Let the Festivities Begin

Much to my delight, Christmas festivities are well underway here in DC, as was evidenced in particular this weekend.  There's nothing like some good old-fashioned Christmas cheer to make a cold, dreary day just a little bit brighter.

We had quite the weekend of pre-Christmas fun here in the nation's capital...not that I wasn't in the spirit, oh, a month or so ago (a slightly embarrassing fact that Dan reminded me of the other day).  On Friday night, after an exhausting, yet rewarding week at work (I was prepping for our biggest event of the year), Lauren and I went to the annual Christmas tree lighting in Dahlgren, after which we met up with Molly for dinner at Tombs and then met up with Joelle for Lessons and Carols at Dahlgren.  As if the night could get any more Christmasy, Molly and I went home afterward and decorated our apartment for Christmas.  While it's still very much a work-in-progress, here is the general gist of it:

Christmas tree lighting in Dahlgren- Merry Hoya Christmas!

                                                       Our apartment, looking very festive!

On Saturday, Dan and I (as well as some other friends) went to our first Hoya basketball game of the year (being that none of us have tickets this year and are completely delinquent fans), thanks to a free ticket offer for faculty and staff.  I was pleasantly shocked by how amazing the seats were!  It wasn't a particularly close game, but it was great to be back at Verizon.  We were sitting next to a guy who was a Class of 1986 SFSer, so it was fun to listen to him re-live his glory days.

After the game, we decided that it was finally time, after having lived in DC for six years, for Dan to go to a Smithsonian museum.  We decided on American History, which is one of my favorite museums in the city.  We particularly liked the war exhibit (basically an exhibit dedicated to US military history) and I liked the First Lady exhibit, especially because, unlike the last time I was there, Michelle Obama's STUNNING Jason Wu Inauguration Ball dress was on display.  It was even more beautiful in person!  From there, we walked over to see the Christmas tree at the Ellipse.  While I am generally a fan of all Christmas trees, this one is not a particularly attractive one, mostly because it is a normal tree that you can't even see through the cage of lights around it.  However, it is still a Christmas tree, so I still wanted to go see it.  In addition to the primary tree, there are smaller trees for each state and territory, each bedecked in ornaments created by children of various ages from that state or territory.  It was fun to judge each of them (Massachusetts' was really disappointing, much to my chagrin).

After walking around the general Metro Center area in vain looking for places to eat, we decided to head back in the general Georgetown direction.  We had a delicious dinner at Paper Moon, followed by milkshakes at Johnny Rocket's.  Then we went home and watched Muppet Christmas Carol.  All in all, an absolutely fabulous day.  It was a nice blend of Christmasy activities and touristy ones, so I'm very grateful to Dan for being so on-board for such a jam-packed (yet fun!) Saturday!  It was the perfect way to kick off December!

 HOYA SAXA!

Looking ahead, my mom and I will be in Strasbourg in exactly TWO WEEKS!!!!! I can't wait for what promises to be an incredible trip!

Giving Thanks in 2011

2011 has been quite an exciting year for me: starting in chronological order, one of my best friends moved back to DC, I met my indescribably wonderful boyfriend, my parents moved back to DC, my best girlfriends got to be reunited several times (once in Chicago in February, and twice in DC, with trips to Austin and Chicago hopefully in the works for next year), I moved in to a wonderful new apartment, and my family is preparing for what promises to be an unforgettable European Christmas vacation.

I truly am blessed, and I try to take a moment each day to give thanks for my amazing family, my wonderful friends, my incredible boyfriend, my job, the roof over my head, my good health (other than some pesky ankle injuries) and the health of my family.  I know that Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on all of those things that we have to be thankful for, but I really do have to pinch myself every day, because I truly am blessed. When I think of all of the amazing and inspirational people in my life, it is impossible to imagine my life without any of them, so I am so grateful for each and every one of those people.

Having my family back in DC has been such a blessing.  You really can't underestimate the convenience of having your parents just a metro ride away, so I have definitely taken advantage of that (in a positive way) and have gotten to spend some quality time with them.  To know that I have an open invitation to stay there if I need a night away or a home-cooked meal is such a comfort, and I am so grateful to my parents for opening up their home to Tim and I, not to mention Dan and both Tim's and my friends.  My mom has been a saint for, among other errands, driving me all the way up to Rockville when I was still ensconced in my Comcast drama, and I could not be more grateful to her for that (did I mention that this was at rush hour?).  I look forward to all of the memories we will be able to make as a family now that we are all reunited in DC.

I feel consistently grateful for the amazing support network of friends that I have, both friends who are in DC and friends who are far away.  I am such a lucky girl, and I hope that my friends know how much I love and value them.  To those who don't live in DC, I hope they know that I am always thinking about them, even when we haven't talked in a while and all have our stresses that keep us from staying in touch as much as we once did.  I am so glad that we did get to have as many reunions this year as we did, so I look forward to many more of those next year :)

I wake up every morning and go to bed every night feeling so blessed that I met Dan.  I'm not going to gush too much in case he's reading this (I once gave him my blog URL so he could look at one of my past posts, and I don't know if he actually reads it), but he is such a sweet, loving and giving boyfriend, and I really couldn't ask for a better one.  Even if I'm having a terrible day, even a text from him, never mind actually seeing him, is enough to instantly lift my spirits, and I can honestly say that I've never been happier.  I think that, come Christmas season, he will absolutely regret having met me, what with my abounding holiday cheer, but I think he'll come out the other side just fine :)

I really can't wait for a Thanksgiving holiday of relaxing.  We'll be visiting my grandparents for a few days, and then I think we'll be back in the city, but it will be so refreshing to not have any pressing engagements!  I wish you and all of your families the happiest of Thanksgivings!

Kristen

Post "Miss Representation," Take II: Let's Talk Body Image

Obviously, no discussion of how women are represented in the media would be complete without a discussion of body image.  We are constantly bombarded with issues of [seemingly] flawlessly beautiful women who fit the bill of what Michael Kimmel, the author of Guyland, would refer to in his point that men (or, rather, young men in the 16-26 age bracket) think of the ideal woman as effortlessly perfect.  That is what these women in movies and TV and on magazine covers look like: effortlessly perfect.  They can balance all of the pressures of daily life, and still look freshfaced, thin and stylish.  Easy, right?

Wrong.  What we all know deep down to be true (but, yet, what no one tells us), is that these women are, first and foremost, airbrushed.  There was one part of the movie that showed the extent to which a model was airbrushed to the point where she no longer resembled her former self, so that is a lot of what is at play here.  Not only do they have airbrushing, but many of them likely have a personal chef to cook them nutritious meals, a personal trainer to work out with them for hours upon leisurely hours (because c'est la vie of an entertainer to have lots of downtime while not working), an assistant to do all of their time-wasting errands for them, a nanny to take care of their children...the list is endless.  So NATURALLY they're going to look a little less haggard than your normal, everyday woman. 

The problem is that so many young girls and women get ideas about what they themselves should look like from the images that the media presents them with day in and day out, to the point where they begin to lose sight of what is normal, not to mention healthy.  I am the first one to admit that I have certainly felt insecure about my body (in fact, I would say that I have spent the majority of my life feeling that way, not necessarily all day every day, but it is definitely something that is more often than not in the back of my mind), and I would argue that you would be hard pressed to find a single woman who has NEVER felt insecure about any aspect of her physical appearance.  If such a woman exists, then I will worship at her feet and ask her to divulge all of her secrets to escaping self-loathing and masochism.

I am partly to blame for my own at-times negative body image.  I avidly digest every last bit of pop culture news, checking People.com and UsWeekly.com daily for the latest in the lives of the stars, so I let myself be more bombarded than most by those images (in fact, Dan brought a rare pop culture event to my attention that I wasn't aware of, and he said jokingly, "Come on People."  Okay, I deserved that).  I think that the important thing is knowing where to draw the line, understanding that those celebrities are airbrushed and have an extensive team at their beck and call to make their lives just a little bit easier.  Us mere mortals do not have that luxury.  So I know how to spot a fake like this when I see one (jeez, Photoshop much?).  The actual model is, while still thin, much healthier looking than this ad, in which her head appears bigger than her waist.  How are we supposed to break the culture of women who torture themselves to be thin when we have such prominently-featured ads as Ralph Lauren's portraying this unachievable standard.

Now,  I'm hardly the person to be preaching to the choir, but, in my experience, the best role models are those who take good care of their bodies- those women who are athletic and strong.  Yes, it is important to exercise, but it is also important to eat a well-balanced diet.  For me, I look at female distance runners and I think, 'Wow, that is what I want to look like.'  If you take care of your body, it will reward you by allowing you to do things like run marathons :)  That's what I'm aiming for next.  Of course, accepting one's body is a work of constant progress, but the less we take our cues from popular culture, the healthier our attitudes will be towards our bodies.

A Must-See for Any Woman

Last night, Molly, Lauren and I went to a screening of the film "Miss Representation," which was shown as a result of a partnership between the Alliance of Women in Media Foundation and the Women in Politics Institute at American University.  I didn't quite know what to expect going into the screening, and, admittedly, was just hoping to stay awake, considering that it has been a long week.

Let's just say that all three of us left the screening feeling really riled up.  For a quick taste of the gist of the documentary, here is the trailer.  The film discusses, with the help of representatives from the entertainment/media and political worlds (both male and female) the misrepresentation of women in the media (hence the name of the film) and how such a misrepresentation has a direct effect on the number of women in positions of authority in the entertainment, political and business spheres. 

The film was so rich in topics for discussion that I cannot possibly contain all of them in one post...which is why I have decided to dedicate several to the film.  I guess I would like to start by talking about the "Bitch vs. Whore" dichotomy, being that it is such a pervasive element of our media-driven society.  A perfect illustration of this (I was so happy that they used this clip) is a scene from the first Sex and the City movie, when Carrie and Miranda peruse the drugstore aisles.  Miranda surveys the options for Halloween costumes and says something to the effect of, "I can't believe this.  The only options for women are a witch and a sexy kitten."  Carrie responds, "You just said a mouthful there, sister." Now, I have to admit that I always chuckle a little bit when I watch that part of the movie, but it really is a telling scene in terms of how women are portrayed in the male-run media.

I should add as a caveat that I am kind of going to weave in arguments and opinions that I have formed as a result of having read Guyland, a fabulous book about the male 16-26 age bracket, because this film certainly gave supporting evidence to those claims.  For most men (though certainly not all), women are not on a spectrum, but, rather, are either a bitch (a Hilary Clinton-esque, strong and ambitious woman who is seen as a "threat" to their masculinity and ambition) or a whore (a Sarah Palin-esque piece of eye candy with not a lot going on in between the ears; despite the fact that I disagree with her politically, I was disgusted when multiple sound bytes throughout the movie saw her described as "great masturbation material.").  And, unfortunately, since men are the primary controllers and owners of media and news outlets, more often than not, the story of the whore is the one that is more pervasive. There is no space for a woman in the media who is both beautiful and competent/intelligent/accomplished, and that is a trend that sorely needs to change.

There was a clip of a news show that featured one female news anchor and a couple of male news anchors.  The clip was from the day that Paris Hilton got out of jail, and the men insisted, "Let's go to the Paris Hilton story," which the female coanchor refused to do, adding that she was there to report on one of the many real news stories of the day.  It was very telling that, ultimately, they played the Paris Hilton clip, but not before the viewer saw the female anchor with her head in her hands, shaking her head in frustration at the pigs she worked with.  I was so proud, in that moment, that she stood up for women on-air and protested that deplorable fratty behavior.

The last thing I would add is that the omnipresence of the "whore" in media- in rap music videos, in movies (even in movies like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, where Angelina Jolie's character is supposed to be a strong, independent woman, she is still a sexual object), on magazine covers and even in politics- means that it is men who judge the beauty and worth of a woman.  I hear my own brothers speak so disparagingly of women based on their appearance and perceived worth, and, even though I sometimes protest, I admit that I could do more to break that cycle of behavior. A perfect example came last night, when Molly and I stopped at the grocery store near our apartment to get milk after the movie.  There were a bunch of 13 to 14 year-old boys perusing the magazines near checkout, and we heard them point and say, "she [Mariah Carey] used to be fat."  We just shook our heads, as if to say, "And so it begins."  What we need are strong male role models who will teach boys and young men how to be respectful of women, if we ever wish to break this cycle of unacceptable behavior.  Boys need to be taught that women are not objects meant for their sexual pleasure, but, rather, complex, multidimensional human beings worthy of respect.

I will definitely be blogging more about the film either over the weekend or next week, but I will say that, if any of you have the opportunity to attend a screening of the film, I would highly recommend going.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Kristen

Good for Several Laughs

One of my favorite weekly activities is reading the New York Times' Sunday Style pages (more specifically, the Weddings and Celebrations section).  It's okay, I'm open about it.  Part of it is that I am a hopeless romantic and am obsessed with weddings, but it is also just so damn FUN to laugh at how pretentious some of the couples sound!


Here's a sample (created out of my own imaginary power, as well as years of reading the Sunday Style pages):


Victoria Helen Lancaster, the daughter of Philip J. Lancaster, Esq. and Veronica Lancaster of Greenwich, Connecticut, married Dr. Richard Louis Worthington III, the son of Dr. Richard Louis Worthington II and Patricia "Bunny" Worthington of Rye, New York at the bride's parents' country home in Chappaqua in a dusk ceremony on October 15th.  The Reverend Neil Weathers, an Episcopal minister and a close friend of the bride's family, officiated before 250 guests.

The bride, who will take her husband's name, is a senior associate editor at Marie Claire Magazine.  She graduated cum laude from the Yale University and runs an online jewelry boutique.  Her father is a senior partner at Walsh, Stone and Lancaster in New York, and her mother is a former event planner. 

The bridegroom is a surgical fellow in oncology at Memorial-Sloane Kettering Hospital in New York.  He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard, where he also captained the sailing team, and attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.  His father is the retired Chief of Surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, and his mother is a society contributor to The New Yorker.

The couple met at a charity regatta in Greenwich, Connecticut, when both were in school.  Mrs. Worthington, while initially unimpressed with Dr. Worthington's "cavalier" handling of his boat and its crew, was quickly won over by his charm, as well as his devotion to his medical career.

The couple lives in Manhattan.


Voilà!!!   Good thing I crack myself up, right? Somehow, my little "hobby" came to Dan's attention, and he said that Grantland, a mostly-sports (but partly-pop culture) blog that he reads, features a humorous monthly analysis of the NYT wedding announcements.  I knew that I was going to be all over this, so made him promise to send me the next one.  After I had waited anxiously, he sent me the October wedding roundup last night, as promised (really, could I ask for a better boyfriend?!).  I have not even made a dent in all of the wealth of laughs contained in this one blog post, so this, I think, will be my monthly gift that keeps on giving.

Even though I am not very far into the post, one article in particular caught my attention (I had actually seen it on the Times' website earlier in the week but hadn't had time to read it.  As it turns out, it was shockingly relevant to the blog!).  A New York man is suing his wedding photog because the last 15 minutes of the blessed event (the last dance and the bouquet toss) were not captured on film.  He is asking the photographer to pay to fly all of the guests back to NY and re-create the wedding so as to get a complete wedding picture album.  The only problem?  He and his wife got divorced a few years ago....ermmm, what?  It's nice to read things like that and know that I am not that insane (but, at the same time, it's just a bit sad to think that there ARE people that insane...and have more money than sense). 


Nothing like laughing at some wedding columns to add some humor to your day...it's the small things in life, particularly on Hump Day!!!

A Rare Food Post, and Holiday Prep

When I got out of work on Friday, I was desperately in need of a relaxing evening, so luckily, Molly and Lauren were willing to oblige.  In the spirit of trying new restaurants, we decided to wander on 14th St., and ended up stumbling upon Estadio, a Spanish restaurant.  I have tried a couple of other Spanish places in DC, and this one was, by far, my favorite.  The ambience, we decided, was very moorish, reminiscent of the architectural style and tiles of Southern Spain.  The food, too, was DELICIOUS.  I ordered Butternut Squash Soup (always a good choice), and we shared tortilla (claro), a bruschetta-like dish and manchego (again, claro).  Molly and Lauren also ordered patatas bravas, and we each got sangria.  Fantastic.  We then saw Like Crazy at E St. Cinema.  It was a decent movie- definitely not my favorite, but entertaining nonetheless- and it was just what I needed that night.

My mom and I trekked out to the outlets in Woodbridge on Saturday, partly to do some preliminary Christmas shopping, and partly to shop for a gift for my cousin's baby shower.  The outlets were an absolute ZOO, so I can't even imagine what they will be like come December (this is why I get my Christmas shopping done early, so I don't have to deal with the crowds).  A personal highlight was that I FINALLY found a camel cowl-neck sweater that I LOVE!!!! JCrew, ladies and gentlemen.  I turned around and there it was...it was like we were meant for each other haha.  There's nothing like a beautiful new sweater to make you at-peace with the coming of winter.  I wish I could convey the look of utter confusion when, after he told me that he liked my new sweater, I practically screeched at Dan, "I know!!! A camel cowl-neck sweater!".  His look was something like, "Ummm, I don't speak woman...", so, by explaining to him the words "camel" and "cowl neck", I updated his fashion vocabulary :)

On Saturday night, my parents took Tim, Dan and I out to Morton's in Georgetown, where, for the obvious reason of me being a vegetarian, I had never been.  The waiter brought out a cart containing each of their offerings, and, even though I had looked the menu up beforehand, I did not see one thing I could eat...until the very end, when he reached onto the bottom shelf of the cart and grabbed a cut of Chilean Sea Bass.  YUM YUM YUM.  My omnivorous family and my equally omnivorous boyfriend each got some sort of steak, and there were more than enough sides to go around.  Afterward, Dan and I went home and watched the LSU-Bama football game, which I was at least mildly interested in because it was such a close game.

Being that I was tired, I fell asleep watching Parks & Rec (really, you know it's bad when I fall asleep during that), and awoke at 7 a.m. to the sound of Dan's roommate BLASTING the TV in the other room.  Apparently she decided she needed some background noise, forgetting that Dan's room is right next to the living room.  So much for an extra hour of sleep courtesy of the end of daylight savings time.  I certainly had a lazy Sunday after that: we got breakfast at Martin's (yay, pumpkin pancakes!!!!!!! I promise you, the childish excitement on my part was excessive- I think Dan got a kick out of it), and, after that, the most strenuous thing I did was go for a run.  It was a good thing I did, too, after this apparent fat kid weekend.  Due to the lost sleep from the night before, which had only compounded the lost sleep that I have been building up since, oh, probably the Lake back in August, I was EXHAUSTED, and fell asleep at the grandmotherly hour of 8:15.  Yay me?

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

This is getting rambly, but I am happy to report that I have knocked two people off of my Christmas list already!  I ordered Tim's present a few weeks ago (but, thanks to UPS, the newest company on my black list, I have yet to receive it), and ordered Dan's on Friday.  I have ideas for everyone else (including the materials for a crafty homemade gifts, which I will post pictures of after the fact), so now it's just a matter of buying everything.  I want to spend December prepping for my trip, not worrying about which presents I still need to buy.  Speaking of which...in exactly six weeks, my mom and I will be leaving for Strasbourg!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeee!

Makes My Heart Melt!

I stumbled upon this post on Cup of Jo, in which she talks to guys about what is going through their head before they kiss a girl for the first time.  It is so cute how nervous some of these guys were!  It's definitely cute to see a guy get all mushy and emotionally vulnerable every once in a while :)