Honey, put that away. Nobody wants to see it.

Last night I experienced my first trip to a club. It really was everything I imagined. And much, much more. Take any high school dance scenario, cut the dresses shorter, add alcohol and allow high-out-of-their-minds older men to enter and presto, you've entered a hip club.

Don't get me wrong, it's great to be a sexy young girl. But when I see body parts that I did not intend to see, something isn't right. Maybe I'm naive or maybe I just don't get it. I feel like a club should allow you to have fun and dance the night away, not wear something you would have fit into when you were five years old and shake everything in a way that blatantly says you're asking for it. In my opinion, go to a strip club. Really.

And having that said, there really were not any guys in the entire place that were worth impressing. I have never seen more sketchballs in my entire life all congregated in one room. They literally stood in a giant circle around the dance floor, drinks in hand, visually raping every girl.

I did enjoy myself, but without a drink in hand or a barrier between me and the creeps it got a little old pretty fast.

20 Things I've Accomplished Since Turning 20: #2

So this definitely isn't anything award-worthy. But as it was a first for me, I found it pretty exciting. Just a week ago I got an e-mail from Amazon. That's pretty normal... I get them on a regular basis, advertisements for new items that I might like to buy. This particular e-mail, though, was different. This e-mail was an announcement telling me that I a textbook that I had posted had just sold!

Yes, I can hear you rolling your eyes at me. But I've never sold anything online before! So I went through all of the steps of packaging, shipping, tracking and confirming the book and today I received the payment. SO cool.

Please Whistle Elsewhere

So first, I must apologize yet again for my lack to follow through with my promise to be more consistent about writing on a regular basis, but this time there is good reason! (Perhaps this blog will turn into a long list of excuses...)

Due to my lack of internet... gasp... I have not been able to do my faithful duty of writing. I suppose that I could have made the 10 second walk to the "WiFi" area a little sooner, but I was quite busy, sprawling on a chair in the sun, forming tan lines and reading as much as I possibly could.

Onward to today's topic. While gaining internet access, signing into my e-mail and Facebook accounts and catching up on everything that I've chosen to avoid for the past week, I endured the most awful whistling. Starting out, it was not quite bad. However, after you hear a not-so-musical-man whistle the same 15 second portion of Seal's Kiss from a Rose, it starts to get just a little bit old.

After about a minute, I glanced up from my laptop to see just who was whistling to himself. He took no notice of my annoyance after a second glance another minute later. After three minutes, it was as if he was intentionally trying to make anyone in a mile radius glare at him in disgust. Which I did. And so I therefore [silently] say, "Please whistle elsewhere!"

As a side note, happy Friday the 13th.

A financial and social survival guide for college freshmen

I'm going to be a published writer in a newsletter for my job! Super neat-o. Here's the article I wrote:

As the summer comes to a close many of us are thinking about the start of another school year. Whether as a student, teacher or parent we are all anticipating school in some way. The 2010-2011 school year will surely bring changes and new experiences for everyone heading back to classes, especially for new college students. Making the switch from high school to college can be one of the most unnerving and exciting transitions.

Here is some advice for adapting to a new social environment as well as some tips for making and managing money while away at school!

Many colleges and universities have campus or local job fairs within the first couple weeks after students arrive for the fall semester. It is important to be aware of this and take advantage of what is available to you. Make sure to attend and apply for jobs that interest you. If you are living on campus, having a job on campus is convenient because you can easily schedule hours between classes and you don’t need to have access to a car in order to get to your job.

If your job—on or off campus—offers direct deposit, sign up! With this in place your paychecks will be going directly into your account to start saving instead of into your pocket where you’ll be more tempted to spend them. Keep track of money in your account and the cash you carry around with you. Be aware when you’re getting low on cash or near overdrawing with your debit card so that you can avoid getting hit with overdraft fees as well. Spending a few dollars here and there, buying coffee on your way to class and pizza or calzones with your friends at 2 a.m. may not seem like a lot, but these little splurges add up.

While you are handling your income and spending, adjusting to a new social environment is just as important at college. Skipping early morning classes and sleeping the day away is tempting, but it is important not to get lazy just because mom or dad isn’t there to wake you up in the morning. If you aren’t a morning person, you’ll learn very quickly that you don’t want to take an 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. class so make your schedule so that you can get to class without any trouble.

The “freshman 15” is a phrase we all cringe to hear, but with a little self discipline it is easy to avoid gaining the pounds. College parties, dining halls and dorm room snacks have the potential to bring your calorie intake to an entirely different level. But by eating normally and working in some exercise every day you’ll be able to keep that extra fifteen pounds away!

Also, don’t get caught up playing video games alone or with your roommate in your dorm. Get out and meet people in your hall, join clubs, go to concerts and explore the campus and the area. Being involved will keep you busy and will lead the way for all sorts of opportunities. Enjoy everything that your school has to offer and you will get the most out of your college experience.

On being a shameful slacker and perfectionist

So despite my attempts to be on top of this blog and write two or three times a week, I have already fallen into a semi-slump. Avoiding blogger for about half a month has proved me a slacker and has produced nothing but thoughts of blogs. My skewed perfectionist approach has let me down once again. It's shameful, I know.

Blog and potential blog readers: I apologize. New blogs are on their way, making the journey from sparks in my brain, through my fingers and magically appearing on your internet screen.

Hello? Hello? (You're wasting money!) - A call from my cell phone bill

Although cell phones have made our everyday lives much easier in many ways, the ease doesn't always mean cost efficiency. My parents agreed to buy me my first cell phone in my early high school years, allowing me to pick out my very own "Tracfone" which operated through buying monthly minute cards and adding them by calling a certain number. At first, this was fine. But then I had to pay for my own minutes and when each text equaled .5 units and one minute equaled 1 unit, texts and chatting added up pretty quickly and I found myself spending more than I'd hoped.

So, I followed the masses and signed my name on a piece of paper that chained me to Verizon Wireless's talk and text plan. At first I was blinded by the so-called benefits: free night and weekend talk-time as well as unlimited talk and text with other Verizon users. Sounds pretty great, right? Yeah! Until you realize that your friends with Verizon are friends you don't talk to all that often and that you're paying more to have texting benefits with everyone else!

While I just loove Verizon (sarcasm? no, of course not), after a year and a half into my 2-year contract I've made the decision that I won't be renewing my contract. Instead, I will be going cell phone free and can be reached by mail pigeon or Facebook.

Just kidding. I'm probably going back to a prepaid phone plan (gasp). But definitely not the same one I had before. Upon searching, I found that a company called Virgin Mobile sells some pretty sweet phones and for over $30 less than with Verizon, I would be getting the same phone services and more! PLUS, there is no contract to sign my cellular-life away for two whole years.

Yay for saving money!

A Horror Scene

I am the type of person who avoids most things that are stereotypically "scary" (dark rooms, horror films, walking alone at night...etc.)

Sometimes, I have no choice but to come face to face with my fears. Unfortunately, this happened twice last night. The first time while sitting on the floor in my living room and the second while looking at the calendar in my bedroom.

From the depths of somewhere in my house, an array of spiders always find their way out of spaces and around corners, crawling stealthily and speedily towards me. 95% of the time I am overcome with involuntary fright and an occasional scream in my attempts to relocate or squish.

The horror comes in one of three levels of seriousness:

1: Floor crawling > 2: Wall scaling > 3: Ceiling hanging

Level 1: For squishing, anything can be used! Which makes level 1 crawlers the least scary.

Level 2: While many things can be used for squishing, you must now take into account the color of the wall and whether or not you want the mark of the spider on the wall or a dent in the wall from whacking it too harshly.

Level 3: These spiders are the most horrific because they are most difficult to reach and they have the power of dropping themselves onto you or past you, therefore making an escape.

I'm sad to say that last night I had a Level 1 spider and a Level 2 spider. One was successfully squished. The other managed to jump past me and is now somewhere in my bedroom.

20 Things I've Accomplished Since Turning 20: #1

Tonight I met with E1 and E2 (for the safety of minors I'm not disclosing their names), two little girls who are starting on the oboe! Not only was this their first lesson, but also my first time teaching anyone the oboe!

NYC Adventures: Discoveries in the Subway and Beyond

Somewhere among the fashionable natives, the ever-so-interesting tourists, the illegal-bag-sellers and the men and women shoving pamphlets in everyone's faces, NYC offers plenty of smiles and surprises everywhere you turn.

Like...

the M&M store...

the Obama condoms (um.. what?.. signs advising you to visit http://obamacondoms.com/)...

a beautiful waterfall on a random side street...

the spinning Snapple caps on 50th...

the best rice pudding you'll ever eat at Rice to Riches in Soho...

strange fruits in China Town...

amazing dinners and pastries in Little Italy...

three hours of talent and amusement at dozens of Broadway musicals and plays...

and even a glimpse at a unique display on the wall of a Subway stop...

Dusk

Faint stars kiss the sky

My heart is overflowing

The sun is bleeding