"It sounds like you had a protective shield keeping you safe"
After Thanksgiving my whole world changed... not unlike it has changed in the past. People, places, and certain events open your eyes to new emotions when you're least expecting. And I certainly didn't expect it to happen while riding my bike home from a full day of work downtown at REI on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Black Friday.
My family, and friends here in Seattle, know that I've been riding my bike the 4.5 miles to and from work. I inherited the bike from a Taiwanese man that I have never met. He was a previous tenant of the house where I'm renting. He worked at the University of Washington last year, and when he returned to Taiwan left his bike in the back yard.
When I moved here, after returning to Seattle, my landlord asked me if I could prepare the backyard/house for winter by stacking chairs and moving tools to the shed. In the process I discovered the beaten up, unloved mountain bike. At first I thought it wasn't so shabby. It carried me the 9 miles I ride daily and allowed me to get to the grocery store and out to dinner with friends. But there were, as with most abandoned bikes, problems. In this bike's case there were major problems with the brakes.
Working at REI has it's perks and I was able to take my sad bike into the bike shop and have the brakes tightened. I knew this was just a temporary fix, and I hoped it would last until I could buy/find myself a new mode of transportation. My hopes were thwarted on Black Friday, when coming home from work I was hit by a car.
Saying that, even writing that, feels like a confession. Nothing traumatic has ever happened to me before, and at the moment I realized a car was going to hit me all I could think about was the momentum of my body, and the surprisingly slow rate at which I was tilting towards the ground. Once I hit the ground, I was back up in two seconds. My bike was in my hands and I was checking the brakes. I didn't even occur to me to check myself.
A man walking on the side walk had seen the whole collision. He ran over, asking me how I was doing-if I was ok. Nothing really made sense and I said, "I'm more worried about my bike, the brakes are broken." His response was, "I can fix the bike, you I can't fix." I insisted I was fine and that my bike was what was broken. When I met the man who had hit me I said, "nice to meet you.... erm.... maybe not..." The whole event is mostly a blur. The whole time I just wanted it to be over.
Once I was on my own again, walking my bike the few blocks back to my house I broke down. I was physically fine, but what if I hadn't been. What if he had been driving faster... what if there had been cars behind me... who would know what happened and who would let my family know the fate of their daughter. Over the next few days I stewed over these thoughts, and then finally I decided to contact the driver. After a few conversations and an emotional coffee shop exchange, we agreed that he would compensate me with money towards a new bike.
It's been a few weeks since we resolved the accident. But I still ride around Seattle thinking every car might make a simple mistake that endangers me. Who will tell my family. It's cliche, but true. Life is spontaneous, and too short to be restrained from doing what you want to do.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
New Experiences
Put coffee in your oatmeal.
I have now been back in Seattle for two months!
The experiences of my last visit to Alaska still permeate my everyday reality. Anytime I hear Alaska mentioned I jump at the chance to reminisce about my time there and the beauty that is so hard to find anywhere else. The entire month of October I was in culture shock. After falling easily back into the intense routine of everyday life in Alaska, and driving for five days on the Alcan highway through some of the most remote country in the North America, arriving back in civilization with no home and no job was tough. A few gracious friends took me (disillusioned and struggling with modern amenities) in, and let me set up my tent on their back porch. They took me in even though they were dealing with bed bug scares and new house mates moving in! For this I am indebted to them.
As I once again dug into the challenge of re-acquainting myself with technological devices, I was able to secure a part-time position at the REI Seattle Flagship Store (2nd most popular tourist attraction in Seattle & rated one of the best place to find a date) working as a sales specialist in the men's clothing department. I also found a wonderful house in Greenlake just three blocks from my last Seattle home. There's even a vegetable garden to take care of out front!
Now I am fully assimilated back into lower 48 culture. But lately, because of a few interesting conversations and quotes from close friends, I have been thinking more about living in the present. Living in the present is tougher than you might think initially. It means letting go of worrying about the mistakes you made in the past, not worrying about the problems yet to come, and just letting the moments of your day sink in and happen without thought of consequence. I am so used to jumping from one place to the other and feeling the need to seek out my next adventure that I haven't been truly living in the present. I am finding that I have had a lot of amazing experiences over the past year or so, but because I've always been searching for the next job, or the next place, I haven't been able to sit back and appreciate the small moments.
So here's to the small moments and appreciating the things we take for granted. It's been suggested to me before, and now I think I am consciously going to attempt to listen. Put coffee in your oatmeal, boil it with the oats along with cinnamon, brown sugar and milk. Enjoy the sweat caffeinated experience-and mostly importantly- live the moment!
I have now been back in Seattle for two months!
The experiences of my last visit to Alaska still permeate my everyday reality. Anytime I hear Alaska mentioned I jump at the chance to reminisce about my time there and the beauty that is so hard to find anywhere else. The entire month of October I was in culture shock. After falling easily back into the intense routine of everyday life in Alaska, and driving for five days on the Alcan highway through some of the most remote country in the North America, arriving back in civilization with no home and no job was tough. A few gracious friends took me (disillusioned and struggling with modern amenities) in, and let me set up my tent on their back porch. They took me in even though they were dealing with bed bug scares and new house mates moving in! For this I am indebted to them.
As I once again dug into the challenge of re-acquainting myself with technological devices, I was able to secure a part-time position at the REI Seattle Flagship Store (2nd most popular tourist attraction in Seattle & rated one of the best place to find a date) working as a sales specialist in the men's clothing department. I also found a wonderful house in Greenlake just three blocks from my last Seattle home. There's even a vegetable garden to take care of out front!
Now I am fully assimilated back into lower 48 culture. But lately, because of a few interesting conversations and quotes from close friends, I have been thinking more about living in the present. Living in the present is tougher than you might think initially. It means letting go of worrying about the mistakes you made in the past, not worrying about the problems yet to come, and just letting the moments of your day sink in and happen without thought of consequence. I am so used to jumping from one place to the other and feeling the need to seek out my next adventure that I haven't been truly living in the present. I am finding that I have had a lot of amazing experiences over the past year or so, but because I've always been searching for the next job, or the next place, I haven't been able to sit back and appreciate the small moments.
So here's to the small moments and appreciating the things we take for granted. It's been suggested to me before, and now I think I am consciously going to attempt to listen. Put coffee in your oatmeal, boil it with the oats along with cinnamon, brown sugar and milk. Enjoy the sweat caffeinated experience-and mostly importantly- live the moment!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Returning
"Did anyone visit Calypso last year?"
In my life I've had a few opportunities to visit places that I've loved and left. Leaving home for college and returning after graduation, visiting Cortona Italy with my family after high school and returning during my junior year of college study abroad, going back to DC for Obama's inauguration after graduating from George Washington University and currently my return to Calypso Farm to help with their fall field trips.
My first experiences in all of these places were ones of growth. Each place taught me about myself and the world around me. It is because of these initial moments that returning to these places feels like coming home. There is a familiarity with the culture, the surrounding environment, and old hang out spots. But in returning, I have found that I need to be aware of the changes that have happened since I left. Most times these changes are small, almost unnoticeable until looked at more closely.
These are the feelings I've been working through since arriving back at Calypso. Nevertheless the past few weeks in Alaska have been great. I have reconnected with the amazing Calypso community and hurtled myself back into the large, and sometimes hectic, field trip coordinating routine. The garden here is just past it's peak of production and large carrots, kale, potatoes, beets, lettuces, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, squash and more are being harvested. I am constantly amazed by the amount of produce and the variety of vegetables that can be grown together in one place.
I am also still learning new things about the Ester community. Last summer I discovered the gold mining operations in Ester gorge, and I saw the gold mining dredges. I knew that Ester had been founded by prospectors searching for gold during the gold rush. But last week, for the first time, I got to see a prospecting operation up close! Judy, a beloved Calypso volunteer, invited us to tour her husband's gold operation... right in their backyard! Judy and her husband are both retired from their full time jobs but her husband keeps busy following his own gold "vein" (as miners call the streaks of amethyst where gold can be found). The day we visited it was raining, but Bob brightened the dimness of the weather with his jovial explanation of how he found his "vein" and how one sorts through rocks and mud to pan for gold.
"you can't pan in the river, if you ever go panning in a river you know it's a fake operation. You gotta have a bin to catch anything that falls out. Then you can just re-pan instead of it flying off in the current."
Bob took us through the archeology of the site, how he found his vein, and the long... painstaking process of finding gold dust, gold nuggets and gold lines. He also explained how his operation is different from the big mining operations.
"if you're like the high school kids around here, you know that to pay for school all you have to do is go search through the old dredge piles."
Apparently, gold dredges are only built to sort for gold dust-anything bigger like a gold nugget the dredges toss out like a rock because nuggets are so rare to find. By running a small prospecting operation, Bob is able to catch all of the above.
As Fall rolls in and the trees change to yellow, I only have a month left in Alaska. I still don't know what will happen after I am done at Calypso. The uncertainty is exciting, but I am also fighting a slightly nervous feeling. I'll keep you all informed as I know more about my next steps.
In my life I've had a few opportunities to visit places that I've loved and left. Leaving home for college and returning after graduation, visiting Cortona Italy with my family after high school and returning during my junior year of college study abroad, going back to DC for Obama's inauguration after graduating from George Washington University and currently my return to Calypso Farm to help with their fall field trips.
My first experiences in all of these places were ones of growth. Each place taught me about myself and the world around me. It is because of these initial moments that returning to these places feels like coming home. There is a familiarity with the culture, the surrounding environment, and old hang out spots. But in returning, I have found that I need to be aware of the changes that have happened since I left. Most times these changes are small, almost unnoticeable until looked at more closely.
These are the feelings I've been working through since arriving back at Calypso. Nevertheless the past few weeks in Alaska have been great. I have reconnected with the amazing Calypso community and hurtled myself back into the large, and sometimes hectic, field trip coordinating routine. The garden here is just past it's peak of production and large carrots, kale, potatoes, beets, lettuces, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, squash and more are being harvested. I am constantly amazed by the amount of produce and the variety of vegetables that can be grown together in one place.
I am also still learning new things about the Ester community. Last summer I discovered the gold mining operations in Ester gorge, and I saw the gold mining dredges. I knew that Ester had been founded by prospectors searching for gold during the gold rush. But last week, for the first time, I got to see a prospecting operation up close! Judy, a beloved Calypso volunteer, invited us to tour her husband's gold operation... right in their backyard! Judy and her husband are both retired from their full time jobs but her husband keeps busy following his own gold "vein" (as miners call the streaks of amethyst where gold can be found). The day we visited it was raining, but Bob brightened the dimness of the weather with his jovial explanation of how he found his "vein" and how one sorts through rocks and mud to pan for gold.
"you can't pan in the river, if you ever go panning in a river you know it's a fake operation. You gotta have a bin to catch anything that falls out. Then you can just re-pan instead of it flying off in the current."
Bob took us through the archeology of the site, how he found his vein, and the long... painstaking process of finding gold dust, gold nuggets and gold lines. He also explained how his operation is different from the big mining operations.
"if you're like the high school kids around here, you know that to pay for school all you have to do is go search through the old dredge piles."
Apparently, gold dredges are only built to sort for gold dust-anything bigger like a gold nugget the dredges toss out like a rock because nuggets are so rare to find. By running a small prospecting operation, Bob is able to catch all of the above.
As Fall rolls in and the trees change to yellow, I only have a month left in Alaska. I still don't know what will happen after I am done at Calypso. The uncertainty is exciting, but I am also fighting a slightly nervous feeling. I'll keep you all informed as I know more about my next steps.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Got Veg.
Got Veg? New Holly Youth and Family P-Patch does...
I realize that there is a lot to catch you up on. Especially since I have now officially completed my 2009-10 AmeriCorps term, and I honestly don't know if I can catch up on everything that has happened over the past year on this blog. Never the less there is one thing that I do want to devote time to writing about.
Whether your family, friends or random internet reader interested in organic food and food systems, I think that you will be able to relate to this entry. In the United States there is a huge gap in youth education concerning where the food they consume comes from. I've read about cafeteria lunches consisting mostly of greasy pizzas popped in a microwave right before being served as that days hot lunch, accompanied by heated up frozen tatter tots that count as the lunch vegetable. I've also heard youth grown at the thought of eating a fresh garden carrot with a little dirt on it, stating they'd prefer to get their vegetables from the Safeway down the street (at least they're eating veggies). But statements like this blaringly highlight the evidence that there is a disconnect between American youth and the food they eat.
Yes. I know that these days I am preaching to the choir. there are literally hundreds of efforts across the U.S. to improve school lunches and connect youth to the environment. Despite these efforts, the bills that are being passed in Washington DC are not making big enough changes. Most recently I read an article about the newest bill entitled "Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act of 2010", which grants .6 cents more per child to healthier school lunches... (you can read more here http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2010/06/improving-nutrition-for-americ.shtml). The bill also promises more access for students who are eligible for school lunch programs, and also justifies the small increase in funding by saying it is the first increase in 30 years. It's better than nothing, and probably will help students in the long run. But it is a very small step to solving a problem that has been growing for the last 50 years or more. If government continues to avoid solving the problems in youth nutrition that it has caused through supporting organizations like Mansanto and subsidizing crops that ultimately make us an obese nation, than we will definitely not meet the goals set by Michelle Obama's Task Force to reduce childhood obesity by 2020. Not to mention our youth will continue down their current path of becoming the first generation to dye before their parents (BIG DEAL!).
I realize that there is a lot to catch you up on. Especially since I have now officially completed my 2009-10 AmeriCorps term, and I honestly don't know if I can catch up on everything that has happened over the past year on this blog. Never the less there is one thing that I do want to devote time to writing about.
Whether your family, friends or random internet reader interested in organic food and food systems, I think that you will be able to relate to this entry. In the United States there is a huge gap in youth education concerning where the food they consume comes from. I've read about cafeteria lunches consisting mostly of greasy pizzas popped in a microwave right before being served as that days hot lunch, accompanied by heated up frozen tatter tots that count as the lunch vegetable. I've also heard youth grown at the thought of eating a fresh garden carrot with a little dirt on it, stating they'd prefer to get their vegetables from the Safeway down the street (at least they're eating veggies). But statements like this blaringly highlight the evidence that there is a disconnect between American youth and the food they eat.
Yes. I know that these days I am preaching to the choir. there are literally hundreds of efforts across the U.S. to improve school lunches and connect youth to the environment. Despite these efforts, the bills that are being passed in Washington DC are not making big enough changes. Most recently I read an article about the newest bill entitled "Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act of 2010", which grants .6 cents more per child to healthier school lunches... (you can read more here http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2010/06/improving-nutrition-for-americ.shtml). The bill also promises more access for students who are eligible for school lunch programs, and also justifies the small increase in funding by saying it is the first increase in 30 years. It's better than nothing, and probably will help students in the long run. But it is a very small step to solving a problem that has been growing for the last 50 years or more. If government continues to avoid solving the problems in youth nutrition that it has caused through supporting organizations like Mansanto and subsidizing crops that ultimately make us an obese nation, than we will definitely not meet the goals set by Michelle Obama's Task Force to reduce childhood obesity by 2020. Not to mention our youth will continue down their current path of becoming the first generation to dye before their parents (BIG DEAL!).
In March I also began to organize a garden club at New Holly for Middle-High School students. I originally started the club as a way to connect older New Holly youth to the P-Patch program, but I also wanted it to be a safe place where youth could come to learn and share nutritious healthy meals. So, with the help of some of the other AmeriCorps in my program, everyother week we cooked dinners and on other weeks we worked in our P-Patch plot. The club was a success drawing over 20 youth to the New Holly Community Kitchen and P-Patch garden. We made dinners of stuffed red lentil/rice peppers, fried eggplant, kale chips, egg drop soup, stir-fry and spring rolls-just to name a few. We also fixed the New Holly Youth and Family P-Patch fence, planned and planted a garden, learned how to make compost and harvested veggies to use in our dinners! The youth who participated were amazing and really fun to work with. They came to meetings excited to cook and share meals. I learned a lot just from planning club meetings and interacting with the youth. To check out a video that was made about the club click here: http://pugetsoundoff.org/
It feels good knowing that even though government isn't moving fast enough in terms of food policy, there are still programs that allow people like me to make a small difference in youth education around food. In fact AmeriCorps programs such as AppleCorps are begining to pop up all around the country in the form of FoodCorps. Until the changes we need are made higher up I can only hope that AmeriCorps volunteers, nutritionists, gardeners and others in the food movement keep up their efforts to teach and expose students to healthy, fresh, nutritious food.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Goodbye P-Patch....
I wrote this letter to send to all the lovely people I've met in the P-Patch program over the past ten months. It's a good update on what I've been up to as well...
Hello all,
Time has certainly flown over the past ten months and I can hardly believe that I am headed into my last week of my 2009/2010 AmeriCorps year of service. I have enjoyed getting to know many of you during my time in the Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch program, and it is with a little sadness that I leave you. The P-Patch program has taught me about community and what that means in a garden setting, as well as the importance of passing that gardening knowledge to our youth. I leave P-Patch eager to help youth garden programs continue to grow in the city of Seattle.
Here are a couple of quick facts about what I accomplished this year:
-Taught over 50 youth garden classes throughout Seattle
-Provided 5 garden and food systems workshops to elementary-high school youth
-Helped 4 new youth organizations find P-Patch Plots
-Organized the first Gardening with Youth P-Patch Summit
-Updated youth website and Listserv seasonally
-Wrote 2 articles on youth garden activities for the P-Patch Post
-Participated in numerous outreach events to spark youth interest in gardening
-Completed new updated Youth Resource Binder
- Helped connect 10 High School Service learners to projects in P-Patches
While I am leaving the Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch program, I am not leaving the gardening community. I will be headed back up to Alaska for a little over a month to help out the farm I worked on before coming here. Then I will be returning to Seattle in October. I hope to connect with many of you again in my future endeavors. If you would like to contact me before I leave please do so before August 6th. Otherwise please direct any questions to Kenya Fredie at Kenya.Fredie@seattle.gov and continue to check the P-Patch Youth webpage (http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ppatch/youth.htm) for garden updates.
Keep doing the amazing work you do!
Happy gardening,
Jackie Dagger
Jaclyn.Dagger@gmail.com
Hello all,
Time has certainly flown over the past ten months and I can hardly believe that I am headed into my last week of my 2009/2010 AmeriCorps year of service. I have enjoyed getting to know many of you during my time in the Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch program, and it is with a little sadness that I leave you. The P-Patch program has taught me about community and what that means in a garden setting, as well as the importance of passing that gardening knowledge to our youth. I leave P-Patch eager to help youth garden programs continue to grow in the city of Seattle.
Here are a couple of quick facts about what I accomplished this year:
-Taught over 50 youth garden classes throughout Seattle
-Provided 5 garden and food systems workshops to elementary-high school youth
-Helped 4 new youth organizations find P-Patch Plots
-Organized the first Gardening with Youth P-Patch Summit
-Updated youth website and Listserv seasonally
-Wrote 2 articles on youth garden activities for the P-Patch Post
-Participated in numerous outreach events to spark youth interest in gardening
-Completed new updated Youth Resource Binder
- Helped connect 10 High School Service learners to projects in P-Patches
While I am leaving the Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch program, I am not leaving the gardening community. I will be headed back up to Alaska for a little over a month to help out the farm I worked on before coming here. Then I will be returning to Seattle in October. I hope to connect with many of you again in my future endeavors. If you would like to contact me before I leave please do so before August 6th. Otherwise please direct any questions to Kenya Fredie at Kenya.Fredie@seattle.gov and continue to check the P-Patch Youth webpage (http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ppatch/youth.htm) for garden updates.
Keep doing the amazing work you do!
Happy gardening,
Jackie Dagger
Jaclyn.Dagger@gmail.com
Friday, July 2, 2010
How did this happen....
Well I guess when you're living life and having fun time flies....
I have to apologize (yet again) for my absence over the past months. I really enjoy taking the time to write on this blog, but my life in Seattle has been so fast paced, in comparison to Alaska, that I haven't been able to take the time to write-never mind think about what I would like to write about!! But I hope I'm turning over yet another leaf...
About a month after I arrived in Seattle I moved into a house on the north side of Green Lake; an urban oasis for Seattlites urning for a natural setting during the week before taking off for rural adventures on the weekends. The house was nice and in a great location, but for me something was not right. I never felt completely comfortable living there, and I always seemed to have complaints. I didn't feel comfortable inviting people over and was hardly ever in the house. So recently, on a whim, I moved to a house on the East side of the lake.
It is funny how moving just a handful of blocks can make you so much happier! Since moving I have felt more at home in Seattle than ever before. I don't mind staying at home during the week, and have finally been able to allow myself to take up old hobbies again; such as spinning yarn, reading and WRITING! But most importantly taking pleasure in in the time it takes to do these things.
The people in my new house also make it much easier to stay at home. My old roommates were not bad people, but their choices in life hadn't taken them in the same directions that mine have. I often got annoyed with the lack of community in the house and felt I was paying a gross amount for other's energy consumption. I also found myself holding back constantly because I didn't want to be "that crazy hippie roommate" forcing the ideals of environmentalism down my roommates throats. To top it all off I tried desperately to avoid conversations with my roommate Bart who liked to argue with me about the benefits/pitfalls of a growing consumer culture. Sorry... this post is turning into a mantra.
My new roommates don't live exactly the way I do, but at least they share some of my basic life choices- like composting and seeking out fresh local food. these are two things that over the past couple of years have just become no brainers for me. Seattle, more than most cities encourage these lifestyle choices. There are almost daily farmers markets in different parts of the city, and a WEEKLY compost pickup. That's right! compost is picked up and processed by the city of Seattle and then sold back to resident gardeners... AMAZING! Therefore it was that much harder for me to sit in a house where nobody cared.. for six months.
Exploring rooming situations is only one of the growing experiences I've had over the past year. Working in the P-Patch community garden program here has nurtured and grown my love of gardening and interest in food culture.
Stay tuned for more from the Great North West!
ps. I am working on compiling a picture album to share all the amazing moments I've had here with you-and my garden!
I have to apologize (yet again) for my absence over the past months. I really enjoy taking the time to write on this blog, but my life in Seattle has been so fast paced, in comparison to Alaska, that I haven't been able to take the time to write-never mind think about what I would like to write about!! But I hope I'm turning over yet another leaf...
About a month after I arrived in Seattle I moved into a house on the north side of Green Lake; an urban oasis for Seattlites urning for a natural setting during the week before taking off for rural adventures on the weekends. The house was nice and in a great location, but for me something was not right. I never felt completely comfortable living there, and I always seemed to have complaints. I didn't feel comfortable inviting people over and was hardly ever in the house. So recently, on a whim, I moved to a house on the East side of the lake.
It is funny how moving just a handful of blocks can make you so much happier! Since moving I have felt more at home in Seattle than ever before. I don't mind staying at home during the week, and have finally been able to allow myself to take up old hobbies again; such as spinning yarn, reading and WRITING! But most importantly taking pleasure in in the time it takes to do these things.
The people in my new house also make it much easier to stay at home. My old roommates were not bad people, but their choices in life hadn't taken them in the same directions that mine have. I often got annoyed with the lack of community in the house and felt I was paying a gross amount for other's energy consumption. I also found myself holding back constantly because I didn't want to be "that crazy hippie roommate" forcing the ideals of environmentalism down my roommates throats. To top it all off I tried desperately to avoid conversations with my roommate Bart who liked to argue with me about the benefits/pitfalls of a growing consumer culture. Sorry... this post is turning into a mantra.
My new roommates don't live exactly the way I do, but at least they share some of my basic life choices- like composting and seeking out fresh local food. these are two things that over the past couple of years have just become no brainers for me. Seattle, more than most cities encourage these lifestyle choices. There are almost daily farmers markets in different parts of the city, and a WEEKLY compost pickup. That's right! compost is picked up and processed by the city of Seattle and then sold back to resident gardeners... AMAZING! Therefore it was that much harder for me to sit in a house where nobody cared.. for six months.
Exploring rooming situations is only one of the growing experiences I've had over the past year. Working in the P-Patch community garden program here has nurtured and grown my love of gardening and interest in food culture.
Stay tuned for more from the Great North West!
ps. I am working on compiling a picture album to share all the amazing moments I've had here with you-and my garden!
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