The Pros and Cons of the Long Distance Relationship

Carly - Grinnell — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:00:49 +0000

Ah, the LDR . . . it’s one of the most talked-about relationship types ever, and for good reason—there’s just so much to say about it. Should you do it? Shouldn’t you? For some people, it’s not so bad, and for others, it’s absolutely never going to work. But if you find the right person and it just happens to be the wrong time in your life to physically be in the same place, is an LDR worthwhile? Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons:

ADVANTAGES

Be a total pig: If you’re not exactly Mr. Clean, your significant other never needs to know unless he or she comes to visit, in which case you can do a total sweep of the house in time for the arrival. In fact, it’s easy to cover up a lot of bad habits if you’re in a long-distance relationship. As long as you can hold off pounding down the Cheetos or compulsively biting your nails for the short times when you do actually see the person you’re dating, you can otherwise freely indulge in your vices.

Time for yourself: This is a biggie. If you still like to hit up the bar with your friends or spend all your spare time watching college football games, there’s no boyfriend or girlfriend to stop you in an LDR. In a way, it’s the best of both worlds—you get to date a great person while still enjoying one of the biggest benefits of being single: time.

Check out the goods: A long-distance relationship does not give you an excuse to cheat on your significant other, and if you do, you’ll probably be sorry (yes, s/he will find out). But it does give you a pretty good excuse to eye up other hotties without feeling totally guilty about it. There’s not really any harm in an extended gaze of that guy’s six-pack at the beach, so stare away!

DISADVANTAGES

No booty calls: Unless you’ve figured out the nuances of time and space travel, you’re probably going to end up pleasing yourself most of the time when you feel like getting some. Don’t get me wrong—that can be great—but it’s not exactly the same great as having a warm, loving body next to you.

Tenuous relationship: Let’s be honest—even regular, same-city or same-living-space relationships are hard enough to hold together. It gets a lot harder when you’re living dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of miles apart. You might start on a firm foundation and then watch that crumble when you realize you don’t have quite enough interest or quite enough enthusiasm to expend the effort of trying to make it work.

Cell-phone ear: I was in a long-distance relationship for the better part of three years, and I don’t think I’ll ever look at a cell phone the same way again. Sure, it’s a great tool, but it’s also a great annoyance. There are few worse things than having a phone plastered to your ear for hours on end. Plus, face-to-face time doesn’t send those wonky tower waves through your brain.

Are you in an LDR? What’s the best part of it? The worst?

The World Gets Just a Little Bit Dirtier: Mr. Clean Dies at 92

CC Staff — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:40:47 +0000


No, not the actual cartoon (cartoons don't die.  Unless they're those cartoon rabbits from Watership Down), but actor House Peters Jr., the man who became the model for Proctor & Gamble's original Mr. Clean in their 1950's advertising campaign.
Because a lot of college kids may not know who House Peters, or even the cartoon Mr. Clean, is (these days we wipe up beer with more beer, right kids?), we've dug up a vintage Mr. Clean commercial from the '50's.  It's so happy and peppy and long (how the hell did anyone have the attention span for a 60 second commercial?), it's sure to keep you humming all the way to Econ 105.
RIP Mr. House Peters.  You had the coolest bald head in the business.

CollegeCandy - Life, Love & Style For The College Girl » mr clean

The Pros and Cons of the Long Distance Relationship

The World Gets Just a Little Bit Dirtier: Mr. Clean Dies at 92