Mauritania!

Mauritania is the answer to all our problems!


Mauritania is a land where up is down! Black is white! And big is beautiful! (Ok, only the last statement is true.)

Yes, that small country in the northwestern region of Africa has the opposite cultural ideal of beauty than that which is held by pretty much the rest of the world. Plump women are considered gorgeous, and skinny (or "scrawny" as they call it) women are disgusting.

Young girls are force-fed cous-cous and fatty milk until they vomit and then force-fed some more! This ritual causes all kinds of unhealthful side-effects in older women, as one can well imagine--high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc.

But Oprah couldn't get enough of it. I saw her show on "beauty around the world," which had a segment on Mauritania and she could not hide her fascination with this place in which her long-battled gut would actually be a boon and not a curse.

She was so overjoyed she burst out into song, "There's a place for us...Somewhere a place for us..."

Sure Oprah would fit right in to Mauritania, but what about naturally scrawny girls? Isn't that the problem with cultural ideals of beauty (no matter how much they may vary from culture to culture)?

Someone, somewhere is always ugly.

Memento

Once in a while I'll find words and phrases that I really like. Thought it would be nice to remember them on my blog.

"She is comfort; loving like an embrace.
Her eyes look like home."
~Anonymous

Clearing the Bar

Crisis averted! I'm alive and well. PTL and thank you Jesus!

Help Me Gentle Reader

This week has been a rather slow week for me so I actually have a chance to post an entry before I zonk out for the day! I'll take this opportunity to ask you, my classy readers, about a burning question I face everyday.

Question: When you step into your office building (and it's just you there at the moment) should you greet the security person?


Everyday when I walk in the building I start worrying about what to do as I walk by the security person's desk. I'm almost always alone (I get to work late) and it's almost always the same guy. Tall, Asian, young, nerdy, nice looking fellow.

At first I avoided his gaze 'cuz I thought he was smiling a bit too eagerly. But then I noticed some of my officemates greeting Asian Guy as they walked past. Was I remiss not to do the same?

Tomrrow will be the 49th time I walk by. Isn't it too late to start saying hello?

What Life?

Work has officially taken over my life.


For the last 3 weeks, besides for a half-hour of tv here or there, I basically wake up, work for 10-12 hours, eat dinner (read: food that came in a can) and zonk out.

I've given up on taking lunches too. Lunch. What is that? That's a foreign concept to me. It sounds vaguely familiar...

My desk is stashed with nutrition bars, nuts, chocolate, and the occasional dried fruit package. It's like Survivor, the desk-drawer edition.

And you know what?

It's still ok with me.

I like what I do. I like the people I work with (for the most part). And I still like not thinking about making personal choices. If I could only work in a few more fresh fruits and vegetables here and there, things would actually be pretty perfect.

And friends. I miss my friends.