Lookin' for a New Idea on Your Next Sunday Funday? Well Bostonians, Davis Square Is IT!

Graduate students’ budgets often get in the way of entertainment. As grad students, money IS sometimes everything. But there are ways to curb the pricey clubs and premium local movie theatres by checking out a great little spot off the Red-line. Yes, readers, this article is super Boston-specific and I think it’s time we gave a little bit more praise to a place we like to call—Davis Square.

Why Davis Square? Let’s look at three reasons why Davis Square should in fact be your destination for your next Sunday Funday.

• Grab a quick beer at Mike’s Pub and Grill located at the corner of College and Highland Ave. During warmer weather, it’s great to grab a seat outside or near one of the open windows and people watch on the streets surrounding you. Hard day? Tired? Need to vent? Sip some ice cold cheap beer and munch on a calzone and you’re set for an evening fit for a king/queen and most importantly, a grad student.

• Look at the time—seems like the perfect time for a movie! After leaving the bar at aperfect time before the dinner rush starts, you leisurely walk up Highland Ave just a block or so and find the Sommerville Theatre. Don’t let those Gothic owls intimidate you—Sommerville Theatre has the cheapest movie prices in the Boston area. With its awesome décor and kitchy art exhibit located on the lower level—it’d make a great second half to your evening.

• Still not tired? Feeling like your night wouldn’t be finished without some killer barbecue? Well, Redbones Barbecue is your place for after dinner discourse—and maybe further venting about those grad classes you’ve been taking. Redbones has a great drink selection, a comfortable and eclectic color scheme and great waitstaff. But most importantly, Redbones has the best barbecue you’re sure to find anywhere else (and that includes the debonair McRib)!

Hmmm, outdoor drinks? Movie night and barbecue night? And all just a few blocks from one another? I sure can’t think of anything else a Sunday Funday would need—except of course, great company and a few laughs.

5 Simple Stress-Busters for Busy Students

Despite the challenge of balancing work, school and other obligations, coping with stress is feasible. Don’t fall into the trap of believing that fun ends after your undergraduate career. Simple activities prove that fun doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. Here are five ways to indulge in the simpler side of life during exam crams, paper writing, or whenever you need to take a break.

1. Baking/Cooking: Since we all need to eat and buying takeout takes its toll on your wallet, cooking is a necessary activity that doubles as a stress-reliever. Consider websites that offer recipes for cheap eats like Cheapcooking.com, or blogs for students; I found a plethora of cheap recipes through one blog post on Onlinecollege.org. After trying a few of these, you might feel inspired to experiment with some original recipes—and creativity is always an effective stress-buster.
2. Watching a movie or TV show: If you typically work to the point of exhaustion, it doesn’t hurt to occasionally veg out in front of your TV or computer; it actually might benefit your performance to give your brain a rest so you can return to work refreshed. If you can’t abandon your Type A personality, consider incorporating a movie or TV break into your mealtimes. Enjoying dinner and a movie (or a snack and a show, if you’re pressed for time) won’t make you feel guilty since we all need to eat at some point. My friends often sing the praises of Netflix, but if you’d rather not commit to a membership, Hulu.com offers a reasonable selection of movies and TV shows that play with limited commercial interruption.
3. Jogging/Walking: Sometimes the best way to clear your head is to step away from your computer or textbook. If the words you’re reading don’t make sense anymore, you’re better off going outside for some fresh air. Even a brief walk around the neighborhood gives you the chance to stretch and take in different scenery, without tearing you from work for too long. If you’re eager to get back into running, or you feel like too much of your time has been spent indoors lately, search for a nearby park on The U.S. National Park Service's "Find a Park" page.
4. Meeting at local dives: You must make sacrifices as a graduate student, but your social life should not be one of them. Make a point to look for divey-looking (but safe) places the next time you’re out, and then check them out with friends. While enjoying a cheap drink or meal, this can be an opportunity to vent about whatever has got you stressed—always healthier than keeping it inside.
5. Reading: Reading a book, magazine, blog, or any publication that interests you provides a break while keeping your mind active, which means you won’t lose momentum when you return to work. I suggest finding something completely different from your required reading for stimulation.

How to Throw a Great Dinner Party

Want to hang out with your grad school buddies but sick of going out every weekend? Bring the fun to your apartment by throwing a dinner party! To have a successful dinner party, you need:

• Invitations - Send out invites to 4-7 of your closest friends a couple weeks prior to the party. Chances are your apartment won't hold more than 7 people and your neighbors won't appreciate the noise of a larger crowd. Save money by sending the invitations electronically via Evite.com or Sendomatic.com.

• A Theme - Dinner parties are always more fun if there's a theme. Print up a food menu and give each dish a name fitting to your theme, such as "Astronaut Brownies" if your theme is Outer Space. Decorate your apartment to look like your theme, make a song playlist to set the mood and tell your guests to come dressed appropriately. Some great party theme ideas can be found here.

• Games - Get your entire group to interact by planning some fun games (preferably ones not centered around drinking massive amounts of alcohol. A grad school dinner party should be a step up from an undergrad frat party!) Charades is always a good choice, or you can incorporate your party's theme into another game. Some game ideas can be found here and here.

Save money on food by asking your guests to each bring a side dish to pass. If you want to mix up some cheap drinks for guests, check out Miranda's "Look! Cheap Cocktail Night."

Look! Cheap Cocktail Night.

Keg parties are so undergrad, so why not mix up a few cocktails at home? Oh, right, keeping even a minimally stocked liquor cabinet is way out of my grad-school budget. But there's another way.

Instead of spending money on fifths or even liters of our essential ingredients, my boyfriend and I bought a variety of miniatures. (50-mL bottles, or between 1.5 and 2 fluid ounces. Apparently they're called nibs here in New England.) For the same cost as just a couple regular-sized bottles of liquor, we were able to buy everything we needed to make six different drinks—three for each of us.


Here are the (mostly) classic cocktails we tried out:

• Amaretto Sour
• Tequila Sunrise
• Chocolate Martini
• Tom Collins
• White Russian
• and this crazy thing called a Monkey Gland Cocktail I stumbled across on Forbes magazine online, of all places

A note on the ingredients:
Each 50-mL bottle is about the same as one shot, the right amount of alcohol for one drink. The Monkey Gland calls for absinthe, which was our only budget breaker: we found a 100-mL bottle for $9.99. If you're just looking to try it out or only need a little, though, this amount goes a long way. A full-sized bottle will run you closer to $50 or $60. No thank you.

Did you know you can make your own sour mix and grenadine at home? Sour mix is just heavy simple syrup plus lemon juice, so I bought one lemon for 69¢ instead of spending $4.99 on a whole bottle of the pre-made stuff. Grenadine is just pomegranate juice plus sugar, but I actually didn't save money here. I paid a dollar more for real pomegranate juice than I would have for grenadine. However, the grenadine at the store is almost entirely high-fructose corn syrup, not actual juice. I think this is an extra dollar well spent.

The Monkey Gland and the Tequila Sunrise both call for orange juice, but I didn't want to buy a whole carton just to use about five ounces of it. I bought two oranges and fresh squeezed them. I'm sure this is much tastier, anyway.

Shopping list and total price:

amaretto	$2.99
tequila	$2.49
vodka	$3.50 (for 2)
gin	$5.98 (for 2)
Kahlua	$2.49
chocolate liqueur	$3.99
absinthe	$9.99
lemon	69¢
2 oranges	$1.07
pomegranate juice	$4.99
club soda	59¢
Grand Total:	$38.77 + tax

Sure, buying in larger volumes is a better value, but this was a cheaper overall cost and much greater variety for six drinks than we could've gotten if we'd bought larger bottles. More than 25% of our total was the absinthe, too, so we can make it much cheaper by nixing it next time.

Another thought: we're moving to a new apartment this weekend. This might just be the grad-school answer to the traditional housewarming party. Potluck, anyone?

Randomly Cheap, Randomly Fun

So you work hard all week at work or in class and most of the weekend too. You need a little bit of free time to play and relax. But you need to do it cheaply. Here are some random things to do around Boston when you decide you need a break from the mayhem that is your grad school life.

· Bookstores. It doesn’t sound like much, but most of the grad students I know would kill to have time to just stroll around a bookstore and peruse the goods. Granted, we can’t really afford to buy too many things. But if you really want to buy some reading material (and put it away for when you have time to read after graduation), join the Border’s mailing list. They send out great coupons all the time.

· Arnold Arboretum. A beautiful arboretum (collection of trees…don’t feel bad, I definitely just looked this up to help explain it) randomly located in Boston. It covers a large area and contains all kinds of plant collections and gardens. There are various paths you can take for a leisurely stroll to enjoy the view. Grab some buddies and take advantage of nature, right in the city. Here’s the link if you’re interested: http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/

· Museum of Fine Arts. You’re in Boston, you’re a student, you have to check it out at some point. Especially because since you are a student, you get a discounted rate, BOO YEAH! So hit up the Arboretum on a nice day, and pop into the MFA on a rainy one. The perfect plan. Check out http://www.mfa.org/ for more details.

· Harvard Square. So I realize this one isn’t very specific but there is always something going on in Harvard Square in Cambridge. For example, until August 2, there is a free art exhibit at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. And until September 19, the Charles River Conservancy is hosting free games and activities. Seriously, tons of good stuff, either free or really cheap. To look for yourself: http://www.harvardsquare.com/

Grad school doesn’t have to be alllllll about school work. I mean, it mostly will be about school work. But for those occasionally breaks, any of these activities make for an awesome time!

T-Accessible Outdoor Fun

Most large cities have public transportation systems, and Boston's is likely far from the best. You might feel isolated without a car when you first move here, but--if you can ignore the crowds, urine-scented tunnels, and sweltering hot T stations--there are plenty of fun places the MBTA can take you for a couple of bucks on your CharlieCard or a $59 monthly LinkPass.

The commuter rail, buses, and ferry give you more options than you might think. But those take time, so let's explore more fun, free/cheap, and local options for these last months of summer.

Blue Line
After last year's summer of rain, the heat has been unexpected. The good news is that the T goes to the beach. Four stops on the Blue Line--Orient Heights, Suffolk Downs, Beachmont, and Revere Beach--are within a mile or two of Constitution Beach (East Boston), Winthrop Beach, and Revere Beach. You might have to do some walking or take a bus, but they're still easily accessible.

There might eventually be a casino at Suffolk Downs, too, considering dog racing has been banned, but we grad students don't really need to be throwing money away... right?

Orange Line
If you take the Orange Line down to Forest Hills (which is in Jamaica Plain), you'll find the Arnold Arboretum: 265 acres of gorgeous trees, shrubs, flowers, and other green life, open to exploration from sunrise to sunset every day. And it's free.

On the other end of the Orange Line, you can take a bus from Wellington Station to Middlesex Fells, which offers 2,575 acres of trails suitable for hiking, horseback riding, rock climbing, cross-country skiing, and picnicking.

Green Line
If walking, jogging, or dog-walking is more your style, look no further than the Chestnut Hill Reservation. Although you cannot swim in the reservoir itself, the Reilly Rink and Pool is nearby. To get to the reservoir, take the C line to Cleveland Circle, the D line to Reservoir, or the B line to Chestnut Hill Ave.

The assorted Green Line trolleys run to Brighton, Brookline, and Newton, so they're a good bet if you just need to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city proper for a few hours.

And what about the Red Line? Your best bet there is to get off anywhere between Kendall/MIT and Davis and just walk around. Check out the Davis Square LiveJournal for ideas, but Somerville and Cambridge are, in general, rich in culture, shopping, and community.

For something a little closer to home, be sure to check out Shakespeare on the Common. Each summer, the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company puts on a free Shakespeare play on Boston Common. This year's selection is Othello, and it runs from July 28 to August 15. Show times: Tue-Sat: 8PM, Sun: 7PM.

You should give yourself at least an hour to get anywhere on the T. You can subscribe to free T Alerts via email, text message, or Twitter to find out if there are any significant delays. Regardless, though, Boston's transportation system allows for much more freedom and enjoyment than one might assume. Maybe, one day, we won't even miss our cars. Maybe.