Cheating Death

Northwestern student Josh Kaplan, 21, talks about a near-death experience when he was five.


Untitled from Zach Buchanan on Vimeo.

In the Relaxation Business

Snappy Title! from Zach Buchanan on Vimeo.

Corinne Sanders just wants to help you relax. And now, working as a licensed massage therapist at Evanston’s The Rub, that’s exactly what she does for a living.
“I just like helping people with their everyday tension and injuries that can result from repetitive stress,” she says. “Everybody loves just a good, relaxing massage. Sometimes that’s all you really need.”
Sanders mastered her trade at the Chicago College of Healing Arts, where she had to buy her own table, sheets and massage oils with which to practice. But her knack for massage developed far before she enrolled there in 2003.
“I kind of developed a reputation,” Sanders says. “People would come to me in high school to get their shoulders rubbed or get hand massages.”
After graduating with a degree as a massage therapist, Sanders spent a year freelancing, working mostly with friends and family and doing house calls. She then worked at a day spa for a few years before coming to The Rub almost a year ago.
Over that time, Sanders learned that hands alone do not make a good massage. Clients, who lay on the massage table in the nude, must allow therapists to come into their personal space. It’s up to Sanders to make them comfortable so she can work out their kinks. Choice of words is imperative – Sanders “suggests” something, rather than “tells.” The less forceful the language, the better.
Music also plays a big role. Getting a massage from a total stranger in awkward silence might only stress one out more, so Sanders plays dulcet, usually instrumental tones to help relax the mind.
“I’ve been trying to perfect my playlist for years,” she says.




Note to Chris: When we made the videos on Vimeo in class, I just put in a makeshift title, but going back, I couldn't figure out how to change that, so I'm stuck with a crappy, senseless title. Sorry.

Starting Early: Freshman Hoops Star Breaks into Spotlight

Northwestern women's basketball coach Joe McKeown, in his first year with the Wildcats, has more than 500 career wins. Rarely does he let freshmen play. But NU freshman Brittany Orban has bucked that trend, and has started more than 20 games since November.

Zach Buchanan sat down with Orban to talk about hoops, school and her goals for the rest of the season.

Excerpts:


Did you expect to crack the starting lineup your freshman year?

ORBAN: It was always a hope of mine, coming in as a freshman, to get the chance to start in at least one or two games. I wasn’t expecting that.

When Coach McKeown came to the program this off-season, a lot of older players had to forget the old system and start over. Do you think that gave you a head start as a freshman?

ORBAN: Basically Coach had mentioned we were all starting out as freshmen in his standpoint. We were all brand new to the system. That’s what has taken us a little bit to get into the season. We weren’t used to his system, so we’re finally all getting it in. It was great to come in as a freshmen under a brand new coaching staff – that way I have all four years with them.



Click the link to see photos of Orban in action.

https://depot.northwestern.edu/class/2009WI_JOUR_341-0_SEC21/buchanan/photogallery_brittanyorban.swf

First Blog Entry!

Name: Zach Buchanan
Age: 21
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Major: Journalism
Year: Junior

What do I hope to do immediately after graduation?
After I graduate, I hope to get a job as a sportswriter at a decently sized urban newspaper.

Where do I see myself in 10 years?
In ten years, I hope to be a sports journalist who is respected for his opinion on sports issues. I hope to be known nationally, and I want people to read my stuff not because of the subject matter, but because I wrote it.