Ames was blanketed with 12 to 15 inches of that wonderful, fluffy white stuff just in time for most students to make their run for the sun.

For many, this week marks the end of midterms and the beginning of packing to go on Spring Break.

Whether it be tanning on South Padre Island or skiing in Colorado, chances are the people who you don’t see in your classes on Friday are headed for some fantastic voyage.

But what about those of us who couldn’t get away from the normal routine of going home for breaks? Those of us who, for some mundane reason, couldn’t make plans to go someplace where you can enter a bikini contest.

Of course, there are many reasons why some of us won’t be packing up our suitcases with shorts and t-shirts, bikinis and Speedos. For some, financial problems will cause them to spend Spring Break working at their hometown grocery store.

But going home for Spring Break isn’t the end of the world. Look at spending time with Mom and Pop as your front row seat to comedy central.

Here are some suggestions to making a Spring Break spent at home seem just as if you were on South Padre Island with MTV:

1. Create your own “Loveline” by calling up old high school friends and resolving their relationship disputes by telling them who little Timmy’s father really is.

2. Go to the roller rink and play matchmaker like Carmen Electra on “Singled Out” by pushing two lovebirds together and watch them fall in love.

3. Create your own “Real World” episode by talking about your siblings behind their backs.

4. Go on your own “Road Rules” adventure by driving through the bad side of town in your mom and dad’s Mercedes with the windows rolled down and the doors unlocked.

As you can see, anyone can have fun on Spring Break, in spite of the geographical location in which it is spent.

You don’t need sun or sandy beaches with people walking across them half-naked to have fun.

You just need an imagination.