this gets annoying

One time when I was 8, I peed the bed. That's an embarrassing age, I know. I was just dreaming about going to the bathroom, and I distinctly remember thinking in my dream, "good thing is a dream, and I'll wake up dry." Uh, scratch that. I woke up in a wet, urine mess. I probably cried from shame and embarrassment. My mom handled it well, though.

I also peed my pants in 3rd grade--an embarrassingly inappropriate age as well. I was sitting in class, and my favorite teacher, except for this one day, would not let me go to the bathroom. To her credit, she probably had no idea of the dire circumstance I was in. As I walked back to my seat after her refusal, my bladder just...exploded, I guess. It's funny how the fear of authority was able to override my body's natural demand. I should have run out of class anyway, but as a 3rd grader, I could not even begin to fathom the ramifications of that rebellion. As I realized the social horror of what had just happened, I resorted to my tried and true method of faking sick. Though I was a precocious child, in my rebellious second grade year, I faked a stomach ache every time we had to do math because it was so boring. (Ironically, I became very good at math later on...) I think I used a stomach ache as my excuse for anything: social anxiety, boredom, nightmares, etc. I just put it all under the stomach ache category. Anyway, the stomach ache was all I could think of, and luckily I was allowed to go to the nurse's office. I thought I had gotten away with all of it, but in hindsight, it was probably pretty evident what had happened.

I have had some even more embarrassing bathroom mishaps that I won't even share here, but sufficeth to say that I have anxiety issues when it comes to losing control of my bladder. I have to pee literally five times before I actually fall asleep. It's like a Pavlovian response now when I get ready for bed. It's quite annoying.

Well, there is your blog TMI for the day.

p.s. new haircut photo coming soon!

Currently craving

Muffins
Charleston Chews (a recent discovery...)
Salt Water Taffy

I guess I'll just have spinach.

give me a break

Normally I'm not one of those people who tries to sound smarter than other people, but this really irked me today.

I'm in a pathophysiology class, which is heavily information-packed. I do not doubt that my professor is very knowledgeable on the subject.

However...

He starts talking about nutrition because many of the diseases we talk about have a dietary factor. But he always talks in absolutes, and he throws out claims that really make me doubt his expertise regarding nutrition. I have taken two nutrition classes, which doesn't sound like much, but it is two more than any biology major will ever have to take. I also consider myself a self-learned nutrition guru. I read a lot. I learn a lot. I am also very interested in food politics, and I admittedly have a vegan bias at times.

So when I hear things like "meat is the only source of absorbable iron in the diet," or "you must have four servings of dairy products a day to reduce chances of osteoporosis. All other supplements and sources are completely nonabsorbable," I want to roll my eyes. And I probably do. After doing a simple literature search, I have found that these claims are unfounded. I tentatively tried to ask the difference between calcium found in animal secretions than calcium found in other (natural) foods. I understand that different ion complexes affect its absorption. However, cow's feed is supplemented with calcium because they are fed corn in most cases instead of being grass-fed. (I really said this in the most non-snotty way possible. I'm very good at asking innocent questions.) To this though, my professor replies, "well I've never heard that before, so blah blah same absolute claim blah."

If there is one thing I hate, it is feeling stupid and wrong. Especially when it is unwarranted. Like today.

call me miss cleo

So MSN has a story with the heading, "When blueberries aren't even food."

I just have to say that I already blogged about this same concern a couple months ago. And blueberries were my example of choice too.

I'm just saying...

i'm everyone's pet peeve

I'm a connoisseur of gum. I take pride in that. By the way, Stride really does last the longest. Trident is the worst. They have cool flavors sometimes, but it's lost way too fast, which is annoying for a compulsive gum-chewer.

I also LOVE to pop my gum. I can't help it. Well, maybe I can, but I don't want to. It's my favorite thing to do when things are quiet. I'm pretty much a professional.

This is just a public apology to the world that is annoyed by this trait.

That's all.

(P.S. I think I'll give a biggest loser update every week or so. Right now I'm down about 2 whole pounds from when I started a week and a half ago, but yesterday was a horrendously bad day, so we'll see...)

It's so on

Milburn Family Biggest Loser 2011

My family is going on vacation in June, so we're having a little competition for who can be the biggest loser. I know I don't need to lose weight blah blah blah, but there is nothing wrong with wanting get a little more in shape. By BMI standards, I'm technically at a healthy, normal weight, but a "normal" weight is a very broad range. I don't really need to defend myself on my blog, but it's always awkward when you try to explain to someone that you don't want to eat X because you are trying to lose weight. Then they just roll their eyes at you like you can afford this one last time. Except then every time is the last time.

Basically, I'm not obsessed with my weight or body image. There is nothing wrong with changing your appearance when it is done within reason and perspective.

Anyway, I'm excited. And I'm going to win. Watch out familia!

baby got back

I know I'm bottom-heavy, okay? My roommate legitimately thought for the first 2 months when we lived together that I was part Puerto Rican until I mentioned my real heritage. (I have not one iota of hispanic blood in me. It's all white English/Swedish...so exotic.) I have had other (male) friends also remind me of this detail most likely followed up with some inappropriate insinuation. I'm not sure how to feel about it, but they are my friends, so I do not take too much offense.

However, if we are not friends, you do NOT have the right to comment about the junk in the trunk.

While I was dancing in the RB, some guy--albeit an aquaintance--told my partner to stop looking down as he followed me in a hockey stick to spiral, overturned syncopated cha-cha lock section. The guy said, "I know she has a big one, but you have to look up."

Cue nausea and discomfort and red face and confliction of internal vs. external reaction.

My poor partner is this little freshman, and was probably just looking at the ground, as many unfocused or concentrating dancers are wont to do at times. He's also not the type to laugh at those kind of "jokes." It was awkward to say the least. And not just awkward. It was humilliating, but if I were to express this, then I'm the prude who can't take a joke. Now I see how easy it is to get away with sexual harassment.

So I know this post kind of has a mixed message. I'm being light-hearted and serious at the same time. It's probably because society would tell me to lighten up, but my psyche is a bit more sensitive than that. I guess people just need to know their boundaries. All I know is that I felt uncomfortable today, and I should have said something.

Oops

To the onlookers of the Regency Apartments at approximately 12:13 a.m. January 7, 2011:

I'm sorry that you saw more of me than you cared to know. Please accept my sincerest regrets.

Love, Tanya



So, my apartment window faces the road and sidewalk that everyone files through to get to their apartments. Sometimes my roommate leaves the blinds open. I forgot this one night, and got completely undressed when I looked up and realized that my room was a shining beacon to the viewers of the night. Merry Belated Christmas.

Karma is sometimes kind

Guess what? I found a $20 bill in almost the exact spot I wiped out yesterday. It was folded very thinly and blended in the sidewalk quite well because most people walked right past it. I'm glad I took a double take. One up for low self-esteemers or the overly paranoid of ice who look down when they walk! (I was of course the latter.)

I know it's probably really annoying to read when other people get lucky. But this seriously never happens to me. (I know they say that too.) I was, however, unlucky in other (more meaningful) aspects of life today, so I'm not going to feel too bad for this one.

'Tis the season

First day of school. Thanks to the blizzards over break and the persistent below-freezing weather that has created massive ice/snow chunks all over the sizewalks, this was me this morning:

It's going to be a looooonnngggg winter.

(P.S. I want to give a shout out to the random boy that I involuntarily grabbed on my way down. It saved me from completely wiping out in front of the large crowd trudging to school. Sorry I was too embarrassed to look at your face to thank you.)

Bleh November

Netflix just added a bunch of new movies on their "watch instantly" feature. I use someone's username and password, so I can't rent movies, but I can watch whatever is on their internet selection. Most of the time it's a couple good movies among a bunch of lame or straight-to-DVD kind of movies. I feel like I've watched everything worth watching on Netflix, so that is why it is a pleasant surprise when they periodically add more.

I watched Sweet November. Ugh. I should have read Ebert beforehand. He is [almost] always a trustworthy critic. Keanu Reeves? Romantic? Really? I didn't buy it. It was somewhat painful and dull.

Meh. You win some. You lose some.

P.S. I'm also mad that last month I rented An Education. I mean that I actually went to Blockbuster and paid a whole 3 dollars because it was nowhere to be found in the plentiful Redboxes around town. If I had only known it would be on Netflix a month later... Oh well, it was still a delightful movie. I'll write about it sometime.

New Years Resolutions: Day 1

Eat more vegetables.

I'm not a photographer, and so this probably doesn't look that appetizing, but I'm trying to put more pictures on my blog to make it more interesting now that I have a working camera. As you can see, that is a full plate of salad and steamed vegetables. Not to mention lentil soup on the side, which can also count as a serving of vegetables according to the Food Guide Pyramid.* This ratio of regular food: vegetables is going to apply to all my lunches and dinners until further notice. (Ideally it would be my whole life, but I don't want to give myself too daunting of a goal.) I'm also trying to cut out flour and sugar, which I was once successful at doing, and my body thanked me tremendously. I'll have to finish off a couple of items in my pantry, but soon I will be a flour-free, sugar-free, dairy-free herbivore. Bring on the spinach. Happy living!

*I normally don't follow the Food Guide Pyramid because I believe it mainly to be a bureaucratic device with a political agenda. Okay, that's maybe a little too cynical, but in a nutshell it is not the end all to human nutrition. As Michael Pollan says, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

New

I'm thinking about cutting my hair.

I just might make it a New Year tradition.