The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Top 10 Bonus Skills from being a Gymnast

    ·

    Ruth Carter

    Although I was a gymnast for seventeen years, I haven’t done anything harder than a handstand without the assistance of a trampoline for at least the last five. Nevertheless, there are certain skills you develop as a gymnast that stay with you for life. Here are the top ten:

    Beautiful Erika with a Sunset, used with permission
    Beautiful Erika with a Sunset, used with permission
    Beach Handstand 2008
    I Try to do a Handstand every Place I Visit
    1. How to wash your hair with one hand because it hurts like hell to get shampoo in a rip.
    2. How to change leotards in a parking lot without committing indecent exposure because the line for the bathroom at the meet was too long, also how to pee without taking off your leotard.
    3. How to turn your hair into cement with the right combination of hair products where you can take the rubber band out of your hair and still have a ponytail, also how to cut tiny rubber bands out of your hair without cutting your hair along with it.
    4. How to shave your legs, arm pits, and bikini line in thirty seconds in a shower of any size
    5. How to pick up clothing, pencils, etc. with your toes.
    6. How to flush toilets and open doors with your feet – yay for flexibility!
    7. How to do read and write in the car without getting carsick – because the car ride to/from practice was your only time to get homework done.
    8. How to sleep and do homework while in the splits or otherwise bent in half.
    9. How to ride public transportation without having to hold on anything without losing your balance.
    10. How to eat a full meal before working out and not have any issues.

    By far, the best skill that comes from being a gymnast is the ability to focus, compartmentalize, and stay determined. I’ve heard from several former gymnasts that being in this sport gave them the ability to work through physical and emotional pain and “go on with the show” when they’d rather curl up and cry. As my coach, Rocky, used to say, “It’s only hard.”

    Once a gymnast, always a gymnast. It’s been over a decade since my last competition and I love that some people can tell I was gymnast by the way I walk and carry myself. Gymnastics is more than a sport; it’s a way of life.

  • Minimalism Project Update – Cleaning Out My Photos

    ·

    Ruth Carter

    I’ve been on a roll with my minimalism project lately. I cleaned out my CDs, got rid of most of my Star Trek collection, and most recently I scanned and threw out most of my photos. I got rid of a lot of my photos last year when I cleaned out my dresser, but I still had about half a drawer of photos.

    During my down time for about a week, I sorted my photos, sent them through my scanner, and saved them to my hard drive. I kept the prints of the ones that were the most important to me and I threw out the rest. I have less than a shoebox of photos left.

    I also threw out all my negatives. I kept all of them for years, taking comfort in the fact that I could reproduce an image if necessary. But really, what’s the likelihood that I’m going to want a photo that I only have a negative of and that I’ll remember that I have a negative of it? They all got tossed.

    Scanning all my photos was a fun trip down memory lane. Here are some of the highlights.

    I was an adorable baby. (1980)
    I was an adorable baby. (1980)
    Always an athletic kid (1987)
    Always an athletic kid (1987)
    USAIGC Regional Gymnastics Championships (1995)
    USAIGC Regional Gymnastics Championships (1995)
    The Psychotic Friends Network (2000)
    The Psychotic Friends Network (1999)
    Undergrad Graduation (2001)
    Undergrad Graduation (2001)

     

     

  • I Minimized My Star Trek Collection

    ·

    Ruth Carter

    It took over a year to fully go through with it, but I finally minimized my Star Trek collection.  I’ve been a Star Trek fan since I saw my first episode of The Next Generation in 1992. Throughout high school and college I bought a ton of Star Trek memorabilia. I got so much Trek stuff from the Star Trek online store and eBay. One of my goals was to get an autographed 8×10 from every regular cast member.

    And then I became a minimalist, or at least an aspiring one.

    Part of my Star Trek collection - I only own 1 of the items now.
    Part of my Star Trek collection – I only own 1 of these items now.

    As I started my minimalism project last year, I realized that most of my Star Trek collection was collecting dust, sitting on shelves, or worse, sitting in boxes where I didn’t even see it.  I slowly started getting rid of my Star Trek collection, but I didn’t want it to go to a thrift store. It was important to me that these items would end up in the hands of fans who will enjoy them as much as I did. I also didn’t want to put a ton of energy into getting rid of my collection, which would have been required had I put each item up on eBay.

    My Star Trek Pez dispenser set and Uno game went to a local charity auction and were sold – hopefully to a fan. But the rest of the items I was thinking of parting with just sat for about a year. It just wasn’t a priority to find a local shop that buys sci-fi memorabilia and I wasn’t sure if I was going to get rid of my Star Trek autograph collection. I wasn’t a fan who put their autographs on the wall – at least I haven’t for years. They were in protective sleeves in a binder where I almost never looked at them.

    Reading Everything That Remains by The Minimalists reminded me that my autograph collection does not add any value to my life sitting in a binder on a shelf. So a few weeks ago, in a fit of minimalist motivation, I got rid of most of my collection at the Collectors Marketplace. They took my Star Trek autograph collection, Klingon dagger, Star Trek mini lunch box, assorted pins, my Captain’s uniform that is too big for me, my Star Trek Encyclopedia, and a few other things. Why did I even have the Star Trek Encyclopedia? I am a walking Star Trek encyclopedia!

    Some of my Favorite Photos in my Star Trek Autograph Collection - that I Don't Own Anymore
    Some of my Favorite Photos in my Star Trek Autograph Collection – that I Don’t Own Anymore

    The shop got a smoking deal on my collection. I didn’t put that much effort into the negotiation because I cared more about getting rid of this stuff than the price. When I told the shopkeeper that I was becoming a minimalist, he told me not to say that too loudly in the store because “We want people to be hoarders.” When he asked me if I’m still a Star Trek fan, and I told him I still love Star Trek, but I don’t need all this stuff to tell me that I love it. More stuff does not equal more love.

    Will I ever by Star Trek gear again? Probably. But I will be very selective about it and get things that are high quality and do something to improve my life. This is the first time in a long time that I don’t have a Starfleet uniform in my closet (yes, it’s a uniform, not a costume) so I can foresee myself getting a high-end uniform someday.