After the thick coat of frosting New York received yesterday morning, the city streets resembled something close to a cupcake melting in the sun. As is predictable, the LIRR canceled numerous trains, leaving pacing passengers to wait for the next train in the cold, fretting the relationship between pools of slushy, freshly melted snow and the state of their shoes. To add insult to injury, passenger after passenger piled onto the platform of Babylon station to find that the already large crowd of their average commute had been tripled by all of the riders from the canceled trains. The idea of an express train was out of the question, and what would have taken an hour and change to arrive from Babylon to Penn Staion took a whopping two hours.

Luckily, as any connoisseur of public transit knows, I had a novel tucked in my travel sack. I scrunched down into my seat, squeezed neatly between two bag-ridden men in suits, and delved into the warm solace of Tobias Wolff’s This Boy’s Life. Wolff’s gentle prose did exactly what a good novel should do, alleviate the pangs of stress and extricate the tethers of reality. Erica Jong once said something along the lines of: a book burrows into your life in a way that nothing else does because the act of reading isn’t passive. I want to avoid images of escaping the world, because reading is less an escape and more an enhancement of the imagination.  A novel can illuminate in its reader the sweetness of life that is always there, yet frequently covered by the foggy stressors of a city life. Shakespeare and Co. Booksellers has become a home away from home, supplying me with all of my cravings.  Luckily, they have a student discount, which saves me an unimaginable amount of money. Otherwise, I might be selling my assets to obtain what I consider an expensive, junkie like lust for the written word.

Another way that I’ve tempered the cold, gray days boring into my unconscious is to box. Boxing is the best workout that does not involve the same repititive motion; it requires focus and strategy that make me forget I’m even exercising. In the realm of exercise I typically considered lugging my Norton anthologies strenuous and worthy of a doughnut. Now I’ve realized that my lack of physical exercise was not due to laziness (maybe a little),  but instead the frustration of doing the same task over and over again with what seemed to be little result. I’ve also found a pilates class at Synergy. I clear my mind a little, brush off the weariness of a long day, and I look a little nicer in my skinny jeans.

Despite the chilling temperatures, and the ash gray slush piling up on the sidewalks, I still love New York in the winter. I love to see people bundled up in their snow gear, sporting fashions that are sweet and modest. The snow, ironically, seems to make people a little warmer, as people bunker down together to avoid the chills and reinstate a little but of solidarity in the human race. Still, if you’re feeling a little Picasso blue this winter, get a good workout and snuggle up with a book.

While in college, the spring semester always seemed to follow too closely on the heels of the first. I’d just finished celebrating Christmas and New Year’s and then, boom, it was time to fork up that Best Buy giftcard Granny had given me to buy some supplies. I always seemed to need more than I’d realized. It was like all my pens, pencils, and binders had somehow gotten sucked into a black hole in that interim between semesters. Plus, I usually needed a new book bag because my old one had gone out of style. (Those super-cute Vera Bradley bags were popular, but they were also $80.) 

Like me, you’re either preparing for the winter session (which–yipes– is only a week away!) or the spring semester. Either way, you need to restock those school supplies. If you don’t have a generous Granny like I do, don’t worry. There are still ways to save money this year!  

First of all, Blick Art Materials is offering a great 20%  off coupon here! You’re sure to find all you need at Blick, whether you’re an art or design major, trying out a couple creative classes, or just want to pick up some pens and paper.  Utrecht Art Supplies also provides students discounts. And finally, don’t forget to stop by the Unique Copy Center. Whether you’re designing a newsletter for your campus club, creating a mock-up for your magazine writing class, or have just run out of printer paper before your 20 page thesis is due, check out the Copy Center. And don’t forget this discount!

I wish you a great New Year and a great new semester! With these discounts, you’ll definitely have all the supplies you need to end the school year in style.

–Written by Megan Soyars, Campus Clipper Blogger

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Photo courtesy of EscapeYourDreams

When I became a junior in college, I stopped paying for my campus’ meal plan. Letting go of the meal plan was something of a bittersweet parting. I was saving nearly 100 a month, but I was missing out on all my cafeteria favorites, like the grilled-to-order burgers and the greasy but finger-lickin’ good chicken basket. Unlike many college campuses, Trinity University boasted a pretty decent cafeteria. I especially pined for the cafeteria’s “comfort food” line, which served up home-made favorites like chicken-fried steak and mac ‘n’ cheese. But I consoled myself with the fact that I was nearly 500 dollars richer, and headed to the local grocery store to pick up some….hmm, what fitted into my budget? Now that my food wasn’t being paid by my college tution, I had to fork up my own funds to get a meal. Looked like I could only afford Ramen noodles.  

But that was okay. I figured the all-Ramen noodle diet was a principle part of the college student’s existence. But does it have to be? There’s only a few ways you can spice up limp noodles and smallish gray chunks of “meat.” But never fear! Before you reach for that one dollar cup-a-soup, check out Whole Food’s weekly and very informative newsletter, The Whole Deal. The Whole Deals lets you know of money-saving grocery tips, so you don’t have to rely on noodles every other night the way I did. I found their recent article, “10 money-saving tips for shopping” useful, especially during this holiday season. I really appreciated their last tip, “Buy some baked goods.” As they mention, sometimes it’s better to “buy time than to buy all the ingredients to make [baked goods] from scratch.” I have to admit, between my internship and work, I didn’t have the time (or the requisite kitchen supplies) to make an apple pie. First of all, I needed a whisk, and I didn’t think a table spoon or a plastic knife I’d taken from McDonald’s would work. And Whole Food’s baked pies are more srumptious than anything I could come up with!

So remember to check out Whole Food’s newsletter for some more handy tips to stretch your dollar and add some variety to your menu. They also offer handy coupons  like this one, both through the Campus Clipper and their own website. Happy Holidays (and put down that pack of noddles)!  

-Written by Megan Soyars, Campus Clipper Blogger

Get great more Student Discounts!

Download our NEW App on iTunes!
Become a fan on Facebook and follow us on twitter!

Don’t forget to sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter for student promotions and coupons and download the coupon booklet NOW!