Spin It To Win It

I recently started taking spinning classes at the Beacon Hill Athletic Club, mostly to avoid my other gym which can get a little hot in the summertime. That's primarily because my "other gym" is my living room. For nine months a year it is a great location to rock out to Wii Fit and Wii Fitness Coach but, while I enjoy picturing certain folks' faces on the boxing bag while I punch, jab and weave into thin air (use your imagination), come June-July-August its time for a change of scenery.

Fortunately, Groupon came into my life and, if you don't know Groupon, stop what you are doing (yes, I am aware that what you are doing is reading my blog) and go sign up now. I will wait. OK, welcome back. So Groupon had a summer deal (20 visits for $30! arent you glad you signed up?) to the gym and I figured it was worth it to try something new. A random Monday I decided to take a spinning class and, I have to say, I was hooked after the first go. Its dark, its loud, you can be competitive while biking and yet you control your pace and your resistance so a lot of times it is just about beating yourself. It is an intense, calorie-burning, quick, high energy 60 minutes and the time just flies by. Seven classes later, I consider myself a regular (not a novice but by no means a veteran) and I don't plan on stopping any time soon.

But here's the thing: I am 100% too tall for the spinning bikes. Either that or the spinning bikes are 100% too short for me. Regardless of how you spin it (I HAD TO DO IT), its lose-lose. The first class I just thought, ouch, this is kinda tough to lean over this far on the handlebars. The second class a different instructor was kind enough to increase the handlebar height for me and it was better but by the third class, a final instructor said, this really ought to be higher. So, all confident and brazen on my third day, I pulled the handlebars up to get it to the height she felt would be most fitting for me. Too bad I had already pulled the handlebars off the bike itself. Uhhh....ooops. A quick adjustment later I was back on my way but it was now with the realization that it *could* be a better experience if I just weren't so damm tall. If my legs didn't almost touch the ground when I sat on the bike. If my arms didn't dangle over the front of the handlebars. If I could somehow raise the seat even higher so that I would be practically flying. If only....

I have decided to see my bike's limitations as an additional workout challenge (as it does force me to utilize more back muscles and, lets face it, that's where the muffin top lurks) but I do wonder if my fellow spin masters look over at me during class and think "why are her handlebars 7 ft higher than her bike?" But then I lean over, cycle past them on our imaginary bike path and think, "ha! my love handles will be gone before yours!" Well, that and, "Suck it." At least they aren't makin me ride this:

(Gotta love Google image search - this is apparently what happens when you Google "tall person bike")

The (Tall) French Chef

I went to see Julie and Julia today, a new film about two women with a passion for cooking and I loved it. Not just pleasantly enjoyed it or chuckled through it but rather I want to write sonnets in its honor, bestow raves upon it, give it two thumps up, etc. But this should come as no big surprise to anyone who knows me...

Julie Powell, an office worker drowning in her cubicle, decides to embark on a tremendous task: in one year, she'll cook her way though Julia Child's epic 524-recipe magnum opus "How to Master the Art of French Cooking" and blog about the experience. I read the book when it was released and thought it was a great story of "average girl seeks life changing experience"...and actually gets it! The movie, though, goes a step further to include the bio of Julia Child herself. And since I've never read Julia's biography, it opened my eyes to someone I should've been admiring for a long time. Why? She's tall. And loves to eat. REMIND YOU OF ANYONE? (cough cough...me)

While Julie's story is heartwarming and reminds you that sometimes good things do happen to those who earn them (she wants to be a writer, she starts a blog, she gets published...you get the idea), it was really Julia's section of the movie that so moved me. For the unfamiliar, Julia Child stood 6'2" tall - and the director, Nora Ephron, goes to great heights (ha!) to showcase this in the film. She married a man considerably shorter than she was, she lived in France where she towered over every local she encountered, she wore heels (!). And yet, instead of people being overwhelmed by her, her height and her strident nature (which is how I often feel), they embraced her for it. It became her calling card - well that and her ridiculously enjoyable trill of a voice - and I'm completely enamored with how she was able to laugh at her height, use it, embrace it. Definitely a lesson I've tried to learn but one where I can always use a refresher course.

Certainly it was not Julia's height that made her famous or brought her acclaim. But neither was it something she used as an impediment to those goals and for that I say bravo! Oh and of course...bon appetit!

Making Headlines

As I mentioned in my very first blog post, I wrote a letter to the editors of Boston Magazine regarding an article in their May issue. A quick refresher: they did a survey asking men in Boston what they were looking for in a date. Regarding height, the results were pretty much not in my favor:

Survey says: The ideal Boston woman is about average height (5'4"–5'8"). But fewer than one in six Bostonians found women of 5'8" to 6'—a.k.a. the supermodel median—compellingly attractive.

Not in my favor NOT because our Patriot-lovin, accent-toting male Boston residents aren't looking for a gal like me but rather not in my favor bc my height didn't even rank as part of the survey! So as a funny, hey-its-another-rainy-weekend-

day-in-Boston lark, I wrote a letter to the editors of Boston Magazine declaring their survey to be missing out on a key element of the Boston scene and admonishing the results. They called to confirm when they received it but said it was highly unlikely it would get published bc it would have to wait until the NEXT issue. Fortunately for me it must have been a slow news month because in the issue on stands now, on the bottom of page 12, is a response from the editors to my sweet little note.

Boston Magazine doesn't publish full LTE but rather snippets of them in commentary. For mine, they mentioned how I was appalled that my fellow tall females and I were left out of the survey entirely. Well....here's the kicker. The good folks at Boston Mag actually added an editorial note to the bottom of my paragraph stating:

The survey did include the option "Taller than 6'"; however it garnered far less than towering support with a mere 1 percent of the votes

Well done, Laura. You've forced the magazine to print that 99% of eligible Boston bachelors are not interested in dating someone of your height. Smooth move. A huge boost to the ego if there ever was one. They were trying to save you the pain that comes with knowledge, yet you called them out and forced their hand.

However, I know I speak for all my fellow long-legged friends when I say we take this in stride (a long stride, yes, but still in stride). We know that most guys are driven by ego and it takes a very special kind of gentleman to be with a woman who is taller than they are. And these special gentleman DO exist, I have faith. There may only be 1% of them in Boston (or at least those willing to admit it) and they may be in hiding 99% of the time, but occasionally they do stick their heads out of the ground long enough for us to snag them. And when we do, we won't be letting go any time soon. Hypothetically speaking...of course.

Die Hard With A (Furry) Vengeance

(Yes, yes, I have been a delinquent blogger. Lets just exchange a silent apology, an embarrassed smile and pretend it never happened. Catch up? June was a big event in NYC, a week at home in Jersey with the fam and lots....and lots...of rain. Feel better? Ok, good.)

Email has become a tedious fellow, trapping us for hours at work and bogging us down in our free time as we rummage through offers for free HDTVs from Bernie & Phyl's. However, I received a lovely surprise the other day from my friend E, a fellow tall lass, alerting me to an ongoing Boston Casting Call:

Boston Casting is Seeking tall women (6'1 and above) for extra work on the upcoming Brendan Fraser film "Furry Vengeance." They are looking specifically for tall women that could play construction workers.

A quick check of IMDB reveals the following about the project:

In the Oregon wilderness, a real estate developer's new housing subdivision faces a unique group of protesters, local woodland creatures who don't want their homes disturbed.

Uhhhhh, can we say AMAZING? This inspires so many questions: Would my tall construction worker be on the side of Brendan Fraser or standing up for the right of the woodland creatures? Would I get to fight said woodland creatures (who I can only imagine would be animated, voiced by - if I could only be so lucky - Ben Stein or perhaps John Goodman??)? What would my costumes entail? Why would they be shooting a movie set in the "Oregon wilderness" in Boston? Most importantly, why is it crucial that these construction workers be tall ladies? Are we scarier? Or is it the startling height difference between the tall ladies and the woodland creatures that would give this soon-to-be cinematic classic its core dramatic tension?

My curiosity peeked, I sent the casting agent an email with a few pics. She did respond - to ask for a full body shot, hmmmm ok? - so I still have faith that this could be my big break. I'm not really the "construction worker" type BUT if Brendan Fraser can pretend that this movie isnt the death of his career (well, after this monkey of course) then I am sure I can pull it off.

Stay tuned for news on my (eventual) big break - tall construction ladies of the world, rejoice!

Shotgun

There are many pros and cons to being tall. Con - being called Daddy Long Legs all throughout jr high, having to stand in the back of every photo ever taken, not finding a date to the prom that didn't come up to your shoulders, etc. Pro - Standing out in a crowd (in a great, regal way), always being able to reach the highest shelf, knowing that no one will ever mistake you for a munchkin, etc. The list (both of em!) go on and on but one thing that's always a winner for tall folks is automatic shotgun.

Granted, most of the time you need shotgun so as not to have your knees smushed into your chin. But sometimes shotgun really pays off. Like tonight, when, upon piling back into NF's car after a delish dinner at Ten Tables Cambridge (more to come on that later but for reals, go now!), it was a given that I would get the front seat. This came in particularly handy given that the back seat was occupied by an enormous car seat box and the two ladies who were fortunate enough to ride in it had to determine a way to crush both their bodies and this enormo box into one back seat.

It wasn't neccesarily a long car ride but I'm grateful - as I so often am - to my dad for blessing me with these long ass legs of mine so that, while I got to stretch out in the front seat, poor K got stuck being trampled by a box half the size of her own self! Add one to the pro list! Tomorrow some loser will ask me if I ever played basketball for UConn and the scales might tip in the other direction but, for tonight, I go to bed happy and with uncrampd calves. Thanks Dad!!

A Tale of Two (Tall) Dresses

A few weekends ago, I was invited to the wedding of a good friend from high school and decided to invite one of my besties from college along for the ride. M's one of those great "Plus Ones" who gets along with everyone, always gets you a new drink before you notice the gin has faded out of your current one and knows how to boogie down on the dance floor. He was not, however, sympathetic to the trauma I endured at this wedding. TALL PEOPLE TRAUMA. Despite being a fellow TP (tall person), he thought I was silly. You be the judge.

After getting all gussied up in my prettiest Tall Gal style (heels on, hair blown out, more than one color eye shadow), we headed to the breathtaking Cairnwood Estate for the ceremony and reception. It's a magnificent setting, with an outdoor gardens, fountains and a cathederal (somewhat like Hogwarts without the mail-delivering owls) All is going well until - DUN DUN DUN - a gal half my height walks in wearing the SAME DRESS AS I AM.

I mean, COME ON. It's TALL PEOPLE TRAUMA at its finest. So after a few of those aforementioned gin & tonics, I decided it was time to document this moment for the world. So that everyone can determine that - despite the fact that the dress ends above the knee for me (and is tea length for her), that my waist is where her elbow is and my head basically soars above hers - I still say I pull it off in style. *sigh* But the looks? Let me tell you, the looks were a'plenty. So many confused people seeing her sit down at dinner and then finding me at the bar later, wondering did she put really high heels on during that time? Just another moment in the life of a TP.

It was a beautiful wedding though (congrats Kevin & Kelly) and good times were indeed had by all. TP Trauma, you'll have to try & shake me down another day!

Dinner & A Movie: Movin On UP

So I took my own advice this weekend and went to see the new Pixar flick, UP. Since most of my current readership consists of my good friends, old teachers, fellow bloggers and my mom, I don't have to spin too long an explanation explaining two of my great loves in life: going to the movies and going out to eat. But for the uninitiated, here's a quick nugget:

I went to Boston University to study television and film but that doesn't really justify the need/want/desire to see at least one new movie a week. Think that's just some oddity some of us are born with and spend the rest of our lives trying to earn enough money to justify spending $11/week. Add to that my true passion, FOOD/DINING OUT, and I figured here was as good a place as any to do a recurring series on Dinner & A Movie, Boston style.

Sunday afternoon at Loews Boston Common and my friend B and I opted NOT to go to the 3D version of UP (even that felt a bit much for my 30-yr old self). It was crowded, not at all shocking, but I love a movie on opening weekend because there is just a vibe in the air - it's my justification for putting up with sticky floors and crying babies. Regardless of the audience though, UP delivered, and delivered big. This movie is driven by some of the best drawn out (no pun intended) characters a movie's ever seen, regardless of animated or not. Carl, Russell, Kevin,Doug - a combination of heartfelt moments, wacky storytelling and just good honest heart-warming Disney magic. Go see this movie. You won't regret it, regardless of age or stature.

And if you're looking for a pre or post movie snack fix, check out the Kinsale at City Hall Plaza. Just a few blocks walking distance from the Lowes, it offers free parking (up to 3 hours) on weekdays after 6pm. Try finding that near the theater district! Good grub, trivia on Wed nights and a kick ass turkey burger that will remind you that sometimes a burger can be a non burger and still be damm tasty.

So there you have it - Dinner & A Movie, my first go. Up & Kinsale. Do it up!