I know it’s only June and the dog days of summer have just barely started, but it was 99 degrees here yesterday and after lugging my million-pound air conditioner up 3 flights of stairs, there is nothing I wanted more than the 10 feet of snow that seemed to pile up every other day this past winter. A wise man once told me (okay, so it maybe it wasn’t a wise man… maybe it was just my mom back in 1997 when we couldn’t afford AC) that if you think cool thoughts, you’ll cool down.

…Yeah, that’s never actually worked for me, but here’s some cool-spiration for you to try out my mom’s…erm…the wise man’s advice.

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Know of any other extra cold places? What do you do to cool down- or do you actually enjoy the heat?

Newsflash: it’s scorching hot outside.

Not that I needed to tell you that. I’m sure the sweat forming under your boobs as we speak sends that message loud and clear (and wet). I wouldn’t mind the heat so much outside (that’s what pools and beaches are for, right?) if my apartment weren’t also 10,000 degrees. It seems my air conditioning has taken a permanent vacay and the only way to stay cool is to watch TV in a bikini with a half-gallon of Edy’s between my legs.

I wonder what my neighbors think…

I feel like I’ve tried everything – including sitting in a cooler full of ice at my 4th of July BBQ – but nothing is working and I fear my organs are cooking inside of my body. That can’t be good for my liver, right? In order to find some relief, I turned to the CollegeCandy writers to find out what they do to keep cool on these sweltering days. Need some ideas to cool down? Read on:

Rachael – University of Miami: Air conditioning, smoothies, and (of course) any form of chocolate ice cream. Oh, and embracing the antics of my old floormates and ditching the shirt when I’m hanging out in my room; a bra and shorts are surprisingly comfortable, and a lot cooler than having a shirt sticking to your chest and back.

Kari – Florida State: I hit the gym! It’s freezing cold in there and when I leave, at least I can feel good about being sweaty…

Sarabeth – University of Texas: I have this reusable ice-stick thing that came with a water bottle I bought, but instead of using it as I should, I put it between my boobs. No one can tell and it feels amazing. Read More »

My small, Canadian town is experiencing a bit of a heat wave. Albeit, heat wave for us means 30 C (86 F for all you Americans!), but still. During the day, it’s great; I get to play outside and work on my ever-increasing tan. However, at night, it’s gross. My house doesn’t have air conditioning so I’m trapped in a hot, muggy box.

Needless to say, I’ve been surviving the sweat by living out of my cool-er basement,  book in hand. And there’s only one author who can remove me from my misery: James Frey. I chose his latest, “Bright, Shiny Morning,” for the setting: Los Angeles. The sweltering heat of LA pummels my Canadian heat wave, but while I’m sweating away, I feel like I can relate to the Californians in this novel.

“Bright, Shiny Morning”, as I said, is set in California. It tells the stories of various individuals living in the Los Angeles area. From a Hollywood star living a double life to a brilliant, Mexican housekeeper, Frey paints so many pictures, the reader is bound to relate to one. His imagination never ceases to amaze me; he comes up with the most fantastic characters and keeps the reader engaged.

Despite the interesting story, it’s Frey’s style that attracts me to his novels. Typically, the novel is written in a frantic and disorganized fashion. But I find it beautiful. Frey’s writing makes me feel so much emotion, more than most authors are even capable of. He truly is a gifted writer and I am always excited to hear he has new material coming out.

If you’re looking for a great book to beat the heat with or some way to make a rainy day go away, “Bright, Shiny Morning” is for you. It’s an interesting, beautiful read with loads of substance.

Get more awesome book suggestions here.

As if the New York City heat wave wasn’t hell-sent enough, it chose to hit at the exact moment that the air conditioning in our cluttered intern’s den became kaput. Working at this music television station had simply become one crazy story after the next.

The other day I was asked to get one of the VJ’s dogs groomed and was given an anal leakage prescription that, to my horror (this is my luck we’re talking about) got carried away by a breeze and was handed back to me by a beautiful, beautiful (somewhat queasy-looking) but beautiful boy. Anal leakage is not such a cute ‘So how’d you two meet?’ type of story. So, I bailed pronto.

Anyway that was the other day, today was today, and today I was sweating like a recovering nymphomaniac who’d accidentally stumbled into a brothel. The glory of it all was that miraculously, the AC had only died out in our small cubicle encrusted room, so no one with any actual power had any desire to get it fixed anytime soon.

Oh, the agony of a summer internship.

I was immersed in checking for evidence of the dreaded pit stain (little ones already and it was only nine, boo) when my boss Pierre came to what seemed like my rescue, informing me that I’d be working in the filming studio today. I clapped my hands together, this I’d never done before! Read More »

If you’re anything like me, you own one air conditioner that’s only strong enough to cool a tiny pocket of air, and you’re afraid to turn it on anyway because of that pesky electricity bill.

So basically, you’re spending these summer days dripping in sweat. And not that pretty, girlish glisten. Sweat. Sticking to your clothes, running down your back, mattering your hair down until you feel as attractive and energetic as a cat that’s been hosed with dirty water.

What’s a girl stuck in the middle of summer without AC to do? She improvises.

#1 Make a Towel-sicle: If you’re certain it’s going to be 90 degrees with a 100% chance of stuffiness tonight, wet a small washcloth or towel and put it in freezer for up to an hour. When you’re ready to go to bed, take that baby out and use it to cool yourself for a few blissful minutes. The one downside to this endeavor is the obvious melting issue, but hey, a little wetness never hurt anyone.

#2 Freeze your Head: Much like the towel-sicle, all this improvisation needs is a cloth bandana and a freezer. Moisten the bandana and stick it in the freezer up to an hour before going outside. Sure, you can buy something made specifically for this purpose, but most of them make you look like a giant tool. Read More »