One Tree Hill Disappoints

One of my favorite television shows right now is One Tree Hill. During the first four seasons that it aired, I refused to watch it and get sucked into another melodrama about high school kids and there pregnancy scares. 

But, after the discovery of the Soap Network last semester in between studying for finals, I found myself getting sucked right into the One Tree Hill world. Sure, the fact that the cast plays 22 year olds who are professional basketball players and own their own fashion lines is a little far fetched, it still reeled me in and I’ve seen every episode and became an avid fan.

The two main stars of the show, Hilarie Burton and Chad Michael Murray, have had rumors swirling around them all season that they were both not going to renew their contracts. As the sixth season finale approached, they both finally confirmed that it was true and that the characters of Peyton Sawyer and Lucas Scott would no longer be on the cast. 

So, just like any other OTH fan, I was in a state of pure panic for the season finale. How would it all end? Were they both going to be killed off? Was Peyton going to die sending Lucas into a crazy tail spin causing him to leave town? I had so many questions. I could not wait.

As quickly as the season finale came, it went, leaving little excitement or plot twists. Peyton and Lucas got married, gave birth to their child and then literally drove off into the sunset. That was it. 

What exactly is going to happen now? I’m confused and sad and cannot believe I have to wait a whole year to find out how the writers are going to come back from that disaster. 

That really grinds my gears...

Pet peeves are things that really bother and annoy people. I’ve decided to take this time to make a quick reference of all things that have really been grinding my gears lately. This will be quite therapeutic for me. I’m hoping that if I get it all out in writing, I can stop letting these irritating annoyances from ruining my day.

Wet socks. There is nothing worse then wet socks. I was running into work, late mind you, the other day when I literally jumped foot first into what felt like a 4 foot puddle. My right sneaker was submerged underwater leaving me with one, single, wet sock. I had to walk around work all night with my foot and sneaker making that unbearable “squishing” noise with a cold, damp foot. It was the pits.

Sitting on the same side of the table/booth when out to eat with someone. Why do people do this? It literally boggles my mind. I don’t understand how it’s comfortable or even practical to sit next to, rather then across from someone, at a restaurant. It’s like both of your necks are at a 45 degree angle as you try to eat your food and carry on a conversation without looking completely ridiculous.

People who only talk about drinking. I get it, you’re 21, you’re in college, you drink. Is it really necessary to broadcast to the entire class room how many beers you drank last night or involve the phrase “I was so hammered last night” in every sentence? I can’t decide if these people really have nothing else to talk about or actually think it makes them look cool to talk about booze so much.

Everybody Loves Raymond reruns. Okay, this is a funny show. I’ll watch it and definitely find myself cracking up. But doesn’t it seem like this show is syndicated on every single channel? It’s like every afternoon, dinner time and late night television slots are filled with reruns of this show. It really is an overkill.

Well, now I feel better.  

When are they going to retire?

The Real World has been airing on MTV for over 18 seasons now. Road Rules aired shortly thereafter, a sort of spin off of The Real World after it became such a hit for the station. Then low and behold, just like Brangelina these two super entities were combined to create one of the most addicting reality television show ever. Enter: The Real World Road Rules Challenge.

The major plotline of this show is crazy middle-aged contestants engaging in bisexual rendezvous and nerf related athletic challenges. I know, sounds awesome. But my question is, when are these contestants ever going to retire?

This challenge show has been on for quite some time, and it seems as every new season approaches, the show is still polluted with the same 4 aging reality stars from seasons of Real World or Road Rules that aired almost 10 years ago.

Mark Long, one of the original cast mates of the first season of Road Rules, is pushing his mid 30’s and has the forehead wrinkles to prove it. Long has never actually won a challenge but has continuously shown up to pound tequila shots with a mix of 20-somethings and gel his faux-hawk.

“C.T.” Tamborello, a local from Methuen, Ma, has been on over 6 seasons of this show and has been disqualified from more then half due to fighting. “CT,” who looks to be about 300 pounds of pure muscle, tends to get so wasted during the premiere episode of each challenge that a typical fight ensues with some other new cast mate. This obviously gets him booted before the challenge even starts.  

Beth Stolarczyk, a sassy blonde who loves the drama, is literally pushing 40 years old with no Challenge end in sight. Stolarczyk is constantly mocked and made fun of by the younger contestants, called the Devil and told she is hated, yet she still re-signs for the Challenge with each new season that airs.

Coral Smith, the loud-mouthed “bitch” seems to get into a war of words with every contestant. She is always right, always voicing her opinion and always talking about her new found life as a lesbian. Coral was on the Real World over 10 years ago and still has the same loud, obnoxious voice she did back then.

While the show is entertaining, I’m really starting to get some sort of form of secondhand  embarrassment  here. Is participating in “human ice louge” games at the age of 40 considered a successful career move, even if these contestants have never once actually won a challenge? Please retire folks, for me.  

Crackberry4Life

I was the first one of my friends to ever have a cell phone. I got it as a birthday present when I turned 16 years old. I remember showing it to everyone, bragging about how small it was and that it was the "size of my hand!" Granted, I have pretty small almost carnie-like hands, but looking back at that old piece of junk I've realized that it was almost comparable in size to Zach Morris' bulky phone piece. 

Years went by, and upgrades went unused and I found myself using the same cell phone for the better half of a decade. I don't even understand how it was even compatible with newer phones and programs. It had no color features: only a green screen and one font. It could not go on the internet, I could not download ringtones and I could not text anyone (Gasp!).

Finally, after an intervention with my friends telling me I desperately needed to upgrade my piece, I succombed to the pressure and bought myself a Blackberry. 

Talk about an upgrade. Having this this phone is like carrying a mini personal assistant in my purse. I can simultaneously check my calender, complete my to do list, call a friend, poke someone special on Facebook and navigate my way through Boston, all the while purchasing a small island off the Florida. 

But with all these amazing and life changing features, come one problem: the blackberry addiction. 

I'm utterly addicted to my phone like a bad habbit. I sleep with my blackberry on the unused pillow next to me in bed. I check my phone when I know no one has called. I hold my phone in my hand when I walk to class, go grocery shopping and even while I drive just incase I get some sort of new notification. 

I have no purpose for having a Blackberry other then the fact that I had a free upgrade, but I love every second of owning one now. I feel like I should own some sort of members only jacket and beep at people who pass me that are holding one too. You know, the whole "It's a Jeep Thing" campaign?

All in all, I'm glad my friends intervened with my age-old cell phone and made me upgrade. However, they may have a new intervention slowly approaching... 

This is NOT the Cheesecake Factory

I've been waitressing for quite a few years now and even though the money is outstanding: the job itself makes me want to throw glass objects at walls.

I've dealt with the craziest of crazies during my time as a server. While the policy that the "customer is always right" should always be applied, I think I'm officially burnt out because it literally does not apply anymore. I have no more tolerance for erractic customer behavior anymore.

At work the other night, I walked over to my first table and noticed a sweet and lovely couple in their 60's waiting patiently for my arrival. Before I could even pronounce the J in my first name I was cut off by the woman sitting as she barked, "How is your coffee here? Because everytime I go to the Cheesecake Factory it's terrible."

Seeing as though I don't work at the Cheesecake Factory and I haven't even been awknowledged as a human being yet - you can imagine how the rest of the night went with this couple.

If there was a complaint or comment box, this couple would have filled it. But let bring you to the best part of the story, 4 cups of coffee later, I bring the bill over to the table when the grumpiest woman on earth decides to tell me that, "the coffee wasn't even drinkable, just to let you know." Not even awknowledging her coffee comment, since she downed 4 cups, I told them they could pay whenever they were ready. This is when Sir Grumps-A-Lot proceeded to say, "Well since you are not taking the coffee off of the bill, it's my birthday so can you give me my free dessert now."

With steam pouring out of my ears I tell her we do not give away free desserts for birthdays but she can buy one and I'll even stick a candle in it for her!

In absolute disgust, she shakes her head at her husband and turns back to me and says, "Well, the Cheesecake Factory always gives me a free dessert on my birthday."

Graduation day can't come soon enough. Goodbye waitressing for-ev-er.

Kevin James: Unemployment's Unsung Hero.

Recently, my boyfriend was laid off from his daytime job.

Cooincidentally, two of his best friends were also laid off around the same and within the past 2 months of each other.

While their daily struggle to find new employment has been vigourous at first, the 3 of them have now found solice and comfort in one common bond: their love for Kevin James.

I'm not quite sure when it happened, or how it happened, but Kevin James has somehow been annointed the unemployed's daytime hero.

I am literally plagued with the phrase, "Kevin James is my hero," from all 3 everytime I see one of them.

Sure, I’ve caught a few episodes of "King of Queens" before and I’ve had my share of laughs at Kevin James bumbling around life like a bull in a china shop, but I still don’t see the connection. All these 3 do now is discuss the crazy hijinx that “Doug Heffernan” got himself into that afternoon.

Does the idea of an overweight middle aged man who drives a UPS truck and has a “bangin” wife bring some sense of comfort to unemployed men everywhere? Is it some sort of symbolism that I am not understanding? Is Doug really showing everyone that everything is going to be okay? What is it about this fast food eating, short-shorts wearing guy that brings smiles to grown men’s faces?

I guess I may never know. But what I do know is that until my boyfriend finds another job, I’ll be subjected to a lot more “King of Queens” reruns.

Why didn't I think of that...

I'm always thinking. I'm always trying to come up with a funny catch phrase and hope they stick. I'm always tossing and turning at night in bed trying to think of amazing inventions to make a quick million. But time and time again, I will see a new product, a new commercial, a new website or hear a new catch phrase and think to myself, "Why didn't I think of that?!"

I pretty much thought the Sham-Wow guy was a genious, until I went on to TMZ.com and saw the pictures of the prostitute he beat up recently after a wild night in Las Angeles. But my new and latest fascination is this website TFLN.com I've discovered.

TFLN stands for "Texts From Last Night." Pretty self explanatory. People can just log on to the website and send in any funny texts that might have been sent the night before. And people will literally send in anything. It's a judgement free zone. I guess it has to be when you read about some kid named Adam texting his friend's mother for a booty call.

After reading pages and pages of entries, I found myself logging off SEVERAL hours later. It's flipping hilarious. The texts just do not get old.

I sat there staring at my computer and decided that I was 10% happy for finding this website of high comical value and 90% jealous I had nothing to do with it's existence. I found myself asking the same old question, "Why didn't I think of that!?" Needless to say I was again frustrated.

I think it's about time I start keeping a journal of my ideas and thoughts from now on. After all, I'm still convinced I came up with the idea for Facebook during a drunken conversation with my college roommates.

Gettin Paid and Underage: Buddy Costa

Meet Buddy Costa: The Nephew

As the newsroom coordinator and producer of the Top 30 Countdown, Buddy Costa is only 25 years old.

Costa has always had a love for music and popular culture. The only thing is that he didn’t realize it until after he received his bachelor’s degree in sports management. He left a job working for the Red Sox and interned for his uncle, Billy Costa, in the newsroom three year ago. Eventually, a job opened up, and Buddy became the newsroom coordinator.

Costa described his work in the newsroom as hectic but energizing. “Every morning, Billy gives three newscasts. Myself and the interns work together to give information about the top news stories of the day. We find clips from online as well as the news which we edit and play for Billy during his newscast.”

“We also find the leading entertainment stories and do the same for Billy’s two entertainment breaks in the morning. It can get pretty crazy in here, and there is a lot of pressure leading up to the newscasts, but it definitely wakes us up in the morning,” Costa said.

Costa also has the advantage of joining Billy with all of his celebrity interviews. Costa does a lot of research before they meet with the artists, and edits all of the footage after the interview has taken place.

Costa produces the weekly Top 30 Countdown which his uncle hosts. Costa works with the Music Director to find out the rankings of the weeks top songs, researches information about the artists on the countdown, and sits alongside his uncle in the recording of it. He also uses his expertise of music to incorporate weekly old-school jams into the countdown.

Costa also has a full time job of being a DJ. He DJs throughout the weekends, as well as during the week for special occasions. He frequently DJs at The Estate, Rain Nightclub, and Marina Bay Beach Club. With working so late and then again so early, Costa finds sleep to be extremely lacking most times.

“I can’t complain because I love what I do and wouldn’t want to do anything else. It does get exhausting at times, but I have to remember that not everyone has the opportunities I have at such a young age. I’m still so young and I have a lot of years ahead of me. I’d like to accomplish as much as I can now while I still have the energy in me,” Costa explained.

Like the other young adults working at Kiss 108, Costa has a concern for the state of the economy but tries not to worry about it. “Of course it is something I have thought about. It’s all over the news, there is no way to escape it. Kiss 108 is going to continue on. The Morning Show is something that people tune into to uplift their moods- it’s not something that will be easily taken away. As for my position at Kiss, the news will continue no matter what, so I’m not worried. And as for DJing, no one is going to stop partying!” Costa said.

Gettin Paid and Underage: Rich DiMare

DiMare, only 25 years old, holds the title of Technical Producer at the Matty in the Morning Show. 

You know all of those hilarious clips you hear in between segments, or during any of the wacky on-air conversations that Matty seems to just have at access to at all times? Well, those are curtosy of DiMare. 

DiMare spends the entire show in his own seperate studio creating a digital collection of hilarious one-liners and famous "you-gotta-hear-this" quotes from celebrities. He hears Matty say the word banana - and he's off like a race car, speeding through the internet searching any clip he can find with the word banana in it. As fast as he finds, he edits it and uploads it into the Matty database. And just like that, Matty can push a button and have access to every movie, television and song soundbite of someone saying the word "banana." 

"It's effortless," DiMare said. "It's kind of like I'm getting paid to watch Family Guy or Seinfeld and then keep track of anything funny that happens. Every time I watch a movie or see something on tv I think to myself, that would be great for tomorrows show," DiMare said.

DiMare, who also interned at KISS 108 for 2 years, landed this job after his quick skills were noticed and his clips kept the entire staff laughing.

"I interned for the music director, Jim, about 3 years ago. He thought I was good enough to be hired so, I got the job. I went to college for broadcasting, but I have to say that the best experience I have had was here at Kiss 108. I was put into a real life situation and I was able to deal with the pressures and demands.”

DiMare couldn't be happier with his job at KISS 108 and is extremely grateful that he got such a great opportunity straight out of college.

“This is my first job out of college and I am over the moon," DiMare said. "I have no desire to leave. On the morning show, you can always expect something different. Everyone is down to earth and we always have a good time. The perks are great, too. I meet celebrities, attend events and get to plug my music whenever Matty calls me into the on-air studio!" 

DiMare, more than satisfied with his job at the radio station, has another dream that he is persuing at great lengths. 

“I've been singing on a professional level since 2006 - I have a rat-pack sound. It’s pretty cool because I have had the opportunity to sing on air with some of the performers that come on the show. My weekends pretty much consist of performing. It’s my true passion. Don't get me wrong, I love my job now and never want to leave. So, I'm thinking I can do both. I can be Sinatra on the weekends, and Rich DiMare in the mornings."

DiMare also takes into consideration of the recession happening at the moment. “Of course I’m a bit worried, but I feel as if I’m secure in my job. My role is important to the Morning Show- it helps it to take on a humorous tone in addition to the on-air personalities.  You can never be too safe with today’s situation but I try not to get too caught up with thinking about the negative aspects of it. 

At the young age of 25, no dream is too big for DiMare.

"I've got my music and I've got my job. I'm one lucky kid, I'll tell you that much," DiMare said. 

Gettin Paid and Underage: Suzee Giglio

Meet Suzee Giglio: The Phone Babe. Giglio, annointed as Matty in the Morning's "Phone Babe," has been working at KISS 108 for almost 6 years now.

Giglio had dreamed about working for a radio station her entire life. While Giglio can sometimes be heard blaring Aerosmith from her desk, opting to drown out the pop beats of Lady Gaga, she has landed the ultimate job.

"I work 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. I get to meet celebrities, hang out with some of the funniest people on the earth and work in an amazing environment," Giglio said. "I couldn't have asked for a better job."

While Giglio dreams of making it big in radio someday, she is fine where she is right now. Giglio described how she got the job, saying, “I interned for the morning show when I was in college- I went to Bridgewater State. After I finished school, I stayed interning for a while. Eventually, they offered me this position. I was trying to go for a different position, but I happily accepted this one. I love doing it so much that the early hours no longer overwhelm me.”

Giglio explains exactly what it is that she does on the Morning Show, saying, “I answer the switchboard throughout the morning during the show. I deal with some of the crazy callers that call in. I put the callers on the air for Matty and the crew to talk to them, including celebrities. I do the paperwork for the people who win the contests, and I get all of their information beforehand so that Matt knows a little bit about them. One of the busiest times of the show is during the “Right Now” segment, where listeners call in to talk about what is going on in their lives. There are a lot of callers during this time and sometimes it can get tough deciding which ones to let through.”

"I really have no complaints," Giglio said. "I look forward to work every single day."

Here, Giglio answers the phones during the "Right Now" segment. Giglio listens to each caller's story and decides whether to put them through to the on-air studio.

Gettin Paid and Underage: Intern Life

This is Kerryn White, an intern for the Matty in the Morning Show. Kerryn hopes to one day find a job in either radio or television broadcasting. She's hoping to achieve this goal as soon as possible, with the help of this internship.

This is the intern studio where podcasting, editing and sound research is performed. The interns will spend most of their time in here learning how to properly "run the board" in case they are every needed to help out with any technical aspects of the show. 

This is the entertainment news room. Here, interns can watch the news, search online and riffle through newspapers in this fast paced environment and pull out relevant stories for the broadcast. 

This is the whiteboard where all important, upcoming events are written down. Any concerts, movie openings, sports games or comedy shows must be recorded on this board so the staff is up to date with relevant topics for on-air use. The interns must be well aware of what is going on in locally in Boston as well as nationally. 

This is how the newsroom office looks typically after an entertainment or news report. There will be shuffled papers everywhere, computer screens logged on to websites and newspapers thrown about. The interns must have their game faces on when they enter the newsroom. 

Gettin Paid and Underage: Kendra Hajjar

Meet Kendra Hajjar, the newest addition. Only 26 years old and Hajjar is the producer of Boston's biggest radio morning show hits: The Matty in the Morning show.

Hajjar, who started working for WXKS Kiss 108 radio in 2006, has landed her dream job.

"I never thought in a million years I would be working here" Hajjar said. "It was a one in a million shot - and I took it. I still question it every morning - am I really here? Am I really doing this? Hajjar said."

Hajjar, familiar with the Matty Show, heard about an available position to work for one of Boston's most recognizable voices while tuning in on her drive to work.

"I thought to myself, now is where all of my hard work will either pay off or it won't," Hajjar said. "I got as many recommendations as I could, put everything I've done over the past years on my resume, and sent in a huge, bright yellow packet to Matty himself. I think I even put a sticker on it to stand out.”

Hajjar, like most women out of college, knew she wanted to put her degree to good use. After interning at a radio station in Springfield during her time at UMass Amherst, and landing a small and very insequential job at WBZ news post graduation, Hajjar knew these two things could very well help her get her foot in the door.

"I always tell my interns the process of getting to where I am today. I did the intern thing, too. And it's well worth it. I found the experience I needed in radio to get me to WBZ, and I had the experience from WBZ to get me to where I am today," Hajjar said.

Hajjar doesn’t let fear of the recession hinder her job progress. It took her a lot to get to where she is now, and she can’t let worry and concern hold her back.

“The economy is a scary thing right now. I’m well aware of that. I feel secure and comfortable at my job. I know my contributions to the Morning Show are important and significant. If the time comes to worry about the recession affecting my job, then I will cross that bridge when I get to it. For now I have to focus on my career and continue to give as much as I can to the company” Hajjar explained.

Here, Hajjar calls Maria Stephanos, to confirm her live appearence on The Matty in the Morning Show. Hajjar deals with celebrities cancelling and "no-shows" all the time. In this video you can see the stress of working in a fast paced radio program and how essential it is for Hajjar to contact these guests.

Gettin Paid and Underage

More and more young adults today are attending four-year colleges in order to pursue a higher education. A lot of these young adults know exactly what they want to do after college, and some of them attend college without an exact career in sight, but rather for the security of having a degree to fall back on. It has been statistically proven that throughout one’s lifetime, people with a college education will end up making $1 million more than those who are only high school graduates. 

Graduating college has a lot of benefits and, although stressful and pricey, is worth it in the long run.

Finding a job right out of college is not an easy process. A lot of employers would like to hire someone with actual work experience rather than only being fresh out of school.

College graduates are likely to in an underpaid job that would not be their first choice. It is lucky and rare that one will find a good paying job relating to their major that they have a deep interest in first thing after graduating.

The recession gives college graduates reason to worry even more about finding a job. According to a study done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers are not so interested in hiring new graduates. The study illustrates that the rate of hiring new graduates will be down 22% for the college graduates of 2009 than those hired from the Class of 2008. 

Not only do college graduates have to go up against people with experience for jobs, they also have to go against the people who have been laid off and waiting to go back to work. 

As of May 8, 2009, the current unemployment rate is 8.6%. This rate does not give the Class of 2009 anything to be hopeful about.

However, there are success stories to be heard. Many people from the Boston area are aware of the “ Matty in the Morning Show” on Kiss 108 FM. It has been the number one morning show in Boston since 1979, when the station first began running. Kiss 108 remains the number one Hit Music station in Boston. So how does this show continue to stay at the top throughout all of these years? The morning radio personalities, Matt Siegel, Billy Costa, and Lisa Donovan all contribute to the success of the show. Without the staff that helps to put the show together and running five days a week, the show would have a hard time of being pulled off.

The most amazing thing about this is that the crew who makes everything happen behind the scenes at the “Matty in the Morning Show” consists of young adults all under the age of thirty.

Kendra, Suzee, Rich and Buddy are all twenty-somethings who all landed their dream jobs after internships, hard work and never giving up on their dreams. So meet this dedicated and talented crew who plans on staying put - even during this recession.

Man, I love College

After four years of living on campus at UMass Amherst, I know exactly what campus living is all about. I successfully bonded with my University. I went to concerts on campus, I tailgated my way through football games, and my friends and I were always ready for “Spring Week.” If that Asher Roth song “I love College” came out a few years earlier, it would have undoubtedly been blaring from my roommate and my speakers for all of Southwest campus to hear. Man, I did love college.

But I didn’t graduate.

I only took the minimum amount of credits each semester because I had to balance my social life with my academic career, naturally. This put me about a year and some odd classes behind. Instead of being a 5th year senior at Amherst, I decided to take some time off and finish up here at [UMass] Lowell.

Since the Lowell campus is known as a commuter as well as a transfer school, it wasn’t hard for me to get back into the swing of things. In fact, it was almost easier and a lot less stressful. The UML website shows that out of the 2,000 incoming freshman, 825 of them are transfer students. That is a lot of people in the same boat as me.

Brenda Woonton, of the Continuing Education Studies program, helped me transition from full time party animal at Amherst to a hard working student at Lowell. 

"I tell everyone that comes to see me that it's a fresh slate," Woonton said. "I try to explain that when you transfer here, you leave all of the baggage from your previous school at your previous school." said Woonton. 

Woonton was spot on. Since I’m a little older, a little wiser and less likely to pull an all-nighter at the Lowell bars and off campus parties, I find myself having the best GPA I’ve ever had in my college career. I come to campus when I have class, and I leave when I’m done. It’s a pretty simple schedule that makes me get out of bed and come to class instead of strolling into class 20 minutes late in my UMass sweatpants – which was a normal reoccurrence and one of (I thought at the time) added benefits of living on campus.

Woonton sees more focus from everyone who checks in with her throughout their time at Lowell. 

"I can't say that I'm disappointed that students aren't more involved with Campus life and partying because I've seen some of the most amazing turn-arounds from students," said Woonton. "I've had kids come to me who want to graduate so bad but feel it's impossible, and I've seen that it's always possible." said Woonton. 

Even though I’ll be graduating Magna Cum Laude, I find myself reminiscing about the bond I had with Amherst and it got me to thinking: just how much time do transfers/commuters spend on campus and are they missing out on a huge part of college life?

Dave Catanzano, a fellow classmate and transfer student, rarely participates with on campus activities when asked about how much time he spends here. 

“Usually, none,” Catanzano said. “I leave right after my last class. I just want to be home. I have to go to work and stuff. I eat in the dining hall maybe once a week when I have a break in between my Wednesday class.” Catanzano said.

I will go on the record and say that [while] dining hall food is disgusting, but it was sort of a hangover ritual my friends and I had. There was nothing like waking up at noon after a hard night of partying, gathering up all the girls to walk across campus to the dining hall, and dish about the events that took place prior over some yellow PowerAde and a makeshift pizza bagel. Some of the conversations that took place at our local dining hall I'll remember for the rest of my life. 

Kacie Bonin, another classmate and transfer student, feels the same way Catanzano does.

“I probably spend about two hours a week on campus that aren’t class related,” Bonin said. “I go to tutoring but I don’t really get involved in any on campus activities. I used to be a member of the Campus Activities board but I gave that up.” Bonin said.

Campus activities were a key component to having a fun year at Amherst. Spring Week was the most notoriously fun week of all year. The entire campus came together and celebrated the good weather by hosting bbq’s outside of dorms and booking music acts to play outdoor concerts. Everyone was involved and everyone participated. If I never went to Spring Week, I would never be able to tell my children one day how I got on stage at the Naughty by Nature concert for about 1,000 on-looking classmates to see.

I understand that it’s a little different for me because I got to experience both UMass worlds. It just makes me wonder if these students who don’t care to participate in all these activities are missing out on all the fun.

Slave of Honor

I'm at that age where it seems like every weekend I have a wedding to go to. If it's not a wedding I'm going to, it's a bridal shower, or engagement party or a "I'm throwing some sort of wedding-related party so I can get another gift" party.

At first, they were a hoot. It was like one big reunion fully equipped with a DJ and an open bar. Dancing the Macarena while double fist-ing two margaritas with a crowd mixed of crazy uncles and zany aunts was awesome.

Then the weddings became a little more monotonous and the planning of driving/sleeping arrangements became a hassle. My boyfriend and my bank accounts were slowly diminishing and you can only wear the same cocktail dress a few times without it going unnoticed.

Now, I'm in my first wedding. And it's not just any wedding, it's my best friend's wedding and I'm the maid of honor. Cue the gasps.

If you thought the bride had it bad with all of the planning, cut the maid of honor a little slack too. Between picking dresses, getting fitted for dresses, buying dresses, planning the bachellorette party, planning the bridal shower and writing a speech that hopefully gets a few courtesy laughs - I'm tapped out.

Who knew so much went into being a maid of honor? I'm still very happy to be the "chosen one" and I'm super excited for the actual wedding, but there is no reason as to why I have a computer folder on my desktop dedicated to someone elses wedding. All of this has completely skewed my vision of weddings. I no longer want the big, elaborate day after seeing the stress it has caused so many others, including myself.

I'll declare it now: I'm getting married on a boat and no one's invited.

Did you ever know that you're my hero...Alec Baldwin?

Alec Baldwin, like a fine wine, is just getting better with age. Do I know anything about fine wines? No. But I do know that Alec Baldwin cracks me up. I'm talking knee-slapping, spitting out beverage, shouting profanities - laughing.

I don't know too much about Baldwin, but I know that I'm fully obsessed with the show 30 Rock because of all the crazy one-liners he spits out each week. The delivery of each line is perfect. In fact, if I could have some one narrate my life, I strongly believe that I would choose him to do it.

When I was 12 my heros probably were any dreamy teeny bopper gracing the cover of Seventenen magazine. Boy how age has changed me. Now, I'm a 24 year old that dreams of having a beer with Baldwin.

Imagine a life with Alec Baldwin as your sidekick? I can! He'd always be suited up, making crazy accusations and always engaging in some witty banter with me. I picture him always drinking scotch out of a snifter and shouting erroneously. This is the friend I need to have in my life.

Now I just need to figure out how to make him become my friend. Perhaps a Facebook friend request will have to do for now...

Rattle and Let Me In!

U2 recently played at the Somerville theater and this means I got in full stalker mode.

My apartment is in Arlington, which is the neighboring town of Somerville, and when I heard the rumor that U2 was coming to town - I had to be a part of the madness.


I've been to the Somerville theater plenty of times, it's a great little hidden jewel. The theater typically has only 4-5 movies playing at one time because it is a small venue. It reminds me of an old broken down High School auditorium fully equipped with a stage, curtains and balcony seating. Every time I see a movie here, I look up and expect to see Statler and Waldorf, from The Muppets, sitting in the balcony, scowling at the noisy kids below.


Back to the point - U2. I've seen them play a handful of times, but because I knew the intimate setting of the Somerville theater and how their biggest stage only sits about 700 people, I knew I had to find a way into this concert.


Being a fan of MacGyver, I knew I'd have to pull out some sort of sneaky operation. So naturally, I ordered two tickets to the 7 p.m. showing of "He's just not that in to you". I know, I'm a genius. I demanded my roommate come with me by re-using the line "C'mon, we're 24 years old, we should be doing spontaneous stuff like this! I know you have work tomorrow but... we're 24 years old! Let's live a little." The aged-guilt trip works every time.


We jumped the red line to Davis Square and patrolled the outside of the theater. There were hundreds of people outside just waiting, watching and hoping for something to happen. I took my camera out and headed to the back of the theater.


TOUR BUSSES! Three of them - big, shiny tour busses. I snapped about 400 pictures before my roommate made us enter the lobby of the theater.


We were confronted first by a police man asking what we were doing. When we told him we had movie tickets, he laughed and sent us to a different line. We were then escorted downstairs where on the walk I tried to barter with the usher about getting into the main auditorium. A simple "not gonna happen" was what he said sternly.


Me and my roomie opened the theater doors and there was one couple sitting there looking like they were planning to rob a bank. They had everything short of a floor plan to the theater. I struck up a conversation with them to see how they were planning on getting in - but they hesitated to tell me the exact details because they "didn't want us stealing their plan." Seriously?


The husband exited the theater, and about a minute after the wife soon followed. My roommate and I figured we'd wait a couple minutes and then make our way upstairs. In between debating which door we were going to sneak and stomaching some witty banter between Justin Long and Ginnifer Goodwin, we stood up in our seats and started walking to the back of theater. As we approached the door, a cop slammed the door open with a flash light - grabbing the left behind jackets of the married couple who had left just minutes before us. Officer Angry then flashed the light right in my eye and said, "I hope you're not trying what those fools just did."


And with that, we sat back down and continued watching the movie. Every once in a while we could hear the crowd roaring from upstairs, or the loud drumming beats and guitar licks from the band. It was bittersweet.


"I'm glad we came even though we didn't get to see them. You're right, we should be doing more stuff like this while we're still young" my roommate said as we hopped back on the red line home.

I'm the Geek

My blog notes.

A photo was recently tagged of me on Facebook and I’m the “Geek.”

You’ve got to be kidding me. I really thought my friends were above this Facebook tom-foolery, but apparently I was quite mistaken.

If you’re addicted to Facebook, like most of us are, you probably immediately know what I’m referring to: the animated picture floating around which people decide to tag their friends as different cartoon personalities.

Let’s be honest here. I already know I’m friends with a slut, a lazy person, a comic and a drama queen. I know this because I’ve been hanging out with them most of my life. But now I need to be notified about it via bad Facebook cartoons? Nonsense, I say.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good faux-tagging. There’s nothing like uploading a photo of A.C. Slater, in a Bayside Tigers leotard circa 1984, doing squats and then tagging my boyfriend as him. But this cartoon/personality photo is driving me bananas. And not the cool-Gwen-Stefani-kind.

Every day I log onto Facebook, I’m tagged as something else. First I was tagged as the “geek”, which is a dig from my friends because I don’t have time to go out anymore. Ouch! You got me! Next, I was tagged as the “stylish one,” then the “bossy one” and so on and so fourth. And every time I get tagged, I get notified on Facebook. And every time I get notified on Facebook, I get emailed. And every time I get emailed, I get a buzzed on my Blackberry. And every time I check my Blackberry thinking maybe E! News got my resume and will accept me for their internship, it’s my phone telling me I’m the “grumpy one.”

When is this photo going to lose its steam? Every time I log onto Facebook, it is the only item that appears in my news feed, in my new photos section and my recently tagged friends section. It’s like the David Spade of night time television: as soon as he’s in a show that gets cancelled, you think you’re free and clear of him, until he claws his way back into another series. This is one scrappy photo.

I’m sure sitting around with friends and tagging them as different personalities might be fun for kids or maybe even teenagers, but at 24, I feel as though my friends should know better. I’m putting them in time out.

When do they have the time to do this? Why do they want to do this? Would it be more effective to all sit around in a circle and call each other innocent, stylish and sleepy? God, I hope that my friends haven’t lost there cool at our age.

Either way, I give this photo a couple more weeks until something else equally ridiculous comes around. I’ve, of course, de-tagged myself as the geek.

Like a what?

Like a circus, Britney and her comeback are full steam ahead, and I am now officially the happiest 24 year old I know.

I've always been a Britney fan, ever since she burst onto the scene my freshman year in High School. And while it seemed acceptable to like her then, it seems that as I've gotten a little older, it's completely unacceptable to be vocal about my obsession with her. Liking Britney at 24 is the equivalent to admitting you like the plot line of Gigli - just something you don't talk about.

So, let me get this out of the way. My name is Jenna, and I'm an overly obsessed Britney Spears fan. Phew, that felt good.

Now back to the comeback.

After talking up "Brit's MTV awards comeback" for weeks, only to be left confused and crying in fetal position after it was over, I was really nervous to see pictures, videos and hear the reviews of the last night's opening show. But, she's back.

Her costumes rocked. It was as if Dolce and Gabanna, Madonna, Liberachi and Prince all had coffee together and decided just how fierce they could make her look. Every piece was so detailed and ellaborate, and ofcourse, they showed off her killer new legs and abs. It's time this fan started doing more lunges.

Her setlist was a perfect mixture of old school Britney infused with her new album, and all of the songs off her Blackout album, which somehow disappeared during a meltdown we won't mention.

While Brit pays K-Fed a whopping $5000 a week to babysit his own children, it seems like chump change in comparison to what Brit's going to make off this tour. If you had any doubt that Brit couldn't make a comeback, then check out the pics and videos that have been posted.

Only two weeks and counting until I get an actual first look...

Hey, I'm leaving New York

Well, I did not see any celebrities in New York.

Apparently, my friends and I missed the "entire cast of Gossip Girl by seconds," one of the bartenders told us. And before I knew it, I was back on the Grey Hound bus.

The trip down to NY went by smoothly and quickly. Nobody was snoring, nobody was talking obnoxiously loud and there were absolutely no crying babies aboard. Yet somehow, the drive home felt like an all day event, and I strongly believe it was because of our bus driver Richard.

Call him Rich, that's what he told us his friends call him, over the loud speaker in the beginning of the ride. Everyone awkwardly laughed, but Rich continued to chime in. With every sight he found fascinating, he commented to his agitated passengers. With every car he felt was driving to slow, he felt the need to honk his horn while alerting us that we “were in good hands.” And don’t even get me started about our one rest stop.

This isn’t comedy hour at the Laugh Factory and this isn’t a double-decker tour bus. So why did Rich find the need to constantly be on the microphone? It took six hours to get home and I still have no explanation as to why this bus driver felt the need to put on a show.

Perhaps at a younger age, I might find this sort of thing entertaining but this bus ride was nothing of the sort. All I wanted was to sit in a comfy chair, pull up a good book and get some reading done in peace and quiet. Okay, I'm not 80, but still.

I don’t care what anyone says, I’ll risk my life to take the Fung Wah next time I head to NY, even if it did go zipping past us at 100mph.

Hey, I'm in New York

There is something about New York - the smell, the energy, the apartment building with "Teeth Soup" spray painted across the first floor apartment window I'm walking by. Whenever I visit, I feel like a completely different person, and I love it.

My friend and I took a cab from Port Authority to the Lower East Side where our friend's box slash apartment is located. It's a 3-bedroom steal, fully equipped with a bathroom/living room/kitchen "area," and a masturbating hobo who lingers outside their apartment entrance quite frequently. Apparently, they have 911 on speed dial for such occasions.

We decide to hit up a small "hole-in-the-wall" brunch location right around the corner, which turns out to be about 15 blocks away. I guess when you live in New York, you don't use accurate systems of measurement. We finally arrive at The Essex Lounge, at least I think that was what it was called, and it seems the furthest from a hole in the wall. There is a 30 minute wait for a table, a line out the door, and the trendiest outfits you've ever seen on someone at 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday.

My friends and I decide to make our way to the bar, which looks like a mimosa breeding ground. A bartender lines up about 50 champagne glasses and fills them to the top with orange juice and champagne. And as fast as they're poured, they're gone. Who knew you could pay a flat rate of $17 for all you can drink mimosa’s, brioche French toast and potato pancakes! Good thing “teeth soup” wasn’t on the menu.

After some mid-morning libations and a delicious breakfast, my friends and I decide we have a good enough buzz going to do some shopping. Usually when shopping, I’ll drop benjamins like it’s my job. Instead, I came here with one shopping goal in mind, a first for me, and that was to buy a pair of cheap sunglasses.

We hit the famous Canal Street for some knock-off goodies. There are tables everywhere with cardboard signs that read “quality necklaces for quality people!” and “3 dollar sunglasses are cheaper then 5 dollar sunglasses, so buy mine!” It’s destiny.

I drop a 5 spot, put on my faux Ray Ban black shades (that give me that sort of Joaquin Pheonix post mental breakdown look), and we head back to the apartment to make plans for the night.

Making plans for a night in the big City can be more stressful then playing the stock market, especially when everyone wants to do a different thing. Someone yells out a dive bar, another yells out a club, so I jump in and exclaim “Meat Packing district!” I only know about this new and hip area from a few episodes of “Sex and the City” and the “Where the Stars Are” section from US Weekly.

After much deliberation, and convincing on my part, we decide on a bar in the MPD. I’m stoked. I have my camera. I’m ready to get my celeb on.

Did I see any celebrities? Did we wait in line forever at a heavily European-populated bar? Did shots cost a whopping 10 bucks a pop?

“Hey, I’m in New York Part 2” Coming Soon…

The Elaine Benes Phenomenon

It is Saturday night and my friends and I have all gathered at the local watering hole. With adult sodas in hand, we’re ready to paint the townie bar red and toss our ambitions and measly paychecks out the window. Ah, to be young, awesome and in the midst of a financial crisis.

The breathy vocals of the new Britney Spears song start pumping through the sound system and only after one shout of “This is my song!” do we make our way to the dance floor. We are all singing, well, screaming, and pretending that we didn’t already watch Britney’s new video one million times and have already memorized the choreography. My friend Jen sat this one out, as she wanted to finish her 30 ounce margarita that was impossible to actually lift off of the bar.

Jen is a good friend of mine. She has personality, a great sense of humor and is considered to be quite the Babe-raham Lincoln. Being single most of her life, those close to her have always wondered why she rarely landed dates and almost never had boyfriends. Before this starts sounding like an advertisement for E-Harmony or the trailer for the “Sex and the City” movie, let me explain the point of this story. Jen was a victim of a popular new epidemic sweeping the nation I like to refer to as the “Elaine Benes Phenomenon.”

If you have never watched the television show “Seinfeld,” then you do not know who Elaine Benes is. Allow me to paint you a picture. To put it bluntly, Elaine Benes is the worst dancer in the world. Her friends are constantly embarrassed by her moves yet Elaine cannot seem to stop dancing, or take a hint from people cringing at the site of her on a dance floor.

You actually may know some Elaine Benes’ yourself! Have you ever gone to 80’s night at a bar with your friends and thought it would be hilarious to hit the dance floor doing the “Running Man” or “The Carlton” in exchange for some good laughs? This is how my friend Jen dances, on a normal night, with far less hand-eye coordination and far more disturbing cries from onlookers. With flailing arms and gyrations that could only be compared to muscle spasms, Jen looks like Michael Flatley: Lord of Dance, after being tazered. Herein lies The Elaine Benes Phenomenon, or in laymen’s terms, hot girls who are horrific dancers.

After realizing that ordering another margarita may be a bad idea, even though it somehow only cost $4.50 (gotta love townie bars!), Jen decides it is time to hit the floor. She approaches us and our facial expressions go from excited to sour in less then a second. We’ll have to tell her we all just took Tequila shots. Jen begins swiveling her hips to let us know she is feeling the song and is about to unleash the terror.

“Should we tell her she looks like Beyonce after overdosing on a bottle of Valium?” my friend Meghan asks me in sheer embarrassment.

“She looks like she is Electric Sliding right over broken glass and open flames,” my other friend Angi says horrified.

Everyone is watching Jen dance. Everyone is glued to watching her, which only fuels her ambition to keep dancing, now that she has an audience.

“I’m on fire tonight!” Jen exclaims.

Yes, Jen, you are on fire. Like a horrific car accident that has set a car ablaze that no one can turn away from staring at. Whatever she is doing, it needs to stop.

My friends and I do what any other group of terrified onlookers would do, we form a circle around her until the music ends, protecting the eyes of worried patrons. We then shuttle Jen over to the bar to get her so drunk that she’ll be incapable of leaving the bar stool she is now sitting on. Let’s just hope everyone else follows suit so they forget the Horror Movie they were just subjected to for the longest four minutes their life.

Whether the Elaine Benes Phenomenon is a new trend or something that has always been lurking in bars and clubs across America, one thing is for sure, it is repelling single men away from my friend. Unless we can find a guy who enjoys the subtle thumbs up and awkward kick-dancing that Elaine Benes trademarked during “Seinfeld” so well, we need to be serious and proactive about finding a cure.

LOST: My new stimulus package

Every Wednesday night, at exactly 8:59 PM, I sit down in front of my television, flip to the HD channel of FOX, and prepare to get Lost. I sit there, anxiously awaiting for the show to start and ignore the 3 million questions coming from my roommate, because lets face it, trying to explain this television show to someone who hasn’t religiously watched it since day one, is like trying to teach a four year old calculus. I ignore the phone calls from my boyfriend, because lets face it, even if I miss a second of this masterpiece, watching the rest with missing information will be like trying to teach myself calculus. And while some of you may think this is approach is somewhat, alright I’ll say it, crazy, I know a lot of other people who are just as engaged in the weekly antics of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.

Since my schedule consists of balancing school, work and a 4 a.m. wake up call every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the radio station, I have limited time and an even more limited list of things I actually enjoy/have the time for now. LOST is one of those things. During that hour long television show, I'm relaxed, excited, and my brain is stimulated. Like the Zone Diet, it's the perfect combination.

Because I have such little time now, I pretty much throw all of my energy into this show and like a true LOST fan would do, I theorize. So, I’m about to share with you something that may just blow your mind: my theory as to how the show will end.

Spoiler Alert! If you do not want to know the end of the show, then please do not continue reading. After watching Lost faithfully for five seasons and studying each character and scenario more then studying for Intermediate Spanish II, I think I have figured out just how this island soap opera will end.

If you’ve been watching Season 5, you know that Ben’s main mission has been trying to get everybody back on to the island. However, we don’t know how they are supposed to get back on to the island, we just know that John Locke is determined to get off the island, in order to get the “Oceanic 6” back on the island. Well, imagine this: John Locke successfully gets everyone (who is left on the island in that weird time warp phase) off of the island, only to go back in time and get everyone to take that initial flight that crashed on the island.

Take a deep breathe, and continue soaking it all in...

We find out in the first few seasons that everyone is already somehow connected, and we are starting to find that out more with each new episode. So, imagine if the only way to get everyone back on the island would have already happened – when Oceanic Flight 815 crashed. That is why everyone who was on Flight 815, was meant to be on that flight.

Confusing? Not if you watch Lost. But if you don’t, doing your homework may be more fun then reading this post.

It’s Wednesday, and Lost is slowly approaching. Perhaps I should have waited to post this until after this episode, I hear we are supposed to be learning a lot more information…

The Double-Life of Super-Teacher!

Sometimes I forget that my roommate lives a double life. You’d easily forget, too, after witnessing the two different sides of her.

When you become an adult, with an adult job, this sort of stuff begins to happen. You unknowingly take on another persona, one that filtered and edited - one that is suitable for work and your colleagues.

By day, Ashley Collins is dressed in a button down collared shirt, black dress pants and carrying a tote bag filled with corrected book reports, math tests and lesson plans. By night, she’s in jeans and high heels, stealing the microphone from an unsuspecting stranger at the Karaoke bar, belting out “Love Stinks,” while chasing her tequila shot with her fourth Miller Lite bottle.

Watching Ms. Collins transform is like watching one of those scenes from a Superman movie where Clark Kent, dressed in normal, every day, clothes, jumps into a telephone booth and then emerges as a cape wearing superhero! At the end of the day though, Collins is not a superhero, she's just my best friend and happens to be an Elemantary School teacher. That's what makes it all the more entertaining.

“You have to take that down from Facebook,” Collins says. It’s 6 am and she’s pouring herself a cup of coffee while rubbing her eyes. Collins is getting ready to start her day and at the same time realizing that I just posted this past weekends escapades online. “Let me just see it one more time before I make you delete it” Ashley says. "My kids keep trying to find me on Facebook, so if they somehow end up finding that - I just can't let them see that!" As she walks over to my computer, I silently thank god for digital cameras and how they are now able to capture such masterpieces.

The video my roommate is referring to, was the one taken the weekend prior, following several Scorpian Bowls at a Chinese Food restaurant. Collins said she could tie a cherry stem with her tongue, and demanded I document it on video. Excellent idea, Ms. Collins.





“My kids are so watching a movie today, because ‘Ms. Collins does NOT feel good.’” Collins says. We both have a good laugh and then reality sets in that she is actually on her way out the door to go mold and shape the minds of young elementary students. And just like Collins, who is 24 years old, quite a few of my other friends have taken on the role of the new teacher, as well.

“It’s ironic, you know” Dana Henderson says. Henderson teaches 3rd grade at Greens Farms Academy in Westport, Connecticut. "This past Sunday I was getting a tattoo with my best friend and today I’m telling kids not to run and to use their indoor voices. I’m always asking [my kids] if they are ‘making smart choices’ and then on Friday I was taking pictures of my co-workers making out with strangers at the bar!” Henderson concludes, "It definitely is a double life. Do what I say, not as I do - type of thing. But hey, just because we are teachers does not mean we have to become duds."

Henderson is right. It's just way more funny to reflect back on previous teachers and remember that they too were actual people, with actual lives, and were probably out doing the same stuff that my friends and I are doing now. My third grade teacher, Ms. Eagen was my hero. She was beautiful, she was smart and she always complimented my outfits. Ms. Eagen was also only 26 years old, and only recently did I find out that she asked my father out on a date during one of their parent-teacher conferences.

"What can I say, your father is a stud" Roger DaSilva, yes, my dad, tells me. "You were in 3rd grade, I wasn't going to tell you your teacher had the hots for me."

Imagine if I had found that out back then? That would be like one of Ms. Collins students finding out that she listens to Insane Clown Posse - it just would not be right.

Jessica Moody, a fellow classmate turned Sex Ed. teacher at Medford High School, had quite a bit to say about the topic. “Last week after the Beanpot, I went in to work in the morning and was so hungover that I locked myself in my office and napped on the floor. It’s a little different because my kids are 17, so I think that they kind of have some idea, but I don’t think they know how bad it is. What’s worse is telling the kids to not get drunk and do shit that we did when we were their age yet the entire department left work early last week and went to Hooters for one of our co-workers birthdays.”

Moody also goes on to say that it’s not just teachers that lead this “double life,” it’s really everybody. I suppose it’s just funnier when your dealing with it first hand. I’m sure that teachers go to work hungover everday, and I probably watched quite a few movies with no explanation as to why when I was in elementary school too, but sometimes I just feel as though my roommate's weekend life should be a Saturday Night Live skit.

Being a teacher has always been a dream of Collins and she thoroughly enjoys her job. What becomes comedic is seeing her fill out report cards on a Monday and then dance on stage at "The Burren Pub" on Saturday night. At least the phrase, "If only your kids could see you now..." will never get old.

Hang-Me Hangovers

I couldn't wait for my 21st birthday. I couldn't wait for a year of ordering crazy-named martinis at the bar and not giving my hand a seizure every time I passed a legitimate I.D. over to the bartender. I couldn't wait to pull up to a liquor store and walk by the eighteen year olds soliciting passer-bys to do a "Hey, Mister" and buy booze for them. I couldn't wait to be Jenna DaSilva and not Priscilla Dias, the name my fake I.D. read for two years. 21 was going to be a good year for Jenna DaSilva, a great year.

But as quickly as 21 and all of it’s “Sazernac - straight up” glory came, it left. Thats because of something I like to call the “I’m not 18 anymore hangover.” After a night of hitting the town with my main homeslices, I now wake up feeling like Matthew McConaughey is playing bongos with my brain while having the morning sickness equivlant to that of “Octo-Mom’s.” In other words, 21+ hangover are no bueno.

W…T…F, I ask?!

I remember a time, not so long ago, at the tender age of 18, where after a night of splitting a 12 pack of Natty-Ice with 4 of my friends, (leading to the inevitable black out), I would wake up bright and beaming the next morning. I would get up at 5 am to work the morning shift at my first-job bagel shop with a skip in my step and a smile on my face. Now, one drink at night and I'm out for the count, nay, for the day.

I've thought about contacting Tara Reid and having her explain to me her next day functioning methods, but I've come to realize that this is just one of the small yet unexplainable changes that happens to you after becoming a semi adult, or as a 21+ year old.