Help Send Kelly's Improv Team to Chicago!

Hi guys. I could use some help. My college improv team is up for the wildcard spot to the national College Improv Tournament. We're really gunning to go. We need as many votes as possible before December 14. So do us a favor and vote for my team!

Please vote for "Laser Squad Bravo" at the following link:

http://www.chicagoimprovfestival.org/web/ccc_home.php

You will be prompted for an email address. If you want to avoid spam and have GMail, you can just add a plus sign to the end of the first part of your email address and set up a filter. You can see the tutorial of how to do this here: Using Gmail Aliases for Better Organization [Web Worker Daily].

A little about the team

The LMU improv team is named Laser Squad Bravo. We had to change our name a few years back from Catholic Guilt. Whoops. The team performs regularly at LMU and in the greater Los Angeles area. Joining this team was one of the more awesome things I've done in college.

Our alumni and current players are also making names for themselves. Scott Gairdner (the G4 King of Dot Comedy) and the guys behind Amazing Super Powers are all alumni of the team. One of our current players is opening next week for B.J. Novak.

Thanks so much for voting!

HackCollege Xmas Lists: Kelly

My list this year is half productive, half anti-productive. Video games are the bane of productivity for me, and are honestly the most addictive things for my body. I would never take a chance investing in a game console or games while in school. But I am taking a light course load next semester...

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  Apple Magic Mouse

  Call me a wanker, but I love having side-scrolling on my mouse. I was a big fan of the Mighty Mouse, but after playing around with a Magic Mouse in an Apple store, I'm sold.

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  Coders at Work

  I've read more books this year than I think any other year of my life. And yes, we're talking reading for pleasure. I've cruised through Wikinomics, the 4-Hour Workweek, the Paradox of Choice, Free, Cheap and a few others. This book seems like a great find for some free time reading.

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  New Super Mario Bros

  While you can't pilot an AC-130 gunship in the New Super Mario Bros., it is more conducive to multiplayer play. Think Super Mario Bros. 3 with four players at once. I know. Crazy amounts of fun.

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  Capresso Infinity Burr Grinder

  The one weak point in my coffee setup is my grinder. Currently I'm using a pretty simple Krups blade grinder. It gets the job done, but for perfect coffee you need a legit grinder. After doing some preliminary research, the Capresso grinder seems like a good starter burr grinder at an affordable price point.

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  The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated

  by Timothy Ferriss

  We here at HackCollege are huge fans of the Tim Ferriss book, the 4-Hour Workweek. Just in time for Christmas, the latest edition of the book will be released (Dec. 15). I can't wait to get my hands on this version and see what Ferriss has added.

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  Kindle

  This one is a stretch. I definitely don't need a Kindle. Not even close. But I do like the idea of a Kindle and I've futzed around with one enough to decide that I could probably handle reading off of its beautiful screen for books at a time. I also like the idea of not having to keep so many books around, and being able to get them in a few seconds rather than a few days.

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What are you hoping for for Christmas this year?

This Week: HackCollege Xmas Lists

This looks like a painfully normal Christmas. Photo by flickr user ImNotQuiteJack.

As much as we hate to say it sometimes, the finals Christmas season is upon us. We are all racing toward the finish line for this quarter/semester. Christmas trees are going up around campus and I'm already tired of holiday jingles.

And we're just old enough to still have Christmas lists and not feel guilty about it. So throughout the week, each HackCollege writer will be sharing the top things on their Christmas list. We aren't including any socks or underwear on our lists; those are implied.

So stay tuned throughout the week to see what each writer is hoping for for Christmas.

Wondering what to get someone for Christmas? Get them a HackCollege sweatshirt!

How to Avoid Partying, Get Good Grades

Partying is no good. Let me repeat that: NO GOOD. All that matters in college is getting good grades your parents can be proud of showing that Sigma Cum-Laude diploma off to their friends. The good grades will also ensure your future at grad schools and give you the grit you need to make it in the real world. Well, at least that's what my dad told me. Now here are some tips to stay away from the alchies on your campus. 

Read. ALL THE TIME

I don't know if you've heard, but reading is FUNdamental.  The most important thing is to read every world in all of your textbooks while simultaneously outlining them. After you have finished this you'll have surely missed the missed out on your friends patronage of some frat house. Who needs that?

Now the real fun begins. Start reading some novels. I suggest you stay up-to-date with what's hot right now. Read each of the Twilight books five times, at least. War and Peace should take up a good chunk of time between when you friends leave to party and when classes start again on Monday. 

Keep Communicating with Your Profs.

It's always good to get to know your professors.  Lets take that a step further. See what they're up to on Friday nights or do they watch NFL pregame shows or Meet the Press on Sundays. Having done this before, it could go one of two ways. You could either land on a research team, or land a restraining order. Hey, you're getting something either way. 

Mocktails are the Best-tails

Because Sober-Steves like us are so few and far between we might have to blend in. The mocktail will help us to do just that. When your friends are pregaming, head into the other room and mixup a few mocktails. You'll not only look cultured for the ladies, you won't be disobeying the law or your parents either. This plan tended to fail me when I went into the other room and actually had the drinks with a young lady. 

Anyway I hope this guide to alcohol free living will help you ace college and make your parents proud. I know mine are. They don't know about the restraining order yet though. I was going to break it to them after I graduated top in my class with a 4.0 GPA and what the bigger success is, never having an once of alcohol slip into mouth in all four years at this institution. 

How do you stay away from the devil known as alcohol? Comment below to share!

Make Your Bed Every Morning

Because you read a lifehacking blog like HackCollege you obviously already make your bed every day. Right? Because all students make their bed each morning. Because students never take naps. Because students always get a full night's rest. And nobody has a pain-in-the-ass loft bed.

So maybe that's not all true. But I think I can convince you othewise on that whole bed-making issue. I can't help you with that loft bed though. Those are a bitch.

Why should I make my bed EVERY F'IN MORNING?

Let me have just a four-bullet-point-chance at telling you:

• You can impress your family (and the opposite sex): Nobody in college makes their bed. Making this 30-second habit a part of your morning routine will -- for some strange social reason -- impress people.
• It ties the room together: Let's face it -- your itty-bitty dorm room is about 98% bed. You have about enough room to walk in, and have a bed. That's it. So, by making your bed, you're effectively tidying a large majority of your room with minimal effort.
• Workspace: You have permission to use your bed as a workspace only if it's made. Otherwise, that's gross. (Who wants coffee grinds and Ramen flavoring INSIDE THEIR BED? Not me.)
• Instant wake-up call: If you can convince yourself to make your bed right when you get out -- I think you'll be hard-pressed to press snooze. It's a great way to routine-ize the moments after your alarm rings, hence disengaging that early-morning fog-of-mind.

So, hopefully one of those bullets, like the bullet from a revolver, convinced you to change your life a bit.

How to kick in this new habit

It will take you 60 seconds to make your bed. Especially after you practice it every day! Practice makes perfect! Perfect bedding!

Since it only takes that single minute -- all you have to do is find a window. I promise you, there is a window in your daily routine. A window you should close with bed-making. Here are some ideas:

• While your phone or computer boots up
• While your coffemaker is running
• While you're waiting for your shower to warm up
• While you swish around your mouthwash
• While YOUR ROOMMATE FEEDS HIS SNAKE IN THE GODDAMN CLOSET EVERY MORNING

I don't know. You can find a few minutes if you put your mind to it. You're in college.

Crazy lifehack option no. 2

Save 2 minutes every day by not making your bed.

In the comments -- tell us if you make your bed! We won't tell mom. Cross my heart.

How to Refuse Money from Your Parents

Dolla dolla bills. Photo by flickr user borman818.

There comes that dark day every so often where a parent may casually ask during the weekly phone check-up, "Do you need money?" Usually it will be from a father. It's his way of saying, "You're doing well, son. Let me offer part of my paycheck to you rather than choking up on the phone." But like the good college student that you are, you need to always be on the defense. See, the best students (us) work 40 hours per week while attending class and volunteering while maintaining a relationship with a member of the opposite gender, but nothing too serious yet.

So how do you refuse money from your parents? We've got it down to a few-step process.

Avoid the topic if at all possible

Usually the topic of money will inevitably get brought up toward the end of a phone conversation. Your parents are smart people and realize that you probably need money. But you don't.

The best way to avoid the topic is to always have an "out" at the end of the conversation. Schedule something to begin immediately at the end of the weekly phone call of something you'll need to run off to. Once the question gets brought up, you can just say, "Gotta go. Love you! Bye!" 

Speak slowly and firmly

If the first method doesn't work, you will need to be frank with them. I recommend practicing in front of a mirror. Try the phrase

I'm sorry Mother and Father, but I do not require your monetary assistance at this time. If the event occurs in the future where I may require some funds, I will let you know in a neatly hand-written letter.

I've used that phrase several times before. It's bullet-proof.

Make the money yourself 

The best way to never have to refuse money from your parents is to make the money yourself. We've got several posts that can help you do this, like Creating Passive Income Online as a Student. Give that a read and you'll never have an empty wallet.

Looking for a Christmas present to spend all of your money on? May we recommend the HackCollege Sweatshirts? Or forward the link to one of our helper pages onto your parents!

This week is Goodie Two-Shoes Week on HackCollege

It's crunch time. Finals are fast approaching. So is Thanksgiving break. There is so much work to get done before hopping on the plane on Wednesday morning for a day of hellish travel. We are asking ourselves: will I get everything done in time? Will I pass all of my classes? Is it possible for a human skull to explode from pure stress?

To take your mind off of it, HackCollege brings you Goodie Two-Shoes week. This short feature will cover the things that you are forgetting to do because you are so incredibly stressed out. Like how to make your bed in the morning, or how to refuse money from your parents. These are the things that the impeccable and ne'er-do-bad readers of HackCollege can do in their sleep. But your parents might be reading this week, so we need to remind them that you are an amazing, talented student. Why might my parents be reading this week? you ask. It's because we have new sweatshirts on sale.

As evidenced by our sidebar, we've got some new sweatshirts we're selling. They are in the spirit of John Belushi's iconic sweater worn in Animal House and found in poster form in dorm rooms around the planet. You want one, don't you? 

But we know how stressed you are, so that's why we've made special pages for you to forward onto your parents. These pages give your parents a subtle suggestion for a Christmas present, i.e. a HackCollege sweatshirt. We've designed these pages to make you look good, so there's no harm in forwarding it along when you get the unanswerable question, "What do you want for Christmas this year?" We have the answer:

HackCollege Sweatshirt Parents Page - His

HackCollege Sweatshirt Parents Page - Hers

If you would like to check out other pictures of the sweatshirts and get more info on them for yourself, we've got a page for that, too: HackCollege Sweatshirts.

Be on the lookout for Goodie Two-Shoes Week posts all this week. And have a good Turkey Day! 

UC Tuition Hike, UC Students Strike

The UC system decided to officially raise tuition by an unheard of 32% on Friday. In the face of the easily-anticipated hike, THOUSANDS of students at UCLA, Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz (among others) tried to hack the decree the only way they could: protests. Sit-ins and a laughable (but kind of ominous and still respectable) "Shame on you" chant dominated the efforts.

UC Santa Cruz protests just ended today -- three days later. Rock on!

The decision doesn't touch the actual tuition per se -- it instead raises the fees around tuition. It's a grave reminder that even while public school tuition is state-regulated, administrators can slap on fees that make the colleges as expensive as private schools.

It'll cost about $2,500 more to attend a California public school. Ouch. Like, major ouch.

[awesome image above stolen from the NYT]