FTP 21 - Posture and attitude

     This week has not been among the best in my life, to be honest. My schedule has been all over the place, I've had twice as long as normal days, and I am so ready for the long weekend. As tired as I've been, though, and as much as I'd love to just tell the world to go fly a kite, one of the things that's kept me going is such a small thing as posture.

     I know, I know, you're tired of people telling you to sit up straight, blah blah blah. Before you blow it off though, consider this. In previous posts and drawings, my faceless, expressionless character has been able to say a lot just by how she stands:

If a simple drawing can express that much just by posture, imagine how much it affects you and your 3D, mentally complex outlook on life. The next time you're feeling grumpy, tired, sad, or depressed, consider how you're sitting or standing, I'm willing to bet it'll resemble the top pictures. Take a deep breath, work the kinks out of your shoulders and neck, and take a look at something above eye level. It's amazing what one little change can make in your day, go ahead and give it a try. Cheers!

Update on Monday

     In light of the fact that this morning's post wasn't terribly uplifting, here's a bit of an update with a better outlook on life. Today started out pretty crappily: my first class started at 9am, which is usually when I'm cooking breakfast. So 7am saw me up and being very, very unhappy (I don't sleep when I know I have to get up early, 'cause I'm so worried I'll sleep through the alarm that I never drift off). Out the door by 7:45 meant that I ran into all the morning traffic that I usually skip on the highway, and once I found a parking spot (a bright moment in the day, as I found a new, emptier, and easier place to park), I discovered that my bike tires were almost out of air. I rode in to class anyway, and sat through one of the most boring intros to a class ever.

This is brilliant, wish I could do it!

 
     One of the main points of going to Russia was to avoid taking a class here at CU that I felt didn't fit in my schedule, and was taught by a grad student I'd had previously as a TA who was afraid of me. The class in Russia turned out to not be what it said it was, but by then I'd signed up for an Intro to International Relations class, with the thought that it would help me relate to Russia and world affairs better. And I'm sure it would, if it weren't for the fact that the class is at 9 am, they're predicting a heavier-snowfall-than-usual winter, it is on the opposite side of campus from where all my other classes are, and it's a lower div class, so it's in a 500-person auditorium and deals only with generalities. I do much better in smaller classes where you can actually ask questions if you're confused.

Limbo

     This is just a short post, because having gotten back from Russia and in trying to get back into the swing of things, I've decided to tear my house apart and revamp everything. Add to that the fact that classes start today, and my schedule still isn't nailed down yet for school or for work, and I'm a little bit out of sorts. I mentioned to a friend of mine this past weekend that I felt like such a slacker because I'd been back for almost a complete week, and still didn't have everything caught up, finished, and in place. She wasn't terribly sympathetic, as (according to her) that's just me being a perfectionist again.

     So rather than posting a scatterbrained dissertation on a random topic, here's something to consider:

1. Despite Todd Akin's recent comments about "legitimate rape," he still has the support of 41% of voters in his area. (Think about that, 41% of the voters polled think there is such a thing a "legitimate rape" vs. "illegitimate rape." Sad.)
2. Women who are raped and choose to keep the child have no legal recourse in 31 states, should the rapist try to get visitation or custody rights;
3. Studies have shown that about 6% of men will admit to being a rapist- even being a repeat rapist- as long as the term "rape" isn't used. 
4. "Rape culture," a term coined in the 1970s, has only recently grown in usage, and the US is recognized as being a rape culture. 
5. Police and hospitals in America still treat rape as illegitimate, either by charging the victim for a rape test, denying rape tests if they think the victim knew the accused rapist, giving the victim incorrect information, refusing to enforce their own laws, flat-out not bothering to file a report, or pressuring the victim into recanting their story. 

Comforting, no? So much for America being a beacon of shining liberty. This is kinda a sore topic for me, but I'm not going to apologize. I kept my own silence too long, time to work with others to change that.

Edit: Also, take a look at the VP candidate's view on rape as a "method of conception." I'm sure that's not quite how he meant it, but he made darn sure to dance around the topic...

FTP 20 - Controlling the self

     Ok, I do believe we are back on track now. That is not to say that I have everything put away, caught up, organized and ready to go, but I've found enough breathing room where I can marshall my thoughts into something resembling order once more. With that in mind, here goes this week's FTP:

     A number of times during the last two months, people asked me, "don't you miss being home?" or, "aren't you tired of being on the road for this long?" If you had asked me even two years ago how I thought I'd handle being away from home for two months, I'd have told you I wouldn't deal with it well. I'm a fairly domestic person, I like having things the way I left them, and I like having my down time- alone and in silence.

Delays again!

     I know, I know, I've been really bad about posting updates the last few weeks. I am technically back in the states, but not really home yet. I've been busy meeting up with old friends and hanging out with family, so there's not been a need for updates; on the other hand, I haven't had terribly much downtime to plan out new post topics either, which is why things have been pretty quiet on the blogfront.

     I'm flying home this coming Monday, so I sincerely doubt there'll be a post up then, unless it's something along the lines of "what's wrong with airports these days, and what needs to be changed to return to a rational state of business." Lengthy title, but I may just have to do that one someday... Anyhow! Things should return to normal (i.e. Monday and Friday postings) as of this coming Friday, the 24th, with a return to FTPs. Until then, here's something to consider:

Readjusting

     Traveling to another country is always fraught with culture shock and differences, but it is expected and planned for. Coming back from other countries, however, can carry just as much adjustment as going to them, particularly if you don't immediately return to your home and routine. You have to readjust, not only to the fact that everyone speaks your native language now (so the nagging, subconscious mental command of "no english!" can finally be put to rest), but also to things that you've taken for granted in the past.

     In my case, coming back to the east coast instead of the midwest is as much of a culture shock as leaving the country. Even when traveling within the US, there is a huge variation in the attitudes, outlooks on life, and general behaviors between regions. Having been subjected to the general rudeness of Russians for the past month, I had come to cherish my memories of Colorado friendliness; it was therefor a bit of a shock to come back to the Baltimore/ DC area and realize that the people here are at least as rude, but now I can understand their language, and there's no excuse of "oh, it's another culture!"

World's fastest update!

     Not much to say, because I haven't really done much. Today consisted of sleeping until noon, getting up, making breakfast, and then reading til 3 (while walking in circles in the kitchen). One of my roommates and I went to the store then had lunch, after which I came back here and continued watching silly videos until now (7:30). I was lazy, English (and French) speaking only, and had a fantastic day. Sadly, the bad roommate just came home, but all-in-all, fabulous day. Three more til I can get the $%^#@^$!! out of here, woot!

Pollyanna

     As my father is (inordinately) fond of pointing out, there is nothing in life that you learn that does not come in handy at some point down the road. Yesterday was an excellent example of that, in a myriad of ways. Monday night was insanely hot, and I decided (at 3 am as I finally started to drift off to sleep) that I was only going to go in for the second half of Russian classes yesterday, if my sinuses had cleared up by then. They're not 100% healed, but I felt like I'd been a slacker for long enough, so off I went to school.

     Well, off to try to go to school anyway. When I reached the elevators, the button was already lit, but no one was around. Odd, since they're usually fairly fast. After a while, however, it became apparent that the elevators were simply not working, so I had to find stairs. Russia, of course, does not bother with such niceties as "Emergency Exit" signs or "Stairs are this way" placards or anything like that. I put my "let's keep trying things until something works" skills to use, and found the stairs after a bit of searching. You had to go through the room where you dump garbage, out onto the balcony behind the building, and back into the building on the other side of the balcony, through a door that looked like it had last been used back when the Romanovs were still in power.

Not creepy AT ALL...