2. Talk to people and say things we would never have the balls to say in person (“You are being a bitch,” “I totally heart you.”)

3. We can procrastinate on everything in favor of the endless entertainment the inter-webs provide.

The sheer number of blogs and awesome websites out there is astounding…and nearly impossible to navigate. Which ones are good? Which ones are bad? Which ones will flash giant naked men on our screen? (Editor’s Note: Those are my favorite!) Which ones talk about all the stuff I want to hear?

That’s why we are here.

There are so many great college blogs out there and we want to share them with you. Because, after all, we college kids gotta stick together. So, here are a few of our favorites for today:

1. Absolut College Girl: She’s a college girl with something (actually, a lot of things) interesting to say.

2. Society and Style: Just reading about her daily life makes us tired…and slightly addicted.

3. The Student Body: Health and fitness tips for college students and college students only.

4. College Slackers: Just what it sounds like – the perfect place to go when you don’t want to do any work.

5. School is Hard: Because it is…and help is nice.

Got any other blogs you love? Let us know; we’are always looking for more!

I’ve been spending a lot of time at music festivals this summer, like waaay more than anyone who isn’t obsessed with Jerry Garcia and The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test should, so I have run into a few very interesting characters, to say the least.

Now, I’m not saying that I’m not a whole fan of the hippie lifestyle. I’m extremely liberal and I love me some tye dye & hemp necklaces & moonshine just as much as the next chick. I just prefer to have clean underwear and hair that smells more like strawberries than Mary Jane. But the one thing I have never found appealing are the dreadlocked, banjo-playing, I-ate-way-too-many-mushrooms-once kind of crazies you run into at festivals – who basically live and breathe the whole scene.

I have a best friend; however, who is notorious for falling in lurrrve with every boy who writes her a sonnet and accompanies on his harmonica or enchants her with stories of touring with The String Cheese Incident. She’s a sucker, that’s for sure. I always wondered: How is it humanly possible that my friend who is gorgeous, intelligent & about to graduate with a B.A. going to seriously consider dating someone who is jobless, degree-less and (presumably) showerless?

This is especially hard for me to grasp as I am on the complete opposite end of the scumbag spectrum: I won’t give a guy a second glance if he isn’t enrolled in at least 16 semester hours, working his ass off at the local pizza shop to pay rent AND already completing or is planning to complete an internship in his chosen field (that would preferably be law, medicine or business) in the very near future.

Picky? Maybe. But I feel that if I’m gonna marry, or at the very least have some kind of future with someone, I want him to be at my “level” or above. Ya feel me? Leave the losers for the high school girls.

But, as I sat down to write this, I realized that perhaps, I am being a wee bit too judgmental. Isn’t it more important that the guy love and respect me – regardless of whether he is going to grad school or will be offered a fabulous job after college? Isn’t it possible to be happily married to a man who never slaved his way through four years of Shakespeare, lectures on the Industrial Revolution and quadratic equations?

I think the answer is: YES. It’s kind of a weird concept for me to wrap my hungover brain around, but I think there are actually some things more important in life than status and money. I see now, that the reason my BFF falls for these weirdos is because they are happy with who they are and are obviously extremely passionate about the way they live. What does all that money and power mean if you aren’t content? What does a degree actually do for you if you have no real sense of purpose? Absolutely nothing.

I wanted to write some story about how we as women should ditch all these loser scumbags with no jobs and no future plans in favor of the stud muffins in our Economics classes who will be makin’ six figures ten years down the road. Okay, I still suggest that. But I also want to make it known that not everybody has to go to college, or have a sweet job handed to them on a silver platter to make a potentially good boyfriend/fiancé/husband/life-long partner. In fact, you might even find that these guys have more drive and desire to get what they actually want out of life than the dude who was forced into college by his crazy father who is trying to live vicariously through him.

So next time a dude who tells me he’s living with his grandma and had to drop out last semester/quit his job at the local pizza shop/will probably never go back to school asks me on a date, I MIGHT consider saying yes.

As long as he plays the harmonica.

It means, as a woman of the new millennium, you’re likely to date a guy who is (not to sound too demeaning) a few rungs below you on the ladder to lifelong success. As someone who has dated her fair share of men who lack any aspirations (my disapproving dad calls them slackers), I know a thing or two about these types of boys. I’ve learned many lessons, which I will now share with you if you’re at all interested in pursuing, or continuing, a relationship with one of these self-declared duds.

Let’s begin with the upside. Guys who aren’t busting their balls at work in order to get a better job or a higher wage are more likely to be attentive and available to you. (More time for massages? Count me in!) They tend to be calmer, more easy going, and, most likely, able to hang out more often.

Unfortunately, that’s about it in terms of the pro’s. So, let’s look at the downside and, more importantly, how to deal with it.

The first question you have to ask yourself is: why is he not interested in a forward moving career? He might be satisfied with the job he’s got. If it makes him happy and he earns a salary where you won’t be supporting him financially, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, if he’s not moving ahead in life because he’s lazy, this could be a terrible thing. Especially if you’re more of a go-getter. Guys can’t be fixed, it’s important to remember this if you’re a fixer like I am. No amount of pushing and prodding will motivate a guy; instead he’ll just get annoyed and you’ll just get frustrated.

One type of boy who you might assume is a slacker but might not be, is the college dropout. Keep in mind that just because a guy dropped out of college doesn’t mean he’s not motivated or a hard worker. I’ve actually met a few very successful guys who were dropouts. Many just didn’t find higher education satisfying, and instead pursued a different path, be it a career in writing, the arts, or even the restaurant biz (one guy I met was a pastry chef!).

All in all a relationship with a non-motivated boyfriend or a college dropout boyfriend is only a problem if it’s a problem for you. A little convoluted, I know, but it makes sense. If a guy who strives to be manager, CEO, or the next president of the United States is your type, then why bother with a guy who’s satisfied being an assistant? But if you’re in love and a dude who treats you well, makes you laugh, and makes your toes do that weird stretchy thing, then why throw it all away for someone else’s idea of success?

[Photo courtesy of flickr]

My friend Veronica (not her real name) is in the middle of such a slacker paradise. She’s temporarily living at home until she can relocate with her boyfriend to an as-of-yet unknown locale, she was recently laid off from a job she hated anyway, and she’s one of the only people I know who doesn’t freak out in a situation like this. But as someone looking on at her life and her relationship from a slight distance, I’m freaking out on her behalf.

Her boyfriend recently bought a Wii, that addictive gaming console that lets you bowl or play tennis by swinging a white remote around and looking like a moron. I love my friend, and I love that she’s so comfortable with her boyfriend that she can hang out with him in her pajamas, and I love that he finds her sexy even when she doesn’t shower. But I think there’s a fine line between being comfortable with your other and being stuck in a rut.

Veronica and her boyfriend have long been turning into the same person. First, it was their jokes, sometimes funny, sometimes offensive, as if they were nudging each other on. Now, it’s their attitudes towards life, a blasé, things-will-work-out-on-there-own attitude that seems to magnify the longer they are together. This may sound as if I don’t like them together, but that’s actually not true. He’s a good person and he treats her well, and I wish I could be as relaxed and go-with-the-flow as she is, but I’m not, so I worry.

The risk of the slacker dream is real. When you’re in college you have time apart literally built into your schedules. You have class time, study time, maybe lab time, apart. When you’re employed, this time triples, quadruples, to forty+ hours a week. The time you spend together is then more thought-out, more carefully utilized. Sleeping in together becomes a treat and dinners out aren’t an everyday thing but a date. While the sleeping ‘til noon life with your boyfriend might sound like heaven, it can actually be very unhealthy. I’ve been there.

When you spend all your time with your other, morning, noon, night, and happy hour, you lose all perspective. I spent a year and a half attached at the hip to a boyfriend. I drifted way from friends, put on five (okay, ten) pounds, and at one point even wore a ring on that finger. It wasn’t until a study abroad trip to Prague threw me back into reality (a very grey, post-Communist reality). I hadn’t entered into some loving, comfortable place with my boyfriend, I’d gotten stuck in the mud, and I hadn’t even noticed.

Now, I’m not suggesting you take a trip to Prague if you’re in the relationship mud (goulash and dumplings is really an acquired taste), but I do think you should take a mini vacation from your relationship. Not a break, not at all, but a few nights without him. Go to a bar with just the girls, rent a few cheesy romantic comedies, take a weekend trip to Las Vegas or Atlantic City and dress up in your finest glittery gold. What’s the harm? If he loves you than a weekend without you isn’t going to send him into the bed of some floozy. If the time apart gives you a new perspective on the relationship and you decide that it’s not working, then I’ve saved you the year of heartache I wish I’d been saved from. And if distance really does make your heart grow fonder, your relationship will flourish upon your return.

[photo from punchbutton.beloblog.com]

You’re a college student (or a big fan of college-related material if you’ve found yourself reading this).To many, “college student” is synonymous with “too busy and too broke.” Even if you’re a part-time student/full-time worker it’s assumed that you’re a slacker. So instead of slacking off on ultra-cool college websites (…) how about you get off your ass and start preparing for your trip home?

Oh, you need help? Sigh…OK.

Just sit back and let CollegeCandy do the dirty work of providing simple-yet-important travel tips while you reap the benefits.

Book your flight early

It’s surprising how many people don’t follow this all-important rule. Call it being a member of the A.D.D. Generation or being too busy with schoolwork, but there’s no excuse when purchasing a ticket home is just a click away.

It’s early November – are you planning on heading home to see your family? Let’s hope you’ve already bought your ticket: holiday season is by far the most booked-up time to travel in the year. If you haven’t yet come back to this article (it’s not going anywhere) and book your flight at Orbitz, Expedia or Priceline immediately. Be sure to avoid spending ungodly amounts of time looking for the absolute cheapest rate: too much time browsing will equal too much money spent if you don’t act quick.

Pack the majority of your luggage ASAP

You know who you are – and by “you” I mean everybody. Nobody likes to pack for a week’s stay at grandma’s. Stop your sniveling and get it over with. Start packing whatever clothes, electronics and doodads as soon as you book your flight. If your suitcase is out in the open, waiting to be fully packed, you’ll be more likely to…you know…finish packing. Wait until the last minute and you are almost guaranteed to forget something.

Charge every electronic device (at least) a day ahead of time

Nothing is worse than boarding your flight, Nintendo DS in hand, ready to spend the brunt of your time in the air playing when blam – the unit shuts off. You forgot to charge it, didn’t you? Didn’t you??

All you had to do is charge it…but you didn’t. You were too busy doing nothing. Great job, kiddo: now you must rub shoulders with the annoying passenger next to you with nothing but time and boring conversation on your hands. To make matters worse your phone is dead, making an easy pickup at the airport a bigger task for your older brother who loathed picking you up to begin with. Now the trip back to mom’s is over an hour off schedule and tainted by your lack of organization.

Morale of the story: charge your electronics ahead of time. And pack a book and/or magazine as an alternative source of entertainment.

Pack a portable pillow for the flight

This one’s a given: pack a comfortable-yet-convenient pillow for the plane trip. You’ll be the envy of all uncomfortable passengers.

Bring home trinkets for the entire family

Don’t be an a**hole: your family hasn’t seen you in a while and any worthless trinket from your college will mean the world to them. An XL sweatshirt bearing your college’s name, bumper stickers, lame-o coffee mugs – however typical they may be it’s the thought that counts.

A trip home can either be a bore or a welcome change of pace, all depending. At the very least eat some non-processed food and catch up on sleep…enjoy both while you can!

Back in the Ye Olde Tinseltown days, most of the top-earning stars were stellar actors, singers and dancers, with none of the skills mentioned being a crutch to support a lack of talent.

Celebrities were, for the most part, blue-collar workers for the public, earning their fame by signing on to numerous films at once, rigorously training and studying various fields in the name of entertainment.

Fast forward 30-odd years and Flavor of Love‘s New York is famous for being a outspoken bitch slathered in pancake makeup; Paris Hilton puts out an perfume ’cause, uh, why not; Sanjaya Malakar is praised for his “great spirit” while butchering the simplest of songs; Dane Cook sells out Stadiums with arm-farts and aimless crowd whooping.

The worst of it? These hacks not only suck at their day jobs: they find it necessary to plague other fields of entertainment by becoming entrepreneurs.

Clueless, no talent stars becoming amateur entrepreneurs is the worst thing to ever happen to mankind. Our standards for what is talent and what is entertaining seem to be getting worse every day, with media hoopla surrounding every fledgling clothesline put out by a pop star with money to burn.

Admittingly, I’m guilty as charged too.

I’ll watch the most trashy of TV just to see people make an ass of themselves. And even as a “blogger” (pop-culture writer, slacker extraordinaire) I can safely say that nothing is worse than reporting on non-news (read: everything on TMZ), the bane of my own existence.

There are countless amounts of entertainers that deserve our attention…but they don’t have the ‘tude for TV, mannnnnnnnnn. Introverted geniuses get the boot while obnoxious idiots spend millions on guest bathrooms in their vacation house.

Singers, actors, fashionistas – the world is overrun by great fakers. Why should anybody care about Britney Spears’ latest songs, written by a team of songwriters, beatmakers, producers, engineers without any creative opinion from the singer outside of “yeah, that’s hot – more of that.”

Say what you will about a Donald Trump or Oprah, but they built f***ing empires out of hard work, dedication, sacrifice and – gasp! – talent in their field of expertise. I respect what they do; the same cannot be said to Kim Kardashian and her upcoming reality show, or Tila Tequila’s bi-athalon series. (Remember, I said respect – you don’t have to respect prostitutes.)

Will this epidemic ever end? Am I just a young, pissy curmudgeon with an axe to grind?

Is anybody listening out there?