"well i creeped on him and...."

A new trend has recently overtaken my house. Girls have become infatuated with finding their look alike in all the old composites around Theta. Walk through the hallways and you will find dozens of pink Post-it notes taped to the composites. Deme Bayt, blast to the past as Andrea Martin. Kylie Humbard, you may have been Jill Cantwell in a past life.

While this started out as a funny game, it has me contemplating over what life was like twenty or thirty years ago for these girls. So much has changed between music, fashion, and technology. While we still are listening to Michael Jackson’s hits, we certainly aren’t writing letters to one another or using a common phone to call our friends. But is this change in communication really a positive one?

In 1986, Holly Haight didn’t have Facebook to stalk her current crush. She couldn’t click through pictures posted of Greg to check out what he was doing Saturday night. She also couldn’t see from his status that he was on the fourth floor of Herman B. Wells studying for his Accounting exam all night. This obsession with having to know all simply didn’t exist like it does today.

And is that really a bad thing? I personally think a little mystery is good. If you already know Greg hiked a mountain when he was 19 and did IUDM his freshman year, will you be interested in what he has to say when you can talk to him one on one?

While Facebook certainly does make it easier to communicate with each other, it takes out the personal aspect of interaction. My friend Kenny likes Facebook because it is easy to talk to someone, but at the same time he says that it has become so impersonal.

This same idea applies to texting. Today, if we are “talking to someone,” we are probably just texting back and forth, hoping to see each other out on Thursday night or at Kilroys on Two Dollar Tuesdays. Going on a date to get to know someone? Please. That is a rare find. I’m pretty sure if Greg wanted to talk to Holly in 1986, he would have walked to see her and maybe even asked her to dinner.

So the question arises: Should we revert back to the days of face-to-face communication or stick with this new technology we have? My guess is we’ll stay with what we know, but maybe a few of us daring enough will show up on the steps of a sorority or fraternity ringing the doorbell to see our latest crush.

Rain, Rain Go Away!!!

When I woke up this morning, I noticed my room was a little darker than normal. Since I am on the west side of our house, I don't get the sunshine streaming through my window in the morning like the girls across the hall from me, but I do get some light.

To my dismay, it was raining. Don't get me wrong, I love the rain.... But I love it when I can stay inside all day and sleep, watch movies, and drink hot chocolate. Not when I have to go to four different classes with an umbrella that really is too small to shelter me from the pouring rain.

And then there is the whole deal with rainboots. I just hate them. They make it difficult to cross your legs in class, they are squeaky, and most frustrating to me, they don't exactly fit around my calves very well. Hopefully one day the people who make rain boots will realize that the majority of American consumers do not have stick legs and therefore cannot tuck their jeans into their boots. This dislike of rain boots always leaves me with a dilemma. I can, A. wear flip flops and let my feet get soaked, and water and dirt flip on my leggings or B. wear my sperrys, which are meant to weather the, well, weather, but then risk them getting wet inside and thus smelling and not drying very fast. Very difficult decision! I think I'll go with the Sperrys.

Vacation in September

This weekend I am fortunate enough to be in Dallas for the Cowboys season opener against the New York Giants. Kaitlyn's brother-in-law is Dave Diehl (offensive lineman for the Giants) so he has so kindly hooked us up with tickets... and let's be honest, why wouldn't he? There need to be some Giant fans in Dallas! So here I am with 5 of my closest friends, staying with Natalie who goes to SMU.

We've had a great time already. Last night we were all in by 9:30, went to a Mexican restaurant and had dinner and margaritas (sangria margaritas are amazing, by the way) and then checked out the Dallas scene. One of the funniest nights of my life. We ran into Brad, a friend of Natalie's, and his Paraguayan friends... well actually he apparently didn't know all of them... but we ended up getting a little crazy, walked over the highway, played in a field, and had a rave in Kappa Sig. Totally normal. Didn't get home until 4:00. Needless to say we were a little tired.

Today we didn't get moving until 12. Went to Bubba's for chicken fried lunch (yummy yummy) and then did some serious shopping. Due to my limited account, I wasn't able to go nearly as J.Crew happy as I wanted, which is always disappointing. Now we are getting ready to go out Uptown, which is like downtown Dallas, and hopefully meeting some nice men to buy us drinks all night long! Tomorrow is the game and we are going to a friend of ours house before the game to pregame. Look for us on TV! 7:20 tipoff.

This weekend has really reiterated how great of a life I have. Not very many people are able to just fly to Dallas for a NFL game with 5 of their best friends. No matter how much I wish I had a little extra cash to spend, or a new car, or whatever, I'd say I'm living a pretty good life, one that I am absolutely thankful for.

Tailgate Time

Growing up in a college town, I have always understood the concept of tailgating. I can remember being seven years old, sitting in the Assembly Hall parking lot with my family, sitting on the trunk of the car eating fried chicken from Grandys. My grandpa would be smoking a cigar and the radio would be tuned into the local radio station for the pregame show. Half hour before the game, we would pack up the car and make the quick walk into Memorial Stadium to watch our Fighting Illini.

As I got older, tailgates and football games grew fewer due to my own athletic obligations, but nonetheless, football Saturdays were something to look forward to. We began tailgating with family friends rather than just family, and the tailgates would continue after the game... win or lose.

No matter what, one thing remained constant. We were always with family and friends of the family. I had no idea that another world of tailgating existed - the student side - or at least I was blissfully unaware, completely content in throwing the football around with my brothers and listening to music while my parents drank and ate with their friends.

When I got to college, I knew what tailgating was supposed to be like, but I had no idea the magnitude of the student tailgating. I vividly remember my first IU tailgate. There is no way to describe my reaction other than "Wow." Students crammed onto a grassy (or sometimes not so grassy) plot of land to drink beer, get drunk, and maybe - but most likely not - go into the game.

I soon grew to love this tailgate insanity. All my friends, acquaintances, crushes, what have you, were all concentrated into one central area, having a good time on a Saturday morning. Some of my favorite college memories come from those early mornings, like when Pi Phi challenged Theta to a powderpuff game in the middle of the field... except rather than using a football, we used a handle of vodka. Classy. Let's just say that game got intense quickly and after 10 minutes, was stopped. Or the time ATO was on top of trucks, blaring "SHOUT" and with beer showers everywhere. Let's be honest, these are only things you can get away with in college.

So as another season of football commences, I can only hope that this year will bring as much fun and as many memories as the seasons prior. Even with the university's attempts to end student tailgating, we can be certain that IU students will win this battle. Afterall, who can resist a cold beer at 8am? It's tradition.