Addictions in Life

My beautiful friend Roxy used to be a gym rat that always puts the morning workout on top of her daily priority list back in California. She believed in the sublime beauty of toned arms and abs, flaunting strong Beyoncé-like hamstrings as well. In her viewpoints, “embonpoint” body means giving up on life, sloth, and subversion of beauty just like a flivver in life. Her skimpy-but-riveting workout clothes had turned every guy’s head in the gym, which had made her feel so proud and all smiles. All the praise and admiration towards her body that seems like the one from the “Sports Illustrated” magazine had made her happy throughout grueling sessions of weight lifting and over-the-hour nonstop running on the treadmill every day. 

One day, she pointed to a woman at the gym who was rail thin just like a walking stick figure. Roxy said “you know what, Jean, she must be anorexic. Other than that, she can’t look that way.” I asked how she was so certain of that, and she went on to say “I just know that because I’ve been there and done that.” OMG….little had I ever expected to hear that Roxy was even close to being anorexic at any point in her life! She always looked like a poster child of healthy diet and exercise! She said “when I was in my twenties, I skipped meals so many days just to look like a Hollywood bombshell or a fashion model on runways. Then, one day one of my friends got me a diet pill (which is banned by the FDA now) telling me that it is a magic pill for weight loss. Yes, it seemed to work magic for me ….at least for the first week. Then I started to feel weird. I couldn’t sleep at night, feeling my own heartbeats fast palpitating. But I faithfully kept on taking the pills every day just for the purpose of looking fancy. Weeks have passed and I came to the point of losing all my energy due to dangerous dehydration. I even passed out one day.” Holy mother of God! I couldn’t believe my ears while she was elaborating on how the so-called magic diet pill – which turned out to be a life-killing medicine – took a deadly toll on her body. Roxy wished to urge the anorexic-looking lady at the gym to eschew bad eating habits and taking any pill to lose weight. I thank God for keeping my friend Roxy at my side away from all the evil thoughts and temptation from the world to be abnormally thin.  Yes, she has no addiction to drugs at all, but is still a hard-core workout junkie at the 24 Hour fitness in California.

As I witness so many pop stars, film actors, and celebrities demising in their battles with drug addictions, I wonder what exactly has pushed them all to the limit or kept them in fetters of spiteful world of illusion. They must be shivering from utter loneliness or sense of betrayal in life. Taking drugs must have been one of their easiest ways of autoschediasm to snap out of the bad mood. Sigh…. I have a firm belief that any kind of addiction should not be detrimental to our body and soul. I hope that our own quick fix for loneliness or depression needs to be found in the addiction that does not require a special therapy. Let us watch one another with love and affection. Let us not let go of our hands. Bad addictions would have no room in our lives.

Expressions

gym rat: (noun) synonym to workout junkie. This expression can be used both in positive or negative way. In terms of sports, if someone is called a gym rat it is to be taken positively. Someone who puts in the work more than anyone else to become a better player, is considered a gym rat. If used with somewhat negative connotation, it refers to the people that are always in a gym. They work out more than any person and more than the healthy limit.

embonpoint: (both noun and adjective) “embonpoint” is a French-borrowed word that is generally a compliment meaning “wonderfully/ beautifully plump or curvy”, not a criticism that means overweight or fat.

subversion: (noun) the act of trying to destroy or damage an established system/ rules/ or government

flivver: (noun) 1. a small cheap usually old automobile    2. a failure or something of inferior grade or less-than-perfect quality

                  

skimpy: (adjective) inadequate or too small. "a skimpy dress" is a dress that is too revealing or showing off too much skin

riveting: (adjective) attractive

Been there and done that: (idiomatic phrase) One has been in the situation or experienced something that is being discussed. Something is not new to someone.

poster child: (noun) someone who is the perfect example or fit for a stereotype

Hollywood bombshell: (noun) outrageously gorgeous and exotically beautiful female that looks like a Hollywood actress

palpitate: (verb) beat rapidly/ irregularly

eschew: (verb) to deliberately avoid…/ to abstain from ….

workout junkie: (noun) synonym to gym rat. Somebody that seems to be obsessed, addicted or mentally dependable, or just really enjoys always being and working at the gym.

fetters: (noun) a chain or shackle for the feet/ something that confines  or restraint

autoschediasm: (noun) something that is improvised or extemporized without forethought or plans