I've been writing on this site for almost two years! Is that even possible?
Well it's time for some perspective, so I've switched up the layout.
Let me know what you think!!!
New post on it's way :)
Here's something to think about in the meantime:
http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2011/01/06/hmong_urban_farmers_ext2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Ironic injuries
2011 is starting out to be the year of injuries I've never had before.
This might sound a little scary to some of you, but the reality is that I wouldn't be getting these injuries if I wasn't challenging myself and reaching to do the things I've never done. I actually see it as a good thing.
let me explain...
To balance all the time I spend thinking on my couch, I've gotten into habit of headed to the ski slope or day dreaming about rock climbing whenever I can. I invest a lot of time and thought into both of these hobbies, and both are hard to keep up without persistently nagging my friends to get out and have fun in the outdoors. So, to reduce the nagging, I finally took a leap and decided it would be worth it to get a membership to the climbing gym. My thought was that it would at least keep me busy until things dry out here in the emerald city. The universe had other plans.
This might sound a little scary to some of you, but the reality is that I wouldn't be getting these injuries if I wasn't challenging myself and reaching to do the things I've never done. I actually see it as a good thing.
let me explain...
To balance all the time I spend thinking on my couch, I've gotten into habit of headed to the ski slope or day dreaming about rock climbing whenever I can. I invest a lot of time and thought into both of these hobbies, and both are hard to keep up without persistently nagging my friends to get out and have fun in the outdoors. So, to reduce the nagging, I finally took a leap and decided it would be worth it to get a membership to the climbing gym. My thought was that it would at least keep me busy until things dry out here in the emerald city. The universe had other plans.
Just one hour into my bouldering session (climbing without ropes) I went for a higher, but easier climb. I stepped up to the edge, crossed over the top... just a few more moves, one more move... damn. I looked down and realized how high I was - without a rope attached to me. Insecurity washed over me and my hands started to shake and get sweaty.
"I should down climb"
"I hate down climbing"
"I'll lose control if I don't move soon"
"I'll lose control if I do move"
"I'll jump.."
"this is going to hurt"
.... and it did!
Hitting the mat wasn't bad, but something had obviously gone wrong. My ankle didn't feel quite right, and I couldn't stop holding it and breathing heavily... I appeared much like a woman in labor. I breathed heavily in and out, trying to keep my focus concentrated on anything other than the pain I knew was coming. Sprained ankle... and not two hours after getting a gym membership for the month. In an effort to keep a little more active... I actually reduced my activity to zero. At least until my ankle is a little stronger.
Hears to resiliency and a fast recovery!!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Where Time Goes
Time is so funny.
We spend time relaxing with friends, sitting at home stuck indoors, learning new things about ourselves and the world around us, and on occasion doing truly constructive projects.
Where does it go?
I've noticed that with age time seems to fly by even faster. In elementary school time was measured by those coveted holiday vacations and dreaded school tests. Time stood still between Thanksgiving and Christmas as me and my sister waited to receive the presents we'd been asking for all year. During summer breaks time flew by while we played at the lake or struggled with adult emotions at summer camp.
In college time evened out and stayed at a steady speed for a while. I enjoyed the ride. There was so much to soak in and learn, both in and out of the classroom. The years went by filled with new ways of thinking, new people to discover, languages to learn and cultures to explore. The steady speed of time helped me to find out who I was, or a piece of who I am.
But, the last few years time has become extremely sporadic. One second I am throwing myself into projects I love, completely forgetting about time. The next minute I'm back on my couch struggling with the really difficult questions of time that everyone asks themselves as they grow up. Should I go back to school? Can I get a good job? Am I making the most of the time I have?
Time is the one consistent. No matter what else happens in life, time is the one thing that is guaranteed to keep speeding, walking... bumbling ahead. All we can do is try to make what we have count in the short blip we have in the relatively infinite time of the universe.
We spend time relaxing with friends, sitting at home stuck indoors, learning new things about ourselves and the world around us, and on occasion doing truly constructive projects.
Where does it go?
I've noticed that with age time seems to fly by even faster. In elementary school time was measured by those coveted holiday vacations and dreaded school tests. Time stood still between Thanksgiving and Christmas as me and my sister waited to receive the presents we'd been asking for all year. During summer breaks time flew by while we played at the lake or struggled with adult emotions at summer camp.
In college time evened out and stayed at a steady speed for a while. I enjoyed the ride. There was so much to soak in and learn, both in and out of the classroom. The years went by filled with new ways of thinking, new people to discover, languages to learn and cultures to explore. The steady speed of time helped me to find out who I was, or a piece of who I am.
But, the last few years time has become extremely sporadic. One second I am throwing myself into projects I love, completely forgetting about time. The next minute I'm back on my couch struggling with the really difficult questions of time that everyone asks themselves as they grow up. Should I go back to school? Can I get a good job? Am I making the most of the time I have?
Time is the one consistent. No matter what else happens in life, time is the one thing that is guaranteed to keep speeding, walking... bumbling ahead. All we can do is try to make what we have count in the short blip we have in the relatively infinite time of the universe.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Long Winters
What is a season... What constitutes spring, summer, fall or winter?
It can't be summer if there's still snow on the ground and it's cold... or can it?
And certainly if it's winter there can't be 100 degrees of heat outside...unless you live in the southern hemisphere...
Seasons are relative, and locational. To be honest, I think seasons are more feelings then the changes in the world around us. Take for example, this winter in Seattle. It is unusually snowy here in the city. For most Satellites the city in the winter is a gray, drizzly, rainy place. When it snows city dwellers hide in their homes, shut down their businesses, and run to REI for down coats while they wait to see if the snow goes away. What happens when the snow doesn't disappear you might ask... nothing good. The feelings associated with snow here are much different then the feelings I have as a long time east coaster, from a state where snow sticks on the ground for almost half the year!
So far this winter has been a comical, almost cartoonish experience! An inch of snow on the ground and the University of Washington shuts down, city roads are deserted and what cars are left are slipping and sliding around residential streets. Growing up in Vermont an inch of snow meant there was a foot more to come. It also meant time to break out the snow pants/boots/hat/gloves/wool socks and wool layers, because you were going to be walking to school!
For me winter is not the stress that comes with navigating freak snow storms. It's the mystery of snow falling on the ground and the way each little snowflake feels on your face as you build a snow man in your back yard or snow shoe through a dense maple tree forest. Winter is the warmth and comfort you get from drinking hot chocolate while sitting by a crackling orange fire with friends on long dark nights. It's the tingling sensation you get in your nose when it finally starts to thaw out, and that fully satisfied feeling that comes from seeing the ground completely coated in a white blanket.
My advice to Seattle: Be safe, forget the worrying and enjoy the experience of having cold and snow right in your own backyard.
It can't be summer if there's still snow on the ground and it's cold... or can it?
And certainly if it's winter there can't be 100 degrees of heat outside...unless you live in the southern hemisphere...
Seasons are relative, and locational. To be honest, I think seasons are more feelings then the changes in the world around us. Take for example, this winter in Seattle. It is unusually snowy here in the city. For most Satellites the city in the winter is a gray, drizzly, rainy place. When it snows city dwellers hide in their homes, shut down their businesses, and run to REI for down coats while they wait to see if the snow goes away. What happens when the snow doesn't disappear you might ask... nothing good. The feelings associated with snow here are much different then the feelings I have as a long time east coaster, from a state where snow sticks on the ground for almost half the year!
So far this winter has been a comical, almost cartoonish experience! An inch of snow on the ground and the University of Washington shuts down, city roads are deserted and what cars are left are slipping and sliding around residential streets. Growing up in Vermont an inch of snow meant there was a foot more to come. It also meant time to break out the snow pants/boots/hat/gloves/wool socks and wool layers, because you were going to be walking to school!
For me winter is not the stress that comes with navigating freak snow storms. It's the mystery of snow falling on the ground and the way each little snowflake feels on your face as you build a snow man in your back yard or snow shoe through a dense maple tree forest. Winter is the warmth and comfort you get from drinking hot chocolate while sitting by a crackling orange fire with friends on long dark nights. It's the tingling sensation you get in your nose when it finally starts to thaw out, and that fully satisfied feeling that comes from seeing the ground completely coated in a white blanket.
My advice to Seattle: Be safe, forget the worrying and enjoy the experience of having cold and snow right in your own backyard.
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Terminal
What's the movie that came out a few years ago... with Catherine Zeta Jones, and Romance movie stud Tom Hanks?
You know, the one where Tom Hanks' character finds himself stuck in the airport after his home country has a coup and changes leadership. Oh yeah, The Terminal.
Well, I wasn't stuck in JFK and I wasn't in transit between two countries, but I was forced by United Airlines to spend the night in Chicago at O'hare International on my way from Vermont to Seattle. A wary word of advice to all travelers between the East coast and West coast- If you can afford to, spend the extra money and take a direct flight (at least during winter months).
Learn from my misfortune. When I arrived at the airport in Manchester on Dec. 29th I was endearingly optimistic. Earlier in the day I'd checked my flight to see that it was on time. Then full of nostalgia I pulled myself and two carry on bags from my childhood home and headed out with my mom towards the airport. It wasn't until 15 minutes after I'd arrived at the terminal that United announced that my flight would be delayed an hour, at least. Again, my optimism kicked in and I humbly asked the agent at the flight counter about my connecting flight in Chicago. He re-assured me that all flights going in and out of Chicago were experiencing delays and not to worry about my connection. Trouble sign #1....
My plane took off a hour and a half after its scheduled time, spent 20 extra minutes in the air circling O'hare until they were cleared to land, and then took 15 minutes to taxi to the gate. By the time I made it off my plane and jumped on a bus across the airport to my gate, my plane had been gone for 15 minutes... Trouble sign #2.....
My optimism stayed intact, although significantly diminished, while I struggled through lines of people to talk to a customer service representative (trouble sign #3). The United representatives were extremely overworked and had no sympathy. They informed me that they couldn't book me on a flight for another three days (January 1), and that they would not help me in anyway during my stay at the airport (thank you United...). When I finally... and embarrassingly... threw a small fit they finally told me that they could put me on standby for a flight leaving the next morning.
Normally I would have looked at this as another adventure, try to make the best of it, and move on. But for some reason this bump in the road took a toll on me. You could literally taste the bitterness of everyone stranded in O'hare. The United representatives weren't discrete about taking out their annoyance on the waylaid travelers either. Tired and frustrated, everyone left in transit to their final destinations desperately tried to secure the last seats on already full flights. The man at the counter next to me struggled with United as they explained that he would have to wait 9 days to get on a flight home. The next morning I spoke with a woman who took her dog out for a walk at 11:30pm, only to find that she couldn't get back through the security barrier for the rest of the night, and had to sleep just inside the airport doors.
In The Terminal Catherine Zeta Jones was compassionate to Tom Hanks, and helped him through his confusing and stressful JFK experience. My experience with the United airlines representatives was very different.
You know, the one where Tom Hanks' character finds himself stuck in the airport after his home country has a coup and changes leadership. Oh yeah, The Terminal.
Well, I wasn't stuck in JFK and I wasn't in transit between two countries, but I was forced by United Airlines to spend the night in Chicago at O'hare International on my way from Vermont to Seattle. A wary word of advice to all travelers between the East coast and West coast- If you can afford to, spend the extra money and take a direct flight (at least during winter months).
Learn from my misfortune. When I arrived at the airport in Manchester on Dec. 29th I was endearingly optimistic. Earlier in the day I'd checked my flight to see that it was on time. Then full of nostalgia I pulled myself and two carry on bags from my childhood home and headed out with my mom towards the airport. It wasn't until 15 minutes after I'd arrived at the terminal that United announced that my flight would be delayed an hour, at least. Again, my optimism kicked in and I humbly asked the agent at the flight counter about my connecting flight in Chicago. He re-assured me that all flights going in and out of Chicago were experiencing delays and not to worry about my connection. Trouble sign #1....
My plane took off a hour and a half after its scheduled time, spent 20 extra minutes in the air circling O'hare until they were cleared to land, and then took 15 minutes to taxi to the gate. By the time I made it off my plane and jumped on a bus across the airport to my gate, my plane had been gone for 15 minutes... Trouble sign #2.....
My optimism stayed intact, although significantly diminished, while I struggled through lines of people to talk to a customer service representative (trouble sign #3). The United representatives were extremely overworked and had no sympathy. They informed me that they couldn't book me on a flight for another three days (January 1), and that they would not help me in anyway during my stay at the airport (thank you United...). When I finally... and embarrassingly... threw a small fit they finally told me that they could put me on standby for a flight leaving the next morning.
Normally I would have looked at this as another adventure, try to make the best of it, and move on. But for some reason this bump in the road took a toll on me. You could literally taste the bitterness of everyone stranded in O'hare. The United representatives weren't discrete about taking out their annoyance on the waylaid travelers either. Tired and frustrated, everyone left in transit to their final destinations desperately tried to secure the last seats on already full flights. The man at the counter next to me struggled with United as they explained that he would have to wait 9 days to get on a flight home. The next morning I spoke with a woman who took her dog out for a walk at 11:30pm, only to find that she couldn't get back through the security barrier for the rest of the night, and had to sleep just inside the airport doors.
In The Terminal Catherine Zeta Jones was compassionate to Tom Hanks, and helped him through his confusing and stressful JFK experience. My experience with the United airlines representatives was very different.
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