Newsflash: Students are Stressed!

A recent study was done and the findings were shocking!! Students now are more stressed than people during the Depression!!! This is my fifth year in university, and I think I can honestly say I've been stressed out. I've dealt with depression and other stressful things throughout my academic career, but I would never even think to compare how I feel to the Great Depression!!

I do believe that in today's society, university students are held to a much higher standard than our parents and grandparents were. It was typical for our grandparents' generation to perhaps finish high school, then delve right into the work force. For our parents, things were a bit different. University was more suggested and was viewed as very prestigious. Students would take five classes and would graduate in four years. For our generation, university degrees are being handed out like candy. It's more of a social norm to attend university after finishing high school. However the expectations are different. More students are paying for university on their own, and the cost of tuition and living are skyrocketing. Speaking from a personal perspective, in my 5 years of university I've never had to take out a student loan. I do not borrow money from my parents, and my parents are by no means well off (they are teachers). The only way I can afford to put myself through school and afford living away from home is by working two full time jobs while I do my undergraduate degree. It seems as though it is the norm for students today to take more than the typical 4 years to finish a degree, and a lot of sources attribute this to the fact that students are needing to work throughout the school year, just so they can pay for school.

In thinking about things that could potentially have been the source of why stress seems to be higher for us compared to our parents and grandparents, I thought technology could have something to do with it. I know that 60% of my stress comes from my computer being dead, my internet cutting out, my computer losing information, or my cell phone freezing. These are things that happen on a daily basis and impact essentially our entire existence. If our internet cuts out, we lose access to our plethora of resources that we need to accomplish our day to day work.

Do you agree that we are more stressed than our grandparents were? Why do you think it is? Do you think the increased tuition is the problem, or perhaps the technology take-over?

'Tis the Season for Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties!

Taken: Kelly Hammond, 2010

That's right folks! It's that time of year again! UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER PARTIES!!

In the past few years, I have found that ugly Christmas sweater parties are becoming more and more prevalent. It leads me to wonder where this new "tradition" came from? 

I did some research, and I found some very interesting facts about the potential origin story of the "ugly sweater party". You'll be excited to hear that the potential origin of the USP begins in Vancouver, Canada! In 2001, three men wrote a book called Ugly Sweater Party Book: The Definitive Guide to Get your Ugly On. Since then, USP's have ended up on a very prestigious list called "Stuff White People Like" in 2008. It seems as though in the past 10 years, ugly sweater parties have boomed throughout the nation. Most people go to stores like Value Village and rummage through the old clothes for a "good" sweater. But the lucky ones, we find some sexy gems in our grandparents closets. The sweaters all shown in the picture above were found in my very own grandparents' closet.

We all remember growing up and year after year, watching Bill Cosby sport the old man's wooly sweater, or witnessing Chevy Chase's questionable winter attire. Everyone had that grade school teacher who had the most heinous themed pullovers that were ever made. Sweaters that looked like they were made by blind, old women who had less than no fashion sense. 

I still just want to know who was bored and went through their grandparents closet and said "hmm! I think I'm going to wear this to my Christmas party tonight!!" Have you guys been to ugly Christmas sweater parties? Do the sweaters still itch as much as they did when you were a kid?! 

Sources:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/ugly-holiday-sweater-parties-the-origin-of-the-seasons-sarcastic-trend/2011/11/29/gIQAzl3g9N_blog.html

Extreme Cougar Wives

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG3OK0W0PlQ

To quote David after the Dentist "Is this real life?!?!?!"

Reality shows have taken a turn for the worst. Coming from me (the reality tv queen), you know that's a really bad sign. I should have seen it coming since there is already a sitcom about cougars running around picking up younger men called Cougar Town starring and produced by Courtney Cox.

It seems as though TLC has been coming out with worse reality television shows than MTV has! I'd  much rather watch Jersey Shore and Teen Mom than Here Comes Honey Boo Boo or Extreme Cougar Wives. No matter the television station, reality television is about the typical "every day" person, just living their lives. Shows like the Real World which depict the lives of typical twenty-somethings who aren't rich or famous are what reality television is all about. How often do these "cougars" come around? How often do little sassy hick children participate in beauty pageants and their moms do extreme couponing? These shows seem to be picking out certain kinds of people who will be interesting to film day to day. Though these people do live quite eventful and entertaining lives, they aren't a realistic example of what the population is like.

Bring back more shows like the Real World!!

Facebook.com/us

http://news.talkqueen.com/facebook-launches-us-page-people-in-relationship-5031/

As a twenty-something female living in today's society, I have run into the term "Facebook official" on a couple different occasions. As social media is growing more prevalent, people are beginning to add more of their personal lives to their online profiles. One of the more recent practices on the Facebook website is adding your relationship status. In your profile in the "about you" section, there will be a part which states that you are in a relationship with 'John Smith', and his name will be linked to his personal Facebook page.

When I was growing up, there were three steps to dating a boy. 

1. He would ask you to be his girlfriend
2. Tell your friends
3. Tell your parents

Seemed simple enough, right?! False. Telling your parents was the most terrifying part! You'd wait a couple months just to make sure you actually really liked the boy before he met your mom and dad. After all, you didn't want to be embarrassed!

Nowadays, the system is similar but there seems to be another step added!

1. He would ask you to be his girlfriend
2. Tell your close friends about your new boyfriend
3. Tell your parents
4. Make it "Facebook official"

This last step seems absolutely RIDICULOUS! But I completely get it! When the average person has about 400 Facebook friends, most of them being acquaintances.. you don't want them knowing too much about your personal life. So you wait a few months, maybe years before you put your relationship on Facebook for the world to see.

Recently, Facebook has thrown another wrench in the mix! If you make your relationship "Facebook official", you will have a special page dedicated to you two! At www.facebook.com/us you will find the pictures you are both tagged in, and information about your relationship. This page is similar to an individual's page in that you can change the profile and cover pictures. The only difference is- you can't delete it!!!!

Are any of you in relationships and/ or have strong feelings about this new app Facebook has added?

Girl Meets World!

Our favourite TGIF gang is making their way back onto our television. Cory Mathews, Topanga Lawrence, and fingers crossed Shawn Hunter, are coming back into our lives. The new show will be called Girl Meets World, and will focus on Cory and Topanga's teenage daughter. The show will also be airing on Disney, so it will most likely be geared towards a younger audience. With the change of network I really hope the new show lives up to the old show.

 

Growing up with Boy Meets World, and the whole TGIF lineup, is a huge defining point in our generation, and this show is quite nostalgic to the days when TV was actually good. So far Rider Strong has not been asked to come back, but hopefully Cory's best friend will make a guest appearance or two. What I have been wondering is, what have Cory and Topanga been up to? Well I couldn't find anything on Danielle Fishel's character, I did however find out that Cory will be the new Feeny. After all those years of looking up to Mr. Feeny, and being a not so good student, Cory is making his way back into the classroom. I think it would be pretty great if Mr. Feeny is on the show too given how important he was to the series. There are so many great characters from Boy Meets World, that most likely won't be making an appearance in the new show. Who are you hoping will come back?

 

For some serious nostalgia, click here

Silver Linings Playbook is a Gooder!

Recently I went and saw the "Silver Linings Playbook" with Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, and Chris Tucker . It was released on November 21 and has been doing fairly well in the box office - making approximately 6.2 million so far. 

This movie has been rated around an 8/10, with critics off RottenTomatoes giving it a solid 90% and the audience giving it a 87%. These ratings are what enticed me to go see the flick - along with Bradley Cooper being a total cutie!

Here's how RottenTomatoes (by Flixter) explains the movies' plot:

"Life doesn't always go according to plan. Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) has lost everything -- his house, his job, and his wife. He now finds himself living back with his mother (Jacki Weaver) and father (Robert DeNiro) after spending eight months is a state institution on a plea bargain. Pat is determined to rebuild his life, remain positive and reunite with his wife, despite the challenging circumstances of their separation. All Pat's parents want is for him to get back on his feet-and to share their family's obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a mysterious girl with problems of her own, things get complicated. Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with his wife, but only if he'll do something very important for her in return. As their deal plays out, an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives" -- (C) Weinstein (as cited on Flixter Inc.,  2012)

Click this Link to Watch the Trailer!

I personally thought this movie was awesome! It was definitely a dry humored movie, although these actors pulled it off! I would say it's more of a romantic comedy - although it targets men just as much as women (with a constant theme of football throughout!). The movie will make you laugh and shake your head at some of the things that go down! 

I don't want to give away too much... but the movie is very relatable! It displays the complications and dysfunctions of life, love, marriage, family, and friends. It shows all the flaws and issues of the actors' lives, how love can make one "crazy"/"obsessed", and the gong show drama and baggage that comes along with people's lives. I walked away from the flick thinking, "Wow, that was really a great one!".

I recommend you go see it if you're thinking of going to catch a flick! I give it an 8.5/10! It's definitely worth the watch - it really is a GOODER!!

References:

Flixter, Inc. (2012). Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Retrieved November 30, 2012, from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/silver_linings_playbook/ 

Need Some Ideas for New Year's Eve?

New Year's Eve is always a fun and exciting time of the year and the options of celebration events are endless! For me personally, I usually try to get away for New Year's Eve - with the last two times in Whitefish, Montana and the time before those in Varadero, Cuba! Not only is it a blast getting away from reality for a bit, but celebrating the turn of the year with your closest friends or family, is really something special and amazingly fun! I'll tell you a little about my New Year's vacations...



Cuba New Years 2009-2010

Photo by: Heather G

My two best friends and I went to Varadero, Cuba in 2009 for a week over New Year's Eve. We stayed in a 3 star resort, nothing too fancy, and were about a 5 minute walk to the white sandy beach. We had some very interesting experiences in Cuba to say the least. One example that sticks out in my mind was with the hotel staff "losing" all of our passports and not being able to find them until the day before we had to leave. I thought taking our passports when we checked in was a weird request in the first place - but they insisted and said all resort guests had to do so? Needless to say, we obviously ended up getting out of the country, although this particular event had me not very impressed! 

Even with this weird and suspicious circumstance, along with a few other interesting events - we still had an absolute blast! While we were there we tried to fit in as much activities and sightseeing as we could. The beach and the ocean were absolutely stunning and was the best thing about the trip by far! 

Celebrating New Year's Eve in a developing country was definitely an interesting and different experience from your typical New Year's in downtown Calgary or what not. We attended a New Year's dinner at one of our resort's "higher end" restaurants. Surprisingly we did end up having a pretty delicious dinner - we had the New Year's lobster and crab specials! From there we enjoyed cappuccino's and rum shots (the Cubans' drinks of choice) at the hotel bar. They had a Cuban band setup in the hotel lobby and we salsa danced with hotel staff until the resort's New Year's show commenced. We then went and watched an outside performance near the pools, with singers, dancers, and finally a magic show - which one of our friends ended up being a part of (being the lucky individual to be 'cut' in half - haha). 

Image by: christmasstockimages.com
Retrieved from:
 http://christmasstockimages.com/free/new_year/slides/happy_new_year_color.htm



The time was getting close to midnight and we eventually got ready to take part in the countdown. The hotel guests were invited to the stage with all the performers and we counted down together - with people from all over the world! Once we got to "1", champagne bottles shot off, and the music and dancing commenced! The party eventually spread to the beach with a bunch of the resorts guests, some of the hotel staff and even locals. 

Needless to say, it was a great experience, extremely fun, and completely different from any other New Year's I had taken part of prior to that! I definitely recommend a tropical New Year's getaway!

Whitefish New Years 2010-2011
Photo by: Heather G

My ideal New Year's vacation is heading to Whitefish, Montana. It's a pretty reasonable drive (approx. 5.5 hours from Calgary), and it feels like you're there in no time! Not to mention the drive is beautiful! My friends and I went to Whitefish for New Year's in 2010 and 2011. Both times being just as fun as the other!

The benefits of staying in the states include: cheap accommodation, cheap food, cheap drinks, awesome shopping, reasonably priced activities (and lots of them), and cheap gas! All these items are cheaper in comparison to prices here in Calgary! Such good deals... You will constantly ask: "What? Wait! How much? Sorry, how much? Are you sure?!?!"

For a group of 10 people to rent a place on the ski hill, we paid approx. $300 each for accommodation, food, and drinks for 4 nights. We had an an awesome condo with all the amenities we needed. Our place had the ski-in and ski-out access, a communal hot tub, and was walking distance to the ski village! A steal of a deal I think!



Whitefish New Years 2011-2012
Photo by: Heather G

Whitefish is an absolutely beautiful place and nothing beats shredding the mountain, being out in nature, and enjoying the beauty of Montana's winter wonderland! The small town of Whitefish is really cute and 'Christmasy' at this time of year. With lots of shops, restaurants, and saloons to visit.

For both New Year's celebrations we bought tickets to the ski hill bar on the mountain. Every year they hire a live band and both times it was packed with people from all over the place (surprisingly a majority of the people are from Calgary though!). 

We danced all night to the live music, mingled, and eventually did the big countdown! People were standing on tables and chairs, champagne was again exploding at every corner of the bar, and everyone was throwing party favors in the air! This celebration was great and lots of fun! We eventually called it a night and finished off with a hot tub and some laughs!

All in all, Whitefish was an absolute blast and I suggest you book for next year if you aren't down with a tropical getaway! If you do book - make sure you book at least 4 months in advance so you can get one of the better accommodations on the hill - it books up fast!

... New Years is just around the corner!! 
What are your plans for this year?!