Kisses Come In All Flavors

I don't understand it. Valentine's comes around and all my friends get all these flowers and cards and I get nothing. I can't even beg people to send me chocolate! What can I do to get some attention? - V.F.

No one likes being left out on Valentine's Day, better known as Single's Awareness Day. So here are some tips to get some Valentine kisses, whether they be the real or the chocolate kind.

Everyone has a crush. Over the years I have found this to be unequivocally true. Even those people who hate Valentine's Day might change their mind if that special person just happened to show up with flowers.

So the easiest thing to do (and the hardest, depending on how you look at it) is to tell that person how you feel. I mean, it's Valentine's. What better time than to take the big leap? If it works, you will have a great story to tell your kids. If not, you have a whole new year to find someone else.

However, for those of you who don't feel like taking such a big risk, there's a much safer way to get flowers and candy (and some attention as well). It involves a little bit of trickery, but it can turn out well if you play it correctly.

First, head down to Kerr Drug and get one of those big heart-shaped boxes of candy and a card. Now here's the fun part. Mail the card to yourself, or "find it" slid underneath your door after class.

Who is it from? The guy/girl you met the night before. He/She is a foreign exchange student with a sexy sounding name like Romeo or Emmanuelle and has fallen completely in love with you.

Just make sure you show your card to your real crush, and see if you get any change in his/her attention. Envy is the greatest motivator.

I am in turmoil. My Tar Heel basketball team is on the ropes and will not make it to the NCAA tourney this year (barring a miracle in the ACC tournament). So who should I root for? I find myself cheering for State and Maryland constantly. Does this make me a bad Carolina fan? And when, if ever, is it ok to cheer for Duke?

We all know that Carolina is having its problems this year. Some would say it's the worst UNC basketball season ever, and the newly broken records would tend to agree.

However, Tar Heel fans should never lose hope. No matter how this season ends, there will be another one after it. Coach Doherty led the Tar Heels to a #1 national ranking, and he can do it again. Our young team will grow and Tar Heel dominance will return.

Until then, it is completely acceptable to root for the Terrapins or the Wolfpack. ACC dominance is more important in the long run. If Maryland can take it all the way, then more power to them.

However, it is never acceptable to root for Dook. Ever. I don't care if they are playing against murdering Commie invaders from a planet somewhere beyond Mars. Just remember, it's no coincidence that the Dook mascot is a devil.

Adam Shupe taped the Sportscenter recap of the Duke-Maryland game last night. He also thinks the Tar Heels are going to run the table in the ACC tourney. Or something.