Every week I write a weekly top ten list (what up, Letterman?) about the hard hitting issues. The tough. The real deal. You know, like stupid celebrities and things that piss me off on Facebook. But this week I want to take things to another level.

For the past four weeks I have stopped drinking. Like, completely. I know – scary. Especially for a girl like me who loves to pair a drink with every time of the day. 9:30 AM? Bloody Mary. 11:45 AM? Margarita. 12:00 PM? Vodka Cran. 1:30 PM? Harpoon Summer Ale. 6:00 PM? Dirty Martini. Make that porn star dirty. You get the picture. I am definitely no lightweight.

But, several weeks ago after a rough night at an infamous Times Square watering home, which may or may not have involved shots of tequila…that I drank while dancing on the bar… I decided to slam on the brakes until my birthday (September 28th. Feel free to send presents), which totals over two months of stone cold sobriety.

This decision has sparked a lot of controversy, but I’ve remained strong and haven’t slipped up once. When I commit, I commit all the way. I still go out to the bar at least twice a week and, yes, still have a phenomenal time. This month has made me realize one very important thing that not many college students realize:

Sobriety is nice.
And here are a few (well, 10) of the things I love: Read More »

So Spring Break is coming. Hellooooo, beach! For those of you out there who won’t be spending all day getting boozed (you can’t imagine anything more horrendous than the mixture of heavy alcohol, sun, and waves), you are going to need some beach entertainment. And soberly watching drunk people bury each other in the sand gets boring after day one.

So, here is a handy list of books to bring with you to your tropical destination this year. They’re not your typical cheesy chick lit for the most part, but they’re pretty addictive in their own rights. Read More »

You don’t have to have a Valentine to celebrate on February 14th. The holiday is all about love, be that the love for a family member, a friend, or chocolate lava cake. It is a day to stop, think, and really honor the things and people in our life that we love. Yes, it is mostly celebrated by disgustingly cute and happy and perfect couples, but the rest of us can get a little love too.

This week, in honor of the day of lovin’, we asked our writers what they are just loooovin’ right now.  Me? I’m head over heels for Chelsea Handler, Thai carry-out and 2 Buck Chuck.

Sigh.

Gemma – NYU: I am love love loving on all the awesome tights from American Apparel!! I am SO sick of bundling up all the time, and with them I get to wear my dresses in the cold, and I can’t get enough!  Also, still lovin on Obama. And not necessarily in that order.

Coco: I love the warm weather streak in the middle of winter.

K – GWU: I hate global warming, but I love wearing flip flops in the North East in February…and having a reason to get a pedicure prematurely.

Lauren – University of Michigan: Fiber 1 Toaster Pastries. They are like healthy Pop-Tarts!

Ashley Elizabeth – CU Boulder: Kissing in the rain. Read More »

For most college students, alcohol plays a big role in our 4 (or 5…whatever) years at our respective learning institutions. I mean, with the pressures of school, dating, family, career, it’s understandable why one might want a drink, or 8, at the end of the week to de-stress.

But just how much do you really know about drinking? We all know that Absolut is better than Popov and that beer fills you up faster than rum, but we also claim that liquor before beer and you’re in the clear. Is that the truth? (Editor’s Note: Not this past Saturday night, as evidenced by my hugging the bowl for 3 hours….)

The truth is, there are some myths about alcohol that are perpetuated from student to student, campus to campus, that just aren’t true! We felt the need to debunk them for you ladies so you knew the real deal before you threw back another bottle of wine so you could, you know, drink and not “get too drunk.”

Can girls and guys drink the same amount and get the same outcome? Do bitch drinks (a.k.a diet, fruity drinks) not get you as drunk as regular drinks? Here’s what we found:

Read More »

2009 is just around the corner. I don’t know what your year was like, but I am looking forward to saying goodbye to some of my ‘08 mishaps and start anew in ‘09. Of course, I say that every year. Some years, I make resolutions, and some years, I know that I’m not going to stick to them, so I don’t bother.

However, there are several things I should consider pledging as the ball drops. Whether you’re stuck on your own resolution, or just need a fresh start with the new year, the following are some resolutions that many of us should consider.

1. I will go to the gym regularly.

When 2008 struck, I was on a regular gym regime, and resolved to keep at it and lose ten more pounds. I did. Then summer hit, and I found that poolside cocktails and outdoor keg parties were taking their toll on my thighs. The fact that this semester has been excruciating contributes to my lack of gym time, and isn’t helping my quest to tone up. Losing weight and getting in shape is one of the most common New Years resolutions, but it’s also one of the hardest to keep. Still, if you have taken to wearing sweats to class every day because you can’t zip up the skinny jeans you bought in August, you may want to give the gym a go next year. Read More »

So the time had come again at Syracuse for Alcohol Awareness Week. Basically this is a week where students, okay mainly Greeks, are supposed to be more “aware” of alcohol. This “awareness” is culminated in an event called “mocktails” on Friday night. Each sorority is paired up with a frat and then they have a sober party. Not like “let’s just take a little shot beforehand” kind of sober, not “just one joint” kind of sober, not “a bottle of wine with dinner” kind of sober, but actually sober (yeah, the frats were confused about it too and asked if the mocktail money could possibly go towards the purchase of a keg).

While I’m usually the first to hop on (and steer!) the Friday night drinking train, I coudn’t help but be a wee bit reluctant to get my ticket for the Friday night sober train. I mean, really, what could that possibly be like? Unfortunately (or fortunately if you like to look at your mocktail glass as being half full) the thing about the Friday night sober train was that it was mandatory and my ticket had been purchased for me.

So, you ask, what goes on at a completely sober party? And how do people party withut the aid of mind numbing alcohol? Below is a pro/con list of my sober Friday night experience. And let me tell you; getting ready for the party without playing 3 games of Kings was a very strange feeling… Read More »

Not everyone in college likes to drink. In fact, for the majority of our freshman year, one of my roommates refused to go to parties because she doesn’t like the taste of alcohol. Unfortunately, she didn’t immediately tell me this. For the first couple weeks of school, she would find excuses not to come out. For example, come Friday or Saturday night, she had a paper to write or a TV show that she just had to watch.

After about two months of coming back to find that she hadn’t even started the paper or that she hadn’t even watched the show, I realized that there was another reason. When I asked her about it, she admitted that she simply couldn’t bring herself to drink, and she did not want to be the odd one out at parties.

About three weeks before school ended, my friend finally decided that she was going to come to a party with the rest of us roomies. And you know what, she had more fun than we did! Plus, she actually remembered the details of our enjoyable outing (she could recount in detail how we made complete fools of ourselves the following morning).

As a matter of fact, my roommate had such a good time that she came along to every party that we attended for the rest of the year, wishing that she hadn’t wasted so many nights back at the dorm doing nothing.

Now, I’m not saying that parties are the only way to have a good time on the weekends. However, if you do want to go out to parties with your friends but fear that you will be considered a social pariah if you don’t drink, here is some helpful advice: Read More »

I frantically searched for my phone in my mess of blankets. Must make it stop ringing before head explodes. “Hello,” I croaked when I found it, barely able to get the words out of my parched mouth.

“We are ridiculous,” Sara groaned from the other end, sounding equally as down for the count as me.

“This needs to stop,” I agreed, as I knocked over the glass of water on my nightstand. The glass of water I had meant to down before I passed out with my clothes still on (somehow I took my contact lenses out, go me!).

Yet again Sara and I had gone out agreeing we wouldn’t drink a lot, and yet again some kind stranger had bought us round after round of shots. And we accepted (because I’m pretty sure there’s a law that says you can’t turn down free alcohol). And yet again we were paying for it; and regretting it.

So, we decided we’d go two full weeks without drinking. Two weeks proving we could have fun without going out and going crazy. Two weeks without waking up with pounding headaches and feeling like we need to stay in bed the entire day. Two weeks without having to call each other first thing in the morning to find out exactly what happened the night before and wondering just how big of fools we had made of ourselves. We are getting too old for this ridiculousness. We wanted to see if we could go two weeks without drinking at all. Read More »

I wish I could say that my sobriety hasn’t made any difference at all in my productivity-but that would be a lie. And it’s a lot harder to lie when I’m sober.

I can’t even believe how much I have been getting done since taking a break from drinking. From my music to my work to running an extra mile every day…I just have so much more energy. Of course this is for a lot of reasons. Alcohol drains your body, yes, but it also makes for poor sleeping patterns. Usually, after a night of drinking, I wake up at least twice in the night to get water since I’m so dehydrated from the alcohol. And, of course, it’s a lot harder to get things done in the morning when I’m just trying to focus on anything other than my hang over.

So yesterday was another testament to my ability to get crap done when I actually have both hands free because I’m not wasting one of them on clasping a beverage. I got a lot of work done in the morning. Then I went running and felt strong through the whole work out. I had practice with a guitarist, made an amazing bacon/pepperoni/jalapeno pizza. Then I worked through the night-on both writing and music-and didn’t lose my energy until around 4 am. It amazed me, to be honest. Read More »

Of course there would be a clothing designer to capitalize off the twenty-something lifestyle. Young, Fabulous, and Broke is another high-end label that produces denim pricing-out around a quarter of my monthly rent and a cute little dress for my bi-weekly food budget.

Awesome! I can advertise the truth at last!

There’s no shame in being le broke, whether you’re in college or just out of it. The trick is to live it up without blowing through your checking account. Truthfully, the percentage of recent college grads making bank isn’t that high, we just have a lovely little tendency to live beyond our means and lack patience.

Label whores, I address you first. I’m one of you. The trick here is to get the look without going broke. Sales are where it’s at.

Instead of shopping consistently, go less often and go for classic pieces. Hit up outlet malls (there are some fantastic ones out there. In the tri-state area, I fully endorse Woodbury Commons, where I snagged a pair of Dior shades for $60 this summer and have seen BCBG at 75% off), wait until end-of-season, whatever. If it must be designer, you can tough it out until you can afford it. Trendpieces are best left to Forever21 and H&M. Read More »