"I love you, mom. Your gift will be a little late..."

Mother’s Day is fast approaching and I am old enough to understand I’ve used and abused doing the whole buy-her-a-card-and-make-her-’free backrub’-coupons bit. And as much as I would love to buy my mom concert tickets and backstage passes to Bon Jovi, my income is just not going to allow that kind of spending. Not to mention, I’ve been so busy drinking my face off for the last week of my college career busting out finals week, I had totally forgotten this Sunday was Mother’s Day until right about…now.

If, like me, you’re scrambling to finish all of those countless research papers and haven’t gotten to brainstorming about that perfect gift for mom, I’m here to help. No, these gifts won’t be ready quite in time for Sunday, but they are so awesome they are totes worth the wait. Just send mom a homemade card (or an e-card….it’s the thought, right?) and then wow her with one of these when you’re done with those dreadful exams.

1. Mom’s Mixtape
Most moms out there are a little challenged when it comes to technology, so this is the perfect (and cheap!) gift. I know my mother’s appreciation for ’80s rock is congruent with my obsession with techno dance parties on a Friday night, and it’s really simple to throw together a great mix CD with all of her favorite songs. It’s thoughtful, it’s easy, and it will make her really happy when she’s driving around town in that SUV running errands for you and the sibs. If you need inspiration, make a few radio stations on Pandora with her favorite artists to find some other artists she might love. And if you want to go big, make her a 6-CD box set with her favorite jams from all the decades. Read More »

Some call shopping a sport. And I agree. I mean, think about it. In order to get the job done right, one needs skill, technique, timing, and so much more. The only equipment you really need is a good, comfortable pair of shoes and a nice big purse (preferably with a fully-stuffed wallet and possibly a granola bar for some nourishment), and now there’s a new piece of equipment that’s going to make shopping a whole lot easier.

To get this new piece of shopping equipment, all you have to do is pull out your cell phone! No, not so you can chat it up with your friends as you bargain hunt, but so you can find the best deals on everything you’re shopping for. A new service called Pongr automatically tells you where you can get the best price on almost any item. Um, amazing?

According to the Pongr website, all you have to do is take a camera phone picture of the item you want (if it’s a book, CD, DVD, or video game) or type the UPC code or product description into a text message (if it’s clothing, shoes, electronics, or purses) and either e-mail your query to ping@pongr.com or text it to SHOPP. You’ll automatically get a text message back telling you where you can get the item for cheapest. If it’s online, you can purchase the item right from your phone and if it’s a brick and mortar store, Pongr will give you directions to the store. Read More »

While enrolled in college one has to adapt to many changes in environment, surroundings, and vernacular. We all went through that fateful day when Mom and Dad dropped us off and we were suddenly thrust into a world of roommates, a brand new campus, and slang completely unique to the college atmosphere.

Call my (then) 18-year old self a prude, but if there’s one piece of advice I wish I had back when I started school it would be knowledge of the best (and worst) pickup line ever created:

“Hey, you wanna go watch a movie?”

As a naive freshman you may think to yourself, “Of course! Wow, college guys sure are nice,” but truth be told, “watching a movie” is probably going to involve a surprising amount of time in a bed. It’s truly the best cop-out come-on any adolescent guy can imagine. “Wanna go watch a movie?” has it all. Who doesn’t want to watch a movie? It’s benign enough to sound like a nice guy who’s just down to hang after a particularly awesome night of partying, but has enough sexual undertone to keep guys from feeling completely guilty when some poor girl starts to freak-out mid makeout. If he actually gets you through the front door? The hard work is done. Read More »