Here is a brief, incomplete list of some of the things that are making me happy in these dark, miserably cold, winter days:
- Adventure Time, which is ostensibly for children but is also 100% ba-nay-nays and likely to freak out/enchant those who are even the slightest bit high. In the post-apocalyptic land of Oo, the human boy Finn and his shape-shifting dog companion Jake fight demons, woo princesses, and go on quests. They also eat pancakes, play with their video game system, and end up in impromptu dance parties. It's so many things at the same time: odd, genuinely terrifying, heart-warming, and funny. I can't figure out if it's really meant for kids, or for adults, or what. But it's pretty great.
- Rock climbing! M and I went last weekend, and it was bonkers. I was expecting to be better than I was—I mean, I work out! I can flex my abs and shit!—but even though I totally fell off the wall like forty times, and gave myself a blister, and could barely open jars for days afterwards, I can't stop thinking about it. Rock climbing seems to be a sport where you have to get out of your own head to do it with any proficiency, and getting out of my own head is a thing I'm trying to do more of.
- Caramel corn. Even though I'm paleo-ish, caramel corn is the food of angels.
- Weight lifting. I read a wonderful article in Maisonneuve about the impact that lifting weights has on women, and this line in particular stood out for me: "A 2001 study found that college students who completed a course of weight training reported an increase in body strength, lower physical anxiety and general improvements in body satisfaction, while concurrent aerobic exercise was found to have no effect on body image." This totally jives with my lived experience: the more I lift weights, the more I appreciate my striated shoulder muscles, the curve of my bicep, and the subtle-but-definitely-there definition of my obliques. I built my body, and size two or not, I'm damn proud of it.
- California daydreams, which have been sustaining me during stressful times at work. It's become easier and easier to recall our beautiful honeymoon: the heat, the sun, the landscape, the sense of adventure. The ions in the air from being so close to the ocean. The laconic SoCal drawl of the shop girls. The preponderance of really excellent tacos. The sense of togetherness we had. Whenever I feel bummed out at work, I imagine M and I walking down Sunset and stumbling into Amoeba. I imagine us goofing around in the organic grocers on Haight Street. I picture us hanging out on the train into LA, after a day of watching brown hills, studded with barrel cacti and the occasional burro, roll on by. Travel is magical in the moment, but it nourishes us for the rest of our lives.
- New Kelly Link! She seems to publish a book whenever I'm having a sucky time at work, and I am so effin' jazzed that she's back with a set of nine new fantastical, weirdo stories. She is a delight, I love her, I can't be more pleased. The first one had foxes in it. Foxes!
- So, much to my annoyance, my friend Abe turned out to be right about podcasts. (I will continue to keep my distance from This American Life, because, even though I can't explain it, Ira Glass make me twitch.) I've been mainlining episodes of 99% Invisible for nearly two weeks, and it's awesome. So far I've learned about modern Warsaw's semi-fake historical district; how basketball developed the shot clock and became exciting; whether or not modern prison designers violate human rights standards by designing buildings that might literally torture its inhabitants; how to communicate with humans who will be alive in 10,000 years; and why a particular hotel in Illinois is purple. This show is fascinating! I'm interested in design—if I was more focused, I might have become an architect or a interior designer—but the stories are also just so charming and addictive. I even listen through the sponsor shout-outs at the end of the show, because I want to know what host Roman Mars' sons have to say. Dammit, Abe. You've won this round.
- Honorable mentions go to ramen noodles, Vanilla Coke Zero, our mega-cozy blanket from Cambie, my slick-looking Sorel boots, the ring my mother gave me for Christmas, M's and my screen-free days, mid-week dinner parties, a boozeless (so far!) 2015, sunshine, Straphanger, my so-far-so-good Facebook hiatus, and great sleeps. Even in the darkest winter, there's enough to keep us going.
self-image
A
2001 study found that college students who completed a course of weight
training reported an increase in body strength, lower physical anxiety
and general improvements in body satisfaction, while concurrent aerobic
exercise was found to have no effect on body image - See more at:
http://maisonneuve.org/article/2015/01/29/making-gains/#sthash.DDVyspMt.dpuf
A
2001 study found that college students who completed a course of weight
training reported an increase in body strength, lower physical anxiety
and general improvements in body satisfaction, while concurrent aerobic
exercise was found to have no effect on body image. - See more at:
http://maisonneuve.org/article/2015/01/29/making-gains/#sthash.DDVyspMt.dpuf
A
2001 study found that college students who completed a course of weight
training reported an increase in body strength, lower physical anxiety
and general improvements in body satisfaction, while concurrent aerobic
exercise was found to have no effect on body image. - See more at:
http://maisonneuve.org/article/2015/01/29/making-gains/#sthash.DDVyspMt.dpuf
A
2001 study found that college students who completed a course of weight
training reported an increase in body strength, lower physical anxiety
and general improvements in body satisfaction, while concurrent aerobic
exercise was found to have no effect on body image. - See more at:
http://maisonneuve.org/article/2015/01/29/making-gains/#sthash.DDVyspMt.dpuf
A
2001 study found that college students who completed a course of weight
training reported an increase in body strength, lower physical anxiety
and general improvements in body satisfaction, while concurrent aerobic
exercise was found to have no effect on body image. - See more at:
http://maisonneuve.org/article/2015/01/29/making-gains/#sthash.DDVyspMt.dp
Image via Ffffound
