Thursday, November 29, 2012

What is a "Peaker"?

I have branched out, guys!  There are people that never went to Peak reading my blog now (pretty exciting, no?).  So I have decided to clear up the meaning of the word "Peaker" just so that everyone will be clear and can clearly see what I am clearly talking about.  Is that clear?  (Is it just me or has the word "clear" lost all meaning?)

Peaker: n, someone who went to Peak to Peak Charter School for long enough to become acculturated to its college prep-ness and over-acheiving student body.  OR, someone who, even though they never attended Peak, still possesses some of the qualities of a Peak student, namely: being an overachiever, enjoying school (but not admin), becoming involved in school groups/organizations, and being enough of a hipster to live so close to Boulder.

"But, Haley," you are saying, "Despite your very clear definition of a Peaker, I'm still not sure if I am one..."

Good question! (even though it wasn't actually a question, more of a statement with an indicated query).

If you are a Peaker, you should be able to answer "yes" to at least 6 of the following questions:
1) Did you, when reading the above imagined conversation, notice that you didn't actually ask a question before I clarified that the question was implied?
2) Does it bother you if I dont put the corectly spelled words an grammar in my sentances, or when I includ typos to a certain xcess?
3) Are you currently wearing (or plan to wear today) the following articles of clothing: anything homemade, legwarmers, a slouchy beanie, an ugly sweater, brightly patterned tights, skinny jeans, a "unicorn horn" hairstyle, a thespian hoodie/t-shirt, or a floor-length skirt?
4) Do you sing along with the songs in Disney movies?
5) Would you be willing to sit outside the mall and play music on an out-of-tune instrument with me in 10 minutes?
6) Do you have at least one of the following bands on your iPod: Imagine Dragons, Of Monsters and Men, Fun, Mumford and Sons, Horse Feathers, Young the Giant, or Blind Pilot?
8) Do you have very strong opinions about everything? (Did you just think, "Well not EVERYTHING, but some things..."?  Yeah, that means that you even have a strong opinion about what you have strong opinions about.  This is worse that I thought).
9) Did you notice that I skipped the number 7?
10) Is it possible to drive to a restaurant that is 17.59 minutes away, order, eat, and drive back in under 40 minutes?
11) Have you ever read a book for fun instead of watching daytime television?
12) On a coolness scale from boogers to Christmas cookies, would you rate school spirit somewhere between cantaloupes and those black goldfish with huge popped-out eyes?

There you have it!  Don't worry, even if you aren't a Peaker, you can still get something out of my blog, it just might not be as funny as it would be if you understood the following pun: "I was late to class yesterday, but I wasn't Tardis because if I had one then I could have gone back in time and showed up early".  Wow, that was so bad.  Please forgive me.

Fight on, little Peakers!  Now go back to studying for AP tests and the ACT.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

My Neighbor's Name is Hannah

Hannah is my neighbor
She is sitting in my roommate's chair
She is trying to figure out a time to meet with someone
Her computer is sitting in her lap
Now she is telling me about her live lab
It could end anywhere between 12:40-12:50
She is hoping to arrange her schedule so that she can get to work faster
She likes it when professors are friendly
That way she can email them without writing an essay
I'm not sure if she knows that I am writing a blog post about her
I mean, she can see my computer screen but she isn't really paying attention
Now she is just sitting there
Her outfit is supa cute today
I can't believe she hasn't objected to this yet
If she stays silent for much longer I am just going to publish this
Because I have nothing better to write about
And this is probably more informative than my blog usually is anyway
Too late, now this is published
Sorry, Hannah

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Christmastime!

Fun fact: "Christmastime" is all one word!

Not gonna lie, it is a little hard to get in the holiday spirit in college.  You're stressed, you're far from your family, you have to make all new traditions, your ostriches all go home to Australia, etc.  There are, fortunately, easy ways to feel Christmassy.

1) Buy one of those candle wax melters (which are permitted in dorms, but candles aren't) and get some pine tree or cinnamon or pumpkin scented wax.  Don't buy cookie scented anything though or you will be hungry ALL THE TIME.
2) Steal Christmas lights from your house over Thanksgiving break and decorate your room and the hall outside your room with them.  Similarly, you can get cheap stockings and other such nonsense at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and thrift stores.
3) Get candy canes or holiday coffee creamers or hot chocolate or something so that you can taste the holiday deliciousness as well as see it.
4) While you are at the thrift store, get a really warm and equally ugly Christmas sweater.  Actually, get two and send one to me in the mail! (Seriously, you should totally do that because it would make my day).
5) Christmas music is da bomb.  Amy Grant has a really good Christmas album (and if you don't know who Amy Grant is, maybe you should be hungry all the time).

Monday, November 26, 2012

Nooks and Crannies

I present to you a scenario: You have a class that is far away from your dorm, and then a half hour hole in your schedule, and then another class that is close to the last one but still far away from your dorm.  What do you do?

Find a nook and/or cranny.

A nook/cranny is defined as any place where you can sit at do homework or read or listen to music or practice witchcraft where no one will disturb you and you have relative privacy.  It also helps if your nook has internet access and comfy seats.

You will discover that you often have holes in your schedule like the one that I forced you to imagine above - times when it would be inconvenient to return to the dorm but you still have time to kill.  The solution here is to find a nook and do a chunk of homework (or some last minute studying for the class that you have next).  Nooks are easy to find on college campuses and it is best to have a stash of a dozen or so places where you know you can work if your roommate suddenly decides to watch cat videos for hours at a time.  (or you could stop being such a peaker and watch the cat videos with her)

To find nooks:
- Look on the upper floors of buildings: there is less traffic there and you can usually find an armchair by a window or a comfy bench tucked into a corner.
- Start exploring the humanities buildings: these are usually older than the rest and will have random student lounges or unused offices that no one will care if you train porpoises in.
- Pay attention to the scenery: nooks also exist outside (actually, the best nooks are the ones that are outside), if you can find a shady bench or a dry patch of grass or a hidden flower garden with adirondack chairs, you are golden.
- Point yourself at big windows: anytime there is a big picture window in an atrium or hall, there will usually be couches and other such nonsense there.
- Libraries are king: some of the best nooks are the ones that you decide exist in the middle of a row of books.  Sit down opposite some copies of Whitman poems that haven't been checked out since 1987 and you will get more done than you ever have before.

For some reason, people who make signs and door plaques for college halls are unaware of the word "nook" (I mean really people, read my blog dang it!), so be on the lookout for these codewords that mean nook: study lounge, student lounge, computer lab, coffee shop, cafe, loft, practice room, studio, and *blank door*.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Going Home!

I am so glad that I own a suitcase.  It is very hard to fly home without a suitcase and very easy to drive to school and forget to bring one.  Haha!  I win!


What?  Did you expect an actually informative post today?  Too bad - I'm busy packing my tardis.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Interspersal

Quick term definition here: Interspersal - the action of breaking up your homework into chunks separated by little tasks that make it more manageable.  It is absolutely paramount to college.

To Intersperse, you stop three or four times per assignment and do something else.  Set up the breaks beforehand so you don't cheat.  Like you can stop every few pages or problems or vocab terms learned, etc.  Make the tasks in between little, like things that take no more than 5 minutes, or you will be Interspersing all night long.

There are three kinds of Interspersal
1) The "I have a bunch of stuff to do that isn't homework": this is what you do when you need to do a bunch of homework but also have to clean and do laundry and wash dishes and go for a run.  This is the kind of Interspersing that isn't fun.  You stop every few pages and sort laundry, then stop and put a load in the machine, then stop and do dishes, then stop and put the load in the dryer, then stop and put on your running clothes, etc.

2) The "I hate this subject so I need motivation to work on it": this is what you do with your gen eds, or super boring assignments.  Let yourself watch one cat video on youtube per page of notes, or stumble once per problem, or eat a starburst every five vocab words.

3) The "I really want to watch that TV show but I also have to do homework": this is where you take really long "commercial" breaks so that you can still feel vaguely productive whilst watching "How I Met Your Mother".  You have to synthesize the presence of commercials because they don't usually exist anymore.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Registration... ugh

I would rather spend another 9 years at Peak than be forced to register as a Freshman again.  The vast majority of schools have your register at specific times based on the amount of credit you have; that way, seniors get the classes they need, and freshmen who didn't take AP classes get to sort through the boring classes.  I did have AP credit so I got to register with the slacker sophomores but still, it's a nightmare.

The steps to registering are as follows:
1) Figure out which classes you want to take
2) Organize the sections of those classes so that they fit together into a working schedule
3) Realize that you can't take most of the classes you want to because they are ALL at 11:20 M,W,F
4) Organize a new schedule that you will actually be able to use without a time-turner
5) Wait two weeks for your registration day
6) Watch as the classes that you really want to take fill up
7) Replace the full classes with back-ups
8) Watch your back-ups fill up
9) Replace the back-ups with krap classes
10) Finally hit the registration button, only to realize that you have been wait-listed for half of your krap classes
11) Sigh heavily and try not to think about the fact that you are paying $15,000 a semester to take krap classes

I would suggest that you major in something obscure.  Pick a small program with less that 15 people in it.  That way, you will never have to stress over registration - so what if four years from now you do have to stress over the fact that you graduated with a degree in Pediatric Alzheimers and now you can't find a job?  So What?

Friday, November 16, 2012

Today on This Episode of Amazing Discoveries!

I have made an amazing discovery!  Actually, my roommate made this up last night but it is awesome so I will now take all of the credit for it.  Ha ha!

The best hot-chocolate on the face of the planet:
Take one mug of milk and microwave it until it is hot.  Add a heaping spoonful of Nutella.  Stir until all of the Nutella has dissolved.  Blow bubbles into the milk with a straw to make it frothy.  Drink it up and die a chocolatey death when your mind is blown.

I am sure that Nutella is worse for you than chocolate syrup or powdered hot chocolate but it is also FREAKIN AMAZING!

Now, be a true college student and peruse an ancient copy of Walt Whitman whilst you drink hot Nutella milk and sit on a bench in the quad.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Necessities that are Necessary #3

Yeah so I don't really have anything else to tell you to go buy.  Let's face it, if you bought everything I told you to buy, you would need to pick up a second job.  The logical thing would have been for me to just write a post about something else but I thought that this would be more fun.  Also, I had already typed in the title and now I'm too lazy to change it.

The moral of this story is that song birds a better at Monopoly than tomatoes are.  Also, if a train is traveling west and 20 miles per hour, and the track has a friction ratio of .23 and the wind is blowing north at 5 knots, and the land is sloped 3.6%, you should definitely paint the train blue.

You learn something everyday.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Necessities that are Necessary #2

Necessary necessity #2: a bike lock

There are varying degrees of security that you can achieve with a bike lock.  I am assuming that you all know the basic purpose of locking your bike so I'm not really going to go there.

Level 1: The Kickstand.  The only time that it is safe to just prop your bike up and walk away is when you are parking it in your own driveway or garage and you know all of your neighbors.  Never do this on a college campus.
Level 2: The Rope.  Ok we get it, you are being ironic by tying your bike to that lamppost with your shoelace.  Really you are just asking to come out and find your shoelace tied in a neat little bow and your bike gone.
Level 3: The Padlock and Chain.  This is acceptable.  It's not great because chains are easy to cut, but it is better than nothing.
Level 4: The U-Lock.  "U" learn well, grasshopper.  There is no possible way to steal a bike that is properly secured with a u-lock without attracting major attention to yourself and the fact that you are lugging drills and welding equipment across campus.

Some campuses are more secure than others but I would suggest that you buy a good u-lock no matter where you are going to school.  If you are attending a particularly large or uncivilized school, you might want to buy a u-lock that is big enough to pass through your front tire as well as the frame of your bike and whatever you are locking it to.  Most u-locks are only really wide enough to secure the frame of your bike, but in most places there isn't a black market trade in front tires.

Regardless, make sure that you write down the serial number, make, and model of your bike so that if it is stolen, you can recover it.  It is also a good idea to either have a place to store it inside during the winter or buy a tarp and wrap it up so that the chain doesn't rust off.  Just a thought.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Working Out

Working out is evil and it sucks until you get used to it (at which point you are no longer a human being so you might as well be fat anyway).  Fortunately, there are ways around working out.

And so I present: My Epic List of Ways to Work Out Without Feeling Like You are Working Out

That title might need work

1) Build a really big snowman.  If you have ever spent an hour bent over rolling large amounts of frozen water around and then lifting said frozen water up onto other mounds of frozen water, then you can attest to how heavy frozen water is.  Extra props if you try not to get too wet - squatting is a much better workout than kneeling, and it is much harder to lift things when you won't let them touch your body.
2) Ride your bike to the store.  You are a college student so you have no money for gas even if you have a car.  Ride your bike but make sure you don't buy more groceries than you can fit in your backpack or you will be in trouble.  It also helps if you remember to bring your backpack.
3) Study in the lounge downstairs.  But, you can only bring down one thing at a time so you will have to make trips back and forth up the stairs to get all of your stuff.  If you need a challenge, try hopping up the stairs with both feet together (don't do this down the stairs because you might be carrying a compufer and it is very easy to trip) (also, don't tie your feet together - it makes it really hard to keep your face from making sudden, violent contact with the ground).
4) Carry a lot of heavy things in your backpack.  This isn't high school.  My backpack usually has about 5 pounds of stuff in it.  But, if you want a workout, carry around all of your textbooks and try walking to class with one foot in the street and one foot on the sidewalk.  You will have to lift the street side of your body up to sidewalk level every other step (and you will work out the other side of your body on the way back from class).  You might feel like an idiot but don't worry, you look like one too.
5) Stand on one foot as much as possible.  This works your abs or something (give me a break, I'm not majoring in health sciences).  Just put one foot on top of the other while you wait in line or brush your teeth.  Try to keep your balance without looking stoned.
6) Pace while you study flashcards.  Do something different for every word - you will feel so awesome in class when you think '"Binary Fission" that's the card that I studied while I did squat thrusts'.  Some ideas include: lunges, bunny hops, hopping on one foot, grapevine, happy feet, the electric slide, jazz squares, pirouettes, kick-boxing, and walking like a hoopoe (you stick your leg straight out in front of you and then lower it slowly to the floor with each step - that was quite a workout for me every day, let me tell you).
7) Stretch while you watch TV.  I'm not sure if this actually counts as working out but it will help you not to be sore at any rate.  Hold each position until a commercial (or, if you use netflicks like all other college students, then hold for a certain number of minutes and keep your phone in your lap to see when your time is up).  If you do this right, people probably won't even notice that you are stretching (or if they do then they will just think that you are super flexible or something).
8) Speed-clean.  Give yourself five minutes to clean your whole dorm room.  You have no idea how out of breath you will be at the end, or how happy you will make your roommate.
9) Be that person who always climbs things.
10) Integrate crunches into your homework.  Every time you finish a page, do 10 sit-ups.  Or, every 10 minutes, run down the hall to the stairs at the end, down the stairs, across the hall beneath you, and up the stairs at the other end.  Warning: people might think that you are crazy and/or stalking them when you pass by their room every 10 minutes for 3 hours.

So there you have it.  10 ways to trick yourself into working out.  It goes without saying that most of these things should be done alone and/or where no one who will judge you can see you.  It will help if your roommate is gone a lot and/or if you can get him/her to do theses things with you.

Happy lunging!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Necessities that are Necessary #1

Necessary Necessity #1: An electric tea kettle

All college students are hipsters to a certain extent (let's face it, you can't read Virginia Woolf and not be a little bit hipster).  Because of this, you will drink tea even if you don't like tea.  I would actually suggest that you learn to like tea now because tea is awesome.

Anyway, boiling water in a microwave is really annoying and if you are me then you tend to burn yourself every time you try it.  To that end, it is best to invest in a really good electric kettle and learn that it is best not to add the teabags directly to the kettle (shockingly, you have to wait until you pour the water into your mug to add the teabag).

For extra points, try drinking tea out of a mason jar whilst wearing a slouchy home-made hat.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Pajamas

Ok people, make sure you understand this: if your pajamas are see-through, they are X-rated.  That means that you should not be walking around the common areas, bending over, or play-fighting with the guys down the hall whilst wearing what can only be described as a "nightie".

The ideal college pajamas consist of long pants, preferably the kind that you stole from your brother because they had pockets and girl pajama pants never do; and a shirt that is not see-through or clingy.  The same goes for you men but you probably didn't have to steal your pajama pants because you can just buy them yourselves without shame.

If you like to sleep in underwear and a t-shirt, or a skimpy nightgown, or boxers, or whatever else you may have become accustomed to, just know that your dorm mates are not your family and don't need to see that.  If your roommate is fine with you sleeping in your skivvies, great, just don't frolic through the hall in socks and briefs.  We WILL come in the night and spray-paint all exposed areas of your body bright green.

You have been warned,

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Manners

Some things that you should be sure that you do so that you won't fit into the stereotype of the college student that is so wrapped up in his/her own world that no one else exists.  Your relatives will hate you if you do that.

1) Promptly write nice thank you notes for all packages, gifts, and money received from your relatives.  Anything received from your immediate family can be thankified through a phone.
2) Call your parents at least once a week, your siblings every few weeks, and your grandparents before every major holiday - it helps if you have a stock of questions and things to talk about so that you don't have awful silences (or you could just stop being socially inept)
3) Writing letters is preferable to email and Facebook
4) Call people on their birthday, even if you sent a card (and especially if you sent a howler - there's nothing quite like hearing them explode into birthday wishes)
5) Tell people when you will be coming back into town so that you can see them (this goes for friends and relatives) - if you DON'T want to see someone, suck it up because you won't be able to hide your arrival from them (unless they are high at the time which is a distinct possibility given the new marijuana legislation)
6) At the end of each semester or year, print out a couple of photos of you and your friends and mail them to your relatives so that they can see how you're doing, make sure to include a note

This might all seem like a major imposition but your family will thank you and you will feel more attached to home and other mushy stuff like that.

Friday, November 9, 2012

College Logic

I'm not sure what the root of this phenomena is, but once you get into college, your thought process completely changes and makes your decisions be completely legitimate to you (even though adults just don't get it).

For example:
- When the cafeteria serves macaroni and cheese that is gross, you decide that you MUST HAVE good macaroni and cheese.  You then hijack the nearest car, drive to Safeway, and buy boxed macaroni and cheese.  Unfortunately, you forgot that you don't own a pot or have any way to use a stove to actually make the macaroni.  The next logical step is to use your electric tea kettle to make the macaroni - not only that, but you then feel brilliant for having discovered a new use for electric kettles.
- When it snows during the night but it doesn't really accumulate enough to build a snowman, you proceed to steal the snow off of parked cars and pile it up into a snow-lump.  You also continue to do this even after you have set off three separate car alarms.  You then act indignant when security shows up and tells you to stop.
- When you get tired of doing homework and have a slight mental breakdown from the futility that is organized schooling, you do not simply take a break.  Instead, you challenge your hall to a "worm race", a game that you invent on the spot which involve wrapping yourselves tightly in blankets so that you can't move your arms or bend your knees, and then seeing who can get to the library and check out a copy of "As You Like It" the fastest.  Then, you decide that you are really cool (which is a conclusion that is reinforced by the sudden popularity of "worm races" on campus.)

With college logic, nothing is off-limits, and nothing is stupid until you have thoroughly experimented and proven that it isn't smart.  If you practice college logic now, you will be a revolutionary in college like the certain Frosh who invented "Worm Racing".

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

This Totally Counts as a Post

Yesterday, I had some turkey noodle soup that definitely had chicken in it instead of turkey.  Which begs the question: why would they change the name of a commonly accepted food to something else, but then not change the food.  I have concluded that the lunch ladies must not be able to spell "chicken".

Ponder that.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Swag

There are three ways to obtain college swag:
1) Free handouts at sports games or school events
2) Prizes from drawings or volunteering
3) Buying it in the bookstore

The goal in college is to obtain as much swag as possible (and yes, that is indeed the ONLY reason to go to college).  So obviously you will attend lots of sports games, school events, drawings, and volunteering escapades.  The thing is that the really good swag is usually only available through the bookstore and it is really expensive - try $60 for a sweatshirt.

The trick to getting swag from the bookstore is to buy at opportune times.  Don't buy anything during big event weekends where parents might come to visit because they jack the prices up (if your parents buy stuff for you though, feel free).  Don't buy things right when a new design comes in.  Wait for things to be on clearance or in an off-season (buy shorts in the winter and sweatpants in the summer).  If you get along with your roommate, each buy different swag and then share them so that you have twice as much.  Don't buy school supplies or art supplies in the bookstore if you can help it - it is simply unethical to charge someone $7 for a pack of notecards just because they are convenient.  Come on, people.

Anyway, to review: stock up on free swag, buy your swag cheap, know that you are loved :)

Monday, November 5, 2012

C is for Coffee

We have already established that coffee is the lifeblood of the college student.  Something that I hadn't realized was that some people don't know how to make coffee - how you could get through 18 years of life without ever making a pot of coffee, but whatever.

To make a pot of coffee:
1) Put a filter in the basket under the lid
2) Pour coffee grounds into the filter - the amount of coffee is super subjective so play around with it a bit until you figure out how strong you like it
3) Fill the pot with the same amount of water as you want coffee
4) Pour the water into the reservoir behind the basket - there will be a little vertical window that will tell you the water level
5) Close the lid and turn the machine on
6) Wait for the machine to stop making noises like a constipated elephant
7) Drink your coffee
8) Leave the machine on until the pot is empty so that it will keep the coffee hot
9) Turn the machine off, rinse out the pot, and feed the grounds to your little brother

Once you reach this point, you may as well start making a new pot because you will need a constant supply of fresh coffee.  Good luck!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Annoying Habits

There are so many things that have the potential to annoy your roommate/dormmates.  I would be annoyed how much of an imposition it is to live in a dorm, but that would be an annoying habit.  Annoying things include: anything that makes noise, anything that causes you to only be partially dressed, anything that makes a mess, anything that prevents your roommate from sleeping or studying.

Some examples are:
- Playing an instrument
- Turning the light on early in the morning or late at night
- Leaving clothes on the floor
- Exercising in the room
- Leaving your door open when playing music
- Letting your ostriches poop on your roommate's bed

The thing is that being annoyed by your roommate doing any of these things would also be considered an annoying habit.  It's like a viscous time-space continuum circle of annoyance.  The key is to take turns.  If your roommate tells you that something bothers him/her, fix it and then you can tell him/her about something that bugs you a few days later.

It goes like this:
Person 1: It bugs me when you play that screamo music
Person 2: Ok, I will fix that
two days pass
Person 2: Would you mind not leaving dirty dishes on the counter for days at a time?
Person 1: Oh I'm sorry!  I'll wash them
a week passes
Person 1: When you get up before me, could you not play with your maracas?
Person 2: Shoot, I'm such a spaz.  I'll make sure I stop that
etc

If there is something that you do that annoys your roommate that can't not do (like drying your hair or practicing an instrument), try going somewhere else to do it, or choosing a time to do it when your roommate is in a class.  You could also compromise by suggesting that she can obsessively clean whilst you play your instrument.  Or you could just murder her in the night and then pretend you didn't.  That always works too.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Anatomy of a College Pillow Fort

Pillow forts are like crack.  You will continue to build them in college.  I present to you: The Ideal Pillow Fort (holla)


The elements of this fort are the following:
1) A blanket attached to the top bunk and enclosing the bottom bunk
2) Two chairs and/or other supports for the other end of the blanket (we used a desk chair and a music stand)
3) Blankets draped around the sides to cover all of the holes

And inside the fort:

Inside the fort you can see:
1) Pillows lining the sides for maximum comfort
2) The air mattress that you sketchily stole from your neighbor without her knowledge and are now using as a foundation
3) Food and/or movies and/or loot of some kind to hoard inside of the fort
4) The bed itself which was included in the fort and is now a couch and/or a shelf for all of your loot

Tips for the ideal pillow fort:
- Use afghans in places where you want light to come in
- Run a cord through one wall so that you can plug in your tv and have a light
- Spear a ball of yarn on top of the music stand that you used as a support so that it won't poke holes in the blankets.  Then, attach the blankets by wrapping a stretchy headband around them once they are over the ball of yarn.
- Take note of which walls/surfaces you can lean against and which to avoid
- Put any beverages inside of thermoses so as to avoid having to do laundry at midnight because you spilled hot chocolate on your roommate's pillow


Friday, November 2, 2012

College Books

You will be handed about 37.96 books that will tell you how to go to college.  You can get something out of them if you really try, but most of them are full of things that are 100% intuitive.  These books will tell you things like "make sure you sleep in college just as much as you do now", or "make sure you don't get caught with illegal substances".  So innovative, college book, thanks.

Anyway, feel free to read college books in your "spare time".  Go for it.

Just in case you don't have any spare time on top of school, homework, a job, extracurriculars, college apps, scholarship apps, family, friends, and sleeping, I will now sum up every college book ever for you.  Here goes: College Is Different From High School, But Don't Worry, It's Not That Different.

So there you go, that sentence is just as useful as any college book.
Cheers!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Hoarding Supplies

Start saving up the things your parents get for you.  That sounds really weird but if you like an expensive shampoo or a certain brand of toothpaste, start hoarding it so that you won't have to buy if for yourself in college (or at least start testing out the cheap stuff because you won't pay more than $5 for anything in college ever).  Just ask your mom to buy more for you before you've used the one you have so that you slowly accumulate things.  Don't worry, it is really neurotic.

The last thing that I want to spend my money on right now is hairspray and lotion.  I know that if I had started hoarding things before last summer, I wouldn't have run out of everything before the end of the first semester.  Apparently, roommates don't really appreciate it when you mooch off of their stuff everyday.  Shocking.

Really, you should just get used to being neurotic because that's how you will have to be to survive for the next five years.  Hint hint, you can also hoard school supplies and guitar strings.  Just don't stock up on food before you get there because apples do not stay fresh for months.  Also shocking.