It’s been a little over a month since the 8.9 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan. With resources finally being restocked and less scheduled black outs occurring it seems people in Japan are starting a slow recovery back to their lives prior to the natural disaster.

Residents are still dealing with aftershocks, which sometimes happen up to 10 times a day, along with having to say goodbye to friends who have left Japan.  Most are not able to drink from tap water because of the threat of radiation levels. Not to mention that the situation with the nuclear plants is still unstable and uncertain.

Although everyone is trying to move on with their lives, they are still faced with everyday obstacles that are making returning back to their everyday lives increasingly difficult. As with most natural disaster relief, many aides have left after the initial clean up, leaving residents to face the mess alone. However there are some companies that are still offering relief.

Here are some ways you can still help out:

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Your college experience flies by so fast that you’re often stuck standing in line for graduation wondering where the past four years went. You vaguely remember meeting your best friend when she held your hair back after your first frat party and you kinda remember that all-nighter you pulled to get 3 term papers done in one night. But the rest is a blur of theme parties, walks of shame, and begging your older sister for her fake ID.

Before you know it, you’re out in the real world, working a real job alongside real people, wondering what happened to no-class Friday and $3 pitchers. And trust me, it ain’t fun.

It gets pretty easy to get caught up in it all and forget to be young and crazy. That’s why, with only a little way’s to go until I hit the big 2-5, I’ve put together the ultimate list of everything we, as fun-loving and fearless women, need to accomplish before we turn 25. Read More »

About 3 weeks ago, David and I were laying in bed on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, nursing epic hangovers from a Happy Hour that lasted far too many hours. After eating an entire pizza and deciding we were too lazy even to go rent a movie, we channel surfed, trying to find something we could both agree on. Naturally we settled on a marathon of Flip This House (can anyone ever get enough of Armando Montelongo? C’mon, just saying his name puts me in a great mood).

Anywho, while watching, we had our usual conversation about how awesome it would be to flip a house. All the demolition and repairs (and interior decorating, hello!) almost had us salivating at the idea (or maybe it was just the leftover pizza crusts, hard to tell). We both agreed that it would be incredibly cool to flip – nay – build a house from scratch. But who in their right mind would allow two completely inexperienced college kids masquerade as architects/carpenters/interior designers?

Enter Ty Pennington. Well, kind of. An Extreme Home Makover: Home Edition marathon was starting on the next channel, and after crying intermittently for 2 hours, David suggested we volunteer to build a house. This way, we’d get to help a family in need and if we screwed anything up while building, we wouldn’t have to actually live there (he was kidding. I think). Read More »

Overall, this is sad, but in a couple of weeks I’ll be getting nearly a G in tax returns.  Yeah, that’s a crapload of money.  But when I look back at all the hours I worked in 2008, it also makes me realize… I made jack sh*t.  Still, this hefty lump sum couldn’t come at a better time for me, as I’m watching my credit card debt grow, next month’s rent is looming on the horizon, and summer (aka a full-time waitressing gig) can’t come quick enough.

In reality, I’d love to take my refund check and spend it in one go at the mall, especially since warm weather means I have to chuck my so-worn-they-belong-in-the-What-Not-to-Wear-dumpster sweater boots, and I don’t have ANY cute flip flops to wear in their place.  But, since I’ve been struggling all winter, I am going to use this money wisely.  And by use “wisely,” I don’t necessarily mean put it back into the bank.  We all deserve to splurge every now and then, and here are some of the best guilty pleasures your tax refund can buy.

1.  Upgrade your phone.

Am I the only campus coed who has never known the joys of an iPhone or Blackberry?  I recently lost my cell in a drunken stupor, and, though I had been waiting for the summer to upgrade, I figured it’s now or never.  Best buy of my life.  I got a refurbished 16-gig iPhone for under $250.  And it’s not just a phone– I can check the weather without getting out of bed or waiting for Weather.com to load on my slow-ass computer, I can check my email for last minute class cancellations while on my way to a lecture, and once I figure out these apps, I’m pretty sure I can load a calorie counter onto my phone to use in the dining hall.  How did I live without this baby? Read More »

Tomorrow is the big day for President-elect Obama and you would think that today he’d be resting up or putting the final touches on his speech.Not our President-Elect.

Today the soon-to-be Pres is going to be participating in the National Day of Service and urges all of us to do the same. Obama is asking everyone to get up and get out to participate and volunteer in their communities.

The initiative is being launched in collaboration with USAservice.org, a website that has listed every event you can get involved in. Based on where you are living, you can find events to help out in your community. The site has opportunities from your local YMCA to Habitat for Humanity.

Even if you won’t be able to participate in today’s Day of Service, this is a great site to look at if you are interested in helping out a little more in your community.

But, let’s be real; if Barack Obama has time to help out today, so do you.

The new year not only brings Jan 1st hangovers and regret over your choice for the midnight kiss, (who may still be lying next to you as you read this…) but also a plethora of New Year’s Resolutions. However I’ve discovered through extensive research and observation that there are certain resolutions that college students make and then break every. single. year. These are the top three New Years Resolutions that are forgotten by Groundhogs day.

1. Get in Shape

Whether it’s the fact that spring break is weeks away or that people over-indulged on holiday dips and homemade cooking, everyone comes back to school with overly-optimistic gym ambitions. Ellipticals that haven’t been used in months are suddenly turned on and counting calories. Everyone tries out the stairmaster once and a few braver people venture to the other side of the gym to lift weights. It’s always easy to identify the new-years-resolution-workouts; they are the people with the too-well matched gym outfits who do an amazingly intense workout for the first five minuntes and then spend the next 35 minutes walking and talking about being really serious about getting into shape. They chug their water, wipe off their nonexistent sweat and they’re never seen in the gym after January 31st. Read More »

It is now nearing the middle of October. If midterms aren’t bringing you down just yet, something probably is. Whether it be guy problems, money problems, annoying roommate issues or simply a general feeling of crappiness, you want nothing more than to vent, drink, and wallow in your world of misery.

Naturally.

I’ve been there. We’ve all been there. And everyone needs a little time to bitch.

But after watching an episode of Oprah all about giving back, I was inspired by a young girl who was battling a life threatening disease. Despite her condition, she found the time and energy to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for children suffering from AIDS in Africa. Makes our problems see quite trivial, eh? Read More »

Oh, Onion, you’re always one step ahead of me…

Alternative Spring Break Devolves Into Real Spring BreakBILOXI, MS—What was intended to be a week devoted to charitable activities in a region still recovering from Hurricane Katrina quickly spiraled into a conventional, alcohol-fueled spring break this weekend, community sources reported.Housing construction and cleanup projects were marred by dozens of arrests for public intoxication and disorderly conduct, as well as widespread reports of public urination and indecent exposure.An alternative spring breaker from Michigan State University takes a semi-deserved break.”Alternative spring break rules!” said Michigan State University sophomore Nate Sherman…more…

*Sigh* Turns out my post about “using your Spring Break for good rather than evil” was all for naught.

You’ve been hittin’ the gym every day since January with the explicit intent of rocking a thong-cut bikini for Spring Break in Cabo. Wooooooo!

And I bet you’ll look fiiine. And I bet all the boys will be all, mmm-hmmm.

But y’know who won’t be ogling you? Homeless people.

(Okay, maybe I’m being a tad alarmist, but it’s true nonetheless.)

Consider using your bad-ass bod and sculpted muscles to make a difference. Habitat for Humanity offers their “Collegiate Challenge” – an “alternative break program” which encourages college kids to spend their outdoor energies building houses for the needy.

Habitat For Humanity has affiliates all over the U.S. so it’s a viable option no matter where you go to school. And even if you’ve already booked your tickets South, you can always consider opting for this “alternative” for your next break.

Though it’s not quite as glamorous as lounging on pink sandy shores, the feeling of generosity lasts exponentially longer than a tan. And consider this: will you meet better guys doing shooters in Mexico or doing charity work in N’orleans?