Whats the most ghetto thing you've had to do/make/use bc you're a poor student?

[Canai]

I lived in a house with three other guys and none of us had anything so we took most of the doors in the house off and made a tv stand out of three doors and cinder blocks. Also my room door became the beer pong table.

 

[BrownTown]

yeah, i would think it pretty much goes without saying that closet doors double as beer pong tables.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Using a door slide-slot thing as a bottle opener would be one or the more ghetto things I've done.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: PHiuR
milkcrates + a plank of wood = coffee table.
milkcrates stacked = shelving
milkcrates = night stand
milkcrates = something to sit on.

Haha, yeah, I love those milkcrates. You can also lash them to the back of your motorcycle or bike for a trunk

I also remember raiding the recycling containers for cans in Indiana, and driving up to Michigan to return them for $.10 each

 

[imported_goku]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
We had no microwave, but we had a sink, two plastic cups, and two frozen burritos. We filled one cup with hot water, put a wrapped burrito in it, and covered with the other cup. Every 10 minutes or so, we'd replace the hot water.

I don't remember how long it took, but it was a long ass time and the burrito was terrible. We bought a microwave the next day.

Why didn't you just wrap the burrito in plastic wrap, fill the sink with hot water and then let it cook?

 

[bobsmith1492]

I used a teabag 4 times... kept it in a cup in the fridge.

Lessee... oh, I ran my music through my homemade amplifier hooked up with alligator clips that sat on top of my bookshelf for most of last year; it was pretty ghetto, but sounded great (better than the bookshelf system whose speakers it was powering). I have pictures somewhere; it was mono with both speakers in parallel for more power (supply transformer was too small but the system could do ~40 watts which was fine for a small room).

My "lab" I used when building it is in my closet: http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/bob_smith1492/power%20supply/PICT0478.jpg

The amp (bottom side): http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/b...ith1492/Amplifier/overheadmodified.jpg

Upside-down pic of the top of it (note the stock AMD XP heatsink on the trannies):
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/b...mith1492/Amplifier/under1modified2.jpg

Oh, one more: when I ran the Chicago Marathon last weekend, it was cold out so at the starting line I found an old tube sock on the ground with no toe in it, so I slipped it on my arm to help keep warm. It did help, too; I'll look for a pic.
http://www.marathonfoto.com/image_serve...mer_number=D28613&negs_number=36701883
Thar, a crappy one; I'm in the blue shirt with a black thing on the arm.

 

[DefDC]

I did my share of scavaging when I was in college, but nothing beats what my buddy did... We finally graduated and I got a job. He didn't and needed a place to stay. I told him that he was welcome to stay on my couch till he found something. As a joke, I walked him out to the outdoor apartment closet and said, "Hell with the couch, you can have your own room!"

The previous tenants had built a wooden shelf about 4ft off the ground in the closet. My buddy says "Hey, I think my single mattress will fit in there!" I thought he was joking, but when I got home from work the next day, he had put his mattress up top, ran an extension cord from the outdoor outlet, and setup up a TV, minifridge, Nintendo64 and a small chair underneath! Since I was on the ground floor, and it was summer, it stayed fairly cool in there, and he lived in the closet for 3 months! I wish I would have taken a picture!

 

[TanisHalfElven]

Originally posted by: rnp614
I've washed and reused a Lean Cuisine microwave meal thing as a plate

i do that at home all the time.

 

[Twista]

i had to dilute the hand soap, detergent because i couldn't afford anymore.

 

[RossMAN]

Great thread

 

[Avalon]

I bought a 30" CRT HDTV half a year ago, but didn't have enough leftover to get a decent stand, so it's been on my floor against the wall and is being propped up by my advanced network concepts book and a phone book

Got a new job, so now I'm able to save money every paycheck...so the only thing preventing me from getting a stand now is laziness.

 

[Dudewithoutapet]

Originally posted by: Toastedlightly
I could take pics of my room. The TV stand is awesome! So are my speaker stands.

Kinda like this?

Edit- Oh g0d this thread is hilarious. Hell I'm still kinda in that situation, who knows what tomorrow may bring

 

[uberman]

I was on an island in Alaska waiting to work the fishing season. There was a strike. I had no food, so by the end of the month there was a four foot high pile of mussels next to the tree where I had my tent pitched. It was garlic butter (margarine, couldn't afford butter) and mussels for a month and I had the occasional cheap loaf of bread to add to it. I was on a hundred foot cliff overlooking the ocean. In the morning, I'd hike down and fill bags with mussels. I still like mussels today.

 

[CarlKillerMiller]

Stole meal trays from the dorm kitchen and used them as sleds when snow was on the ground outside.

 

[Rayden]

Last year our television sat on cinder blocks. My suitemate just built a a stereo system using 8 random speakers, an amp from a car, and a cardboard computer case box.

 

[phisrow]

I ended up, at one point, with nothing but a little jar of Italian seasoning(the spice blend that goes on pizza and similar) and attempted to improvise a meal from that and water from the water fountain.

On better days I had bread, and so my swiss army knife, only utensil I owned, came into play.

And, of course, the common and classic washing your socks in a public bathroom sink with hand soap trick.

 

[sieistganzfett]

wow. after reading most of these posts, i feel like i should donate money to college students since they sound like they need the $$$ more than those starving foreign children..

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: rnp614
Oh come on guys! I know you have some terribly ridiculous things you've done...

***UPDATE*** Now I'm drinking soda out of a ziploc tupperware container (no paper glasses left)

Bah......

You had Soda to drink, heck you can drink from the bottle.

I had no money, and was hungry a "Few" years ago,
so I went to the Shopping Mall, and ate the samples at GNC,
and at the Grocery store I asked the Manager if he had any damaged food,
he was going to throw away.

I also asked for a job there. No job,
But I did get some bruised apples, and a dented can of soup, for free.

No money + hungry= Sad.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Ronstang
I never did anything ghetto when in college. I worked a good job and had a side business of my own and made more money than a lot of grads did right out of school. Me and my buddy went out to real restaurants after work every night if we were not cooking a decent meal.

so why go to school..what did you do with it?

Personally I had a lot of mac and cheese and hamburger helper nights.

Burrito brothers was a great way to buy lunch and dinner for both of us on a cheap burrito outside UF.

We were't living a high life compared to many of our neighbor's that had parent's footing the bill.

I sold my 1988 Mustang GT with T-Tops and full FMS + alot of other things to just use my wife's 1986 Accord Hatchback (in 1992).

I was able to do my first 7 years with only 7k in student loans and not having to work.

 

[RollWave]

Anyone else have some fun stories?

 

[cmv]

Hit up a resale store and buy a metal fork for a quarter.

 

[RollWave]

Originally posted by: cmv
Hit up a resale store and buy a metal fork for a quarter.

haha thanks.

 

[Nerva]

i didnt have a printer in the last semester of school, so i went to the asian american studies department to print my papers and any reading materials(lots of it). a lot of people were also doing that. good thing by the time the "deal" went down the crapper, i was out of school

 

[MrK6]

I left my razor at home and ended up shaving with my swiss army knife =o. I didnt knick myself to bad though

 

[AlgaeEater]

Originally posted by: sieistganzfett
wow. after reading most of these posts, i feel like i should donate money to college students since they sound like they need the $$$ more than those starving foreign children..

College students run the extremes. You have those who are poor (like us), to the point of doing such activities listed in this thread.

Then you have those who are really rich, due to the fact that their parents gave them everything they ever needed, got them a brand new car, and got them a house OR pay their rent and utilities every month by sending a check, plus a little extra.

Honestly, it's just the way it is in college.