Chick-flicks

There are several chick-flicks coming out in 2009 that I am very excited about. "Confessions of a Shopaholic", "He's Just Not That Into You", "Bride Wars"... they all look very fun and girly and I plan on breaking out the curling iron, putting on som lip gloss, going to the movie theater and paying way too much to see them. But today, I found another movie to add to my list. It fits into the chick-flick category.... but maybe in a different way. IMDB says "Lesbian Vampire Killers" is from the UK but im crossing my fingers that it will come out here as well. Watch the preview below.

I forgot to tell you!

I have an announcement: My hunt for an internship is over! (well it ended about two weeks ago, but who's counting?). After a quick phone interview with CollegeCandy.com's editor, I will be their new intern! This is very exciting. I don't think I could have sent out another resume and I have no intention of actually taking the pring classes I signed up for. The website looks fun, with posts like "Everyone's Favorite 'Get Drunk and Sing' Songs", I should fit right in.

Auld Lang Bleh

New Year's Eve is fast approaching and I have yet to make plans. Jezebel has a great post about the five types of New Year's Eve Parties (if anything, click it for the Barbara Streisand Video). I always seem to end up somewhere between "Oh there's just a place up the block" and "Oh, we went to bed at 11". Even Dick Clark seems depressing these days. Between the post-stroke struggle and his side-kick Ryan Seacrest, just watching the ball drop at home is irritating/a little sad.

Its my own fault though. I refuse to go to a club (ESPECIALLY on New Year's), I don't want to sit home, I'll tolerate a bar if its not impossible to actually get to the bar, house parties are a good alternative, but then there's the issue of finding a party... I tend to get a little picky. There seems to be all this pressure to end the year right, to get drunk, to evoke that nostalgia. Jezebel says it perfectly :

"And then sometimes it just works out. Your house party is awesome and everyone comes and has a great time. Or it was just the perfect bar. Or the couch was just fine and you (and, if you're lucky, someone special) curled up and enjoyed being home. And then at midnight everyone around you felt very close by, and those who couldn't make it felt very far away, and you smiled and hugged and maybe sang and just gushed about how wonderful New Year's is, really how wonderful. When else throughout the year, throughout life, do we ever all gather to celebrate the passing of time, rather than mourn it? It's a good, ancient thing. And something we should do more often"

If you have some good ideas for me you should leave them in comments... two days and counting to find those perfect plans.

The Incredible Disappearing Blogger

I've spent the last few days getting over my Christmas hangover. I had a little too much of the carols, cookies, shopping and of course bickering. Christmas wasn't just December 25th, it was a full week, like Hanukkah but without the candles and latkes. I'm not complaining though I did get some sweet gifts out of the deal (I highly recommend putting some form of Christmas list online). In fact I'm recovering from the holidays as we speak with a 90210 marathon. Brenda just got caught shoplifting, and if the scrunchies and pleated pants can't cure you, I just don't think anything can.

I'll give you some quick holiday highlights before the tree officially comes down:
1. My dog Bojangles had to be tranquilized, ate everything in sight, and threw up twice.
2. I broke all my pottery on Christmas eve that was supposed to be Christmas presents.
3. My mom asked my brother in-law if he was a pervert, which of course was hysterical.
4. Ran into every. single. person. I hated in high school.
5. I accidentally locked my friend out of her car when she pulled over to prevent a backseat puke situation.

Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays!

I love Sarah Haskins more than Jewelry

I'm a sucker for those cheesy jewelry commercials with the acoustic songs and minimal dialogue. They're sweet and sappy and don't get stuck in my head like those damn subway commercials. I really love them so so much. But I love Sarah Haskins much, much more. You have to realize how much admiration that is. Its definitely a chick-crush. Enjoy her "Target Women" episode on jewelry below, and check out her other videos on YouTube, I promise hilarity will ensue.

STOP IGNORING MY POLLS

Yeah, thats right, you heard me. I know you've seen the weekly poll in my side bar so stop ignoring and start participating!

To work from home or to shlep into an office, that is the question.

Lately, I've been toying with the idea of working from home. In my true indecisive fashion, I've decided to make a pro/con list as to why this is an awesome/terrible plan. I like to hear bad news first, so we will start with the cons...

Cons
-I am only productive under extreme pressure and circumstances. This is a problem for the obvious reason that no one will be around to stop me from playing spider solitaire and looking for apartments I will never be able to afford.
-I might become a crazy recluse and never leave to breathe fresh air.
-I know my hygiene will take a turn for the worse. I just know it. I already can't be bothered to take my makeup off on a good night, so I don't see why I would try to change this if I don't even have to wear pants...(see related con above)
-I will probably be scammed into those work from home ads that promise to make you millions. I can pretty much be talked into anything- including a pyramid scheme.
-I won't have any work friends. The only real aspect of any new job that I look forward to is meeting new people, and working from my bed takes that away from me. I won't even get to be judgemental and make fun of anyone in my head!

Now for the Pros
-I can have more than one work from home job, and potentially have enough money to buy nail polish and patterned tights, as well as other important things.
-I don't have to wear pants.
-I don't have to take ferries and pay for trains, buses, and subways- more money for nail polish and patterned tights.
-I can potentially make my own hours, although I'm guessing I'd still have to get up early, so this is like half a pro.
-I can set one of my back up plans in motion.
-Think of the decorating possibilities for my home office, no more cubicles!

5 cons to 6 pros is pretty close, but I have to admit I'm liking the sound of this idea more and more.

Rev Run and the Christmas All Stars

I'm always excited to find new weird/ridiculous Christmas songs. For a long time, Destiny's Child's "8 Days of Christmas was at the top of my list but Rev Run's "Santa Baby" just might top it. I was looking for the song that was in the background of Pot Psychology this week about Santa being a black man, but came across Rev Run and the Christmas All Stars instead. My favorite part is when Snoop says "I'm chillin in the living room, wrapped in a quilt I'm waiting on this fat Red Suit wearing-comparing my gifts to my homeboy next door to me. A gift here, none there, but who cares. My little sister needs a comb just to braid her nappy hair." AH-mazing. Judge for yourself and listen to it here.

Flower Child

I really love those adorable headbands that add a little pizazz with a side bow or flower. I've been jonesing for this Urban Outfitters Plumage Headband, wishing and hoping it would be reduced from $24 ($24!) to say about $5. I've come to accept that this headband will never $5, and decided I could make a similar one myself.

When I couldn't make it to one of my interviews today, I decided to experiment and try my hand at making hair accessories. I couldn't find any peacock feathers around the house but I did find some really cute fake yellow flowers (I think this the first time I have ever been thankful for the fake flowers around my house).

First I tried to crazy glue them together, and then on the headband. Surprisingly the glue wouldn't stick to the fabric. I was going to try some rubber cement, but I didn't have the patience to wait for that to dry. Instead I just laced a straight pin through the petals and into the headband, making sure the point ended up in the headband.

The pin worked great and gives me the option to remove them to try adding different appliques without needing a bunch of headbands. I will be buying some feathers in the near future and I can guarantee this whole project doesn't cost more than $5, my results below.

A beautiful sight...

As much as I love Aimee Mann, fast foward to about 50 seconds to listen to my boyfriend John Krasinski give me an early Christmas gift.

Vacation Plans

It was the Go-Go's who said "Vacation all I ever wanted, vacation had to get away", but now, just days away from winter break, I'm not so sure I agree. Of course I'd love to go on an actual vacation, but a month on Long Island without a car doesn't really have the same effect as Cabo. Below, I've listed some reasons for anyone in a similar pediment to get out of bed

Diet- Have lots of free time, no money and a stationary bike? I do! This idea will probably last a week tops.
Cook/Bake- This doesn't really go hand in hand with dieting, so maybe you should choose one of the other. in my opinion, you can't really go wrong with making a batch of magic cookie bars before the holidays.
Walk to the park or 7-11- Living in the city, I've gotten used to taking the subway anywhere I want to go, or at least walking a few blocks to find somewhere interesting. But living in suburbia is a little different. The only place within walking distance from my house is an elementary school and a 7-11. This probably means I will walk to dog to get a big gulp or some coffee.
Redecorate- I redecorated my room over summer break. It sounded more fun in my head than it really was. I picked out "calm air" to paint the walls which took at least a week but I was happy in the end.
Game Night- You need to gather a group for this, but lucky for me I have really competitive friends who are always down for a game night. Uno and Battleship anyone? And if you don't have competitive friends then I guess there's always solitaire.
Movie marathons- This is a free time sucker. Even if you don't have any DVDs check out movies online from SurfTheChannel.com or RedCurtainMovies.com. The quality sucks but the variety is great. I'm looking forward to a holiday marathon including Home Alone, Elf, A Christmas Story and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
Clean out your closet- I switched rooms in my apartment today therefore I had to empty out my closet, the stuff I found was remarkable. Not only did I find clothes I didn't know I owned, but I found a wig, lip gloss, and 2 bottles of laundry detergent. Efficient and exciting.
Snow fun- Who needs a to be in Aspen to enjoy the fresh powder? Put on some mittens, get liquored up and grab your sled (Global climate change permitting).
Make online wish lists- Its nice to have an answer when someone asks what you want for Christmas, your birthday, Valentine's day. Dresses from Stop Staring? Yes, please.
Start a Blog- with all the fun you will be having on your vacation, a blog is the perfect place to document your new memories.

Any other suggestions to add to my sad list?

Self Cutting

I refuse to pay close to $50 to have my hair cut, so at first I ended up payin $30 to have SuperCuts cut my hair. I'm not sure how big a franchise SuperCuts is; basically its a salon that offers "inexpensive" haircuts. But what ends up happening is you pay $30 for it to look like you got your hair cut at SuperCuts. Maybe I'm just in a financial crisis, I'm not sure, but $30 is not worth a shitty haircut. They should take the super out of their name. Anyway, why pay $30 when I can give myself a shitty haircut for free.

I'm not trained to do this, but like I've said in the past, I'm a google whiz. So I googled how to cut bangs. The first time I did it, google's instructions were't really that helpful. But what I learned if you just repeat "hair grows" over and over while you hack off you locks with kitchen sheers, it comes pretty darn close to SuperCuts. Eventually I stopped googling and just did my own thing.

Here's how it came out:

The first is my attempt at a blunt straight across look, and the second is the ever frustrating perma-part I can't seem to get rid of.

And here's what I wish it looked like:

Ah, Zooey Deschanel, why must you have the perfect, unattainable, head of hair?? I even started taking biotin in hopes for some thick shiny hair. I have this fear in the back of my mind though that it will make my all my other hair grow at an unruley rate.

But even if we can't be blessed like Zooey, I still recomment cutting your own hair, or bangs at least. Worst comes to worst, wear them side swept, it seems to work to blend the crazy strands into eachother. Or wear head bands and barrets for a while, its better than SuperCuts.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays from Amanda, Josh, John, Mark and Shia!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Birthday Blues

One day I randomly asked my mom what she most wanted to be remembered for. Without a second thought she said her parties. With this in mind, its not surprising that my mother gets just as excited about theme parties as I do. When we were little our birthday parties were always the best in the neighborhood. Before I even turned ten I had a murder mystery party. We mailed out invitations with roles for each of my elementary school friends, each friend had to show up in their assigned character, the maid, the dog walker, the doctor, etc. Once everyone arrived we had to find the intricate clues that my mom planted around the house to solve who the murderer was. I really only remember the clues leading to my brother hiding in the basement where he scared the living crap out of us.

After those years of goodie bag birthday parties ended, I kind of began to hate birthdays all together. Somewhere along the way I started to find them depressing. I hate the pressure to find something to do for my birthday. I miss the days of my my mom's fortune telling party, the Polaroid glamour shot party, or pizza and maze craze. Of course bars and beer pong are fun too, but I always find it a little sad. I guess its just nostalgia.

Last night I went out for my friend's birthday, which reminded me that mine is just a little more than a month away, January 10th to be exact. I guess after 1, 10, 13, 16 and 21, there's not another big birthday until the big 30. My sister just turned 30 and said something interesting. She told be she thinks that thirties are alot eaiser than your twenties. I'm curious to find out if this is true. But really, I guess age is just a number. I love when your grandparents or best friend calls you for your birthday and they say ask "how does it feel to be __ (insert age)?", and the answer is always "I feel exactly the same as I did last year". Of course if you asked a six your old this you'd get a completely different answer, which I find adorable.

So I guess age is all mental and your birthday is only as exciting as you are excited about being a year older. Either way the pressure is on to start making plans for January 10th, which falls pefectly on a Saturday this year. Right now I'm thinking a bowling party. I've had some strong feelings about bowling in the past, but maybe bowling and pizza will bring back some of that nostalgia, and of course beer never hurt a celebration... it's just one of those perks of getting older.

"Real World" Housing

I had an emergency meeting this morning in my apartment complex concerning community complaints about students. Myself and the other students had to walk over to school at the ungodly hour of 9 am on my day off to talk with the management. Lets just ignore that we had meet so early because of the manager's court appearance, and was late because he got lost walking over the two blocks to campus and focus on what was discussed.

Basically the community felt that students are disrespectful and make their living situations impossible. Some of the complaints included lack of parking spaces on the street, noise complaints, smoking outdoors and cigarette butts, theater kids practicing incessantly, etc., etc. I'm going to just pretend the parking argument wasn't brought up because it's New York and give me a break. I will even sympathize with the community about the theater kids and their tap dancing. But if you are going to sit down and lecture me about the "real world" (a term I've come to hate in my last year of college), lets not pretend we are treated as adults living among this "real world" you speak of.

As a single, white, female, I'm not one to yell "oppressed!" very often, but college kids are not treated the same as most adults. Regardless of job status, GPA, or drinking habits, we are seen as loud, fratty, drunken, assholes from miles away. Even if we weren't singing, smoking, drinking and swearing simultaneously, we would have had that meeting.

The apartment management kept bringing up that it didn't matter that student's were trying to keep the peace with their neighbors by giving handing out phone numbers with the "don't hesitate if you have a problem" promise. The argument was that we couldn't relate to the other tenant's concerns and that they would just call in their complaints regardless.

Half way through the meeting I started wondering who the "adults" were in this little scenario? Was it the neighbors who worked long days to come home to a bunch rowdy kids, deciding to "tattle" instead of working out a solution? Or was it the students who worked equally long days and chose to unwind without their neighbors best intentions in mind? I guess ultimately both parties are to blame. Vindictiveness and spite will win over rationality, leaving me to believe that this "real world" is nothing but an high school. The prom queens will trip the mathlete to make themselves feel better. The pissy neighbors will continue to go to the management every time a fork is dropped too loudly in hopes of getting the students evicted while the students will rebel and de-stress with karaoke and beer pong into all hours of the night. Its a vicious cycle I tell you. Its days like this where I can't wait to join this "real world" come May.

Mo' Money

With the holidays around the corner, I'm always looking for new ways to make a little extra cash. As a full time student, I can only work a couple of hours a week, so I often find myself kickin' it old school and cleaning or doing manual labor for my mom in order to score some extra pocket cash. As I find myself pushing 22, I don't think chore-change will cut it anymore. Instead I did some research and found some ways to make cash over the Internet that don't involve M4W.

1. EBay- I have found some crazy stuff on eBay. I'm sure you have some crazy stuff you want to get rid to make room for more crazy stuff. It's a simple equation, a virtual garage sale without the hassle of haggling.

2. Surveys- They don't pay alot but if you take enough, they definitely add up. Set up a pay pal account and sign up for email alerts. I think I'm up to $20, and I didn't even have to mop.

3. Helium- I haven't actually tried this yet but apparently you can get paid for what you write. It looks like you don't even have to be a writer, if you have recipes or travel tips, they'll pay you.

4. Craigslist- Craigslist is a smorgasbord of opportunity. Check out gigs, look for a new job, sell or rent out useless crap, post a service, Craigslist will take you as far as your dignity will allow.

5. Blog- This takes a bit of researching and some talent but there are a ton of blogs that will pay you for submissions and ideas. Google away and contact more than one.

6. Pay-per-Click- use your website like reality. Websites will pay you to let them put annoying, flashy advertisements on your site to increase traffic flow to their own sites.

Don't be selfish, spread the wealth and let me know if I left anything out.

Gay marriage will save the economy!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die