Moving, the actual process, is a less-than-awesome experience, the necessary evil to get your entire life from point A to point B in as little time as possible.

The process itself requires weeks of planning, stressing, throwing things away, trying to pawn things you can’t justify throwing out off on your friends, scrounging for money to pay for movers, and of course, that whole packing situation. Findind a new place is only the beginning.

Things to bear in mind while you’re moving:

1. Your movers will always cost more than they quote you for. Even if you like them, even if they’re good, you will still be bitter about this. New Yorkers: Take whatever they tell you and keep approximately an extra hundred on-hand just in case. Most movers require cash, some do cash or credit, so be warned.

2. That being said, if you have a friend with a truck of sorts, bribe them with hugs, high-fives, food, alcohol, whatever it takes to trick them into helping you move. This will save you a huge moving company fee.

3. Remember how your parents used to (or still) nag that you had too many clothes? You probably have too many clothes. You probably wear only half of them, and you really need to be honest with yourself about the wardrobe when you’re schlepping it to a new establishment. Weed out what you don’t wear and donate it to an organization like Goodwill or to a shelter/clothing drive in your area. Read More »

Usually, we try to have some kind of theme to our Wednesday Night series, but when we went digging through the Casual Encounters this week, we spent so much time being supremely grossed out that it was all we could do to keep ourselves from falling on the floor and pouring printer ink into our eyes. I mean, there was some gross sh*t on the internet this week. For realz.

Below are just a bunch of people we really hope we never meet. Read More »

I know that we’re totally Olympic-ed out over here at CC, but I wanted to draw your attention to a story that would surely win the gold in the Embarrassment and I-Am-F*cked-For-Life events: ‘Craiglist Encounter Lands Couple in Jail‘

What happened with this little encounter that caused it to score such high points? Well, apparently, a homeless lady in Oregon City, OR was trying to innocently “pitch a tent” (who uses that saying with a straight face anymore?) when she came across what she thought was a rape in progress (a man looked to be “sexually assaulting a bound and naked woman”). The homeless lady got the cops involved, they came to save the victim, but ended up doing nothing more than breaking up a consensual fantasy that was being acted out by two people who had met over Craigslist.

Upon seeing the law approaching, the man and the woman fled (I always thought it would be hard to flee when one is bound and gagged, but whatev), and once they were caught, explained to the cops that the reason they ran is because the dude involved in the awkward public rape fantasy…was married.

I give his wife a 9.9 for picking such a fine specimen of the male race.

For this week’s Wednesday Night Encounters, we’re going to observe Men Of Few Words. Not everyone finds it necessary to go on and on about what they want in a partner. Some people enjoy eulogizing for hours about their likes and dislikes, their hopes and dreams, their “future”, but these guys aren’t interested in bogging us down with such trivial matters. In only a few small sentences, they get to the heart of the matter. They know what they want…and they want it now.

Nice. Read More »

We’ve talked about Craigslist countless times before. It’s glorious and hilarious and you can buy chairs or sell your cat. However, after a little chat with our hormonal Coed office buddies, we realized that there was an untapped ocean of entertainment on CL known as Casual Encounters. We knew all about Missed Connections (and may have looked to see, from time to time, if anyone had MC’ed us…which they never did), but had always assumed that the Casual Encounters section of Cragislist was full of skeevy people and penis pics.

So yeah, it’s full of skeevy people and ‘peen pics, but it’s also full of the strange and the weird and the desperate. How entertaining!

PS: We changed the titles and photos to fit our liking (and keep nasty ‘peen pics off our site). It’s better this way. Trust us. Read More »

Who couldn’t use a quick buck these days? Especially college students who can barely scrape together a couple of quarters for 50-cent beer night at the pub. Sure, we have financial aid, work study, and minimum-wage paying part-time jobs, but sometimes we just need a little extra cash, stat. Thanks to Craigslist, that cash isn’t so hard to come by.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Craigslist, there is an individual site for most major cities across the US (and around the world, for that matter), e.g. losangeles.craigslist.org, boston.craigslist.org, and so on. Craigslist is basically a bunch of classified ads, and there’s a huge section of both “jobs” and “gigs” just waiting for you to stumble upon. So whether you want to splurge on a shopping spree, get your grandmother a birthday present, or actually buy your books this semester, look on Craigslist. I recommend browsing the categories “ETC” and “Event,” though if you have a particular talent or skill, you may want to look under “Creative,” “Labor,” or “Writing.”

Here are some of my favorite past Craigslist gigs:

1. Mock Juror
Listed under: Event
Paid: $60 for less than 4 hours Read More »

Concept: Knife pleats/Issey Miyake

Once upon a time in late 2006, I really needed a job. I hopped on Craigslist, blindly sent out a couple of resumes, sat back and watched the replies roll in. One such interview opportunity came from Soho’s own Pleats Please by Issey Miyake store. Why would anyone want to wear that many pleats?, I asked myself, unable to shake the image of Alicia Silverstone in Clueless from my head. So I never responded. And now I am regretting it. Not only have I discovered how the high-fashion futuristic feel of tiny knife pleats is about as far as one can get from looking like a “Baby One More Time” video reject; I have also learned that the construction of tightly-pleated fabric allows it to stand up and out in a way that wouldn’t otherwise happen with the same material components! Plus, the brand name is polite! Check out how Miyake’s pieces are made!

I know not everything I write about will be wearable or, mostly, affordable, for most college students, or most people. But, if you’re willing to try, there are probably plenty of look-alikes available at your local thrift shop. I just picked up a metallic blue crumpled/pleated dress at The Vintage Thrift Shop in Flatiron and a to-die-for black pleated scarf from Reminiscence in Chelsea. The aforementioned aren’t even wildly-priced designer vintage spots, but mid-to-low-priced stores, devoid of pretentious waif-like salesgirls to boot. SVA students, I hope you’re listening! Read More »

[Editor’s Note: New York Magazine does these Sex Diaries that are sometimes cool, sometimes lame. Sometimes they’re interesting portrayals of every day life, and sometimes they make it seem like EVERYONE in New York City is having copious amounts of crazy sex — which isn’t always the case, btw. What would happen, I wondered, if some of CC’s writers blogged about their sex life for a week? Would it be cooler? Funnier? More believable?

Let’s see…]

DAY ONE
9:15 a.m.: Walking to the gym in sweatpants, a dirty wifebeater, no makeup. Get catcalled by at least fifteen people. Oh, ethnic neighborhood, you’re so charming.
12:03 p.m.: Walking home from the gym in the same gear as before, only now drenched in sweat, get catcalled by about fifteen more people. I finally tell one of them to f*ck off. It feels good. His response? “Someone needs to get laid!” I hate dudes.
11:23 p.m.: At my place of business which is, in fact, a strip club, where I am, in fact, a stripper. A scruffy but jovial old man solicits me for a trip to the VIP room, which I gladly agree to (Guaranteed $160 for a half hour? Hell yes!), but first warn him that I’m not one of those girls that do “special favors” in said room. He says that’s fine and wanders off to get more cash from the ATM.
11:43 p.m.: After about ten minutes, the old man pulls out his dick and asks me to give him a blowjob. I tell him no way in hell; I already said that’s not how I do. He tells me it’s fine, because he has a condom. I tell him he can get the f*ck out.
11:50 p.m.: After five minutes of arguing and an extra fifty bucks for being an asshole, we finish the dance and the guy behaves himself. Before we exit the room he kisses me on the cheek and tells me I’m a lovely girl. Read More »

In my most recent article, I discussed the fact that my boyfriend does not read what I post here. As I am a delicate, ladylike and discreet young woman, I did not publish his name – or, for that matter, any details that could have identified him to the reading public.

I have good news for you. He read my article. We talked it over. And we’re ready to go public.

Here he is.

It’s been a whirlwind romance. When I first saw his Craigslist post, “Mr. Right Iz Here Waiting 4 U,” I knew I was in for something huge. Mr. Right! There! Waiting 4 me! I never dreamed it could be so easy. Yet, when I looked into his eyes – or, perhaps, more accurately, the portions of his eyes which could be viewed through the slits of his oh-so-cunning neon-green sunglasses – I could no longer restrain my passion. I simply had to respond.

Our dates, of course, are wonderful. We stroll through New York, patronizing the various vendors of airbrushed shirts. We go to ATMs and withdraw cash, making fans of $20 bills with which to rouse each other to erotic frenzy. Read More »

The few days or weeks after finals can be such a relief from those seven or ten days of straight stress that you really don’t want to do anything. Being home feels so much better than being cooped up in your dorm room – at least for a little while, until your family reminds you why you left for school in the first place and the only real comfort you have is your pets.

And sure, you have stuff planned for the summer…but have you been outside recently? On most of the upper east coast, it’s far from summer. Heck, it still feels like March every now and then. So what to do? Here a few things that should spark your imagination, whether you have plans or not.

Unpack your stuff! I know this should seem like a common sense thing…but I haven’t yet, really, and I know people who leave their stuff in boxes for the better portion of the summer. Really, it’s easy and it gives you a little sense of accomplishment.

Hit the town! I know situations vary for everyone, but my school is in the middle of nowhere and I live just a trainride away from the city that never sleeps. Whether you’re window shopping, clubbing with buddies, or just taking a stroll in Central Park, it’s nice to remind yourself that there are places outside your campus. (And please, ladies, if you live near your campus…don’t go walking through it. That’s cheating.) Read More »