Fantastic sushi and ice cream-filled weekend, which — save for a bout of PMS — could not have been much better. And I didn’t even drink! So a few tidbits on the week:

* Spent Saturday night in gay gay company — as in both merry and homosexual. Saw Rody (whose campus presence I miss dearly), danced on tables a la Paris, and spent the better part of the evening shamelessly and publicly sucking face with an old friend, also a junior. He asked me, “Lena Chen, why don’t we make out more often?” Um, because I have a vagina?

* Just found my BCBG dress online in black and gold. It is always so weird to see a clothing item I think there’s only one version of in a completely different color palette. Thankfully, I prefer my version.

* I have a craving for another piercing, but I should probably wait this desire out. My right nipple is fully healed from early September, but the navel has been giving me some major issues. (Gross details ahead!) Last week, I had to actually re-pierce myself. The morning after a hookup, I found the piercing closed because the jewelry had come off during the night. So I made the boy wait in my bedroom while I took a sterilized needle to the bathroom and pierced the closed openings with it. Egh!

* Interesting article in the Times this Sunday about Twitter, my new “micro-blogging” addiction. The piece mentions (in a sketchy we-didn’t-interview-you way) my pal Julia who’s basically live-blogging her life at this point. If you have a short attention span and love interconnectivity, sign up for Twitter and follow me on the site. I find it highly amusing and have it synced with my mobile so I get other people’s updates throughout the day.

* Picked up a kubatan at an army surplus store on Newbury St. over the weekend. I left my pepper spray in New York and I’m going to Philadelphia this weekend so I figure I better get armed. I tried to inquire about tasers but apparently they’re illegal. Hm.

* Official details for the weekend excursion. Friday afternoon: New York, Friday evening to Sunday morning: Philly, Sunday afternoon: New York, Sunday night: Boston . Greyhound, all the way. 15 hours on the bus, $50 total travel expenses. Staying with the fab Jessica Gold.

* Last but not least, the writer’s strike is on, bitches. Pals in the industry, hang steady.

Weather has been beautiful the past couple days. Head of the Charles was clearly blessed this year. A few blurbs:

* This Thursday, come hear me speak at a True Love Revolution discussion forum from 5-7pm in the Winthrop JCR. Details follow:

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LENA CHEN vs. TRUE LOVE REVOLUTION

A discussion forum to be held Thursday, October 25th, from 5-7 in the Winthrop JCR.
PIZZA PROVIDED.
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Could opposites attract?
Join us as Lena Chen, author of blog “Sex & The Ivy,” and Janie Fredell, of the True Love Revolution, face off in an open discussion on sex & dating at Harvard over pizza.
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* Decided that my Halloween outfit should come with a twist. JB is going to be Peter Prep/Pan, his Jewish boyfriend is going to be Captain Hook Nose, I am going to be Chinkerbell, and Kay (who’s Indian) is going to be Tiger Chutney/Lily. We’re going for “Most Patently Offensive” group costume. Still need a costume? Buy from Pierre Silber. I was this close to coming as a sexy version of a Hogwarts gal.

* Totally pumped for next weekend’s Halloween parties. Always tend to have fun at these, and I love that Heaven & Hell forces my River friends to party at the Quad for once (and thus, visit me in Currier). Might be hosting a pre-game since I anticipate more pals willing to make the trek than usual.

* Summer Guy visited this weekend. Was fun and significantly less stressful than when he visited this summer in New York (in the midst of my 50-hour weeks). Might be spending Thanksgiving in D.C. with him. Never been to the city, so it could be fun. Plus, tons of friends from California are spending this semester in D.C.

* Was supposed to go to Dartmouth homecoming, but couldn’t since Summer Guy visited. What a shame, because I wanted to see CeCe, my UCSD friend who spent last quarter at Dartmouth and flew in to visit.

* Been thinking about visiting Philadelphia as well. It’s been six months since I last visited for spring break, and I kind of want to check it out again. Plus, my friend’s boyfriend, a Penn student, was visiting this weekend and I found myself yearning to be on the campus while talking to him about what was going on there.

* Somehow managed to light the conveyor toaster in Mather on fire yesterday. I was trying to toast a warp and it got stuck at the end and caught fire. The dining staff — who let me say preemptively, I do love and appreciate — came to my aid but one snapped, “Those are not allowed in the machine!” I replied, “Sorry, I didn’t know!” (After all, the sign above it only says that buttered goods aren’t to be toasted.) I got a terse “Guess we’ll just have to make a sign” in response. Great, I am now responsible for the dummy-proofing of Harvard dining facilities.

Lately, I’ve done so much work on this website and so very little work on academics! Some blurb updates follow (the picture, by the way, is of me and my blockmate Sue getting ready to go out):

* Readers can now subscribe via email to be notified when new entries are posted. If you’re already a registered users, you’re automatically subscribed. Not interested? Opt out through the subscription page under “About”.

* The Daily Pennsylvanian sums it up well: “She uses [her blog] to chronicle her sexual encounters, mental-health issues and drug use.” In other words, I am a bipolar coke whore. A literary one, but still.

* I’m going to be Tinkerbell for Halloween. Already have the green dress and wings, so all that’s left is a wand! I hope I can pull her off with my black hair or else I might just look like a random fairy. Not going blond though, lest I appear as if I’m channeling a Ganguro chick.

* Still have no idea what you want to be for Halloween? Check out the selection at Pierre Silber which has fully embraced the “slap on a hat, put on a short dress, and call it a costume” concept. Last year, I was a Mile High Captain. If you buy something through my link (or any of the ads on this page), your questionable Halloween outfit will also sponsor my tuition.

* If you’ve ever wondered what might happen if PostSecret and Lolcats had a love child, then my friend Ryan has got the answer. His project Lolsecretz is a hilarious and spot-on satire of the two memes. Check it out for kittens and scandal.

* Had an interesting dining hall concoction for lunch today and I feel inclined to share with the Harvard readers. Recipe: Assemble a sandwich with cinnamon raisin bread, pepper jack cheese, chicken strips, tomato slices, and barbecue sauce. Toast in the panini grill until cheese is melted. Bon appetit!

* Apparently, the Pennypacker freshmen are doing the dirty dirty.

* “Savage Love” columnist Dan Savage is coming to Boston College this Thursday. The event is sponsored by BC’s GLTBQ Leadership Council and all the details are online. A longtime reader myself, I might just trek it out there to catch the guy speak.

* Added a Contact page with all my various contact info and social network affiliations. Just joined Twitter, by the way, and my status updates will appear on my sidebar. A FAQ will be coming soon for answers to important questions like “When did you lose your virginity?” Just kidding — it’ll be an endless gallery of shoes. Or a link-swap policy. Whichev.

By the way, Sex and the Ivy is now running on Wordpress 2.3. Yes, I upgraded all on my own. If you recently found the site down in the middle of the night, that’s probably because I was in the middle of a serious tech boo-boo. Been staying up over the past week (often in a sustained state of panic) to do web-related fixes in order to minimize downtime in the day. Can someone please give me an award for “Blogger Most Likely To Crash Her Own Website Who Miraculously Hasn’t”?

The lack of blogging can be attributed to year-end madness. Harvard is smack in the middle of Reading Period, a ten-day period in which we cram, write, and study our hearts out … that is, if we’re conscientious students. Unfortunately, Reading Period is also House Formal Season and I’ve been hitting up a different formal nearly every night. Not the best way to wake up refreshed and ready to work. Definitely not the best way to get over writer’s block. Anyhow, here are quick updates in lieu of a proper entry:

* For the locals out there, pick up a copy of this weekend’s paper. My piece, “Meet the Roommates”, is running in the Coupling column on the back page of The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine.

* Summer plans are being hammered out. Looks like I’ll be in New York from June 1st until August 15th. Then I’m home for a few days before departing for a two-week trip through China (Beijing, Shanghai, & Hong Kong). Quite excited!

* Haven’t done any interviews for the past few weeks but there’s a blurb about me in the Spring issue of 02138 Magazine. Unfortunately, you have to be a subscriber to view it online, but I read the thing in the newsstand.

* Keep your eyes out for next week’s issue of New York Magazine. There should be a letter to the editor from yours truly. Commenting on what? The Sex & Love issue, of course.

* Speaking of, expect published sex diaries from my dear friends in the next couple days. I am in the process of compiling the titillating collection.

* Recently purchased the domain name LenaChen.com, which now redirects to this website. This is obviously the next step in my conquest of the worldwide web.

* Crashed the Eliot Fete last night and crashed Lowell Bacchanalia tonight. Had a fabulous time at both Houses but the best part was sneaking in. While at the former, I re-met this charming chick duo who are fans of the blog. Facebook me, girls!

Reading Period is upon us — nothing but studying, reading, writing, and tests. For at least the next week, real blog entries will come second to my three papers.

* Summer Guy returns. Well, technically I returned by going home to Los Angeles, where we dated and bickered a season ago. This holiday, we met up. Naturally, nothing good came out of that. Naturally, I will exploit our encounter for all its salacious, literary value. Note to self: return his angry voicemail.

* Speaking of soulless corporate drones, yuppie blog BankersBall (think: Gawker-meets-finance) reports that I’m less-than-titillating. Because you know, Excel is so much more interesting than descriptions of dry humping.

* New character, Peter, will be joining the cast as well as my speed dial. His debut is scheduled for intercession (late January) and he actually has real-life fans, unlike all the other boy toys who my pals hate with a passion. Not so with Peter! All my roommates want to steal him from me. Hands off, bitches. Especially you, Terra.

* Currently suffering from a sweet tooth and jungle fever as my graphic indicates. If you’re a black guy with cake, I will write your papers for you in exchange for dessert in my dorm. (Picture courtesy of Anne Taintor, whose art is featured prominently on my wall-to-wall corkboard. Love her work.)

* Productivity means hooking up four times since coming back Friday. Between blowjobs and dinner dates, I haven’t gotten any work done. Thus, I made a tough sacrifice and decided to skip out on an ex sex session with Berklee tonight in order to finish extracurricular commitments. But really, I should be on my knees in Stoughton, MA at the moment. Ah, another time.

* Introducing two new recurring features: “Things I Learned in Therapy” and “Things I Should Tell My Therapist”. These will be slightly more somber quick reads to accompany my haphazard “Quickies” and politically incorrect “Quotables“. (Confidential to hvd09 — I’ll let my therapist Sarah know about your suggestion — also, drop me an email).

* Sex and the Ivy needs an IT department. Or at least someone who can actually install/integrate plug-ins, set up a more organized comment system, and faciliate greater user feedback. Where does one solicit technical expertise? Craigslist? India? I’m lost when it comes to this stuff. Pre-frosh blogger Sam Jackson, Yale ‘11, asked me how I’d manage to make it so far. My answer: “Like you might with a virgin, slowly but surely.”

* Into international men? The Gadfly’s Sahil Mahtani ‘08 (SM to my readers) wouldn’t mind engaging in some S&M via Boredatlamont.com.

* Readers: I’m making a self-important FAQ section, but I pretty much only get asked four questions: “What’s it like to be famous?” “Who’s [insert name]?” and “You slut” (really more of a statement). To which my responses are typically hahahaha, you, and I know. I think I need to work with more material here. So readers — especially my girls — please send inquiries to elle@sexandtheivy.com.

* New feature: registered users can now rate my entries on a five-star system. If you want to play, sign up here or click on the link in my sidebar under “Etc.” (Don’t register if you’re a character. You should already have an account set up.)

* Nominate your favorite blogs for the Seventh Annual Weblog Awards. This is the only year Sex and the Ivy qualifies for Best Teen Weblog or Best New Weblog (other categories — writing, humor, etc. — can be up to individual judgment). My personal list of favorites includes: IvyGate (New, Humorous), Gawker (Entertainment, Humorous), Sam Jackson (Teen, New), Opinionistas (American, Writing), and others. Entries are due by tomorrow, January 10 at 10 p.m. EST. Show me some love.