I learned more my first week at college than I did in my entire life. And I don’t mean academically. I mean socially, financially, emotionally and drunk-ly. Some things took longer to figure out than others (that I should visit the ATM before I get to the bar, to avoid extra fees and my tendency to tipsily make it rain) and other things took mere minutes (don’t eat dining hall hot dogs).

But there are 5 things that every freshman should figure out their very first week on campus. Consider this College Life 101: Intro To The Best 4 Years of Your Life.

The go-to hangover breakfast spot: For those mornings when a Gatorade and toast just won’t do the trick, you need to find the most happening breakfast place near campus. This is not only important for the mornings when you need to take things to-go (back to your bed where you can lie in the dark while watching Daisy of Love marathons), but also for the social aspect of morning-after breakfast. Because everyone knows, after the party it’s the after party…and after that and the hotel lobby… it’s IHOP.

So, on those mornings when your inner monologue sounds like “Hahalalala definitely still drunk and my hair and makeup still look great!” you’ll know where you and your girls can go to re-cap last night’s madness while chowing on carby goodness and watching people walk in wearing their clothes from the night before. Read More »

It’s Superbowl season and you know what that means. Well, if you’re me it means nothing as I hate sports, but to others it’s the season of greasy snack food, beer, and two toned shirts.

And to retailers it’s the season to lower prices on TVs.

Yes, this is the season to buy a new TV.  As this is one of the largest viewing events of the year, the prices of TVs are being slashed to make purchasing that new set as easy as possible for that avid football nut. I mean, it’s far easier to convince your wife/girlfriend/sig other that it’s a good buy when it’s $500 off (after mail in rebates).

But even if you’re not really into the game, now would still be a good time to upgrade from that old tube set. Flat screen TVs are easier to fit into small spaces, provide a much better picture and are just so pretty. Below are some pretty fantastic deals happening now. Read More »

If you’re dying to get rid of your old English lit novels, or if you find your boxed set of Little House on the Prairie books gathering dust in the corner of your room, then boy, have I got the places for you.

What if you could find someone on the Web who wanted your old books, but you wouldn’t have to go through all the trouble of finding that person yourself? What if you could also search the Web for almost any book you wanted and get it for free? Pretty cool, right?

Well, swapping books is all the rage nowadays, and there are a multitude of book-swapping sites to prove it. Most are free to join and score you on a point system. For listing a book on the site, you get some fraction of a point. For actually giving a book away (that is, putting it in an envelope and slapping on the postage to send it), you get a full point. And for every full point you earn, you get a free book of your choice.

Here’s a smattering of what’s out there: Read More »

Think you and your phone are the coolest thing to grace the planet?

There are many among us that consider our cell phones a status symbol, a fashionable accessory that proves our technological prowess (and willingness to spend hundreds on a chunk of metal).

There are others who still use the free piece of sh*t we got when we activated our plans.

Well, it’s time to push your pretentiousness (or indifference) aside because theres a new phone out there that’s so small, so sleek, and so thin that even the newest iPhone prototypes can’t live up to it. Welcome the Post A Phone!

At 4 millimeters, can we all finally agree that its just about the smallest phone you can get? I really don’t think they can get much sleeker! At any rate, Post A Phone rules.

Here’s what it does:

When your usual cell phone craps out on you (or you drunkenly drop it in a toilet…it happens), you simply order (if you’re smart — pre-phone meltdown) Post A Phone and it comes to you through the regular mail. When you open the teeny-tiny box, you’ll find a fully functioning phone made entirely of recycled cardboard and/or plastic. Read More »

Days as a Freshman: 28

Current Mood: Anticipating

“So, are you going to the dance tonight?”

Naima leaned against the soda machine, her arms sagging underneath two giant boxes. Crystal and I were waiting with her in the mail line. Neither of us had anything to send out; it was mostly a moral support thing. No one liked to wait in the mail line alone. No matter what time of day you went, it was always the longest line in history.

“I’m not sure. Those things always end up sucking.” Crystal reached out to take one of Naima’s boxes, but Naima pulled away.

“I got it, honey.” She said reassuringly. “Your girl’s a bodybuilder!”

Letting out her signature laugh, Naima hitched the boxes up higher in her arms and completely ignored the people turning around to see where the noise was coming from.

Naima was another freshman Crystal and I had met in our unholy Statistics class. Unlike us, she was completely unafraid of asking questions, and more we got to know her, the more she seemed to be completely unafraid of anything. Read More »

Calling all bong-rippers: Mike Skinner of The Streets is holding a “bong-making” contest on the last stops on his tour.

One lucky winner (stoner, engineer, Nintendo Wiid player – same thing) will receive a drum cymbal signed by Skinner and two VIP passes for his August 26 gig at the aptly-titled Get Loaded in the Park festival.

The winner will also share the stage with the U.K. MC during his set-closer, “The Irony of It All” – a song dedicated to the wonders of weed – to smoke up with him using the homemade bong. He better be the one supplying the sweet smoke…scruffy little scrounger.

Read More »

My dear, sweet Brit-Brit. It has been a tumultuous and, may I say, “chaotic” eight years since you have entered my life. Seems like it was just yesterday when I rushed home from school and turned on TRL, hosted by Carson Daly a la his “fat” years, only to find solace in you and your not-so-innocence. There you were, like a reliable old friend, nestled in between 98 Degrees at Number 3 and those damned Backstreet Boys, holding down the top spot once again. By the way, what ever happened to Howie D? Does anyone know? Anyone? If you’re out there, Howie D, I miss you….

Anyway, back then, I was a young and naïve high school freshman in search of life’s meaning. And, okay, you never really got around to the answer, per say. You never sang of spiritual philosophies, or spoke of human rights or family values. But to me – to ME, you were all I needed to get by in a world where, well….none of that stuff really matters at all! I mean, come on. Who wouldn’t take “E-Mail My Heart” over “An Enquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”, by Adam Smith, the Scottish economist and moral philosopher of the late 1700’s? Bo-ring. Read More »