Muscle mass and mangoes

Amidst midterm season, things other than studying and ordering food to Tisch seem to fall by the wayside. Personal upkeep is often the first thing thrown overboard. Personally, I have not seen the inside of the gym for three weeks. My first midterm killed my gym momentum (and also the fact that summer is over and no one will see me in a bikini). However, there is one individual who has made the gym her priority: the Pooj. Pooja is fully committed to exercising. In fact, she is so committed that on her walk to the gym, she takes a detour to Braker from her house off Boston Avenue (this is a big detour) to see me and our other friends before she exercises. She always claims that it is the fastest way, but what she is really doing is waiting for us to drive her to Dave’s so she can eat. A girl needs protein before she lifts! Pooja claims that she is so dedicated to training that no one can go with her, but I am left wondering what she actually does at the gym. I asked our wonderful editor, Annabelle Roberts, to check it out and it seems that Pooja just wanders between machines for an hour like Goldi Locks, trying to find the best fit. So far, none of them have kept her attention for more than a minute. If you have any exercise advice for Pooja, she needs it. But enough about Pooja, let’s dive into the questions.

Dear NYSD, What are your opinions on mangoes?

Rebecca: Keeping with our theme of fitness, I think it is fitting to address fruit. I love mangoes. As a kid in Brooklyn/Queens, I remember waiting for them to be in season and contently sucking the flesh of the mango off the pit. However, I have a friend with a disorder of sorts that leaves her at a disadvantage in terms of mangoes, which also happen to be her favorite fruit. While she can eat the mango fruit, she is allergic to the skin. Her lips swell and her eyes tear -- in other words she looks terrible. In light of this, I argue that mangoes are the bad boys of the fruit scene: You know they’re bad for you but you keep coming back for more because the sweetness is worth all of the pain.

Pooja: It is funny that mangoes can relate to both a kid in Brooklyn/Queens, as well as a kid in Bombay/Madras. Mangoes were very much a part of my life -- in fact I lost my first tooth biting into a mango seed, thinking it was just more mango flesh. My favorite part about mangoes were picking them ripe off the tree outside my grandmother’s house and deciding the different ways to cut them. Peeled, sliced, cubed or pureed, the ways are endless. So -- to our friend with this mango-skin allergy -- don’t worry, it’s not the skin, its what’s within.

Dear NYSD, How do I get over the daylight savings jet lag?

Pooja: I can honestly say that one of my saddest moments this week was coming out of class at 5:15 p.m. to a pitch black sky. Yes, the daylight is being saved, I got an extra hour of my Halloweekend and I feel like I’m getting a little bit more sleep, but overall this time-change has gotten most people in a funk. I think the only way to deal with the weather and time change is to look on the bright side (pun not intended, too ironic, made me sad). Remind yourself to enjoy the days now, because it's about to get a lot, LOT worse.

That’s all we have for this week! Please keep posting your questions on our Google doc!