Perk Up, Girlfriend!

Has the recession gotten you down? Stressed about where your career is going? Trouble with the roommate? Boy problems? Fretting about that last impulse purchase? We've been there. But if you're alone in your room watching yet another repeat episode of Sex and the City while eating that container of Haagen Dazs, STOP! You've already spent too much time commiserating with these four fictional characters, that ice cream is making you fat, and you won't be any happier when you have a muffin top. Turn off the TV, put away the ice cream and try one of these suggestions:

* Exercise! If you're antsy and need to let out some steam, go on a run! Want some time to think? Head to Temescal for a hike and take in some fresh outdoor air while you're at it. Anxiety-ridden and needing to relax? Go to a yoga class. The power of endorphins cannot be underestimated!

* Usually when you look good, you feel good, so do something to make you feel pretty! Whether getting your nails done or getting a blowout or facial, it'll make you feel better from the outside in.

* Spend $15 to use the mineral baths at Olympic spa. Wander from pool to pool and soak your troubles away.

* Get together with your girlfriends! Whether a night spent out or in, never underestimate the power of getting together with your friends for a night of laughter and girl talk.

* Volunteer. It's a great thing to do, and will help give you perspective in reminding yourself to be thankful for all the things you DO have.

* Go to one of your favorite nostalgic places. I like to go to the North End in Manhattan Beach every so often to get my favorite sandwich I used to order all the time when I lived down the street. Making that little trek to a place where I have so many memories always makes me feel grateful.

* Do one thing productive. Whether it's getting your car washed, checking out that exhibit you keep putting off, cleaning your room, or reading the new Bret Easton Ellis novel, do SOMETHING to pat yourself on the back about.

Photo Credit

You know you went too far when....

* You go to a strip club and throw change at the dancers

* When you don't feel like paying for the cab, think it's okay to just bolt out of it

* You wake up in a place you don't know, next to someone you don't know

* You think giving the police pizza will appease them

* Accept a ride home from a stranger and don't think he'll be crazy simply because he's driving a nice car

* The waiter at the pizza place open til 4 am knows and expects you

* You can't remember the code to your own apartment building

* You want to pee in the street, even though you're right outside your house, just to "keep it real"

* You get confirmation emails the next day from amazon regarding purchases you don't remember making

* You're so excited about getting waxed you ask your friends to feel how smooth you are

* Something you said ends up on texts from last night

* You wake up bruised and scraped and have no idea how it happened

* You fall asleep at the bar.

* Because your feet hurt, you take off your heels and walk home barefoot on Hollywood Blvd. NEVER OKAY.

photo courtesy of www.sharenator.com

Things to Avoid

1. “Just don’t fall in love with me.” A guy that says this doesn’t want to be in a relationship, he just wants to be in you. And in everyone else.

2. Guys that say they ate pineapple that night so their sperm would taste better. Yes, this really happened.

3. Men that don’t have toilet paper in their apartment. Or use red plastic cups. Hello frat boy.

4. Men closer in age to your father than to you. And upon realizing they’re closer in age to your father, say that you can call them daddy.

5. Men without jobs. Couch surfing is not a lifestyle.

6. People with cold sores. Yeah I'm talking to you.

7. Married men. Just don't.

8. In fact, don’t date any men that are in a relationship with someone else. It’s obvious: they’re already with someone else, and do you want to be the bitch that broke them up?

9. Guys that were just released from jail. Enough said.

10. Cristiano Ronaldo. Why? Because he's mine.