After rolling out of bed this morning I immediately flipped open my Mac Book and signed online. (What? How else are you supposed to begin the day?) And that was when I got the worst news of my life: Google wasn’t working.

I started packing up all my non-perishable items (read: 2 cans of tuna, a bottle of Boones and a bottle of water) to move into my neighbor’s Y2K bunker. Surely the world was coming to an end. I mean, if Google wasn’t working, how would anything else? I was shocked, I was upset, and I was really scared.

I began to imagine my life without Google. A sad, information-less life.

1. I would have no idea how to get anywhere: Before I got Google maps on my iPhone, I got lost in Detroit more times than I can count. And I live in Ann Arbor. How I ended up in Detroit, I’ll never know. How I got out alive is also a mystery. Google maps is. my. life. Without it, I probably really would die.

2. I would have had to blindy talk to someone without knowing anything about them: Whenever I meet someone, the first thing I do is Google them. I don’t even know how to communicate with people without knowing their online history first. How am I supposed to carry on a meaningful conversation with someone if I don’t know where they are from, that they were the captain of the math team in high school and that they were once interviewed for the local news story on the great Quiznos vs. Subway debate.

3. I’d have to leave my house and actually go to the library to write papers: And I don’t even know where the campus library is.

4. I‘d have to figure out another way to find out what people are saying about me: What? You don’t Google yourself? How else am I going to know what people are saying about me if I can’t look myself up online? Eavesdropping is so 20th century.

5. I’d never know just what a whale erection looked like: Not sure why we wanted to know, but we did. If Google was gone, I’d never know.

Thank God everything is back up and running. I’m not sure how long I could have lasted with only one bottle of Boones. I may now return my regularly scheduled self-Googling.

[I used to think I knew everything…until I found myself stranded in the middle of adulthood with no map and no one to guide me when I got lost. I have learned a lot since then - from how to balance a checkbook to how to sew on a button - and will share my wisdom with you.

Every Monday I will be back to teach you how to do something useful, even if it also happens to be completely random. Because, hey, you never know when you just might need to know how to change a tire…or mix a perfect martini.]

I’m off to the Obama inauguration with some friends this weekend, and I am sooo psyched about it. The inauguration itself will be cool, obviously (despite our lack of tickets—we hope), but what will really be cool is the ROAD TRIP!!!!!

There’s nothing better than hitting the road with some pals and feeling your everyday responsibilities and stresses trickle away behind you. Road trips seem to enable a greater sense of freedom than other vacations, and they can be done so spontaneously—just pack up and go, basically.

Still, a little planning goes a long way (both in terms of miles and preparedness). To ensure your road trip is a smashing success, follow these 4 tips.

1. Print directions!

A map is incredibly useful, yes, but it won’t necessarily get you to where you’re going. Some maps have such tiny print that you can’t read anything on them, and other maps aren’t detailed enough to get you back on track when you’re lost. To be safe and save time, use Google Maps or Mapquest to print driving directions for your trip, and designate the person sitting shotgun to be your navigator. Read More »

Move over Crackberry. Step aside, iPhone. There’s a new boy in town and he aims to be bigger and better than his predecessors. (Note: and, no, John McCain didn’t invent this one, either.)

Rumors have been circling for awhile now that Google would be creating a phone, and in just a few days we will finally get to see it. It is called the Dream, which is quite a name to live up to. The information about this badboy is being kept under major lock and key, but many people (read: techy geeks) are sure that this phone will give Apple a run for its money.

If you are really nerdy, like me, you can watch the demo video to see what The Dream has to offer. But if you don’t want to waste 7 minutes, I can sum it up for you:

It looks and acts a lot like the iPhone: touchscreen, internet, Google maps…

I don’t know much about technology, or programming or phones (beyond texting), but I am not sure this Google phone is so revolutionary. I guess I’ll just have to wait until September 23rd to see. For now, I’m holding tight to my iPhone.