Rehearsals

Goals

2012-01-19T08:58:00.001-05:00

I've read that telling other people your goals helps you to accomplish them. I guess it's because telling someone what you plan to do provides you with the possibility of both support and accountability.

I think there might be something to this idea. I decided to do the fiftyfifty.me challenged to read 50 new-to-me books and watch 50 new-to-me movies in 2012. And I've been recruiting people to do it with me. I think this has changed my approach to reading. I'm now looking for and making time to read more, even if it's only an extra five minutes here or there. I would like to read 50 books, but that's been an unattainable goal for several years now. Doing this challenge and doing it with people I know makes me feel a little more pressure and motivation to succeed. Even if I don't read all 50 books, I don't want to come in last among my friends! So I'm motivated. I even decided to read at three o'clock this morning when I couldn't sleep.

I've set up a collaborative blog so we can share book and movie recommendations. Would you like to join us?

Serving - 2011

2012-01-15T13:24:00.004-05:00

As I did in 2010, I set a goal to do 50 hours of service over the course of 2011. After not reaching the goal in 2010, I decided to work harder to accomplish it. That is, I made more of an effort to seek volunteer work and service opportunities, and if something came my way I used my goal as extra motivation not to be lazy or selfish. I'm very happy to report, that I not only reached my goal, but I slightly exceeded it! Yea, me!

Like last year, I only gave myself a few rules.

My "normal" church service does not count. So teaching the 3-year-olds every week would not count toward the 50 hours. But other church service/volunteer activities would count toward the goal.
It does not matter what kind of service it is or if it is organized or spontaneous.
A $25 donation equals one hour of service. There are some things I can only do with money. I'm not really in a position to help famine victims in another country, but I can contribute money to the effort.

Those are the rules. Like 2010, I kept a chain. Here is a photo. Maybe I should start hanging them from my ceiling.

While I still made financial donations, I wanted them to be in addition to the 50 hour of service. So, my final tally (excluding donations) for 2011 is 52.25 hours! WooHoo! I'm very proud of myself, because I worked really hard to accomplish this. And I've already begun my service hours for 2012.

By way of showing the variety of activities that can be done - even by a person who doesn't have any particular skills - here are some of the things I did in 2011.

I made financial donations to several organizations, including Heifer International, The World Food Programme, The Clinton Foundation, and Doctors without Borders.
A stream clean up.
Worked at the food bank.
Donated blood 3 times.
Became an administrative volunteer for Doorways for Women and Families.
Helped a friend who moved to pack.
Helped another friend deal with some digital photos on her computer.
Volunteered at a service expo and a green living expo.
I did the Help the Homeless Walkathon, and I raised a little money for it.
Worked in the children's room for Doorways client meeting.
Quilt squares I donated last year were used to make quilts at the service expo this year. That made me really happy.
Sorted sweet potatoes and peaches that were being given to area food banks.
Helped decorate refreshments for an activity.
Co-leader for a park trash clean up, although I didn't really lead so much as I picked up trash.
Made a wreath to go in Christmas gift baskets.
Passed out bag lunches to homeless people in the county.
I donated computer run time to fight disease and do other research projects that will help the world.

There are lots of things we can do. Does anyone have some good suggestions for me? I have a whole new year to fill with service.

2011 Statistics

2012-01-08T15:03:00.002-05:00

It's time for my yearly accounting to myself. I've always been a list maker and a record keeper, because keeping track of some of the little things I do helps me to see if what I'm doing adds up to anything worthwhile. Sometimes it shows me if I need to expend a little more effort. Other times, it shows me how things fluctuate from year to year. Here are some of my statistics for 2011.

Pounds of paper recycled: 150

Pounds of cardboard recycled: 20+

Pounds of plastic recycled: 20

Number of plastic containers recycled: 372 (I guess I use a lot of plastic!)

Number of steps walked: 5,102,785

Number of miles walked: 2010.91 (Down from last year, so I need to step it up -- get it.)

Number of books read: 33 (double last year)

Number of pages read from books: 8,593

Number of magazines read: 33+ (I neglected to writ a few down, oops.)

Number of pages read from magazines: 2,183+

None of this counts web pages, newsletters, Primary lessons, or hundreds of articles from historical New York Times between 1900 and 1930!

I did better on somethings and worse of others. I plan to add to the steps, books, and magazine totals in 2012.

Something funny

2012-01-01T19:04:00.003-05:00

I saw this on my walk home. Do you think it really hurts to leave? Ouch! Happy New Year!

The green-eyed monster

2011-12-29T20:31:00.005-05:00

I'm suffering from a bout of jealousy, and I'm not happy about it. Normally, I'm not a jealous person. I'm usually happy for another's good fortune. But lately, I've been harassed by the green-eyed monster. I think it has something to do with the blue funk I descend into during the weeks leading up to my birthday. I see that I haven't lived up to my potential or I'm not happy with my level of success or accomplishment, and I find myself jealous of those people who seem able to do the things I've been unable to do.

I have a friend, trained as an attorney, married to a doctor, who's a stay-at-home mom and working on writing a novel. That's cool. I'm not jealous of any of that. I think I might be jealous of the blog she writes and all the glowing comments she gets on every single post. I seem to struggle even writing on a regular basis (we don't even need to address the lack of readers). I've been critical of her writing (not to her, only in my head - I'm not a mean person) and the thesaurus words she uses (she's smart, so maybe she does use those words in everyday conversation), because I'm jealous that she writes regularly and has people that love her writing. I'm really jealous that she's got the discipline to write daily.

But jealousy, is not improving my writing, or making it easier. so I need to just get over it. And write a little more often. Perhaps feelings of jealousy are signals to help us figure out what we should be working on in our own lives.

Pine needle in my shoe

2011-12-28T22:24:00.002-05:00

While I was walking to the subway on my way home from work, a fragment of pine needle worked its way into my shoe, through my sock and stuck in the bottom of my foot. It was enough of an irritant that I couldn't put weight on my foot. I hobbled and limped my way to a nearby bus stop that had a bench and sat down and pulled it out. It's amazing how something so small can cause so much pain and irritation.

It's the same in life. There are a lot of little things that irritate, annoy or hurt us. We have to make a choice to remove them from our lives.

Time flies

2011-11-28T22:06:00.004-05:00

On Sunday, a man spoke in church. I didn't recognize him until I heard his name. He grew up in this area, but he and his wife just recently finished school and came back to the area. I remember being a substitute for his Sunday school class when he was eleven years old. That made me feel very old. I'm sure I'm not very old.

I was just watching a documentary about the universe. The universe is very old. It will have an inconceivably long life. Looked at in those terms, a human life is insignificant. Even in human terms, each of our lives is insignificant. The world doesn't stop spinning when one of us leaves. Life and nature still go on.

I just finished reading a book called Momo. In it, men in gray are tricking people into saving time. These men in gray, are made up of stolen, dead time. When people try to "save" time by ceasing to care for a pet or completing a project in 15 minutes instead of 30, or ceasing to visit a friend in the hospital, these time thieves take that "saved" time. The time saver becomes harried, miserable and always pressed for time.

Time is your life. You've got a certain amount of it, and you can't save it. On your deathbed, you can't say, "I finished that project in a week instead of a month, so I should get an extra three weeks of life." What matters with time, his how you spend it. Are you doing something that brings you or others joy? Are you doing something that makes you a better person? Are you doing something that makes the world a better place? Are you doing what's important to you? Or are you squandering your time on things without lasting value, thinking that someday, you'll have more time to live the life you've always wanted?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T14:55:00.003-05:00

In honor of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd do the usual list of things I'm grateful for. I think I should do this more often. Seeing a list of all (or many of) my blessings is an excellent way to help encourage gratitude. So here, in no particular order, are some of the things I'm thankful for.

Family
Friends
My camera
A beautiful park less than 1/2 a mile from my apartment
A roof over my head
An abundance of food
The dinner rolls I'm making today
My computer
The WWW
My job, especially since I like going there everyday
All my books
The public library that is less than a mile from my apartment
Birds
Trees, especially when they flower in the springtime
Flowers, all flowers, I think
All the opportunities I have been given
All the opportunities I'll have in the future
The Saviour & the gospel
Clouds
Metro
My strong legs that help me walk wherever I need to go
My health
Paper
My T-shirt quilt
J, O, D
Jigsaw puzzles
My mp3 player
Electronic resources that I get free (and use almost daily) from the public library
Water
My hair
My eyes
My eyeglasses with their high-definition lenses
Living in a free country
Safety & security
Stars
Gift bows made from recycled paper
Note cards
The postal service
Service opportunities
Sun & moon
Photos from satellites
The cosmos
Music
Movies
Sunny days & rainy days too
I can read
Green grass
My eraser collection
My education
Poems

That is far from an exhaustive list, but it's a start. Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishes

2011-11-24T08:27:00.002-05:00

I'm rereading The Neverending Story for the sixth or seventh time. I first read it when I was 11 years old, and I still love it. The following is a conversation between Bastian and Grograman who is a lion, made of desert and fire, who is the lord of the Desert of Colors.

Some days later they had another serious talk.
Bastian had shown the lion the inscription on the reverse side of the Gem. "What do you suppose it means?" he asked. "'DO WHAT YOU WISH.' That must mean I can do anything I feel like. Don't you think so?"
All at once Grograman's face looked alarmingly grave, and his eyes glowed.
"No," he said in his deep, rumbling voice. "It means that you must do what you really and truly want. And nothing is more difficult."
"What I really and truly want? What do you mean by that?"
"It's your own deepest secret and you yourself don't know it."
"How can I find out?"
"By going the way of your wishes, from one to another, from first to last. It will take you to what you really and truly want."
"That doesn't sound so hard," said Bastian.
"It is the most dangerous of all journeys."
"Why?" Bastian asked. "I'm not afraid."
"That isn't it," Grograman rumbled. "It requires the greatest honesty and vigilance, because there's no other journey on which it's so easy to lose yourself forever."

I think this passage speaks to what I wrote about yesterday, that is, defining what success is for you. Most of us don't know what we really and truly want. In Bastian's case, he was literally losing part of himself with every wish he made. When he wished for and received amazing strength, he forgot that he'd once been a weakling. While our wishes might not make us forget who we are, we can lose what is good and true about ourselves if we follow the wrong path. We could wake up one day and wonder how we got here and what happened to the person we always thought we'd be.

To "DO WHAT YOU WISH" does sound difficult, but if done with integrity and love, it's probably the most worthwhile journey we can take.

Success

2011-11-23T21:40:00.002-05:00

Every now and again, I'll look up online someone I knew from high school. Often, I don't find them on the social media sites. I figure they don't have time for that sort of thing because they're laying the ground work for winning the Nobel Prize. I went to high school with a lot of really smart people.

The most recent person was someone from my Chinese class. As a junior and senior in high school, a few other students and I were bused to a private school across the state line to study the Chinese language. This person was a student at that private school. He was a year younger than me, but I remember him as cute, sweet, smart, and idealistic. He is now a doctor. He took some time out of medical school to get an MPH. He speaks Chinese fluently and has traveled there extensively.

This person is definitely a success. I don't feel like much of a success, and I certainly am not able to speak Chinese anymore. He did have some advantages. One year at that private school cost more than my entire BA. But I think there is more to it than having advantages. There's also more to it than natural talent and hard work. Although all those things matter. You must be able to define what success looks like for you and believe that you are able to make it happen. Once you are able to do those two things, then you will be able to be successful, even if where you end up is not where you originally imagined when you envisioned that success. I think what I'm trying to say is he's not a success because he's a doctor. He's a success because he knew what he wanted to do, he believed he could do it, and he put in the time to make it happen. Does that make sense? I think that's much more difficult than it sounds.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

2011-11-21T18:24:00.007-05:00

After leaving the Roosevelt Memorial. I decided to return the the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. It's awesome. I love the larger-than-life sculpture of Dr. King. I love the quotes and the simplicity of the wall. It's beautiful.

The Washington Monument from the King Memorial.

The stone in the background in this photo is where the King sculpture is carved.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

2011-11-21T00:05:00.010-05:00

After the walkathon, I decided to wander back over to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. The walk passed near it, but the route didn't take us through. This memorial begins with a prologue about Roosevelt's fight with polio. The remainder of the memorial is divided by his presidential terms. It was a beautiful, sunny day (you'll notice that some of the photos are a little washed out, I guess I should have darkened them), and the crowds hadn't gathered yet. So it was very peaceful.

I liked a lot of the quotes that were carved into the walls, so I purchased a book of some of Roosevelt's speeches at the memorial bookstore.

Most of the fountains were turned off for the season, but there were still a couple of waterfalls.

I think his dog was named Fala.

The view of the Washington Monument.

Eleanor Roosevelt.

I think there was a puddle that caused these robins to congregate.

This is actually at the exit of the memorial, but because of the light, I couldn't get a usable picture of the sign at the front. So I took this one.

Help the Homeless Walkathon

2011-11-19T20:10:00.014-05:00

I participated in the last National Help the Homeless Walkathon. It's been happening for 24 years and raised over $84,000,000. But the organizers are switching to a model of small, local and community walks.

When I decided to participate, I posted it on FB to see if anybody would walk with me. No one wanted to walk, but three people made donations on my behalf. They are totally awesome!

Here are some photos from the walk.

The crowd is getting ready to walk.

Off we go!

The Jefferson Memorial from across the Tidal Basin. I zoomed in, a lot.

More of the crowd.

Getting closer to the Jefferson Memorial. Yes, I do take pictures of the same monuments and memorials every year.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is across the Tidal Basin from the Jefferson Memorial. I photographed it from a distance. This is the first time I've seen it.

More of the Jefferson Memorial.

More of the crowd.

The walkathon route passed right through the Martin Luther King Memorial. It was clear that most of us had never seen it, because everyone stopped to take pictures. It was really cool.

In the home stretch.

Almost to the end.

Concert

2011-11-19T20:10:00.008-05:00

Noelle and I went to a concert on Friday night. Can you guess who it was?

The concert was at a little theater that was old and fairly recently renovated. I guess movies used to be shown there, but I don't know that for sure.

Of course we got there early. That's what we do, and it was a general admission concert with no assigned seats. We arrived at about 6:20. The doors opened at 7:00. The opening act began at 8:00. And the real show started at about 9:10.

We stood outside freezing, like everyone else, chatting and listening to other peoples' conversations while trying not to suffocate from cigarette smoke. Ick. It appears that many of the other concert-goers paid a lot more for there tickets than we did. We wondered if that was going to restrict where we could go. It didn't.

When we finally got into the theater, I was feeling ill and cold and hungry. But no big deal. We got some not-very-good food at the bar, and proceeded to the front of the theater, off to the left side to eat our dinner. We were well within spitting distance of the stage, but of course, there were no seats. Poor Noelle had sore feet, so we decided to go up to the balcony where there was theater seating and she could rest a bit. We stayed there for the whole opening act. I was familiar with the group, but Noelle had never heard of them before.

I thought the guitar player was really good.

After the opening act finished, we decided to make our way back to the floor near the stage. Our good spots were taken, but Noelle managed to get a place behind a married couple. We hung out there the rest of the evening. It was a good spot. Most of the time, I could look right between the couple, and Noelle could see over my head.

While we were standing there, the lead singer and guitar player from the opening act walked by. I smiled at them, politely, because of my inability to speak to strangers, I did not say hello. But they, politely, smiled back.

It was a fun concert. I freely admit that I'm a wimp who would like to protect my ears, so I had them blocked the whole time. I didn't miss anything, and I had the added bonus of not having ringing ears all night.

The next time we go to this particular theater, I guess we won't need to get there so early to get a good spot, unless we want to be the teeny-boppers standing right in front of center stage. Which we won't.

After the concert, the bass player was out and about talking to some people and making plans for the rest of the evening (it was near 11:00 at night). I was buying a T-shirt, and Noelle was eavesdropping. They were going to an Italian restaurant just across the street. Noelle searched for it on her phone, while ladies kept asking me to take their pictures with the concert sign at the front of the theater. It was too dark, and their phones weren't built for it.

Noelle wanted to stay and stalk the band. We saw two of the guys from the opening act go off with dates. Later we saw the two guitar players from David's band go into the restaurant, where we were conveniently parked. I told Noelle we could go in if she really wanted to, but she decided against it because we both had to be up early in the morning. I wasn't feeling well, and I guess we're too old for adventure.

A few more fall photos

2011-11-13T20:08:00.004-05:00

I'm still trying to get some pretty fall photos. Here are some of my latest attempts.

National Hospice Care Month

2011-11-13T20:00:00.003-05:00

I know an amazing woman who, among many other things, volunteers for a local hospice. She came up with an excellent project for us yesterday. In honor of National Hospice/Palliative Care Month, she had us make cute door hangers for patients' doorknobs. At another table, some ladies wrote notes to accompany the door hangers. It allowed us to be a little creative and at the same time bring cheer, comfort and support to hospice patients and their families.

Dollar coins

2011-11-13T19:47:00.002-05:00

I have another project (in addition to the snail mail project that's going pretty well). I went to the bank and bought a roll ($25) of presidential dollar coins. These coins feature images of each U.S. president in the order in which they served. I've decided to start putting more of these coins into circulation. I walked out of the bank and used some coins to buy some pretzels. Later I bought a greeting card. Only one person looked at the coins in sort of a bewildered fashion. Of course, the bank teller thought it was weird for me to come in and ask for the roll.

I don't know anything about how the ore is mined for these coins. I haven't researched whether they are a better choice than dollar notes from an environmental standpoint. The coins do last longer than the notes, so if we all use them, we can save the government money. I do know that the government has already made millions of them. All those coins are waiting to be used. They're also kind of cool. Anyone interested in switching to dollar coins? Here's more information for you from the United States Mint.

Snowstorm

2011-10-30T21:46:00.002-04:00

We were very lucky that we missed the worst of yesterday's snowstorm. Still, it was strange to be walking home, in the middle of fall, being pelted by freezing rain and snow. And the contrast between yesterday and today is amazing.

This might be a little difficult to tell, but this is snow coming down in my parking lot yesterday.

This is what it looked like today. Fall returned as suddenly as it left.

Snail mail

2011-10-24T21:21:00.002-04:00

Recently, I attended a lecture and book signing at the National Postal Museum about the Pony Express. It was a great lecture, and the book promises to be good as well. This month marks the 150th anniversary of the end of the Pony Express, which only lasted about a year and a half and was never profitable. The Pony Express was never part of the United States Postal Service. It was a private express service, and in today's dollars it cost about $75 to send a letter across the country.

It was an interesting lecture, and I found out I'm not the only person who finds the Pony Express interesting. I also had the opportunity to wander around the Postal Museum, which is an interesting place to visit. Occasions like this remind me that I want to use the Postal Service more. I remember as a child how great it was to receive cards and letters in the mail. Adulthood brought more bills than cards into my mailbox.

Another thing I want is to do good by writing. Since I lack discipline and I'm really only a mediocre poet, I've thought of another way I can do good with my writing. Since I remember enjoying receiving cards and letters, perhaps other people like it too. So, I've decided to mail cards and notes to people - for holidays, birthdays, thank you, or just to say hello. People will know someone (even if it's just me) is thinking about them, and maybe I can contribute a little to the general fund of happiness.

So any of my friends out there who might be reading this, if you are interested in receiving the occasional card or note by snail mail, please send me a message and give me your address. Really, sending a letter across the country for $.44 is a great deal.

Cleaning up after yourself

2011-10-23T11:35:00.003-04:00

I decided to go for a walk in the park this morning. When I got to the fire ring toward the center of the park, this is what I saw. Yesterday, some people (by the way the garbage was distributed, I think there were at least three of them) decided to have fried chicken and s'mores in the park, but neglected to clean up after themselves.

I understand people not wanting to pick up other people's garbage. I'm sure as children, we all tried to get out of cleaning something by telling our moms that it wasn't our mess, so we shouldn't have to clean it. But, I do not understand an unwillingness not to pick up one's own trash. Perhaps the people were drunk and had to turn all their attention to not setting themselves on fire. Maybe it was dark, and they couldn't see that they'd left so much trash behind. Maybe they thought they were doing their civic duty by leaving trash for a county employee to pick up. Everyone needs a job, after all.

When I cleaned it up, I left a lonely glove that one of them had forgotten. Maybe she'll come back for it. It was very disappointing.

But I was cheered a little when I saw what I think were deer tracks in the sand. It's fun seeing evidence of wild animals in this small oasis in the middle of an urban jungle. I also saw a caterpillar crawling along the path and this bug dangling from a bridge hand rail.

I was further cheered as I left the park and saw the "bucket man." He takes his two dogs for long walks in the park. He carries a bucket and a grabber and clears trash from the park. Whenever I'm disappointed by people like the s'mores and chicken litterbugs, I can remember that there are still people like this man who leave the world cleaner and better than they found it.

Looking for Fall

2011-10-22T22:43:00.003-04:00

I've been trying to get a good Fall photo. Here are a few attempts from my walk in the park this morning. I'll keep working on it.

To taste experience

2011-10-21T20:10:00.008-04:00

The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience. -- Eleanor Roosevelt

I've decided that I should try new things and not spend the rest of my life just sitting around my apartment.

Tonight I went to a Smithsonian benefit. There were booths set up and artists and craftsmen were selling wearable art. Some of it was really cool. All of it was really expensive. I was alone and totally out of place. There were mostly rich, older people who could afford to spend $1800 for a dress or $1000 for a necklace or $300 for a hat. The highlight of the evening was standing about two feet away from David Muir. I think I've probably learned that this kind of event is not for me, but at least I tried something new.

The event was held at the National Building Museum. I love that building, both because it is cool and because it was the old pension office. I've read a lot of documents that were generated in that building.

Across the street is the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Since I'd arrived early, I decided to take a few photos before going inside.

At the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

These three men are brothers. They wanted to chat for several minutes, and they wanted me to take their picture, so I did.

Pets

2011-10-20T08:48:00.009-04:00

I know a cat that is ill. That made me think about the cats I had when I was a teenager. The cats were still in our family when I went away to college. While I was away, my family fell on hard times. They had to move into an apartment where they wouldn't have had room for four cats even if they had had the money to pay the pet fees. So my mom sent my cats away. That's how I always think about it, "sent my cats away." I try not to think about it, because it makes me sad.

While I walked to work, yesterday morning, I was thinking about where my cats might have been sent. I was thinking that they are probably not alive anymore, and they probably haven't been for a very long time.

I don't know what kind of shelter they were sent to. I doubt they were adopted, since full-grown cats are less likely to be adopted.

I figure they probably went to heaven. I believe animals have spirits just like we do. What worries me is that they were scared and lonely because they were sent away, and I wasn't there to take care of them. It makes me sad.

Now I'm torn between two feelings. Sometimes I want to buy a big piece of property, so I can take all the unwanted pets and look after all of them. Other times, I think it's best not to have pets. Then you never care about them, and never worry about them.

Sometimes, I think that's how to approach a lot of things in life.

Note: The photos included here are not of any of the cats I wrote about. This kitten visited our office one day, and he's doing just fine.

Pick up artists

2011-10-17T21:16:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, I saw this story about a couple of young men who are traveling around the country picking up trash and educating communities about keeping trash off the streets. They are men after my own heart. My first reaction was to wonder why I never had the gumption to do something like that. Then I decided that the work I do on my own, in my own community is just as important, if not as far reaching. In the end, I decided I liked the cool "grabbers" they had to pick up garbage so I bought one of my own.

Today, during lunch, my coworker and I went for a walk near our office. I brought the grabber and a bag. It didn't take us long to fill it up. It was a team effort, because my arms are too short to easily get the trash from the grabber to the bag. Here is S. with the grabber and very stuffed restaurant take-out bag full of trash.

Photos of the day - Wedding flowers

2011-10-16T20:25:00.003-04:00

These photos aren't from today, but I decided to post them anyway. I attended a wedding reception, and these flowers decorated the tables.

Photos of the day - Park

2011-10-15T23:30:00.004-04:00

I went to the park this morning, hoping for some nice fall photos. Since it's been raining a lot recently, the stream was interesting to watch.

Photos of the day - Big sky

2011-10-14T23:05:00.003-04:00

I had to go out of town for a week, and forgot that I'd been trying to take at least one photo a day. I only remembered this afternoon.

It's been raining here for several days. Sunlight finally broke through the clouds.

Another photo of the day

2011-09-23T23:07:00.004-04:00

We celebrated the upcoming birthday of one of our workers today. We gave him a 3-D drawing pad. I think I thought it was cooler than he did. Here it is with a yellow bow I made from a magazine page that had a photograph of a banana. Next to the bow is a lollipop my friend got at the bank.

Photos of the day

2011-09-22T23:51:00.003-04:00

After a meeting today, we drove through a wealthy neighborhood. A couple of houses had deer on the lawns. This one didn't look like she'd found too much to eat.

This is a scene I pass as I walk to work everyday. I took the photo from across the street.

Inspiration & hope

2011-09-21T22:59:00.003-04:00

There are lots of places you can find inspiration. I was reading a blog today, and it had a video that was a slide show of photos a man took. He'd set a goal to take one picture a day and post it to his web site. I thought that sounded like a great idea. It's a good way to get outside personal picture-taking habits. It also helps me look at the world in a new way. So here is my picture for today.

I thought my African Coca Cola can giraffe looked like he was staring at his reflection in my phone.

I also saw a piece by an artist (sorry can't remember who it was) that he or she called a blackout poem. The artist took an article from the NYT and colored over most of the words with a black marker. The remaining words formed a poem. I haven't tried it yet, but it was pretty cool.

I've been struggling, recently, to write a poem about hope. It's difficult to write about it in a new and different way. I read a great quote about hope that will, maybe, point me in a new direction.

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don't give up. -- Anne Lamott

The Power of Half

2011-09-12T21:28:00.002-04:00

I just finished reading The Power of Half by Kevin Salwen and his daughter Hannah. The family sold their very large house and bought one half the size then gave half the proceeds to The Hunger Project to help people in Ghana. I thought it was an enjoyable and well-written book.

But what I really liked about it, was that a family came together and recognized how blessed they were and decided to share some of their good fortune. I liked that they decided to live lives that matched their beliefs (not always easy). What they expected to be a huge sacrifice turned out to be something that blessed their family and brought them closer together.

They were never preachy or assumed that everybody has a mansion to sell. But they did make the point that everyone has something to give-time, talent, or treasure. Giving is good for the receiver, but it is also good for the giver.

Here is their website: The Power of Half.

Here is the website for The Hunger Project.

Abundance

2011-09-07T20:21:00.003-04:00

In one of the books I'm reading a wealthy married couple are considering a major life change. The wife wants to go from a high-powered business executive to being a teacher. That would, of course, entail an enormous pay cut. She wonders if they would be able to afford to live. This is a family that lives in a $2,000,000 mansion. They have to give themselves a little sanity check by remembering their first home together was a small one-bedroom apartment. Of course, they'd be able to live. The family later went on, at their daughter's urging, to sell their mansion and give away half the money to charity. One of the points the author was trying to make is that when we make more money, it often feels like we "need" more money. Or, at least, that we could never survive on less money. Sometimes we need to stand back and witness the abundance that is in our lives.

I'm not rich by American standards (although I am richer than most inhabitants of the world). Based on my income (which is fair), I cannot afford to live by myself. I'm reconciling myself to that. But I'm better off financially than I have EVER been. I have no debt. I save money every month in both a retirement account and a money market account. I still have further to go to get the emergency fund where it ought to be, but if something bad happened financially, I'd be fine for at least two or three months, without using my credit cards. I've never been in that position before. And yet, I still worry about having enough money.

I'm trying to teach myself to recognize the abundance that is in my life and to expect good things to come to me. I don't know if I believe in the law of attraction. Maybe a person whose had good things happen to her learns to expect it, rather than the other way around. But it's helpful for the spirit to live like good things are going to happen. I'm not saying go shopping for something you don't need with money you don't have. But seek out the things that bring you joy. When you have enough, as I do, you can give more to charity. Or you can take a class. Or you can enjoy an ice cream cone with a friend. Whatever you do, try to put fear and behind you and recognize the abundance in your life.

A quote

2011-09-06T20:57:00.002-04:00

I came across the following quote in a book I'm reading.

The purpose of life ... is above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we lived at all. -- Leo Rosten

I think I feel that. I don't need to be famous to feel like I matter. But it would be nice if the world were better for having had me in it. I would like to make the world a little bit better for everyone.

Earth Etiquette -- Toilet paper

2011-09-05T14:12:00.005-04:00

I have a friend who once commented that one should never pay full price for toilet paper. Her thinking was that there is always toilet paper on sale somewhere. I would like to amend her statement. One should never buy toilet paper made from virgin fibers. Or, more positively, one should always buy toilet paper made of recycled paper (not recycled from toilet paper!).

Technology has improved such that using toilet paper made from other paper is not like using sandpaper. Will it ever feel like a quilt? No. But do you really need that anyway? To get that quilty-softness requires long wood fibers. Those can only be gotten from cutting down live trees. Often old trees. Is toilet paper really a deserving fate for an old tree?

By using recycled paper versions of toilet tissue, you're saving more than a tree. You're also saving energy and water. And you're providing a market for all that paper thrown in recycle bins at home and the office (of course you recycle paper, right?).

Increasing amounts of virgin fiber for toilet paper come from tree farms, but much still comes from old-growth boreal forests. Every day, about 5 acres per minute is clear-cut from boreal forest. It's cut for newspapers, catalogs, promotional mailings, and (a little bit) toilet paper. (National Wildlife, Aug/Sept 2010, page 16).

According to The Natural Resources Defense Council, if every household in the U.S. replaced one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper with a roll from 100% recycled paper the wood saved would equal about 423,900 trees. (National Wildlife, Aug/Sept 2010, page 16). According to the packaging for the 12-pack of Seventh Generation toilet paper, "If every household in the U.S. replaced just one 12-pack of 300 sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissue with our 100% recycled product, we could save 2,000,000 trees."

Seventh Generation is a good brand, as is Marcal

Small Steps. There are some other good brands out there. Read the label to make sure it is made from 100% recycled paper with a significant percentage of that paper coming from post-consumer content.

I try to encourage the purchase of toilet paper made from recycled content by giving a 4-pack to my coworkers every Earth Day. If you're not yet ready to entirely give up your quilty-softness, switch some of your toilet paper to the recycled version and allow yourself time to get used to it. It's worth it to save trees, energy and water and to create jobs and a market for all that recycled junk mail and copy paper.

This morning I bought two 12-packs of recycled fiber toilet paper, and I got them on sale.

For An excellent article from National Wildlife Magazine visit: Why Soft Paper is Rough on Forests.

Not Legal Tender

2011-09-04T09:55:00.002-04:00

The following item ran in the New York Times on March 10, 1915, page 18.

Not Legal Tender

Far be it from us to affect the appetite of our subscribers, but with diphtheria, tapeworm, smallpox, and other undesirable diseases prevalent among the bunnies of this section we wish to serve notice right here that rabbits are not regarded as legal tender on subscriptions for this paper. -- Central City (KY) Argus.

Now what am I going to do with all those bunnies I was saving?!

Current reading

2011-09-01T21:32:00.002-04:00

Since my friend Laurie asked, I thought I'd write a little bit about some of the books I've been reading.

At the office recently, we were discussing the philanthropist Nathan Straus who was a proponent of pasteurization and had free milk stations around New York City, so moms could get pure milk for their babies. He also did a lot of good in other parts of the United States and around the world. Only two of us had ever heard of Straus. Everyone has heard of other philanthropists of that era, such as Rockefeller and Carnegie, but not Nathan Straus. He was no robber baron. He didn't have a reputation for cut-throat business tactics. This is all an introduction to explain why I'm currently reading about John D. Rockefeller, Sr. I'm familiar with Straus from reading the New York Times from the early part of the 20th century. In that reading, I've also come across many articles about the Rockefeller Institute and other philanthropic work done by John D. Rockefeller. Most of what I know of him came after he was rich. Not knowing about the possibly shady business practices, I thought I should learn a little something about Rockefeller, because I have great respect for a lot of the work he funded.

So, I began with a book called "Dear Father"/"Dear Son" which is a collection of correspondence between Rockefeller and his son John, Jr. Then I moved onto to Titan by Ron Chernow. I haven't even read one-seventh of this nearly 700 page book. But it's fascinating to see how Rockefeller's parents shaped him. He probably got his love of money from his father and his desire to give it away from his mother. He was raised in a religion (and he was religious his whole life) that taught (as he saw it, at least) that the pursuit of money was all right as long as you then used the money to do good. It's easy to see the push and pull of getting money and giving it away that characterized most of Rockefeller's life.

Reading this also makes me wonder what we would all see if we took a serious look at our parents' characteristics, or our grandparents. I think we'd come away with a greater understanding of ourselves and our motivations.

Another book I've read this year was Our Choice by Al Gore. I loved this book. For many years, I've been trying to live my life in a more and more friendly way toward the planet. Nobody is perfect, but I try to get better every day. I do it because it's the right thing to do, not because I think my small actions will save the planet. But reading this book actually gave me hope. With today's technology, we could fix the climate crisis. And we could create jobs and help people and the economy while we're at it. It really is our choice.

On a lighter note, have you met Flavia de Luce? She is the precocious eleven-year-old heroine of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag and two other mysteries by Alan Bradley. The books take place in the English countryside in the 1950s. Flavia likes chemistry, poisons and riding her bike, Gladys, around the village solving murders. She is a fabulous character and the novels are beautifully written.

I also read a lot of middle grade kids' books; a recent one that I enjoyed was The Mysterious Benedict Society which is the first of a series. And you can't go wrong with the Leven Thumps books. Do you have any book recommendations to share?

The library

2011-08-13T15:58:00.002-04:00

I first worked in a library in the 4th grade as a "library assistant," meaning I shelved books and did whatever else the librarian asked. I continued volunteering in my school libraries through middle and high school. Later, I got a job in the library at the university I attended. After graduating college, I did research at the National Archives before getting a job in a special library at a trade association. I have good memories of going to the library as a child and participating in the summer reading program they sponsored. I love books, and I love libraries.

I haven't been to the library much recently. I use the library's electronic resources on an almost daily basis, but I haven't actually gone to the library in a while. Between my back log of unread books that line shelves in nearly every room of my apartment and all the books accumulating on my eReader that I got for Christmas, I haven't really had much need to go to the library. That is, until this morning.

There are a couple of books I'm thinking about reading, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to purchase them. So I decided to go check them out of the library. Going to the library always reminds me what an awesome place it is. The books I was looking for were in two different sections, fiction and biography. As I looked for them on the shelf, I noticed all the interesting books sitting near them. Of course, I picked up a couple of other books I hadn't planned on checking out. After I found the books I wanted, I went to the front of the building to check them out. It was self-check out, so I didn't even interact with a member of the library staff. This astonishes me. The library is amazing. I walked in, chose a few books, checked them out with my library card and walked out of the building. This didn't cost me any money, and I wasn't stealing. It's so great that any of us can walk into the library and find a book on practically any subject that interests us and borrow it for free. Wow!

For an excellent article on the history of the public library, visit the Straight Dope. Do you love your public library?

Fasting

2011-08-10T21:46:00.004-04:00

In my church we fast one Sunday a month. The idea is to give up two meals and donate the money you would have spent on those meals (or more) to care for the poor and the needy. Some people choose to fast for 24 hours. I rarely fast that long. I usually begin my fast some time between seven and ten o'clock on Saturday night, and I end my fast after church, currently between four and five o'clock on Sunday afternoon. I sometimes suffer from headache, dizziness, and nausea because my blood sugar drops. I don't say this to complain, but to compare it to what I'm about to write.

The other day, I was watching an interview on the Charlie Rose show with Valerie Amos and David Muir. Muir spoke of his recent visit to the famine zone in Africa. He met a mother and her four children who had made it to the refugee camp in Kenya and were waiting, not to get into the camp since that will take a couple of months, but to get registered so they could get a ration of food. Muir asked the woman when was the last time she and her family had eaten. She answered that it had been five days since they'd last had food. Five days. And they'd probably walked many miles on completely empty stomachs to get to the camp. It puts my small monthly fast into perspective.

If you'd like to help famine victims, please visit the UN World Food Programme.

Helping Africa

2011-08-09T08:43:00.002-04:00

I heard on the news the other night, that in the last three months, 29,000 Somali children age five years and under have died because of the famine. This is a post asking anyone who might read this to help all the people in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia who are still starving.

I understand that times are tough here with the economy. But nothing we endure -- not lay offs, not foreclosures, not putting our pride in our pockets and going to the food bank -- is like watching your child starve to death and knowing you have no food to give her. It's not that you can't afford to buy food; it's that there is no food. I don't want to belittle our problems in the U.S. There are people here who need help as well; I just want to show how desperate the situation is in Africa.

If you have no money to donate to organizations like Doctors without Borders or the World Food Programme, you can still spread the word to others who do have money. Or you can answer questions (on vocabulary, world flags, literature) at www.freerice.com. This will donate rice to the World Food Programme at no cost to you.

If you do have money, even just a dollar or two, enough Plumpy'nut can be purchased to feed a severely malnourished child for one day for under $1. That means that $1 could save a child's life.

If you'd like to learn more about the famine in Africa and how you can help, please visit: http://www.saveone.net/#1745413/It-Takes-an-Army-to-Solve-a-Crisis-3-Ways-to-to-help-fight-the.

I do believe that every little bit helps. And helping others can help us forget our own problems for just a few minutes and bring us a little bit of peace.

A few recent photos

2011-07-18T21:29:00.007-04:00

For readers and reading teachers

2011-07-17T18:51:00.003-04:00

Here's another quote from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn:

Oh, magic hour when a child first knows it can read printed words!
For quite a while, Francie had been spelling out letters, sounding them and then putting the sounds together to mean a word. But one day, she looked at a page and the word "mouse" had instantaneous meaning. She looked at the word and the picture of a gray mouse scampered through her mind. She looked further and when she saw "horse," she heard him pawing the ground and saw the sun glint on his glossy coat. The word "running" hit her suddenly and she breathed hard as though running herself. The barrier between the individual sound of each letter and the whole meaning of the word was removed and the printed word meant a thing at one quick glance. She read a few pages rapidly and almost became ill with excitement. She wanted to shout it out. She could read! She could read!
From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure when she tired of quiet hours. There would be love stories when she came into adolescence and when she wanted to feel a closeness to someone she could read a biography. On that day when she first knew she could read she made a vow to read one book a day as long as she lived. (page 148)

Libraries and books

2011-07-10T10:12:00.003-04:00

These are the first two paragraphs in chapter 2 of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith.

The library was a little old shabby place. Francie thought it was beautiful. The feeling
she had about it was as good as the feeling she had about church. She pushed the
door and went in. She liked the combined smell of worn leather bindings, library
paste and freshly-inked stamping pads better than she liked the smell of burning
incense at high mass.

Francie thought that all the books in the world were in that library and she had a plan
about reading all the books in the world. She was reading a book a day in
alphabetical order and not skipping the dry ones. She remembered that the first
author had been Abbott. She had been reading a book a day for a long time now
and she was still in the B's. Already she had read about bees and buffalos, Bermuda
vacations and Byzantine architecture. For all her enthusiasm, she had to admit that some of the B's had been hard going. But Francie was a reader. She read everything she could find: trash, classics, time tables and the grocer's price list. Some of the reading had been wonderful; the Louisa Alcott books for example. She planned to read all the books over again when she had finished with the Z's. (page 18)

Sunflowers

2011-07-07T21:32:00.006-04:00

I am a weirdo magnet

2011-07-01T08:39:00.005-04:00

I was walking from the office to the Metro yesterday afternoon on my way home from work. I walk along a very busy street with lots of cars. I was minding my own business, walking along and listening to music on my mp3 player when I was startled by an extended screech/scream coming from one of the cars on the road. I looked up and saw a scrawny blonde guy leaning halfway out the car window doing his best (or worst) impression of a rebel yell. This is part of the former Confederacy, after all.

I noticed that the car was going to have to stop at a red light at the next intersection. I also noticed that I would get to the same intersection before the light changed and they had the opportunity to drive away. I didn't figure I could really walk by their car and ignore them. So I walked up to the car instead. I gave a little wave to make sure I had their attention.

I didn't get a good look at the driver. I think he had brown hair and just looked like any ordinary guy. The screecher was wearing a white T-shirt and sitting stiffly in the front passenger seat with his eyes wide open pretending to be a zombie or something. There was a third guy in the back seat with scraggly longish brown hair. He wore a black muscle shirt without any visible evidence of actual muscle. He might have had a tattoo, but that could easily have been black magic marker that he drew on himself. Biologically, these boys were probably between age 16 and 19 years. Mentally, they were probably between 8 and 11 years.

After waving, I said while half smiling, "Thanks for the screech. That was very polite. Thanks." It was muscle shirt that responded. He said, as near as I can remember, "Your welcome. Love you. Love you." I turned and walked away. He continued, "Keep walking. Love you."

I was a few steps in front of the car when the light turned green. They were the second car in line. I knew, because these boy had shown themselves to be neither intelligent nor creative, that when the car drove past me again, the scrawny blonde one would screech again. Since I was expecting it, I wasn't startled. And I couldn't be bothered to waste my energy even looking at the car drive away.

Stop and look at the vultures

2011-06-27T08:38:00.004-04:00

I'm pretty good at stopping to look at flowers. But sometimes, in particular when I'm trying to get somewhere by a certain time, I can be quite focused on my object and miss what's around me.

This morning, I woke up unusually early, so I left early for work. Because I was out early, I saw a neighbor who'd landed the 8-o'clock-in-the-morning shift, so I walked with her to the Metro. On our way, we had to cross a fairly busy street consisting of four lanes with a median. I saw that the light was about to change, and I wanted to get across that street. I don't know why I needed to be in such a hurry, since I was running way ahead of schedule. I guess I was thinking about all the extra things I'd be able to get done once I arrived at the office (which, by the way, I am not doing since I'm writing this).

My neighbor stopped in the median, and called for me to come back since I'd run across the street. I informed her that I did not want to come back. She said that I needed to come back, because there was a condor in the grass. A condor?! I don't know if we have condors in the mid-Atlantic region. By this time the light had changed, and there were cars driving by. After the traffic cleared, I walked back to the median and saw the black bird she was talking about. Fortunately, I had a camera with me. Sorry the photos aren't great, the conditions weren't very good in the middle of the road on a dreary morning.

The bird is an American Black Vulture (I looked it up). I've never seen one before, but I guess they are quite common. They eat carrion, which is why their heads don't have feathers on them (feathers get contaminated with blood, bacteria, etc. when the birds feed on rotting carcasses).

I'm very grateful to my neighbor for making me come back and look. If she hadn't, I would have missed this super cool bird.

Suitably chastened by nearly missing out on the vulture, I did slow down and pay more attention to what was around me on my walk to work (besides the litter, which I still collected). It rained last night, so these morning glories (I think) we wet and pretty.

Uncommon talents

2011-06-25T18:01:00.004-04:00

This morning, I was speaking with a friend, and she mentioned a conversation she'd recently had with a couple of other ladies. They discussed all those random, unusual, who'd-a-thunk-it-type talents that everyone has but nobody knows about or appreciates. Generally, we focus on the singing, dancing, painting, writing the Great American Novel talents. My friend's talent is that she is great at parallel parking. I've never known anyone who thought she was good at parallel parking. One of the other ladies had a talent for peeling apples. She peeled 96 apples in an hour. I was amazed.

I have a talent, too. I'm really good at donating blood. I've never been rejected. I never get sick. And I can fill the bag in five minutes or less. I think that's very impressive.

What are your unique gifts and talents that others should know about?

Farmers market madness

2011-06-24T08:48:00.002-04:00

Most of us probably have some kind of shopping that we have trouble resisting. Lots of women like shoes and clothes. Many people like power tools. I like farmers' markets. Long ago, I lost the temptation to engage in retail therapy. If I don't love it or really need it, I don't buy it. Ever since I started thinking about energy consumption and waste and about how much junk I have in my apartment, I'm generally not inclined to buy something just to buy something.

But when I go into a farmers' market, I think I temporarily lose my mind. It doesn't even have to be a big, grand farmers' market. The one I went to yesterday had two produce vendors (I bought from both), two frozen treat vendors (I resisted that temptation), two pastry/bread vendors (I bought too much from the one that wasn't a national chain), and an herb vendor (I don't really know what to do with herbs). When I see all those fresh fruits and vegetables, sanity goes out the window. I spent $36. I would never go into the supermarket and spend that much money on the items I purchased. I justify my craziness by telling myself that I'm supporting local farmers; and the food I'm buying is fresher, tastier, and better for me (except those cinnamon swirl buns I bought!).

Maybe the best plan is to shop with a set budget, rather than a pocket full of $20 bills. But, I don't think I'll reform myself anytime soon. Until I do, I'll enjoy my heirloom tomatoes, corn on the cob, potatoes, fresh berries, baguettes, and all the other great stuff I bought in my temporary fit of madness.

Hard making ends meet

2011-06-20T06:39:00.004-04:00

I read the following in the University of Virginia Magazine. I found it distressing but not surprising.

A quarter of Virginia households don't have enough money to cover basic
needs. A report from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at U.Va.
reveals that a family of four needs about $44,000 a year -- twice the federal
poverty level of $22,050 -- to cover expenses. The biggest expenses for these
families? Housing and childcare. The report also shows how living expenses vary
within the state; in Northern Virginia costs are higher and a family of four
needs $64,200 to keep their heads above water. "Many Virginians earn incomes
above the poverty line but still struggle to make ends meet," says researcher
Rebecca M. Tippett. "It is important to identify risks to economic security
because economically secure families help build healthy communities: They can
pay their taxes; they can feed their children; and they are more productive
workers." Summer 2011, page 42

Realization

2011-06-09T08:25:00.002-04:00

Please don't cringe; this is yet another post on litter. I was walking to work yesterday. About halfway through the journey, I'd picked up four pieces of garbage (I ended up with seven for the whole walk). I was feeling very discouraged, because there has been a lot of trash strewn about the grass and sidewalk lately. I don't pick up every piece of garbage I see. It would take too long, and I would like to arrive at work in a timely fashion. Other factors influencing whether I collect trash are how hot and humid it is outside, if there are ants on the garbage and how close I am to a garbage can.

When I was walking down the sidewalk holding the dirty trash as far from me as possible a thought occurred to me. Say I spend 250 days a year walking to and from my office. If I pick up an average of four pieces of garbage a day, then by the end of the year I will have collected 1000 pieces of litter. That's 1000 pieces of garbage that will not end up in the Bay. That's 1000 pieces of trash that will not end up in the ocean. That's a 1000 pieces of litter that will not end up in some giant garbage patch in the ocean killing birds and sea life.

This made me think of the spindly-legged sparrow that was willing to try to hold up the falling heavens with his scrawny legs. One does whatever one can. It makes a difference every time I pick up a piece of trash.

It's an amazing world

2011-06-07T21:26:00.008-04:00

I went for a walk the other day. It's amazing the things we encounter when we slow down and look at the world around us. I saw this robin immediately as I stepped out of my apartment building. He was huddled up on the ground with his head in his feathers. He rocked back and forth. He didn't look up until I walked right by him. I don't think he is an adult bird, and I'm worried about him. He was gone by the time I returned from my walk.

This is a gray squirrel. He was perched on the telephone wires over the sidewalk, and he was screaming bloody murder. I wouldn't have known it was a squirrel making all that racket if I hadn't seen him. I looked around to see what was bothering him so much. He was sounding the alarm because there was a large house cat walking across the grass.

I saw this on a different walk. I know it's gross to look at, practically unidentifiable, but it's also amazing. I was walking through the park when I saw what appeared to be (and actually was) a smashed, partial insect carcass moving. At first, I couldn't figure it out. I was sure it was something dead, and to my knowledge, since we haven't been attacked by zombies, dead things don't walk across foot bridges. So I stared at the oddly moving carcass, and I finally noticed a tiny, brown ant (nearly the color of the bridge) pulling the carcass. He'd pull for a few seconds then take a break (I guess) then walk back to the carcass and start pulling again. I began rooting for this ant. I didn't stick around to see if he was successful, because it was going to take him a long time to move that dead bug into the dirt, but the next day the carcass and ant were both gone. I like to think, that the ant was successful in transporting that smashed insect where he wanted. It made me think of that song about the ant who tries to move the rubber tree plant. High hopes.

Flowers around the parking lot

2011-05-23T21:33:00.007-04:00

These are just some flowers planted around the parking lot at my office. I can see them from my window. I took these photos on an overcast, rainy day.

A Voice

2011-05-23T21:05:00.002-04:00

This morning, I watched an online video of a commencement address delivered yesterday by a television journalist. It was a good talk.

His message was that everybody has a voice, and that we don't need to be on the TV news to express it. Among other examples, he spoke of a man he'd met in Haiti. He and the crew had helped this man a little and featured him on the broadcast. The journalist said they'd helped the man get his voice back. This got me to thinking.

We all think we have something to say, a story to tell, or a contribution we can make to the world. That's true. But there is no voice, unless there is someone to hear it. The other half of this equation is someone who listens. Listening is just as important as expressing, and it is something we can all do for each other, and perhaps, help someone else find her voice.

Soil

2011-05-17T19:14:00.002-04:00

I suppose I can't be surprised that most of my friends don't read this blog when I choose exciting topics like soil to write about. I have a history of writing about less-than-thrilling subjects. In the eighth grade, we were assigned to write an original Greek myth. Others were interested in topics such as lightning, tornadoes, or earthquakes. I chose . . . (wait for it) . . . erosion. I can't remember all the details, but I wrote the story of a farmer named Erose (not to be confused with Eros, who is a totally different guy). Erose worked hard and was a good man, so the Goddess Demeter decided to bless him with great success on his farm. After a while, Erose forgot that he'd been blessed by a goddess and decided that all his success was entirely due to his own skill. So he decided to climb Mount Olympus and take his rightful place among the gods. Of course, this made Demeter really angry. So while Erose was climbing, she caused the dirt and rock on the side of the mountain come loose. Of course, Erose couldn't make it to the top of the mountain. I can't remember if I left him buried in a pile of dirt or if he just rolled down the side of the mountain and lived on as a more humble man. It was actually a pretty good story.

Today, I was reading Our Choice, by Al Gore. I read the chapter on soil. I guess I know a small amount about soil, really hardly anything at all. I know you need to have healthy soil to grow crops. I know crop rotation helps keep the soil healthy. I know plants get nutrients from soil. I know drying/burning peatlands releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. I'm familiar with biochar (having read an article about it once) and how it is really good for the soil fertility.

I should have known, but don't think I really understood, that dark, rich, fertile soil is that way because it contains carbon. Lots of carbon. It also has lots of other stuff like fungi and bacteria that plants need to grow. Plowing disrupts the complex system that is soil, causing it to dry and release the carbon. Plowing makes the soil more likely to erode. This is what caused the dust bowl in the early 20th century. Farming techniques have improved, and we are now capable of taking better care of our soil.

What impressed me most about soil is how it is tied to the solutions to both global climate change and world hunger and poverty. There are many places around the world that are not taking care of their soil. This causes the soil to degrade and lose fertility. This causes crop yields to decrease. This causes people to go hungry. Obviously it will take more than healthy soil to solve our problems, but it is a good place to start. Much of the depleted soil around the world is lacking carbon. We can take it from the atmosphere and put it back in the soil by burying biochar (this is obviously more complex than I make it sound). This will have the double benefits of reducing the green house gases in the atmosphere (soil can hold a lot of carbon) and making the soil more fertile. More fertile soil means better crop yields. Better crop yields mean fewer hungry people.

There is much more to this, than I'm able to explain. I recommend the book. It reinforces to me what I've always thought. What we do to the planet, we do to ourselves. As a religious person, I don't believe that God would give us a planet that wouldn't support all his children. But, I also believe that we have a responsibility not to waste our resources, and as we learn more we should do better. Taking care of the soil is a good place to start.

Whatever one can

2011-05-08T19:34:00.003-04:00

Several years ago, I mentioned to my boss that I was going to read a famous book about how to be an effective person. She told me not to, because most of us are not, and never will be, effective people. She recommended I read another book by the same author. At the time, I was a little offended. I knew I wasn't effective; that's why I was reading the book. She told me I never would be. It turns out, she was right. I did read the other book, but it doesn't seem to have helped much either.

This morning, I read a quote by Jeffrey R. Holland in which he tells an old Arabic legend.

It tells of a rider finding a spindly sparrow lying on its back in the
middle of the road. He dismounted and asked the sparrow why his feet were in the
air.

Replied the sparrow, "I heard the heavens were going to fall
today."

"And I suppose you think your puny bird legs can hold up the whole
universe?" laughed the horseman.

"Perhaps not," replied the sparrow with conviction, "but one does whatever
one can."

(from Created for Greater Things)

I understand now that I won't ever be an effective person, or a leader, or an inspiration. Few will ever read (or care) what I write here. Most of what I do will make little, if any, difference. But I can still pick up litter. I can still recycle. I can still make small donations to charitable organizations. I can still do a little volunteer work. Because, one does whatever one can.

Litter experiment - results

2011-05-05T20:11:00.002-04:00

I asked people to pick up a piece of litter and comment about it. For doing so, I offered to increase my donation to a local environmental organization. I cannot say the effort was a total failure, but it was nearly a total failure. That's fine, I never was inspirational or a leader or even well liked.

Thanks to my friends Noelle and Belen who both participated. Noelle especially went the extra mile (literally, I think) and spent a half hour during lunch collecting garbage with me. We filled a plastic grocery bag and a kitchen garbage bag. Noelle even took one for the team when she was attacked by an ill-behaved stick. In addition, my friend Laurie (a kindred spirit in many respects) posted her views on litter and litter prevention on FB.

With gratitude to these lovely ladies, I decided to add $15 to my donation to Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment. I made the donation this evening.

Thanks again to my friends who participated.

Litter experiment

2011-05-03T08:35:00.004-04:00

I walk about half an hour between the Metro and my office every day. Very often there is garbage on the sidewalk, street, and in the bushes and trees. Sometimes I pick it up. I especially try to pick up plastic. It's been windy here lately, so it seems like there is extra trash blowing around.

This morning, as I was collecting trash (not too much since I didn't have a bag to carry it in), I noticed a plastic bag that I'd seen yesterday in the brambles and bushes by the sidewalk. I hadn't picked it up, because I'm not very good at identifying poisonous plants, and I didn't want to break out in an itchy rash. Since it was still there, I decided that I really should pick it up before the wind dislodged it, and it blew into the creek. In the realm of no good deed goes unpunished, the ground slopes sharply downward once you step off the sidewalk, and I had to lean forward to get the plastic bag. I'm wearing white pants, and my knee went right into the mud. Bummer!

I wanted to feel better about this unfortunate turn of events, so I began thinking about an email I got from an international organization. They had solicited suggestions from people about ideas to help us all live greener lives. One person mentioned how much cleaner the world would be if we all picked up litter. He was a little more specific than that, but I can't remember the exact quote.

So today, I'm asking you to pick up some litter. I was planning on making a donation to a local organization, Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, that I already volunteer for. Today and tomorrow (May 3 &4, 2011), I will add $1 to my donation for every person that goes out and picks up one, or more, piece of litter, then comes back to this post and comments on the experience. If you're really gungho about it, and fill up a plastic grocery bag, then I'll add $5 to my donation.

I'm interested in getting rid of some of the trash that pollutes our streets and streams, but I'm also interested in knowing your thoughts about litter and what we can do about it.

I'll report on the results of this little experiment. Thanks!

Stewardship

2011-05-01T18:22:00.009-04:00

I met this snapping turtle yesterday at an event at which I got to help with a stream monitoring demonstration. For the demonstration one person (who knew what she was doing and was giving me instructions) held a net in the riffles of a stream. I picked up rocks and rubbed the bottoms of them. We were trying to dislodge insects from the bottoms of the rocks and the stream bed and catch them in the net. We caught quite a few. A person monitoring the stream then surveys the number and types of insects in the stream. She knows what kind of insects should be there, and she knows which are more or less sensitive to pollutants. If she finds many of the very sensitive insects, then she knows the stream is in pretty good shape. These data are collected quarterly from several points and used to monitor the long-term health of the stream. If something is wrong with the stream, this information also helps the monitors to figure out what types of interventions are best.

I was thinking about this this morning when I went for a walk in the park near my apartment. I collected a small amount of litter (we also collected a little trash from the stream in which we were doing the monitoring demonstration) and wondered why people think it's all right to throw plastic bottles on the ground. I don't think I'll ever really know the answer to that question.

All this got me to thinking about human stewardship of the planet. We've been teaching the four-year-old children at church a little about the creation and how every time they see stars or birds or flowers or anything, they can be reminded that God loves them. In the Bible we read that God gave man dominion over the earth. I've never felt that this means that we get to do whatever we want to the planet. We don't get to destroy it just because we're sure that God provided enough of everything for everybody. He never said we get to be wasteful or uncaring.

I had an interesting (to me anyway) thought during my walk this morning. If a person created something beautiful, a painting, a sculpture, an essay, an amazing machine, how would she feel if someone just trashed it. Maybe the destructive person didn't care about it. Or maybe he couldn't be bothered to treat someone else's property with respect. Or someone should have made it easier to take care of it. Or maybe he just figured she had the resources to fix the creation or make something new, so her original creation lacked real value. Is that how we treat the earth? Do we take it for granted? Just because nature will always adapt, doesn't mean it will change in a way that is good for humans or the other creatures with whom we share the planet. We live on the earth; it is our home. But does it really belong only to humans? Don't we have a responsibility to leave it at least as good as we found it?

Flowers of Disneyland and California Adventure

2011-04-24T18:50:00.006-04:00

Here are some photos of Disney's beautiful landscaping.

Laguna Beach and Crystal Cove State Park

2011-04-24T18:38:00.006-04:00

Here are some more photos from my recent trip to California.

Laguna Beach

Crystal Cove State Park

Happy Earth Day! -- 2011

2011-04-22T21:34:00.002-04:00

Happy Earth Day!

I often will pick up litter here or there on my walk to and from work. I take into account how much I'm already carrying, how close the nearest garbage can is, what kind of litter it is, and how disgusting the piece of trash is before deciding whether to pick it up. Often, I will pick up plastic even if I have to carry it for a little while.

In honor of Earth Day, I decided to bring work gloves and some grocery bags and pick up trash. This is a photo of what I collected during my half-hour walk between the Metro and the office. I didn't even put much effort into it. I didn't pick up garbage in the street -- too busy, and I didn't walk under many trees. My hair got tangled in some branches so I gave that up.

For the last couple of years, I've given my coworkers an Earth Day present. It's the same every year: toilet paper made from recycled paper, not virgin fiber directly from trees. We all use toilet paper, so I feel like this is a good way to save a few trees and get people to try a product they might not otherwise be willing to use. Here are my coworkers very happy to have their toilet paper.

The azaleas are starting to bloom. It rained today, so I thought I'd take a photo. Beautiful!

Point Dume State Park

2011-04-17T21:10:00.012-04:00

When last we left our intrepid adventurers (my friend and me, in case you weren't sure), we had briefly stopped in Santa Monica. After that we drove through Malibu and went to Point Dume State Park. Gorgeous.

I love California poppies.

A last line

2011-04-17T21:03:00.002-04:00

A couple of days ago, I finished reading Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. It's worth reading, if you ever get the chance. I loved the last sentence, so I thought I'd share it. Dickens really did know how to string words together.

They went quietly down into the roaring streets, inseparable and blessed; and as they passed along in sunshine and shade, the noisy and the eager, and the arrogant and the froward and the vain, fretted and chafed, and made their usual uproar.

Venice Beach and Santa Monica

2011-04-16T21:55:00.008-04:00

After spending all that time with all those smart people, we decided to take a few extra days and enjoy sunny California. Our first stop was Venice Beach.

Then we drove to Santa Monica. Yes, we listened to Savage Garden's song "Santa Monica". I didn't get too many photos here, because the parking spot we found was only for 15 minutes.

UCLA

2011-04-16T17:40:00.009-04:00

After Provo, we went to California for some meetings. They were held at UCLA. It was very interesting stuff, but I confess, sometimes I didn't know what the people were talking about. These are photos from on and around campus.

Spring snow in Utah

2011-04-05T23:27:00.010-04:00

I came to Utah for work this week. Here is a photo of the clouds outside the airplane window. I love to see the temple. It snowed overnight, and this is the view outside my hotel room window in Provo. This is outside the hotel the next morning.

This is the Provo River.

Bridal Veil Falls.

We drove up to Sundance.

This is outside our Provo office.

The mountains in the evening.

Earth Etiquette - Foam packaging

2011-04-01T15:40:00.003-04:00

This is a photo of the mountain of foam packaging that we piled in my office after we got five new desktop computers and twelve monitors at work (everyone uses two monitors, and we keep extras for people to use with laptops, so they have extra monitors as well). Most of it is expanded polystyrene (EPS). That is the hard, stiff, white foam that gets all over everything when you break it apart. We often call it "Styrofoam". The other is the airy, squishy foam that is grey or white, and you can squeeze it without breaking it. That is called polyethylene (PE) foam.

If you've ever purchased any electronic equipment or home appliances, you've probably had some foam packaging in your home. It's everywhere. You probably didn't know that it can be recycled. It doesn't weigh much, but it takes up a lot of space in the landfill. So, recycling is a good idea. Most of us don't have curbside collection or city drop off sites for it. If you're willing to expend a little time, effort, and possibly money, you can keep EPS and PE foam out of the landfill.

Currently, I'm working on recycling all the EPS foam in my office. You know you have a problem when one of your coworkers walks in and comments that it smells like Styrofoam and that he had no idea Styrofoam had a distinct smell. All my other coworkers have groaned when they see the mountain of foam packaging. My boss looked at the mountain and had the realization that if this is how much our tiny office is generating, how much foam must everyone else be throwing away. That inspired her to pay to mail my first box of EPS foam to the recycler, since I pay for it out of my own pocket. We've mailed five boxes so far, and have made quite a dent in the mountain. It's really only a hill now.

The closest recycler to my office is 80 miles away. But there are recyclers around the country, some with drop off locations and some with mail-back sites. If enough of us express interest in recycling our foam packaging, our cities and counties might begin collecting it.

For more information on recycling you can check out these web sites:

EPS foam: http://www.epspackaging.org/

PE foam: http://www.recyclepefoam.com/

I guess that's my soapbox for the day.

Diet Done

2011-03-31T20:13:00.002-04:00

I finished my celebrity-endorsed diet. It worked. I lost twelve pounds. But it's a little more complicated than that. The food was not particularly tasty. I don't know how people eat it for months on end. By the last week of the diet, I was really not looking forward to anything I was going to be eating. A few meals, I dreaded. But, as I've said before, you can do nearly anything for 35 days. I think I learned a few things about the diet and about myself.

I can live without bread and chips for long periods of time. Although, yesterday, I just really wanted chips. So I ate some.

Portion sizes are considerably smaller than we think they are.

I don't eat huge amounts of red meat anyway, but having it severely cut from my diet, I think, made me feel better. So, I'm going to continue eating very, very little red meat.

The food had a lot of sodium. It makes food taste better than it might otherwise.

The diet didn't include nearly enough whole grains. Since a female with fewer than 100 pounds to lose, gets to eat very little bread, it would seem logical for some of the meals, such as pasta dishes, to be made with whole grains. They weren't.

It is possible to make something that is supposed to be chocolate, and I use that term loosely, taste sort of bad. It's possible to make lots of desserts not very good.

I can eat a lot of salad, and that's good for me.

I can resist temptation.

If you're hungry all the time, you will lose weight. I was hungry for the better part of 35 days.

All in all, I'm glad I did the diet. I reached a goal, that is, staying on the diet for the entire time. I've learned that I can plan better and eat less. Now the trick is to go back to eating my own food and not gain the weight back. Better yet, I still need to lose 20 pounds.

Good people

2011-03-29T21:10:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I get frustrated at the lack of kindness and courtesy I see around me. Often, I wish I was kinder myself. I'm glad to know that there are still good, kind people in the world. On my way to the Metro this morning, I saw a man walk up to a blind gentleman. I hadn't seen either of them before, and the blind gentleman might have been having difficulty heading in the right direction. I certainly don't know. But the other man walked up to him and asked him what direction he was going. Then he took his arm and walked him to the Metro. A few minutes later, I saw them on the other side of the platform in the station, chatting with each other as they waited for the train. It looked like it was a good experience for both of them. It cheered me up.

Snow and Flowers

2011-03-28T20:18:00.010-04:00

We had a very light dusting of snow on Saturday night, so I decided to go for a walk Sunday morning and see if I could photograph some snow on the flowers. It was strange looking snow, and had begun to melt by the time I started for home. Here are some of the photos.

It's OK that you can't go home again

2011-03-24T21:52:00.002-04:00

It's true that you can't go home again. I learned that the hard way in 1998. The reason, of course, is that you're not the same person, and the "home" you left behind is not the same place. Everything and everybody moves on. But sometimes, it's still nice to visit and see what's new, and what has stayed the same.

I had to go into the city for work today. When I was done with the work I needed to do, I decided to go visit the organization I used to work for, which was only about a mile away from where I spent today. It's definitely not the same place I left. It even looks different.

As an incentive to renew the lease, the building managers renovated the space. One of my friends gave me a tour. Some of the changes were pretty cool. Other changes, like the "cubbies" that are supposed to hold the library collection, don't seem to make sense. But I remember, that's how a lot of decisions got made.

I was welcomed immediately, and greeted warmly by my former coworkers. One of my former friends in the library took me around to see many of the people I used to work with. It was very much like I haven't worked someplace else for two and a half years. I might have just come back from vacation. The person that teased me still teased me. One person that has been very supportive of my poetry writing discussed that with me. Some others chatted about some of the old stories from my time there. I talked about photos with one, and another I got to congratulate on her recent marriage.

I'm glad I left that job and took my current one. It was time to move on, and I like where I am. I didn't realize how much I missed my former coworkers. They are a good group of people. All of us have moved on, but I'm glad I got to pay them all a visit.

Earth Etiquette - World Water Day

2011-03-22T21:09:00.002-04:00

Today is World Water Day. The purpose is to focus attention on the importance of fresh water to everyone. In honor of the occasion, I collected some information from National Geographic's website.

2.5% of all the water on Earth is fresh water. Of that, 2/3 is frozen.
Ranching and farming account for 64% of all water use.
The average American uses about 100 gallons of water every day. Millions of the world's poorest people live on fewer than 5 gallons of water every day.
Nearly 900 million people in the world, or about 1 in 8, lack access to clean water.
Everyday, 4,800 people die of waterborne diseases.
It takes about 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter bottle of water. That's 2 liters, in addition to the 1 liter you drink.
Women in developing countries walk an average of 3.7 miles to the nearest well or water source.

We can each do a little something to reduce our water consumption.

Don't leave the water running when you brush your teeth.
Fix leaky faucets.
Only water your lawn in the early morning or late evening when less will evaporate.
Take shorter showers.
Eat less meat. It takes 1,799 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef.
Consume less stuff. It takes water to make all of it.
Be mindful of how you use water, so you can make better decisions about it.

For lots of information and quizzes, in addition to figuring out your water footprint, you can visit National Geographic at: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/water-footprint-calculator/?soucre=email_inside

Better to give than receive

2011-03-16T21:17:00.004-04:00

I have a problem letting things go. I recognize that it's just stuff, but I guess I'm a sentimental person. So even if I have no more use for something, or I've overcome my emotional attachment to it, I still like to see it go to a good home.

I had these binders full of cards with facts about wildlife. They're very cool, and I enjoyed reading them. But I haven't read them for years. I've hardly even taken them off the shelf. But they're really cool, and I wanted to give them to someone who would love them and put them too good use.

At church several weeks ago, a little boy was giving a talk in Primary. Actually, he was giving his sick little brother's talk. It was all about the creation account in Genesis. There was special emphasis, including long lists wildlife, on the days when animals were created. After hearing this talk, I knew who needed to have my binders of wildlife cards.

I contacted the boy's mom and asked if the family was interested. They were. The kids love them. They look at them every day. One of them has made lists of his favorite animals. It makes me happy.

The children's mom, thinks I did something nice for them, which I guess I did, in a very small way. But I feel like I've gotten so much more out of this than I gave. I love educational materials for kids. I love animals. I love that these children are getting so much enjoyment out of these cards. It makes me happy every time I speak with the mom. And the kids sent me a thank you note. It totally rocks. The three-year-old sister "wrote" her note on the envelope.

The brother I gave the cards to made a mosaic of a tiger shark. How cool is that?

It's going on my refrigerator.

Diet

2011-02-26T21:13:00.002-05:00

Today is my ninth day on one of those celebrity-endorsed diets where they mail you the food and claim you'll lose weight and never be hungry while eating fabulous meals.

I had been thinking about trying one of these diet programs to teach myself how much food I should be eating. I finally decided to do it when I got a pretty good deal on it from one of the discount warehouse stores. I also decided the world wouldn't end if I ate food with excess packaging and a lot of preservatives for 35 days.

The diet works. I've lost 4 pounds. But I'm hungry most of the time. It's possible that I burn more calories than the average person who needs to loose a few (or many) pounds. I'm quite active, between commuting and exercising for one to two hours five or six days a week. But it's not much food. I can eat as much that is leafy and green as I want. And I have been. I also ate two pounds of carrots last week. All that salad is good for me.

I can't rave about the food. For the most part, it's edible. A few things have been pretty good. I can't figure out how people eat it for months on end. A couple of times, I've thrown part of the meal, as small as it was, in the garbage.

The things I miss most are bread and chips. Occasionally, I can have a whole-grain roll, and one of the snacks/dessert items is a bag of soy chips. I haven't tried those yet. I guess I know where I really need to cut back when I start eating real food again.

It hasn't been particularly difficult to keep to the diet, but I've only done it for just over a week. Maybe ten days from now, I'll be ready to quit. It's easier to stick to something when you've made the decision not to be tempted before temptation arises. It also helps that it cost me a lot of money, and I don't want to waste it.

The most difficult time I've had so far was this afternoon when I was out with some friends who wanted to go to a restaurant. I decided I could order a salad, since I can have unlimited amounts of lettuce. It was a good salad. I had the cheese removed, but it still wasn't for "weight management" as they say. I had some whole wheat bread. But it was the first time I felt deprived. I wasn't tempted to order anything other than a salad, but everything else smelled really good. It was much more difficult than I expected.

But that's all right. I set a goal, and I plan to be successful. I also expect to be thinner, and that is an excellent reward.

R.I.P. Composter

2011-02-24T06:43:00.003-05:00

On Monday, I threw my composter in the garbage. It was just an automatic composter that you plug in the wall outlet. I've been composting my kitchen scraps since June 2009. It was never really "composting made easy" as the company slogan said. It was hard to get the balance of green and brown materials correct. If you didn't there was a bad odor. It was never pleasant to remove the compost from the machine. Still, I thought it was worth the time and trouble.

I noticed the composter was making a humming noise, when I should have heard the bar on the inside of the machine turning to stir the compost. I looked inside and removed a lot of cooking garbage. One end of the bar had come loose. I couldn't figure out how to get it back in. Then I accidentally disconnected the other side. I decided I was done with this composting experiment. I might have had a lifetime warranty on the machine, but I didn't know where there paperwork was, and the thought of starting over was more than I could handle. Maybe if I ever have a yard, I'll compost outside.

Most people who knew I was composting in my little apartment thought I was crazy. They were probably right. But it makes me happy that I kept about 141 pounds of food waste (that's a lot of banana and potato peels, apple cores, egg shells, and tops of strawberries) out of the landfill. And, I was able, on several occasions, to give compost to three different people to help their gardens grow.

I'm troubled, however, by how easy it was to throw the composter away. It's about the size of a large desktop CPU, and it weighs very little. It was kind of dirty on the outside, and it has a drip pan, so I didn' t want to pick it up and carry it out to the trash cans. I thought it would drip and make a mess. I was fairly easily able to get it into a garbage bag. Then I just had to carry the bag out. It concerns me that so often, the good thing to do (composting) is such a pain in the neck, but the bad thing, or less environmentally friendly thing (tossing the composter in the garbage) is so easy. I suspect a lot of things in life are like that.

Tulips

2011-02-17T21:07:00.007-05:00

For Valentine's Day, Noelle's visiting teachers came by the office and gave her some pink tulips. I brought my camera in today and photographed them. They are beautiful flowers.

Names and labels

2011-01-19T20:52:00.002-05:00

Naming things is very important in literature. Often an object is not complete without a name. Or before it belongs to and works for the hero, he or she must give it a name. Even in the Bible, Adam named all the animals (Genesis 2:19). We do it all the time in our everyday lives. It helps us make order out of the chaotic world around us. I've been thinking for the past few days, that, sometimes the neat little names and labels we give to things sets us too much apart from everyone else. It becomes too much us and them. We separate ourselves by politics, religion, nationality, social status, whatever.

This evening I had the opportunity to help hand out meals to homeless people at a couple of locations in the county. In talking about this, we usually say something like, "We're going to pass out meals to the homeless." It's that label "the homeless" that I'm having a problem with. Of course it's accurate, because they are people without homes. Couldn't we just say, "We're going to pass out meals to homeless people." The first label, "the homeless" is an easy category that separates us from them, and I've been trying to break myself of the habit of using it. I feel like it makes it easier for the rest of us to forget that these are human beings that don't have a place to live. There are other aspects to their characters and certainly other labels that could be assigned to them. If we say "homeless people" then we are assigning an adjective to describe a group of people. But we're not forgetting that they are people. They're still human, and we can't label them and shove them to the side and forget them.

Perhaps this doesn't matter, just like handing out dinner doesn't help any person get medical treatment, a job, or a home. But perhaps we can examine the labels in our lives and see if they help connect or separate us.

Ice, Ice, Baby

2011-01-18T21:24:00.003-05:00

We had a little bit of a freezing rain/ice storm last night. I don't know if it would be considered a big storm. I enjoyed listening to the tap and click of ice against my bedroom window. The trees look beautiful with a thin coating of ice on the leaves and branches.

Most of the joy was gone this morning. You know all those myths you heard as a kid about native peoples of the frozen north having a hundred different words for snow? I'm starting to feel that way about ice. My commute to the office takes about an hour. Of that hour, about 40 minutes is walking. Today, I spent as much of that walk as I could on the frozen, icy grass. It made a great crunching sound with every step. The sidewalk was a giant patch of ice.

In some spots the ice was chunky and rough. It crunched when I stepped on it, and I didn't feel in danger of slipping. And it was easy to see, since there were pebbles of it everywhere. In other spots, the ice was smooth and shiny. If I owned skates (and was capable of it), I could have skated across it. As it was, I did a fair amount of shuffling and sliding in my sneakers. There were also places where the ice was smooth, but it cracked as soon as I stepped on it. I left a trail of what looked like opaque, shattered windows. There was a lot of this ice by the edges of parking lots where workers had scraped it up and made piles of it. Some ice was difficult to see, because water was visible underneath. That was some dangerous ice. I only came really close to falling about three times. Fortunately, I made it all in one piece.

One thing I did notice, though, is that the streets were completely ice free. It's a driver's world.

Serving

2011-01-17T12:12:00.006-05:00

For 2010, I set a goal to do 50 hours of service over the course of the year. Like all my other goals for the year, I failed. But also like all my other goals for the year, I made progress.

It was the first time I'd decided I wanted to make a conscious effort to find opportunities to serve. I ended up with about 27 hours. Right before I'd made this goal, I'd taught a lesson to my Primary kids about what gifts they could give to the baby Jesus for Christmas. Of course, they could serve. The lesson said to make a chain by linking circles of paper together (remember making Christmas chains when you were little, it's like those) and having the kids take the chains home to remind them that they were going to kind things. I had lots of left over strips of paper, so I decided to make my own chain, and every time I did some service I'd add a link to the chain. That way, by the end of the year, I'd known what I'd done. I enjoy keeping track of things.

Here's my chain.

I only gave myself a few rules.

My "normal" church service would not count. So teaching the 3-year-olds every week, didn't count. Neither did the regular monthly visits ("visiting teaching") to a couple of ladies in the ward. But other church service/volunteer activities would count toward the goal.
It would not matter what kind of service it was or if it was organized or spontaneous.
A $25 donation equals one hour of service. I figured that there were some things I could only do with money. I'm not really in a position to help earthquake victims in another country, but I can contribute to the effort

So those were my rules. They're the same rules for this year. I only managed 27 hours, but I don't look at it as a failure, because I did get out and do more than I otherwise would have. I learned something about many different ways to serve. Here are some of the things I did in 2010 (taken directly from my chain).

Monetary donations to several organizations, such as The Fistula Foundation, Heifer International, Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. One of the donations was as a birthday gift.
Worked the children's table at a Green Living Expo.
I made a very cool sign for a church food drive collecting peanut butter and jelly for the food bank.
Removed invasive English Ivy at a local and a national park.
I got my coworkers to spend 30 minutes collecting trash for Earth Day. And I gave them each a package of toilet paper made from recycled paper.
Sorted books at a church collection drive. Donated a LOT of quilt squares to the same event.
Served bagged lunches to homeless people at the park.
Helped clean the church building.
Bagged groceries at the food bank.
Babysat for someone who wanted to go to the temple.
Help the Homeless walkathon.
I cut off my hair and donated it.
I donated about 155 days of idle computer run time to fight disease and work on clean energy and water projects around the world.

I don't make this list to say that I'm cool or good or anything. I just want to show that there are many things that can be done, while expending very little effort or causing ourselves inconvenience.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so I'm rededicating myself to my goal of at least 50 hours of service this year. I've had some set backs -- I responded to a couple of volunteer postings and was unsuccessful at getting work to do. But today, I was able to participate in a stream clean up. There were many people participating, and much garbage will be prevented from getting in the waterway. While there, I was finally able to meet a lady from church who does a lot of community work, and she's going to help me get involved in some things. To start off, I'll meet her and a few other ladies to pass out bagged lunches. That's a good experience, and it will help me better understand some of the needs in my community.

I'm hoping to do a lot better this year. I hope the world and my community will benefit because I choose to do something. Does anyone want to work on any projects with me?

2010 Statistics

2011-01-02T10:19:00.002-05:00

I often like to keep track of statistics about things I do so I can get to the end of the year and see if all that little stuff added up to anything. Sometimes it makes me feel good; other times it shows me that I need to put in more effort or use my time better. Here are some of my statistics for 2010.

Pounds of paper recycled: 280.2
Pounds of cardboard recycled: 62.6
Pounds of plastic recycled: 27.45
Number of plastic containers recycled: 498
Pounds of electronic waste recycled: 100+
Pounds of food composted: 80
I also recycled a lot of foam packaging that I forgot to keep track of. Bummer, I would have liked to know how much it was.

Number of steps walked: 5,180,164
Number of miles walked: 2072

Number of books read: only 16 (but I'm currently about halfway through 3 books, which is still pathetic)
Number of pages read from books: 5939
Number of magazines read (that is separate issues): 40
Number of pages read from magazines: 2511
None of this counts web pages, newsletters, Primary lessons, or hundreds of articles from historical New York times between 1900 and 1930.

It could be better and it could be worse.

Free pass

2010-12-24T19:27:00.005-05:00

A week or so ago, I was walking into the Metro station on my way home from work. A couple of young ladies (high school or early college) stopped me and asked if I needed a Metro card. I said I didn't think that I did, but I asked what they were doing. Early in the morning, they'd purchased day passes -- good for unlimited rides on the day the ticket is purchased. They had taken their last ride of the day and no longer needed the passes. They had been trying to give them away as they left the station. They said people seemed to think they were crazy. Another lady exiting the station that saw me speaking with them yelled to me, "Aren't they good girls!" Certainly.

I didn't think I really needed the passes, but I took them anyway. A train was waiting on the platform, so I didn't want to hang around trying to give away free passes and miss the train. I tried to give one away to a man that was fumbling around for his Metro card. He clearly thought I was a nut. So, I used one of the passes myself -- saved me $3.85. That made me happy.

While I sat on the train, I decided I would try to give the passes away when I got off the train. I don't really enjoy talking to strangers, but I decided I should give it a try and said a little prayer that I'd find somebody to give the passes to.

When I was leaving the station, I saw a man. He was probably in his late 40s to early 50s, and he was fumbling around at the machines where you can purchase fare cards. I walked up to him and said I had the day passes, and asked him if he wanted them. He couldn't believe I was just giving them to him. I explained that someone had given them to me, and I no longer had any use for them. After a couple of minutes of explaining, he took the passes. I don't know if he used them, but I like to think that he did. Either way, those two young ladies helped me beyond that $3.85 they saved me.

How to be happy

2010-12-02T21:37:00.005-05:00

I came across a shortened version of this story as an introduction to a poem. I liked it enough, that I did a search to find out more about the story and the woman, Alice Freeman Palmer. Sorry this is a bit long. It is from The Life of Alice Freeman Palmer, by her husband, George Herbert Palmer, published in 1908, pages 306 - 310.

"While I was in Boston [writes Gertrude W. Fielder] I had the pleasure of meeting Alice Freeman Palmer. She was a doer of the word, and not a hearer only; for almost every week through the hot summer she used to leave her peaceful, calm retreat in the country and go to Boston to talk to children of the slums at a vacation school. These schools are kept up through the summer in the poorest localities. The children are given a morning's session of music, reading, and pretty water-color sketches, to look at. They can bring the babies with them; and many indeed could not come at all without the little ones. Here is the story as Mrs. Palmer told it: --

One July morning I took an early train. It was a day that gave promise of being very, very hot even in the country, and what in the city! When I reached my destination I found a great many girls in the room, but more babies than girls, it seemed. Each girl was holding one, and there were a few to spare. "Now," I said, "what shall I talk to you about this morning, girls?" "Talk about life," said one girl. Imagine! "I am afraid that is too big a subject for such a short time," I said.

Then up spoke a small, pale-faced, heavy-eyed child, with a great fat baby on her knee, "Tell us how to be happy." The tears rushed to my eyes, and a lump came in my throat. Happy in such surroundings as those in which, no doubt, she lived: perhaps dirty and foul-smelling! Happy, with burdens too heavy to be borne! All this flashed through my mind while the rest took up the word and echoed, "Yes, tell us how to be happy."

"Well," I said, "I will give you my three rules, for being happy; but mind, you must all promise to keep them for a week, and not skip a single day, for they won't work if you skip one single day." So they all faithfully and solemnly promised they wouldn't skip a single day.

"The first rule is that you will commit something to memory every day, something good. It needn't be much, three or four words will do, just a pretty bit of a poem, or a Bible verse. do you understand?" I was so afraid they wouldn't, but one little girl with flashing black eyes jumped up from the corner of the room and cried, "I know; you want us to learn something we'd be glad enough to remember if we went blind." "That's it, exactly!" I said. "Something you would like to remember if you went blind." And they all promised that they would, and not skip a single day.

"The second rule is: Look for something pretty every day; and don't skip a day, or it won't work. A leaf, a flower, a cloud -- you can all find something. Isn't there a park somewhere near here that you can all walk to?" (Yes, there was one.) "And stop long enough before the pretty thing that you have spied to say, 'Isn't it beautiful!' Drink in every detail, and see the loveliness all through. Can you do it?" They promised, to a girl.

"My third rule is -- now, mind, don't skip a day -- Do something for somebody every day." "Oh, that's easy!" they said, though I thought it would be the hardest thing of all. Just think, that is what those children said, "Oh, that's easy! Didn't they have to tend babies and run errands every day, and wasn't that doing something for somebody?" "Yes," I answered them, "it was."

At the end of the week, the day being hotter than the last, if possible, I was wending my way along a very narrow street, when suddenly I was literally grabbed by the arm, and a little voice said, "I done it!" "Did what!" I exclaimed, looking down, and seeing at my side a tiny girl with the proverbial fat baby asleep in her harms. Now I will admit that it was awfully stupid of me not to know, but my thoughts were far away, and I actually did not know what she was talking about. "What you told us to, and I never skipped a day, neither," replied the child, in a rather hurt tone. "Oh," I said, "now I know what you mean. Put down the baby, and let's talk about it." So down on the sidewalk she deposited the sleeping infant, and she and I stood over it and talked.

"Well," she said, "I never skipped a day, but it was awful hard. It was all right when I could go to the park, but one day it rained and rained, and the baby had a cold, and I just couldn't go out, and I thought sure I was going to skip, and I was standin' at the window, 'most cryin', and I saw" -- here her little face brightened up with a radiant smile -- "I saw a sparrow takin' a bath in the gutter that goes round the top of the house, and he had on a black necktie, and he was handsome." It was the first time I had heard an English sparrow called handsome, but I tell you it wasn't laughable a bit -- no, not a bit.

"And then, there was another day," she went on, "and I thought I should have to skip it, sure. There wasn't another thing to look at in the house. The baby was sick, and I couldn't go out, and I was feelin' terrible, when "-- here she caught me by both hands, and the most radiant look came to her face -- "I saw the baby's hair!" "Saw the baby's hair!" I echoed. "Yes, a little bit of sun came in the window, and I saw his hair, an' I'll never be lonesome any more." And catching up the baby from the sidewalk, she said, "See!" and I too saw the baby's hair. "Isn't it beau-ti-ful?" she asked. "Yes, it is beautiful," I answered. You have heard of artists raving over Titian hair. Well, as the sun played on this baby's hair, there were the browns, the reds, the golds, which make up the Titian hair. Yes, it was truly beautiful. "Now, shall we go on?" I said, taking the heavy baby from her.

The room was literally packed this time; ten times as many girls, and as many babies as your mind will conceive of. I wish you could have listened with me to the experiences of those little ones. Laughter and tears were so commingled that I don't know which had the mastery."

Rose garden

2010-11-22T06:38:00.008-05:00

There is a rose garden in front of the Arts and Industries building, next to the castle.

Sculpture garden

2010-11-21T21:34:00.007-05:00

After the walkathon, I decided to wander around the Hirshhorn Museum's sculpture garden.

Yoko Ono -- Wish Tree for Washington DC

Auguste Rodin -- The Burghers of Calais

Marino Marini -- Horse and Rider. I thought this was a very joyful sculpture.

David Smith -- Agricola 1

Judith Shea -- Post-Balzac

Arman -- Eros, Inside Eros. I really liked this one.

Alexander Calder -- Sky Hooks

Dan Graham -- For Gordon Bunshaft

I really liked these white flowers.

Mark di Suvero -- Are years what? (for Marianne Moore)

2010 Help the Homeless Walkathon

2010-11-21T18:54:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, I participated in the Help the Homeless Walkathon. Here are some of the people and things I saw along the way.

I think these are Redskins cheerleaders.

Lots of people.

Cheering on the walkers.

The Jefferson Memorial.

I took a lot of pictures of the Washington Monument, but you only have to look at this one.

Video game fitness

2010-10-28T20:42:00.002-04:00

I was visiting some friends this past weekend. My friend's nearly 4-year-old son wanted me to play video games with him. I didn't really want to play anymore of the games we'd already played. I noticed the box for one of the fitness videos (it's name is like the sound a certain little piggy made all the way home; no, I'm not typing it here) on the floor near the television. So I asked if we could play that, because I wanted to see how it worked. Too sum up, before I even get started writing about it, I sucked. At any rate, my friend was happy to have me set it up for her.

It ended up taking more than half an hour to set everything up. First, I had to set up my virtual self. I guess that was supposed to help me get used to handling the controllers, which I still maneuvered clumsily. But in the end, I had a little character that looks better than I do wearing a bright, lime green shirt.

Next we had to synchronized the balance board with the DVD. That turned out to be the quickest part of this whole exercise (!).

So I have a cute virtual self and a synchronized balance board. Now I have to read screen after screen of information about I don't know what - health, fitness, safety. I just remember it took forever. It seemed like there were a lot of screens to read after every step in the process. It's good that I like to read. For the fitness DVD, my virtual self was in a lime green cut-off t-shirt, which I would never wear in real life and yoga pants. I guess the virtual me was a lot perkier and sociable than I am, what with all the "mingling" and stuff the system wanted me to agree to.

Next, the game wanted to calculate my BMI. Can I just groan now. The system certainly did. I entered my height (very short), and it asked me to tell how much my clothes weighed. Remember what I said about not being able to work the controllers properly? I tried twice, but still didn't get the weight of my clothes entered. I wanted to enter three pounds, but I was too inept. I should have just stuck with two pounds; that would have been easier. As far as the game system was concerned, I was standing on the balance board in my birthday suit. You need height and weight to calculate BMI, so it weighed me. Honest to goodness, it said "oh!" when it did it. Really? It couldn't have kept it's stinking electronic mouth shut? Fortunately, it doesn't print your weight across the screen. It does tell you your BMI. So there was this giant box that appeared telling me I'm obese, although in my defense, I wouldn't have been had I managed to enter that my clothes weighed something, especially those really heavy fleece pants I was wearing. To add insult to this, it made my formerly cute virtual self roly-poly, rotund, portly, fat. Rotten game. At this point, my two friends in the room with me were sharing my pain, which I appreciated.

I think there were a lot more screens to read, most likely so the poor player gets over her newly, not-cute-anymore virtual self. For my first game, I tried to pick something easy. I selected the obstacle course. I was doing all right until I accidentally walked off the edge of a cliff or something and ended the game. It helpfully told me that I'd burned eleven calories. Yea, me!

Then I picked a marching band game. I was supposed to march in time to the music, and every time a disk dropped to a hoop, I was supposed to wave my controller at it. I was only slightly better at this than the first game. I played it three times, burning 47 calories each time.

Once we started moving, the nearly 4-year-old seemed to be having fun. I kept asking him if he wanted to take a turn on the balance board, but he seemed to be happy standing next to me and marching to the music. He probably still did nearly as well as I did.

Maybe the whole video game fitness would work for someone who is better at video games in general. As for me, it just made me want to eat a doughnut.

It's beginning to look like fall!

2010-10-17T16:54:00.002-04:00

Memorials

2010-10-17T16:19:00.009-04:00

I went with my father and brother to see the Air Force Memorial, the Pentagon Memorial and the Iwo Jima (Marine Corps) Memorial.

Wall flower or wall weed?

2010-10-10T18:58:00.002-04:00

I went to a party the other night. I hate parties, but the people having the party are friends of mine, and they invited me, so I went. I think it's been a while since I've been to a party. I guess I forgot how painful they are. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the party -- food, music, nice people. There is, however, something wrong with me. I don't know why I thought I could manage it. My friend and I got there early to help the hostess with any last-minute preparations. She (of course) had it all under control. So we talked with the family until other guests started to arrive. I was fine, so far. I was also fine when I spoke to someone I already knew. I can deal with that.

The hostess introduced me to someone who seemed very nice. I immediately recognized my complete and total lack of social skills and my inability to make small talk. Mostly, I like to listen, but sometimes you really do need to speak. I'd rather talk about something else than myself, but I got tongue-tied when I tried to think of a question about her. I couldn't manage even the simplest question. For example, I considered asking her what she did for a living. Then I thought of everything that could be wrong with that question. What if she doesn't work outside the home and is offended that I assumed she did. What if she has a lousy job and it makes her feel bad to talk about it. So, paralyzed, I kept my mouth shut. The poor lady probably just thought I was rude, but I wasn't trying to be.

One thing I noticed about myself was that once I'd sat down, there was nothing short of the house catching on fire that was going to make me leave that chair until it was time to go home. Nothing. It was my anchor, maybe my (somewhat) safe haven. A couple people from the host family brought me some food, which was very kind of them. Especially since I hadn't eaten dinner and was very hungry. But there is no way I would have gotten it myself. As a matter of fact, a few years ago I wouldn't have eaten the food. I guess I've made some strides.

The worst part is, I'm committed to another party later in the month. Ugh.

Tithing

2010-10-03T19:06:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about tithing. I give 10% of my income to my church. I pay a full and honest tithe, and I have received blessings for it. I've spent some years trying to support two people on an income that doesn't really support one person (at least in this area), but I've been able to do it. This has happened in a number of different ways.

At my old job, I had a pension and a 401(k) plan. When I left, two years ago, I cashed out the pension plan and was able to pay off much of my debt. A couple of times, the payroll department for my part-time job goofed and I was paid too much. The first time, I didn't know about it because it was payroll deductions I didn't know I was responsible for. The second time, I had to call and tell them that they'd paid me twice. It was annoying and inconvenient to pay them back, but the money came in handy at the time. Sometimes, I just didn't know how it was possible that I had enough money to pay my bills and buy food all in the same month, but I always did.

A few months ago, I was at the end of my money. It was gone, and if something didn't happen, I was not going to be able to make ends meet. Most of the time my prayers about money are fairly generic, "please bless me that I'll have enough money," or "I thank thee that I have enough money." But this time I was desperate. I basically said, "Heavenly Father, I'm about to run out of money. I've paid my tithing and I need some help." It was a little more detailed than that, but you get the idea. Shortly thereafter (within a few days), someone else got another person to give me a monetary gift. The person had just sold a home and wanted to help out after being told about my situation. I very gratefully accepted. It was enough money to pay off my debt and give me a little surplus. My surplus just ran out. But the family member who lives with me just got a job, so money will not be a problem. It is a fantastic blessing.

Downy woodpecker

2010-10-03T11:14:00.002-04:00

Yesterday it was cool and lovely outside. So instead of working, like I was supposed to, I decided to take a walk in the park. I took several photos, but this is the one I worked hardest to get. I saw this downy woodpecker fly onto a sapling a few yards away from me. I recognized it as a woodpecker, but I didn't know what kind. Unfortunately, he didn't stay still for very long. He landed temporarily on a couple of different trees before finally settling on this one. I'm very grateful for the zoom on my camera, because I could barely spot him on the tree and only got a good look at him because of the camera. I suppose I should carry binoculars with me.

World Community Grid

2010-09-19T17:37:00.002-04:00

Several days ago, I joined the World Community Grid. It's a public computing grid that links over a million individual computers together to help move forward scientific research that will benefit humanity. Having all these computers linked together gives scientists computing power that they would not otherwise have and speeds the pace of research from years to months or days. From the website: "World Community Grid brings together people from across the globe who donate their idle computer time to create the largest volunteer computing grid benefiting humanity." So far my computer (when it's been on but not being used by me) has helped fight muscular dystrophy, cancer, and AIDS. It's also worked on a project that has something to do with mapping human proteins. I'm hoping that it works on environmental, climate change, and clean water initiatives in the future.

I was a little nervous about letting some remote location have access to my computer. But my dad has been doing it for years with the SETI project, and he hasn't had a problem. One thing that has changed for me though, is that I want to keep my computer on longer. I turn my computer off at night when I go to bed (it's in my bedroom, and who needs all that blue light shining in the room), but I generally keep it on when I'm at home and awake. I liked it when my screen saver of OB photos came up. I usually turn it off when I go to work or leave the apartment for several hours. Now, I just leave it on. For example, I usually check my email before church, just in case there is some emergency that affects my ride, or my class, or whatever. I used to shut down my computer before leaving. Now I leave it on so it can fight cancer. I think now, even though I'm using more electricity, I'm not wasting as much because my computer is actually working.

It's a pretty easy way to volunteer. You have to register then download and install some software. Would anyone like to form a team? You can check it out at: http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org

Cleaning day

2010-09-18T16:46:00.003-04:00

I went to church this morning to help clean the building in preparation for Sunday meetings tomorrow. This is the first time I've ever done it. When I was growing up I think there was a person whose job it was to clean the building. Over the last few years I think there has been a professional person that split duties with members. Now, it's the members who are entirely responsible. I'm fine with that. I'm glad cleaning buildings is not my full-time job, but I'm fine with the members taking responsibility.

I think normally, there will be six to eight people cleaning on Saturdays and a few people will come in on Monday. There were four of us today, and I have a new appreciation of how big the building is and how much of it is carpeted (most of it). It took us two-and-a-half to three hours to clean the building. I spent most of it vacuuming. It's really hard to vacuum around and under the benches in the chapel. I can tell other people have had as much difficulty as I had, because the vacuum cleaner is all marked up where it's hit the edge of the benches hundreds of time.

I can't say that I enjoyed the cleaning, but that's all right. I probably could have had a slightly better attitude. I mostly wish that food wasn't allowed in the chapel. I also wish the seminary students would put away their chairs (the kind with the attached desk) at the end of class on Fridays. I had to fold up about 25 of them so I could vacuum the crumbs off the floor.

But what I liked about the morning (other than my walk to and from church on a very gorgeous day) was one of my fellow cleaner's speculation as to why it's the membership that is in charge of all this cleaning now. She thinks that perhaps we forget that the church building is the Lord's house and we need to treat it with respect. Maybe cleaning it will help us learn that respect. Something worth thinking about.

Wild Kingdom

2010-09-17T21:28:00.002-04:00

I was in the laundry room, the other day, putting towels in the dryer when I saw a moth get caught in a spider's web on the window sill. The moth was struggling, and I briefly contemplated freeing the moth. But then I thought that by freeing the moth I would hurt the spider. So I didn't do anything, but stare. The moth was struggling when the spider appeared. The moth looked a little bigger than the spider. They struggled with each other, and I couldn't watch any more. I finished transferring my laundry. When I was done, I looked back at the window sill. The spider was finishing spinning his web around the moth. It was pretty amazing, if a little brutal to watch.

Someone once asked me if I was God would I make animals that eat each other. I don't know what I answered. Then I was reading some commentary on scripture (I have no idea what I was reading), and it was talking about animals eating each other being a consequence of the Fall. It's part of the struggle that is mortality. I think that means in heaven animals won't eat each other. Presumably we won't eat animals, either? I don't know. Interesting to think about.

Littering irony

2010-09-12T14:47:00.002-04:00

It was pleasant and drizzly out today, so I went for a walk to the park after church. On these walks, I will often pick up litter, especially if I know there is a garbage can nearby. Today I picked up a paper coffee cup with a plastic lid from Starbucks. I noticed the writing on the back of the cup started with "YOU" in big, bold letters at the top. The message on the cup was that by buying coffee from Starbucks, "you" were helping support coffee growers and taking care of the earth. This is because Starbucks has had (according to the back of the cup--I don't doubt it, I just haven't looked into it further) a partnership with Conservation International for 10 years. Conservation International is a great organization, and it's cool that Starbucks has a partnership with them and that their work together can benefit people and the planet. I wonder if the purchaser of that beneficial cup of coffee thought about any of that when he tossed the empty cup on the sidewalk.

To move, or not to move

2010-08-31T20:52:00.002-04:00

I'm trying to convince myself to move to the apartment complex where my friend Noelle lives. I don't want to move, but it's probably the best financial decision in the long run (although in the short run, I think it will be really expensive). I thought it would be worth my time to list the reasons I shouldn't move and compare them to the reasons I should. Maybe that will spur me to make a decision. I just wrote my rent check; that should probably spur me to action, too.

Reasons not to move:

It will cost me $50 per person just to apply at the new apartment complex.
I'd have to leave Arlington.
I'll be over a mile from the grocery store, instead of a 5-minute walk.
I also won't be near the mall or the movie theatre or my dentist office.
It's 1.7 miles from the closest Metro station (and I don't drive).
I'd have to pack up all my stuff and my dad's stuff. And that is a lot of stuff, mostly books and posters.
I'd have to leave my ward and start over in a new one.
I'd potentially have to come up with first and last month's rent all at once.
I'd have to get all the stuff from here to there.
I won't be near my favorite park any more or as close to another park as I am to this one.
I'd have to pay for utilities at the new place.
I'd be too far away to walk to church.
I'd have to move my composter. Yuck! And I won't have anybody to give the compost to anymore.
I'd have to find new recycling bins.
No FIOS!!!

Reasons to move:

I'd save a few hundred dollars a month on my rent.
I'd save $150 a month in commuting costs.
I could walk to work.
I'd save 80-90 minutes on my daily (to and from work) commute since the new place is across the street from our new office.
Noelle says she doesn't have drunken people outside her window making noise on the weekends.

There might be other things that I can't think of right now. I really should make a decision.

Recycling electronic waste

2010-08-29T15:13:00.003-04:00

One of the problems I have with cleaning and getting organized is throwing things away. Even if I don't need it, want it, or care about it I have difficulty tossing it in the garbage. I spend too much time thinking about what happens to my garbage when it's out of my life. I try to donate useful items, but it's difficult to know what to do with everything. Some things are just trash.

Since I live in a family who love their electronics, we tend to have a lot of electronic waste (e-waste). Mostly all this stuff sits in bags and boxes in closets and drawers and collects dust. I'm never sure what I can throw away -- what if I toss it, then suddenly I figure out what some component was for and now don't have it. With e-waste you also have to be careful with how you discard it. Don't throw it in a landfill--it will just stay there for hundreds of years oozing toxic chemicals. You also have to be careful how you recycle it, because you don't want it to end up in a poor nation where children burn the components (and inhale toxic gases) to get some precious metal, mineral, or other marketable substance.

In my household, we decided we needed to get rid of some of this e-waste. So I ordered a Technotrash can from Green Disk (www.greendisk.com). It's suitable for home or office, and when you fill it up, you just mail it back. It's very easy. It is, however, a bit pricey. I've spoken with a few people who refuse to pay to have their garbage recycled. They feel it should be done for free. I would love it to be free, but the fact that it isn't will not prevent me from disposing of it properly. I also feel like if enough of us pay for it while the market is small and recycling isn't as profitable, we're helping to create a market (the recyclers have to have enough materials to sell for reuse) and economies of scale. That way, in the future, maybe it will be free.

In my apartment, that has more computers than people in it, we recycled almost 110 pounds of e-waste. We filled up two Technotrash cans with old wires, cables, CDs, floppy disks, video tapes, and various bits and pieces. I'm happy to have all that junk out of my apartment, and I'm glad it's not in a landfill.

Here's my Technotrash can all ready for the package man to pick up.

Super awesome quilt

2010-08-29T14:58:00.003-04:00

I received my T-shirt quilt in the mail this past week. It is totally awesome. It's my reward for getting my stuff under control (that means getting rid of a lot of it and organizing the rest). The quilt came a little sooner than I expected it to. So I haven't finished the organizing (although I've made good progress). I don't get to put the quilt on my bed until I'm done. It's good motivation and a fabulous way to recycle old t-shirts.

Each square is individually quilted.

Would you like to order one? I got it from http://www.toocooltshirtquilts.com.

I won a prize! What a shock!

2010-08-22T19:29:00.002-04:00

I guess I can't really say that I "won" anything, since it cost me $5 for two darts, but still, I was pleased. My friend Noelle and I went to the county fair yesterday. I was cajoled into playing darts with the promise of a celebrity 8x10 glossy photo (I won't tell you of who) just for trying. A lot of the midway games were giving prizes just for trying. But I don't even know how to play darts. And I don't really know how to aim.

This photo might be just after I've thrown the dart. Sorry it's blurry, the camera was on the wrong setting.

Can you see the yellow dart in the red star? I made it on the first try. WooHoo! I came really close on the second try (red dart). Not bad for not knowing what I was doing.

Here I am, blurry and shocked.

A fabulous quote

2010-08-22T19:12:00.003-04:00

I'm reading Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman, and I came across this quote on page 337.

"Amazing things happen when people claim responsibility for creating the impossible."

This quote is from Shaunna Black, VP for worldwide facilities at Texas Instruments back in 2006. The company had just saved a lot of money building a "green" building.

Forgiveness and the worth of souls

2010-08-15T19:23:00.003-04:00

For quite a while now, there has been a problem with noisy tenants at my apartment complex. It's almost guaranteed that I won't get much sleep on either Friday or Saturday night because of people yelling and playing music in the middle of the night. I find this very stressful. I noticed last night that I was getting very snippy, and I figured out it was because I was already starting to stress out about not getting any sleep. Of course, there were noisy neighbors, and I didn't get much sleep. Most of the time, the people make noise in the parking lot. This time it was in one of the apartments downstairs. Just keeping the front door to the apartment closed blocks a lot of noise. When asked, she said that she tries to keep her door closed but it just comes open. Really? Is the place haunted?

I don't have very Christlike feelings for this girl or any of the other people who feel it's their right to keep everyone up till all hours of the night. But I recognize that I need to reform my feelings. Hating these people doesn't solve my problem, and it doesn't make me feel any better. Today, my lesson (to my 3 and 4-year-olds) was on forgiveness. It occurred to me that I am not being very forgiving toward these people. It doesn't matter if they are sorry; I still need to forgive them. It's better for me as a person. Someone gave a talk in sacrament meeting about the worth of souls to God. Every soul is precious to God, even these ones that make me crazy. I forget that when all I want to do is go to sleep. The other talk had a similar theme of everyone's importance.

It doesn't matter to those people if I'm angry or forgiving. For me it matters, and I need to work a little bit harder to remember that everyone is a child of God.