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Men Are Just Happier People– What do you expect from such simple creatures.

Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don’t have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. People never stare at your chest when you’re talking to them. New shoes don’t cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck. You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes — one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can ‘do’ your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache. You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are never depressed!!!

Even though I’m no longer a college student, the appeal of free food still hasn’t worn off. Why does the exact same pizza taste so much better when you get it for free? Maybe it’s just one of life’s many mysteries.

While we may never solve that mystery, there’s another issue at hand that I can definitely help you out with — finding ways to get free food in college. With 8 years of college under my belt, here are some tips for finding free food on or around your campus.

1. Join a club

Campus clubs will often have free food at their meetings throughout the school year. In some cases, you actually have to be a member of the club, but other times they’ll throw events that are open to all students. Go for the food, and who knows? You may even meet some interesting people and learn something new.

2. Participate in the fraternity rush

Just because you participate in the frat rush doesn’t mean you have to join a fraternity. What it does mean is that you’ll get free food almost every day of the week as you visit the different frat houses. I did this with a few friends my freshman year, and while a lot of them ended up joining fraternities, I didn’t. The free food was awesome though. Sorry, girls, sororities usually skip the free food and activities for their rush.

3. Go to campus events and activities

Throughout the school year, colleges have various events, activities, fundraisers, etc., and there’s usually some free food involved. I’ve had everything from free cheesecake to free BBQ. Be sure to show up early though, because the food at these events tends to run out fast.

4. Check out art openings

It’s hard to mention art without mentioning wine and cheese. Stay on the lookout for gallery openings and new exhibits on or near your campus. These events are almost always stocked with wine, cheese, and other treats. Of course, it doesn’t hurt if you actually appreciate the art as well.

5. Go to restaurants on free food days

Some restaurants give out free food throughout the year. Check your campus paper for coupons and ads. Over the years, I’ve happily devoured my fair share of free Chipotle burritos, and I’ve stood in line for free ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s on their annual free cone day. Speaking of free ice cream, Cold Stone is giving out free ice cream on September 25th from 5:00-8:00 PM.

6. Become a regular

If you frequent a place enough, you should get to know the owner, manager, and wait staff. While you shouldn’t expect to eat an entire meal for free, I’ve gotten free appetizers, drinks, etc. in the past. It’s even better if you already know someone who works there, because you get the free food benefits immediately.

7. Shop at a grocery store with free samples

I’m not suggesting that you make a trip to a grocery store just for the free samples, but at some stores, you could almost make an entire meal out of them. Stores usually have more samples out during the weekends, so if you’re up for braving the crowds, you can enjoy a miniature feast while restocking your supply of ramen noodles.

8. Find a boyfriend/girlfriend

If you’ve got a significant other, you’re pretty much guaranteed free food on at least one day of the year — your birthday. Then there are those other days like Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, half-birthdays, or whatever other crazy things you choose to celebrate. Depending on your relationship, you’ll either get free food or the satisfaction of paying for your partner’s free food.

9. Go to a thesis defense

It’s no secret that free food is the best bait for graduate students. In my graduate program, students typically provide free snacks at their thesis defense. Of course, you’ll have to decide whether it’s worth sitting through an entire thesis defense for a couple of donuts. The other option is to show up at the end and scavenge the leftovers.

10. Go dumpster diving

This is the only tip on this list that I’ve never done myself, but from what I’ve read, it’s not as bad as it sounds. Bakeries and bagel shops are popular targets for dumpster divers, since many of them throw away perfectly good day old items. Grocery stores are another great target, because they throw out “expired” goods, which could be anything from aged produce to cases of wine.

Humor is the best medicine for any situation. See how humor can work for you in your workplace.

1. Humor is in the eye of the beholder

Set boundaries of what is appropriate and what is not, because what some people find humorous, others will find offensive. Parameters of acceptable behaviors can be in the form of official written policies as well as through verbal communications and role modeling.

2. Keep it clean and kind

Humor should never hurt or embarrass any individual or group of individuals. If people are made to feel self conscious or ashamed, the effects will be costly to productivity, morale and may even extend into the marketplace where a company’s brand and reputation can be irreparably damaged. 

3. Make it fun

Humor at work is part attitude, part action. Use humor as a way to create an inclusive environment. Not only do you want to benefit from humor and the energy it creates, you also want to be able to see the world of humor through the eyes of others as well as your own.

4. Assign employees to be in charge of fun

Humor can be inserted into everyday business activities. One possibility is to assign a different person to bring a funny clip from a paper, magazine or internet page to the weekly staff meeting. Or, you can ask employees to volunteer for a joke-writing contest.

5. Allocate time

Carve out time to schedule events where humor plays a role. This can mean finishing early one day each month, or week to do something that will make people laugh, or at least a chuckle.

6. Make it a priority

When planning or setting objectives, think about the underlying tone and look for the existence of humor. If it’s not there, add it. For example, say the development of a presentation is underway. If upon examination, you realize it’s is too dry, spice it up with a humorous slide or activity.

7. Find what’s funny in everyday life

Spontaneous humor is as important, and possibly even more therapeutic, than formal efforts to incorporate it into people’s lives at work. One of the best ways to start is to find opportunities to laugh at yourself. This does not mean doing so critically or with judgment, but rather in a way that makes you and others smile. 

8. Balance responsibility

Organizations and individuals need to be equally accountable for making right versus wrong choices. Behaviors are shaped and organizational behavior is no exception. Individuals need to know what they will face if they “misbehave” and leadership needs to set an example by behaving how they want and expect others to.

9. Nip it in the bud

Discriminatory jokes should be met with immediate reprimand. If allowed, ill-intended humor and its effects will spread through an organization like cancer and imbue it with a dark cloud. Plus, the last thing any company needs is to be accused of harassment or faced with a costly lawsuit.

10. Measure success

Look for laughs. If people are smiling and laughing, they are enjoying themselves, and you have proof that humor is working for you at your workplace.

Overall, the best approach a company can have is to appreciate what humor can bring to a business and the people in it while at the same time maintaining a healthy respect and sensitivity for its power to hurt or heal. Happy people make a happy workplace and a happy workplace produces positive results.