I’ve got woe.

Break-ups are the worst. But, as a veteran of all kinds of these atrocious events, I don’t know which kind is my least favorite. The mutual breakup? The “let’s be friends” breakup? The angry “I will always hate you” breakup?

I, myself, have just been a victim of the “It’s you, not me” breakup. My ex and I had been together for nearly two years. Doesn’t seem like that long, but we’ve been living together since day one. It’s crazy how intertwined two lives can become.

I’ve come up with a list of do’s and don’ts for each side of a break-up. Hopefully they will help to make the next lonely sap’s life easier.

THE DUMPER

1. Don’t trash your ex to everyone you know, no matter what they did. It’s between you and your ex.
2. Don’t call up your ex the next day for “break-up sex,” you pig.
3. Don’t con them out of what is rightfully theirs. You might want to keep everything but it’s not fair to do that.
4. Do refrain from leading the-person-whose-life-you-just-ruined on.

THE DUMPEE

1. Don’t torture yourself- hide all those pictures and love notes.
2. However tempting it may be, don’t try to get over the breakup by hooking up with a bar patron, friend, homeless guy, classmate or co-worker. It will only make things harder.
3. You can’t be friends. Period. It’s just not in the cards.
4. Find a distraction: take up knitting, start a blog, get a dog, volunteer at a homeless shelter. Idle hands are the devil’s playground and idle minds tend to be pathetic, whiney and annoying.

College move-out kit

I’m experiencing an exciting life change right now: I’m about to move into a new house! To prep for the big move, I’ve decided to make a list of various items that would jazz up my (and really any) new home.

Customized/fancy drink stuff:

(flask set from https://www.facebook.com/DesignsByDoty)

Because drinking is pretty common amongst college students as well as journalists, it would make sense for me to devote half my kitchen to alcoholic endeavors.

Not only would I want a set of customized beverage holders, I would want a classy looking holder for my beverage holders. Like this fancy drink cart:

Anita Mayrand, the Floppy Cow blog

(from http://thefloppycow.blogspot.com/2010/03/ups-delivery-of-antique-vintage.html)

And at the end of the day, when I’m tired from all the sitting and typing I do at my jobs, I can sit and read a book! And if I don’t have to get up and walk to the bookshelf, all the better:

(from http://www.opulentitems.com/Unique-Furniture-Design.html)

But then again, if the shelf looked like a giant asterisk/flower/awesome, I might not actually mind getting up.

(from http://www.opulentitems.com/modern-shelves.html)

April’s Game of Thrones Survival Tips

Let me start by apologizing in advance for the fangirling you are about to bear witness to. I’m really, really sorry if you don’t care about Game of Thrones, which returns to bring me the horrors of season two in three days.

OH MY GOD! It really is three days. Only three days before I become a useless lump, sobbing randomly in corners. Oh who am I kidding? I do that already. So this one is for fans of the show. I present to you a crash-course in surviving season two, or helping your friends survive season two.

Game of Thrones Survival Guide 101

• DO hydrate before episodes. Waterworks are guaranteed.
• DO stock up on tissues and chocolate. Tissues will help with the waterworks and chocolate should make you a little happier.
• DO avoid discussing the episode for a few hours. Some people may not have seen it, others do not yet want to re-live it.
• DO NOT try to tell yourself or others “It’s just fiction.” You are invalidating their experience.
• DO avoid fan triggers such as “Red Wedding,” “Jaime’s hand,” “peaches,” “shadow babies” and “white walkers” unless you wish to relapse between episodes.
• DO try not to spoil anything for those who haven’t read the books. The surprise is cruel, but knowing what’s coming is crueler.
• DO have a support network of other fans who can help you handle all the pain. It will help. I am available through Facebook if you need me.

If you follow these simple tips, you should be able to survive the horrors and make it to the end of the season. Just try not to think about what season three entails. You’ll never last if you do that.

I Miss The ’90s

Let me be really honest right now. I hate this generation. I wish I was kidding, but I’m really not.

I hate being alive right now, in this generation of Justin Bieber and horrible Disney channel crap. I cringe every time I turn on the TV, or the radio, and get subjected to the latest “hits.”

I even hate the books of this generation. This Twilight-crazed world has sent me scurrying for the nearest cave.

I am a ’90s child. I grew up watching “Catdog” and “Rocko’s Modern Life.” Oh, and we can’t forget the “Rugrats.” Disney was the home of good movies, especially around Halloween (see “Halloweentown” and “Phantom of the Megaplex,” for examples).

Music was Aqua, N*Sync and the Backstreet Boys, and reading was comprised of “Harry Potter” and anything by C.S. Lewis. Kids in my generation actually learned how to read books, not e-books.

I think we should bring all these things back. Let’s get rid of the Beilebers, and the Twi-hards (I’m being nice!), and bring back the ’90s. Instead of Hannah Montana, we should bring back Lizzie McGuire. Instead of “Fanboy and Chum-Chum,” we should be watching “Hey Arnold!”

The ’90s were a great decade. Let’s just go back to it instead of churning out more crap.

Reminders me of a Simpler Time

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

Hello world. Ok, so as we all know, the more stressful the week, the more decadent the desert needed to fix it. Well, this week was one hell of a stressful week and I’ve decided to fix it with these:

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes!

These adorable little cheesecakes weren’t only DELICIOUS, but they were fun and easy to make. The only possible downside is that they take a little time. Seven simple ingredients and a little patience are well worth the effort though.

First things first, I chopped up 12 Oreos (I used Double Stuff) and beat the cream cheese until soft..

When the cream cheese is soft and creamy, I slowly added the cup of sugar..

The vanilla (and feel free to comment on my awesome nail polish)..

Eggs..

Sour cream..

And, last but not least, the chopped Oreos.

Finally, I filled each of 12 muffin cups with a whole Oreo, and, using a rubber spatula, spread the cheesecake mix over the top.

I used half Mint Creme Oreos and half Double Stuff for the crusts. I also used coarsely chopped Mint Creme Oreos as topping.

________________________________________________________________

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes (Adapted from gracessweetlife.com)

Makes 30-35

• 2 packages of Oreos, any flavor, 12 chopped
• 3 2/3 packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 8 ounces sour cream
• Pinch of salt
• Whipped cream

1. Preheat oven to 275° F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Place 1 whole Oreo in the bottom of each paper muffin cup.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.  Gradually add the sugar, and beat until combined.  Beat in the vanilla.
3. Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add in sour cream and salt, beat to combine.  Using a large spatula, fold in the chopped Oreos.
4. Divide batter evenly among the cookie-filled muffin cups, fill each cup almost to the top.  Bake, rotating muffin tins halfway through, until the filling is set, about 22 to 28 minutes.  Transfer the cheesecakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight). Top with whipped cream and chopped Oreos right before serving.

YUM.

We’re back!

Three of the semester’s eight issues of the Aztec Press are out now.(Okay, so that might not be the standard way to measure a semester, but it is my method.) That’s still early enough to say that we’re back from “winter break,” right? Well, it is still February. Lets roll with it.

This semester, there will be five of us updating the blog, and will be blogging three days a week. April and I did a little blogging last semester, but we’ve got three new contributers as well. Look forward to book, food and music posts galore.

We’ll have more for you this week. Until then, enjoy your rodeo break!

What a day

What a terrible day. Yesterday was filled with disappointments and problems.

The thing is I’m not exactly sure what was to blame for the incredibly bad day.

Maybe it was the fact that I was coming off of a great holiday weekend and had to go back to school and work. School wasn’t terrible but I did feel a little unprepared and behind in my studies; that certainly did not help.

My girlfriend was probably the main reason for the bad day. The saying “happy wife, happy life” made complete sense to me yesterday. The reason that she was mad was directly related to me, as usually. She read an email that I should have told her about and I basically spent the entire night trying to explain that.

The worst thing was, she started the drama via text while I was at work, that is never fun. I’m already at work, can you at least save it until I get home?

Nope, we’re going to get this fight started early, so my work day was ruined and the entire night was ruined too.

To top it all off, I also lost two of my fantasy football match ups last night.

Well today can’t get worse right? Unless I get maimed in a car accident or something.

Maybe we have these bad days so that the good ones feel that much better. So here’s to today–for not being yesterday.

 

Viva Las Vegas

I wonder if a Las Vegas wedding has a better chance of not ending in divorce than more traditional non-Vegas weddings.

Las Vegas is the city of sin where people go to get away, let loose and possibly take on an alter ego.

A place filled with drugs, strippers and alcohol 24/7 doesn’t seem like the ideal location to take sacred vows and start a life with someone.

Las Vegas weddings are popular and convenient; the wedding capitol of the world has drive-through options for those that want the quick fix.

With the divorce rate being incredibly high in America already, I wonder if getting married in Las Vegas helps or hurts that statistic.

5 Pros and Cons of a Las Vegas Wedding

PROS: Convenience                                                                                                  CONS: Far from home (usually)

Plenty of free booze                                                                                                      People act like jack-asses

Plenty of food                                                                                                                No peace and quite

Plenty of entertainment                                                                                             You’re in the desert

Great bachelor and bachlorette parties                                                                  Wayne Newton & Carrot Top

#1 Pro: You’re in Vegas.                                                                                             #1 Con: You’re in Vegas

It seems pretty even, there is no evidence that supports one argument much more than the other. We know that everybody enjoys what Vegas has to offer and a Las Vegas wedding is always a great time. You just don’t want to be the person that gets married in Vegas. On the other hand, if you’re going to go through with the eternal torture of a wedding, you may as well have a party and make it fun and what better place to do that then in Las Vegas.

 

A small beta-fish in a big pond

By D.J. ARIZMENDI

“Uncharted 3” has been out for only 72 hours, but yet almost everyone I play against has reached the level cap of 35.

This is probably due to the fact the U3 Beata was released back in June, which gave hundreds of thousands of players a huge advantage before the game ever touched a store shelf.

While betas can be a good marketing tool, the people who get caught in the crossfire are the ones who are actually planning to buy the full retail game.

Because I declined to participate in the U3 Beta, I am now getting majorly pwnd in almost every match I play in.

Now before everyone out there in Internetland bashes me over the head with “you just suck,” understand this: not only does leveling up in U3 multiplayer give you perks similar to what is already in “Call of Duty,” but it also gives you weapons that they are much stronger and more accurate  than the bass ones you start off with, thus creating imbalance.

Could they have done anything different to avoid this?

Probably not, but they could have made the beta a completely different part of the experience that would not transfer over to the final game in order to keep the weapons balanced for a short time while new players can get adjusted.

To drive this point home, here are some photographs showing what eight hours of dedicated U3 multiplayer will earn you.

How the hell did I get a better ranking than a level 35? IMPOSTER!

At least my friend has my back, I think.

Tis the season to write that novel

It’s November, and for a lot of us, that means one thing: NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The idea is that a lot of people say they want to write a book “some day,” but don’t actually set aside the time to write it.

NaNoWriMo provides a hard deadline to turn would-be novelists into actual authors.

The goal is simple: write an average of 1,667 words a day, every day of November– that’s 50,000 words by December 1st.

It’s day 2, but it’s not too late to join.

Focus on quantity over quality, and get a first draft written out. There’s time for editing in December.