Sometimes, it’s not enough to make your own fab entrance at a Halloween Party; you and your whole crew need to be noticed. On the other hand, sometimes your crazy costume idea is so unique that nobody will get it… unless your faves are by your side to complete the picture. Want to make the biggest splash this Halloween (and have some killer bonding time with your buds as you shop, create, and play dress up)? Here are just a few ideas for some great group costumes. And most of them can be done on a budget!

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OK, so you’re running late for your Monday morning class (again). You would have been on time, but you spent all Sunday watching TV (again), and had to stay up extra late to get your assignment done (again). Now, where the heck did you put that assignment? You tear through the pile of papers on your desk until you find it, crumpled and stained with last night’s coffee.

Sound familiar?

Now that you’re in college, you don’t have parents to bug you about keeping your room clean, or to tell you to turn off the TV and do your homework. As Spiderman says, “With great freedom comes great responsibility,” but when you’ve got no one to help you out, how do you stay organized?

You may not like it, but you’re going to have to make a sacrifice or two to get truly organized, starting with your precious weekend. Cancel your plans and put away your going-out top. It may suck now, but in the long-run, it will be worth it.

The first thing you need to stay organized is the right set of supplies. Get yourself up at a reasonable hour on Saturday morning and get your butt down to the school bookstore, or your local Staples or Target. You should buy:

-A notebook for each class - Or, even better, one large notebook divided into sections, so you can keep all your notes in one convenient, not-as-easy-to-lose place.
-A two-pocket folder or small binder for each class - to store all of those pesky class hand-outs that always seem to go missing
-A day planner - Each day should have enough space to write down your class schedule and any assignments you get. My personal fav is the Moleskin Weekly Planner, because it has an extra blank page next to each week, but whatever works best for you.)
-Lots of your favorite kind of pen (or pencil) - Don’t deny it. You know you have a favorite.
-A stapler - Especially if you write a lot of papers—your teachers will thank you.
-An accordion file Read More »

I like superhero movies. They’re rad. Growing up in the rural North East, there wasn’t much to do once the sun went down, and so instead of huffing paint thinner in the backyard like our neighbors, my brother and I turned to comics. X-Men, Batman, Spiderman, Aliens…and all the 701 offshoots of each. Many hours of my childhood were spent sitting in a Ninja Turtle tent in my brother’s room, passing the newest issue of X Force and a box of Hostess cupcakes back and forth with him.

I’ve seen the X-man movies, watched every single Spiderman (even though I have this huge issue with Kristin Dunst), drooled over Christian Bale as Batman, and recently had the ultimate pleasure of watching Iron Man – and Robert Downy Jr. – kick ass on the big screen.

[Okay, slight tangent: can we talk about the scene where RDJr. is in the cave, and he’s all mad and sweaty and dirty and hammering STEEL? Lord. Pass the HOTsauce please]

I’ve loved all of these movies. They were great fun. But being a writer, and ALSO being a chick, I’ve noticed a really sh*tty trend: in almost all of these films, women are pretty useless. Read More »