Saturday, February 26, 2011

DanceDanceDance

I went out to a club on Thursday night. It was sponsored by Sustained Dialogue and other student CIOs, and you needed to be 18 to enter and 21 to drink. While it was unfortunate that I was sleep-deprived from the previous week and thus was fading at one o'clock, I had a great time getting funky with friends. That's right, funky.

I wish I was one of those talented youngsters that danced like this, or sang like this, or played ukulele like this. That's right-- I'm yours too, kid. However, I was not one of those children made for the entertainment-industry and now the toll shows: I dance kind of funky.

My attempt at the robot is kind of lame and my chest pop consists of everything this guy says a chest pop is not. Unfortunately my chest pop is not BOOM-- an explosion. Instead it's "on par with throwing a frisbee into a category 5 tornado and hoping that your dog will catch it." (theoatmeal.com) In short, it's kind of pathetic.

I hope that I don't turn out to be one of those creepy adults who try to reenact her younger days by going to clubs and then embarrassing herself on the dance floor. While this is actually an ad, this video makes my point.

Instead, I will redeem my cool points by sharing the awesome music that I heard:

Get Shaky - The Ian Project
San Francisco Dreaming - Benny Bennassi vs. Global Deejays
Alors on Danse - Stromae

Monday, February 21, 2011

the weight that no one sees

Today, I found out that one of my residents drinks celery stew every night to lose weight for spring break.

Living on an all-female hall, I see women who are unhappy with the way they look. One extreme case is a woman who wakes up at 5am every morning to jump rope in the laundry room. A more moderate example is a woman who diets, not in the sense that she deprives herself, but in the sense that she is mindful of what she eats. She explained to me that her mother, who is a nutritionist, told her to be careful of what you eat, how much you eat, but also what time you eat things. Another example is a woman who goes to the gym all the time.

Then there is me. For someone who used to run three hours for five days a week, college was hard on my body. It was hard to find time to run and even if I ran that day, it would be only for an hour and usually for short distances. I am also sitting a lot more, whether it is in class or in my room with a laptop or in the library writing my essay. It makes sense that I lost my toned muscles and lean physique for a body that was softer and had less angles. In fact, when I look at pictures like this, I am grateful for the gentleness of fat. It might be also be the natural change from having the body of a 17 year old to one of a 20 year old.

Yet as much as I try to rationalize it, I am not satisfied with the way I look. Why is this? Women? Men? How many of you can say that you feel the same?

//Edit: 02.21.11

What I found...

Celebrate Every Body Week is back again for 2011 and will be taking place February 21st-25th!

Join the U.Va. Coalition on Eating Disorders and Exercise Concerns for a week of fun and informative events to promote a more body-positive culture on grounds.

Body Groove Class

Tuesday 2/22; 7pm @ AFC.

Free! Bring your IM Rec membership ID and dance to your own unique groove!

Workshop -- Your Body Doesn't Lie: Exploring Intuitive Moments

Wednesday 2/23; 3-4:30pm @ U.Va. Women’s Center, 2ND Floor

Discuss and explore your own unique intuitive style to help improve insight and self-awareness in all areas of your life. Led by Polly Williams.

RSVP to Charlotte Chapman at cmc5nq@virginia.edu by Monday, February 14 to reserve a space.

Women’s Center Open House

Wednesday 2/23; 4:30-6pm @ U.Va. Women’s Center, 2ND Floor

Come Celebrate Every Body Week with staff and interns. Enjoy refreshments and learn about our initiative to promote a body positive community at UVA!

Great Jeans Exchange!

Monday-Friday

11-2pm @ Newcomb Hall table

Instead of dieting or exercising compulsively to squeeze into too-tight jeans, donate them in exchange for a cool, FREE T-SHIRT.

For Help

Concerned about your relationship with food, exercise or your body? Free and confidential in-person eating disorders screenings available @ the Women's Center.

Call 434-982-2252 for an appointment. Also, confidential online eating disorders screening available @ http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/screening/Welcome.aspx .

For more info, contact: UVaEatingDisordersCoalition@virginia.edu or Melanie Brede (mb6ps@virginia.edu) or Amy Chestnutt (aek4k@virginia.edu).

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Third Year Council (TYC) Valentines

TYC unfortunately decided that sending anonymous valentines was a good idea. They set up a google doc so that you could send your unrequited love an anonymous valentine and they would act as cupid and deliver your message.

The way they decided to deliver the message is via books in Alderman. That's right. I'll include the email that I received V-Day morning.

The date is February 14th and someone is thinking of you,
Search around Alderman, here's what to do,
Look for book _______ALD PQ 2193 B7B6______ right away,
The message inside might just make your day!

That's right. It's complete with garish emoticon hearts. (For those of you not at the University, ALD PQ refers to the book number of the Alderman library system. How PQ comes to mean Floor 4 Old Stacks, I do not know.)

So of course being the inquisitive person I am, I take the effort to hunt down this book and find my message.

The message said:

"You're so sexy... perfect for me."

and it was anonymous. FML I have a stalker.

Friday, February 11, 2011

The Light Ahead

Things are looking up! A common phrase for the sentiment of "WOHOO! The future looks bright!" (Another metaphor, excuse me.) As I sip my Lady Grey tea, I am enthusiastic about things that will happen in the future. I am eager for events in the future to happen. In other words, I am employed!

... for the summer. I will be a digital strategy intern at an advertising company. Does anyone know anything about Winston-Salem, North Carolina? If so, COMMENT.

I am also thinking a lot about marathons. For some reason, marathons seem to be the hottest thing right now. One of my colleagues is training for a marathon, the resident graduate student of our dorm is running a marathon, and my father is running long-distance with marathon runners every Sunday. Last year, one of the RAs I worked with had run a marathon and because he worked out every day, he did it very casually. I found out that one of the bloggers whom I follow diligently runs marathons. She's my age.

Marathon running is about physical and mental endurance. I'm sure the physical aspect of it is apparent to you, but unless you're a long-distance runner, the mental endurance is something that may need explanation. One mile is 5,280 feet. Let's say that is putting your foot in front of you 5,280 times. It sounds like a lot, but in truth you probably walk way over amount in a day. So three miles (5k) is 15,840 times, five miles (8k) is 26,400 times, and ten miles (16.1k) is 52,800 times. A marathon (26 mi, 42.195k) is 138,435 times. You're putting your foot in front of you 138,435 times. Your body is repeating the same motion over and over for 4 or 5 hours. Have you ever done anything 138,435 times? You blink about 20,000 times a day and that's automatic: your body does that for you. For a marathon, that's when mental endurance kicks in. What is driving you after the 5,280 step?

No, I am not running a marathon. However, it's a thought that's in my head and I've never thought about it before. Even when I was running cross country, the most that I've run is 7 miles. Even then, I disliked running races. Perhaps I should think about running a half marathon? Thoughts?