Its OK I Have a Military ID

After a pretty relaxing weekend consisting of watching Top Gun (one of the best movies of all time), disappointing football games and hanging around the school with my friends, something pretty significant happened. I left Chapel Hill for the first time since I got here.

My good friend from high school goes to Army Preparatory Academy in New Jersey and will be playing lacrosse next year at West Point. His family lives in Cary, which is about forty minutes from campus. Out of the blue, he called me and asked if I, along with two other friends from high school wanted to “get some wings and watch some football.” He eventually picked us up and we headed towards South Point Mall. This in itself was an interesting experience.

This is a kid can make any situation more entertaining than it should be and always makes his life sound a thousand times more exciting than yours. No one is spared as long as it results in a good laugh. After spending the majority of his summer at Army Prep, he understandably was very impressed with the women here and felt that it was necessary to strike up a conversation with each one.

Anyways, we make it to south point in record time after pushing his dad’s old Toyota Camry about as hard as it would go. I had never felt so strange riding in a car on the highway, it was one of the first times i have been in a car since I arrived. Once we arrived at South Point we found a nicely overpriced sports bar called Champps. When the hostess informed us there would be a wait she gave us a buzzer and asked for a name to which my friend quickly responded: “frat boy,” handing the buzzer to another friend who is a pledge at a fraternity on campus. Once we were seated at a table that somehow was situated in a way that made it awkward to look at any of the one hundred TVs in there the frat jokes relentlessly started to fly. It was incredibly entertaining, but at the expense of our pledge friend.

After a good meal during which I watched the least football I have watched on a sunday since the beginning of the season we decided to check out the Halloween store before getting back on the road. This place was repulsive. Some of the costumes there were amazingly rude and tasteless. A few examples are the various captains, pilots and sailors with names like “Dick C. Normous, Dr. Rigorrmortis and Dick Amazing (not even mildly clever).” My personal favorite was a knight costume named “A Knight to remember” this costume was a simple knight featuring a very large “sword” if you catch my drift. This thing was massive and before leaving the store we only found it appropriate to leave it hanging out of the costume bag. Shortly after a mom and child walked by. This was flat out hilarious.

After a funny trip to a costume store it was finally time to go home. This took much less time than it should have and stripped just about all the rubber off that Camry’s tires. After warning our friend about the countless policemen in Chapel Hill he simply responded: “its ok I have a military ID.”

Our country is in good hands as long as he is enlisted.

College Style Observations Pt. 2

For my last blog I talked about my recent observations of men’s style at the University of North Carolina. This week I will attempt (and likely fail) to describe what I have noticed to be popular styles among woman.

Looks like rain:

It has been raining recently and it amazes me how much joy it brings certain girls. They are thrilled to finally have a reason to wear their enormous twenty pound rubber rain boots. I remember wearing something similar to those when it rained when up until the age of seven, and even then I was not happy to wear them. It also gives them reason to break out their arsenal of polka-dotted and leopard printed umbrellas. At least these people find some joy in rain.

The amazing athletic shorts:

The most amazing phenomenon in college fashion is perhaps the women’s athletic shorts. They are usually primarily black and are usually very short. They aren’t cotton, but they aren’t exactly mesh either; whatever they are, girls love them. If someone had patented this design, they would probably amount enough wealth to purchase all of South America. I still don’t know what is so great about them.

The lounging athlete:

The shorts described above usually signify the “relaxed classroom style.” other signs of this are a T-shirt (usually long sleeved) and jogging shoes. A pony tail nicely compliments this look as well. If a girl is not wearing either the shorts described above or a pair of Carolina sweatpants, it is not proper relaxed classroom dress.

The gladiator:

This next observation is one that I noticed more and more in my home town of Asheville, strangely enough, it is not as prominent here at Chapel Hill. This is an observation about the gladiator shoe that is becoming more and more popular. This is a modern twist on a shoe worn by ancient Greek and Roman warriors. This new style is not very appealing to me. I am more frightened by these shoes than I am amused, wear these if you want to appear as if you might slay someone at any second.

These are some of the more obvious styles I have seen thus far, of course you have the typical girl in her sundress as well as the jeans and interesting shirt look. One thing that has interested me is the increase in girls wearing baseball hats. This is not to say that they should or should not wear them, I have just not seen it so much before.

College Style Observations

Before you read this blog understand that I am in no way a fashion expert; for example, I practically have a mullet but can’t see any pros in getting a haircut considering the facts that I don’t know where a barber shop is and no matter what i tell the barber, my hair always comes out very close to a bowl cut and makes me look years younger. No, I am no expert or fashion junky, but I am a fairly observant person. I will proceed to describe the types of styles and stereotypes I have observed while here.

In this blog i will only describe men’s style, this section will be more accurately described than a girl’s fashion section since I am, in fact, a guy.

The first and perhaps most stereotypical style is the one generalized as “frat” style (I am not opposed to frats and am considering rushing next semester, but come on, I had to do it). This style is fairly broad but easy to identify. As far as shoes go, this style features one of three things. A pair of leather flip flops are acceptable as well as a pair of casual exercise type shoes such as Newbalances. But the classic footwear is a pair of boat shoes such as Sperry’s. They will also be seen wearing any variety of khaki shorts or pants of various pastel colors. It is mandatory to wear a shirt with a collar, either oxford or polo. Another identifier is a hat or even a visor featuring either UNC or some obscure mascot of some obscure team.

Another popular style is that of the jock. These “jocks” most likely don’t even play a varsity sport at the university, but give off the appearance of doing so. They usually wear a type of running shoe or a comfortable sandal (these are not to be confused with the frat-flop, it is usually made of rubber and has no thong in the middle so that socks can be worn with them once it gets cold). Also they always wear some type of athletic shorts, but almost never khakis. As far as shirts go, they wear as minimal as a shirt as possible; the shirts are often constricting and/or sleeveless. The keystone of this style is the buzz cut. it is absolutely necessary. The overall goal of this style is to look as if you can and will work out anytime and anywhere. Observers should not be surprised to see you doing pushups on random sidewalks or pull-ups on tree branches.

Other, less popular styles are as follows: the indie style, which is less easy to identify but is usually given away by a v-neck or trendy band T-shirt. The plain and simple college casual just wearing what ever works and whatever is most comfortable.

To be continued....

Dorm Room Survival Guide

Dorm Room Survival Guide: what to bring, what not to bring and what to expect.

When preparing for the first year of college, and presumably, your first year away from home, you might be nervous and unsure of what you need, and do not need to bring. Look no further, this survival guide will attempt to answer all types of questions about dorm life.

One point I must stress is: do not over pack. A dorm room is a small space for two people and you most likely will not have room for your TV, your couch, your refrigerator and three suitcases full of clothes. At first this small space will catch you off guard, but do not let it get the best of you; after a few weeks, every college student is a master in space management and efficiency.

Here are a few things you could do to maximize your space:

a) bunk your bed

This always creates the awkward alpha-roommate situation. Around the age of ten, the thought of sleeping on the top bunk moves from exciting to annoying and inconvenient. If you can score the bottom bunk, then by all means bunk the bed, otherwise I would not suggest it.

b) loft the bed

This can optimize space and can create more room for activities. Also, it offers the option of creating the "study cave," made by moving your desk and dresser underneath the lofted bed. I chose not to loft the bed because I personally do not enjoy sleeping ten feet off the ground and inches from the ceiling.

Now that I have covered space optimization and room layouts, I will list a few specific necessary items available at Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond, etc.

bathroom tote:

this is essential for carrying all of the miscellaneous nicknacks to and from the shower and is usually forgotten by incoming freshman.

multiple towels:

Having just one towel is just gross and, the lone towel will most likely still be wet next time you have to use it.

laundry detergent:

Having to do my own laundry for basically the first time in my life, I neglected to bring laundry detergent and have been borrowing from whoever possible. Bring it

Reading light/lamp:

Please do not keep your roommate awake with the bright overhead lights, bring at least a lamp to keep him or her happy.

ear plugs:

If you are not a late night person, and you have a roommate who, alternately is, a night owl, you will really want a pair of earplugs. You might have to look in the "beyond" section of Bed, Bath, & Beyond to find these, but, I promise, they will come in handy.

Other desirable items: stapler, extension cords, water bottles, toiletries, writing utensils.

Try to avoid buying any of these items at the over-priced student store; get them with your parents before you arrive. All of these items should come in handy throughout the course of the year. Take not of all of this information, configure your room however you please but take not in the information above. If you have all of these things before you get to campus, your first days at college will be less hectic than they already are.