Why I recommend taking Showers in the middle of the day

http://www.funnycatsite.com/pictures/Is_It_Shower_Time_Yet.jpg

 
My sister once told me that she absolutely hates taking showers in the middle of her day. She has to have them at the beginning or the end. And who was I to argue with her? My entire childhood I showered at night. In middle school, I found the energy to wake up before class and take them, but slipped back to night in high school. However, now I'm college and I've been experimenting with my shower schedule. My conclusion is that mid-day is the best and I'll tell you why.

To most people, a shower is a free ticket to a getaway from the world. They can take the time to either really focus on something without distractions or their mind can go completely blank in that chamber of solitude. This is the most important factor in my theory.

Never take a shower at the beginning of the day:

1. First of all, you don't want your day-long dirty self sleeping in your bed. Talk about gross. OK, maybe not necessarily, but think about all the germs you contract during the day even if you're doing nothing.
2. You just woke up from a (hopefully) refreshing sleep. What has honestly happened in your day yet that makes you need to run away to the sanctuary of the shower? Nothing probably.
3. Honestly? Why wake up even earlier than you already have to? I feel that more than 50% of the general public don't consider themselves as morning people. Shower later and save an hour of sleep.

If you absolutely must wake up and take a shower before you start your day, try and do something before hitting up that hot water. Go for a run, make yourself a quick breakfast, anything that will kick your body and mind into gear.

They help relieve stress, and no one can pass up an opportunity for that these days. What stress do you really have first thing in the morning? Don't waste a perfectly good shower.

Night time can be better, but it's not ideal.

Sure, you've already put up with a day full of drama and headaches, but that's exactly it. You're already done. Isn't the relief that you don't have to worry about anything else until tomorrow a great feeling? I think so. Therefore, you're only handicapping on the relaxation level of your shower.

Though you have the luxuries of taking as long as you want and waking up clean in the morning, that doesn't do it for the mental health aspects. It's proven that mental stress is more likely to have a permanent impact on you than physical stress. You're either half-assing the freedom that the end of the day brings and not benefiting from every aspect of a good shower or committing to one.

I would recommend relishing in the feeling of accomplishment since the end of the day is the only time you're going to have it. Hang out with your lover, go out on the town with some friends or just watch a  movie and snack away. You always wonder when you're going to find the time to do those things, so I'm letting you know that this is it.

So, instead of sitting there and having near heart attacks about getting whatever in on time or making sure you're doing things right during down time in the middle of the day, take a shower. Come home from work and immediately hop into the spray instead of panicking before dinner with the in-laws. Take that excessive gap between classes that you usually stress with your social Facebook life (oxymoron, I know) and turn it into a zen hour.

You've already done some work for the day, so hit the reset button. The rest of the stress can be doused by your night time activities. Use the shower for the middle when you can't be done quite yet but just need to hit the breaks. Like I said, most people's sanctuary is their shower. Take advantage of it.

Here are some things I suggest doing once under the waterfall of bliss:

• Pick one problem and focus only on that. It'll be easier without all the cell phones, emails and people you're sick of hearing in your head even after you leave the office.
• Get your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse to wash up with you. Getting absorbed in the one you love almost always helps people relax, especially when it's just the two of you.
• Don't think about anything. This is my personal favorite. People think too much. They don't take time to just absorb their surroundings. Running water has always been used to calm people. Meditate.
• Organize, organize, organize. Putting order to your thoughts and problems can take a huge weight off your shoulders. Close your eyes and make a mental to-do list. It really helps.

I'm sure you all have your own things that you do. Maybe the shower is the only time you have to wash your dog for all I know. I'm sure he'll also appreciate that loving in the middle of the day.

That's my opinion anyway. Just some food for thought.

Donating blood and giving back to your community

I just got back from donating blood to Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) here on campus. Usually I give to the Red Cross, but I figure just give where you can, right? And you know how easy it was for me to walk up there and fill out their mini is-your-blood-good-enough quiz? Very.  No skin off my nose. I'm sure even a monkey could do it, so why not you?

Personally, I have no fear of needles or blood or anything to do with that. In fact, I think it's actually cool to watch. (I've always had a fascination for medicine and science even though I'm not good at them.) However, I do realize that not everyone is me and some people pass out at the very thought of blood. Still, did you know that only 38% of people living in the United Sates are actually able to donate blood? Want to hear something even worse? Only 5% of that measly number actually go out and give their blood to those who need it. So when more than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day, this isn't good.

It's a fact that 25% of people worldwide will need a blood transfusion at some point in their life. Then again I'm sure this makes it another one of those things where everybody says, "Oh, it'll happen to someone else. Never me." There's no point in thinking like that. What if you get in a car accident? Bet you didn't know that one victim usually needs around 100 units of blood.

It's kind of like Social Security. We all pay on it even though maybe not all of us will actually live here long enough to use it (morbid, but true). Still, you pay that tax -- even if it might not be by choice. People should think the same way about donating.

Like I said before though, giving blood isn't for everyone. I get it. "I hate needles. I'm scared of blood. What if I pass out? What happens if the sharks come?" I've heard it all, and I'm not going to sit here and patronize you like there's no tomorrow for something you may or may not be able to help. I am going to tell you that there are plenty of other charities and causes out there dealing with problems bigger, smaller or just like the blood shortages that we face every year because people just can't seem to "find the time".

1 in every 7 patients entering a hospital needs a blood transfusion.
The American Red Cross can locate blood drives near you by entering your zip code.

Around 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes every day.
Study for the SATs and give food to those in need at Free Rice.

1 in 8 women (13%) in the U.S. have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Click once a day at Click to Give to give a woman a free mammogram.

There were 832 cases of animal abuse in the U.S. in 2009.
And those are only the ones actually reported. Find your local ASPCA and adopt.

As you can see, there is more than one way to support something you care about (hopefully). So if you're not ready to go stick your arm with a needle and donate that pint, maybe buy something in support of those who have breast cancer. Opportunities are everywhere, and not all of them have to cost you. It's just a matter of finding what's out there and actually being committed to it.

Chances are that if you're reading this blog then you're more fortunate than someone else in the world and can spare that one click a day or find an hour for that shelter. I don't want to hear anyone say that they're too busy. Not even President Barack Obama could be too busy to put together a little care package for the soldiers fighting for all of us overseas.

We all have those we care about, so think of it this way: if not for me, then for who?

Want to check my statistics or see more? Go ahead. Thank you Blood, Bread for the World, BreastCancer.org and Pet-Abuse.com for the reality check.

There's a reason why feminism still exists

1893 - Women are first give the right to vote in Colorado.
1903 - The National Women's Trade Union League is established to improve wages and working conditions for women.
1919 - The federal woman suffrage amendment, introduced to Congress in 1878, is finally passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate.
1920 - The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to monitor women in the workplace, collecting information and safeguarding working conditions.
August 26, 1920 - The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote, becomes law thanks to Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby.
(http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.html#axzz0zPhluGJi)

Looks like we got everything we wanted, right? So then why are there still raging feminists out there today? It's because on paper it appears that women are treated just as fairly as men, but that doesn't mean that socially they have any greater standing whatsoever.

Sure we've come a long way, but as far as society goes, women still have not reached the point where they are at the same level as men. There are women CEOs and females who have worked their way to the top, but you don't see them in the spotlight nine out of ten times. It's always their male counterparts sucking up the glory. There still has yet to be a female president (not that the candidates so far have been all that great), but who has really given us a chance to break through up there? Not men.

I don't know where the idea that men are better than women originally came from came from, but I do know that it is completely bogus. In many ancient societies (Sparta, Egypt, Native American culture, etc.) women were the main foundation for how they lived and thrived, making them equal to, and in some cases better than, men. Without women, most societies never would have flourished. There were even societies completely made up of only women that found ways to thrive until dying out from lack of reproduction.

Still, how often to you hear a guy saying, "She can't do it because she's a woman." Guys, how often do you think things like, "I don't play games with girls," or, "I'm not going to bother because she's just a girl." Well, why not? There is nothing that says men are inherently better at the stupid things they play this "better than women" card on. I know tons of girls who play Call of Duty on their own -- no boyfriend required -- and kick total ass at it. Nothing out there says that just because you have balls means that you're instantly better at sports with them.

It's upsetting when leagues like the Women's National Basketball Association or Women's Professional Soccer get knocked because they're made up of breasts and estrogen. I admit that they very well may be a bunch of lesbians running around on a court or field, but that doesn't stop them from actually being good at what they do and it certainly doesn't keep them from being able to kick the asses of most men who even tried to go up against them. I know that any one of those women could definitely beat all of my guy friends into the ground at once. Unfortunately, that doesn't really matter because they're just the butt of everyone's jokes. How fair is that?

This isn't me saying that I'm some crazed feminist that thinks all men are evil and should be castrated in their sleep. I love my boyfriend and the guys that I hang out with are usually pretty cool, but it gets old, boys. I'm just saying that the next time you wanna crack the "why don't women need to wear watches" joke, look at Chef Emeril John Lagasse instead of your 1950s picture. Just admit it: you need us.

It's fun to break the rules, whether you admit it or not

After playing a marathon, 100 day long game of Dope Wars and successfully not having all my bitches killed (I had failed two times previously thanks to the cops), it made me think about all the games that we play where we do illegal things and how much fun they are. Whether you're punching old ladies on Grand Theft Auto or running around in the backyard playing Cops and Robbers, it's all technically illegal, right? You may not be doing it in real life, but you are pretending to do it.

 (Picture from Saint's Row 3 found at Gandhi's GamePad.)

Let's picture this with Dope Wars. It's a free computer game that let's you buy and sell drugs on the streets of New York City (or New York City, California, Las Vegas, Japan, China and France if you have a Mac because you get the cooler version). You can buy and sell everything from heroin to weed as long as you can find it for the right price. The object of the game is to pay off your debts to the loan shark, not get you and your bitches killed in shoot outs with the cops, and basically just make as much money as you cane before your 30 days (or more if you choose) are up. May not sound like much, but play it and you'll find out just how addicting it actually is. I'm hooked.

This doesn't mean that since I made $10,964,229 in my last game that I'm going to drop out of college and go to New York to work my way up to the cocaine business. But does that mean I'm going to stop playing my game any time soon? Definitely not. It will still be my ultimate tool of procrastination when it comes to library homework and working on articles for months (or at least weeks) to come.

So if I'm never going to live for the dope, why is it so much fun to play the game? It's because I'm human and humans love to break rules. In these games you're breaking the law, but laws are just rules, aren't they? And rules were made to be broken.

I was reading a blog from Dr. Tina Seelig on Psychology Today (found here) where she talks about this very thing. She says that rules are just created by social norms that we feel we have to follow in order to be a productive member of society. When we break them it's exciting because we know we're not going to get the same old outcome and something different (good or bad) is going to happen.

I agree 100%. I once read in Cosmopolitan that breaking rules (like skipping a day of work) can give you an extra adrenaline rush. Makes perfect sense, right? You don't know what's going to happen when you break a rule you usually follow. You think, "Will I get caught? Will I get away with it?" Come on, admit it. It's awesome.

All in all, I'm not saying to go out and kill somebody, but if you want to run some people over with your car in Need for Speed, then whatever. You drive that car like a champ! More power to you. There's not one thing wrong with wanting to have a little illegal fun on the whatever-sized screen you have.

PS: If you want to download Dope Wars for yourself (it's free) here's the link for Windows and here's the link for Mac.

Don't expect a guy to hold the door open for you and not check out your ass on the way by.

We've all heard it hundreds of times before: chivalry is dead. However, I'm actually not saying that here, despite the title I assume you've already read. It's not dead. It just comes at the cost of a good ass checking. Whether this cost has been there all along, I don't know. I didn't live a hundred years ago.

Now, you might be asking, "Melissa, why would you say something like that? What do you think men are? Pigs?" No, I don't think they're pigs. I just think they're men, and no matter how smooth/subtle/utterly charming all males think that they are, they're not. Any girl could tell you that, and if she doesn't, she's playing dumb because she thinks that you (the boy) thinks it's cute. We actually know about a lot of the little things that guys do behind our backs. We just choose not to say anything because secretly it makes us feel hot and cool on the inside, and there's absolutely no shame in that.

Anyway, I came to this realization today when I had neglected to bring my student ID with me to class. This meant that I had no way of getting into my dorm building since Plattsburgh is on a scanning system where you put your card up to the scanner and it will give or deny you access to that building. Mine gives me access to my dorm all hours of the day, except not when I leave it in the back pocket of my pants from last night instead of putting it back in my wallet, which I actually had remembered. This meant that I had to wait for someone to decide to go in or out of my building and then play it off like we had magically arrived at the same time.

Luckily, my wait wasn't that long. It only took moments of purposelessly rummaging through my bag until a guy with a skateboard came out on his way to class. Not only did he open the door, giving me my in, but he kindly stood there and waited for me to go by before he went on his way. And you want to know how I know that he checked out my backside?

Peripheral Vision: (n) Vision at the edges of the visual field using only the periphery of the retina.
(Definition from Princeton University's WordNet. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/)

It really is a magical thing. Got me through all my years of band camp and helps me know when boys are checking me out.

Now, I am no narcissist. Anyone who knows me also knows that I have all kinds of self-esteem issues and would not be tooting any horns about my ass, but that's the beauty of this concept. This is where you have to actually give the guys props. They've realized that an ass is an ass no matter what the face looks like and that the right pair of jeans can do wonders. It's called a But-Her-Face. (If you don't know what this is, you can definitely check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK7wW-qj2SY)

Once a girl turns around -- for example, to go up the stairs to the floor where her room is -- it's all fair game as long as they're not 200 lbs. overweight. I feel if a girl falls anywhere in the realm of borderline anorexic to slightly chunky, this happens to them. So ladies, if you fall in here, then congratulations. Your butt's worthy of an almost Hollywood-like sneak peak.