Category: chicago

Finding The Perfect Bra

by rhealitycheck

Was not something I would have considered in the realm of possibilities before today. In fact I had a lot of doubts going in to the store but a couple friends had advised me to go so I figured on a lark it couldn’t hurt and I was desperately in need of new bras. Part of my hesitation to go comes from the fact that I have a long and rather unfortunate history with bra shopping. Ever since I began developing breasts I have had a love-hate (ok, it’s really been more of a hate-hate) relationship with them.

I remember almost to the day when my mother first told me we had to go buy a bra. She and a few other adults had begun to notice that it really wasn’t ok for me to be running around playing with the boys without a bra anymore. That was possibly the worst day of my life. I simply did not want to go, I thought it was horribly embarrassing and for the most part I just wanted them (my “not-breasts”) to go away. Then again I was only 10 at the time and when we got to the department store to “size me” it appeared that the closest thing to my size was a 32B. Yes, I developed rather early and a little too much for my taste. I know most girls would kill to have a rack like that when they are just starting to approach puberty, all they want is to be “real women” and I’m sure many of my friends were jealous but that was not me. I was a kid already trying to find her way caught between two cultures and now having the added burden of having even my body shape looking completely different from my peers was not one I was ready to face. I mean I already looked different being that shrimpy Indian kid with the small bones who looked a few years younger than everyone else and whose family had tea time and all sorts of un-American traditions. I mean god forbid you speak to my mother when she got up on her British English high horse, I’d rather die than have anyone else hear that or when she would decide to start spouting German because languages come so easily to her. So imagine my dread when I now have these things attached to my body that don’t even feel like they’re mine and all they do is differentiate me a little more from everyone else.

By the time I was about 16 I was wearing a 32D and they were still a little too loose around the band and wee bit tight in the cups but honestly it’s a bit hard to go down in band size when the cups need to go up too and you’re just that small a person. By this time it had been years going to get new bras and everytime I discovered that they were getting bigger was just massively disheartening, not to mention disconcerting. Especially because nothing ever fit right and all I wanted was to be normal and have normal sized breasts, just like everyone else. I mean part of the problem is never having a mother who understands why I hated bra shopping so much. She was lucky, she had perfect 32 or was it 34B’s up until she got pregnant with me, but she was also one of those women that was like, oh it would be so nice to go up maybe a cup-size. It’s so easy to say that when bra shopping isn’t like going to Guam because you can’t find anything that fits you, let alone anything that might have actual support and not look like a “granny bra”. I think she was always trying to convince me that having large breasts is a great thing but it was coming (to me) from a completely backwards position. I mean always dreaming of large breasts and then trying to convince someone who has always had them that they’re great generally does not tend to work because you’re coming at it from two different angles. On the other hand almost 2 years ago I went off to India to train for my job and made a very good friend. And for the first time in my life met someone with the same body issues that I had, except she’s a little better adjusted to it than I am but we have nearly identical body-types, the variation is minimal. So needless to say meeting her helped change my perspective forever and also gave me a badly needed friend to talk to about such things. Now nearly 10 years later, I realize there is no such thing as “normal”. And I am so grateful to my friend for convincing me to go get fit for a bra and make sure that you get alterations done if necessary. It is the single best piece of advice I have ever received in my life. Everything else I can figure out on my own, this is the one place where I needed someone to guide me and I luckily found someone to point me in the right direction.

Now strange as this sounds the thought of letting some stranger see me half-naked… or well with my top off just sounded a little upsetting. The reason I say it’s strange is that for anyone who knows me well knows that I get a full body wax every 3-4 weeks and well that requires a whole lot of naked around what could be a complete stranger. I started that about a year ago but the women I have gone to see have been consistently the same person in each state. There was one woman I went to in CT who was ok and my waxer here in Chicago is amazing, I just love Jane. She runs her own little shop called <a href=”http://www.alittlespa.com”>A Little Spa</a>. And I really started waxing by accident (it’s a long story) and this is just different. I think it is partially that I have simply been so uncomfortable with my body for so long it just seems like an invasion of personal space and that most of my body issues come from being uncomfortable with the way my breasts look/feel/are.

At any rate I just had a fitting at INTIMACY OF CHICAGO • Intimacy on Michigan • 900 N Michigan Avenue • Chicago, Illinois • 312.337.8366 with Rochelle (who I recommend to everyone). And it was possibly the best thing that could ever happen to me. I never believed that a bra could change your life but if you ask me right now I would say, “A bra can change your life”. It has only been one day and I feel 10lbs lighter, I look a million times better and my clothes have begun to fit me correctly! The best part is they don’t use measuring tapes they have a holistic method to picking out a bra and Rochelle is simply amazing. She took one look at what I was wearing and said, “Hmm the band looks right but… oh yeah we need to go up in the cups” and came back with absolutely the perfect size on the first try! The first try! So now I wear a 34H and I feel incredible and I even got a couple of really cute but yet super supportive bras out of the whole ordeal. And yes I spent a decent bit of money on it but let’s face it bras are expensive (especially if you aren’t in the A-C cup range because they aren’t as common). Honestly I believe that finding the right bra can change your life, it gives you more self confidence and it feels better. It is absolutely incredible to wear a bra that actually feels good. It’s actually a first for me and I don’t care how much money I have to spend, I’m never going back.

Becoming a Biker

by rhealitycheck

So I think I can officially say that I am well on my way to becoming and avid bicyclist. I originally started this biking kick to just start living a healthier lifestyle and I think I can officially say that I’m starting to accomplish this. Being in grad school just kills my motivation to go to the gym or try to fit extra things into my day. I guess partly it’s just that between work and school it’s hard to justify spending hours at the gym when I could be studying which is what I need to spend time doing considering I am paying lots of money for this education.

But what I have discovered is that if I bike places then I take care of the being active and staying fit/healthy while actually getting to my destination. It’s like the greatest thing I’ve ever managed to discover. Not to mention biking around Chicago is just great because the bike paths just off Lake Shore drive are just so pretty and nice to bike on. I have to say sometimes the wind can get a little obnoxious, especially when it’s a head wind but I think I just need to get more used to it. It’s been a little sad for me because I don’t really have the time to read the newspaper as I’m used to but I’m trying to work a way out for me to get up earlier so I can get down to work a little earlier so I can grab breakfast and read the newspaper for half an hour before I actually start working. That way I’ll get my news and I’ll be doing something healthy! At any rate, I think my bike is one of the best investments I’ve made and I absolutely love it. I’m so glad I’ve stuck it out and haven’t quit, which I definitely felt like doing because the ride to/from work is a touch long for a novice cyclist who isn’t used to that much exercise.

Most Efficient Starbucks of Ever

by rhealitycheck

Ok, well the title could be wrong but I’d have to say this Starbucks that I just discovered would be quite difficult to beat. They have a line that is constantly hovering at the door yet all of their customers make it out in 10mins or less including placing orders, paying and picking up their coffee. It is phenomenally busy, it’s right outside of Union Station in Chicago (between Canal & Wacker on Monroe). I am just amazed, not to mention they were friendly and courteous and the coffee is just as good as anywhere else. They even have a few regulars that they know by name and write little notes to on their coffee cups.

(Maybe I should change the purpose of this blog, it initially was supposed to help me keep up with current events but it seems to be turning into Rhea’s Adventures in Chicago.)

Most Fab Haircut of Ever

by rhealitycheck

So this weekend I got my hair professionally cut for the first time in 6 years. I had stopped going to hair stylists the summer before my sophomore year of college because at that time my opinion was that I’d had expensive haircuts of approx $100 (I consider that expensive anyway) down to super cheap ones that cost about $15 and I had never got what I wanted. I found that most stylists didn’t listen to me and didn’t necessarily give me hair that grew out well or were even close to what I wanted. So I decided to start cutting my hair myself because if I do a bad job at least I’m not out of money and it’ll grow out. The first few could have been better, they weren’t horrible or tragic but they weren’t exactly fabulous either.

After about a year they began to have a lot of consistency and for a year and a half while I was still in college they were good enough that I started cutting my friends’ hair as well. After college I went back to only cutting my hair because let’s face it when you have a job you don’t have time to be people’s personal stylist out of the goodness of your heart (or at least I don’t). And quite frankly up until this weekend my opinion was that I’m a better stylist and I know my hair better than any professional I had met thus far. (So much so that my friends who haven’t seen me in a while after I give myself a cut will always compliment my hair and ask who my stylist is. I always got a kick out of smugly saying, “I do my own hair, from cutting down to styling/colouring/product etc”).

So since I started grad school in June I really haven’t had time to spend on my hair and definitely not enough to give myself a decent cut. Let me back up a bit, early in June when I had just started work and a few weeks after I had moved to Chicago, there was this poor kid selling salon gift cards outside my office and was getting turned down right and left. So I decided to be nice and just pick one up and figured I’d probably give it away as a gift to one of my good friends.

After having this card for a couple of months and not having time to cut my hair except for minimal trims that weren’t even close to acceptable, I decided maybe I’ll just bite the bullet and let someone else cut my hair, I mean what’s the worst that can happen? I’ll hate it and it’ll grow out, that’s not the end of the world. So I made an appointment and went in not expecting much. By the time I left, I was amazed.

I have officially decided that I have met the stylist of my life. Her name is Gabi, she works at Colin of London just north of downtown Chicago. I have never been happier with my hair. I gave her minimal direction and she has done a wonderful job. Not to mention everyone that walked in the salon knew her and everyone else that went to her *loved* what she did too (I got to see a couple of cuts because she talked me into highlights, which I surprisingly like. I’m not sure I’d do them again, they look great – barely noticeable, which is what I like – but they’re a little pricey without the gift-card and I don’t think I’m invested enough to put in the maintenance that highlights require).

So this is my shameless plug for my wonderful new stylist, Gabi, if you live in Chicago, she’s worth going to see. My hair looks fabulous styled or just air-dried. I never thought I’d see the day when I met someone who could do better things to my hair than I can but I’m eating my words quite happily.