Monday, November 25, 2013

BOUND

There are already 1000 reasons why I'm a huge huge fan of James Franco (multiple graduate degrees, brilliant hipster novelist, and the fact that he does a million interesting projects like teaching, studying, film-making all at once are just a few reasons) but his Bound 3 parody with Seth Rogan is now the 1001st reason I'm falling love with James Franco--uh huh honey.

Here's the Huff Post article.

Monday, November 18, 2013

What is Swimming Thankful for...

Somewhat in honor of upcoming thanksgiving, but not really since I frequently wax gratitude nearly every day, but I thought it nice to post some things that Swimming is grateful for anyway:

(1) My family--there aren't many of us here--but to those who are in my life I am always grateful to have people look out for me, be worried about me, and express appreciation for when I call. (Special shout outs to Swimming's Dad and uncle.)

(2) My lovely living situation--(also another shout out to Swimming's dad for making this possible) but I absolutely love having a simple clean space to inhabit. What a difference this makes for my mental well-being, not to mention my allergies!

(3) Clean drinking water-- 780 million people do not have have access to clean drinking water in this world. Amen to aqua.

(4) Access to good and nutritious food. I think about the obesity and diabetes epidemics and most of the obesity epidemic in America started in some of the poorest States (before affecting the rest of the country.) A primary reason behind this was that those affected in those states most-likely did not have easy access to healthy nutritious food that was readily available and economical. I consider myself blessed to have always had access to choose wisely.

(5) Awareness of my own ignorance. Sometimes people say ignorance is bliss. As I delve further into a career in healthcare, I am constantly aware of how much I don't know which motivates me to work harder and learn something everyday.

(6) Currently, Swimming is very grateful for her graduate program and the support it has offered. I love love love it here and feel lucky everyday to have a program that believes in me.

(7) My health! This is a compilation of the other things written above that have made this possible, but as always I'm immensely grateful to be healthy thus far. After spending over a week in the hospital due to food-poisoning back in 2012 and then 3-4 subsequent weeks in bed-rest I had a little taste of how awful it can be when you don't have your health. Thus I am grateful for the ability to breathe and walk and function normally.

(8) My wonderful friends. I'm privileged and lucky to have such wonderful people in my life and all over the country nonetheless (MB--<3 detroit and my great motivator buddy, JR--for 13 yrs!, SB--now SP across the pond!, the lovely ladies I left back in Boston--PK, NM, RS, and my new and amusing grad school friends.) All of you add value to my life and I hope I do the same even to a minor degree.

(9) My great mentors. Now from a few different fields (engineering and research and medicine), but I'm lucky to have you amazing people to look to for guidance and support.

(10) Access to higher education. I am always grateful to have access to higher education and being able to freely commit to lifelong learning. I considering those around the world who don't have that luxury and we're lucky to have it so open in America. Which brings me to my next point...

(11) I am very grateful for the opportunity to live in America. Sure there's economic and healthcare woes here, and sure there are insipid disputes amongst Congress that shutdown the government but none of this is ever to the degree seen in other countries. We forget sometimes how great this country is--freedom and all. Progress is always something to aspire towards, but hats off to the USA for making things possible where otherwise they just aren't. Just as a reminder, here's the SNL parody I posted last year on first world problems. 

(12) On that note, I'm also thankful for our troops. They are the ones on the frontline who tirelessly fight for freedom for the rest of us and for that I'm forever grateful. 

(13) Lastly, but certainly not least, I'm thankful for all my readers. I hope you all enjoy my writings and find some stuff informative. Thanks for keeping me relevant.

There's obviously much more I'm thankful for but not to bore the rest of ya'll; I just hope this post encourages everyone to think about who and what ya'll are grateful for. I try to think about these things every day since I find I feel better when considering what else (things and people) have made my lovely existence possible. 

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!/ Broccoli Month

Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,

Read the rest of the poem here. I won't chime into the irony of it being Election Day today.
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I would like to declare November as Broccoli month. Here's an intro article. Basically Broccoli rocks--it's a highly nutritious veggie that sometimes has a bad reputation for no apparent reason seeing as I don't think it has a strong taste or awkward texture. Remember this chart? See how many times you find broccoli on it. That's probably how much more you should be eating it.  I'll add more nutritional info later, but try to incorporate Broccoli once this week into a meal. Next week we'll amp it up to 2!