Run. You're meant to do it hours.

Daniel Lieberman and Dennis Bramble in 2004 found that the human body is designed to optimize long-distance running. Homo sapiens are not meant to outrun the deers and mammoths- they are meant to outlast them. Humans can cool down by sweating. The Achilles heel acts as a spring. This made the cover of Nature.

So running a marathon (or the desire to do so) is biologically natural.

I think I need to work on the psychological part of running. Here's my thought process when I am running: This is hard. I really want to stop. I could stop for twenty seconds. Okay, whew, that feels better. Why am I even doing this? I could walk a little bit more. Ooh, that guy just passed me. What? I'm gonna outrun him then walk a bit more. Yes!!! Oh, I'm tired... 

When I actually stop whining and examine myself, I'm not even that tired physically. So the trick is to keep going (in my mind). I imagine this is harder when you are doing this for four or five hours. I did cut down on my time last Saturday although I stopped and walked four stretches. It was awfully hot in Houston and I'd underestimated just how humid it would be at 8AM. 

But this kind of self-discipline must be useful in other aspects of life. For athletes, their greatest achievement isn't just what they do physically, but that they can push themselves in training and in competition to give their 110%.

Bed early for Cinco de Mayo

Last time I went to bed this early was for the Chick-Fil-A opening. Today I go to sleep early for the opposite reason: Sprint for Life 5k tomorrow morning!

Am I confusing you with the two blogs? I am confusing myself too. It is Children's Day in Korea (instead of the adult-appropriate Cinco de Mayo) and Appa says yes to #6 on my birthday list. He says he'll make one next time he goes rat-hunting (???).

I think Fifi would definitely approve:

The chicest rabbit you've ever seen.

My No Spend Month is going wonderfully. Instead of going shopping like I always do on Fridays, today I played baseball with the boys and sewed up some old clothes. Also met with my med school friend (at Chick-fil-A, of course) who got me excited about my upcoming move to Philly.

(I am so excited about HEB's Primo Picks. I love Houston.)

Chemical senses for the hedonist

NPR has an article about the cuban sandwich contest between Miami and Tampa. What! Tampa, of course. I miss those Cuban sandwiches! Last year when my mom flew up for graduation, she brought me Cuban bread loaves (baked with palmetto leaf) from La Segunda! Besides the beautifully lit Ybor City at night, grabbing Cuban sandwiches at the Columbia Cafe at the Tampa Bay History Center by the beach? I'm nostalgic (and hungry) this afternoon.

Also from NPR "Are Your Friends Bombarding You with Food Porn?" N-cakes once asked me, "isn't your blog a food blog?" because I talk about food ALL THE TIME here. Naturally because I think about it so much.

I want to try this. But I'm afraid I'll drop dead after first bite.

But what is it about taste and smell that makes people so happy? People don't abandon their new year's resolutions to "SEE" or "HEAR" something beautiful. These two senses in particular can make people irresponsible and lose all willpower. Is it because taste is so intimately linked to our survival? Other senses are not directly important in sustaining us (they take in a stream of information but for taste-and indirectly smell- every sensation is important).

Case in point: yesterday I had half-and-half in my coffee for possibly the first time and it was unbelievably smooth and delicious! Where have you been all my life? (Milk probably ups the pH too- happy teeth.) I was so happy sipping this cup of coffee on my mini-break. I could "sense" the endorphins and seratonins shaking hands with their receptors.

I'm adding dairy creamer to my groceries list! I'm doing a No Spend Month challenge for May so this is a mega-luxury but I view it as buying "happiness".

People reward themselves with ice cream or chocolate. But why not other senses? We can start small with smell. If I finish grading exams today, I'll grant myself one sniff of the acacia by the playgrounds. Somehow I'm not as excited.

(What is all this raspberry ketone business?)

-----------------------------------
I've had four cupcakes today and it's not even end of the day yet.... Holy shimozzlies.

why being the first 100 at chick-fil-a will wreck you

I spent 27 hours with 109 strangers camping outside in a concrete parking lot yesterday. All for the promise of free Chick-Fil-A for a year. (52 meals for one meal a week anyway).

I learned how to pitch a tent for this occasion (It's surprisingly easy). I felt a little rugged and outdoorsy until I remembered why I needed to be outdoors.

It is sort of like being on a cruise. Since there were more than a 100 people, there was a raffle to determine the lucky 100 with 10 more alternates. I made friends with a former longhorn who works at a downtown hospital.

The crowd was predominantly middle-aged and female. There were a few other college students. Some of the raffle winners were wheel-chair bound so they had "guests" who stayed to move them around. You have to be at least 18 but there were a handful of kids that stuck around with their parents who had won the raffle. A lot of them, I found out later, are home-schooled. Some moms had brought their infant babies! Fortunately the weather stayed cool so no medical emergencies there.

The same people host the Chick-Fil-A openings nationwide. Many of the people were repeat customers who knew the CFA staff like old friends. A surprising bunch had driven hours and hours for this. One elderly woman told me she drove eight hours from Louisiana and was planning on coming in again next week to Katy.

Let's think about this. At 52 meals valued at $250, I was just at the tipping point of making economic sense, missing an entire day of work and babysitting. But to do this repeatedly? I wanted to ask others how they were spending an entire day sitting out here. I was in the parking lot from 5:30AM Wednesday to 6:15AM Thursday.

After lunch, there was a mini-jam session behind the building in the shade! I took my papers, poured myself a cup of iced sweet tea and studied listening to live music.

I met people I would normally never talk to. Being in the same boat naturally confers a feeling of solidarity. Huddled by the one outlet charging phones, talking about homeschooling, discussing "old" antibiotics (She gushed, "I remember when methicillin came out!"). I danced two-step with new friends, found another Kurt Vonnegut aficionado, checked off an item on my bucket list, and oh, got 52 free CFA meals.

#12 and #13 after an entire day in this CFA parking lot

But about the title (besides having your last exam two hours after you pull out from the CFA parking lot...), from the Chick-fil-A meal calculator I added up what I ate:

I had made some actively healthy choices, such as not constantly pouring myself sweet tea, ordering a chargrilled chicken sandwich for dinner, not winning a milkshake for a contest. But this day was out of control food-wise. My fitness calculator told me I'd gain an extra five pounds in five weeks if I kept this up. YIKES. Many people brought in chips and cookies in addition to the CFA food we were fed, so...

Some final thoughts:
I wondered why homeless/jobless people weren't here. For them this would be a great opportunity right? One speculated they probably didn't know because she heard about it on the Internet- how did I figure this out? (Facebook through a friend). People who could benefit the most from these openings simply don't know about them...

Did you see me on the news?? Houston Press and Click2Houston

Microbio facts and laughs.

Couple of fun facts I learned in class today:

- In the E.coli outbreak last year in Germany, more women were severely affected than men. 70% of hemolytic-uremic syndrome patients were women. Presumably because women eat more salads.

- Oseltamivir, or Tamiflu as it is marketed (take when you catch the flu to keep symptoms from being full-blown), requires as its precursor shikimic acid isolated from Chinese star anise. Chinese star anise is produced only in four providences in China and grows March to May. These limitations of Chinese star anise is what ultimately causes worldwide shortage of Tamiflu!

- One of the most effective treatments of Clostridium difficile infection is fecal bacteriotherapy. This procedure is more commonly called a "stool transplant". This transplant can restore the patients' guts with healthy bacteria flora.

Lessons:
1. Don't eat too much salad. Eat some grilled steak, well done.
(I finally made it out to Jerry Built Homegrown Burgers with B who was in town a few weeks ago. The burgers were del-icious. The bun was soft, chewy and just perfect. And the fries- sweet and savory. It was really crowded when we went on a Thursday night, but Saturdays seem somehow less busy.)

(Picture from Yelp)

2. Stop personal stockpiling Tamiflu.
3. Don't resist treatments because they sound gross. They can save you.

Yesterday while running I stopped by an acacia tree and took a deep breath: so overwhelmingly sweet I almost choked. There is a tree right outside my door too and it makes me so happy to begin each day smelling these beautiful white flowers.

motivation for everyone.

Today's thought of the day involves "swim suit season". At the gym today, our instructor yelled out, "Swim suit season is coming!!!!!" and everyone started pumping harder. You could see the spark in their eyes. Not the first time this has happened.

Is Swimsuitseason a monster everyone is trying to outrun?

It's perfectly dandy that everyone is working out to look great when they go to the beach. Maybe someone will film them and run it slow motion with the beach waves glistening in the background. That would be something beautiful for the world.

My motivation for pushing through those classes comes from my nutrition professor Dr. Anding: I don't want my bones to snap like twigs. (Speaking of twigs, I held a black and white warbler in my hands this afternoon! It had flown into our department building so someone decided to pick it up and freeze it.) What really worries me is the possibility that I am speeding up my metabolism and just running my engine uber-fast which isn't good for me.

I picked up a bag of spinach at the Rice farmers' market last week and it is the most delicious spinach I've tasted. I was snacking on it on my way home. Snacking on spinach. It has a completely different texture that's almost lettuce-like.

Ten weeks until I fly out to Korea. There is so much to do before I fly out, but the motivation that keeps me going (my Swimsuitseason-monster) is spending time with family and relatives. I am actually staying for more than two weeks this time, so I want to learn how to play the so-geum (Korean flute) and jog with Appa and bake for my family and do all the wonderful everyday things I have been missing. In both senses of the word.

Singing in French and debating healthcare.

M who is a co-worker in my department moved into her new apartment couple of weeks ago. She invited a dozen friends, neighbors, and co-workers for her housewarming/St. Patrick's party this Saturday.

I haven't laughed like that in a long time. Or had that much cheese and wine. Two observations: our department is very international and very active. The neighbor who brought over the guitar (he's Moroccan) sang us songs in French and Spanish, and it was wonderful. Also, half the guests had walked or biked to M's apartment. In 80's Houston weather. On St. Patrick's Day with dangerous drivers on the road.

At one point we had a heated debate about social justice and disparities in healthcare. The psychiatrist was dealing with the fact that he had to prescribe instead of treat the patients (pharmaceutical companies throw some awesome parties). Coming from international backgrounds, many of us had different opinions of what works and what doesn't. Socialized healthcare, capitalism, doctors living the same lifestyle as mechanics in Sweden. Korea has a universal healthcare system where everyone is automatically covered and the insurance claims occur between doctors/government. Going to the ER for toothaches is almost unheard of. Everyone was yelling with exaggerated hand gestures and personal vendettas with no resolution in sight. Then M brought over a new plate of Caprese salad and everyone calmed down.

Couple of thoughts:

1) Is it enough to say, "The world is big. You don't have to live in the United States if you don't like its policies. Move somewhere else"? Even if you decided to leave the life you'd built, your friends and families, country boundaries are becoming more and more artificial. It's a global world. I guess you could evade your problem (aka not have a panic attack everytime you turn on the news) by immigrating somewhere else. But when does it stop? Maybe you just have to take some Xanax and stop thinking so much.

2) How do you resolve your social ideals with your personal actions? For example, I could scream all I want about disparities in healthcare, demand changes happen. But I can't start taking in patients who can't pay for their treatments. Or could I? What if I was going to be fired for doing so? 

Race photo from the 5k

Raceshots took pictures at our race, which were finally up this morning on their website. Look at this shot of me seconds from the finishline. I die.

Trust me, this is the better picture

But see how wet the pavement is? How dark the streets are at 9 in the morning? My Philly host and I are already discussing running schedules! There's the Philadelphia Marathon late October...or more realistically the 8k. Baby steps, people.

first 5k: Bayou City Classic!

I ran my first 5k this morning, the Bayou City Classic. Couple of weeks ago, a bunch of my runner friends decided to run this race, and I figured why not? After sleeping through the thunderstorm, I woke up to a breezy 55F, sprinkling outside with the roads already flooded. 

mid 50's plus rain and some winds...

10k lined up at startline

The start is a little less dramatic than expected...

Here we are, after the 10k racers have ran off. At this point, we're already soaking wet and waiting. I was nervous since I had not run an entire distance of 5km since... maybe 2011, that one morning when I was so inspired (caffeinated) and ran along University. I don't particularly enjoy running.

Our course looked like this. The first mile up to the post office was easy breezy, although some people began jogging full speed. Since I didn't have music, I tried to distract myself by looking for orange colors. The little loopy ramp was difficult due to the incline (and eventual decline), but once I made it back onto the streets, this was the last stretch. Just keep running, just keep running, just keep running!

The final stretch had people lined up cheering us on, so I sprinted the last block to the finish line. The 5k-ers didn't get a chip or a timer, but the guy who ran in with me had one: 30:09. My somewhat arbitrary goal was 30 minutes, and considering it was pouring and windy, I am happy.

We grabbed after-race snacks/goodies/beer and trotted home.

Chicken and fruit in one bowl. Peppery apples-mmmm.

Happy and dry at home with goodies

We are already brainstorming which next race to run together. When I told a neighbor that I was running a 5k, she told me "Congratulations!" which seemed like an interesting thing to say. But I feel so accomplished and inspired after running this mini-race that this compliment makes sense. Now I have a baseline to improve on and quantifiable goals to work towards, a minute at a time.

dental musings over no-coffee.

Here's an occupational hazard for you. Ever since I began working on this acid dissolution study, I have been drinking significantly less coffee. How can I sip on coffee when I can see exactly what that pH 4 solution is doing to my poor apatite crystals?

On my way back from the airport, I had an interesting conversation with the driver. When I told him I was applying to dental schools, he commented "Your husband must be really proud." I thought this comment was fascinating- would he have said the same to a man? After I laughed and corrected him ("No husband yet, but I am proud of myself.") he reminded me to "never forget about us folks" & to give back to the community.

There is an article today in the Chicago Tribune ("More Americans seek dental treatment at the ER") discussing the lack of preventative dental care for rural and low-income families leading to dental treatments in the emergency room. A common grievance for dentists is patients who don't return after initial assessments. But on the flip side is that these people who are not getting the dental care they need. They are choosing instead to "toughen it out" until small cavities become 3AM emergencies.

Hopefully before "tooth hurty." For everyone. Picture

I am slowly realizing that my career can help resolve inequality issues I find so disheartening. In a way, a dentist is more like a painter or a musician: you learn the skills to do things. Over the next four years, I hope to learn these practical skills that can help others- and actually do so. I just happen to have a supportive family; how fortunate am I to be selfishly studying for another four years? Staying grateful and happy about everything I have. Philadelphia, get ready.

fixed action pattern to the Olympics.

Today at 6:40AM, I hopped out of bed and zipped over to Oyster Creek (45F means a perfect morning on out the water). Since we didn't race today, I was spared that traumatizing experience.

Our quad warmed up first with isolated movements- moving only the arms then arms with the back- which I found extremely difficult. I felt like a sloppy turtle; I couldn't just do just one thing. Once we started actually rowing (using the entire legs-arms-back sequence of motion) I was fine, but it was either all or nothing for me. I had to activate the entire sequence of fluid motions... just like a FAP (I couldn't think of this term for an agonizing five minutes!).

Fixed Action Pattern(FAP) is a sequence of coordinated movements that are performed together as a "unit" without interruption. Each FAP is triggered by a unique stimulus variously known as a sign stimulus, a key stimulus, or a releaser. A praying mantis striking at prey is a typical example... Once initiated, the mantis cannot change direction in mid-strike or abort the mission if the prey escapes. (ENT 425 site from NCSU)

Or just watch this video:

I am extremely proud of myself because:
1) I didn't catch any crabs.
2) I hardly have blisters= I was using "monkey fingers" like I'm supposed to instead of gripping the oars too tight.
3) I decided to train for the Olympics.

Good morning, you!

Okay, the third one is a joke. One of the coaches told me, "Hey, keep coming out to practice and you will compete in the Olympics... in 2100." I don't think that would be such a "S.M.A.R.T. goal", but I did sign up for my first 5k for March. It will be a fun 5k with a bunch of friends, but at least now I have a goal + a deadline to train to, plus a way to quantify my achievements (number of blisters, Olympic trial offers, mile split time).

onchocerciasis in west africa.

Children leading the blind Photo Source

In certain regions of West Africa, onchocerciasis is a more important cause of blindness than trachoma. In some villages it is common to see young children leading blind adults; in highly endemic areas the blindness rate in men over 40 years may be 40% or higher. 

Transcribed from the Atlas of Tropical and Extraordinary Diseases, p. 373. Photo contributed by WHO. Selected by Kathleen

Our group is studying Wolbachia, an endosymbiotic bacteria that live in nematodes that cause these diseases. Current developments involve studying the nematodes' dependence on Wolbachia to target Wolbachia for more effective drugs that kill adult worms.

Good Eats, my kind of cooking show.

I watched a cooking show en route to California on the plane last week but didn't catch the title. I wandered the food show websites looking for an older male host and Dutch shots, with a heavy science emphasis.

Good Eats with Alton Brown.

Half scientist, half chef (picture)

This show fills the perfect niche for me. Alton Brown is the goofy host behind this cooking show which goes beyond the usual techniques and entertaining ideas. He explains the science between his recipes and methods, going into why a certain method is the best and why others would not be quite as effective (ex: don't wash pasta with cold water after draining it, so the hot noodle absorbs the sauce more readily). He also throws in helpful tips such as how to keep store cookie dough until ready to cook (carve out little balls with an ice cream scoop, put in the fridge for few minutes then throw into freezer for longer storage), all with every day ingredients and simple recipes anyone can follow.

So next time you want to spend some quality time osmosizing information but are not feeling the PBS or TED, watch Good Eats. You'll learn something while laughing at Alton's silliness (he's a goofy chef) & walk away with new dinner ideas.

Also, last but not least, Alton Brown's "Live and Let Diet":
Eat every day: fruits, whole grains, leafy greens, nuts, carrots, green tea
Eat at at least 3/week: oily fish, yogurt, broccoli, sweet potato, avocado
Limit to 1/week: red meat, pasta, dessert, alcohol
(Try to) never: fast food, soda, processed meals, canned soups, anything "diet"
And remember a simple rule: EAT BREAKFAST!

Not sure if this is doable on my end (dessert to once a week?), but I like this method of thinking about nutrition balance in terms of weekly consumption.

Okay, running off for skype chat with my summer family.

The Constant Gardener- of evil pharms and love.

After Z and I got back from H-mart, it was still early (10PM on a Friday night is early when you are 22... for once), so we decided to scroll through Netflix. He recognized "The Constant Gardener" as a book by John le Carre, and since this was shorter (we were counting down to our bedtimes) than "Gangs of New York", we chose to watch this gem.

And I am so glad I did! The title is a bit misleading, as is the poster. Both focus on Justin Quayle's love for his wife Tessa, even after her brutal death which seems to have been committed by her lover. Justin, a British diplomat to Kenya, searches Tessa's belongings to discover that Tessa had been on the brink of exposing a pharmaceutical company which was using Kenyans to test a dangerous TB drug.

I was surprised to find that this movie(book) was based on a real-life scandal in 1996 when Pfizer reportedly tested the meningitis antibiotic Trovan on 100 Nigerian children during the meningitis epidemic.

The film is beautifully shot with handheld cameras, intimately angled shots over shoulders and varying height levels. The colors are monochromatic for most scenes except those in Kenya which were full of vibrant accessories and drapey fabrics. There are some heartbreaking parts that portray the political instability and wrenching poverty in Kenya, and the film keeps you intrigued and mystified as you unravel the mystery with Justin Quayle. I was somewhat satisfied with the ending, but the fact something like this occurred in real life was disturbing beyond the 2-hour cinematic adventure.

I think this may be my new favorite movie(watch the trailer here). I realize that textbook classes are not the only way to educate people about worldly issues; different forms of art can serve as effective messages to shout about problems in our world.

alcohol and mortality: don't let this U-shape fool you.

I went to a talk by Dr. Richard Rogers on Alcohol and Mortality hosted by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research this Wednesday. My friend was in town from D.C. so I invited him to listen to this sociology lecture I thought was so very relevant- Oktoberfest! College campuses!

Dr. Rogers began by showing us Risk vs. Exposure graphs. For example, in case of tobacco, there is a strong positive correlation between risk and exposure. Easy to understand, since there is also a causative relationship between tobacco and increased health risks.

Risk vs. Exposure graphs: positive correlation & U-shaped

However, for alcohol there seems to be a U-shaped (or J-shaped) curve between risk and exposure. The implication being that those who drink less or more have a greater mortality than those who drink moderately. Whaaat. The increased risk of those who didn't drink at all were Dr. Rogers' main focus. Why would there be a greater health risk with no drinking? Is there an overall health benefit from drinking these people are missing out on?

Actually, Dr. Rogers found that those who didn't drink at all included many different types of people. Case in point, "sick quitters" were former drinkers who had eventually quit due to health reasons. There were also those who had underlying medical conditions that kept them from drinking. Dr. Rogers noted that it is difficult to "tease out" the confounding factors that make people non-drinkers in the first place. Also, he stated that there are other social factors that are correlated with level of alcohol consumption such as culture, religion, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, and gender. An interesting continuation of the study would be looking at different types of alcohol (red wine and resveratrol!).

So I didn't get my answer to how much should I drink every week. But I found interesting how sociologists approach questions. The Q&A session afterwards focused on the methodology of his study- wording, reliable self-reporting, categories molded into one- rather than the significance and meaning of this finding.

My conclusion from this session is that I shouldn't impulsively choose how much to drink looking at these graphs. Because according to the initial risk vs. exposure graph, I should start drinking, but really, what information is that graph hiding?

Today was a long Friday! I ventured off campus to D'Amico's for a delightful lunch (Italian sausages and chicken romano) & petted a dead bird in a cardboard box, in addition to tracking down UPS and sending a gazillion emails. Anyhow, this weekend is filled with adventures with little ones. Tomorrow morning, find me on the lawns frolicking with smallest M. I actually have a canvas tote bag packed and ready to go, with diapers, fruit snacks and water bottles.

contact lenses wearing guide.

• Can you wear your 2-week contacts for over two weeks?
• Can you wear your contacts overnight?
• What does "monthly" actually mean in "monthly" contacts?

You will find this post particularly useful if you are a dork like me, and open more than one contacts at a time. In my case, I have 6-month ones and 1-month ones, which gets even more confusing.

- Wear contacts overnight only if they are specifically for "Extended Wear".
- The time usually indicates wear time. Monthly contacts can be worn for 30 days, but once they are opened they usually have an expiration date. For example, my optometrist told me that my brand of contacts can be used for up to 90 days after opening date, but that I should only wear them for 30 days. Ask your doctor- this may be different depending on your contacts brand and your eye chemistry.
- Do not use your contacts beyond recommended time. You may save some money by wearing them for an extra week, but the label really means that the manufacturer is responsible for you wearing them for only that specified period. Do you really want to risk a horrible eye infection to save a few dollars?

I know someone whose brother almost went blind from contacts and he warned me to not even nap in them. Another tip, if you are having eye problems, do not google "eye infection". You will lose your appetite for the next four days- I am speaking with the kind of wisdom only obtained through experience.

marriage and motherhood.

With the announcement of engagements among friends in my graduating class, I realize that many of us are going to be parents by the time I get out of graduate school- one of my friends was married and pregnant at graduation.  Now, you can't be a parent without being an adult yourself, so this must mean we are entering real adulthood. On the other hand, I do believe that parents grow up with their kids, that parenthood is best learned with experience. My parents look like giddy kids when I look at my baby pictures now, but I remember thinking they were infinitely older and wiser.

The average age of first-time mothers has been steadily increasing for the past decades from 21.4 in 1970 to 25.0 in 2006. There is also a greater percentage of first-time mothers at an older age.

Source

A woman's fertility usually peaks at 22, and after 35 it is significantly harder for a woman to get pregnant. But think about the fact that a typical person graduates college at 22, spends four years in graduate school and another four to settle into a job and maybe a relationship- she may be 30 when she can even begin to consider having kids.

There has been much recent debate about part-time female doctors and their attempt at balancing family and career. But why is this a female issue? It takes two to have a kid, and behind every woman making a choice between family and career is a man who takes his job-option for granted.

Anyway, during my career crisis, I chatted with many professionals settled into their careers and curiously, all of the women asked if I were in a serious relationship, reminding me that this is an important aspect to consider when making life choices. But I wonder if they would have asked the same questions to males, if my male counterparts were reminded to consider marriage and family in constructing their life timelines.

I hope that I don't have to make such decisions in the future(I hope I never have to decide or choose), since a successful career is valuable for me and I would like to make full use of my education. But I think I am already ahead of the parenthood game, for example, I already know:
- how to negotiate bedtime
- how to find a pacifier under blankets and pillows in record time
- how to speak baby-talk

"Kinsey": behavior behind closed doors.

Saturday evening after grocery shopping and literature search for work, I scrolled through U-Verse and found "Kinsey". It starred Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, and I recognized the name Alfred Kinsey from a psychology study I'd read for a psychology class. Press play.

Alfred Kinsey, an entomologist by nature who studied gall wasps, realized the need for a widespread study on sexual behavior while lecturing a marriage course at Indiana University. Realizing the lack of public knowledge and conversation about sex and sexuality, he began collecting information on people's sexual history through verbal questionnaires. He eventually published the results of his questionnaires on around 18,000 people in the Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, known collectively as the Kinsey Reports.

The movie portrays struggles in Kinsey's professional and personal life. He struggled with his own sexuality including his (and his wife's) relationship with his assistant Clyde Martin portrayed by Peter Sarsgaard. The movie is informative and moving but never overwhelming. The different conflicts Kinsey deals with fade in and out (even the climax of the movie when his health is failing and Rockefeller Foundation withdraws their funding), but the movie is a overall satisfying portrayal of a great man who triumphs against social "propriety" to bring a much needed conversation out from closed doors.

It is rated R, and the subject matter may be touchy for some people. I highly recommend it- you may learn more from this movie than you did from your high school Health class, for example, that people's sexuality fit more onto a spectrum than a dichotomy (Kinsey scale).

How to guess someone's age.

I used to be intrigued by the carnival booths where they offer to guess your age or your weight within some reasonable margin of error. For me, it was more about gauging how old or how heavy I was perceived to be, rather than getting that free Teddy bear.

Now that I've turned twenty-two and magazines tell me this is a good time to begin my anti-aging, anti-wrinkle regimen(before it's too late!), I am intrigued by this cultural obsession of masking your age. The national obsession with looking younger- housewives with regular Botox appointments, "lifting" everything there is to lift, and dressing like your teenage daughter- does not seem appealing to me. I think there is some joy to be derived from acting and looking your age, to be proud of your life accomplishments and days you've lived through. It may be because I grew up in Korea where age indicates wisdom and naturally draws respect from those younger than you.

Anyhow, how do those carnival guessers estimate your age? It seems to be more of an observation game. They look at the crowd your are with- your kids or parents or friends may give your age away. They also observe the way you speak, the way you carry yourself, or the clothes you are wearing. One thing I found interesting is that the carnival workers will guess the women's age on the lower side, because after all, they are more likely to be offended by the suggestion that they look older even in a silly carnival game meant for laughs.

Your face does go through predictable changes through time. In your 20's, you may see lines in your brows and start seeing "crow's feet", wrinkles around the eyes. As you progress to your 30's, these lines may be more prevalent, and lines(called "11's") may appear between your brows. In your 40's you can expect to see lines around upper lips, forehead, and crows. Onto your 50's, 60's, and beyond, the fat beneath the skin continues to decrease, making those wrinkles and lines deeper while your face may droop downward. This WebMD article discusses the treatments you can consider in each age frame.

 The ultimate age-proof celebrity: Jennifer Aniston. Picture Source

Correspondingly, Dr. Thomas S. Huang at University of Illinois has developed an age-estimation software. The paper which appeared in IEEE transanctions on Image Processing discusses this program which can process images to determine someone's age. This program may be used to collect consumer data- what age group frequents this restaurant at this time frame on Thursdays, or who comes into the soap and fragrances store-without jeopardizing personal privacy by collecting only the age information.

drinking too much water.

It is a habit of mine to chug down copious amounts of water, making the waiter who serves me and my brother at restaurants to circle our table with the water jug. On this particular flight, I'd ask for multiple bottles of water, and went to the restroom more than anyone else. My mom expressed concerns that I was drinking too much H-2-O, but this was a thirteen hour flight- how did anyone else survive?

 

Typical- "yes, I'd like some water... again."

First sign of land!

This, combined with a recent magazine article I read stating that drinking water during meals is actively bad for you, made me do some scoping around the web.

Many agree that about 2 liters of water a day is enough, and probably adequate for you to function. (Mayo Clinic) Your body is about two thirds water by weight, and you won’t get thirsty beyond what your body can handle. However, it is dangerous to force large amounts of water  unless you are actually thirsty- such as the case with the 28-year-old mother who died in a “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” contest in 2007.

In addition, there is no evidence that drinking water during eating will somehow dilute your digestive enzymes. (Mayo Clinic). There is a lot of concerns and myths out there about the "right" way to drink water- an hour after meals, 15 minutes before meals, only hot water during meals, but listen to your body. If you have indigestion or acid reflux, you may want to watch how much water you are drinking during meals, but otherwise, drink up!

Many times, I find that when I feel hungry I am actually thirsty. This may be an additional advantage to drinking some aqua before meals to make sure you eat when you are truly hungry.

Here's a cuteness overload- this is one of about fifty framed Little Yesle around dad's house:

me in Hanbok circa 1994.