Health, and misc.
May. 18th, 2010 08:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ravenI went to my GP today. Not because there is anything immediately wrong with me, but because as a condition of my becoming a resident, however temporary, of the state of New York, I need certification that I'm not a public health hazard. Thus, I took myself and my seven-page form along as the last patient of the day to be poked and prodded, and, well. I was pleased to discover that I am, apparently, in very good health: my blood pressure is in the normal range, my liver and spleen and heart are all in good order, I (still) have 20-20 vision (Although that was fun; my GP did the eye test on me, sat down to the form, swore under his breath and reached for the calculator. After a moment of button pusshing he looked at me balefully and said, "Enough of this, they're having it in metres!") and apparently I am even shorter than I thought.
It doesn't bother me, I think, though. I also weigh rather a lot less than I thought - a full 5kg less! what is wrong with my scales? - and that does make me think a little bit. For one thing, it proves definitively for me that weight does not relate to health. I've felt a bit slower going up stairs recently, but it's not because of my weight, it's because I've been living off coffee and pick 'n' mix lately and probably should eat lettuce and roast tomatoes and sushi and green apples and ham sandwiches and mustard and sweet potatoes and pizza as well.
I don't know, I always get the feeling I'm supposed to mind being short and tiny and with a figure the media, in their lovely sensitive media way, call "boyish". I'm not boyish. I'm a woman. I'm 157 cm tall and weigh less than a garden roller and don't need to wear a bra and I'm still a woman. Real women have curves and real women don't. And I like my body. I like its strength. I like that I can run and cycle and box with it, I like that kilogram for kilogram there's very little that uses energy more efficiently. Such privilege, to be tiny and strong. It's good to be aware.
In conclusion... I'm well! And speaking of privilege, that was the first time in my life I've paid for medical treatment, barring prescription charges. I suppose that's something I ought to get used to.
In other news! I am doing okay at the moment, but I'm busy, with only a week until reading week and then only a couple of weeks until exams (and only two months until I move countries, eep!), and rather than being relaxing, the weekend was rather stressful. On Friday night![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jacinthsong and I went to see Lashings of Ginger Beer, who are a feminist burlesque group raising money for their trip to Edinburgh in the summer, and they're fabulous.
(Seriously, I do recommend them, and I would even if, er, I hadn't gone to school or university with nearly everyone in the cast and my boyfriend weren't doing their photography! They're funny, smart, occasionally very sharply chilling, and they make jokes about third-wave feminism and Doctor Who. Alsojacinthsong and I used to guest-star in the lyrics of one of their songs, which still makes me happy.)
And then on Saturday night I was pottering about not doing much, and feeling on-edge because of some living-space unpleasantness, and my mum's best friend rang me, much to my surprise; she said, your mother is absolutely fine don't worry but maybe you'd better come and see her. So I got up at the crack of dawn on Sunday and did. My mum had an exam today, and in preparation had gone to stay with her friend to prepare, but mostly to get stressed out and worried that she was going to fail it was all going to be awful oh my god. I got the train to London without realising that on Sunday, Oxford United were playing York City at Wembley and there were 35,000 supporters expected and they were all on that train. Oh, dear. And then I got to London and both the Tube lines I wanted were closed, so I had to get where I was going by way of four others and a bus.
But my mum was delighted to see me and distracted from the stressing-out, so that was worth it, in the end. I came back the same night, and although I've been half-zombified ever since I think it was worth it. She did the exam today, says she might have failed but she didn't cry or run away, and that's all the success she needs.
I should probably make some dinner and do some work. But before that,tafkarfanfic gave me some of my icons to write about:
I love this one. The text is from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
shoebox_project, of course, and it's so appropriate for so many situations. Sometimes for my own occasional drunken escapades - see also tag, "alcomahol" - and sometimes there really is a full explanation, like David Cameron meeting the Minister for Magic oh wait.
This is a diya, the small oil lamps that are used in Hindu worship. When you say "religion", they're what I think of - they're so small, and so bright. I use this icon sometimes when talking about India in general, but also when talking about religion, too. My religious background is quite important to me, though I don't talk about it very much.
The casual observer might look at this icon and think, aha, it is Jadzia Dax. The casual observer would in fact be wrong. This is from a deliciously off-the-wall episode of Deep Space Nine called "Our Man Bashir", in which our heroes roam the holodeck in a Bond-based caper with many characters who look... oddly familiar, shall we say? Her name is Professor Honey Bare. Oh, how I wish I were kidding.
Hiiii, this is me! I don't think anyone didn't know that, but still. I like the picture very much, though, because it's actually a candid shot;shimgray took it without warning me first, which normally doesn't end well, but I liked it in this instance. I use this icon whenever what I'm saying would have more weight with "me" saying it, so to speak.
Now I am no longer reading for a degree in it, I talk about philosophy less than I used to. But I still love it, and am loath not to have an icon for it.
This used to be my default icon, so I now don't use it much, but I do love it still. This, my friends, is a much younger Hillary Clinton and I just love the dynamism of it, the optimism - the keyword is "look who we can grow up to be", and that pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter.
If you would like icons to talk about, do say.
It doesn't bother me, I think, though. I also weigh rather a lot less than I thought - a full 5kg less! what is wrong with my scales? - and that does make me think a little bit. For one thing, it proves definitively for me that weight does not relate to health. I've felt a bit slower going up stairs recently, but it's not because of my weight, it's because I've been living off coffee and pick 'n' mix lately and probably should eat lettuce and roast tomatoes and sushi and green apples and ham sandwiches and mustard and sweet potatoes and pizza as well.
I don't know, I always get the feeling I'm supposed to mind being short and tiny and with a figure the media, in their lovely sensitive media way, call "boyish". I'm not boyish. I'm a woman. I'm 157 cm tall and weigh less than a garden roller and don't need to wear a bra and I'm still a woman. Real women have curves and real women don't. And I like my body. I like its strength. I like that I can run and cycle and box with it, I like that kilogram for kilogram there's very little that uses energy more efficiently. Such privilege, to be tiny and strong. It's good to be aware.
In conclusion... I'm well! And speaking of privilege, that was the first time in my life I've paid for medical treatment, barring prescription charges. I suppose that's something I ought to get used to.
In other news! I am doing okay at the moment, but I'm busy, with only a week until reading week and then only a couple of weeks until exams (and only two months until I move countries, eep!), and rather than being relaxing, the weekend was rather stressful. On Friday night
jacinthsong and I went to see Lashings of Ginger Beer, who are a feminist burlesque group raising money for their trip to Edinburgh in the summer, and they're fabulous.(Seriously, I do recommend them, and I would even if, er, I hadn't gone to school or university with nearly everyone in the cast and my boyfriend weren't doing their photography! They're funny, smart, occasionally very sharply chilling, and they make jokes about third-wave feminism and Doctor Who. Also
jacinthsong and I used to guest-star in the lyrics of one of their songs, which still makes me happy.)And then on Saturday night I was pottering about not doing much, and feeling on-edge because of some living-space unpleasantness, and my mum's best friend rang me, much to my surprise; she said, your mother is absolutely fine don't worry but maybe you'd better come and see her. So I got up at the crack of dawn on Sunday and did. My mum had an exam today, and in preparation had gone to stay with her friend to prepare, but mostly to get stressed out and worried that she was going to fail it was all going to be awful oh my god. I got the train to London without realising that on Sunday, Oxford United were playing York City at Wembley and there were 35,000 supporters expected and they were all on that train. Oh, dear. And then I got to London and both the Tube lines I wanted were closed, so I had to get where I was going by way of four others and a bus.
But my mum was delighted to see me and distracted from the stressing-out, so that was worth it, in the end. I came back the same night, and although I've been half-zombified ever since I think it was worth it. She did the exam today, says she might have failed but she didn't cry or run away, and that's all the success she needs.
I should probably make some dinner and do some work. But before that,
tafkarfanfic gave me some of my icons to write about: I love this one. The text is from
shoebox_project, of course, and it's so appropriate for so many situations. Sometimes for my own occasional drunken escapades - see also tag, "alcomahol" - and sometimes there really is a full explanation, like David Cameron meeting the Minister for Magic oh wait.This is a diya, the small oil lamps that are used in Hindu worship. When you say "religion", they're what I think of - they're so small, and so bright. I use this icon sometimes when talking about India in general, but also when talking about religion, too. My religious background is quite important to me, though I don't talk about it very much.
The casual observer might look at this icon and think, aha, it is Jadzia Dax. The casual observer would in fact be wrong. This is from a deliciously off-the-wall episode of Deep Space Nine called "Our Man Bashir", in which our heroes roam the holodeck in a Bond-based caper with many characters who look... oddly familiar, shall we say? Her name is Professor Honey Bare. Oh, how I wish I were kidding.
Hiiii, this is me! I don't think anyone didn't know that, but still. I like the picture very much, though, because it's actually a candid shot;
shimgray took it without warning me first, which normally doesn't end well, but I liked it in this instance. I use this icon whenever what I'm saying would have more weight with "me" saying it, so to speak.Now I am no longer reading for a degree in it, I talk about philosophy less than I used to. But I still love it, and am loath not to have an icon for it.
This used to be my default icon, so I now don't use it much, but I do love it still. This, my friends, is a much younger Hillary Clinton and I just love the dynamism of it, the optimism - the keyword is "look who we can grow up to be", and that pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter.
If you would like icons to talk about, do say.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2010-05-18 07:15 pm (UTC)I suppose I should not slip them a note warning of your TOXIC FAIL, then? Mm?
Not really. I loved reading this, especially I'm not boyish. I'm a woman. I'm 157 cm tall and weigh less than a garden roller and don't need to wear a bra and I'm still a woman, I love reading about you being cool with your body. *hugs* (Dammit, now nothing I can ever say can avoid sounding pervy) Also FOOD. Foooooooood.
Oo, pick six of my icons if you like. On Dreamwidth, that is, picking six LJ icons would be a very short and somewhat pointless exercise.
no subject
on 2010-05-19 07:02 pm (UTC)Have icons!:
no subject
on 2010-05-18 07:19 pm (UTC)This whole bit was written so beautifully, and this: Real women have curves and real women don't. You're very thoughtful and articulate. It is, obviously, a good combination.
I like the icon meme, if you don't mind picking a few for me to do, but it is not a big deal.
no subject
on 2010-05-19 07:05 pm (UTC)Icons:
no subject
on 2010-05-18 07:57 pm (UTC)I love you so damn much. I really do.
no subject
on 2010-05-19 07:06 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-18 08:03 pm (UTC)Ooooh, me, me! And oh, Jadzia. Or Not-Jadzia, as the case is. I loved that episode, for what-are-probably-obvious-from-my-icon reasons.
*fiddles about with centimeter--->inch conversion widget* Aren't you basically Scully's height? (I think Gillian Anderson is 5'2" or so.) That's pretty awesome. In the course of faffing about with conversions, I discovered that my height converts very easily, which is nice--65 inches equates to 165 cm. (Give or take a couple tenths, but whatever, close enough.)
no subject
on 2010-05-19 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-19 08:05 pm (UTC)And man, those heels. I don't know how she did it.
I like your icon choices! Post coming anon.
no subject
on 2010-05-18 08:31 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-19 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-20 02:40 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-18 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-21 12:16 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-18 09:03 pm (UTC)(Also I envy your not needing to wear a bra. It's amazing what an appreciative boyfriend can do to make you feel better about what are, frankly, ridiculously large breasts - and, er, I did not mean that in the awfully TMI way it sounds, really. But he cannot make bras cheaper, or more convenient.)
no subject
on 2010-05-18 09:33 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-18 09:38 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-21 01:17 pm (UTC)And, awww. Anwar does sound like a good and sensible man, the more I hear about him.
no subject
on 2010-05-18 09:36 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-20 08:48 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-20 10:04 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-19 02:14 am (UTC)I will have to come see you or you will have to come see me. I promise that while tall I am not very scary at all. And I'm a big fan of cool people in general and you in particular so we already have that in common.
Erin
no subject
on 2010-05-21 01:18 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-19 01:42 pm (UTC)A resident of the state of New York! I'm sure you have other friends closer, but I am not all that far away (relatively speaking) should you need anything while you're here.
I am desperately seeking procrastination tools, and would love to talk about my icons, if you are so inclined as to ask.
no subject
on 2010-05-21 01:30 pm (UTC)Icons!
no subject
on 2010-05-19 06:01 pm (UTC)