With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it's time to start looking for someone special - or at least some one-night special.
And if you've spent a semester at Tufts, it's likely you've already exhausted all its viable resources. Now, you have two options: a) lower your standards, or b) look where Forbes magazine dubbed one of the nation's "Best Cities for Singles."
With the conveyor belt of fresh meat that the incoming freshmen classes provide every year, it's difficult to see why it would be necessary to ever leave campus when carnal nourishment is so convenient around campus.
But I recall an old saying, "Don't $%* where you eat." Plainly, don't hook up with that guy/gal from AEPi/the gym/across the hall/Tisch late night study, because you will see them at AEPi/the gym/across the hall/Tisch late night study over and over again until you graduate.
There is hope yet for those Jumbos longing for love. Boston is a city full of horny college students and young professionals looking to get drunk and make some bad decisions just like you. Okay, and maybe amoré is out there somewhere too. This week is all about love and lust, Boston style.
To begin, every time you ride the T, you must have a "conversation piece" novel at hand. Murakami, Nabokov and Lahiri are all good choices; also, anything from the NYT's Bestseller List on hybrid economics is good.
Another tip: get a dog. If you don't have one/want one, borrow one and go jogging on the Charles. Everybody loves dogs, and dog love is a great way to break the ice. My "Sex and Gender" TA, who does this regularly, said one day that Matt Damon actually came up to her and petted her dog! 'Nuff said.
If milling around Cambridge looking intellectual still isn't getting you anywhere with the ladies/gents, then it's time to get serious and head across the river. Faneuil Hall is Quincy Market by day and Meat Market by night. And with so many bars and clubs, it's one-stop shopping.
Bell in Hand and McFadden's are good places to begin filling up on social lubricant. Both are conducive to mingling and can be a non-intimidating way to start out the night. Tia's on the waterfront is hot in the summer. Its scene is lots of girls in sundresses. I'll let your mind fill in the blanks here.
Ned Devine's and the Living Room has more of the club/lounge feel. So if you're not feelin' the singles scene, or your non-single friends are along for the ride, these are good places to go for dancing and an all -around good time on the town.
Another meaty spot for Boston singles is Boylston St. During the day, Boylston plays second fiddle to Newbury, but after dark, it's where all the action is. I suggest you start at the top of the street, near the firehouse, at Dillon's. Dillon's is usually tightly packed, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to "accidentally" bump into Miss Petite B.C. Blonde or Mr. Tall, Dark and Italian and strike up a conversation.
Alas, in all seriousness, Boston really is one of the best cities for singles. If bars are not your scene, call up your friends at other colleges and go to a football game at B.C., a concert at Berklee or an art exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Or if you're feeling especially adventurous, join a Meetup (www.Meetup.com) and find people who share your interests in French culture, Capoeira or Puggles.
There is a city full of attractive, diverse and amorous non-Jumbos out there. Don't let it go to waste.
Or you'll be doomed to four years of awkward post-hook-up stop-n-chats.
Robin Alberts-Marigza is a senior majoring in psychology. She can be reached at Robin.Alberts_Marigza@tufts.edu.
