Archive for June, 2012

Newer Entries »

Saying Okay to Cupid: Online Dating and the Search for Something

Saturday, June 2nd, 2012
Image Credit: http://phys.org/news/2015-12-online-dating-hobby-fun.html

Image Credit:
http://phys.org/news/2015-12-online-dating-hobby-fun.html

A Match.com commercial says that one in five relationships now start online. If your experience in a university library is anything like mine, you stare at a Date My School poster in the bathroom stall while you excrete the two Red Bulls and three cups of coffee that you guzzled in the past hour. You probably know, or are yourself, someone who has tried online dating, and you’ve probably heard an array of horror and success stories. When it comes down to it, online dating is just like any other kind of dating—you win some, you lose some—no matter how much success websites claim to have.

Take, for example, the tale of the two Lisas who both signed up for OkCupid.  One Lisa was a classmate, the other my roommate. Classmate Lisa had a few just-okay dates and then finally met a guy that was tall, funny, and handsome. The two decided to date for a few months before becoming exclusive, and have been happily in a relationship with each other for almost a year.  Roommate Lisa, on the other hand, after looking around on the site for a few months, finally decided to go out on a date with someone. She brought him to our apartment for some drinks before they went to a bar. I invited my own date over and a friend as well, and we all setup a false, nonjudgmental, and laid back oh-we’ve-been-hanging-out-for-a-while appearance.  Long story short, an hour later Lisa’s mother was in a terrible car accident (not really) and Lisa had to cancel the date after a tear-jerking phone call (seriously, the girl deserves an Oscar for that performance).

A promising feature of most online dating sites is that users get to establish what they are looking for. Similarly, they can talk with each other before deciding to meet in person. Of course, in-person interaction can be extremely different than interacting online, but the pressure of saying “yes” or “no” to a date is lessened when it only requires the click of a button.

So what are people on dating sites looking for? A common belief that makes people wary of signing up for the sites is that users don’t actually want relationships. For some, this is true. The beauty of it, however, is that most pages will list upfront why people sign up for the site. Then it comes down to whether or not that person is being honest, and, if he/she is not, how he/she will handle a situation that goes past a date.

Take now, for example, the report of a boy named Richard. Richard signed up for Date My School and did just that—dated his school. Date after date ensued for a boy who was troubled by rarely being able to get a step further than obtaining girls’ phone numbers at parties. As his online dating repertoire expanded, so did his ego—that is, until he met one particular girl who made him want to stop his search.

Some good news about online dating is that, since it has become increasingly popular, there are more ways than ever to meet people online and, therefore, more sites for you to choose from.  You can now find people on less traditional sites based on specific things like what you would be doing on a date (HowAboutWe.com), who is in the area (the SinglesAroundMe phone application), what your religious beliefs are (ChristianMingle.com, JDate.com), what icebreakers you use to start conversations (nerve.dating.com), and what you’d want in a no-strings-attached relationship (benaughty.com).

While the opportunities seem endless, they also seem daunting.  But once you choose a site, the rest is relatively easy.  First, be honest about what you are looking for.  While it’s also a good idea to expand your horizons and not be afraid to take chances with new and different people than you’re used to, you’re not doing anyone a favor by going on dates with people who you know beforehand you won’t be interested in. Be honest on your profile and be honest in person. Secondly, play the game like a good sport. Don’t be offended if others don’t respond online; just move on. If a date turns out to be no more than just one date, take something from the experience, even if it’s just meeting new people. Third, keep at it with a positive attitude, like this guy. If you look at someone’s profile and are unsure about whether to pursue him/her further, go for it. Why not? Remember, you already have something in common: you’re both looking to date and took a chance doing it on the same site.

Carina, New York University. Read my blog and check out my Twitter!

Going out for coffee on a first date? Use this coupon from Cafe Bene to save money on great coffee and deserts:

cafebene

Click here to download the Campus Clipper iTunes App!

Follow Campus Clipper on Twitter or keep current by liking us on Facebook.

Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions  and follow our Tumblr and Pinterest. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book.

Share

Tags:,
Posted in onLove, Relationships | 2 Comments »

Sofrito: Add Flavor to Your Food

Friday, June 1st, 2012

On the shelves of refrigerators in Latino homes lies a glass jar, filled with an aromatic sometimes green, sometimes brown, sometimes dark orange-red, but always packed with highly concentrated flavor mix- softiro. Sofrito is a seasoning sauce blend of peppers, garlic, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, salt, and other herbs and spices. Quantity of ingredients varies from recipe to recipe. Instead of using salt and separate seasonings, many foods from Latin America are flavored with sofrito alone. Sofrito is great for soups, steaks, chicken, eggs, or any dish you want to enhance with robust Latin flavor. Because it’s so densely concentrated with flavor, after making a jar, sometimes all you’ll need is a dash of sofrito to season a dish. Sofrito exists in Mediterranean, Portuguese, Filipino, and Caribbean cuisine as well.

Homemade sofrito usually doesn’t use exact measurements, as most culinary escapades in la cocina, ingredients are eye-balled and taste tested rather than carefully measured and trusted. Due to the variety in preparation and ingredients that differ sometimes from person to person, there are probably millions of unique sofrito recipes in the world. As well as being made from scratch, sofrito can be store bought for the lazy and kitchen clumsy. A popular store brought variety is Goya’s sofrito; however it’s also filled with preservatives and lacks fresh ingredients. Sofrito is incredibly easy to make, but if you’re still wary about making it at home and don’t want Goya’s preservative sofrito, try Chulita’s Famous Sofrito. Chulita’s Famous uses fresh all natural ingredients and comes in Sofrito Verde or Sofrito Con Spices variety. They can be purchased in gourmet grocery stores in New York City. For a full list: click here.

Now if you really want to get hands on with sofrito, here’s a simple recipe straight from my kitchen to yours:

Ingredients:

  • 3 Green peppers
  • 2 Red peppers
  • 2 Garden fresh tomatoes
  • 2 onions
  • 1 head of garlic
  • 1 bunch of cilantro

Peel and chop all the ingredients and mix them in a blender or food processor. The consistency should be somewhat smooth: not liquefied and not too chunky. Add sea salt, parika, and cumin to taste. Store in the refrigerator in a glass jar.

After you’ve made your sofrito, grab some tacos from Pinché Taqueria and add some sofrito to them for an even more delicious meal.

 

Catherine, Hudson County Community College, Read my blog

Click here to download the Campus Clipper iTunes App!

Follow Campus Clipper on Twitter or keep current by liking us on Facebook

Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book

Share

Posted in Eating Healthy, onValues | 1 Comment »

Revolutionize Your Holidays: Inspire to be Inspired

Friday, June 1st, 2012

Everyone knows that holidays translate to family time. It is during these treasured days of the year when you spend time together and catch up with each others lives. I once thought that this was all there was to it, and believed that being at home would be the most fulfilling and ideal way to spend my holidays. I came to these conclusions because as a Jew, and especially in the home I grew up in, family was central. My first year in college I heard about a program which sent students all over North America for two different holidays, one at the beginning of the the year and one at the end in order to bring cheer and spirituality to struggling communities. I immediately dismissed this idea because of years of associating holiday with family.

At the beginning of my second year of college my roommate pushed me out of this comfortable yet limiting notion, and forced me to sign up on the program with her. We filled out a questionnaire about ourselves and were told that we would be paired up with two guys. The location—unknown. Despite my misgivings about the whole expedition, I began to find myself thinking about all of the exciting possibilities of where we would be sent. Finally the day of the training session came and I picked up our folder and read “Kitchener, Ontario.” I will loosely translate this location as one hour’s drive from Toronto, but still pretty much middle-of-nowhere Canada. The mystery of never having heard of Kitchener counteracted all of the hesitation I had previously felt, and I began to look forward to the upcoming holiday which I would spend there.

I was told that we were taking the train. Packed up and ready my roommate and I headed out to Penn Station, printed our tickets and located our male counterparts. When we were cozily settled in our seats we all chatted, prepared our religiously inspirational speeches, and decided which spiritual songs to sing. The rabbi of the community met us at the station and drove us to the homes where we would be staying, all the way regaling us with numerous entertaining and crazy anecdotes from his past. The next day was a blur. We helped the rabbi and his wife with their six children, while preparing his house and the synagogue for the holiday, because of centrality of both locations.

Later that night we gathered in the synagogue for prayer and afterwards spent time getting to know the community members. We learned that although the synagogue was large, the Jews in that area had become disinterested in religion and the rabbi, who had only just recently moved to the neighborhood was trying to jumpstart religious activity and involve more people. The holiday that we had come for was called Simchat Torah, which celebrates the end of the annual cycle of Torah readings and marks the beginning of the new one. As is the custom, we took the Torah scrolls from the ark and carried them around the sanctuary seven times while and singing, dancing and rejoicing. The members of the synagogue gladly joined us, smiling with such joy while we led the singing and dancing, celebrating the Torah, what it represents. We later learned that this was the first time in twenty years that they had celebrated in such a spiritual and lively way.


If you would like to see a clip of what Simchat Torah looks like click here

The rabbi came to us after the holiday was over and thanked us profusely for enriching the holiday for his community. He said that many of them had come up to him afterwards to tell him what a difference we had made, and some offered money to bring us back during the year. I was personally inspired by these people who so voluntarily craved religion and spirituality. Although it is important for us to spend time with our family during the holidays, I believe that it is of equal or more importance to be involved in reaching out to others at this time. Enhancing and strengthening the religious and spiritual experience of others will not only have a tremendous impact on them, but it will hopefully revolutionize the way you view your religion and experience spirituality.

Shira, Yeshiva University, Read my blog

Click here to download the Campus Clipper iTunes App!

Follow Campus Clipper on Twitter or keep current by liking us on Facebook

Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book

Share

Posted in onValues | No Comments »

Newer Entries »