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Wasting Money 101

We’re already a month into the school year, and I still only own one notebook and one pencil, so we’re off to a strong start :’)

Clearly, organization, planning and most other life skills may not be my strong suit, but there is something I’m good at: procrastinating. And what is my favorite form of procrastination? Wasting money on things I most definitely don’t need — ironically, I refuse to spend a single cent on any new school supplies.

While there are already many blog posts out there about saving money or offering ideas on creating a realistic budget, there aren’t a lot for once you’ve already accepted you don’t have the self-control for financial planning.

So, if you’re like me and also a lost cause when it comes to saving your hard-earned money, I’ve created an “anti-budget” of some of the ways and places I most frequently waste mine:

1. Uber

I  realize Ubers are necessary for many people and sometimes they are for me too. I take them to my job, to the airport, and to many other places where I actually need to be in a timely fashion. However, I also use them to go to IHOP at 2 a.m. or to pick me up on M Street when it’s starting to rain and I don’t want to walk back to campus. Basically, I’m lazy, and Uber now has a lot of my money. I haven’t yet gotten to the point of ordering them just to drive around for fun, but I’m rapidly approaching this rock bottom.

2. Saxby’s

I am not exaggerating when I say I think a solid quarter of my life savings has gone to Saxby’s. Here’s the situation: I’ve been drinking coffee since I was about 3 years old — really not sure why my parents not only allowed this, but also encouraged it. So, yes, I am addicted to coffee (thanks, Mom and Dad) but do I need to be spending $10 plus my firstborn child on it ? No. Do I anyway? Absolutely. I have so many regrets.

Actual budgeting advice: If you weren’t aware, Saxby’s does free refills if you stay and do work there.

3. On-Campus Vending Machines

The thing about vending machines is that you don’t feel like you’re spending a lot of money, but when you buy Smart Food at 3 a.m. in Lau for months on end, that $1.75 really adds up. I would recommend this tactic for a mostly guilt-free way to waste money — until you check your banking account and realize your grave miscalculation.

4. Any Corp Location

To put it simply, everything at The Corp is overpriced, but I love snacks. Sometimes I just really need a family-sized bag of barbecue chips at 11 p.m., and by sometimes, I mean approximately once a week. People say that The Corp is going under, but I mathematically don’t know how that’s possible considering how much they charge for a bag of chips. What are they doing with all my money??

5. Opera

If you don’t yet know what it is, do not find out. Going to opera is the equivalent of setting $20 on fire. If you want to pay someone to have a bad time, this one’s for you.

6. Online Shopping

I’m going to end with a classic — online shopping. It starts with “I’m going to browse,” and that turns into “I’m just going to add some stuff to my cart.” Then you black out and realize that you just put in your credit card information and bought three almost identical turtlenecks because you couldn’t decide, and all of them were on sale, so it had to be a good deal, right?

I’m hoping this list will give me a wake-up call for my irresponsible spending habits. (It probably won’t.) Please feel free to judge me and the way I handle money, but if you decide to take any of my suggestions, I will not judge you.

Sources: https://giphy.com, pinterest.com

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We Want Your Blood

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GU Donors and the Zeta Psi Fraternity are sponsoring a blood drive with the American Red Cross on Wednesday, Feb. 11 and Thursday, Feb. 12 in McShain Lounge (inside of McCarthy Hall).

The whole process takes about an hour in four quick steps: medical history, mini physical, donation and snacks!

Here are some reasons you should donate blood:
1 pint of blood can save up to 3 lives
There is no substitute for human blood
In America, someone needs blood every two seconds
1 in 7 people entering a hospital need blood
The average blood transfusion requires 2.7 pints of blood

Here are a few blood fun facts:
Red blood cells live for 120 days in the circulatory system
Blood makes up about 7% of your body’s weight
Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues
White blood cells engulf and destroy pesky bacteria
Blood can be fresh stored for 42 days or frozen for up to a year

View the Facebook event here (make sure you are logged in). To make an appointment, go to www.redcrossblood.org and enter keyword GEORGETOWN, or call 1-800-REDCROSS. If you have any questions you can email [email protected] or call 1-866-236-3276.

Sources: https://www.bloodcenters.org/blood-donation/facts-about-blood-donation/, www.redcrossblood.org

Photos/Gifs: dealerportal.autotrader.co.uk

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Top Five Reasons to Join 4E

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By now, you should have heard of the Internet sensation that is sweeping the nation (ok, maybe just Georgetown): The Fourth Edition! And today is your lucky day, because we’re hiring. So if you love writing, have a weird affinity for guac, an unhealthy obsession with cats and/or don’t mind taking the risk of peeing your pants because you’re laughing so hard, then we want YOU. If you’re still not convinced, here are a few more reasons you need to apply.

1. You will receive instant new best friends… and we are AMAZING. If you don’t join, you’ll be left with #nonewfriends. No one wants that.

2. Looking at GIFs all day instead of studying becomes “research.”

3. Conducting ridiculous photo shoots across campus is not out of the question.

photo shoot
THIS COULD BE YOU

4. You’ll become part of a prestigious campus tradition… Well, sort of.

5. THERE WILL BE SNACKS. Because without snacks the world would be a really, really sad place.

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So if you’re still on the fence… well, that’s just impossible. And luckily for you, you have until Jan. 16 at 5 p.m. to apply! So grab your laptop, bring your sass, channel your inner Beyoncé and get writing! To join Georgetown’s craziest club, all you have to do is apply here.

And be sure to join the Facebook event for all the application information!

Photos: memecrunch.com, Emma Holland/The Hoya; Gifs: gifwave.com

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The HFSC Is Here and It’s Beauteous

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Damn, guys, damn. Prospective student tours are about to change drastically. The Healey Family Student Center is officially the most beautiful building on campus. And yes, I’m aware of the gravity of that statement.

I didn’t make it to the opening event, even though there was free food. Shocking, I know. I also didn’t make it to the inaugural glow in the dark party on Saturday night, but I heard it was popping. More popping then Club Lau, which was definitely popping.

Almost every person who walks inside the HFSC lets out an audible gasp and an “OMG”. Walking through the doors is like walking into a “Star Wars” movie. Or any movie in space, or the future.

Past the doors, you’re ushered through a huge circular sculpture/sitting area and all of a sudden there’s FIRE! FIRE ALL AROUND! The HFSC’s fire is the most classy fire I have ever seen. It’s so sleek.

Then you’re faced with the mystic beauty that is the Potomac and Rosslyn.

To the right there’s seating and to the left there’s seating. And everything is so clean!

Then, there are those weird vending machines upstairs, near the beautifully lit dance studios with ample supplies of Ocean Mist Bath Bars, and black pantyhose — you know, the essentials.

There are THE most beautiful group study rooms with huge numbers on the doors, so meeting people is super easy.

There are music practice rooms and ivy-covered indoor walls galore, but let’s be honest, the most important room in the house is the bathroom.

The HFSC’s bathrooms smell like vacation bathrooms do. They’re white and airy and the perfect place to find peace when procrastinating in the most desperate way possible. The mirror was absolutely made with mirror selfies in mind. It’s ginormous and so glam. Try to take an unflattering pic in that bathroom. I dare you.

There’s also an outdoor deck, which is still being finished, but it looks beauteous so far. You could bring a date there and it wouldn’t even be that weird. Romantic.

The pub, which is to be called Bulldog Tavern, and Hilltoss aren’t done yet, but they will definitely be super chic too.

All in all, the HSFC is the place to be and if you haven’t gotten over there to explore yet, you must. God Bless the Healey Family and their devotion to creating centers for students.

All we need is a better nickname for the place. Sources says “the Heal” is being circulated around campus and we approve. Let us know if you have any other ideas.

Photo: Josh Gordon/The Hoya

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Got Jet Lag?

Jetlag

Some of you (by which I mean myself) may have noticed that I’ve been uncharacteristically silent on 4E these past few weeks. The reason: I’ve been in China! The time difference between “the Middle Kingdom” and D.C. is about 12 hours, and as you might imagine, adjusting my sleep schedule has been a piece of cake.

Just kidding. Jet lag is a very real phenomenon, and I’m sure that many of you 4E readers have experienced it. But in case you’ve forgotten how it feels to have your circadian rhythm temporarily destroyed, here’s a handy reminder.

You fall asleep at dinnertime.

Like this, except you’re surrounded by family and friends and also you’re not Tina Fey.

What? You thought that only the elderly do that? You thought wrong. One minute you’re sitting down to eat, the next, your mother is shaking you awake and you have a piece of food stuck to your chin.

You wake up at 2 a.m.

Maybe your parents are practical people who decide to take a pill to help them sleep, thus restoring their normal sleep schedule. But you’re above all that. No, you’re going to pass out and wake up whenever you please! To that end, you’re going to jolt awake disturbingly early and be forced to play inane phone games for five hours.

You get hungry at weird hours.

Yesterday, I had a large breakfast at 7 a.m. At 10:30 a.m., I had lunch. At 2 p.m., I was hungry again. Apparently, when your sleep schedule is off, so is your food schedule. But never fear! This is why snacks were invented: for exhausted travelers who realize that their dad took the last of the ham.

You have difficulty doing basic tasks.

At the grocery store, you’re asked to grab a carton of orange juice. Approaching the stacks and stacks of cartons, you’re suddenly confused beyond belief. Do I normally drink low pulp or no pulp? Does it matter if it’s Tropicana or Minute Maid? What if I don’t want an extra infusion of Vitamin C? If you were in your normal, non-groggy state you’d realize that this internal argument is absurd, because all orange juice is amazing. Of course, there is the distinct possibility that you have difficulty doing basic tasks when you aren’t jet-lagged. We won’t judge.

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It should be noted that for all the trouble jet lag can sometimes be, it’s completely worth it. Exploring different countries is one of the most fun things you can do, and as college students, we are in a prime time of our lives to visit and experience other cultures. Just bring some snacks and drink some caffeine, and you’re good to go. Happy traveling, Hoyas!

Photo: youredm.com
Gifs: tumblr.com, photobucket.com, giphy.com

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The 10 Phases of Packing

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Unless you commute to school or live ridiculously close to campus, you’ve experienced the struggle. Somehow you managed to bring all of your precious belongings to school, so why does it always seem that when you try to pack at the end of the year the amount of stuff has doubled?

Each year I tell myself that I’m going to pack lighter next time, but it never actually happens. And now, during the summer, as we pack up to return to D.C. for the summer or vacation, we all face the hassle that is packing. As I inevitably struggle with all of my belongings and question my existence within the human race as I realize how materialistic we all are, I typically go through the following phases:

1. The Optimist This phase of “Hey, it’s not so bad” and “I’ll be done in a jiffy!” Usually ends immediately after opening your closet.

2. The Neat Freak As impending doom sets in you figure the best way to tackle it is to stay organized and maintain a system.

3. The Rebel You give up on the system about two seconds after you start it.

4. The Faker At this point you’ve gone through three phases — with nothing to show for it — so you pretty much put anything anywhere as long as it looks like packing.

5. The Napper Extraordinaire It’s only been like four minutes of packing but whatever.

6. The Foodie Carbs and protein, you know, for the heavy lifting. (Not to be confused with the procrastination phase, though the two are inextricably intertwined.)

7. The Procrastinator Probably a good time to catch up on Full House right? No? OK well I’m doing it anyway.

8. The Crier It’s been 12 HOURS now and you only put two shirts in a suitcase so far. There are a lot of emotions happening. Get your stuff together.

9. The Real Person Who Takes Over Your Body for a While to Actually Pack There are tears, sweat, phone calls to loved ones and sometimes a little blood. But you CAN and WILL do it.

10. The Reflector Now that victory has been achieved, you realize that you have to unpack everything as soon as you get to your destination. You realize how much easier it would be if you just never went anywhere. You promise to never get so disorganized again. Just know, you won’t keep these promises.

Happy packing!

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How to Enjoy Georgetown Day, Regardless

The traditional celebration of the last Friday of classes will undoubtedly be a little different this year. But don’t let a few metal barricades security checkpoints get you down – after all, we still have a dunk tank! Here are a few ways to make sure your Georgetown Day is a great one, bag checks be damned.

Explore Sure, in past years the day has been centered around Healy and Copley lawns. Just because there are fences on Copley doesn’t mean there’s no fun, Copley will host tons of activities and performances, so don’t avoid it. And yeah, there’s only water to drink, but staying hydrated is important when you’re day drinking. But you don’t have to be on the lawn all day; the Esplanade is now an alternative, and there are plenty of other spots around campus to hang out.

Pace yourself It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Most people start early, and if you don’t want your night to end before the sun goes down, you should reconsider that 8 a.m. power hour.

Bring a snack Yo, snacks are great. Before you venture outside, stick a couple granola bars or an apple in your fanny pack (also, acquire a fanny pack). You’re going to high five yourself for your foresight in a few hours when everyone else is waiting in a super long line for hamburgers.

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