Except, I do imagine it. I catch myself worrying about non-existent assignments and responsibilities that won’t resume until September. But even more, I constantly find myself spacing out at work, reminiscing about all the good stuff that comes along with college. Mostly the whole not-bored-at-work-9-to-5 thing.

And I miss it!

Meal Plans: While I’m lucky enough not to be taking classes this summer, I do have to work — which means I’m stuck in a college town all summer long without the benefit of visiting home, and therefore the benefit of home cookin’. My freshman year, I ate dining hall food. My sophomore year, my sorority dues included a meal plan. This summer, with my sorority house closed and the dining halls freshmen-infested, I’m armed only with my apartment’s kitchen and whatever the hell I find when I Google “easy, cheap, healthy recipes” and pudding. Do I enjoy learning to cook? Absolutely. Would I prefer a cook to prepare my meals? Uh, hell yes. Plus, there’s no clean up if you’re not the one using all the dishes…

The Gym: As any lady knows, summer is either the best time to flaunt your hard earned bikini-bod, or to berate yourself for spending more of Spring watching The Office than a yoga instructor. So naturally, gym time is a necessary evil (unless you enjoy working out, which I sadly do not). Imagine my disappointment when I arrived at my campus gym early for kickboxing, only to have my student I.D. DENIED at the turnstile. It was almost as embarrassing as having a credit card declined, weirdly enough. Apparently, if you don’t take summer classes at FSU, you can’t use the gym (I guess the tuition I pay during fall and spring doesn’t cut it). Every day as I run outside (instead of on a treadmill with AC and Daisy of Love repeats) I count the days until I’ll be back at the student gym.

The Bar Scene: Never in my life did I think I’d find myself wishing for the bar to be more crowded. There are no lines for the bathroom, the bartenders are almost overly attentive, and I have enough room to extend my arms. All of these are seemingly good things, but when there are no people to watch, no strangers to mingle with, and no one standing between me and unlimited mojitos, things at the bar just don’t end well. When it takes me 20 minutes to fight my way through the crowd to the bar in Fall, I will look back at this time lovingly, but for now, the bar scene just seems kinda boring.

“Academic Expenses”: As I mentioned before, I’m a working woman. But when my parents offer to help out with any school related costs, I definitely don’t turn it down. The beauty of this is that there is always some way to explain a purchase as necessary to my academic career. “Supplies” at Walmart, “Business attire” for those in-class presentations, and my personal favorite “Whatever they sell at the bookstore” because Mom’s credit card is on file there. A random charge on her statement is easily explained during the semester, but trying to convince her that I need money for “road trip supplies” doesn’t go as smoothly.

Overall, I’m not complaining about a long, hot and relaxing summer—but there are definitely a few things I miss about Fall and Spring. What about you guys?

Zumba

If you love to dance, this exercise is a must try! The latin inspired fitness dance class took sports gyms by storm in 2008. According to the official Zumba® website, “Zumba® Fitness was created in the mid-90’s by Colombian native Alberto “Beto” Perez, a celebrity fitness trainer and choreographer for International pop superstars. Inspired by the traditional cumbia, salsa, samba and merengue music he grew up with, Beto paired his favorite pulsating Latin rhythms with the red-hot international dance steps his clients loved and Zumba® Fitness (Spanish slang for “to move fast and have fun”) was born!” Click here to find the nearest Zumba class to where you live.

Pilates

Pilates really works your core and creates a leaner looking midsection. It will teach you how to suck in your beer gut without having that “sucking it in” look on your face in pictures. If you are naturally thin and are looking for a way tone up, this is an awesome exercise that will even make you look taller! For beginners you will most likely just use a mat and your own body weight. You will break a sweat, but this is not a heart pumping exercise. You may not even realize the muscles you are using during class, but you will definitely feel it the next day. I personally have noticed the slimming and toning effects after just as little as 2 classes. If your school doesn’t offer Pilates classes, you can check out a few of my favorite routines for free here. On average, Pilates burns about 330 calories per hour.

Yoga

You probably are familiar with Yoga, but what you may know is that although it doesn’t provide a cardio workout, it does help weight loss efforts. In a recent study, it was revealed that yoga may help you lose weight and keep if off better than a low carb or low fat diet as a result of it’s the meditation effects. The meditation allows its practitioners to feel confident in their skin and achieve a healthier lifestyle. Those that were on a low calorie, low fat, low carb whatever, lost weight initially but were unable to keep it off as time went on. The yogi’s adopted a healthy lifestyle that allowed them to make wise food and exercise decisions. It also will give you an awesome body as a result of holding difficult poses. It does wonders for your arms and abs, making it a great form of exercise for tank top season! It’s also relaxing and is proven to combat stress and depression! On average it burns about 200 calories per hour.

Spinning

Seen in many movies like the opening scene from “The Sweetest Thing,” spinning is definitely an acquired taste. I will honestly admit I have never taken a class because I do not like bikes. However, it is an awesome workout for burning calories like crazy. In the words of my sister, “It’s a super cardio workout.” If you wanna lose weight, take this class. If you need a challenge, take this class. The high intensity workout can burn you about 700 calories in an hour (based on a 140 lb woman). If you want to try out your biking likability, try this 4 minute bike workout that will give you an idea of how much you like the bikers burn!

Other classes to check out at your school are kickboxing, bootcamp style classes, hula hooping, stip tease aerobics and cardio classes. For more free workout videos delivered weekly subscribe to my YouTube channel, DietHealth. Did I mention we give out free gifts to our subscribers each month, from free food to healthy recipe books and fitness DVD’s?

You can also follow me on twitter (DietSarah) and ask any fitness questions you may have! See you next week!

So, in an attempt to avoid an ulcer or an unfortunate road rage incident, I vent to you, dear reader. Please feel free to join in and comment about anything–really, anything–that pissed. you. off. this week. Let it all hang out. I feel you.]

Cell phone companies: Lately, all these upbeat and happy-go-lucky cell phone company commercials (in addition to the fact that my phone has, miraculously, not been stolen for a few years) led me to lower my guard towards the vicious corporate cell conglomerates. Until yesterday.

I practically skipped out of the store getting sticky fingerprints alllll ovah my new Vu. I had barely blinked when I signed away on the $264 transaction and sold my cell-soul for another two years (I like to pretend I’m really rich when I buy expensive things that are necessary purchases…it makes parting with my very small funds a lil bit easier). Then my boyfriend called; he had dutifully been doing some comparison shopping, as he’s well aware of my tendency to impulse buy. He had found the same phone, same deal for $135… before the rebate. Naturally, I went to return my phone and buy take the cheaper deal, only to find that, no, the company could not reverse the contract they JUST processed. And, no, I could not return my phone because apparently they examine it for microscopic scratches and cite a $75 “re-stocking” fee. So it was either keep my phone, or pay to return it. After my contract expires, I’m switching to carrier pigeon.

Free-riders.  And, no, I don’t mean fun-loving motorcyclists. I’m talking about the imaginary 5th member of your presentation group, the one who never raised his hand in class to identify himself, the one who definitely didn’t come to the library to work on it, and the one who stood silently behind everyone on presentation day. Or perhaps the girl who e-mails the entire roster when she misses class (every Monday and Wednesday) asking what we covered. Maybe even the guy who sleeps next to you for the entirety of Stats and then coolly asks to borrow the notes you just painstakingly transferred into English from whatever dialect of it your teacher was speaking. Just so you know, Freeloaders, I bust my scholastic ass for the sake of my GPA—not yours.

Gym Resolutioners.  Yes, they are still there, clogging the turnstiles to get into the Student Gym. There are still hordes of girls (who are not even wearing proper exercise equipment/attire, might I add) extending the line for elliptical machines waaaay longer than necessary. There are still enough newcomers to exercise classes snapping up spaces on the sign-up sheets for kickboxing that I have to get to the gym FORTY-FIVE MINUTES before the class starts to wait in line, just so I hopefully get a spot. And they are definitely still taking my yoga classes, because whenever we do Downward Dog I hear giggling in the back of the studio. I’m all for everyone getting healthy in 2009, but come on, resolutioners, at least take working out seriously. And stop arriving in masses at 6 pm every night…I know you guys have some sort of communication signal that tells you all to stop whatever you’re doing at once and go crowd the Stairmasters!

Whew, I’m so worked up I might not even need to do Cardio today after that rant. What pissed YOU off this week?