A Safer Shade of Pale

Beautiful weather finally made its way to Wisconsin, and, like many people, I spent the weekend taking advantage of the warm weather. I walked downtown on Saturday and went for a run on Sunday. Little did I know I had apparently committed a crime against humanity.

You see, I had the nerve to put my pasty white legs on display. According to one local radio DJ, such a thing is tantamount to a deadly sin. God forbid any woman show a bit of skin before her legs are properly tanned.

Except…I don’t tan. And I don’t want to.

I’m the palest kind of white person. Clinique doesn’t even make a foundation light enough for me.  I’m the type who will get a sunburn, peel, then turn back to white. I can go on a week’s vacation to Miami in July and come back without a tan. When I was in high school and spent the majority of the summer outside for cross country and marching band practice, I’d end up with a gradual tan by the end of the summer. Even then, I wasn’t particularly “tan” – just enough to show if I forgot to put on my watch in the morning. But now that I work in an office? Yeah, not happening.

And while I do confess to owning a bottle of Jergen’s Natural Glow lotion, I’ve never tried to get a fake tan. I’ve certainly never gone to a tanning salon, even though most of my high school friends did before Prom. I didn’t go before my vacation to Florida, despite several people insisting I needed a “base tan.” (For the record, this idea is a complete myth according to every dermatologist I've talked to).

I thought it was well established that tanning can lead to skin cancer. Why, then, do we continue to be obsessed with tanning? Why is it okay to poke fun at people who are pale? Why do I continue to get looks from strangers when I go on vacation and lather up with sunscreen every few hours and wear a big hat and sunglasses? I didn’t know taking care of my skin was worthy of judgment.

Interestingly, tanning has been linked to premature aging. One of the biggest things you’ll see on every beauty blog and website is that wearing SPF every day is the best way to prevent wrinkles. But…if I wear sunscreen I won’t tan, and if I don’t tan I’m not beautiful…but if I tan I’ll get more wrinkles, and if I get wrinkles I won’t be beautiful…

I suddenly understand the marketing behind pretty much every beauty product out there. Call this a Mad Men moment.

Aside from the outward appearance angle, of course, there is a more serious problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control (http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/), skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. While some types are fairly easily cured, melanoma is a serious disease and can be very deadly. Avoiding excess UV radiation is one way to lower your risk of skin cancer. While it seems to be generally understood that sunburns are bad, there isn’t the same fear about tanning. 

Of course, people continue to ignore sound scientific evidence and medical advice because the media tells us that being tan is healthy, youthful, sexy, etc. Teens are especially vulnerable to these messages. This article in the Journal of Adolescent Health provides some great insights. Very few celebrities rock naturally pale skin (Anne Hathaway is one who comes to mind). The California girl image of tanned skin and beach blonde hair has pervaded our culture as the dominant ideal of the “American woman.” This is problematic for several reasons, but there is something fundamentally wrong with a culture that glorifies artificially tanned white girls while erasing and ignoring darker skinned women of color. Thanks, Hollywood.

There's a broader message, here, really. Ladies (and gentlemen), you don't have to change yourself just because some advertisement tells you to do so. It's easier said than done, but maybe we just need to stop buying into the hype.

Does being out in the sunshine make people feel happy? Of course it does. I personally believe spending time outside is one of the best things to do. But there are ways to be smart about it, and increased sun time does not have to equal skin damage.

So, sorry local radio DJ, whoever you are. I’ll continue to wear shorts and skirts when the weather’s nice. I’ll continue to load up on the SPF before enjoying the sunshine. If my pale skin offends you, that’s your problem. I’d prefer you didn’t stare at my legs, anyway.

Impatience and the Media

The events of last week were horrifying on multiple levels. I think we were all worried about Boston, glued to our television and computer screens waiting for news. People who followed closely were able to listen to the police scanner and experience the events as they unfolded, albeit from a safe location miles away from the scene. In some ways, this is a great time for information. Information and media are now easier to consume than ever.

Unfortunately, the news got a lot of things wrong. These were, on the whole, mistakes that could have been avoided if news outlets had waited for hard facts instead of reporting conjecture, assumption and outright guessing.

This is not a new problem. It was even touched on in an episode of "The Newsroom" last year. The 24/7 news cycle has completely changed how and when we expect to receive news. The thing is, I don't think this is necessarily a good change.

Shouldn't the point of the news be to disseminate the truth? To report the facts? Are we so desperate for quick answers that we're willing to accept falsehoods along the road to eventual enlightenment?

I am reminded of an entry I wrote in my journal on September 11, 2001, in which I recorded that the current suspects were Osama bin Laden (correct) and the Palestinians (obviously and completely 100% wrong). Was this just the mistake of a 15-year-old? Perhaps I messed up my geography? (If so, I have good company, with all those people who thought Chechens were from the Czech Republic).

Or was this something I heard from someone who heard it from a source sometime over the course of that day? I have no idea. But it makes me wonder why we're always so quick to jump to conclusions.

Christmas Complaints

Tis the season for holiday-themed movies and songs!  I'll admit I'm usually a sucker for Christmas music (particularly instrumental).  And I have a list of Christmas movies I watch every year.  However, there are some things that just don't work.  Here are some of my personal gripes with holiday pop culture.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Why is Santa such a jerk in this movie?  He's perfectly fine with the other reindeer shunning Rudolph for his shiny red nose, even telling Donner he should be ashamed of himself because his offspring is defective.  He basically tells the head elf that the song all the elves sing for Santa sucks.  I get that by the end of the movie everyone has learned their lesson and accepts Rudolph.  Still, this Santa seems anything but jolly.

The Christmas Shoes
Schmaltzy and with a tune that gets stuck in your head, the worst thing about this song is that it doesn't even make any sense.  The little boy's mother is dying.  Why, then, is he out, BY HIMSELF, on Christmas Eve, with no money, trying to buy shoes?  So she looks beautiful for Jesus?  I'm pretty sure Jesus doesn't care.  Where is this kid's dad?  His other family members?  Do they even know where he is?  Also, what little boy knows his mother's shoe size?

It's a Wonderful Life
I love this movie, and I watch it every year, but one thing has always bothered me.  In the world without George Bailey, all sorts of things have gone wrong.  Potter has taken over Bedford Falls, George's little brother died as a child because George wasn't there to save him, the pharmacist accidentally poisoned a kid and served 20 years in jail, etc.  Then there's George's wife, Mary.  Her terrible alternate future is...she's single and works at the library!  The horror!  In a movie that is otherwise timeless, this is one part that just doesn't work when viewed through a more modern lens.

Santa Baby
In addition to the fact that the Madonna version makes my ears bleed, are we supposed to believe that Santa is sexy?  Or is it just that the narrator wants a whole lot of expensive junk and confused Santa for a sugar daddy?  Either way, anytime I hear this song in a store during the holiday season, I can't get out the door fast enough.  Surefire way to lose my business, so retailers, take note.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Judy Garland is the only person allowed to sing this song.  The end.

Look! Roller Coasters!

Last week I attended a conference in Indiana. This required me to drive through Chicago, which meant my life was threatened several times...

...by Illinois drivers.

Granted, Florida drivers are worse (at least in my experience), but there's nothing like being tailgated by a semi in a 45 mph construction zone when the flow of traffic is going at least 70. Construction zones are also perilous because, despite the signs signalling lane closures at least a mile in advance of said lane closure, some idiot always waits until the very last second to move over.  I had two near-miss accidents because of this stupidity.

This trip was actually better than my last trip through Chicago, though, because at least it wasn't raining.

There is one stretch of I-94 north, however, where traffic slows down considerably, every time, without fail. This phenomenon is the result of one thing - roller coasters.

I-94 passes right by Six Flags: Great America, and you'd think none of the people in any of the cars on the road had ever seen an amusement park before by the amount of rubbernecking that goes on. I was fortunate enough to pass through this stretch of road in light traffic, but I imagine the gradual slowing down and even, in some cases, braking, that goes on would be hazardous in heavy traffic.

I wonder if any attorneys have had car accident cases in Illinois where a fender bender was caused by Six Flags gawking.

This is a post about cats

I have a cat. Her name is Artemis.

She is three years old, grey tabby, part-American Short Hair, part-Siamese.  Her mother was a feral cat, and she was found with her brothers and sisters in a barn (she was the runt). She has a very squeaky meow and doesn't see very well due to her aforementioned hybrid status. She enjoys looking out the window and playing fetch with toy mice.

She also likes to wake me up in the middle of the night for no reason.

See, like most cats, she is generally smarter than humans and thus realizes that I, being a sucker, will probably give her some attention if only she's annoying enough.

Thinking about my cat's nighttime habits made me wonder about my relationship with pets. While I don't go so far as to think of my cat as my child (although calling my mom "Grandma" as a joke was pretty hilarious), and I think the PETA people who refer to cats and dogs as "animal companions" instead of pets are kind of silly, my cat is still important to me. If something happened to me, I'd want to make sure someone would take care of her.

I got a flyer in the mail recently about a continuing legal education seminar addressing estate planning for pets. When I was in law school, my trusts and estates professor actually talked about how she had provided for her pets in her will. Someone had been designated as their caretaker, and she set aside some money specifically for their care.  Most states permit people to do this now.  Pets, like other property, can be bequeathed to a trust.

Planning for what happens to pets when you're no longer there to care for them has become an increasingly visible topic in the news, too. I heard a broadcast on NPR the other day about pet estate planning, and several other major news sources have done stories on this as well.

Too often, if people don't have a plan for who's going to take care of their pet once they're gone, those pets end up in shelters. And I think we all know what happens when shelters are too overcrowded. No one wants their beloved pet to end up in a Sarah McLachlan commercial.

Hopefully, this won't be an issue for me for many years. In the meantime, I'll be the one tossing tiny toy mice around my apartment at 4AM.

Beating Writer's Block

I've gotten away from blogging for the past few months. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, I've been doing more journaling and creative writing - writing for myself, so to speak.

Two, I've been lacking in ideas.

It seems unbelievable, really. It's an election year; there should be plenty of material from which to draw inspiration. Any writing, even if no one reads it, is good practice, and reflecting on current events and politics via the written word has always helped me gain perspective. So why the writer's block?

I don't know, really. I've thought about it and haven't been able to come up with any real answers. All I know is, spending more time writing seems a better use of my free hours than marathoning Downton Abbey and trying to beat Mario Kart Wii for the second time.

So, my goal for the fall is to set aside time every week for blogging. We'll see how many posts I actually manage to publish between now and Christmas.

Changes and Choices

So many things have happened in the past month and a half, I think I'll just make a list. In no particular order:

1. I passed the Michigan bar exam.
2. I found a legal job.
3. I moved back to Wisconsin for said job.
4. My cat survived the eight hour trip back to Wisconsin.
5. I bought a new car.
6. I started my new job and already wrote two briefs.
7. My grandma died.
8. I turned twenty-six.

It makes me realize how quickly things can change, and how much our choices influence change. I made the choice to take a job that took me away from my family. At the same time, some things happened that I didn't have any control over. Change happens, and we just have to adapt.

So, I'm in a new place where I don't know anyone. It's been good so far, but it's quite a change from living at home all summer. So far, I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. I guess I've learned to stop trying to plan everything so far in advance.