TALK WORDY TO ME Deck the balls with āØjugs of bourbon
People in Boston always seem to be surprised by my affinity to bourbon. Maybe itās not a girly drink, but I grew up in a town that borders Kentucky, which is all about bourbon. This includes the delightful treat known as a bourbon ball, which people frequently get as stocking stuffers around the holidays. The first time I heard about these was in middle school when my best friend swore she managed to get drunk from eating a box of these. So when I make these, I am very heavy-handed with the bourbon.
TALK WORDY TO ME 21W @ MIT
When I first came to MIT, I was very insecure of the fact that I wanted to study humanities at a technical school. It didnāt help that I surrounded myself with people that were premed, and these individuals always said I was taking the easy way out. It also didnāt help that my sister majored in writing, and I witnessed firsthand how difficult it was to for her to secure adequate employment without pursuing further graduate studies.
A feast for your eyes
I never wanted to wear glasses. At one point, I was so desperate to avoid being called āfour eyesā that I ate raw carrots nonstop for a year after hearing that their vitamins gave rabbits great vision. It made sense at the time since the wild rabbits in my neighborhood seemed capable of seeing in the dark. However, it was an unappetizing experience that didnāt help my vision and made me avoid carrots for a decade.
TALK NERDY TO ME The lost and found tale of online identity
At the start of the semester, I blogged an image of an ad saying āpenicillin cures gonorrhea in 4 hoursā with the added quote, āāAnd, if you happen to have a really bad hookup, you might need this organic compound the next day.ā ā5.12 professor on reasons why you should study organic chemistry.ā I knew that many of the people who read my personal blog would appreciate the dorky humor behind the joke. I didnāt expect it to fuel online trolls into releasing my work address, in addition to an incorrect work address for my dad. I also didnāt expect these trolls to misconstrue the quote as my discussing my personal life, let alone as an admission that Iāve contracted gonorrhea. Iāve never contracted gonorrhea ā or any STIs, for that matter ā but as the picture states, it is curable!
Google me ā I dare you
I have become a fiercely private individual when it comes to my romantic life. These days, it takes me a while to warm up to people enough to even acknowledge whether or not I have a boyfriend. Itās not information I usually freely offer, and I donāt believe that undermines any of my feelings towards a romantic partner. Instead, I think itās a greater testimony of my independence with my refusal to ever publicly acknowledge an intimate relationship.
WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD Fenway-Kenmore
I grew up in a small town in West Virginia, which is famous for its basketball players and health problems. Due to the hills that surround the area, itās very difficult to rely on walking as a primary mode of transportation. Unfortunately, I fit the Asian female driving stereotype, and even though I have my driverās license, for the safety of others, I rarely operate a vehicle. I also have no internal compass, and relying on other people to drive you around results in them trusting you to navigate. As a result, I completely rely on GPS or Google Maps on my iPhone to get my friends from point A to point B. However, for familiar areas, I am a landmark person.
Central Square
When I was a freshman, I truly believed Central Square was the ābadā part of town. My memories of the area centered on a misplaced Gap (now out-of-business) and a very ācolorfulā Wendyās. Back then, I never wouldāve imagined that I would eventually move off campus to live in this neighborhood. Out of all the Boston neighborhoods, itās one of my favorites. For the time being, I canāt imagine living anywhere else.
Sex toys: Two can play at this game
<i>Christine:</i> Sexually adventurous as I am, I managed to talk a partner into trying out a vibrating cock ring. From his initial hesitation, I shouldāve known better.
For the Love of Lube!
Anyone who has ever taken basic Physics, which is a graduation requirement at MIT, can tell you that friction is the arch-nemesis of motion. Friction always opposes motion, and whenever bodies are in contact, a la intercourse, there will be friction. Some friction is a good thing, but too much can lead to painful consequences. When that happens, the result isnāt pleasant for either partner. Usually thereās a chain reaction: if a partner goes dry, the other partner goes soft. Many a virgin has botched an attempt at losing it because of too much friction.
Talk Nerdy to Me
Since the fourth grade, Iāve needed glasses ā but I didnāt start wearing them until the fifth grade.
Talk Nerdy To Me
On the way back to Boston for this summer, I lost my MacBook. Yes, I am careless enough to leave a laptop in a cab. In my defense, I flew back with my cat, Duke, and, having put my laptop underneath his carrier, I was more concerned about getting Duke situated than making sure I had everything.
Talk Nerdy To Me
When I run into people these days, I sometimes get asked, āAre you still writing your column?ā If youāve been following, my articles, this term, have been much more sporadic, and itās not because Iām running low on material. If anything, Iāve been having more sex rather than less.
Talk Nerdy To Me
MIT is full of numbers, from buildings to classes. Weāre surrounded by them. Who doesnāt associate with some form of numbers? There are the ones that we always remember: our course numbers, our phone numbers, and our student ID numbers. And then, there are numbers that we choose to forget, like our ācount.ā
MOVIE REVIEW ā ā Shopaholic During a Recession?
Movies make the worst first dates ā unless they invoke insightful discussion. This Valentineās Day, I decided to watch <i>Confessions of a Shopaholic</i> Āā on a first date ā because, well, I wasnāt expecting much from the date nor the movie. Instead, I had a great first date, at the expense of not taking the movie seriously.
Talk Nerdy To Me
I just got back from West Virginia. Whenever Iām home and run into a high school friend (which always seems to happen at Wal-Mart), I always ask 3 questions: whoās married?, whoās engaged?, and the big one: whoās pregnant? At least ten of my high school friends are pregnant or already have children. The scary thing is that most of them are my age, and Iām just turning 20 today. After spending time with a friendās baby, I couldnāt help but wonder if I want kids.
Talk Nerdy to Me
Last year, I spent Valentineās Day in a mental hospital. The day before that, I spent a couple of hours in jail. In the age of the Internet, I should be terrified to write this piece, as Google will forever attach it to my name. Then again, my reputation on the World Wide Web isnāt exactly flawless ā this information about me is already out there in an MIT Police log and in my personal blog.
Talk Nerdy to Me
According to my mother, I started ādatingā in preschool. His name was Timothy, and when weād say āgoodbye,ā Iād lick him across his face in front of both of our mothers. Now, I know this story sounds far fetched, but all my relatives remind me that I greeted them with slobber, instead of a kiss, until I hit the age of 5. Also, thereās a photograph of a birthday party in preschool, and Iām sitting awfully close to a boy, with my tongue hanging out. On the back of the photo, it says, āChristine and Timothy.ā
Talk Nerdy to Me
The first time I had ever heard about kegels was from my Kotex panty liner.
Talk Nerdy To Me
My friend lives in one of those dorms with an oversensitive fire alarm. If you fully shut the door while taking a steamy shower, youāll force the whole building to evacuate.
Talk Nerdy to Me
<i>Editors Note: This column is part two of a four part series about rounding the proverbial bases.</i>
Talk Nerdy to Me
Each year, MIT sends out convenient fliers to incoming freshmen with all the āimportantā dates listed. However, they leave off the most important date ā the day you ābreak up with your high school relationship.ā Maybe itās because this date varies for each individual. For some freshmen, they covered this months ago. If you havenāt covered it yet, mark your calendar; the days are limited.
Talk Nerdy to Me
Shopaholic that I am, I own five different swimsuits ā except, I canāt swim. Well, I can doggy paddle, but flailing pathetically around a pool just isnāt very attractive. I would wear flotation devices, except thatās even less attractive. (But, itās a fashion statement! Suuure.)
Talk Nerdy to Me
Holidays are about family ā and sometimes, that includes the significant otherās family. My parents have not liked any of my boyfriends, and Iāve told every boyfriend to be himself. That was my mistake. Itās not that he canāt be himself ā itās just that he should be the professional version. I might be able to forgive drinking out of the milk carton; however, my dad will instantly go into the bacterial colonization of the defenseless milk. (I should really show him the carton in Pecker.)
Talk Nerdy To Me
The media portrays nerds as wearing pocket protectors, taped glasses, and āoutdatedā underwear. Girls don āgranny panties,ā whereas guys don āwhitey tighties.ā At MIT, Iāve encountered pocket protectors and taped glasses, but never briefs.
Talk Nerdy To Me
Impulsive shopper that I am, I spent an ungodly amount on a Halloween costume last year. Costumes are like red carpet outfits: itās a fashion sin to be caught in the same one from a previous year. For guys, itās not as big of a deal because their outfits are rarely memorable in both situations.
Talk Nerdy To Me
I fuck the wrong guys. The common saying on campus is, āthe odds are good, but the goods are odd,ā and well, that has become the mantra of my life.
Talk Nerdy To Me
Sex is full of trial and error. No one will ever claim that the best sex they ever had was when they lost their virginity, well, unless that was the only sex they ever had. Each person is different, and it usually takes a lot of experimentation to figure out just what works. However, do we reach a point where we get too comfortable and cease to experiment?
Talk Nerdy To Me
69 is a semiprime ā a Blum integer ā and, more importantly, the only way most guys propose cunnilingus. Out of the handful of times (trust me, I can count it on one hand) that Iāve had this done, over fifty percent have happened in this context. Now, it doesnāt take a Course 18āer to realize that men are getting lazy. Well, speaking of math, Iād like note that the most important part of this position is body proportions. At a mere five feet, I havenāt fooled around with a guy less than eight inches taller than me. This normally doesnāt pose a problem ā except here.
Talk Nerdy To Me
I never got the sex talk ā my parents handed me a pamphlet, figuring that Iād learn what they considered my usual way; from literature and experts. Well, they were right, I did learn my usual way ā the āhardā way. So, hereās some tips how to handle some common issues.
Talk Nerdy To Me
Third base, oral sex, usually generates more controversy than sex itself. Well, even Bill Clinton claimed that oral sex isnāt really sex. Heās right ā itās a lot messier, and everyone has a different opinion of it. The act of giving oral sex really isnāt that complicated for both genders. There are some general guidelines: focus, change motions, use your hands if you need support, watching makes it better, and, whatever happens, donāt use your teeth.
Talk Nerdy to Me
<i>Editors Note: This column is part one of a four part series about rounding the proverbial bases.</i>