Back when I started this blog I owned a house on Watts St in Malden, MA. I fantasized about starting a little neighborhood newsletter called Watts What, but that didn't pan out so I started a blog instead.
Since then, I moved to D.C. for a year and a half. And then to Salt Lake last December. But I kept the blog name Watts What. When I moved to SLC, I knew that the time here was short, at most, a year and a half, until I started grad school in August of 2011.
The mast plan got sped up a bit and I'll starting grad school Feb 1, 2011 instead of in the fall. I'll be doing a one year Master of Research with the Univ of Gloucestershire in Cheltenham, England and then begin my PhD studies. Visa in hand, I've booked my plane ticket and paid January rent on a shared flat and will move from the U.S. on January 18th.
I think it's a good time to change the name of the blog. For now I'm going with Cheltenham Chat. If you have any other suggestions, let me know. I hope to be a bit better at blogging so that I can capture my experience living in the U.K. Hope you follow along!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Weighing In
I like to think that I am above having vanity issues, but I know it's not true. I don't fret too much about my hair, or make-up, or the state of my fingernails. I don't care if I wear the latest fashions. But one thing that I have struggled with for a long time is my weight.
I know that I am not overweight but I'm also not skinny. And I'd be fine with it if it weren't for the fact that I work out ALL THE TIME and eat really healthy. An average day for me is: early morning - 45 minutes of yoga, pilates or a jog, depending on the day of the week, bike to 5 miles to work, bike 5 miles home, evening - walk 1.67 miles to the gym, workout of an hour (weights or cardio depending on day of the week) walk home 1.67 miles. And sometimes there is walking in the middle too. I go through a lot of tennis shoes. Then there are things like tennis and swimming and other things that I throw in. I never drive to the grocery store, so I'm like a little sherpa packing groceries home too.
I've been fairly consistent with my activity/eating level my entire adult life. So you would think that I'd consistently stay in the size. But I don't. I range from size 10 to size 14. (Okay, there was one short period that I got a little out of control and was down to a size 8. It wasn't pretty on me.) Needless to say it gets frustrating and I have no idea why I fluctuate so radically. It's like every eight to ten months.
In the summer I finally went to my dr and had a little bit of a break-down. I mean, I seriously can't keep this fitness routine up for the rest of my life and I was starting to get fat. We did all the test - yes to hypoglemia and yes to a small thyroid imbalance, but nothing she wanted to start treating just yet. The two things she did put me on though - vitamin d two times a day (I already take a b-complex) and sleeping medication.
I'm not going to be a super-model anytime soon, but those two things have changed my body for the positive.
I've never been a huge fan of magazines like Shape and Fitness and am now even less so. Eat sensibly, work out, be honest with yourself, and if things aren't happening the way they should. Go see your doctor. It took blood test and a consultation. A $10 bottle of vitamin D and a $4 bottle of sleeping pills and I'm healthier than I've been in a long time.
I know that I am not overweight but I'm also not skinny. And I'd be fine with it if it weren't for the fact that I work out ALL THE TIME and eat really healthy. An average day for me is: early morning - 45 minutes of yoga, pilates or a jog, depending on the day of the week, bike to 5 miles to work, bike 5 miles home, evening - walk 1.67 miles to the gym, workout of an hour (weights or cardio depending on day of the week) walk home 1.67 miles. And sometimes there is walking in the middle too. I go through a lot of tennis shoes. Then there are things like tennis and swimming and other things that I throw in. I never drive to the grocery store, so I'm like a little sherpa packing groceries home too.
I've been fairly consistent with my activity/eating level my entire adult life. So you would think that I'd consistently stay in the size. But I don't. I range from size 10 to size 14. (Okay, there was one short period that I got a little out of control and was down to a size 8. It wasn't pretty on me.) Needless to say it gets frustrating and I have no idea why I fluctuate so radically. It's like every eight to ten months.
In the summer I finally went to my dr and had a little bit of a break-down. I mean, I seriously can't keep this fitness routine up for the rest of my life and I was starting to get fat. We did all the test - yes to hypoglemia and yes to a small thyroid imbalance, but nothing she wanted to start treating just yet. The two things she did put me on though - vitamin d two times a day (I already take a b-complex) and sleeping medication.
I'm not going to be a super-model anytime soon, but those two things have changed my body for the positive.
I've never been a huge fan of magazines like Shape and Fitness and am now even less so. Eat sensibly, work out, be honest with yourself, and if things aren't happening the way they should. Go see your doctor. It took blood test and a consultation. A $10 bottle of vitamin D and a $4 bottle of sleeping pills and I'm healthier than I've been in a long time.
Monday, December 6, 2010
More Zurich
Thought I'd share a little more about my trip (esp for those not on Facebook)
This is my tiny hotel room. I knew that European hotel rooms would be small, but I had expected a musty room covered with fabric. This was very clean and industrial. and cold. And there were no chairs in the room or the lobby, so it wasn't a very comfortable place to be. It took me a few days to figure out things like how to turn on the lights and hot water in the shower.
The hotel staff didn't speak English very well, nor were very helpful so I tried to figure things out on my own. I saw the cleaning woman insert the door key-card into a pocket on the wall and viola! lights. The hot water was something else. The universal sign for hot is red and blue for cold, and that worked fine for the sink, but the shower didn't seem to cooperate. The first few days involved me filling up my water bottle from the sink, and pouring it on myself while standing in the shower. Luckily my room was small enough that I could reach the sink from the shower.
Zurich isn't really a hot spot of tourism, but there was a river that ran along the length of the city with a jogging path on both sides of the bank. It was a flourish of activity and I went for a walk along it every day.
Directly across the nearest bridge from my hotel was a playground and this little zoo. It had goats, very feathery chickens and some pigs.
It seems anytime I am at an event with Middle Eastern men, at least one of them falls in love with me. I kid you not. I have had three marriage proposals after things like Embassy dinners, etc. This poor guy spent the entire week trying to woo me; fetching me water, making sure I was warm/cool enough in the class room, general staring, and trying to get me to go to lunch/dinner with him every night.
To be fair, there were only four women in the class and the other three were all married.
This is my group, the WI dairy cluster project team.
Returning from my daily stroll, I passed by a small family carrying illuminated vegetables. As i continued on I met up with the entire neighborhood out in a parade. There was a marching band, carts lit up with candles, and singing and talking. I followed along for several blocks and finally found someone to ask what the celebration was for. She couldn't explain it in English very well, but it was something to do with celebrating Fall. Similar to our Halloween but more about nature and less about goblins.
The next day as I went out for a walk I found these carved out turnips hanging from a tree. This is what the kids were walking around with! I can't imagine carving a turnips is easy!
Along that same street was a neighborhood park. On this particular day there was a hot game of bocce and some ping-pong going on.
The Saturday after our class, four of us still in town went on a guided tour. This is a scene from inside the bus.
Three of us along the banks of the lake. The fourth person wasn't actually in our class. There were two classes being held that week. This poor guy came to our class the first day, sat through the entire day, and at the end, realized he was in the wrong class.
On the tour we went outside the city and up a tram to the country side. This is me with very hairy cows in the back ground. I don't think you can see the cows.
Me on the ferry to the Gold Coast. It's called the Gold Coast because there are vineyards along the banks. During the Autumn, when the grape leaves change colour, it shimmers like gold. The tour guide also said that people call it the Gold Coast because only rich people can afford to live there. Tour guides are so funny.
Amitav and I on the ferry.
Sunday walk in the rain. There is a very cool museum in the back ground.
The museum from the other side of the river. This is about two miles down the river path from my hotel.
Mostly I ambled about and picked random streets to go up. I have no idea what I'm taking pictures of but felt pressure to show something of my trip.
This was another random street. Reminds me of Boston. And thus concludes my trip to Zurich. I did enjoy that pedestrians have the right of way, though the streets and sidewalks aren't very clearly separated so there were a few times when I didn't know where the sidewalk ended and street began. I was also struck by how many men took their children out for a walk. I saw as many men walking around with baby carriages as women. And there were lots of people on crutches. I mean, enough that I noticed how many people I saw on crutches. And it's not because there were more pedestrians and therefor I'd see more people using crutches instead of driving in cars. There are just as many pedestrians in Boston and NYC and I can think of a single time I saw anyone walking around on crutches that didn't involve a cast. This was like two or three people, of different ages, a day. It just struck me as odd.
This is my tiny hotel room. I knew that European hotel rooms would be small, but I had expected a musty room covered with fabric. This was very clean and industrial. and cold. And there were no chairs in the room or the lobby, so it wasn't a very comfortable place to be. It took me a few days to figure out things like how to turn on the lights and hot water in the shower.
The hotel staff didn't speak English very well, nor were very helpful so I tried to figure things out on my own. I saw the cleaning woman insert the door key-card into a pocket on the wall and viola! lights. The hot water was something else. The universal sign for hot is red and blue for cold, and that worked fine for the sink, but the shower didn't seem to cooperate. The first few days involved me filling up my water bottle from the sink, and pouring it on myself while standing in the shower. Luckily my room was small enough that I could reach the sink from the shower.
Zurich isn't really a hot spot of tourism, but there was a river that ran along the length of the city with a jogging path on both sides of the bank. It was a flourish of activity and I went for a walk along it every day.
Directly across the nearest bridge from my hotel was a playground and this little zoo. It had goats, very feathery chickens and some pigs.
It seems anytime I am at an event with Middle Eastern men, at least one of them falls in love with me. I kid you not. I have had three marriage proposals after things like Embassy dinners, etc. This poor guy spent the entire week trying to woo me; fetching me water, making sure I was warm/cool enough in the class room, general staring, and trying to get me to go to lunch/dinner with him every night.
To be fair, there were only four women in the class and the other three were all married.
This is my group, the WI dairy cluster project team.
Returning from my daily stroll, I passed by a small family carrying illuminated vegetables. As i continued on I met up with the entire neighborhood out in a parade. There was a marching band, carts lit up with candles, and singing and talking. I followed along for several blocks and finally found someone to ask what the celebration was for. She couldn't explain it in English very well, but it was something to do with celebrating Fall. Similar to our Halloween but more about nature and less about goblins.
The next day as I went out for a walk I found these carved out turnips hanging from a tree. This is what the kids were walking around with! I can't imagine carving a turnips is easy!
Along that same street was a neighborhood park. On this particular day there was a hot game of bocce and some ping-pong going on.
The Saturday after our class, four of us still in town went on a guided tour. This is a scene from inside the bus.
Three of us along the banks of the lake. The fourth person wasn't actually in our class. There were two classes being held that week. This poor guy came to our class the first day, sat through the entire day, and at the end, realized he was in the wrong class.
On the tour we went outside the city and up a tram to the country side. This is me with very hairy cows in the back ground. I don't think you can see the cows.
Me on the ferry to the Gold Coast. It's called the Gold Coast because there are vineyards along the banks. During the Autumn, when the grape leaves change colour, it shimmers like gold. The tour guide also said that people call it the Gold Coast because only rich people can afford to live there. Tour guides are so funny.
Amitav and I on the ferry.
Sunday walk in the rain. There is a very cool museum in the back ground.
The museum from the other side of the river. This is about two miles down the river path from my hotel.
Mostly I ambled about and picked random streets to go up. I have no idea what I'm taking pictures of but felt pressure to show something of my trip.
This was another random street. Reminds me of Boston. And thus concludes my trip to Zurich. I did enjoy that pedestrians have the right of way, though the streets and sidewalks aren't very clearly separated so there were a few times when I didn't know where the sidewalk ended and street began. I was also struck by how many men took their children out for a walk. I saw as many men walking around with baby carriages as women. And there were lots of people on crutches. I mean, enough that I noticed how many people I saw on crutches. And it's not because there were more pedestrians and therefor I'd see more people using crutches instead of driving in cars. There are just as many pedestrians in Boston and NYC and I can think of a single time I saw anyone walking around on crutches that didn't involve a cast. This was like two or three people, of different ages, a day. It just struck me as odd.
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