Are you Wonder Woman? Do you balance more activities, projects, and tasks than there are hours in a day? Do you think sleep is a myth? If you constantly find yourself having to schedule in five minute appointments with yourself just to down a bagel and keep going, you may have what some people refer to as “a hectic schedule.”

Sure, it seems overwhelming; sure, sometimes you want to break down and cry; but at the end of the day, you love what you do, and you’re proud of the fact that you can accomplish an exponential amount more than most mortals. And you know that everything you do will benefit you in the long run.

I love to feel useful, so it’s always been hard for me to say “no” to picking up an extra shift, or doing an extra project. When I was in high school, I worked part time, was active in drama club, cheerleading, amnesty international, gay/straight alliance, dance classes, and, senior year, I edited the yearbook. And I did it all while making honor roll each semester. In college, I wasn’t so active in extra-curriculars, but I held down two restaurant jobs, took a full course load, and partied my face off, while making Dean’s List. You can call me a nerd; I just think I have a severe case of ADHD that’s never been officially diagnosed.

That said, Wonder Woman, I know the meaning of stress, and I know the importance of staying organized. Here are some of my own personal life-saving tips. Read More »

Sure, I’m glad that the semester is more than half over. Sure, I’m happy that the holidays are fast approaching. Sure, I’m glad that it’s my favorite season. But with all the awesome things that this time of the year brings along, there’s something that I just can’t stand, something that always comes around, and I sure as hell don’t mean the premiere of Redemption Song or the Law and Order marathon.

I mean being sick.

Not just “being sick,” though. Not just having a little cough or a small sniffle. No, I mean being sick as a dog. Having bronchitis. Having a box of tissues in one hand and pockets full of throat lozenges. When you’re on a small campus, one person’s cold is everyone else’s cold. Being stressed doesn’t help matters, either, so of course there are tons of other people in the boat with me – and not just seniors. And call me sadistic, but watching everyone suffer makes me feel a little less awful.

But my loss is your gain, folks. From my week-late thesis chapter, paper due on Friday that I still haven’t written, and a few other delayed things, I’ve learned some pretty awesome techniques to combatting exhaustion, delirium, sickness, and even lack of alcohol. Read More »

Election day is right around the corner and I am sure many of you are already stressed and panicked about it. Here’s a list from huliq.com with some tips for ensuring your voting is as stress free as possible.

These people are pretty serious about making sure their election day runs smoothly, but here are some ideas to make sure your election day is overall AWESOME!

They say… “Vote early if you can.”

We say… Smoke pot early if you can.
They say… “Do not wear T-Shirts or other paraphernalia in support of your candidate. In most states, “political activity” is not allowed within 50 feet of a building used for voting.”

We say… Be proud of your candidate! Rock that ‘Barack My World‘ or ‘McCain Is My Homeboy‘ T-Shirts! Are they REALLY gonna arrest you for showin’ some U.S.A pride?! I think not. Just don’t rally or anything, they might arrest you for that.

They say… “Make sure you’re registered, before you vote. There are reports that thousands of names have been purged from voter polls.”

We say... They’ve got a point. You don’t wanna show up all pumped to make your mark on history only to find that your name has been PURGED. Check out www.canivote.org to make sure you’re still legit to vote. Read More »

I’ve been attending a yoga class at the gym. I joined it so I could learn to get in touch with myself and relax and destress after a long day. I’m not really sure when I got out of touch with myself, but it sounds very zen and enlightened to say things like, “I just want to back in touch with myself.” And when people ask me if I like it, I just nod and tell them it’s nice to get back in touch with myself.

They look at me with jealousy because everyone would like to be in touch with themselves.

I’ve learned a lot since getting in touch with myself. Like I’ve learned that I lack flexibility. So instead of becoming destressed and relaxed I’ve become very stressed and unrelaxed. If I had never signed up for Yoga, I never would have learned that I’m incapable of doing a simple Downward Dog, nor would I know that my body refuses to do an appropriate Serpent.

I can’t even think about the failure that was Praying Possum.

My yoga teacher often comes up behind me, presses on various parts of my body, and says things like, “tell your calf muscle it’s safe and it’s ok to relax,” as if talking to my calf muscle will suddenly let me place it behind my ear. I mean, I definitely tried while the whole class looked on waiting to see how well I could communicate safety to my calf muscle. I haven’t been that embarrassed in front of a class since I confused organism with orgasm in 6th grade. Read More »

“Is it supposed to be this hard?” I whined to my mom in an email on Tuesday night. I remember in years gone by that seniors generally didn’t seem like they were having problems until the second semester, when the crunch really hits. But sure enough, Tuesday afternoon saw me sitting on the floor, looking despondently at the mess in my room while scarfing down Lucky Charms like my life depended on it.

Taking 20 credits, working two jobs, and writing your thesis doesn’t leave for a whole lot of free time, and that’s a pretty hard thing to adjust to. I usually like to procrastinate – I work better with a gun to my head, it seems. But now I have to work in advance, because I don’t have time to do things the way I normally do.

This weekend, I don’t even have time to drink. What is my world coming to?

As for lessons learned these past two weeks or so, I realized the value of backing your sh*t up like your life depends on it. My thesis chapter was due on Monday. I didn’t finish it until Tuesday. Now, because I have an older version of OpenOffice (a free version of Microsoft Office, essentially), when my computer decided to spazz out, I lost 11 out of 12 pages.

Cue comfort food binging. Read More »

The semester’s off and running, the weather’s getting worse, and next summer feels like an eternity. It’s easy to find your mood plummeting, your motivation waning, and your usually chipper self turning into a snappy betch. Misery has a snowball effect: you’re grumpy, and it rubs off on your roommate; you’re already in a bad mood, and walking into a pop quiz can set you over the edge. Before the blahs take over your body, take time to stop, breathe, recharge and rejuvenate. Here are five quick pick-me-ups to get you out of a funk.

1. Sleep: You’ve been up at the crack of dawn every morning to hit the gym, struggle to stay awake through three back-to-back classes, rush to your part-time job, and finally head home to tackle several hours worth of homework. Of course you’re feeling dreary! Lack of sleep can have adverse psychological effects– take it from a girl who is known to burst into tears at the slightest provocation after pulling an all-nighter or two– so even if you can’t fit in a full eight hours of sleep a night, treat yourself to a long, comatose nap. When you wake up, you’ll be more energetic and alert, so it might even boost your studying stamina later in the week.

2. Treat Yourself: You’ve been running on empty for weeks, neglecting yourself in order to make a good impression on your professors, sorority sisters, friends, coworkers, etc. Do something nice for yourself. If you have some extra cash, buy yourself a new outfit. If you think you look good, you’re bound to feel good, too. Low on cash? Scrape together some change and download a couple of jams on i-Tunes. I mean, they’re only 99 cents most of the time– you deserve it! Get a track that will raise your spirits, like Flo Rida’s “In the Ayer,” DJ Laz’s “Move, Shake, Drop Remix” or, for a bubblegum pop sound, The Orion Experience’s “Obsessed with You.” Then, crank up your speakers and have your own personal dance party for a few minutes. It’ll be worth it. Read More »

I am a Cosmo devotee. Have been since I started stealing my mom’s when I was twelve. I am amazed monthly by the hair, the witty captions, and their never ending innovation of synonyms for the word penis. Many of my friends, acquaintances, relatives and sisters swear by Cosmo as their Bible (and for the most part I do too). But there are some times (well…many times) when Cosmo’s take on real world situations is - in a word - whack.

I will still accept their declarations of lip gloss superiority like they were handed down from the divine, but when it comes to their interpretation of all things men (or at least all things greatly generalized and stereotyped), I think I’ll be reading with a grain of salt handy.

And I’ll pass that grain onto you. With every passing month and, in turn, every new “Secret Sex Fantasy Guys Won’t Tell You!” revealed, I will be here to break it all down for you. I will find the truth buried deep between the unsafe sex positions and “things he secretly loves you for,” so you don’t end up with a stiff neck, an angry boyfriend or some seriously embarrassing sexcapades.

Case in Point: His Body Reveals What He’d Never Tell You

This month, Cosmo attempts to decipher the inner workings of the male mind via seemingly trivial physical cues (again.) You’re man’s scratching his ear? He’s prob cheating on you. What’s that? He blinks more than 50 times in a minute? His favorite sports team is winning. Seriously though, the things that Cosmo interprets from the following random body language are hardly the earth shattering revelations I thought I was in for.

Printed to the nines in red and black boldface, I immediately assume that this article contains crucial, non-regurgitated info. What I find is quite a lot of previously printed concepts, some “DUH” points, and (obv) euphemisms for penises. Read More »

You do it every year without fail. There’s a string of weeks where you’re nice and organized with all your notes in the right folders, laundry done as soon as you’re running low on undies and putting everything where it belongs. And then, you forget your planner and decide you don’t feel like really carrying it, or you’re too tired to do that load of laundry…

Okay, it might not happen to you, but it happens to me.

Barely two weeks into the semester, and my room is still pretty navigatable, but far from clean. I can’t see the desk calendar where I put all of my due dates and meetings down anymore. I just don’t have the patience to be neat. I’m sure it’s a problem – I’ve been messy all my life – but I don’t really feel like fixing it. Read More »