toujours_nigel: Greek, red-figure Rhea (Default)
[personal profile] toujours_nigel
 So I'm average height for an Indian woman, and though I'm very fat it doesn't... show as much or something (like, people are always astonished when they hear how much I weigh sort of thing). But anyway, I don't look strong; I have no visible musculature, and I am extremely clumsy.

Which makes it very funny when people realise I am... disproportionately strong for my size, apparently? Like, I don't actually know this and I would assume people are lying, except they look very astonished, like full-on :O emoji faces. It is especially hilarious when this comes from guys who've asked me to give them a hand up, or to punch them on the hand (you know the thing people do when they're trying to see whether you know how to throw a punch). Today it happened when I asked one of my Ph.D cohort to come check out my room, cause I'd gotten frustrated and rearranged my furniture.
Cohort Mate: How did you move the bed?
Me: What do you mean, how did I move the bed. Physically?
CM: No I mean, those are heavy. My friend moved hers and it took four of us.
It was an absolute boost to my self-esteem, tell you what, considering these girls cycle and play football for fun, while I blanch at the very thought of exercise.

But anyway, my room is rearranged so my bed is right under the ceiling fan, and that should help enough that I don't have to get the table-fan down for at least another fortnight.

Date: 2019-02-20 08:27 pm (UTC)
greerwatson: (Default)
From: [personal profile] greerwatson
Now, I know I'm not strong. Nevertheless, I've also occasionally moved furniture that surprises people.

In my experience, it often works better when you do it on your own, even though it's too heavy. Provided you can budge it even a little bit, you do it incrementally. Inching it along. (Literally.) You throw everything you've got into the job since there's no one else.

Contrariwise, if a group of people do it, they barely can. That's because no one is willing to do more work than anyone else, so no one does their utmost. In fact, no one does anything even approaching their utmost! More like as little as they reckon they can get away with.

All of this assumes, of course, that the furniture is at least budgeable.

Date: 2019-02-21 12:23 am (UTC)
spatz: Mr Tumnus and a probe at the lamp post, from <a href="http://xk3d.xkcd.com/665/">this XKCD comic</a> (winter lamppost)
From: [personal profile] spatz
I think people associate strength with height in a lot of ways? Like, I guess theoretically the lanky ones should have better leverage or whatever, but I'd place my bets on the short/stocky ones: compact muscle and low center of gravity, oh yeah. (That might actually be why people are surprised about your weight vs appearance? Muscle weighs more than fat because it's a denser tissue)

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