I hope I'm not turning into the Stinky Girl (feigned worried face)

So many new posts because I was scheduled to work right now, but the training finished early and I didn't plan on doing laps until 5pm and yoga isn't until 6:30p so I have time to write, swim, play in the sea and sun, stretch with friends and then who knows what other kinds of fun the night will hold (ooh! I'm going to read! and play my guitar! and maybe even fall asleep writing letters! but probably end up scratching all that and hanging out with folks and laughing... we'll see.)

I was oh-so happy to read this article ("The Great Unwashed") a few days ago and feel validated in my lack of showering in the past 20+ days (I'm in the water all the time, people! Chlorine and sea, no need to kill a bunch of whales by washing with soap). The article brings up some pretty good points, and even if it was full of "blah blah blah, people in power don't always shower and neither should you, blah blah blah" I probably still would've been like, "Yeah! That's right. That's good. I don't need to shower every day." because it's the New York Times, and I'll blindly believe anything I read from them because of their excellent street cred and super-duper hard crossword puzzles - they have to be smart to make Wednesday+ up. Right?

Today it started getting to the point where I thought, "Wait. I didn't shower yesterday... or the day before... when did I shower?" and that answer is Saturday... morning, maybe... so I probably should today. I should. Seriously. But then I jump in the water again, and it's like, "What day is today?" all over. But tonight, really. I wash my face and brush my teeth on the daily, okay. Deodorant? No. Again, the water. I get away with it here. Granted if I was still in Korea, or Chicago, or wherever else not on Water World I would use deodorant (although this aluminium or whatever that is supposed to be in it is awful and toxic, but what isn't these days, right? All the companies are in cahoots with the doctors and the health insurance people and we're all being shepherded into the apocalypse, I know. Whoa) and take daily showers given my level of activity: running, biking and the like. It's just really cool and fun and reminiscent of childhood to not have to be the cleanest person - hygienically speaking. Don't be grossed out. And no, Mom, I haven't started dreading my hair... yet (kidding, kidding! it took me long enough to grow it out after Locks of Love lopped it all off; I'm not doing that again for a while).

In all seriousness, the article brings up a lot of valid points in what we think of as the holiness of being "clean". I ate dirt as a kid and I'm not allergic to anything; I wear clothes until I spill something on 'em or they twinge the tips of my nostrils; I don't shower as much as I used to. In India, and most of Asia for that matter, they bathe using buckets rather than running the water constantly. Maybe that's too much for you, but you could at least turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth or wash your face (or your dishes), or while you shave your legs - that's all mainly a matter of conservation if you're too icked out by the not washing. Maybe you already do all of those things and more, and you're now saying to yourself, "Thanks for finally joining us, Kate. Took you long enough, you wasteful washer, you!" shaking your fist at your computer screen. I'm just saying, it's something to try as we waste a lot on our world, and we really don't need to. Just think about it, or dismiss it. Do what you will. I put it out there for you, and I won't love you any less for killing the polar bears, but you'll be in a sorry pickle when they feel your fear when you meet them on the melting arctic tundra.