Midterms got you down? Feeling like the gym is miles away today? CC has got just the thing for you!

Welcome to our brand new Dorm Room Workout series, a column that will show you fun, simple exercises that you can do without even leaving your dorm. I have a teeny tiny dorm room and even I have space to do all these exercises. But my room is so small that there’s not enough space for a friend to take pictures of me while I demonstrate, so you’ll be seeing a lot of my hallway.

Today, I’ll show you three simple exercises that only require one piece of equipment – your wall. You’ll only need a little bit of wall space, but if your walls are covered with decorations, it might be a good idea to venture out into the hallway. And invite your floormates to join while you’re at it!

1. Wall Sits

You might recognize these from high school P.E. – but give them another chance! They’re great for toning your butt and thighs. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, about one to two feet away from the wall, depending on your height. Lean so that your back is in contact with the wall. Bend your knees, sliding down the wall, until your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. Push your arms into the wall behind you to engage your triceps and shoulders, too. Hold here for 30 seconds, and then repeat three more times.

For an extra challenge, lift one foot off the floor for 10 seconds, then switch feet.

2. Wall Push-Aways

A somewhat less intense version of the push-up, this move is great for toning your arms, back and core muscles. Stand facing the wall, anywhere from two to four feet away. The farther away from the wall you stand, the more difficult the exercise will be. Tip forward, falling toward the wall. Catch yourself with your hands, landing in a vertical push-up position. Press away, return to standing, and repeat. Remember to keep your abdominals engaged to keep your body in one straight line the entire time. Try not to stick your butt out or let it fall in toward the wall. Try 10 of these with your elbows in, grazing the sides of your body, to work the triceps. Then try 10 with the elbows out wide, to work your chest and shoulders. Then repeat the whole sequence.

3. Wall Walk-Ups

This exercise is great for full body toning, but it can be tricky at first. Be patient and take care of your body. Start with your knees bent and hands flat on the floor, three to four feet away from the wall. It’s ok to start small – if you’re having trouble, move a bit farther away from the wall. Shift your weight into your hands and walk your feet up the wall. Remember to keep your abdominals engaged to support your back. Hold at the top for 10 seconds, then walk your feet back down slowly and with control. Repeat three more times.

“Heyyyyyy!!!! Ohmygosh we haven’t talked in ages!!!! How have you been? You look like you’re doing great. WE should totally get together sometime!”

We all have those friends on Facebook. People that we knew ten years ago and don’t talk to anymore. Except for on Facebook.

I have plenty of friends like that. And I even friend requested some of them.

Of course, those friend requests were mostly because they were the people that made my middle school years hell, and I like to stalk them and silently gloat over how much cooler my life is than theirs.

But some of them were sparked by a genuine desire to see how they were doing and what kind of people they had turned into.

So how does this whole reconnecting thing work, especially on the internet, and especially if one of the two parties may not be exactly thrilled at the idea of sitting across from their grade school buddy whom they haven’t seen since 1999? Something about the cyberdistance makes the idea of rekindling a friendship seem more approachable over Facebook (or Myspace, as the case may be). If your old classmate doesn’t feel like answering you, it’s a lot easier to not take it personally when all you’ve done is send a digital message instead of digging out an old phone number and calling out of the blue.

And isn’t Facebook made expressly for social networking? What is reconnecting if not maintaining your network?

On the flipside, some people don’t agree with the use of Facebook as a connecting tool for long-lost contacts. If you don’t, don’t respond. Or respond in such a way that it leaves no room for them to really pursue. Like, “I’ve got a really full plate right now. I’ll let you know as soon as things slow up.” Then, you never send a message again, presumably because your schedule is just as jam-packed as ever.

If you think it’s annoying when people randomly fill up your inbox or clutter your wall, then use what your mama gave you (your fingers) and click “Delete”. Simple as that.

I, for one, am all for the “Let’s do lunch sometime. ” Then again, that’s not everyone’s thing, I understand.

[olde time facebook photo from www.hoosieraneum.com]

“There’s a ‘new’ Facebook?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Is it bad that I want to go home right now just to try it out?”

“Definitely,” I responded. “Stay here and get drunk. New Facebook will be waiting when the bar closes.”

Facebook has had quite the impact on American pop culture. I mean, really? This guy wanted to leave the bar to try it!? Whenever there’s even a minimal change in the layout and operation of the social network, it causes an uproar.

Remember when mini-feed first popped up? Immediately, groups sprouted all over the internet:

“Down with Mini-Feed!”

“Boycott F/B if They Don’t Get Rid of Mini-Feed Immediately!”

“Facebook Makes Stalking Easier with Mini-Feed!”

You get the point. Of course, now we’re all used to the program, and many of us keep updated via mini-feed every day: “Hey, I saw on Mini-Feed that you got a new job, congratulations!”

So, even though I’m hesitant to add too many applications (I don’t like that we have to check a box giving the ‘application’ full access to the info in our profiles), and even though I’m fully content keeping tabs on my friends the “old way,” I decided to check out the hullabaloo that is The New Facebook.

The Initial Log In

Okay, at first glance, it just looks more… horizontal. News Feed is on the front page, but you can organize the layout by clicking the appropriate tabs: Top Stories, Status Updates, Photos, and Posted Items. Right now, I’m on the “Photos” tab. So I can see that a woman from my office was tagged in a work-related album, an old friend has been partying it up enough to be tagged in TWO new albums, and some girl I haven’t talked to in over a year added new photos to remember her first encounter at a local bar, which, personally, I think is an overrated drinking establishment. Each news feed story is accompanied by four sample photos from the respective albums.

Doesn’t regular Facebook do that too?

Only 30 seconds into “New Facebook,” and I’m already forgetting what “Old Facebook” is like.

My Profile

My profile is certainly wider. The top bar offers links to myself (but I’m already looking at my own profile?), Friends, Applications, and Inbox. Instead of viewing my whole profile in one go, however, there is also a tabs bar for me to choose from “Wall,” “Info,” and “Photos.” Hmmm… seems like a lot of clicking. Why can’t I see my wall AND my info on my own profile?

Wall is the default tab, apparently, and the layout features both wall posts and my status updates. Okay, this is different… but does it matter? I can see that yesterday, I wrote on two friends’ walls, on August 4th, I added the “Free Gifts” application, and my cousin was the last person to write on my wall. Yawn. Let’s move on to the stalking.

My Friend’s Profile

I decided to test out my friend Dave’s profile. My view of his profile is exactly the same as mine: his Wall is the default tab, with options to view his Info and Photos available. Again, his wall comments are intermingled with mini-feed. Yesterday, some girl wrote on his wall; on August 4th, he got three comments; on August 3rd, he was tagged in 11 photos. I think it’s strange that someone else’s wall would be my default. I mean, if I had just added Dave, my first introduction to his Facebook would be a bunch of comments from people that I may or may not know.

Personally, I like to see how people describe themselves and their favorite music, movies, etc. It feels a bit like eavesdropping to see these comments, even though they were posted on a public sphere. Maybe the rest of the Facebook-using world likes to write on someone’s wall immediately after having a friend request accepted, but now I feel like I’ll have to censor the inside jokes I drunkenly post on Dave’s wall, because the Wall is now in the F/B spotlight.

I think the only upside here is that you don’t have to scroll down pages of applications, bumper stickers, and SuperWall posts in order to find the place to write your own comments to your friends. (Editor’s Note: BIGGEST PET PEEVE EVER!)

Conclusion?

Before I could try New Facebook, a friend set her status to “…took only five minutes to realize she hates the new Facebook.” I don’t think it’s that bad, but I really don’t see all the rage about a “NEW” Facebook. I was expecting a cyber-adventure. What I found, really, was just a few more links to click on to surf around the social networking. I suppose if Facebook is a major method of procrastination for you, the new version is more time-consuming.