Feeling Hot Hot Hot!

I'd avoided Bikram yoga from the time I first learned about it back in '04 until now. While the thought of doing 90 minutes of yoga in a room heated to 105 degrees might sound appealing to some, as a general rule of thumb, I've always tried to steer clear of activities that made me feel nauseous, dizzy, and like I was going to die.

However, I'm someone who is able to keep a slightly ajar mind and after listening to my friend Amy hailing the praises of Bikram Choudhury, week after week, month after month, I decided to give it a go.

The night before, I put a large bottle of water in the freezer and packed my hot yoga bag, with towels, face wipes, and an extra t-shirt. The next morning I was ready to yoga! I get to the studio, take of my shoes, sign in. When I get into the room, its nice and warm. The lights are dimmed. I roll out my little mat, place my towel over it, and lay down. I feel at peace.

Suddenly my serenity is interrupted by a male voice, Paul, our instructor, and florescent lights. And did the room suddenly get warmer?!

We do some breathing exercises and then he jumps right in. From the very beginning I was struggling. I'm not sure if it was the actual poses or self fulfilling prophecy but I couldn't do the simplest of moves. I'm talking not being able to hold my hands up above my head. My inner child was red with shame. And the heat. Oh the heat. The room was getting hotter with each passing minute and I was becoming more and more delirious. I didn't know which way was up.

Paul looks at me at one point and says, "Kara left arm over right and wrap around."
I look at him and put my right arm over my left.
"No, your left."
I unravel my arms. Then I put my right arm over my left.
"No your LEFT arm over your right."
Beads of sweat are coming down into my eyes blinding me. I'm feeling faint and his words sound like grown-ups on Charlie Brown. I blink and stare, but I have no idea what he's saying to me. "Left arm over my right?! What does that even mean?"

After a few more tries I eventually get it, but it still made no sense to me. None of it made any sense.

I needed water. But apparently you can only drink water at certain times during the session. I found this our as I reached for my water. Paul says, "Not yet. Find your breath. Just find your breath."

Find my breath? "Since when does breathing take the place of water?!" I wanted to ask. I stared longingly at my Smart water as I transitioned into the next pose.

With about 20 minutes remaining Paul says, "Doing good everyone. Kara you're half way through. Keep up the good work." I hear some chuckles from the others. Then he chuckles. "Just kidding. We're almost done."

Well well well... If it isn't Paul... the funny man. I give him a terse grin.

When we finally finish I just want to leave. But we're encouraged to decompress. I sit, drinking my now warm Smart water, waiting for Amy.

As we get into the car, Amy asks, "So how do you feel?"
I look at her, still a little disoriented. "I need to process what just happened to me."
She laughs. "Just wait until tomorrow. You're going to feel it."
I'd better.

I woke up the next morning hoping for resolution. I wanted every muscle in my entire body to be sore. Only then would what I put myself through the day before have made any sense.

What ached on me? My lower back and the area behind my shoulder blades. Not quite the areas I was hoping to tone up before Beach Week, but I guess its better than nothing. Still, I don't think Bikram yoga is for me. While it gives new meaning to "feel the burn" I think for now, I'll stick with the old.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Durham... [Temporary] Home to the Stars

Last Thursday, my friends KL & LH took me out for a belated birthday dinner. On the way to the restaurant, I asked, "Where are we going?"

My friend KL answered. "Its a surprise."

Oooh... I thought. A surprise. I love surprises. Even though, we live in Durham and one can only be "surprised" by one of four places, I still liked the sound of it. We get to Brightleaf and park the car. Anxious, I ask again, "So, Where are we going?"

KL says, "Pops! Have you ever been there?"
"Yes, on Monday... for my birthday dinner."

Like I said. One of four places. So we picked a new location. Piedmont. I'd never eaten there, but I heard it was nice. LH pulled out her iphone and got directions. "We can walk this," she says.

And so we walked... and walked... and walked... Still no Piedmont. Three girls walking around Durham at 9pm armed only with cell phones, credit cards and cameras, probably not the best situation to be in... So we decided to go back to the car and drive to the restaurant.

On the walk back to the car we played the game, "Who do you see in your cabin in a horror film?" We picked people from school. And no, this isn't a 'who do you want to see dead' game... even though inevitably by nature of the theme all but one or two will have to die. This is more picking people from your life, people you go to school with, work with, etc who fit the stereotypes one would see in a horror movie. We played this game all the way to the car and until we got to the restaurant. After we were seated, we finalized our list of the ten lucky individuals chosen to be brutally murdered out in the woods. For good measure, I included myself... And we laughed over our list until the waiter brought the wine list.

We decided on the Luberri Rioja Crianza, Biga, a nice Tempranillo. After ordering, I looked around the restaurant at the other patrons. One in particular caught my eye. I was overcome with a sense of familiarity. No. Couldn't be.

"KL, I would swear that man sitting over there is Colin Firth."
"No. What would he be doing in Durham?"
LH leans in from across the table. "I can't hear. What are you whispering about."
"She thinks that Colin Firth is sitting over there."
LH's eyes widen. "Are you serious? Oh my God I love him."
"I swear its him!" I said.

LH's back was to him, KL was angled in a way where his back was to her, and all I had was a side profile and a hunch.

KL whipped out her blackberry and LH her iphone. Turns out Colin Firth and Orlando Bloom were current filming their upcoming film "Main Street" in Durham.

I was 99% positive it was him, we just needed to be sure. He got up from the table and left the restaurant. The plan was that when he came back, we three would turn and look at him to confirm. When he re-entered, we turned and looked at him, then back at eachother.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its Colin Firth!!!" I screamed in my head.
LH says in an excited whisper, "It's Mr. Darcy! And he's drinking our wine!"
We all start frantically texting friends and family.
LH received a response text from her friend, then she looks at us and says, "D wants to know if she can bring her Pride and Prejudiced mug with his picture on it, for him to sign."
I look at her. "Umm... no. Absolutely not."

What?!

Anyways, we spend the rest of the meal trying to figure out our plan of attack. We knew we shouldn't interrupt his meal, but we did want to talk to him, so that left us with one other option. Wait. So that's what we did. We waited. We had almost everything we could have ordered from the menu. And finally, after two and a half hours, just when we'd run out of things to order, they finally got up. His wife and their friends headed for the door and he went in the opposite direction towards the bathroom.

Could this set up be any more perfect?! After two minutes of, You do it. No you do it. What would I say? I don't know! You do it. No you do it. But its your birthday... Stalemate.

Fine! I'll do it, I said.

As he walked out of the bathroom, I jumped up from my seat. I don't recall exactly what I said, because its all kind of a blur at this point, but I do know that I didn't sound like someone who'd just celebrated her 29th birthday.

"Colin, umm, I'm a big fan... Love your work... Really love your work... I'm just such a big fan... Like a really big fan. I might as well have added, Can you sign my Teen Beat please?! Wait till the girls at school hear about this!"

If LH hadn't stepped in to salvage the conversation, I don't know what I would have done. "So, what brings you to Durham?" She asks casually, as if she didn't finish reading the imdb synopsis on her iphone.

He chatted with us for about 5 mins. Us being LH as all I was good for was a blank stare and awkward smile. Then at the end of our convo, I stepped back inside of myself and mustered up the courage to ask him for a picture. KL did the honors.

"Smile," she held up the camera.


















Okay that one was blurry.
One more time.
"Smile..."

















How was that?
Umm... Perfect.
Thanks so much Colin. Enjoy the rest of your time in Durham!
And just like that, Mr. Darcy was out of our lives.

I looked at the picture. "What the-?!" I gave KL a look.
"I was NOT going to ask for another picture."
She was right. Not that I needed a picture to remember that night.

"Where are we going?
Its a surprise..."

And what a surprise it turned out to be. I remember nothing I ingested that night, and still it was the best 2 and a half hour meal of my life. Well worth the additional calories. Colin Firth was the nicest man ever. He's definitely still got a fan in me. I've seen almost everything he's ever been in and I have every intention of seeing his upcoming film, Main Street:

From the once thriving tobacco warehouses, to the current run-down and closed shops of Five Points, a diverse group of residents and their respective life changes when outsider Gus Leroy (Colin Firth) brings something new and potentially dangerous into their quiet town.

Filmed in our very own Durham, North Caroilna. I've spent my whole life in Los Angeles, frequenting the bars and restaurants that glaze the insides of People and US weekly, and I see Colin Firth in a small restaurant in Downtown Durham. If that ain't fate, I don't know what is. Best birthday ever! :)

Fell on the floor...

For someone who believes wholeheartedly in the motto, "Waste not want not," my mom has been dropping a lot of food on the floor lately. I don't know whether it's the unsteady hands that come with growing older or the arrival of a certain furry 80 pound brindle dog, but something isn't right. Because it's not like she drops other things. Just food. And good food. I'm not talking raw meat as its being carried from the sink to the pot... Cooked food. Well seasoned food. Steak. Shrimp. Chicken. Pork...

The last time I was home, I watched my dog enjoying lamb, yes lamb, in her dog bowl; lamb that conveniently "fell on the floor". So I tried to imagine how that mishap could have played out. It is afterall a "rack" of lamb. I'm guessing she sliced them into individual lamb pieces and arranged them on a platter. But then what?

Was a giant piece of the lamb teetering precariously on the edge of a plate?

Did she suddenly lose her balance in the 6 feet from the oven to the dining room table, and lose one perfectly sliced lamb bone, managing to salvage the rest?

Did a giant gust of wind sweep in through the kitchen and carry it up and over the upwards sloping edge of the plate?

Did a little gnome run in, snatch one and then get startled and drop it before scampering out?

I dunno. But man, thank God for the dog. Because if she wasn't there, all of this good food would be going to waste.

The morning after the fallen lamb fiasco, I went downstairs to see Gally enjoying what looked like pancakes, eggs, and ham. I turned to my mom and gave her a look.

"What?" She asked. "It fell on the floor."
"Yeah... I bet," I said.

Coke vs. Pepsi

I have never taken the Pepsi challenge. Why? Because I never needed to. I am a Coke fan, through and through. I've always liked Coke, and I always will like Coke. Taking the Pepsi challenge would only confirm what I already know. Coke is the right choice for me.

This past March I took the Newman-O's challenge. Newman-O's is the Organic response to the Oreo. I know what you're thinking, "What?!" And that's what I thought. I mean really, an Organic Oreo? What were they thinking? Still, I humored the person who offered it to me. Needless to say, I won that challenge. As predicted, there still is and can only be one Oreo.

So out of sheer know-it-all-ness, I've never done a blind test with Coke and Pepsi. I have however done a sighted test and I do notice a distinct difference in taste between the two colas. Pepsi is good, don't get me wrong. Its nice and refreshing... if there are no other alternatives. But Coke... Oh man, Coke has that extra something. You know? Slightly richer in taste. More carbonated. Just better. I can't quite put my finger on it. I just know it tastes better.


Today I had to read an academic paper for my Behavioral Economics class that reported the results of a Coke-Pepsi blind taste test experiment. Of course I knew where this was headed but I read on, mainly because it was for class and I had to.

As it turns out, the die-hard Coke fans, such as myself, couldn't really tell the difference. When I finished the paper, I got to thinking...


Do we do experiments to see if kids can tell the difference when you replace their favorite stuffed animal Binky with another one that looks just like it? And then once they've played with the impostor for a few weeks we go, "HAH! That's not Binky! You idiot! That's Binky's twin from Toys R Us!! Had you going there for a minute didn't we?!"

No, we don't do that. Why? Aside from the obvious - It would be really mean and possibly psychologically damaging - We don't do that because if a child wants to form a deep connection with a stuffed animal and assign it a persona, who the heck are we to dictate otherwise?

My point being, these futile attempts to convince me that there is no difference between Coke and Pepsi are not going to work. I've made up my mind. I made it up when I was seven and saw cute little polar bears with red scarves drinking it in the snow. You can blind test me all you want. But when that blindfold comes off, there's only one cola I'm going to reach for, and it sure as heck won't be Pepsi.