Fun Things That Happen in College

College is upon us all!!!!! 

We must prepare ourselves for the uber fun things that come with returning.With this in mind, I've compiled a list of my faaAaAAaAavorite things about college.

Homesickness

SO MUCH FUN!!!!!! Endless tears and hours and hours of phone calls home!

This is how I spent a large portion of my first semester.

I am a firm believer that homesickness is a disease. But one of the things that helped me was to realize that this feeling, this horrible, draining, nauseating, feeling will always be a part of my life. If I am going to have any amount of fun in life, I will have to at least somewhat tolerate homesickness.

Bank Account Drainage

It's all gone...All of it.

Books, Books, Books!

They cost tons...Please see above.

Awkward Professors

Let's have a moment of silence as students decide whether your lame joke was funny or just sad.

Seat Wars

If you place your butt at the desk my butt has occupied every Tuesday and Thursday for the past three weeks so help me God!

Hey You in the Front Row!

STOP ASKING QUESTIONS!
Also, stop snobbishly answering questions without raising your hand...

You know when they start with "first and foremost" that you're all screwed.

Fear of the Dark

Where ma' rape whistles at!?!

Going anywhere after dark is not an option, especially after four emails reporting on-campus assaults.

Here's to a better year!

Good luck and have fun!

The Campus Curmudgeon

P.S. If you aren't in college...I don't know...

My Freshman Pantry

I do not profess to be the greatest at healthy eating, and that became painfully apparent when I started college. Let's just say the 'freshman 15' doesn't always stop at fifteen (ew). No matter how hard you try, there is always something about cafeteria food that makes it feel, smell, taste, and look unhealthy, salad or not. Sometimes I think the atmospheric make-up of colleges is just vaporized calories that students absorb through their skin. I didn't exercise much (I never did) so that might be the issue.

This post, however, is not about health, so technically I should delete everything I just wrote but MOVING ON!

There were some food items I had in my room that were life savers when I didn't want to brave the snow and rain, or when I didn't feel like moving from my bed to get cafeteria stuff. You'd be surprised what constituted a meal for me when Netflix homework (of course, duh!) was just too engrossing. 

Peanut Butter

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Ever a staple in the US of A, I ate peanut butter like it was going out of style. Grab yourself a spoon and a Costco sized jar and feast like a king! It's also great to have around should you be in possession of an apple or crackers or something. This was often the sole component of dinner, and I have zero regrets. 

TIP: If you try really hard you can convince yourself that you're being healthy.

Pre-Packaged Salad and Dressing

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Mmmm, just look at how that light reflects off the plastic! This was actually one of my better ideas as a human being. I had an over-sized mug/bowl that held a dinner-sized portion of pre-packaged salad drenched in dressing. I got two to three meals out of a bag which range in price from about $3 to five or six, but there is usually one kind or another on sale.

TIP: This becomes a bag of brown-ish water if you forget it in your refrigerator...Do Not forget it in your refrigerator! 

Honey

I also took a spoon to this, and had to label the jar when I brought it home because my family didn't want my cooties. It's great for feeling somewhat non-piggish and still getting your sugar fix. 

TIP: You can also use this in tea or something.

Baby Ice Creams

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These are a wonderful treat after any or all of your exams. Pro - their cute and tiny. Con - They are a bit like the fun-size candy bars; in no way enough, and yet, deep down, you know you probably shouldn't have even eaten that much.

Added bonus: They are cheap, usually about $1.

TIP: Two is the perfect amount.

Cereal

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Ah cereal! How I would have starved without you! Far too many meals became me binge eating Frosted Flakes or contemplating the icing to wheat ratio of Mini Wheats. It was fast, delish', and readily available if I remembered to buy it while at the grocery store. Perfect! This can also be something that you convince yourself is healthy. 

TIP: Just throw out the stale Cheerios instead of mixing them with Frosted Flakes and trying to convince yourself that everything will be okay. 

Microwaveable Mac n' Cheese

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This stuff was great. However, I will never know why they put it in such tiny cups, six noodles is never enough to eat, so always make sure you have more than one on hand, or something else to eat because, though magnificent, it's rarely filling.

TIP: Avoid letting the bowl you used sit for two or three days, wash immediately.

In the end, it was nice to have a break from cafeteria grilled cheese and french fries, and all of this was also used as snacks, so win-win. For the most part, it was just nice to have something I knew I liked on hand. 

Sincerely,

The Campus Curmudgeon :)

TIP: When all else fails, go home. There's plenty of food there. :D

The Best Kind of Mac 'n Cheese

Food blog post take two... I promise these will get better as time goes on.

Mac 'n Cheese is one those good ol' classics that has stood the test of time. The microwavable tubs were a saving grace at school, and though my hopes were high, the cafeteria mac 'n cheese had, well, plastic in it.. So that became a no go. But what if you're too classy for the classic Velveeta and shells?What if you need to be the one-upping weirdo who's just gotta' say "I make GOUDA mac 'n cheese!?!" Well hopefully I will be able to give you all you need in order to be that person, and more!


LET'S GO!


First things first....the recipe. I found this one here and it's magnificent.

Next, remember to make the pasta. Pft! I did't forget or anything I just want to make sure you don't forget...

Anyway,

What You Need

• 2 cups of dry macaroni, cooked al dente (about six minutes)
• 2 Tbsp of butter
• 2 Tbsp of all purpose flour
• 2 cups of milk 
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups of grated smoked gouda 

Process

1. Set oven to 350F
2. Melt the butter and add the flour. Combine, and cook for a minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add milk and combine. Bring to a simmer until the milk is thickened.
4. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Mix cooked macaroni with sauce and pour into baking dish. Bake for thirty minutes until bubbling.
7. Add more cheese on top and place under broiler until the cheese is browned.

Two cups usually requires almost an entire wheel of gouda...I also ate most of what was left before I took this picture

If that looks like more than 2 Tbsp's of butter that's because it is....butter :D

I also didn't use unsalted as the original recipe said to. I'm a rebel at heart.

Step number two

FLOUR!

Mmmmmm...?

There's always a step in recipes that just looks gross.

Added milk and cheese

Beautiful ain't it?

And DONE! 

I don't have any extraneous suggestions for this one, it works out really well as is :D

Enjoy!

~Campus Curmudgeon

Carrot Soup

This is my first food blog post, so I apologize for how horrible it is. 

Here's the thing... We bribed my brother with a trip to Tröeg's brewery in order to convince him to tag along to Hershey Gardens. It worked, and we ended up getting some food, among which was a carrot soup to die for. I immediately started scouring the internet for a recipe and horded a few links on Pinterest. As it turns out, all I had to do was Google 'Tröeg's Carrot Soup' to get the recipe directly from their blog...go figure.

I followed their recipe almost exactly...almost. 

I put a little more butter than called for and I recommend dicing rather than chopping the onion. I also put more cheese in, because cheese it good. It turned out not as smooth as I had expected but it still tasted amazing! Also, I highly recommend putting smoked gouda cheese on top of it. 

Though I haven't tried this, I think the onions and carrots could have cooked a bit longer than five minutes, that might have helped with the smoothness. 

All in all, it was a hit with the family and will most likely become a new staple :D

~Campus Curmudgeon

P.S. I made cookies, too! 

A Little Perspective

So the end of the semester is, well, here, and my brain is exploding with what seems like an ever expanding list of things I need to do....So, naturally, I'm blogging instead. But I came across this blog post and it made me kind of weepy (I'm at that point anyway), and I think it deserves sharing, and re-posting, and re-reading.

It puts things into perspective. I realize my life is awesome. I am super privileged, and blessed, and loved, and supported, so anything that brings my drama queen of a brain back to Earth, is greatly appreciated. There are some people who don't have the opportunity to be a curmudgeon about a campus. So lets take a moment to breath, and appreciate the fact that we only have petty things to stress about.



Sincerely,
Campus Curmudgeon



P.S.

The Five Simple Things I'm Grateful For

1. Family -- Because they are the reason I do anything in life. They are wonderful :)
2. Warmer weather with a cool breeze -- It's my favorite kind of weather!
3. Sitting in the dark (preferably in the morning) listening to my favorite music -- Sounds strange, but honestly it has become one of my favorite things to do. I don't try to fall asleep or anything, I just listen to music.
4. Cats -- Because cats.
5. Lemonade --  Honestly, it's just my favorite beverage and I wish I had a constant (free) supply. Lemonade is just so delicious :)

Barefoot

Note to all humans who reside on, around, near, somewhere within ten miles of, downwind, or above a college campus: DO NOT walk around with bare feet.....ew. There is no way, in any universe that the floors of any building of any college are clean to the degree that you will not contract some weird disease should you walk around with bare feet....

I walk around campus and have to bob and weave around the spittle/mucus being hurled through the air and onto the ground by various young men. This does not make for clean spaces worthy of your bare feet. I don't even want to know what can be found on the floors of dorm building hallways. I suggest investing in flip flops, or slip-on flats, or clogs. If shoes are your arch enemy, wear socks at least...please, I beg of you.

*drops mic*

*trips while stepping down from soap box*

~ Campus Curmudgeon :)

Note: Great big THANK YOU to those who clean these campus buildings.You are all wonderful human beings :)

Another note: This is not a PSA from the shoe cult

The Shoe Cult

So on a semi-dreary Thursday morning I wake up to find a string hanging down in front of my dorm room window...I get out of bed, go to my window, and then what to my wondering eyes should appear? But a red shoe on the ground, tied to the aforementioned string..............what?

I go about my morning and as I am sitting on my bed getting ready for the day, I see out of the corner of my eye the shoe being lifted inch by inch off the ground.


Exhibit A:

It hung there all day.


Exhibit B:

It is things of this nature you tend to tell your friends, so I brought it up in conversation and showed them the pictures, and almost immediately a fictitious Shoe Cult was formed.


Obviously something like that exists. They clearly have a president ( The Sole Master), and they undoubtedly have hundreds of members (who have charmingly dubbed themselves the Laceys). They go around leaving pedometers in hotel rooms right along side the Gideon Bible, and a group of devotees can be found in almost every major city in America. You are summoned to join this cult by a single shoe...dangling by a string...hung outside your window. Your initiation consists of correctly identifying different types of shoes, as well as their various materials while blindfolded. Should you be accepted, you are hazed by having your left and right shoe switched or your shoelaces tied together. Wild times are had by all!

They have a dark side, though. Any member who is caught wearing socks with sandals, Crocs, or Vibram Fivefingers (the water shoes with a compartment for each toe), is forced to walk the dreaded halls of the nearest mall for the rest of eternity. dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn

I ignored my calling, only time will tell if I have made the greatest mistake of my life.

The shoe has since been removed from my window, though the person above me dropped a shoe from their window just recently, and I cannot help but feel I was meant to be the victim of this vicious attack.



Sincerely,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Campus Curmudgeon
Shoe Cult Candidate



*No shoes were harmed in the writing of this blog*
**I'm 99.9% sure a Shoe Cult is  not a real thing....But honestly, who knows**