You won't see me doin' this anymore.

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. This month we followed Christie on her quest to stop gossiping. The first few days were rough, but she made it through and learned a lot along the way.]

This week was the final week of my month long challenge to not gossip. At first, I had to make a conscious effort to resist the temptation, but it became easier and easier to not gossip. I am currently getting ready to move into my apartment, attend a wedding, and go on job interviews out the ying so there has been plenty that has kept me busy and not gossiping.

This past month has taught me that gossiping is a complete waste of energy. My confidence began to improve greatly, because I felt good being nice. I also gained a lot of respect from my friends and family. I got lots of supportive texts, and messages on Facebook. Cutting gossip out of my life also got rid of a lot of drama and anxiety. Instead of wasting time and energy fretting about things that never even come to pass, I was all smiles and enjoying myself. Most importantly, though, I have had time to focus on more important things, like filling out applications instead of using that time to talk for hours about who is dating who.

A lot of you guys commented on my first article saying that you have wanted to stop gossiping for some time. Now I hope you guys see it isn’t an unattainable goal. If I can do it, so can you. I’ve made it a whole week without gossiping (except for the occasional vent, but as I said in the beginning, I reserve the right to be a cantankerous bitch sometimes) and it wasn’t even hard.

My tips for those of you who want to get rid of this nasty (and hurtful) habit:

Change the subject. Try to change the subject to a more positive one.

Distract them. “Hey, let’s go get some coffee, I’m so tired and don’t think I can make it through my next class without a cup.” It’s an easy way to ease into talking about something else.

Don’t respond, other than to say something positive about the person in question. If you always have something positive to say about the person that is being gossiped about, it becomes clear that you aren’t interested in gossiping about them (or anyone).

Tell them. Believe me, it isn’t as hard as it seems. I’m a blunt person, so I just told my friends I really don’t want to gossip anymore. They were actually really supportive, because they know that it’s a personal goal and that I’m not judging them for what they choose to talk about.

You’ll be surprised how much more fun your life can be without all the nasty rumors. Gossip is seductive, and it’s so easy to get caught up in it. In the end, you’ll find it isn’t worth it. When you gossip, you lose credibility. If you say that about on person, people may wonder what you’re saying about them. Like I said last week, I’d rather be the nice girl. And for at least this month, I was. I hope to continue not gossiping; although I’m sure I’ll have slip-ups, it will be easier to go without.

[And with that, Christie has completed her challenge. Next month we'll be following Ariel as she attempts to spend an entire month (GASP) off Facebook. This should be good.]

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, TFLN…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Specials Agent, Shop It To Me, and BedPosted) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

You know those times that someone or something bothers you, but there’s no real way for you to express your frustrations, either because doing so would have some pretty bad consequences (like the silent treatment…or having your roommate kill you in your sleep) or simply because there’s no one to vent to (your mom just wouldn’t understand)?

I’ve found the perfect site that lets you share all your emotions you don’t want to (or can’t) say out loud: Dear Blank, Please Blank.

Dear Blank, Please Blank is a collection of short, (usually) anonymous letters submitted by the site’s readers.  It’s sort of like F My Life, except that it follows this format: Dear _____, Please _____, Sincerely ______.  The letters are all grouped into one of five categories, which other readers can vote on (“How Dare They,” “You’re a Douche,” “Hilarious,” “I Like This,” and “Umm, WTF?!”).

Most of the letters are a way for the writer to vent about their frustration with life in some way or another, which turns out to be pretty freakin’ hilarious.  And addictive – seriously. I don’t even want to tell you how hard it was for me to stop reading the site long enough just to finish writing this article. (Maybe I should submit my own letter to them: Dear Awesome Website, Please stop being so hilarious so I can get my work done. Sincerely, Easily Distracted.)

So, my dear CollegeCandy readers,

Please do yourself a favor and read Dear Blank, Please Blank.  It’s a great way procrastinate–or to vent your frustrations about your crazy roommate.

Sincerely, That girl who finds you all your new favorite websites.

There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, TFLN…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Life is Beautiful, Go Try It On, and Soshiku) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

When I’ve got a problem that can’t be solved, the only way I know how to feel better is to eat things dipped in frosting vent to someone else and hope they’ll give me good advice.  Usually, the people I go to are those closest to me: my boyfriend, my BFFs, or my mom—but what to do when I can’t go to any of them about a particular crisis (because it concerns them or it’s something I just don’t want to share)?

I recently discovered a little site called Blah Therapy that solves the problem of not having someone around when I need someone to vent to. Basically, Blah Therapy is a chatroom site whose purpose is to bring complete strangers together to help each other with their problems by pairing those needing help with those willing to help.

When you enter the site, you can choose to be either a “Venter” or “Listener”, and you are randomly assigned a chat partner according to which option you choose.  You can then pour your heart out to some random stranger, or listen as some random stranger pours their heart out to you.

What’s really great about Blah Therapy is it gives people a chance to air out their problems with total anonymity to a complete stranger, without the risk of being judged or made fun of. (It also gives the venter a chance to vent while simultaneously eating frosting out of the tub with their finger, and no one is the wiser.) Also, since they aren’t personally invested, strangers will give the most honest advice, which will be best for the venter in the long run.

Give Blah Therapy a try the next time you’re up late worrying about a problem in your life and need someone to talk to, or if you want to do a little good and help someone else out.  Either way, you’ll feel better after visiting Blah Therapy.

Anyway, these lists (lately) have been pretty mild and have settled down since my hipster-hating era. Let’s chalk that one up to me getting laid more frequently these days. Hurray! (Although, hipsters, I still am NOT impressed.)

This is not one of those lists. This week I have been pretty ticked off about, I don’t know, everything? I’d like to blame my new birth control but who knows? It could just be the weather or the fact that I fell on my face in front of about thirty people the other night when I attempted to drunkenly pounce someone and now my knee really, really hurts and I’m cranky about it and the only way I can make myself feel better is to dress up celebrities on Stardoll.com (Yes, I am aware that I’m 21 and, no, I do not care).

It does not matter. Here are the top ten things that annoy me, without fail.

10. Empty boxes left in the pantry or snack drawer at work
What the eff? When I want a granola bar and I see a box in the cupboard, I expect there to be a granola bar INSIDE the box. How hard is it to throw away an empty box after eating the last delicious S’Mores Luna bar? Seriously.

9. Ironing
Okay, can anyone else relate to this? I just feel like I’m pushing wrinkles to different spots. Extra annoying if I’m not even ironing my own clothes because for some reason I’m the designated laundry bitch in my relationship. I feel like Paris Hilton trying to be domestic – no skills.

8. Crowds
I live in the best place for that, New York City! The capital of crowds. I love when my grocery store is the size of most public bathrooms and everyone is playing bumper cars with their shopping carts. Also, a special thank you to the lady who stood in front of the dairy section for a good 10 minutes trying to decide between butter or margarine and caused a traffic jam in the entire refrigeration section because her demon child decided to take control of her cart. Thank you for making my Fairway shopping experience even more unpleasant than usual.

7. Pants
If I had it my way, I would wear a dress every day. But I can’t because of this stupid…

6. Freezing Cold Weather
It’s this time of year that I really start to envy old people. They all get to fly down to Florida and they get that cute name of “snowbirds” while I’m stuck wearing two hundred layers and six scarves and freezing my ass off. However, even this week, Florida has gotten stuck with this crappy cold weather too. (Haha! Take that, old people!) I don’t know who to point a finger at here: Global Warming or myself for ever deciding to live above the Mason Dixon line.

5. When People Don’t Respond to Texts
Okay, I understand you’re busy. But if I just need to know if I left something at your apartment, is it that hard to answer YES/NO?! Seriously. Just answer! I know you’re only occupied by eating Doritos and playing Madden.

4. No Manners
I admit, I am not always the most censored human being (shocker, right?) but I’ve been inundated with people with zero tact lately. Also an unfortunate function of New York City, it seems like everyone is born with a case of “I have a problem with everyone” itis. Seriously, would it kill you to smile? I would head back to the Midwest to see some kinder personalities, but then, of course, I have to deal with a whole crapload of #6.

3. People Who Are Good at Everything
And look really pretty at all times. And they’re really nice and involved in every activity and they saved the dolphins and they’ve been to every country in the world and they have the perfect life and the perfect job and the perfect family and they don’t even brag about it, they’re just amazing and why CAN’T I BE THEM?

2. When Gmail/Facebook Crashes
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

1. Ugg Boots
and Northfaces, slow walkers, undercooked meat, overcooked meat, orange pad thai, cold coffee, runny noses, rain, snow, humidity, the flu, swine flu, Jon Gosselin, Kate Gosselin, Michael Lohan, Survivor, spilling, falling, hangovers, nausea from the pill, pantyhose, public transportation, cabs, getting almost killed by delivery guys on bikes, reruns, the phrase “Just sayin’!”, Sweetheart Sammi from Jersey Shore, traveling, Green Bay losing, and no more holiday cups at Starbucks.

This list could go on but now I’m really angry and need to eat a spoonful of peanut butter to calm myself down.

[I like to think of myself as a pretty easy going gal, and try not to sweat the small stuff. But sometimes (ok, maybe slightly more often) the general cluelessness, carelessness and overall stupididty of some things and or/people really gets to me. I find that venting is the most efficient way to rid myself of the stress that idiots, wrong meal orders, lack of cell phone ettiquette and cheese flavored products (that don’t even contain any freaking cheese!) induce. So, in an attempt to avoid an ulcer or an unfortuante 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.]

Football game traffic.

Under no condition should any human be confined to a small metal box harnessed into their seats and surrounded by others doing the same thing. A sweet play list is only a small consolation for being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic as you jealously stare at drunken fans playing flip cup on their front lawns, hours ahead of your severely lacking tailgate level. The only thing worse than the knowledge of your slowly depleting gas tank is the realization that you are missing out on precious pregaming time.

Senseless Acts of Brutality.

I hope that the inclusion of the tragic events affecting Jennifer Hudson’s family on this list doesn’t seem insensitive, because I am pissed. The woman, apart from being beautiful and talented, seems like such a kind person that it’s hard to imagine how anyone could hurt her and her family. Additionally, the pain inflicted on their family is only deepened by the disappearance of Hudson’s 7-year-old nephew. However horribly inhumane it is to commit murder, to take a child from their home and place them in danger is unforgivable a thousand times over. I hope the guilty party is caught and subject to the same pain they put the Hudson family through.

Severe Under-appreciation for Kings of Leon.

This band kicks ass. Don’t believe me? Check them out. If you already know of them and their general awesome-ness, then you can back me up in saying “Why the F**K aren’t these guys owning MTV?” They’re huge everywhere else (they’ve sold twice as many albums in Britain than they have in the U.S.) so why haven’t we jumped on the band…um, wagon optional. Let’s hope that their tour de force of NYC builds a bigger fan base for these rock geniuses, because if I have to listen to Flo-Rida reiterating that this is his jam and demanding that I get my hands in the “ayer,” sh*t’s gonna get ugly.

Apatow Wannabe’s.

Seriously? I mean, the man has made some pretty hilarious films, but there has to be a point of saturation when it comes to comedies that revolve around pot, bromance and titties. Pineapple Express, Sarah Marshall, the upcoming Zack & Miri Make a Porno are all valiant attempts at comedy gold on par with Knocked Up, Superbad and 40 Year Old Virgin, but at some point plotlines surrounding slackers with hearts of gold and gratuitous nudity become a little much—never mind the fact that the same clique of guys stars in every.single.one. The Frat Pack has moved on, maybe it’s time you guys should too.

Survivor Style Jury Duty.

As if jury duty didn’t suck hard enough, the 12 jurors of Senator Ted Stevens’ corruption trial (who have been in session since September 22, BTdubs) are dropping like flies—or at least attempting to knock off their fellow flies. Thanks to one disturbed woman, who was “rude, disrespectful and unreasonable” aimed “violent outbursts” at other jury members, the foreman wrote the presiding judge a note, asking to vote her off the island coutroom. Uh, guys? It’s that senator sitting out there standing trial for tricking out his mansion with goodies given to him by the heads of Big Oil that you’re supposed to be deliberating over—not each other.

Ok, now that I’ve got my judgy rant out of the way I can take a bubble bath and center my chi. What pissed you off this week?

For as much as I want to see my friends happy and support them when they are in love, I have to admit, there are a couple things about most relationships that really gross me out. Namely? Co-dependency.

It doesn’t take long and I’m sure you have seen it. Your friend starts dating someone new. Soon, that person is all they talk about anymore. They can come out and hang, but only if they bring this new person with them. That wouldn’t be a problem EXCEPT they don’t act exactly naturally around that person. You start to feel alienated and so you try to invite your friend out for some one on one time. Canceled plans start becoming more frequent than they ever were before the ‘significant’ other came into play and you feel guilty for even thinking it…but who the f*ck does your friend think you are?

A freelance for hire friend, perhaps? A…”he’s busy tonight and I’m bored so lets hang out” friend? A…”he really ticked me off and I want to vent” friend?

This isn’t just one of my friends. It’s MANY of my friends all through my history. I suppose an argument could be that I need to come to terms with relationships, but you know what? When I have a boyfriend, I don’t blow my friends off for him! Plans are plans are plans. I keep my word and I expect my friends to as well. I love the fact that the people I care about know that my shoulder is here for them to cry on, but I can’t lie, sometimes I feel a little more than frustrated with those friends who are so easily swayed to the nesting grounds.

They used to love partying until HE said it was ‘slutty’ or made some comment of the sort.

They used to get their asses out of bed for lunch, but now HE wants to have sex again. And again. And there is no time for social interaction with people who will STILL be there when all of this romance dies down.

They used to be confident and know they were worthy of affection until HE made them feel insecure. Now every conversation eventually leads to me giving my friends a pep talk about how they’re ‘pretty’ and ‘smart’ and all sorts of other things that they used to know before he came along.

It goes on.

Jealousy is not the issue I have here. I love to see my friends in healthy relationships and for the few of them who are, in fact, in love with someone who treats them right, they KNOW I’m ecstatic for them and wish their relationship nothing but the best. Ironically, my friends who are in the healthiest of relationships never have a problem with keeping their plans. They never have a problem with not obsessing over their boyfriends. They never have a problem with seeing the overall value of friendship in their lives.

So to everyone else, what gives? Why is receiving love and affection from someone so altering of who you used to be? Has anyone else watched this happen to their own friends?

Despite the fact that I have been experiencing severe tail-bone pain for the past two weeks (due to a semi-drunken tumble down a flight of stairs), I have been attempting to keep up with my five-days-a-week gym schedule. Any other time of year and I probably would just take advantage of the fact that my ass is a lovely shade of eggplant and sleep in instead. But, being that everyone else in the world is using this month to get in shape, I felt motivated to do the same.

Being that I can’t partake in my usual morning classes (spinning with this bruise? Not a chance), I have been forced to return to the cardio floor. And my return has reminded me why I have been avoiding it for so long. Maybe it is because it is so early in the morning, or maybe it is because I really hate being at the gym until my workout is actually over and I’m sipping on my coffee, but there are some gym people that are just starting to piss me off.

There may not be a list posted anywhere, but there are some unspoken rules regarding gym etiquette that everyone is supposed to abide by. Like warning someone before they set up all their stuff and begin working out that the treadmill is broken. Not after when they nearly fall off and break their necks because the belt was sticking. (Welcome to my morning).

Sorry. I’m getting angry all over again, but I am sure I am not alone in my frustration. So here is a list of my biggest Gym Pet Peeves. Let us all commiserate together.

1. Machine Savers: I understand that you got here really early in the morning and you want that machine, but if you are going to put a towel on it and then leave for 20 minutes it is no longer yours. The elliptical is an exercise machine, not a towel rack.

2. Socializers: I am not sure why these people pay for a gym membership other than to make people believe they are really getting into shape, but there are some people that literally come to the gym and never get near a machine or weight. I imagine them telling people they are going to work out, go to the gym, talk, dump a little water on their head to make it look sweaty and then go home and whine about their haaaaard workout.

3. Grunters: Your weight is heavy. I get it. Must you announce it to the entire room?

4. Cell Phoners: Do you really think you are getting a quality workout if you are able to hold a full conversation while doing it, Ms. Thang? There are other people at the gym (i.e. ME) who would like to actually break a sweat, so do you mind taking that conversation next door to Starbucks?

5. Short Short Wearers: Men wearing short shorts is incredibly risky. Not to mention totally unfair to innocent bystanders who just so happen to look over at the wrong time during a butterfly stretch/ab series and encounter old man junk. It is absolutely horrifying.

I cannot wait for my butt to heal so I can get back to Boot Camp. Although, now that I think about it, number 5 is a problem there as well. I guess it is just something I am going to have to learn to live with. After I have had my morning coffee.