More than a number
The sweat slowly trickles from 19-year-old Courtney Gagle's forehead. Her heart is racing and her breathing is strained. She thinks about stopping, but she knows she shouldn't.

Gagle thinks to herself about how thrilled she is to be at the happiest place on earth as she walks through Disneyland in California. She trudges on for a few more feet until she realizes that no amount of excitement is enough to make her get to the next ride. She spots a bench, walks over and collapses as if she just ran a marathon at a record-breaking pace.

Welcome to Wal-Mart
To walk into Wal-Mart is to enter a world of endless noise, masses of merchandise stuffed on every available surface and a smiling old man saying, "Welcome to Wal-Mart."

The nation's largest retailer, known for its low, low prices, yellow smiley face icons and tendency to put the little guy out of business is tough to take, even in small doses. But just imagine working there.

Triple Shot: Coming out
Every Friday night, somewhere in the greater Phoenix area, there is a partier wishing for something more.

Perhaps she is at the neighborhood watering hole, and a plastic cup of tapped Pabst Blue Ribbon is just not going down as smoothly as expected. Or perhaps he is alone on Mill Avenue sipping a cocktail when he is suddenly overtaken by a drunken troop of human Barbie and Ken dolls.

Admyering the View: Weighing in
I have been on a diet all my life. With overweight parents who never ate right and living the first decade of my life in the Midwest -- the potbelly of the United States -- I never really had a good example of what healthy eating is.

But what's perhaps more disturbing than a never-ending diet was the reason I was dieting.

Tuned In: Polka ist gut
Spaetzle, liderhosen and polka. While you may think these characteristically German items are only available in Oktober, they are actually just around the corner all year long at the German Corner, a restaurant and bar in Phoenix. On a recent Friday night, the warm, wooden floors, decorative lights and welcoming garden gnome create an authentic German tavern feel, and worries are carried away by the happy tune of an accordion playing in the background.

The Latest: Love 'em or laser 'em
The sound of a tattoo needle drifts into the waiting area of Tempe's Liquid Carma, its buzz oddly similar to the noise an electric chair makes. Mellow hip-hop courses through the room and spotlights illuminate a display case of hundreds of shiny sketches, including spiritual symbols and voluptuous naked she-devils. Smooth, tiled floors form a path into a private room adorned with oversized Bettie Page and Al Capone posters. A reclining chair looms inside the doorway, and a tray containing silver instruments sits on the plastic counter.

Off the Shelf: Sockin' it to you
Red Bull may be the most popular energy drink on the market, but owners of a local company haven't let that faze them. Tempe-based company Bliss Beverage wants to make sure its caffeine-laden drink, named Socko, is the next big thing in new-age beverages popular among college students for late-night cram sessions or as a mixer for alcoholic beverages.

Create This: Setting up
Every week, The State Press Magazine features an artist by interviewing him or her, explaining his or her craft and challenging that person to spontaneously create. The artist, who can be an actor, painter, sculptor, dancer or musician, is given a goody bag of random materials and asked to make something out of them or use them in a creative way. Find out what Megan McDuffee, who designs props and sets for plays on campus, comes up with in this installment of "Create this."

"This stuff sucks. Can I go grab some of my stuff?"

In Your Own Backyard: Angels and goddesses
Every day, theater senior Megan Brice-Heames worships gods and goddesses. She is not, however, worshiping the Christian God, Islam's Allah or the Buddha, but rather the pantheon of her own faith: paganism, a religion not so uncommon at ASU. Paganism, roughly speaking, is a belief in many gods, goddesses or spirits, though each practitioner has his or her own personal twist.

Sexual Discourse: Sexplanations
One of the most amusing parts of sex education in high school was watching football coaches blush as they mumbled the words "erection" and "fluids."

Better yet was the distribution of free condoms at the end of class. Whether the students planned on using them wasn't important; the embarrassed snickers were priceless.