2008 Woodie Awards
How to kill your extended Christmas break
(without, of course, getting a job)
Emily Kahm
Issue date: 12/2/06 Section: Entertainment
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I know I'm not the only person on campus who is looking at their winter break options and cringing at the thought of heading back to that crappy job I did all summer. Subsequently, excuses must be made to avoid suspicion by parents and friends who will inevitably ask you, "Hey, shouldn't you be working?" So here's a list of things to take up that obscenely long break, all while carefully avoiding the working world.
1. Volunteer!
Yes, I know…most people will tell you that volunteering simply doesn't pay. They are, in fact, completely accurate. However, service hours are a token economy of their own and are used to procure a variety of boons, from townhouse residency to graduate school admittance. And, of course, you can scoff at anyone working for money by simply turning up your nose and saying that real work is its own reward. That should silence the parents who are badgering you to make some spending money so they can stop sending you cash.
2. Take up a hobby.
From model airplane building to coin collecting, knitting to scrapbooking, hobbies are pound-for-pound the most time consuming endeavors on the planet. Try something you've never attempted before to ensure maximum time wastage. However, some hobbies are going to be more profitable than others-if you have a specific goal in mind, people are less likely to pester you about spending every waking minute on a project. (i.e., "I have to finish building this replica X-wing before break ends!" or, "I'll think about getting a job once I finish my summer vacation scrapbook.") Plus, if you make something useful (hint: crocheted baby blankets), they can double as Christmas presents, since you won't have the money to buy anything anyway.
3. Re-play old video games.
Take your forty days and use them to reminisce about your childhood by working your way through old-school video games. Dust off your Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis and get some games cheap. The most time consuming will probably be the games that can't be saved-you will absolutely have to play until you finish. Recommendations: Sonic the Hedgehog series, Mario series and Mario RPG, and The Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time. Oh, and your parents will almost certainly bug you about leaving the house, but you'll be too into the game to notice, and they'll eventually get bored of trying to lecture an inanimate lump.
1. Volunteer!
Yes, I know…most people will tell you that volunteering simply doesn't pay. They are, in fact, completely accurate. However, service hours are a token economy of their own and are used to procure a variety of boons, from townhouse residency to graduate school admittance. And, of course, you can scoff at anyone working for money by simply turning up your nose and saying that real work is its own reward. That should silence the parents who are badgering you to make some spending money so they can stop sending you cash.
2. Take up a hobby.
From model airplane building to coin collecting, knitting to scrapbooking, hobbies are pound-for-pound the most time consuming endeavors on the planet. Try something you've never attempted before to ensure maximum time wastage. However, some hobbies are going to be more profitable than others-if you have a specific goal in mind, people are less likely to pester you about spending every waking minute on a project. (i.e., "I have to finish building this replica X-wing before break ends!" or, "I'll think about getting a job once I finish my summer vacation scrapbook.") Plus, if you make something useful (hint: crocheted baby blankets), they can double as Christmas presents, since you won't have the money to buy anything anyway.
3. Re-play old video games.
Take your forty days and use them to reminisce about your childhood by working your way through old-school video games. Dust off your Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis and get some games cheap. The most time consuming will probably be the games that can't be saved-you will absolutely have to play until you finish. Recommendations: Sonic the Hedgehog series, Mario series and Mario RPG, and The Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time. Oh, and your parents will almost certainly bug you about leaving the house, but you'll be too into the game to notice, and they'll eventually get bored of trying to lecture an inanimate lump.
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