No Sweat No Gain…
Last evening, we went to the movies to watch and I liked in the leading role. For some reason, my eyes seemed to linger more on him, and I could not help but notice how good looking he still is...
When a couple of years ago, my very own 'Denzel' slipped a wedding band down my finger, we soon realized the band was a tad too loose.It would definitely require some adjusting, otherwise I ran the risk of losing my newly acquired status symbol. But I dilly dallied for a while and before I knew it I was in the family way. As my body began expanding, partly due to hormones related to my then developing offspring , my fingers too expanded such that my wedding band fitted just right, or quite tight, actually. And so the case of the loose wedding band was laid to rest!
Until recently. About four and a half months ago, I began to excercise in a bid to cut down my weight. It is so weird for me to suddenly find my wedding ring loose, again. Now that I have began running, I am very wary of my ring slipping off. Worse still, I have to take it off before swimming. Noone ever thinks that when they put on weight, some of it will go to the fingers and some to the wrists :) ! I bought a watch about 3 years ago, and had to have it adjusted to fit properly. I don't like wearing my watch like a bangle, so I had the strapp shortened to fit just right. Only to realize recently, that the same watch is now way too loose for my comfort.
So while I am busy scrutinizing my waist, hips and the derriere` for evidence of weightloss, it is actually happening elsewhere! Or should I say all over? I suppose it all leads to a uniformly distributed body. I am glad and I am now campaigning to have our wedding rings 'upgraded' and ofcourse fitted better.
One of the things I am really looking forward to, is a sweat soaked t-shirt! Believe it or not, I am one of those people who rarely sweat, except for some droplets on my forehead and alittle more on my back. I have seen people who after excercising, look as though they have poured on themselves a bucketfull of water. Their faces will be dripping with sweat and their clothes soaked. I must say, that I am harvesting alittle more sweat now and as the old saying goes, 'no sweat no gain'.
Talking of one pouring a bucketfull of water on themselves reminds of stories from Somalia. As mentioned in a previous blog, about 3 years ago, I went to Somalia and (Somali Land (they are different, Somali land broke off from Somalia and formed a government of their own, complete with their own currency!)). I went on a work assignment and some adventure, if I may add. Even though there was no war then, I still had armed escort!
Anyway, Somalia is one very hot place, with temperatures going as high as 45 degrees. If power (read power generators) goes off at night, even for a few seconds, you can't sleep. It is so uncomforbly hot. And yes, while there, I did a good share of sweating, not to mention that I had to dress like one of their own : a long dress covering the arms and sweeping the floor, "Woman! though shalt not display any part of thy body, not even thy toes, lest they tempt a godly Somali man" :). On top of this, I had to don a type of a head garment or scarf, to ensure that the neck was also well hidden.
Back to the story of the backet of water. Now inspite of the sweating that occurs on that land, many stories abound on how Somalis have a phobia for water! So in the name of a shower, a Somali will go to the bathroom with a bucket full of water and lift up with alot of fear and trembling, then within a count of about 30 seconds, the water is poured on the entire body, starting at the top :) No sponging or scrubbing ever takes takes. Throughout the same 30 seconds episode, the person will let out a groan, as though they have been bitten by a snake! Only a stranger or visitor will get alarmed by the groaning, since it is a normal occurence to the natives! 'Oh, it is Abdi taking a bath' they will casually dismiss the incident.
So now you know why most Somali men wear t-shirts inside their shirts, to absorb the sweat, and leave the outer shirt 'clean' enough for another day's use. And ofcourse they have the very strong (allow me to use pungent) perfumes to take care of anything else as far as hygiene goes...
But they treated me well so please no harsh comments on my dear friends.... It turned out that the clothes I carried to wear in Somalia, were 'not appropriate' and a few ladies were kind enough to bring me 2 outfits (each comes in 3 pieces) and to show me how they are worn. I have reserved the outfits as souvenirs. Can you believe the Somali mamas in the market merchandise gold items? Picture this, mamas in wakulima market buying and selling gold chains, gold bangles, gold earrings etc. Yes, I now have a collection of the real stuff. Hey, Somalis are my buddies and it's a pity they are chosing war instead of rebuilding their land.
As you can see, I am still working hard to lose my excess weight. My fingers and wrists are proof!
