I like...swimming!

Growing up in the tropics, the coolest thing to do was join the swim team...partly because of the abundance of beautiful pools and bored kids, and partly because swimming was the sport that offered the least possibility of heat stroke. I lovvvved swim team, and continued to swim through high school, then stopped when I got to college, mostly because I got lazy. Hence the Time of Working Out Sporadically and Eating 4 or 5 Meals a Day began (strangely, I LOST 15 pounds when I went to college, but those habits have caught up with me now)! Add in the Time of Being Married to a Person Whose Favorite Channel is Food Network, and we have a recipe for disaster (pun not intended).

Fast forward to last month, which I like to call the Time of Banishing the Flab. I have spent so many five-day periods slugging away on the treadmill for an hour at a time, trying to motivate myself and convince SOMEONE that it's worth it. Five days after my must-get-fit obsession began, it would end because I wanted to take an ax to that darn treadmill or kick it til it wouldn't make me run on it for another horrifically painful minute. Finally, after months (okay, years) of this battle with the Dreaded Treadmill of Doom, I in all of my genius observance have discovered that my key to getting fit in a way that is sustainable and lifestyle-changing is finding something that I actually ENJOY. I know, it's not rocket science, but for some reason I had myself convinced that running was the only mechanism for banishing the flab, even though I detest it and want it to die and would rather jump in a pool of purple pond sludge than do it.

I discovered that working out CAN be enjoyable again, and I really found this out by going to Zumba class for the first time. I got to shake my booty to awesome Latin music and get a CRAZY workout out of it! This salsafied inspiration got me thinking about other ways that I could work out yet enjoy myself and end my workout like those crazy weirdo runner people who say running helps them think better. For the record, all running does for me is help me think about how much I HURT and how much I just want to stop running and walk straight to Freddy's Frozen Custard to make myself feel better.

Sooo, all of this thinking about exercise, along with the discovery that I can get an awesome discount at the Health Sciences Center health club, made me remember how much I loved being an Aquadragon (the Jakarta International School mascot is the Komodo Dragon, so swim team = Aquadragons), and I decided I'd take up swimming again. So I drove myself to Academy, bought a sweet Nike swimsuit, and drove myself to the pool. I tried to swim my first lap at the pace I was used to going at, before the Time of Fourth Meal at Taco Cabana caught up with me, and let's just suffice it to say that did NOT work. Yikes. So I resigned myself to the fact that I'd have to start out slow, but at least I'm not as slow as the 30 year old dude with a mohawk who believes with all his heart that wearing a Speedo will make him the next Mark Spitz...it will not, FYI. I feel pretty good about my ability to get back into form, swim at a fairly respectable pace, and not half to turn over halfway across the pool to float on my back so I can breathe...but then Michael Phelps version 2.0 comes into the pool - no matter what time of day I am there, he is there - and I decide I have a long way to go and decide to get out of the pool for fear of looking like the weird speedo dude who thinks he knows what he's doing.

The point of all this is to say, I have been swimming at least 3-5 times a week for the past month, and I love it! It clears my head, it's a fantastic full-body workout, it's relaxing, and it doesn't make me cry or yell in pain or give dirty looks to anyone who passes me because they should be suffering with me in my running, darn it! I'm not quite back to my Aquadragon days, but I'm getting there. Yay for getting fit!

Song Obsession of the Week

Love Matt Nathanson...

"Falling Apart"

I Like...Susan Boyle

When the news is filled with depressing things like family murder-suicides, more economic crisis, details about U.S. torture policy, and random medical student-turned-stalker-slash-killers, the media jumps on feel-good, smile-getting stories like that of Susan Boyle. This sweet, 47-year-old woman came on Britain's Got Talent, got boo-ed and laughed at by the audience and judges, and proceeded to knock them on their arses as soon as she opened her mouth. Seriously, it was pretty great to watch Simon Cowell's stone face break out in a surprised grin with her first notes. 

You should really watch the video. 

But as heart-warming as this is, and as much as it makes every housewife or bored businessman jump up in their living rooms to root for the underdog, it made me think about WHY we were all so amazed by her performance. YES, her voice is awesome, and she is extremely talented...but to be honest, it's nothing we all haven't heard before, in a concert, or in a musical. 

If we're being completely frank, the reason everyone was floored is because that awesome voice came from someone who looked like Susan Boyle. Before she opened her mouth, we all (myself included) assumed she was one of the weirdos who came to juggle or sing a ho-down about her cat on national television, because we are so used to judging people on their too-frizzy hair, or their not-made-up-enough face, or their slight lisp, despite the fact that behind all that might be a sweet, good, valuable, impressive person that - GASP - we might learn something from! Yes, the voice would have still been impressive had it come from someone who looks like J-Simp or one of the girls from The Hills, but I think the sensational media blitz wouldn't have spread quite as quickly as it has. It's a happy, victorious tale for Susan, but kind of a sad commentary on our society and where we place top value.

Maybe I'm too cynical, but I do think it's worth pondering exactly why our expectations were so low for this lady who is clearly brilliant/ace/cracking/bloody great. 

p.s. I wish I was British. 

I HEART Jimmy Eat World!

I was a fan of this band before they ever got big (yes, I know I sound sooo emo elitist right now but I don't care!), and then I was a bad fan and forgot about them for a while...their latest album is great, and I have this song on repeat:

JEW - Always Be

shout out to my fellow JEW fan, shnavs :)

Song Obsession of the Week

We sang this song tonight in our Good Friday service...we went through the 14 Stations of the Cross, and this year I feel like I can't even begin to comprehend the magnitude of it all. 

Robbie Seay Band - Beautiful Scandalous Night

What I can't get out of my head:

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," and "Be thirsty no more." 

So perfectly said, it is scandalous and beautiful, all at the same time.

I Like...Middle School

I am proud to bring you the Jackson Middle School Golden Moment of the Week.

13 year-old-boy: Miss, why do I have to change my pants?
Alma (social worker): Because they are 31s and you are a size 34, and because you can't wear them below your butt.
Boy with angry face: But Miss, why?
Alma: Because you look like a street person. Here are some new pants, go put them on.
Boy comes back with normal pants: Miss, I can't wear these.
Alma: Why not? You don't look like a street person anymore? Do you want to look like a street person?
Boy: No, but Missssssss. These pants are lame.
Alma: Do you know my name?
Boy: Yes, Burrell, but MISS.
Alma: Put on your belt and go to class.
Boy: Miss, I can't wear these pants. I'm going to take off my pants and walk around in my boxers instead because I can't wear these stupid pants.
Boy begins unzipping his pants and walks out the door.

And there you have it, another quality moment at JMS. Or shall we say, the Moment of Disrobing Teenage Boys.

I Like...Threads

About once every season, our church puts on an event called Threads. Essentially, it is a free clothing closet for families who need clothes for their children, but it's really so much more. All items are donated, but only high-quality, attractive, and lightly used (i.e. unstained) clothes are up for grabs. We set the space to look like a "store," a la Baby Gap or Gymboree. Cute Easter dresses are hung from the ceiling, shoes are arranged into adorable displays, bright swimsuits are arranged in the window, and upbeat music plays from the speakers. When people enter the store, they are greeted with refreshments and a card to fill out with their name, children's names, and sizes. They are then assigned a "co-shopper," who takes them around the store, helps them find sizes, makes the kids feel excited about their new clothes, and gets to know them on a different level. The idea is that families from the neighborhood, who probably think of clothes-shopping as stressful or as a reminder that they can't provide their kids with what so many other kids are obsessed with, can come shop for high-quality clothes in an environment where they are welcomed, paid attention to, and valued.

The faces of the kids who come to shop are priceless when they pick out their new polo shirt, bright pink tutu dress, or good-as-new Pumas. I think all the time how I put too much value on clothes and trying to look cute, but when these kids come in the store, it becomes the most important thing in the world to them, and I think that's okay. As they leave the store, smiling and proudly toting their crisp shopping bag full of basically brand new clothes, it's obvious that this is an experience they won't forget. The Threads concept is so simple, but revolutionary at the same time, and it has been amazing to watch how it has grown from serving 40 families to over 100, and how it went from Rachelle's idea to a full-service, community-focused organization that garners support from businesses and newspapers. Threads is inspiring, and so is the little boy who left yesterday jumping up and down, holding up his new shirt for all to see. "Mom, this is the best Spiderman shirt in my whole life!" Yay Spiderman.