Our economy is crumbling, and things just got worse for Bachelors degree-hopefuls, especially those in Massachusetts. Last year, the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority secured over $500 million in educational loans. This year, they’ve announced that they will not be offering loans for the upcoming academic year.

None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. They didn’t cut their $500 million budget to, say, $250 million. They exed the loans altogether.

MEFA secures loans for 40,000 students who live in Massachusetts, or who attend school there. Unfortunately, this year, the financing authority could not secure the money. Executive director Tom Graff blames “disruptions in capital markets.” So, just like that, 40,000 students are sh*t out of luck.

MEFA is the first to make headlines, but any financing authority could also be treading on thin ice. Which means that students across the country could be forced to drop out of college, or sell their souls to finance a degree that can cost upwards of FORTY GRAND per year at top-notch schools like Carnegie Mellon, Tufts, NYU, and Notre Dame.

When I was in college, I played my cards right, and managed to get through my degree with almost no debt, and decided to pursue a Master’s, rather than join the work force right away. With our declining economy, I am currently paying dearly for that decision. Read More »

Like your job doesn’t suck enough. Now they’re telling you you have to pee in a bag.

Okay, maybe not you, but these guys are being told by their company to pee in bags! Why? So the company saves time on bathroom breaks.

I can’t believe they’re seriously asking them to do this. Cutting back on cigarette breaks, I could see. But being asked to urinate in public in a bag given to you by your company? Totally humiliating.

On a slightly related note:

True story: I was once standing in a mall waiting for a friend. I was in a high-traffic area of said mall, with lots of people everywhere.

I notice this kid nearby tugging on his mom’s arm. She holds out a plastic bag…

…and he whips out his little kid weewee and pees in the bag.

I kid you not.

And THEN the mother took the bag and tied it up and just stood there, holding the kid’s urine.

I don’t know. Peeing in bags is nast.

But maybe it’s becoming mainstream (haha) and I’m just behind the trend.