Corset win!

I usually only write one post a day, but I thought this little update deserved its own post.

Project 36
Right at the beginning of the blog I posted an image of a nymphette. For those who forgot, the post is The photo and here it is.

Click on the image for a better look

I've achieved one part of my challenge to myself - I fit into the corset!

I discovered this last night when I wormed in (with assistance). Over the weekend a (male) friend of mine gave me a look and told me that I ought to fit back into the corset. I continue to be astounded at my friends' insight into the contents of the forgotten recesses of my cupboards. Or they lurk and read the blog. At any rate, he was quite correct in his analysis. I fit in without those funny lumps that occasionally appear at the back when you shouldn't even have tried to get in.

Once I got over the general high of getting in, I tried the skirt. The ego trip slowed down to a crawl. Alas, the skirt is still much too small. This can mean that:

• I lost fat over my stomach first,
• the corset stretched, or
• my helper had good, strong hands and squashed me in.

I'm going for a combination of the first two. It might mean that the finale to my blog (I thought of wearing the outfit as a whole and having photos of me in similar poses) might not work since the top might fall off once the skirt fits, but still, empirical proof that I am smaller and getting closer to achieving my goals! Hooray!

Shrinking my jeans

Tomorrow is Icon time. Like Upcon, Icon is a gaming convention. The joy of Icon is that I don't organise it and that I can just show up - as long as I'm dressed warmly. The winter solstice is gone which means that the real cold is only beginning. I want to wear warm pants. This leads to the title of today's post.

Project 36
It is surprisingly easy to miss some basic facts about losing weight. Especially if you call it "weight" and not "fat". I haven't lost that much weight, but I have lost fat. Isn't it a pity that you can't call a spade a spade any more? No-one is "fat" instead they are "overweight" and if there's a great deal of it "obese". Either which way, fat loss shows in centimetres (or inches, depending which side of the globe you come from). A few centimetres mark the difference between clothing sizes. (Which reminds me, if weight is so important, why doesn't weight feature directly in clothing sizes?)

I bought two pairs of jeans in summer which I forgot about until the cold started. I shortened them and then tried them both on separately. They were extremely comfortable and roomy. A belt was indicated. I proceeded to wear them and made a positive, astonishing and utterly annoying discovery. I could take them off without opening the button or undoing the zip. This would be exceedingly useful for Casanova, but not so much for me. I own jeans because they're warm.

My brainwave hit me when I was sorting the washing by colour and fabric. The jeans had a label indicating that, under normal conditions, tumble drying  is inadvisable. However, I had two pairs of jeans that were too large. I've just retrieved one of the pairs from the drier. So far, it's not falling off, even without a belt. Perhaps I can try this with some of my other clothes? I could save a lot of money ... hmmm...

Conspiracy

Master's
Once upon a time there was an essential resource for a chapter. A month ago, our heroine carried the sacred tome to the land of The Shelf, where all her other Master's books were stored. When the primary sources were all reread and the arcane notes rediscovered, she sat down before her mystical laptop to spin out of knowledge, magic, enthusiasm and air an insightful chapter. She travelled to The Shelf to retrieve the sacred tome.

It was gone.

A thorough search and many adventures with rabbits later, the tome was nowhere to be found. Our heroine went on a quest. The Oracle of the University of Pretoria's website guided her search to a shelf in the tallest tower of the library. The rumours stated that it contained the essay required. It had also disappeared. The quest (and swearing) continues...

On a lighter note, I've discovered a useful resource for writing dissertations. I've discovered an online community that  helps you to feel less desperate: PhinisheD.

Nymphette
I'm not sure if I'm losing weight (the scale in the house shows no weight loss or gain, but did get wet in one of the great bathroom floods) or fat (I have an appointment with Marthie Leach next week). Weight is not the only factor to being a nymphette. One of the others is illustrated by the Pre-Raphaelites - gorgeous hair.

A Mermaid - JW Waterhouse

Hylas and the Nymphs (study 1) - JW Waterhouse

I was devastated when my hair stylist moved to Cape Town. Jade was a breakthrough in my life and taught me the value of having a hairstyle done by someone who knows exactly what they're doing.It took me six months to give up and have my hair cut by *gasp* someone else. I've got hair again, real hair as opposed to that-which-annoys-me-and-should-be-tucked-in-a-pony-tail hair.

Hooray for Edward from Head Boys in Brooklyn Mall.  I was at the point where I was about to cut my own hair when I wondered in. He was very kind (and has a different style from Jade). He believed me that I don't blow wave or use straighteners! Thanks to his scissors I can do modern girl and Pre-Raphaelite looks using only a bit of mousse.

The just-cut-and-styled look

UPCON aftermath

As mentioned ever so briefly in my user profile, I tend to help with organising UPCON each year. This year's convention took place last weekend (7 and 8 May). Running around for the con also explains why I haven't updated my blog as frequently as usual.

Gluttony, lack of
The strangest part about being at a gaming convention was not to have an urge to suddenly consume large quantities of food. I expected at least one of the seven deadly sins this weekend, gluttony, and possibly wrath. As part of being chairperson of the Great Geek Collective (GGC) I was in and out of the kitchen to deposit money, check if the anime maids were still in one piece and occasionally hiding from the rest of the people at the convention.

The irony? I've been known to eat for comfort. I had access to all kinds of food. I only drank three cans of fizzy cool drink over the course of the weekend and, this is very weird (also read the original meaning) for me, had no urges to eat chocolate of any kind. Apparently the hot cocoa and 70% dark chocolate that I'm allowed to imbibe have lain my milk chocolate addiction to rest. For now.

Anime maids (from the University of Pretoria's Society of Anime and Manga) and Gork in the background

Borg Queen costume
The logo for the GGC was designed by Sin Bin as was my outfit for UPCON. 

Logo as designed by Sin Bin

Unfortunately I didn't get round to building suitably awesome headgear to go with the outfit and the efforts to do so on Saturday morning were a flop. Note to self: buy cyber extensions when I see them next, much less effort. Good friends saved the day by carefully inserting fuses into my hair which later fell out all over the show. It was part of my evil plan, of course. Pick them up and be assimilated!

Neville saving the day

Project 36: Le Cutie of Borg
I should have anticipated a slight problem with my outfit. Since leaving my former employer I've dropped a whopping 5 kg. And last week's visit to the dietician showed that I've lost the amount of fat equivalent to  five blocks of butter (so far). I'm also no longer at risk for developing Type II Diabetes. Hooray!

The small problem was, well, that I was smaller than anticipated. The first set of measurements were sent through while I was still a contractor. My fitting was two or three weeks before the event and everything was a perfect fit. If Sin Bin had not cleverly bought along safety pins the pants would have fallen off. Even so, after the official costume competition I opted to put on my skirt again instead of the awesome pants since  that to which I ended up pinning the pants was also looser and threatening to go down with the ship. Thanks, but no thanks.

Photo by Duane Havenga

P.S. I love those gloves. They were warm as anything, but really added to the effect. And they rocked when the temperature dropped.

Master's
UPCON took up a lot of time as did sleeping. Chapter due by end of the month. No further extracurricular activities for me for the rest of the month. Another side effect of UPCON was getting bronchitis, so antibiotics-inspired writing, here we go!

The photo

One part of the many-fold plan is to shape up and slim up. This is a common enough goal, but in my case I have a visual aid. The nymphette of the title appears below. I still have both garments so I know that here I was a perfect size 36. The goal - to wear that outfit again and look just as yummy!

The nymphette

Believe it or not, I used to be even skinnier. I think my minimum weight was about 47 kg. Doesn't look as good as the nymphette. I suspect part of my weight gain was due to starting to eat again after cutting down on food, regularly skipping meals and stressing about my matric year. Perhaps it was the Lamictin. Or, as my mom always insists, starting to eat junk food. She's probably right too.

"Te maer, te maer. Van jou sal ek maar sop moet maak" - die heks in Hansie en Grietjie*

*This quote is from the Storieman series which I listened to as a child. Loosely translated: "Too thin, to thin. I'll have to make soup of you" - the witch in Hansel and Grethel.