When most people think spring break they think of sun, warmth and the beach. They think of tropical places, bathing suits and drinks with little umbrellas. I spent my spring break in Montreal. It was cold. I found myself bundling up and wishing I was in Massachusetts where it was warm(er).

But my friends and I decided to go to Montreal anyway. It was it was frigid outside. But I figured, since I've never done anything exciting for spring break (freshman year I stayed home and did nothing, sophomore year I had my wisdom teeth out and junior year I was doing an internship in Washington D.C. and I did not get a spring break), I would leap at the chance. What I thought would be a wild week of partying and clubbing turned out to be something much more

Most nights my friends and I opted out of going to bars and clubs because A - we didn't want to go out in the cold and B - some of the cover charges were high ($75 high). We discovered the latter online. Some of the clubs did not list charges and we did not want to walk 45 minutes in the cold to find out that we could not afford to pay.

We probably saved a lot of money that way. By staying in and drinking our own alcohol and juice mixes we managed to bond, enjoy each other's company, tell ridiculous jokes, and play drinking games including Kings and Never, ever have I...

We still did spend a lot of money on food and shopping, but by staying in most of the nights we saved a lot of money. The nights we did go out, we spent a lot. One night I ended up spending way more than I would have paid in the U.S.

So, if you do want to go away on spring break, even if you don't have a lot of money, you can save a lot by bringing your own fun. All you really need are good friends, a sense of humor and enough money to make sure you don't die from starvation.

A hedgehog just beat up a dinosaur? I must be dreaming. In what universe could this happen? Well, I'll tell you how this strange event can occur. It's Super Smash Brothers Brawl and the hedgehog is Sonic and the dinosaur is Bowser.

About two days ago my life was taken over by this new video game. I didn't ask for it to take over my world. But I guess because my apartment houses a functioning Wii and the newest, fanciest, widescreen, High-Definition TV I don't really have a choice.

While my roommates, friends and some people who I don't even really know battle it out in my living room, I'm busy fighting my immune system. While they stay up until 5 a.m. playing, I lay in my bed thinking, "I wish I could breathe through my nose." While my friends duke it out to open as many new characters as they can, I guzzle orange juice so I can be healthy for my spring break trip to Montreal.

But the thing that irks me the most is this: Why have my friends forsaken sleep for a video game? It'll still be there in the morning. More importantly, why do they need to disrupt my sleep? I'm sick. I'm tired. And IT'S MY APARTMENT!!!!!!! I just want to be healthy and well rested. But for the past few days that has not happened all because of this obsession.

I will admit that the game is fun, and some of the levels are pretty to look at on that new TV. But still, what's the big deal? I did grow up with some video games. But I never played as much in a day as some of my friends do now. I am bewildered. And I just don't get the need to purchase the game at midnight when it comes out, be back on campus playing it by 12:15 and then staying up playing until 5 a.m. AHHHHH!

Sometimes people say that SOME stress is a good thing. And, I'm sure that sometimes they're right. The other day I learned sometimes stress can be a bad thing. Well, I already knew this. But I had never made myself sick from stress before this.

Right now, I feel like a lot of the time all I do is worry about what's to come. I worry about my school work, I worry about my activities and I worry about the future. I'm graduating in less than three months and I'm freaking out about it. Where will I work? Where will I live? Will I make enough money?

Am I going crazy? Sometimes I think so. I have finally managed, after 22 years of stressing over everything, to make myself ill from stress.

How can I and others like me deal better with stress? I'm not entirely sure. I suppose not procrastinating would be a good step. Maybe eating and sleeping on a more regular schedule would help, too. Perhaps I should tell myself that other people are going through the same thing. Maybe take a break from working every now and then. It is important to relax a little sometimes. I haven't been doing that.

I know, if I keep going like I am now, I will run myself into a wall. Heck, maybe I already have.

For the last week, I have kept telling myself that I need a vacation. While I thought I was half kidding at the time, I realized that I haven't gone home once this semester. Until Tuesday, I don't think I'd missed a single class. I really do need a break. Thank God spring break is only a week away. I think Montreal will do me some good.