Becoming The Zims

12/02/2017

10 mystics, yogis, holy men, and psychics whose paranormal powers have stupefied science.

Skeptics may feel pretty justified in their denial of paranormal powers. By definition, the supernatural flouts natural laws. From clairvoyance to telekinesis, these abilities have no place in the established order of what we know. But nevertheless, there have been times when supernatural abilities?...

07/09/2017

21 reasons you should drop everything and move to Phnom Penh
1. Motodops know everything

Granted this one cuts both ways. But when you’re in a pickle, you can count on a motodop — what Cambodians call motorbike taxi drivers — to find you what you need, be it someone’s office or a particular kind of mango. These guys (they’re almost all men) know every in and out of the city. Of course, you can also count on them to be waiting for you somewhere you hadn’t mentioned going. They just knew you were there.



2. Hammocks are everywhere and, coincidentally, so is nap time

There’s really nothing better than stringing up a hammock between two posts, or a post and a tree, and taking a snooze in the shade. That must be why Cambodians and foreigners alike do it all the time.



3. Two hour lunches

It’s like a mandatory break that really allows you to do something and also eat your lunch. Many people eat and then snooze. Others hit the gym and then eat. And if you’re tempted to work through lunch, well good luck getting any business done. People really take their two hours across the board. Phones will keep ringing, so you might as well not be the one calling.



4. Cheapest massage ever

This really goes for any spa treatment, but perhaps the most pervasive is the massage. You can get a solid one for under $10 if you know where to look.



5. So many holidays

Cambodia has a ridiculous amount of national holidays. Wikipedia lists 18, though that seems modest. What really makes them special is that there is an unwritten policy allowing folks to take off a couple days before and a couple days after each holiday, just cuz. It’s not uncommon to call someone the week before Khmer New Year in April and find they’re not there because “next week is Khmer New Year.”



6. Monsoons that remind you nature is more powerful than people

Another that cuts both ways, but if you have the right shelter to watch a storm. Just. Wow. It will take your breath away. During rainy season, which lasts from May until September, climate change not withstanding, they can be quite predictable. A cloud the size of a continent slides over the sky and the heavens open, it seems, for about an hour or so of violent downpour. Then, due to Cambodia’s intense heat, most of it burns right off afterwards. Unless, of course, it floods.



7. Free meditation at Wat Lanka

Cambodia is a Buddhist country, and while it doesn’t quite have the veil of holiness that Luang Prabang in Laos does, there are still many Buddhist temples, or wats. Wat Lanka in the center of Phnom Penh offers free meditation once a week and a monk there will happily walk you through the basics and provide you with some free introductory literature.



8. The best iced coffee you’ll ever drink comes in a plastic bag for 50 cents

Need we say more?

9. Fresh coconut vendors

One of the benefits of it being absurdly hot a lot of the time, and water being more precious than it is in the West, is that people have figured out alternative ways to hydrate. Streetside vendors have piles of fresh coconuts and will take a machete to cut you the perfect drinking hole on top for about $1. Yeah, it’s the same stuff that costs $3 in the United States, but you get four times as much.



10. Vann Molyvann’s architecture is still found all over town

Before Cambodia fell to the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1970s, Phnom Penh had a heyday. It was referred to as the “Pearl of Southeast Asia.” Jackie Kennedy came and so did everyone else. The horrors that followed destroyed a lot of what the capital looked like in the late 1960s, but echoes remain. Vann Molyvann, who was once the country’s chief architect and helped design Phnom Penh’s iconic Independence Monument, is responsible for many buildings around town, some of which are still there. Some have even been restored. His style is called New Khmer architecture, which blends modern elements like reinforced concrete and assertive structures with traditional Khmer attributes like raised floors and fanned roofs.



11. There are spirit houses at every establishment

There is a fair amount of animism mixed in with Buddhism in Cambodia. Perhaps the most alive of the animist traditions is that of the spirit house. Every home and office has a small, house-shaped shrine that sits on a post or rock outside. Cambodians put offerings of fruit and incense inside to appease the gods looking over their homes, families and places of work.



12. Cruising the Tonle Sap

Phnom Penh is built at the confluence of four rivers, which form the focal point of the city. One of these rivers is the Tonle Sap (“tonle” is Khmer for “river”). A lovely way to spend a few hours, particularly at sunset, is hiring a boat and taking a spin, with or without beer.



13. Beer is cheaper than water

Speaking of beer. This isn’t true everywhere and it isn’t true for every beer, but it is definitely true in lots of places for lots of beers. A can of Anchor can go for the equivalent of 50 cents, while a bottle of water will be $1.



14. Plants grow like crazy and they don’t need any help

Having trouble growing orchids in New York? Birds of paradise not really thriving in Boston? Your problems are solved in tropical Cambodia. Things grow fast and all over the place. People say it’s harder to kill a plant than keep it alive, which turns out to be true in most cases.



15. Amok is delicious

Are you a fan of curry? Then you will LOVE amok. It’s Cambodia’s traditional dish and shares many of its ingredients with a common red curry. But instead of a soup that’s boiled like a curry, amok is steamed. And there is a little egg yolk in there to help the curry coat each piece of meat. Traditionally, it is served with a meaty catfish, like the Mekong catfish, though really it’s delicious no matter what you put in there. Also, its presentation is wonderful. It is served in a little bowl made from a folded up banana leaf held together with toothpicks and a dollop of coconut milk topped with a couple strips of shredded chili pepper and/or kaffir lime leaf. Some people include chopped peanuts but purists might get mad at you.



16. Every day is an adventure

Cambodia is developing at a rapid-fire pace, but developing all the same, and like most developing countries, all bets are off. People make do with what’s in front of them.



17. DVDs for $1

Anti-piracy arguments aside, it’s awesome to be able to get pretty much every movie that has been released in mainstream America (and lot that have been released elsewhere) for $1.



18. You can use US dollars

When the UN moved into Cambodia post-civil war in the 1990s, it dollarized the economy, which still holds. That means that the Khmer riel is still used but really only for small purchases. American dollars are the main currency. It’s pretty wild the first time you go to the market and get your change from a small Cambodian grandmother in the form of a bill with George Washington on it. Talk about worlds colliding.



19. Getting out of the city is just as awesome as staying in it

At about a million people, Phnom Penh is hardly the biggest city out there, but still it’s nice to escape every once in a while. There are many accessible day trips that range from the fun to the educational. You might get to ride an elephant at Phnom Thmao Wildlife Sanctuary, or take a tour of the Killing Fields and learn about Cambodia’s sobering history.



20. The night life will surprise you

No matter what you prefer, a casual chat in a beer garden or a dance-your-pants-off evening with Khmer teenagers, there is something for you.



21. You can get big apartments for cheap

This varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. Riverside apartments can get pricey, for sure. But if you’re a little flexible, a couple hundred dollars can buy you a large space in a great neighborhood.

07/03/2017

13 Things Every Woman Should Do Before She Turns 30
Age really is “just a number,” and there’s no one way to win at womanhood. That said, your 20s are a great time to start achieving your goals — and as a twenty-something myself, I feel like there are so many things every woman should do before 30, if she has the chance. Because, why wait?

If you’re in your 20s like me, then this is probably the first time you’re truly on your own, and it’s finally up to you to start figuring things out for yourself. Most twenty-something women are full of hope, excited about all of life’s possibilities, and curiously experimenting with their new-found womanhood. It’s truly a magical time, even with all the bizarre dating experiences and gross blunders that come with caring for our first pets.

However, in the midst of all the fun, we can’t ignore that 30 is just around the corner. Soon, we’ll be “official grown ups” (OK, so that might be total BS too, but it sometimes helps you achieve your goals when you have a target number in mind) — so there’s nothing wrong with wanting to lock down a few experiences before we get there.

Here are 13 things every woman should do before she turns 30. Or after. That works too.

1. Live Abroad

Your 20s are a great time to get out of your home country for awhile and experience what’s happening in other corners of the world. If you have the freedom to do so, leave for a few months. Or, leave for even longer. Travel to South America and cuddle a llama or get yourself awork visa and go to Australia. (You can earn $25 an hour as a barista there!)

Being an active part of a different culture is an education that you can’t acquire on a manicured university campus — and it could help you become a more clever, compassionate, and grateful person.



2. Forgive Your Parents

The longer you wait to forgive your folks for their blatant disapproval of your college major, your choice in partners, or your tattoos, the tougher it will be to mend things later on. Besides, it’s liberating to forgive. Try it — I bet you’ll feel more like a grown-ass woman than ever before.

3. Read Classic Novels About Women, By Women

There are so many classic novels and works of non-fiction written by incredible women and/or about fascinating female characters. (To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath are good places to start.) Taking the time to check out these books will give you a sense of what it meant to be female in the past, and how that history affects where women are today.

Reading the classics will probably help you mature, too.

4. Learn A New Language

It’s never too late to pick up a new language, but starting when you’re in your 20s is smart for lots of reasons. It could help your career, it makes traveling much easier, and studies have shown that multi-linguals are better decision makers. Plus, you probably have more free time right now than you will in your 30s, so it really is the best time to devote yourself to the task.

5. Ask For A Raise

Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You How To Be Rich, told Forbes that landing one $5,000 raise in your 20s, and investing it the right way, “can be worth more than a million over the course of your career.”

Additionally, learning to negotiate raises in your 20s will show your employer that you mean business, and that you know your worth. Of course, you should be careful about when and how you choose to ask for a raise. So you might want to check out Sethi’s tips before you make your move.

6. Learn More About Your Va**na

S*x education is seriously lacking in this country, and va**nas are kind of magical, so there’s probably a lot of stuff you have yet to learn about your lady bits.

Don’t wait any longer to find out what’s going on in your va**na. Research how the nerves down there are intricately connected to your brain and what diseases and illnesses women are most prone to.

7. Learn How To Budget & Start Getting Out Of Debt

It probably won’t be fun, but you need to learn how to budget in your 20s. Figure out what stuff you can cut out of your shopping list. Start recording what you’re buying, and start paying off any student loan or credit card debt you have. Procrastinating on this stuff will be a huge source of stress later, so take care of it now.

8. Learn To Trust Your Intuition

Successful women trust their gut. Their intuition serves them in incredible ways, and yours can, too. Oprah recommends quieting your mind when you’re facing a difficult situation (having a yoga or meditation practice can help with that). This way, you can really listen to what your inner voice is trying to tell you. reate Something

You don’t have to become the next Georgia O’Keefe or compose this generation’s Clair de Lune to nurture your imagination. Start small — pick up a notepad and sketch your favorite landscape. Turn on a playlist in your room and choreograph your own dance sequence. You can even keep it to yourself if you want to. Your work of art doesn’t have to be on display to make you feel good.

10. Try To Stop Criticizing Your Body

I won’t get all sentimental on you and talk about how we’re each gorgeous in our own ways (even though we are). Instead, I just want to encourage you to stop criticizing your body. (Easier said than done, I know, but here are some tips.) Because the sooner you realize that you’re beautiful exactly as you are now, the easier your 30s will be.

Embody: Learning To Love Your Unique Body, $7.99, Amazon

11. Find An OB GYN You Trust

Having a solid relationship with your doctor is a crucial part of taking care of yourself. If you’re not comfortable enough with your OBGYN to be brutally honest about things like stubborn, va**nal discharge, both of you might miss out on something that desperately needs attention.

Be picky, and don’t settle on a physician if they’re not the right fit. Remember, you should never feel judged or dismissed by your OBGYN, and they should always have your best interests in mind.

12. Volunteer For A Cause You Believe In

Giving your time to a cause you care about is super rewarding. According to research by United Health Group, it makes you happier, too. Ninety-four percent of folks who volunteered said it improved their mood, and 76 percent said it made them feel healthier. Another study at the University of Exeter Medical School found that volunteers were 20 percent less likely to die than those who never offered their services free of charge.

13. Befriend An Older Woman

Some of the best advice I’ve ever received has come from one of my older, female friends.

If you spend all your time with fellow twenty-somethings, it’s easy to get caught up in drama. Plus, hanging out with someone who’s successfully made it though her 20s is super reassuring — she can give you all kinds of wisdom