I don't know about the rest world, but in this city, eco-friendliness is starting to gain a pretty solid fan base. You used to be branded as a hippie if you loved the earth, but nowadays, we instead scorn those who haul their shopping bags home in a hummer. I've gotten caught up in this environmental fad as well. Though I don't think 'fad' is the right word, as it implies a gradual phasing out once the next big hit comes along. If this is the case, I sure hope its not a fad, because it has some pretty important and positive consequences.
Looking back on the past few years, I've noticed a series of adjustments to my everyday life that have made me more ecologically friendly. Sometimes it seems difficult to suddenly switch over to a new lifestyle in the name of saving the environment. But when you make many small adjustments over time, it is a little easier and you still get the payoff... just a little further down the road. At the same time each new thing your incorporate into your everyday routine is also easier to maintain in the long run. In honor of Mary Anne and St. Patty's Day, here's a list of the ways I've gone (and am still attempting) to go green:
1) Recycle. Since I moved into my first apartment which came with its own separate recyclable trash can (conveniently left by the former tenants), I can't even imagine not having an extra container for our recyclables.
2) Travel Mug. A few months ago, I had a bad habit of coming to work in the morning and either stopping at Coffee Bean along the way for my favorite Cafe Vanilla, or forfeiting my dollar bills to the downstairs coffee vending machine. Both methods added up fast and contributed to needless paper waste. Finally, I vowed to learn how to use the coffee pot in our apartment which was most certainly feeling lonely and ignored. I bought a huge can of coffee from Costco for less than $10 and some yummy vanilla creamer, and started making my own coffee to bring to work in my bright yellow UCLA mug (trendy and spirited!).
3) Bundle up vs. use the heater. So this last winter, we didn't quite realize how cold our apartment could get in the evenings, even in LA. As a result, it took us a while to finally call the gas company to light our heater's pilot light. We were also afraid that the kittens (much smaller back then) would do something stupid. Good news is we saved lots of money by piling on blankets and donning sweatpants in the evening since we couldn't turn on the heat with a flick of a switch. Sometimes laziness pays off!
4) Paper or plastic? neither. Though I'll admit I don't always remember to bring them (or enough of them), I make an effort to use my own fabric grocery bags when shopping. Between my roomies and I, we have about twenty of them hanging up in our kitchen. They're definitely sturdier than the plastic option when it comes to lugging home the heavy stuff, and some even fold up nicely and fit in my purse... granted my purses are generally quite spacious.
5) Public transportation. I can't believe I almost forgot this one! Getting to and from work is a much more exciting adventure now that I take the bus. I can listen to my ipod, read a book, or just zone out and watch the city pass by on my way to campus. Its ten times better than spending money on gas, parking, and loosing my sanity to insane drivers. Oh yeah, and I don't polute the city. It's the ultimate carpool.
There are a few more things on my 'how to be green' list, but I don't think I've quite yet mastered them. They fit better on my 'ways I'd like to be green' list. Habits like remembering to turn off lights I'm not using, or taking shorter showers (I get a big fat fail in this category) would be good additions to my lifestyle, but are defintely a work in progress. Hopefully I'll be able to add those to a green post next St. Patty's Day!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
a funny thing happened on the way to my homepage
This morning, as I was keeping up with my biweekly facebook browsing (I'm trying to limit my use of facebook, so this is pretty good for me), I noticed something odd on my newsfeed. A few friends were listed as attending an event called 'Taylor Swift at UCLA' and my heart skipped a beat.
Let me back up a minute first and explain that my roommates and I are obsessed with Taylor. I don't care what you think of her live performances or her self made videos making fun of her ex-jonas bf, I just think her CD (regardless of or thanks to voice modification technology) is fabululous. My apartment has probably listened to her new album at least 50 times. When we heard she was performing in LA, we tried to buy tickets but were thwarted by a corrupt ticketmaster which somehow sold out within three minutes. Sure ticketmaster.
Anyway, after spotting this event (and gawking in disbelief for a moment), I clicked on the link to check out the page. So get this, the event page details how Taylor will becoming to UCLA next month to perform at Hedrick Summit's fourth floor lounge before she kicks of her tour. Huh? Unbelievable right? I can't buy tickets to her concert but I can go for free at UCLA? And its got this legit looking poster on there as well. It looks kind of like the shiny postcard fliers you might get on Bruinwalk. People have already started rsvping and voicing their excitement and confusion on the wall. Well I showed Jackie and a few other people in the office and we all just pondered this scenaro for a second. I mean, if I can get wind of a random facebooker's Taylor Swift event, think how many other people will see this and want to go? And then consider how many people can fit into a dorm study louge... like 30 people max! How are they going to accomodate all the Taylor fans!? Well I guess I'll just have to get there early. April 1 is a weeknight anyway. People will be busy studying. Wait a minute... April 1. Anyone know what else April 1 is famous for? I'll give you a minute to think it over.
.
.
.
Don't worry. I was fooled too. For a little while at least. Well done facebook prankster. Well done.
Let me back up a minute first and explain that my roommates and I are obsessed with Taylor. I don't care what you think of her live performances or her self made videos making fun of her ex-jonas bf, I just think her CD (regardless of or thanks to voice modification technology) is fabululous. My apartment has probably listened to her new album at least 50 times. When we heard she was performing in LA, we tried to buy tickets but were thwarted by a corrupt ticketmaster which somehow sold out within three minutes. Sure ticketmaster.
Anyway, after spotting this event (and gawking in disbelief for a moment), I clicked on the link to check out the page. So get this, the event page details how Taylor will becoming to UCLA next month to perform at Hedrick Summit's fourth floor lounge before she kicks of her tour. Huh? Unbelievable right? I can't buy tickets to her concert but I can go for free at UCLA? And its got this legit looking poster on there as well. It looks kind of like the shiny postcard fliers you might get on Bruinwalk. People have already started rsvping and voicing their excitement and confusion on the wall. Well I showed Jackie and a few other people in the office and we all just pondered this scenaro for a second. I mean, if I can get wind of a random facebooker's Taylor Swift event, think how many other people will see this and want to go? And then consider how many people can fit into a dorm study louge... like 30 people max! How are they going to accomodate all the Taylor fans!? Well I guess I'll just have to get there early. April 1 is a weeknight anyway. People will be busy studying. Wait a minute... April 1. Anyone know what else April 1 is famous for? I'll give you a minute to think it over.
.
.
.
Don't worry. I was fooled too. For a little while at least. Well done facebook prankster. Well done.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
going green, seafoam green
Sorry its been so long since my last post. I feel like I haven't had anything of significance to write about lately. I kind of still feel that way... but what the hell. Even insignificant things can be interesting... sometimes.
Last weekend I finally figured out what my bedroom was lacking (besides maybe a cute guy... hey who wouldn't want one?). Months ago my mom gave me all her paint supplies and a gallon of seafoam green paint when I told her I wanted to paint my walls. I brought it all back with me and tucked it into a corner of my room, wondering when I might be brave and inspired enough to actually take on the job. Apparently it took just that, a moment of inspiration. On Saturday I had this sudden urge to upgrade my room and the energy (thanks to a delicious diner breakfast with my roomies and big bro) to move all my furniture, tape up the walls and haul out my box full of painting necessities. First though I called my mom for some last minute painting tips. She's basically the handywoman of my family. She can fix any appliance, do the yard work, and redecorate our home, as long as none of those activities involve cooking. While our zeal for cooking may differ, I'll always aspire to her talent for every other household skill. After a few hours and a few close calls almost falling off a fold up chair to reach the ceiling, I finished. I was pretty proud of my work, and probably pretty high on paint fumes. I don't doubt the cats were too. I think Mary Anne caught them sniffing the wall repeatedly. Everyone wound up happy!
Moving on to a completely different topic...
Speaking of inspiration, I was reading a blog yesterday and it mentioned how for Lent, the author planned to do one good deed a day for forty days and document each one. Lent shouldn't always have to be about denying yourself something! Anyway, I really liked the idea a lot, and despite my lack of religious identity, I think I'm going to try it out. It doesn't have to be anything huge, like saving a baby from a burning building, but maybe something big enough to put a smile on another's face. So for starters, yesterday at Starbucks, I helped a man in a wheelchair zip up the daypack he couldn't reach on the side of his chair. For todays deed, I smiled at an old man who I see every morning when I walk to the bus stop but have never really acknowledged before. Without fail, hes out there wearing this serious face while walking his dog (which looks like a pit bull mix sporting a matching expression) in the opposite direction from me. Ok, so I didn't get a smile back, but I figure its something I can work towards.
Don't worry, I won't keep a public log of each day... I would probably get disgusted with myself too hearing so many dogooder stories. Just thought I would throw the idea out there. Its kind of neat sometimes when you're actively concious of the positive things in your life and how easily you can effect others.
Last weekend I finally figured out what my bedroom was lacking (besides maybe a cute guy... hey who wouldn't want one?). Months ago my mom gave me all her paint supplies and a gallon of seafoam green paint when I told her I wanted to paint my walls. I brought it all back with me and tucked it into a corner of my room, wondering when I might be brave and inspired enough to actually take on the job. Apparently it took just that, a moment of inspiration. On Saturday I had this sudden urge to upgrade my room and the energy (thanks to a delicious diner breakfast with my roomies and big bro) to move all my furniture, tape up the walls and haul out my box full of painting necessities. First though I called my mom for some last minute painting tips. She's basically the handywoman of my family. She can fix any appliance, do the yard work, and redecorate our home, as long as none of those activities involve cooking. While our zeal for cooking may differ, I'll always aspire to her talent for every other household skill. After a few hours and a few close calls almost falling off a fold up chair to reach the ceiling, I finished. I was pretty proud of my work, and probably pretty high on paint fumes. I don't doubt the cats were too. I think Mary Anne caught them sniffing the wall repeatedly. Everyone wound up happy!
Moving on to a completely different topic...
Speaking of inspiration, I was reading a blog yesterday and it mentioned how for Lent, the author planned to do one good deed a day for forty days and document each one. Lent shouldn't always have to be about denying yourself something! Anyway, I really liked the idea a lot, and despite my lack of religious identity, I think I'm going to try it out. It doesn't have to be anything huge, like saving a baby from a burning building, but maybe something big enough to put a smile on another's face. So for starters, yesterday at Starbucks, I helped a man in a wheelchair zip up the daypack he couldn't reach on the side of his chair. For todays deed, I smiled at an old man who I see every morning when I walk to the bus stop but have never really acknowledged before. Without fail, hes out there wearing this serious face while walking his dog (which looks like a pit bull mix sporting a matching expression) in the opposite direction from me. Ok, so I didn't get a smile back, but I figure its something I can work towards.
Don't worry, I won't keep a public log of each day... I would probably get disgusted with myself too hearing so many dogooder stories. Just thought I would throw the idea out there. Its kind of neat sometimes when you're actively concious of the positive things in your life and how easily you can effect others.
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