.) Between me not know what I’m going to be doing in a year and freshmen not knowing cheese from carrots, I don’t have high hopes for the future.

Despite all that, though, I’m not upset or depressed. School is life, and though I have yet to decide if it’s an amplified or understated allegory, it’s definitely there. And with things like friends, fall show premiers, and alcohol to distract and comfort me, how upset can I really be?

[Photo courtesy gettyimages.com]

Going away to school is intimidating enough. You’re in a place you know nothing about, and if you’re far enough away from home, you probably don’t know anyone who goes there. You’re pretty much dumped in a completely foreign surrounding and told to hit the ground running. If you’re lucky, in some places the ground is made of nice recycled tire mulch. More realistically, though, it’s dirt with a few twigs and stones. And sometimes the ground is cement.

Obscure analogies aside, the only thing more unnerving than being in a place you know nothing about is being assigned to live with a person you know nothing about. Even if your school was nice enough to give you your roommate’s contact info earlier this summer, your conversations haven’t gotten much further than who is bringing the microwave. It can be a scary experience walking into your dorm, laden with boxes, and seeing a room that probably isn’t much larger than your bedroom at home…with another person smiling at you from their bed.

But it doesn’t have to be so scary. Roommates are one of the most awesome parts of going away to college, and I found that having a roommate my first year who was actually a year above me helped a lot. But for all you incomin’ freshmen, that probably isn’t the case. Still, no worries. Here are five awesome ways for you to break the ice with your brand new bud.

1. Decorate!: Dorm rooms are b-o-r…man, they’re so boring that I don’t even feel like spelling out the word. Eggshell white walls and nothing else? Scary. Even though I’m sure you’ve got your posters and tapestries all ready, converse with your roomie about what you have. Lay out your posters over your brand spankin’ new rug. You might find you have similar interest in bands or just both think that your poster of puppies in a basket is really freakin’ adorable. If there are posters of theirs that you like, they can be more centralized in the room so you can both enjoy them, and the same goes in the other direction. If you’re lacking in the poster/tapestry section, hit up sites like AllPosters.com or Pandora’s Box and converse together.

2. Stock up those provisions: Meal plan or not, nothing saves you during a late-night study session like a bag of popcorn and a Starbucks Doubleshot. One of the biggest issues with roomies is the sharing of food, sometimes without permission. I know I did it. (Sorry, Lauren.) Cruising down the aisles of your local supermarket together will give you a chance to not only get stuff you need, but agree on things that you’re buying together to share and put boundaries on those special treats that are just off-limits. (Bonus tip: A lot of supermarkets have those little DVD rental machines at the end of the cash registers, where you can take out a DVD for a night for a buck. Pick one with your roomie then head back to your new shared digs for movie night!)

3. Switch tunes: I’m willing to bet that you and your roomie will both have MP3 players of some sort. If you don’t, though, drag out that CD collection (or what of it you brought to school) and then pass them over. Listening to your roomie’s music tastes will give you a good hint of what you’re going to be listening to for the rest of the year, and is another opportunity to find stuff in common. And if you come across a song you both adore, there is NOTHING like belting it out together. Just don’t do this at two o’clock in the morning.

4. Time for work, and time for play: Commiserate with your roomie over the classes you’re taking. If they suck, you can comfort each other. If they’re awesome, you can share your excitement with her. And if you have the same class, voila! You can agree to meet up at a certain point on campus and walk to class together. When classes are over, though, it’s time to chill. Let them know what shows you just HAVE to watch on Monday nights at 9 (ahem), and they can tell you the die-for reality show and they just can’t live without. This way you start to form a respect for each other’s time.

5. Roomies aren’t your BFFs: Well, okay, that’s sort of a lie. Your roomie could easily become your best friend during the year you guys live together. But that usually isn’t the case. As school starts to get less frightening, you’ll form relationships with other people, and you may or may not go your separate ways. If you’re not a freshie and you already have an established network of friends, it’s probably a little less likely that you’re going to be buddy-buddy with your roomie. But that doesn’t mean to ignore them! Come to a mutual ground so that both of you can be happy.

As many horror stories as there are of horrible roommates, it doesn’t have to be that way. Those guys just didn’t bother to learn how to be chill with their roomies like I just taught you to! Of course, there are a ton of other things you can do to help ease that “Oh God, I’m living with a total stranger!” anxiety. But, like everything else that’s going to be happening to you in a few weeks’ time, it’s a start.

[Photo courtesty gettyimages.com]

Still, as we get closer by leaps and bounds (only hours away!) to the Summer 2008 Olympics, I guess I am kind of excited. I’m sure I’m not as psyched as lots of die hard sports fans who will be watching the Games like a hawk. But I am looking forward to seeing that torch lit. Just…not for reasons that I think resonate with the majority of Olympics viewers.

Love Those Losers: My grandmother and I started the tradition about ten years ago of watching the Olympics and rooting for the country with the least chance of winning. I’ve always had a thing for underdogs; I don’t know if it’s because they’re so utterly pathetic (really, you should watch just to see their, “Well, I saw that coming,” expressions when they fail horrendously) or because of how awesome it is when the team no one thought would even place gets the gold. Either way, I’ll be keeping a semi-close eye on the teams that the rest of the viewers and participants could care less about. (But I won’t be making any bets. I always lose those.)

Summer Olympics are HOT: I know you know it. Gawker knows it. We know it. This summer there is a delicious smorgasbord across several of the sports, and I do not just mean the competitive spirit. Two of my favorites are USA softball girl Jennie Finch and Australian diving boy Matthew Mitcham. Too bad I’m pretty certain Finch is straight and I know for certain that Mitcham is gay, so I’ve got no chance with either of them. Still, I can gawk and unfairly root for them.

Ride ‘Em, Cowboys (and cowgirls): Okay, so there’s no western equestrian events at the Olympics; it’s all just eventing (don’t worry if you have no idea what I just said). But I have to say, I’m kind of a sucker for the Equestrian events. I love horses. I love dressage (even though it’s hard as hell; let me tell you, I would have never thought that riding a horse around would be SO hard). I’ve had the fever ever since my girl got me into horses, and I don’t want an antidote. What? You don’t understand? Watch Anky Van Grusen from the WEG 2006 Freestyle Final. Even if you know nothing about horses aside from the fact that they are big and they eat as much as they crap, you’ll see just how awesome this is. It will change your LIFE.

Okay, That’s Enough: As excited (which, all things considered, isn’t that much) as I am about the Olympics, really, I’m getting a little tired of hearing about them. The news nowadays is either that they just found out Obama won’t pledge allegiance or, oh no, China’s polluted! Really, I’m sick of it. Yes, China has just as many, if not more, problems than good ol’ USA, and hopefully the Olympics being there will jar it into bettering itself. Yes, people have every right to be upset about the Tibet’s suppression. But can’t we just let the Olympics do what they are going to do and then figure out how to fix this afterwards?

The point I’m making, ladies and gents, is this: love them or hate them, excited, angered, or indifferent, the Olympics are here.