Do you remember when Facebook was cool? You waited and waited until BU generated your college email so you could sign up for an account. Before Facebook, there was only MySpace, where creepy guys hit on you and unsigned bands wanted you to check out their crappy demos.

Social networking and media tools grew with us over the past four years. I’m about to graduate with a MySpace page, a Twitter account, a Facebook profile and two blogs. I’m told I need to create a LinkedIn page, stat! Plus maybe a Flickr account to upload the photos I take on my post-grad jaunt to Australia. I GChat and Facebook message along with tired old AIM. While students in the College of Communication tend to be tech- and Internet-savvy, that’s a ton of passwords for me to remember.

Facebook and Twitter have come up a lot in conversation recently and since I’m feeling all retrospective and nostalgic, I’m going to look at these past four years based on my Internet use.

I grew up just north of Chicago and BU was the only out of state school that accepted me. Thus, I really didn’t know anyone when I came to campus except for the few people I’d met at summer orientation. Like most new freshmen, I diligently tagged pictures from the summer before college and posted all of my classes to see who else was in them. That list became even more important when I was out for days puking from the norovirus that hit BU’s dining halls in my second semester, and I needed coursework. I realized a while ago that no one posts their classes anymore. I wonder why that is?

Around the same time that I stopped trusting the dining halls, I discovered the phenomenon of Facebook Stalking. Keep in mind, Facebook was about a year old when I logged on for the first time, so this was new and exciting (I think)! My friends and I looked up people we met at parties, people we made out with in Allston basements who, without combing mutual friends’ pools, we would never have remembered. It was totally innocent.

We in J-school learn about the Internet and perceived privacy, that for the most part what a person puts on the Internet is fair game, particularly posts on social networking sites. The Facebook Terms of Service fiasco a few months ago shined a big light for those who didn’t see the obvious: The Internet isn’t private! (Though the ownership quandary was completely legitimate.)

But four years ago, it certainly seemed like it. I felt awkward bringing up information from mutual friends’ wall-to-walls, even though it was right there for all to see, particularly after the invention of the News Feed.

Today’s Facebook finds us playing a “Scrabble”-type game, posting videos and various other things on each others’ walls and even updating our statuses from phones and Twitter. That college-only community has multiplied to include extended family and colleagues from work. In a way, it’s better that Facebook has opened up because people are more aware of what they post and who sees it. If I tweet a link on Twitter, yes, you can tell me how awesome it was.

Seriously, don’t judge, but I think this muddle is best summed up by Drew Barrymore in He’s Just Not That Into You:

“I had this guy leave me a voicemail at work so I called him at home and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry and so I texted to his cell and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It’s exhausting!”

Yes, Drew, it is. In my section of Feature Writing (JO309), we joked about friends’ Facebook and MySpace-fueled breakups. It happens.

But, as my friends and peers get ready to graduate and some to depart, social networking seems more important now than when we were all 20 minutes apart. People I really care about are going to L.A., to Europe, to Australia. I’m going to want to see their pictures, post videos on their walls and send them pixelated, corporate-sponsored gifts.

With friends gone, I’ll take anything I can get.

As the few bursts of fine weather may hint, summer in Boston is awesome. Yes, it gets obnoxiously hot in July and August, but where in the U.S. doesn’t? Student-filled Boston becomes pretty mellow in the summer, and most residents prefer it that way.

Sublets: First of all, you need a place to live. Craigslist and the Facebook Marketplace are rife with listings, but chances are, you know someone who needs a summer subletter. Particularly upperclassmen, I’ve found, need help since many don’t stay through the summer because of jobs or internships elsewhere. While I’ve found success with the Internet, it’s nice to get a roommate recommendation from someone you know. 

Summer clothes: Chances are, when you’re packing up, you’ll find a ton of stuff you haven’t worn in ages. Given the general thrift trend as result of the shaky economy, why not sell the little-worn clothes at Rescue in Union Square, Allston, or at the Garment District in Kendall Square, Cambridge? Whatever cash you earn can go toward new summer duds. If you’re feeling generous, donate old clothes to the Goodwill on Commonwealth Ave. by the Paradise Rock Club or to Urban Renewals in Allston Village for some Karma points. 

The T: More specifically, the B Line. It’s a different machine in the summer without BU and BC kids moving around en masse. You can usually get a seat! T-jumpers be advised: that shit doesn’t fly in the summer. You can’t hide behind the usual horde piling into one of the back doors unless you’re behind a group of BU summer program attendees. It sucks. Get a T-pass. 

Though, why take the T at all? When the weather is beautiful, get on a bike. Boston recently passed legislation making the city more bike friendly. Review it here before you hit the road. 

Music venues: With the volume of students in Boston remarkably smaller, it’s actually possible to get tickets to popular shows. Save T fare and walk (or bike) to the box offices at the Middle East or the Paradise Rock club to buy tickets on a nice day, allowing you to spend the meager savings on booze at the show. 

Shakespeare In the Park: This summer, from July 31 to August 16, go see A Comedy of Errors on Boston Common. Pack a blanket and a picnic dinner and get there early if you want to be able to see the stage. And, if Shakespeare is not your thing, it’s a nice excuse to take a nap under the stars. 

Beaches: Boston has them and most are really nice. I’m told to hit Carson Beach in South Boston over Revere Beach on the Blue Line. Both are a reasonable bike ride away. Make a day of it. 

Lastly, I need to plug the Boston Skill Share taking place at MIT this weekend. They’ve got some amazing people coming to teach and they are offering free vegan breakfast and lunches. While it’s not a summer thing, check out bike maintenance and craft workshops, and pick up a project you can work on once finals are over. Check out the skill share here.

It was a fun game for a while: Bluetooth or crazy? While loitering in Chicago’s Union Station at 10:30 p.m. over spring break, this is a game my friend and I played to pass the time until our train came. And yes, it’s still an awesome game, especially when you’re bored in traffic or in the basement of a metropolitan transportation station.  

Our generation will probably make landlines obsolete (Though, fun fact, currently when you make your one phone call from jail, it needs to be to a land line, so says ANTM alumnus Elyse Sewel). And with a ton of flashy hardware, why shouldn’t we? If Louis CK’s spiel on David Letterman or Tina Fey’s on 30 Rock was any indication, a clunky house phone didn’t do anyone any favors. 

I didn’t realize how technology had become ingrained in my life until I saw that several posts on my Facebook news feed and Twitter home page were submitted by cell phone. While I’m still coming to terms with the inherent narcissism that comes with tweeting, I cede: It’s a great way to pass along information quickly, if posted responsibly. Prime example: that guy who tweeted the plane crash he experienced. I even learned in one of my COM classes how to Tweet the news. I knew my degree was good for something. 

I’m not saying that you need a phone with Internet access, and most models seem to do that now in any case. But there’s something about having the power of eliminating the personal computer as middleman I find very appealing, as do many of my peers. I even have the haphazard vision of tweeting the movements of the Green Line trains, which would be awesome the next time I’m running late to Logan and there’s no trolley in sight. 

Due for a gadget upgrade, I’ve been at the Verizon store a couple times and the cheapest option there, a tiny $20 Samsung phone, looks like it should come with a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Any option under $100 doesn’t fare much better. They’re not nearly as exciting as the devices on the fancy Blackberry display that cost $100-200 plus monthly fees in addition to basic phone service. 

Alternately there’s the iPhone which, for whatever reason, I find shiny and adorable, and I’d love one. I finally went to the Apple online store to see how much the thing costs and… wow! They don’t even tell you how much it is unless you give them your social security number for a credit check. A great start.

The AT&T website is a little more forgiving, requiring only a zip code to get the financial specs. The device itself is $199 at its cheapest. Then, there’s at least an additional $75-ish bucks a month, though I know many users pay more. That doesn’t even include the bluetooth headset (for about $100) so you can join the crazy horde in traffic hands-free.

We’ve a recession on, and the last time I threw my information into a database was to research Massachusetts state health insurance since I’ll be losing parental coverage once I don my cap and gown. And, oh yeah, I still don’t have a job lined up post-graduation, either. 

The gadget-craze thrives at COM, from photojournalism majors with their gorgeous digital cameras to MacBook Pros with the latest edition of Adobe Creative Suite. We’re creative people, pursuing creative fields and we need the tech specs to go with it. But eventually the motherboard will crash and Canon will unveil its latest model and suddenly I’ll need $500 for the latest CS upgrade so I can stay competitive with my peer group. Frankly, it’s exhausting, not just expensive.

After all that, from my impoverished, terrified vantage point, paying about $1,200 a year just for phone service seems crazy, as fine as the end results would be. It sucks that there’s no middle ground: you can pay a lot (iPhone!) or a little (plastic toy). Despite country-wide financial hardship, as long as gadgetry remains popular and necessary, it’s going to cost a lot. And until I make more than $25K a year, I’ll just have to lust from afar. Unless, I’m missing some option, in which case dear reader speak up!

If you’re going back to the nest at the end of the week, as I am, here are some ideas for those who won’t be entirely couch bound. 

1) Make your parents dinner. They fed you for 18 years and would probably be thrilled if you took over the kitchen for one night, even if it’s to make baked mac and cheese (with bacon on top!). Show them you know how to pair pasta with alcohol by grabbing a bottle of white Chuck Shaw instead of red. For the creative, recipe database Epicurious.com lets you search by keyword and users’ comments can help you modify recipes or make wine pairings. 

2) If you’re so inclined, have a nightcap with the parents. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but you probably noticed your relationship with your makers has evolved since you’ve moved out. The last time I was home, my dad made us sidecars and we ended up talking about everything from relationships to uh, what college students did for fun in the ’70s — stuff that would never have come out while I was in high school. Whether or not you’ve reached legal adult age, it’s nice to start being treated like one by people you love and respect.

3) Read a book. Yes, I know that most people’s time is consumed by class reading, but reading for pleasure is like the great lost pastime. For COM kids, or anyone who needs to write accurately and engagingly, grab George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London. Several non-fiction writers cite it as a necessary, ripping read and, at a slim 200 pages, you’ll probably make a big dent in it waiting for your delayed flight to leave Logan Airport.  

4) Don’t spend all your time at ‘the bar’. You know the one, where you’ll inevitably see everyone you went to high school with. You might play a couple rounds of “Who got fat?” or start doing shots with your high school girlfriend (note: If you’re currently in a relationship, that’s probably not the best idea), but in any case, people usually end up doing stupid things there and it gets old. Plus, in this Internet age of ours, someone could end up filming you acting stupid and put it up for all the world to see:

As the guy in video has inevitably found out, it’s going to end up on YouTube, even if you drunkenly ask for otherwise. Save ‘the bar’ for the first night home and then spend the rest of your time with people you actually want to hang out with.

P.S. Yes, this video is lame, but so is the guy in it. I am proving a point.

5) Pick something you’ve neglected thus far this semester and do it! Hit up the local art museum, raid the Blockbuster for all the movies you missed, or grab a couple classics you keep saying you need to see, finish that scarf you’ve been crocheting, or whatever. Pick something that’s been neglected and see it through for that lovely sense of accomplishment. 

In conclusion, why am I telling you this? My warning is this: Beware the couch! Typical scenario: you roll out of bed, perhaps after your night at ‘the bar’. You plop down on the couch, thrown on some OnDemand and suddenly it’s 5 p.m. and there’s not much else to do besides eat and go to the bar again. It’s fun and relaxing, but every time I finish a break spent in this pattern, I always feel as though I’ve wasted it. 

So if none of these suggestions are inspiring, that’s OK. My charge is this: do something with the time. Rest and recharging are totally necessary, but have some fun, too!

I turn right out of Espresso Royale and…oh crap! Did we make eye contact? I don’t think so. But still, you’re between me and COM, which means I will have to pass you. 

I put my headphones on, cross my arms (the universal symbol for “don’t bother me”) and duck my head down. If I keep the kid in the beanie between you and me, maybe we can pass without conversing. But no! Beanie Boy goes into Radio Shack. Ugh. We’ve made eye contact. I brace myself for the inevitable:

“Hey, do you have a minute for the environment?” Or, its pleasant alternative: “Do you have a minute to save the children?”

Most days, actually, I don’t. So I smile and apologize, but no, that’s not good enough. You ask me if I’m sure. And there’s a tone, sing-songy “I don’t believe you.” This is when I get annoyed. 

Yes I’m freaking sure! And I get it. I go to BU, which means there’s a good chance I fall into a certain socio-cultural demographic. The last time I checked, about half of BU’s students didn’t have any major financial aid. It’s the demographic that yes, could probably sponsor a starving child in Ethiopia or donate to Greenpeace or whatever I’m asked to do today. 

What I don’t quite understand is why a college campus, albeit an affluent one, is the prime stakeout for street-side humanitarian fundraising. Chances are, anyone who cares enough to donate money or even put their name on a mailing list has already done so for their chosen cause. 

A friend of mine has what he guarantees is a surefire way to make the forced interaction with the Do-Gooder as easy and painless as possible: pass by with a breezy “I’m already on your mailing list.” Even if that evokes a “Really?” response, by then you’ll be at least five or 10 steps ahead and out of the danger zone.

I know these Do-Gooders are getting paid for their services and with this economy, who am I to fault anyone for keeping a job, especially one with a good karma factor. What really irks me is that these Do-Gooders are always standing in the same place, the intersection of Comm. Ave. and St. Mary’s St. or on Marsh Plaza; they stand between my reasonably priced Fair Trade coffee and all of my academic responsibilities. It’s a frequent reminder that despite recycling most of what I buy, refilling a water bottle and drinking that Fair Trade coffee, there’s always more I could be doing to save the world. 

This makes me sound a little heartless, but I think the problem is that there’s just too much wrong with the world and too many people are trying to fix it. While that, in and of itself, is not a bad thing at all, it makes it really hard to choose where to donate what little money I have after rent and food (and booze) have been paid for. There’s medical research, public radio and television, social aid, environmental aid, not just in our country but for around the world. It’s daunting! 

But, not impossible. You just have to pick something you care about and stick to it. Maybe you’re working to make BU a greener campus with Slow Food BU, or you lined up 12 hours before Alternative Spring Break registration. BU has a very service active campus. If brushing off the Do-Gooders always brings a twinge of guilt, maybe peruse the BU Student Activities Office site and find something that interests you. Become a Do-Gooder yourself. It’s quite the karma boost.

I wouldn’t be surprised if, in this economy, more people become vegetarian. Frankly, meat is expensive, and cutting it from the grocery list will save some hard earned money. Most of my friends are already vegetarian or vegan for a variety of reasons: meat tastes nasty, pro-animal rights, health benefits. Why not add fiscal responsibility to that list?

While some people are ditching manicures, movie tickets and malls, why not cut back on the meat eating? There are several vegetarian websites with quick, healthy recipes that provide an astonishing amount of energy along with the tasty. Throw “Vegetarian recipes” into Google and see what happens. Or, just try the Goya black beans and rice recipe on the back of the can. So good!

Whether you’re curious about becoming vegetarian or just want to go out for a nice, inexpensive meal, there are plenty of fine examples of non-salad, no-meat cuisine in this city. You don’t even need to know where to look anymore, since so many places now cater to vegetarians. Here are some of my favorite places, many of which are easily accessible from the BU campus.

First of all: Grasshopper, at the intersection of Brighton Ave. and Cambridge St. in Allston. It’s vegan, which means they don’t use any animal products. Their monthly $10 all-you-can-eat buffet is always packed and always delicious. Veggie beef and steamed kale provide plenty of protein, along with soups, noodles, vermicelli rolls and No Name. We don’t know what this glazed beef substitute is and we don’t care; when it’s fresh and warm, it tastes crispy and amazing.

A few doors down from Grasshopper is T.J. Scallywaggle’s, maker of fine vegan pizza and sandwiches. While I still maintain that vegan cheese tastes like plastic, their vegetable-stuffed calzones are excellent.

Veggie burgers are hit or miss, but I’ve found that UBurger’s oniony patty is great and adds only 35 cents to your order. Any of local chain B. Good’s burgers can also be made with their house recipe veggie burger for no extra charge. Even if you’re not going Veg, try it sometime. A friend of mine liked my UBurger veggie burger so much after one taste, he went and ordered one.

While I haven’t been there, Veggie Planet in Harvard Square supposedly makes delicious vegetarian pizza and does amazing things with tofu, so I’m eager to go. Border Cafe has a small vegetarian menu and my plate of spicy vegetable jambalaya was big enough for two meals. A friend’s vegetable fajitas seemed tasty, too.

For the adventurous, Grezzo in the North End is quite an experience. I went last summer because a friend of mine works there and, after a big meal of their raw vegan cuisine (nothing is cooked at higher that 112 degrees), we felt strangely lightheaded. Apparently that’s what eating raw organic does to you. My tomato ravioli had no pasta; the raviolis were made of sliced tomato with nut cheese inside. While a little pricey, this place is delightfully bizarre.

On the opposite side of town, Tamarind Bay’s Washington Square (C line) location has a vegetarian/vegan brunch on Saturdays. I went this past weekend for idli cakes, spicy aloo gobi and creamy rice pudding. The $10 buffet also gave me free naan bread with refills, no less!

The list goes on and on: Noodle Street’s vegetable Pad Thai, Espresso Royale’s Sahara bagel sandwich, Herrell’s Cafe’s veggie sausage and vegan french toast. What’s wonderful is that all of these options are really good and represent alternatives to traditional eating out.

I’m not a vegetarian but I put one foot on the boat because I wanted to eat healthy and more cheaply. There’s a scientific consensus that people don’t need nearly as much protein as the Food Pyramid says and it’s important to know where to get natural protein outside of meat and eggs. Speaking of which, I should add Central Square’s Harvest Co-Op to the list of must-visits: the grocery store has the largest selection of meat alternatives I’ve seen in one shop, and it’s just a quick jaunt on the 47 bus if you don’t feel like taking the 20-30 minute walk to Central.

I won’t step on Peta and several animal rights activists’ turf and tell you to go vegetarian, but I will say this: I feel healthier and spend less on groceries when I cut out the meat. I’m still bonkers for bacon, the Lower Depth’s meatloaf sandwich and Sunset Grill’s pulled pork, but I eat these things sparingly.

So, experiment: use black beans on tacos instead of ground beef, put sauteed vegetables on a sandwich instead of ham or turkey, cut out the chicken nuggets because they’re plain old gross. Then, see how you feel (and how much you save). Happy eating!

When I told my parents that I had a new boyfriend (this was about two years ago), they burst out laughing. Like, hysterical laughter. I think my mom fell off the bed she’d been sitting on. My father started crying from near asphyxiation. It was definitely… not what I’d expected. Once they calmed down enough to breathe, then speak, they explained themselves: they thought my high school best friend and I had discovered we were lesbians and were in a relationship; they had thought for a while that I was gay.

I’m not, so my particular gene-set tells me, anyway.

What, you ask, could have lead them to this conclusion? I’ll tell you. Facebook.

One evening, my high school-aged sister had accidently left my page up on the home computer. On the relationship line, as it’s been since my freshman year here, it says: It’s Complicated with… I don’t remember why we did it, probably for a laugh. It’s still there today.

My parents explained that they were fine with me being gay, but that they didn’t know how to broach the subject, seeing as this was a time when Facebook was still exclusive to actual students and they’d been snooping and took the information on it to heart. Good. Grief.

Awkward laughter followed as I newly affirmed my straight-ness and we all went on with our lives. But why am I telling you this fair reader? Well, Valentine’s Day is approaching and I’m reminiscing. This is the first year that I’m on the same continent as my significant other; it’s the first year I have the option to celebrate this silly holiday.

Don’t get me wrong. I hate it. God-awful shades of pink decorate my grocery store, both my CVS’s and the arcane lacey contraption I am stereotypically encouraged to buy before the weekend because I’ve got a significant other person who is going to give me, if he also follows the V-Day plan, flowers, chocolates and a fancy, free dinner. Ick.

Perusing my Facebook News Feed and a string of away messages, it appears there are two main types of V-Day backlash: those who hate the institution of romance that the day represents, and those who wish they had someone to share it with. I think it’s stupid that the Powers That Be specified a day for mandatory appreciation of your significant other. If you need a reminder, well, that speaks to a bigger issue. If you don’t have someone in your life at the moment, (and, oh yes, I’ve been here) it’s like a big, flashing sign that there must be something WRONG with you.

But the V-Day backlash has got me thinking about something bigger. While no one says this explicitly, I think there’s a larger drive at work: find that special someone to love forever and ever, even though you’re only 21. For a lot of people, that’s part of why they date, even if they don’t like thinking about it. Friends of mine are already getting married, and pretty much everyone my age that I’ve talked about the trend with can say the same. People our age are getting married! So why can’t I find a guy I can stand for longer than two months?

I think a part of it is sexual attraction, and I only say this because I used to work in a bookstore and spent a lot of time shelving in the love/relationships/sex/self-help section. ‘Society’ has always outwardly equated love and sexual attraction, despite the fact that most of the anecdotal evidence I’ve heard would say lasting love comes from a foundation of friendship.

There’s this concept I really like called ‘koi’. Here’s a definition from the text of the New York Times Book Review where I first learned of it: “a term used in Japan for a sexual relationship free of the melodramatic trappings of love, founded on camaraderie rather than romance,” from the article about Amelie Nothomb’s Tokyo Fiancé. I love these relationships! It’s a great concept. Essentially it’s “friends with benefits”, except for the addition of exclusivity, which means you shouldn’t have to worry about catching anything nasty and an emphasis on the “friend” part. And most importantly, it’s a relationship based on the fact that being in a relationship is supposed to be fun. And, who knows, maybe something long-term will come of it?

In that vein, this Valentine’s Day, instead of looking for love, or sex, I suggest you find someone who makes you laugh. And be safe, be smart.