The Great Pit Debate

photo found via Google Image search.

Let’s talk about arm pits — an unloved body part if there ever was one.  There’s never much positive said about the pit.  We shave it (if we’re female or competitive swimmers), smear stuff on it to keep it from doing its natural function (keeping us cool), and generally ignore it.  Unless we are speaking disparagingly of it and its function.  Poor arm pit.

I’m in the midst of a personal debate about this and the role of deodorant/anti-perspirant.  For years I’ve used Dove’s deodorant/anti-perspirant.  It’s served we well, kept me dry and smelling “fresh.”  It’s also turned the lower armscye of any light colored shirt a gross yellow color and probably put more aluminum into my system than if I just sat down and ate a roll of aluminum foil.

So I switched to Tom’s of Maine.  No aluminum there — but also no odor or wetness protection.

Now, I’m not an exceptionally sweaty or smelly person, but I’ve been practicing yoga for 24 hours on the weekends.  I also practice more often in a heated studio than not and will start assisting in a heated studio.  Getting up close and personal with people during assists is already quite intimate.  The last thing I need is to take them out of their flow and meditation because my deodorant has spectacularly failed.  Ugh.

What’s a girl to do?  Risk her health and white shirts for the rest of her life?  Or be a damp, funky mess?

Planes, Trains, Automobiles … and a New President-Elect

I knew, back in June, when I booked my trip to Seattle and realized I would be in the air for Election Day

Barack Obama

(don’t worry, I voted absentee), that it would be an interesting day.

Leaving Seattle, a city of social conscience, coffee and clouds for a layover in Phoenix did a lot to illustrate how big and different our country is in geography, personality and politics.  When I left Phoenix at 4:55pm MST there weren’t any real election results.  Some early polls from Kentucky and Indiana were reporting wins for McCain and Obama respectively, but there wasn’t any big news.  The sunset colored the mountains of the Southwest orange-pink persimmon, and the colors and the landscape slowly faded to indigo-hued colored plains of the Midwest.   Soon it was too dark to see, except for scattered lights of cities and larger towns.  I got involved in a delicious mystery novel and took a break from pressing my nose to the window.

Bright lights outside the window caught my eye and I realized we were flying over Chicago.  It was about 10:00pm EST, and I wondered: were the people of Chicago happy?  Sad?  What was happening in Grant Park?  How was it going?  I asked the flight attendant if there was any news but she didn’t know.  Not really one for praying, I nonetheless sent out a little prayer and thought how wonderful it would be to land and know that the world had changed for the better.

The American public granted my prayer, along with may other people’s prayers around the world.  Last night, when Barack Obama made his acceptance speech and I raced up Essex Street to my apartment, we made the first big step to repairing the damange done by the previous administration, especially in regards to foreign relations.  I shed a few tears listening to Obama’s speech, but what got me was the world’s reaction, chronicled here, here, here (interesting perspective from US troops in Iraq) and here (love the BBC for going for the juggular).  The joy, the concern, the myriad of emotions from Iraq, Iran, Kenya, Japan, Austrailia … it is almost overwhelming.

President-elect Obama has a lot of work to do, not the least of which is to manage the expectations of the world and of the people.  The world will not be healed, wars will not end, the economy will not right itself the moment he steps into office.  There is a lot of work to do – hard work, work that is not going to be fun or easy.  Yet the old agage is true: many hands make light work.  This is a call to positive action that has not yet been seen in my (albeit short) lifetime.  It is a call we cannot ignore.

Our grandparents remember where they were for the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  Our parents remember where they were for the assassination of JFK.  Our generation remembers where we were when the towers in New York City fell.  But we will also remember where we were when we found out that Barack Obama would be the new president of the United States.  I can’t think of a better way to put it than Obama did last night: “This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.”

Changing Food Habits

I’ve seen quite a few posts over the past few weeks talking about how the changing economy is affecting how people eat.  I don’t mean people aren’t eating because they’re sick to their stomach over the $700 billion bailout plan, though it’s enough to make me lose my appetite!  These articles have been looking at ways to cut back, save money and eat healthier meals.

Serious Eats has an interesting post that correlates a bad economy with more people eating at home and leading to an increase of food magazine subscriptions.  Now, this intrigued me because there are a couple magazines I was thinking of adding to my Christmas wish list.  It’s not really a surprising correlation when you think about it.  After all, a year’s subscription to 2 magazines is cheaper than a night out at a decent restaurant without wine.

Today, Nona at Everyday Yogini had an interesting post about food prices in Rome vs the US.  Unlike in the US grocery stores, local produce is much cheaper.  In my local food stores, Whole Foods and Harvest Co-Op (Shaws doesn’t count b/c nothing there is local), the produce from area farms is sometimes nearly twice as expensive, and while I’d love to support local businesses, I just can’t afford it.  It’s hard to reconcile.

What are you doing to help out your personal budget and not starve?  I know Spinstah’s been running a pantry challenge and some of her meals look amazing.  Any suggestions for someone (me) who already eats healthy, makes breakfast, lunch and dinner in her own kitchen 7 days a week, and would still like to cut her food budget?

Scent Memory

Everyone has those moment when a certain smell sweeps under their nose and they are suddenly taken back to a specific memory.  On certain fall days, like today, the air will have a specific, crisp, pre-winter, slightly salty quality that picks me up and plunks me right back to Edinburgh, Scotland in 2001.  The memories are so sharp and clear that it’s like I got hit in the gut.  Or maybe that’s just how much I miss the city.

What the Heck Just Happened?

I tend not to follow current news.  It’s shameful, but I’m more likely to remember who won the last challenge in Project Runway than know what’s happening on Wall Street.  But after this past Monday, with the failure of Lehman Bros, even I am starting to tune in more.

If you’re at all curious about what’s going on financially, there’s a great explanation of what happened with Fannie, Freddie, Bear Stearns, Lehman and so much more up at the New York Times opinion section.  Freakanomics author Steven Levitt rounded up two economists to explain to the populace just what the heck happened.

In related news, if you’re wondering what you can do to be safe, the brilliant people over at The Consumerist posted a great article on What to do in These Uncertain Financial Times.

I’ll be taking their advice and will be very, very thankful that I have a good and stable job.

Are you doing anything to feel more secure?