13 October 2009

Adventures in Jim's bathroom...

Though it was more for myself than it was for Jim, this weekend I decided to be a proactive girlfriend and clean his bathroom. So, while he was at work on Friday, I scrubbed away. I give him credit, as the floor and toilet were relatively clean. The shower and the sink, however, were disastrous.

The shower was basically similar to the showers I've seen in frat houses. Before I got in, I considered putting on my flip flops.

It was the sink, however, that was especially painful.

Jim lives in a lovely apartment with all granite countertops. The bathroom sink is tan with brown speckles, designed to hide stains. I quickly found the countertop was hiding quite a lot.

The first swipe of the sponge (a brand new sponge, mind you) made me gag. It was covered in tiny hairs. Apparently over the last six months, Jim and Paul have been shaving their beards over the sink and washing it out like good little roommates. However, they disregarded the fact that not all of the hairs made it into the sink, but instead landed on the surrounding countertops.

I gagged again when I realized the toothbrush I've had in their apartment since May has been resting on the countertop.

Because I really wanted to brush my teeth, had no car to get a new toothbrush, and couldn't imagine Jim's was any cleaner, I decided to boil it.

While I was standing there boiling the toothbrush (for a long time) I remembered an old middle school trend. All the girls in my class (anyone who was anyone) bought children's toothbrushes to boil, melt, and turn into bracelets. Mine was the Little Mermaid.
We all thought we were super hot eighth graders walking around with bent Disney toothbrushes on our wrists.

And I wish I could tell you this was the worst of the trends. But that's thing about middle school. It's awkward for everyone, even for those who didn't suffer genetically. It's this phase of life where girls are so uncertain about their bodies and style that they just copy one another.

You end up with everyone trying to wear the same type of skirt, when the skirt was really only made for a specific body and style.

This month in Glamour, Heidi Klum explains the key to her look. She writes, "Know yourself. Don't follow the trends; follow your instincts...some people are naturally flamboyant, and some are quieter; don't try to be the opposite of what you are -embrace your body and your spirit..."

Klum's insight truly is the key to a woman looking and feeling her best.

The majority of Glamour's November issue is dedicated to helping girls feel more confident in their own skin. With advice from experts, such as Klum, as well as devoting pages to "real" women, Glamour aims at giving every woman confidence.

And while I certainly applaud the magazine for shifting away from tiny models, I'm not sure they're exactly on target. No, cover after cover shouldn't feature only double zeros. But Glamour immediately jumped from zeros and twos to plus size models. What about all the women in the middle?
It's true, being too thin isn't healthy, nor does it serve as a perfect model for young girls. But, with so many Americans overweight, is it really necessary to applaud women who are categorized as having unhealthy BMI's? Does the shift have to be so extreme?

Of course, Glamour's editor, Cindi Lieve, does write, "To be clear, I'm not advocating a 'real women have curves' mentality, which implies that all skinny women are obsessive dieters and not 'real women'...But the bottom line is this: In the real world, women of all body types- whether pixie-ish...or curvy...have sex appeal, full, fabulous lives, and men drooling all over them...This is not a magazine for small women or large women, for size zeros or size 20s. It is a magazine for all women."

Lieve absolutely has it right. Magazines should applaud and be relatable for all healthy women. Unfortunately, though, the November issue displays only the extremes. And for the change to truly take place, editors can't forget the women in the middle.

FYI: Due to the concerned comments, please note that the toothbrush in Jim's bathroom was not my primary toothbrush all summer. I only used it on rare occasions, such as when I visited him this month. However, I vow never to keep a toothbrush that long again. I also think it should be known that I regularly change my primary toothbrush (minimum once a month). I know you were all concerned... :)

4 comments:

  1. I don't know how you do it...a funny and gross anecdote about Jim's bathroom becomes an analysis of the choices of Glamour's editor. All smoothly transitioned. Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. whoop for a new post!!
    however:
    1) i canNOT believe you've been using a toothbrush for that long! you, the one who usually throws away a toothbrush after a weekend trip?!
    2) i remember a certain toothbrush-boiling-incident that occurred after a toothbrush met doom in a toilet... wait, wasn't that ryan's toothbrush you boiled?
    3) wow, jim, you have a good girlfriend!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. sorry to steal your formatting court, but i feel the need to use a numbered list as well:
    1) yes its 225am. im packing to go visit the ZV.
    2) yes i call it the ZV.
    3) ash i'm always amazed by the same thing. this time especially. i started reading and thought "how could this turn into a meaningful blog post?". and then my questions were answered.
    4) the silent w in "answer" is absolutely ridiculous. i imagine at some point, long ago, it wasn't silent.
    5) my bathroom counter was never that bad. i cut my own hair. it saves money. and for usually a week or two after i cut it, i leave the clipper guards out on the counter. this particular time, i moved all the guards less than 24 hours before whit arrived. it was not 6 months of facial hair. it was more like... 24 hours worth.
    6) i would never have used that toothbrush. i leave mine so that the head is not touching the counter at all.
    7) yes court, she's a good girlfriend.
    8) way to go whit on calling people out (myself AND glamour) in your blog. i love to see the edginess that hiding deep deep deep inside you.

    sorry for the novel.

    ReplyDelete
  4. i too am shocked that you used a toothbrush for that long. and thank you for bringing back the memories of toothbrush bracelets. who doesn't love disney?

    ReplyDelete

i'd loooove to hear from you! you make my day! <3