Jump! That’s what high school coaches used to tell their best players to do when going for a basket or rebound. Jump! Since players like Kobe Bryant and Lebron James have come along, that’s what high school coaches now tell their players to do when talking about “jumping” directly from high school to the NBA.

Ten years ago, if anyone said that Christina Aguilera would be the pop diva on top and Britney Spears would be the bald, rehabilitated has-been, I would have laughed. Seriously.

While Britney has been in and out of rehab more times than Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton have befriended and ‘broken up’, Christina has been touring the U.

How does a mud dog sound? Or how about a mud pie? These may not sound very appetizing, but at the Mudville Pub, they are the specialties.

If you order the mud dog, you will be getting not one, but two enormous spicy hot dogs in buns covered with cheese.

The wood-beamed walls, small dim lamps and cozy fireplace topped with driftwood and other knickknacks and surrounded by paintings of sailboats and green mountain tops create the ambience of a rustic log cabin or cozy cottage. Surrounded by rows of dully colored books by Kipling and Twain, guests are invited to get as comfortable as possible at small wooden tables to enjoy soft jazz music and conversation.

It’s Thursday. It’s 8:30. It’s a prime night for going out and doing what normal college kids call “partying”. But, instead, I am sprawled out on my bed in my blue fleece penguin pajamas, wrapped in a blanket with the remote control in one hand and a box of animal crackers by my side (my snack of choice).