Paper Writing Procrasti-Study Break

This is it. The dreaded hell week that I have been whining about for months, has finally arrived! I have decided to alleviate my writing woes by...writing some more. Today I have a 20 pager and a presentation. Tomorrow, another 20 pager. Then, a 15 pager on Friday. I feel surprisingly calm given the mess of things that are due. Maybe it's because I got a good chunk of my writing done over this weekend (and even had time to play with the quartet at The Wine Bin for Ellicott City's Midnight Madness on Friday and perform Handel's Judaeus Maccabaeus with my orchestra yesterday). Or possibly because of the good things that will occur after I submit my papers, including by not limited to:

• Endorphins- Resulting from my ability to return to the gym. Except that I decided to go around 11:50 pm last night as well...does that count as cheating on my gym hiatus?
• 5 year high school reunion- Well, ok I can't say I'm excited about the awkwardness that will ensue. But I'm looking forward to seeing where people are in life.
• Concert- Church of the Epiphany, Metro Center. Sunday the 12th, 3pm. It's free. Be there. I wish I could say I enjoyed the music more.
• Camera- I purchased a new DSLR almost a month ago (Olympus E-450) and have yet to use it. Gadgets galore!
• IPad- Early Christmas present from my booger. Be jealous. I'll be taking this with me in place of my laptop to...oh wait....
• Europe- Italy and France in less than a week now! I have yet to pack or figure anything out (aside from our train tickets around the country, and flight to Paris) but I am super duper excited to be reunited with my little!

I guess my attempt to write a post ultimately resulted in the creation of bullet points. Alas, sentences are beyond my capability at this point. Back to procrastinating.

Minimalist Shoes

I spend (some) of my free time perusing the columns of NYTimes. Recently, I noticed that the NYT published two articles in the same week on minimalist shoes/running barefoot. In this weekend's upcoming NYC Marathon, more than a few people will be running the 26.2 miles...barefoot.
Here are the articles I read:

• Phys Ed: Is Running Barefoot Better for You?
• Running Shorts. Singlet. Shoes?

Having read through these articles, my interest piqued. I run-a little. Very slowly. So perhaps I shouldn't even worry about this. But since graduating from college, I've noticed (or become more aware of) more tension in my back, spine, legs, etc. Usually a session of hot yoga will stretch out all the kinks, but this notion that running barefoot might help realign my form? The minimalist substitute for the au naturel approach is the Vibram Five Fingers, a toe-sock looking foot glove that provides a little more protection for your feet:


Funky, no? I'm hesitant to purchase a pair due to the somewhat steep price ( around $75 and up). They're also weird looking. A Runner's World article published this month lists the different options available for minimalist shoes, along with an in-depth analysis of the minimalist argument. New Balance will also be launching their Minimus line early next spring, more to the tune of 'normal' shoe trends.


I think I will be keeping an eye out for these! In the meantime...maybe some barefoot time on the treadmill, although I am still hesitant!

Typical Tuesday

Tomorrow's festivities:

• Arrive at conference venue at 6 am. Manage ops until 4:30.
• Class 5-7
• Tutoring 7:30-9:30

NBD. Totally do-able

Biggie and Alan Get Hitched!

My biggie got married this past weekend! I've been to weddings before (mostly with my quartet, so from a 'hired' perspective), but this was my first Chinese wedding since my aunt's, back when i was 8 or 9 years old. I will probably sneer at all other weddings from this point forth, including my own, because this was the most epic wedding/evening/bundle of fun...ever. Good things seem to come in twos for Alan and Diana, because this wedding featured:

• two open bars
• two lion dances (and a drum band)
• two newspapers covering their wedding (and a full page spread to follow is in the works apparently)

No big deal, besides the 600 guests and 12 course meal. Alan specifically stated on Facebook that people should not bother coming to the ceremony (the church only accommodates 200) and go straight to the open bar. We went to the ceremony anyway...what a wedding! Congrats Biggie and Alan, I'm so happy for you both!

Why we arrived early to the ceremony. Obv.

The beautiful bride!

The pastor was absolutely hilarious. He interrupted the processional and asked us if we were hot, because the air conditioning had been turned off. Silence. Doors open, and the bridal march begins...Diana walks down the aisle. Eyes turn to the front...pastor is gone to turn on the A/C. Awkward fidgeting for a minute, pastor returns, ceremony resumes.

Pretty. Too bad I didn't get to eat any!

Self explanatory.

Of course it wouldn't be complete without our lineage <3...

or Deephers! (of the way back past. So nice to meet you ladies!) I think from back-front, left-right it goes: Phi Alpha, Delta Omega, Delta Nu, Delta Xi, Delta Omicron, Delta Rho, and Delta I cant remember...???) whew.

With the newlyweds.

I have never seen this many Asian people get down.

Definitely one for the storybooks. Thanks for a great evening!

Great week.

The higher the high, the lower the low.

mornings

Worn out, wasted
Like a bird with broken wings
Sometimes grace reminds me
I don't get to be the king

But love it washes over
Love it pulls me closer
Love it changes everthing

Everything is beautiful
Even when the tears are falling
I don't need a miracle to believe
Even in the crashing down
I can hear redemtion calling
And everything is beautiful to me

Starfield- Everything is Beautiful

i need a mind eraser

and a couple tranquilizers

SPED

They actually call special education schools 'SPED' in Singapore. Only the Sings, only the Sings.

...sort of in the same manner that overweight kids get sent to TAF camp (training and fitness). Oh did you notice? thats F-A-T spelled backwards. (yes I know I have posted this before)

hhahahaha

Dear Body (and Arteries),

I am about to ingest a Ray's Hell Burger (again). No, I don't know if it will be the Dogcatcher, topped off with succulent bone marrow...or the burger that is $10 over base price, with truffle oil and foie gras. But don't give up on me body (and arteries). I'll give you the R & R that you require, after shoving this monstrosity down my face. I know it doesn't sound grateful, but it's really the only proper way to devour a Ray's Hell Burger.

Maybe when President Obama and President Medvedev ate there back in June they found a better way to eat the burger. Perhaps White House aides carved the burger with a fork and knife and fed baby bite-fulls to the eagle and the bear. But what an experience they missed out on, if they didn't get spattered with the rosy pink juices of a Ray's Hell Burger center. Bonus points if it got on their Armani suits and guzzled a milkshake!

Anyway body (and arteries), I apologize. I really do. But this is an experience that I believe everyone should have...for some, multiple times. So I am going to do my due part, take guests out tonight to try this hell burger, and you're just going to have to suffer.

Kthnx,

w.

NYC escapade

Greg and I made our way up to NYC this weekend for his sister's birthday celebration. I had a really fun (albeit crazy) time. Took some shots with my DSLR, but definitely have much to learn before I consider myself even remotely competent. The problem with big cameras is that they have more buttons and crazy functions. So much for taking the Canon Field Guide with me- that thing was about as specific as...well, it wasn't. I also discovered that my camera is definitely on the heavier side, at least for my hands =\ Will play around with it some more to see if I can improve my touch, but may look for a more ergonomic solution if this doesn't work out.

Pictures to come...after I get my CF reader in the mail! Next on the tech list: Iomega MiniMax HD, and an iPod upgrade. I need to start utilizing my discount, and seeing as how my current iPod is from 2005/06, it's time for a change before this baby dies. There are cheaper 1TB HD's besides the Iomega, but I want it because it stacks with my Airport Extreme router...womp womp.

Tonight's dinner attempt: pi-pa tofu with fried rice. (The attempt is at the pi-pa tofu, not the fried rice. I really need to buy a food processor.)

--edit--

Some pics from the weekend

Freddy calls these the "pure happiness" series...I think we were laughing because he was clicking non-stop!

Greg and Freddy, my roommate. Should have focused the camera more here, oops!

at Meg's condo before going out

The birthday girl!

GTL and...DSLR!

Well first off, I got my DSLR! I was perusing the vast expanses of Craig's List and found a posting for a Canon EOS Rebel 300D for $240 (included kit 18-55mm lens, fish eye/macro attachment, 2 extra batteries, all software/manuals). The guy threw in a 75-300mm lens which brought the total to $330 (Just as a reference, this camera retails for around $899. Check out specs here) The 75-300mm lens, if purchased used, will often run around the price I paid, in total. Good deal? I think so!

I didn't get a chance to play around with it yet, since my CF card and strap don't come in until today. The strap is absolutely essential- I can see myself dropping this baby like hot cakes.

Supposedly grabbing Ethiopian for dinner + drinks afterwards this evening since my friend is coming back from Palestine, but no word yet. Besides that, my evening agenda involves fist pumping and playing with the new toy. Time to GTL! (I wish)

lunch

I had lunch at the Army Navy club today with a coworker and someone doing research in the region I'm looking at for work right now. Think old military guys in suits and ties. The food was delish (I had a mussel-calamari salad), and I visited the daiquiri room, the place where the daiquiri was allegedly invented...but all in all, I prefer hole in the wall places where I can put my elbows on the table, slouch, and eat mussels using my hands to pick out the meat. I am such a savage, hah.

DSLR update

FOUND ONE! On Craig's List...picking up tomorrow evening. Not posting details because I don't want to jinx it, but if this all comes through, I will be more. than. thrilled.

The Aeropress came in last night. Yichen & I tested it out. The verdict? He liked, I was unimpressed. It's basically a pressurized french press that requires twice as much coffee- granted, it produces a double espresso which you can add more water to for an Americano. Nonetheless, there was NO crema! None!!! (Crema is the layer of lighter colored foam that tops off a proper coffee or espresso, indicating proper extraction) I could be pressurizing it incorrectly, so I'll give it some more effort before I make my final verdict...but for right now I give it 2 stars.

I'm on a diet starting today. And by diet, I mean I'm going to the gym again tonight. Back to work...after I finish these chips =D

DSLR

I've been toying with the idea of buying one for a while- taking nice pictures is always fun; having new gadgets is even funner. So today when I was perusing dealnews.com and came across this , sirens immediately went off in my head. I've been searching for used DSLRs on Craig's List but...2 lenses and the body for $400....*mouse hovers over the 'BUYNOW' button*

Wait and keep searching on Craig's List? Or give in to temptation. AGHHH!!!

Speaking of gadgets, Yichen & I recently purchased an Aeropresscoffee maker, which is due to arrive tomorrow (thank you Amazon Prime for students!). It's supposed to extract more oil/flavor from the coffee beans than a French press, while also eliminating the 'silt' that usually accompanies French presses. I can feel myself climbing up the rungs of coffee snobbery. Also toyed around with the idea of roasting my own coffee, except that it's rather pricey, and I don't own a popcorn maker...oops!

Metro Woes

Yesterday after work, I stepped into a crowded Metro car without AC. A fat old man in a wool suit extended both arms over my head to reach onto the gripping pole, and proceeded to continuously rub up against me. I hope he felt that elbow jab in the stomach. FML.

salt

There's something tortuously satisfying about breaking only partially healed wounds to rub salt in them. Praying for patience, love, and inner strength.

Bucket List

...of things to cook/bake/make before the end of summer. I started a recipe book a few days ago to start writing/keeping track of things that I've made or want to make. It beats sorting through my computer's bookmarks and then accidentally splattering stuff all over the keyboard. With my grace, it's sure to happen.

- Breakfast Souffles
- Bacon Spinach Quiche (this is more for the bf because it calls for a pound of bacon in it...but who doesn't love quiche?)
- Snickerdoodle Blondies
- Carrot Cake cookies
- Roasted Chicken marinated in beer (actually, I would prefer to do this to duck)
- Low-fat Cinnamon Scones (Scones and low-fat don't really go together, but I'm determined to find a solution!)
- An arsenal of various breakfast breads (which can then be frozen, given away, etc.)

...okay I have to stop, because I'm going to start drooling, and it's not even 10 am yet. Anyway, if you're around and care to join in my culinary adventures, do stop by. Cooking is more fun for a bunch of people rather than just myself. ^_^

escaleftor rantings

After living in the city for close to a year now, I've accumulated a mental list of things that people (namely, DC toursists) do on/around the Metro that annoy me to no end. A lot of you have probably heard of my escaleftor rants before, but here is the extended list (with more to come, I'm sure).

1. Escaleftors (and all things related to escalators)
This is going to have to occur in several parts.
a. The art of escalefting- I suppose I should begin by defining an escaleftor. The concept is quite simple: PEOPLE WHO STAND ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE. "What's wrong with this?" you ask. "It's a free country; I can stand wherever I want." Well no, actually you can't, due to something called common courtesy. If you're going to be a lazy ass, do so on the right side of the stairs, so that those of us who have places to be or like to get a little walking done can get where we need to...on the left. This is a habit usually perpetuated by tourists and their families who stand around with their visors, fanny packs, Washington DC sweatshirts, and Skechers shape-up shoes and possibly have some claim to ignorance. However, I'm just going to point out that escalators are not city exclusive, nor can you really claim ignorance- see my pissed off face (along with everyone else that is trying to walk around you)? The best part is when you say, "excuse me" in an obvious attempt to pass them, and the mother tries to stay rooted on the left side and shoots you a dirty look, like she is the wronged one. Too bad you didn't see your husband's head drop in shame as he realizes his mistake.

b. Standers
I guess that this isn't a huge issue...but the amount of people that correctly observe the rules of escalefting and choose to stand on the right convinces me that if we removed escalators and made people walk instead, America would be less fat. There are days when you're tired, I understand...but man, America is fat.

c. Esca...stoppers?
Don't stop walking when there are only 5 steps left to the top!!! Enough said.

2. Music Blasters
You know them. The ones that play music so loud that the entire car can hear them. It's usually some hardcore rap or hiphop (let's be honest, who blasts classical?) They might be wearing sunglasses, bobbing their heads to the beat of the bass, and sticking out a lower lip to look "hardcore"...Look. Nobody gives a crap. When I can hear Rihanna coming from your headphones OVER the sound of my own iPod's music, it's 7 am, I'm tired, and you've just invaded my personal music bubble, all I want to do is throw your mp3 player to the ground and stomp on it.

3. People who don't give up their seats.
I suppose this applies mainly to men, but could apply to anyone. When an 80 year old grandma or grandpa comes hobbling in on a cane, don't look around or rummage through your bag hoping that someone else will stand and give up their seat. Or how about when a woman comes in, clearly is being squashed amongst all the other passengers, and you're sitting, attempting to stare up her skirt? Didn't your mother teach you manners?

Back from California, Packing/Moving Madness Ensues

After a week in sunny California’s Bay Area/Silicon Valley, I’m back! I spent the week mainly in Cupertino, with some side excursions to San Francisco and San Jose. Although there wasn’t much time for sightseeing/exploration, I covered pretty much all the main sites in SanFran, got to hang out with my cousin, and met a lot of cool people at Apple. I’ll do my best to recount some of the highlights of my trip, but be forewarned that madness ensued as soon as I got back, and I’m still a little jetlagged.

San Francisco
I arrived at SFO around 2 AM on Saturday morning (Friday night?), completely disoriented and disheveled thanks to a dose of Tylenol Simply Sleep. I don’t sleep well on planes; this flight was no exception. My cousin dutifully awaited me at the baggage claim, and we made the 30-ish minute drive back to his duplex in Mountain View. First thoughts as soon as I stepped out of the car: BRRRR! I figured that it was just the night air and prayed that I wouldn’t need to buy more clothes (I was still in the 100 degree Washington humidity mindset while packing).

When we woke up around 10 AM, we stopped by a Panera on the way in to SF. I momentarily thought that I had been transported to China, until I realized all of the Chinese people in the cafe were speaking English. Not the fobby, accented English that we hear so much of in the Maryland (read: Rockville) area, but white-people proper English. I guess I knew that the Chinese community was pretty extensive in Cali, but forgot the extent to which this would include third and fourth generation Chinese.

Drove and then BARTed (equivalent of the subway or Metro) our way to Union Square and from there to Chinatown. Hello shopping and dim sum! Not quite the craziness that characterizes NYC’s Chinatown, but pretty close in terms of size. From there we proceeded to walk around, running into a food festival, Pier 39 (saw the sea lions, cute/smelly!), Fisherman’s Wharf, and a brief hiatus in Ghiradelli Square. Ordered a Gold Rush sundae, devoured it (along with about a pound of peanut butter) with the cuzzo, and swooned from the sugar rush and food coma that ensued. Decided that it was way too cold and stopped back in Union Square on the way home to do a little shopping for a sweater. Xiaolongbao for dinner (YUMMY) and shanghai you fan (oil rice, and boy was it oily). Mmm! Another stop at Target on the way home to pick up a hoodie- also missing in my luggage.

Sunday- drove to the Golden Gate Bridge, snapped some shots, and then off to Muir Woods (redwood forest). Holy crap those trees were tall! Took a nice little scenic hike (I would say more of a moderate walk, if even) and then back to Cupertino to check in to the hotel. The decor at the Cypress looks like someone went on an acid trip before they decorated. Polka dot walls and a crazy tiger print bathrobe/boxers/camis that you could purchase in the closet. Nonetheless, I did appreciate the gigantic king size bed and 1000 count sheets. I know nice when I see it (or sleep in it)!

Monday- orientation...zzz...err, I mean, nice. I would say 80% of the people in that room were from Stanford or CalTech; I was definitely the only person from the Washington DC area...but in the Valley I guess it’s pretty normal. Of course the highlight was eating at Caffe Macs, which boasted an impressive variety of food. The best part though, was seeing a HUGE syrup pump of sweetened condensed milk at the coffee bar. I spotted some salmon in the center of the room and stood next to some guy in Levis and a black turtleneck. Wait a second...Steve Jobs? I went through a small panic attack and decided to remove myself before I became the starstruck employee staring at our CEO and founder. Chicken instead of salmon. *sigh*

The rest of the week was characterized by long, albeit interesting meetings at the hotel, periodically interrupted by moments from the World Cup. There were people from almost every continent present, so let’s just say that there was a range of emotions regarding the games. Flew back Friday morning, arrived 7pm. The time difference thing takes up so much time...it’s like I lost 3 hours of my life!

This weekend: Erin & Ryan’s wedding in Frederick. As with all weddings, lots of merrymaking- I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy it, but the weekend turned out to be surprisingly fun. That was actually the first wedding I’ve attended as a guest since I was in the fourth grade...and still I looked for the big chunks of icing in the wedding cake (I used to cry at weddings until my parents brought me the biggest piece of cake with the most icing and fruit. What can I say...I want only the best!) Returned on Sunday to my apt, caught some sun at the pool with bf, and then began the moving madness. Luckily, I found a bunch of NICE fedex moving boxes in the dumpster outside of my apartment! Yes, I scavenged through the dumpster...but saved myself the hassle of going round finding boxes =] Whatever family moved into Crystal City this past weekend...thank you!

Anyway, I made reservations for my U-Haul (did you know it’s cheaper to move Sunday-Thursday, at least for other truck companies?), finally got in touch to transfer my Comcast (the second Verizon comes to my neighborhood, I am jumping on that ship) services, and am meeting with Freddy later today to go buy some apartment stuff. Things are falling into place. And so- if you are around the area this weekend, come to my housewarming! Msg for details =]

exhausted

awesome weekend- 5 year high school alumni concert. great to see everyone, catch up, and make music. not much room for sleep though, and consequently, it's a monday... or rather, one of THOSE mondays.
need to get groceries and do laundry tonight...ahh i need more free time!

Post-Semester Rant

At last, the semester and school year are finished! It's been one hell of a year (literally) with a lot of ups and downs- sometimes more downs than up- but I will walk away knowing that I can in fact read 300 pages in 3 hours if absolutely necessary, and certain other tasks which I am sure will prove useful...at some point.
The past week was hectic. I think the day of my econ exam, my 'meals' consisted of 3 bowls of hastily scarfed cereal. How's that for efficiency?
At any rate, I got an internship with Apple! The specifics are still a little fuzzy, but I'll be working in their Global Education dept, working on developing strategy for their emerging markets overseas. I was really, REALLY worried at the start of the week regarding my summer plans, so I'm glad this came around. God is good.
I also am now the proud owner of a 13" Macbook Pro! Yes...I suppose I joined the dark side. So far, it's working well (I wouldn't expect anything less), but I haven't tried transferring my files or anything fancy yet. We'll see how that goes.
I start my summer work in a week and a half, so if you want to play, let's do so now! Hellooooo summerrrrrr =D

frantic-end-of-semester-rant

T-minus 2 weeks until the end of my first year of graduate school...but in the meantime, I may keel over while I attempt to deal with everything that I should have done earlier in the semester, but simply didn't because well, that's just how I roll. I still have no idea what I'll be doing this summer, but hey when life keeps you on your toes, it's more exciting that way anyway, right?

Uh...not if you are J like me. (Reference @Yichen Xing). Anyway my silly goals for the time being:

- Acquire an OK bike for going on the Mt. Vernon Trail-or anywhere the winds may blow me. This means: X-small frame, hybrid or mountain, under $100. Guess I'll be running for a while...or at least until something comes up on Craig's List.

- Find a way to strengthen my knees (and supporting muscles). I came out of a not-so-grueling workout yesterday with my knees feeling like they were about to give in. Not cool. Knees, I need you to last me at least another decade or two!

- Kayak. Stay in kayak. Don't drown. Of course, in the company of my yuppie wanna be friends (@Freddy Tang, @Becky Lu, @Yichen Xing)

- Make it through all rehearsals and concert performances of Mahler 1 without my arms falling off. 'Titan', indeed.

best day ever

The weather was beautiful, so I decided to walk to 7-11. It's really only about 100 feet further than the Starbucks from where I work.

I discovered that the 7-11 has potato wedges similar to those at Wawa's and Royal Farms. zomg.

While I was waiting for my wedges (which ended up costing me 75 cents) a homeless man standing next to me told me that I am a princess. He pointed to his head and said "I can tell." Damn straight you can!

And so like I said, the weather outside is beautiful.

Butts Off Chair

Stand Up While You Read This!

Your chair is your enemy.

It doesn’t matter if you go running every morning, or you’re a regular at the gym. If you spend most of the rest of the day sitting — in your car, your office chair, on your sofa at home — you are putting yourself at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a variety of cancers and an early death. In other words, irrespective of whether you exercise vigorously, sitting for long periods is bad for you.

That, at least, is the conclusion of several recent studies. Indeed, if you consider only healthy people who exercise regularly, those who sit the most during the rest of the day have larger waists and worse profiles of blood pressure and blood sugar than those who sit less. Among people who sit in front of the television for more than three hours each day, those who exercise are as fat as those who don’t: sitting a lot appears to offset some of the benefits of jogging a lot.

So what’s wrong with sitting?

The answer seems to have two parts. The first is that sitting is one of the most passive things you can do. You burn more energy by chewing gum or fidgeting than you do sitting still in a chair. Compared to sitting, standing in one place is hard work. To stand, you have to tense your leg muscles, and engage the muscles of your back and shoulders; while standing, you often shift from leg to leg. All of this burns energy.

For many people, weight gain is a matter of slow creep — two pounds this year, three pounds next year. You can gain this much if, each day, you eat just 30 calories more than you burn. Thirty calories is hardly anything — it’s a couple of mouthfuls of banana, or a few potato chips. Thus, a little more time on your feet today and tomorrow can easily make the difference between remaining lean and getting fat.

You may think you have no choice about how much you sit. But this isn’t true. Suppose you sleep for eight hours each day, and exercise for one. That still leaves 15 hours of activities. Even if you exercise, most of the energy you burn will be burnt during these 15 hours, so weight gain is often the cumulative effect of a series of small decisions: Do you take the stairs or the elevator? Do you e-mail your colleague down the hall, or get up and go and see her? When you get home, do you potter about in the garden or sit in front of the television? Do you walk to the corner store, or drive?

Just to underscore the point that you do have a choice: a study of junior doctors doing the same job, the same week, on identical wards found that some individuals walked four times farther than others at work each day. (No one in the study was overweight; but the “long-distance” doctors were thinner than the “short-distance” doctors.)

So part of the problem with sitting a lot is that you don’t use as much energy as those who spend more time on their feet. This makes it easier to gain weight, and makes you more prone to the health problems that fatness often brings.

But it looks as though there’s a more sinister aspect to sitting, too. Several strands of evidence suggest that there’s a “physiology of inactivity”: that when you spend long periods sitting, your body actually does things that are bad for you.

As an example, consider lipoprotein lipase. This is a molecule that plays a central role in how the body processes fats; it’s produced by many tissues, including muscles. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a variety of health problems, including heart disease. Studies in rats show that leg muscles only produce this molecule when they are actively being flexed (for example, when the animal is standing up and ambling about). The implication is that when you sit, a crucial part of your metabolism slows down.

Nor is lipoprotein lipase the only molecule affected by muscular inactivity. Actively contracting muscles produce a whole suite of substances that have a beneficial effect on how the body uses and stores sugars and fats.

Which might explain the following result. Men who normally walk a lot (about 10,000 steps per day, as measured by a pedometer) were asked to cut back (to about 1,350 steps per day) for two weeks, by using elevators instead of stairs, driving to work instead of walking and so on. By the end of the two weeks, all of them had became worse at metabolizing sugars and fats. Their distribution of body fat had also altered — they had become fatter around the middle. Such changes are among the first steps on the road to diabetes.

Conversely, a study of people who sit for many hours found that those who took frequent small breaks — standing up to stretch or walk down the corridor — had smaller waists and better profiles for sugar and fat metabolism than those who did their sitting in long, uninterrupted chunks.

Some people have advanced radical solutions to the sitting syndrome: replace your sit-down desk with a stand-up desk, and equip this with a slow treadmill so that you walk while you work. (Talk about pacing the office.) Make sure that your television can only operate if you are pedaling furiously on an exercise bike. Or, watch television in a rocking chair: rocking also takes energy and involves a continuous gentle flexing of the calf muscles. Get rid of your office chair and replace it with a therapy ball: this too uses more muscles, and hence more energy, than a normal chair, because you have to support your back and work to keep balanced. You also have the option of bouncing, if you like.

Or you could take all this as a license to fidget.

But whatever you choose, know this. The data are clear: beware your chair.

John Mayer

'The 9 Douchiest Things John Mayer Has Ever Said'

On his crayon personality:
"Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8-color boxes, but what you're really looking for are the 64-color boxes with the sharpeners on the back. I fancy myself to be a 64-color box, though I've got a few missing. It's ok though, because I've got some more vibrant colors like periwinkle at my disposal. I have a bit of a problem though in that I can only meet the 8-color boxes. Does anyone else have that problem? I mean there are so many different colors of life, of feeling, of articulation... so when I meet someone who's an 8-color type... I'm like, 'hey girl, magenta!' and she's like, 'oh, you mean purple!' and she goes off on her purple thing, and I'm like, 'no - I want magenta!"

The other things he says are not so great- actually, it pretty much convinced me that he is, in fact, a douche. But my inner nerd giggled at the crayon analogy

Interesting Article

on OK cupid

...which I derived from this NYT article

...not because I was on OK Cupid haha.

kangaroo club fail

Yea, two posts in a day. I was far more excited to write this on the Metro ride home, but upon reading Freddy's leaking tampon incident...er, I mean, nosebleed, everything seems to pale in comparison. Nonetheless, here goes nothing.

As you may know, I recently purchased a fitness pass at GWU's gym as a means of forcing myself to attend classes. The drop-in rate is $6; a fitness pass for the semester is $72, so attending more than 12 classes means you will get a better deal. Monday nights after history = BOOT CAMP. No need to know what this entails except that I was still sore on Thursday last week. Classes are usually populated by the masses of Marc-Jacobs/Burberry/Frye-wearing idiots I like to call GWU undergraduates.

Part of the workout today included 3 minutes of jump rope. Unfortunately, there weren't enough jump ropes for everyone, so about a quarter of the class resorted to invisible jump roping (including myself). The instructor yells at us to begin, and so, sans jump rope, I hop to the beat of Rihanna. To my right, a girl in a cut-off tie-dye shirt looks at her jump rope cluelessly. She turns to her friend and hands her the jump rope. I see this happening across the room. Wtf is going on?

Friend starts jumping and immediately trips. Tries doing it with a double bounce, fails again. This seems to be a common occurrence amongst most of those posessing jump-ropes. Meanwhile, I am still bouncing along front-back, skip, side-to-side, humming Disturbia in my head, and trying not to keel over laughing from the ineptness of these girls. The looks on their faces...

I mean, didn't anyone participate in the Kangaroo Club in elementary school? There needs to be a grad school version of it; I'd rock that.

lasik v. black hole

After spending $150 on contacts this morning (including a coupon for $22 off via code CRAZEONLYDEAL at Coastal Contacts), I began pondering how much of my parent's money (or health insurance money, I suppose) I have spent in the past 16 years of my life on vision related items- eye exams, contact exams (they are two separate exams, did you know), contacts, glasses, contact solution...and then contemplated the possibility of Lasik.

To put this in perspective:
- I have been wearing glasses since third grade (age 8?); contacts since sixth grade (age 12?). Up until age 18, I had exams every year; since then, every two years.
- Let's say eye exams are $50, contact lens exams are $75. Just for exams up until now the cost would be:
o Eye exam only (age 8-12, 4 years) = $200
o Eye + contact exam (age 12-18, 6 years) = $750
o Eye + contact exam (since age 18, twice) = $250
o So $1200 just in exam fees
- Now glasses…and contacts….
o Ok. There’s too many calculations involved. NEXT

Let’s just say I spend $300 a year on contact lenses. If Lasik costs $3000 (I know there is cheaper out there, but I’m just overestimating a little because the cheaper ‘specials’ on Lasik tend to be new doctors that aren’t necessarily reliable), this will yield margins of return in 10 years. Which seems like a long time and perhaps not worth the investment, until you think about the span and duration to which you use your eyes.

it will stay winter break forever

I'm in denial about returning to work and school tomorrow and being surrounded by people convinced that they will get a job out of their next internship at Prestigious Institution X, followed by a career bringing babies out of the third world and bringing world peace, myself included.

I would far rather read trashy fiction on my Kindle and lock myself in the craft corner of my room, creating useless trinkets that evoke an exclamation of the "aw, cute" variety, followed by the stashing of said trinkets in some dark corner.

On a brighter note (but possibly not), I am pretty sure that I will be going to Shanghai in the fall for my school's exchange program. I feel myself going soft and becoming too comfortable in my awkward-DC-setting, which means it's time to get out of the country and stir things up for a bit. It seems like each trip out of the country finds me with progressively more people, things, and attachments to leave behind; this time will be no exception. I have some strange notion in my head that my ability to put distance between my attachments will only make me stronger. Where this newfangled idea came from, I have absolutely no clue...nor does it make any sense. But there you have it; a good majority of these notions I get never seem to have a logical basis anyways.

Everyday should be winter break

A good amount of people are starting school or work back up again tomorrow (I guess I'll go get some hours in too) which makes me wish that I could extend winter break infinitely. Some highlights:

- Seeing old high school friends, some of whom are 1. engaged, 2. I have not seen since high school, or 3. both. I'm usually not a huge fan of drinking and the games that come along with it, but this was definitely an exception.

- A Very Kindle Xmas. Courtesy of my awesome poop.

- A Very Pampered Birthday. My turning 21 (for the second time) consisted of: Thai for lunch, a mani/pedi, an hour massage, an hour facial, a cup of coffee, Hibachi for dinner, and fondue for dessert. Once again, courtesy of my awesome poop.

- Cookie Swap. I can't stop eating all these delicious creations. Time to hit the gym hardcore tomorrow morning.