With the economy in a serious downturn (thanks to the Wall Street Hangover, apparently), smart college women like ourselves know better than to hit the malls and stock up on the latest fashion. We have to save! We have to buy gas! We have to invest in our futures!

But, there are just some things out there that are worth a little splurge. Sure, you may not be able to buy corn products next week, but who cares? You have yourself one of these babies:

1. An iPod.
I’m sure half of you already have iPods, but I’m also sure there are a few of you out there who are like me… unwilling to fork over the dough because you’re cheap and/or poor. Well, let me tell you, investing in an iPod is the way to go. After forking over the dough for something REALLY huge (a new computer), I got a free iPod touch, and wow. Just wow. The future is here. I can’t even fathom getting to access the Internet for free on a device that also plays music and lets me take notes, get the weather, and watch movies… it’s so awesome.

2. A new computer.
After eight years (serious) of lugging around an outdated Mac laptop, I took a deep breath and hit the “purchase” button last week for a new MacBook Pro. My old computer was still working… it was like a tortoise in terms of speed, though, and it wasn’t really capable of streaming video. Oh, yeah, and the total hard drive capacity was 9 GB. My new computer, I am already convinced, is the best investment I’ve ever made. I can Skype! I can load Web pages in under the amount of time it takes me to make a sandwich! I can listen to podcasts! With my old Mac, podcasts were something strange and exotic that I had heard about but never experienced. If you too are toiling away on an ancient computer, GET A NEW ONE! It is sooooo worth it! Read More »

I was pre-med once. I had visions of being Dr. K and white labcoats (which you can buy at any university bookstore for Halloween… please note that medical supplies are non-returnable) dancing in my little blonde head. I had my 8 semesters broken down into manageable-ish class loads before I turned 19. I went through labs and calculus and was finally thwarted, my dreams all but crushed, by organic chemistry, one of the more infamous weeder courses at my undergrad university.

Orgo was my wake-up call. There was one exam where I literally laughed the entire two hours (crying wouldn’t help and there was no way I was passing). When the curve was being set by less than 30% scored on a test, and no matter how many hours I kept my head dutifully in my books, I decided to bow out gracefully. It wasn’t worth feeling like a moron and beating myself up anymore. At the end of the day, I was happiest reading, analyzing, writing, as opposed to drawing benzene rings. And I was pretty damn good at it. (In college. Judge as you deem fit at present.)

This is NOT to say that people who stick through courses like these, no matter how much they hate them, are wrong in doing so. Au contraire, dear readers. If you can see the big picture and are content knowing that your hard work will make for a better, happier future, stick with it by all means. Ultimately, no one but you knows what’s going to be best for your future, not your parents, your friends, or your advisor. Read More »

Want to know what guys think? We can show you. Last week we discussed the issue of paying on the first date. This week we tackle a more touchy (pun intended) topic: getting it on. What does it mean? What do guys think of a lady who is willin’ to romp on the first night?

He Said:
If you put out on the first date, it doesn’t necessarily mean guys think you’re a slut, easy or not worthy of respect. But it all depends on the how well we vibe beforehand.

Sometimes, you meet someone, instantly hit it off, and the sex just flows naturally. Stopping in the middle of a good thing because of some puritan idea that hitting the sheets on the first date is always wrong can be as detrimental to the evolution of a good relationship as moving too quickly. Read More »

Once upon a time, I was in a long-term relationship (read: I suffered six years of awkward sex, needless fights and raging jealousy). Granted, I was in high school for the first four years and was a measly freshman/sophomore in college for the last two. However, I still thought I had found the one: the peanut butter to my jelly, the cheese to my macaroni, or the avocado to my guacamole, if you will. (Can you tell I’m hungry as I write this?)

But when the relationship ended, I was a mere 19 – and after all the b.s., I was left with little to nothing to show for the years of my youth I wasted lusting after one male who couldn’t satisfy me sexually or emotionally. And although he profusely expressed his undying love for me – not once did the boy suggest that we had a possible future together. Not once. In six effing years.

It’s no surprise that my little snuggle bunny didn’t talk about marriages or baby carriages. Hell, he was only 21 when we broke up! But it’s not just the youngin’s involved in long-term romances who avoid the dreaded “M” word. The avoidance of marriage spans generations of men, all who are scared sh*tless by the thought of spending the rest of their lives legally bound to the wrong woman.

According to a recent study conducted by lifelong bachelor Carl Weisman as research for his new book titled, “So Why Have You Never Been Married? - Ten Insights into Why He Hasn’t Wed,” men aren’t actually afraid of marriage, per se. The real fear? Marrying the wrong woman. Read More »

Apparently, a freaky kind of shrimp wins best eyesight award.

Yeah, that’s right–the little scamp(i)s have better vision than every other freaking animal in the world. Go fig.

My favorite line in the article is “Just why Gonodactylus smithii needs this level of rarefied vision is unclear, although the researchers suspect it is to do with food and sex.” Because, really, what doesn’t have to do with food and sex?

But the article really got me thinking. I mean, I have bad vision. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was three years old. I now wear contacts, but, frankly, my astigmatism keeps them from being completely effective. But I wear ‘em anyway, because I am Vainy McVainstein. (Not to be confused with Veiny McVeinstein, who is a much less pleasant character.) But, as usual, I digress.

Here are the top 5 things I wish I could see (and which I WOULD see if God loved me and had let me be born as a shrimp):

(5) Robert Downey Jr. in his most, ahem, intimate moments. Read More »

For all of the times we hoped and dreamed way-too-gorgeous runway models would just…get axed up and trot around on stage flashing war wounds on their not-so-perfect-anymore bodies, John Galliano, a seemingly post-apocalypse obsessed fashion designer, has just made those dreams come true in Paris.

The only problem with the execution of this odd fantasy is that the models were all male. Apparently, looking like you just got your ass kicked by whatever doom 2012 holds for the world isn’t a very IN look for the gals.

Some of Galliano’s designs were undeniably costumes–not anything any guy would ever wear…unless he’s battling something awful in Lord of The Rings. However, surprisingly, some of the jeans, shirts, and sweaters were actually not just OK, but pretty badass. Read More »

So there’s this evolutionary theorist in London who’s pretty sure that in about 100,000 years, the human race will be divided into Hot or Not.

Seriously.

According to Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics, by the year 3000, “the human race [will] peak”, and people will start to become much choosier about their partners, “causing humanity to divide into sub-species”.

“The descendants of the genetic upper class would be tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent, and creative” Curry insists, while the “underclass” will have “evolved into dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures.”

Curry goes on to explain how women will look in the distant future, and while I’m sure his description is based in science, I can’t help but wonder if he’s not letting just a little bit of male fantasy slip into this description.

“Women…will develop lighter, smooth, hairless skin, large clear eyes, pert breasts, glossy hair, and even features”.

So basically, we’ll look like a combination of a hot robot and an Anime character. Read More »

Surprise!

Kids our age aren’t as downright angry at the world as everyone previously thought! We aren’t totally disaffected and kind of care about the world! AND we REALLY love our microwaves!

I haven’t quite decided if this MTV/AP poll that was just released is dead on about our generation (or the way 13-24 year olds think in general) or total bullshit. They only polled around 1,300 of us, making the margin percentage error about plus or minus 3%.

There are a bunch of different news articles that are using the survey to make a general consensus of what makes us happy… that are parents do and that money does not. But, after reading through the WHOLE thing, this is what I found most interesting:

Drinking makes us very happy, somewhat happy and neither happy nor unhappy…which means, we like to drink! (SURPRISE!)

Sports, sex and religion make us happy! So do our parents!

We are somewhat unhappy with the way things are going in the world. (Finally a generation that gives a somewhat of a shit about the world.)

We’d be happier if we had more money, like hanging out with small groups as opposed to large ones and aren’t really religious but believe in a higher power. We participate in school clubs and activities.

We believe that there are things we can control that contribute to our happiness.

But when asked how happy socializing online makes us, 2% of people gave the answer very unhappy. Uh, isn’t that something we can control? Read More »