You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February 2012.
During the course of this blog, my goal is to gradually cut out the use of my car by either cycling or walking as many places as possible. I have to admit, the timing of this challenge could not be better for a college budget, gas prices are soaring at the moment. But economics is not the only reason I wish to drive less. Environment and personal health are also high up on the list. I have two bicycles, though previously I have considered them more as recreation then as a way of transportation. My first is a sentimental choice, a leisure bike that my Mother bought while she was in college, it is even complete with fenders, gold pin-striping, a basket. The second, and my preferred ride, is a mountain bike, its significantly lighter weight, and much much faster.
The goal of this is to eventually cut out the use of my car entirely, but not all at once. Starting March 1, I will spend my first week cycling to campus, but still using a car to get other places. This is nothing that I haven’t managed before, though I prefer more moderate temperatures. I will admit that living in the midwest, weather can be unpredictable and could interfere with my project.
A local bike shop, with the help of one of K-State’s own professors, has posted a couple commuter maps to help Manhattan cyclists figure out the safest way to get around town: KSU Campus Manhattan
I hadn’t started my blog until now but I figured this was a fitting day to begin, being “Leap Day” and all. And so I begin, 30 Days of Discomfort &Discovery.
* I plan on only buying WHAT I NEED…which means, only food, medicine, and paying the bills to keep a roof over my head.
* Giving myself one day a week to disconnect from media and the craziness around me to find my inner calm, to reflect, to discover new ways to make this project a success, and record my thoughts…with good ol’ fashioned pen and paper of course despite the fact that it takes me about 50 times longer to write than to type.
But isn’t that the truth? It takes me so much longer to do things without media, and it’s going to be so hard to turn down a night out with my friends (over and over again in the course of 30 days) because we all know a slice of pizza can turn into a slice with a beer, 2 beers, 3 beers… FAIL.
This means I can’t take a drive when I so desperately need to get out of my apartment and just give myself some thinking time away from any human being so I can process what I’m stressed about on my own without a single soul to disrupt me. **Did I mention, I filled up my gas tank to “full” last night in anticipation that I will not be buying any gas for the next 29 days. The good part about that? The weather has been kind to Kansas lately and walking wont be so terrible I guess.
No last minute impulsive buys, no fast food runs, no “shopping for fun”, and there will be more to add to this list. I guarantee it. I’m almost worried to see what I find…
But does this mean that if SOMEONE ELSE buys ME something that isn’t one of the 3 things I am allowed to purchase that it’s ok? I have dabbled in this idea for some time now, and have decided to turn it over to you readers, let me know what you think. Whatever your answers may be, I promise I won’t be offended…as long as it isn’t rude of course…and I will of course take suggestions along the way.
maybe I’ll take up another hobby to get through the boredom moments which I’m sure will occur. Read more? Play piano more? I guess that’s where part of the “discovery” aspect will come in.
I don’t lead the most extravagant life, or spend frivolously, but I do buy more than food/medicine/housing so I anticipate some major discomforts along the way, as to be expected or I should have named it something else. But here we go, Day one…1:31pm and I seem to be doing ok so far! *fingers crossed*
Lacto? Ovo? Flexi? Let’s learn some cool veggie vocab.
I had never considered various types of vegetarians. Vegetarians don’t eat meat. I thought it was just that simple. With my experimenting, I have learned there are three main types of vegetarians: lacto-ovo-vegetarian, lacto-vegetarian, and vegan. (lacto=dairy and ovo=eggs) Before this experiment, I was only aware of the vegan diet as a branch of the vegetarian diet. The lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet is the most commonly adopted vegetarian diet and includes both dairy and eggs. The lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy but not eggs. There is also flexi-vegetarian. A flexi-vegetarian diet includes some meat on occasion or only includes certain types of meat; like fish or poultry. See? What a variety! I wasn’t sure to what extent I wanted to limit my vegetarian diet. In the past week, I have eaten fish once and eggs once. For my introduction to vegetarianism, I have chosen to combine the flexi/lacto/ovo to create a diet consisting of yummy fruits and vegetables (of course!) along with dairy, eggs, and fish. This is how I will begin at least. For the last week or two I may choose to exclude fish or eggs or maybe even try being vegan for a couple days… We will just have to wait and see.
Last night, I had a dream I ate meat. I was eating a plate of turkey and sausage. I realized half way through my meal what I was putting in my mouth and woke with an unsettling amount of guilt. Oh, my carnivorous unconsciousness. I will share all my other dreams in the next blog. Get excited.
“After years of trying to boycott products from unethical corporations responsible for human rights violations, environmental destruction, and animal abuse, many of us found that no matter what we bought we ended up supporting something deplorable. We came to realize that the problem isn’t just a few bad corporations but the entire system itself. Freeganism is a total boycott of an economic system where the profit motive has eclipsed ethical considerations and where massively complex systems of productions ensure that all the products we buy will have detrimental impacts most of which we may never even consider. Thus, instead of avoiding the purchase of products from one bad company only to support another, we avoid buying anything to the greatest degree we are able.” (Public Domain 2008 Freegan.info)
So, Capitalism is bad, really, really bad. We live with all of the advantages of a global capitalist system and we do not want to know about the consequences of our American lifestyle. We especially like to ignore and downplay the means that our predecessors utilized in order to accelerate American progress (you know… that whole genocide thing, slavery, and our history (and continuation) of exploitation and depletion of countless of ecosystems). I find Brother Ali’s “Uncle Sam Goddamn” to be an entertaining rationalization…
In order to contribute as little as possible to the force of destruction that is capitalism, in the next month I will adopt a number of “freegan” practices. As noted above, the term freegan refers to the practice of limiting consumption and finding alternative means of acquiring necessities. In adopting this ideology, I will focus primarily on acquiring food. I live with two roommates who would be pretty upset if I stopped paying bills and such. Therefore, I will continue my job at Old Chicago, where I currently work 20-30 hours per week, in order to pay the rent and bills. As a corporate cook, I witness the disposal of a ton of perfectly edible (and recoverable) food. I know people who dumpster dive somewhat frequently, so I will take the next couple of weeks to determine the best foraging opportunities. I do not really eat much as it is (only about 10-13 meals per week), so I’m not worried about finding enough food to sustain myself. I have held some deep suspicions concerning capitalism for quite some time (my way of saying that I’m broke) and so my purchases are already pretty limited. I walk or ride my bike to class presently, but I drive my car everywhere else.
During the first week, I will only spend $20 and only for food, and I will eat the food in my pantry because the damage is already done. I will also begin to limit my car use during this week, riding my bike and walking at least 1-2 days. I will gradually supplement my diet with scavenged food and limit my participation in the capitalist system as much as possible. In the final week:
- I will not spend any money
- I will not use my car at all
- I will acquire all my food for free by urban foraging
- I will limit electricity/technology use for school purposes only
- I will try to take the week off of work in order to appreciate life more
Any other suggestions for other anti-consumer practices or comments appreciated!
I have been a vegetarian for a week exactly. I feel really good. I have a renewed disposition toward my diet; a better disposition. I am eating what my body needs, not what my eye craves. In addition to my improved health, I am admiring my perseverance. Yes, I know it has only been a week but I tend to have difficulty pushing myself. I will do everything I can but not to the point involving sacrifice. Being a vegetarian for a month is involving sacrifice but the effects are benefitting me in outstanding ways. I hope this experience continues to prove sacrifice can be rewarding.
I don’t know many vegetarians. My sister and a close friend are vegetarians but besides those awesome people, my life is filled with omnivores. Being Greek, meat is a prominent component to most meals. For anyone familiar with the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, when Ian admits to not eating meat, Toula’s aunt reassures him that it is alright because she will make lamb and this is, without a doubt, the reaction I would receive from family members. But living away from home allows my diet to be completely my choice. Mom’s cooking is not the only option available. Living in the residence halls has been a convenience because the dining center always provides an assortment of fruits and vegetables and a variety of courses, some meatless. In order to retain a substantial amount of protein and iron, I am increasing my intake of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Actually, I am eating some almonds and dried apricots as I write this. Beans would be great protein but I rarely find beans in the dining center. Boo. But when beans are provided, I eat up. I am enjoying my yogurt with raisins and carrots with peanut-butter. While doing some research, I am now aware of Vitamin B sources like whole grains and lentils. I have not eaten eggs in the past week, but I have chosen to include eggs in my diet for the rest of the month. I will continue to work towards a balanced, healthy diet as a vegetarian.
Some more good eats will be shared once I find them. Unfortunately, cooking is extremely difficult in the dorms so I will not be sharing personal experience with vegetarian recipes but for those interested in some tasty meatless dishes check out: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Vegetarian-Cuisine/Detail.aspx. Yumm.
Well it’s been two weeks, I’ve showered 7 times total, haven’t received smell complaints, have been vegan other than some cheese that needed finishing, some cookies, chocolate chips, and brownies, oh and some hot sex. The first week I did half of a “day of silence”, this week I did a half-assed day of silence. I used my phone a couple of times, once to ask my roommate who was at the store to get me some chips (organic) and the other to ask a friend if it was a good time to come over to fill up a pitcher with beer (probably not organic) that was left from a kegger two nights prior. Could I have lived without tortilla chips and beer? Maybe. All I know is that I had some chips and some beer and I’m alive now. I can’t confirm that those things weren’t crucial to my survival. I also got on my computer two hours before my 24 hours was up, but that’s only because I had soooo much to blog about that I just couldn’t hold it in. Next week I’ll try to adhere more closely to the tenets of my day of silence, even if it means risking death by lack of fried, salted corn. Organic corn that is.
The other day I went grocery shopping and just splurged on organic produce. I dropped over a hundred bucks. Some of the highlights of my trip were: kale, spinach, shitake mushrooms, grapefruits, avocados, beets, various beans and nuts, peanut butter, salsa, roasted garlic hummus, various frozen fruits, and brown rice protein powder, along with several more plain-Jane items. I opted for organic with most things, unless the option didn’t exist or the price difference was outrageous. For example, organic apples, oranges, grapefruits, and celery are all comparatively priced to their non-organic counterparts, but an organic green bell pepper cost over five times the price of a non-organic one! ($2.69 vs. $0.50). As far as I know almost everything I bought was a product of the U.S. with the exception of organic Mexican avocados and some frozen fruit from Peru, Chile, and Costa Rica. Apparently they don’t grow mangos and pineapples locally. So I didn’t do extremely well as far as locality goes, but for pretty much the first time ever, I didn’t buy bananas since they are usually from Guatemala or even further south. I also bought honey from Hanover, KS. Honey is a controversial topic among vegans since it’s technically an animal product. Some people who call themselves vegans openly eat honey, which they know full well promotes insect slavery. Others who are “veganer than thou” think this is an atrocity. I am not on that level, nor do I ever hope to bee.
On my day of silence, which was a beautiful day, I wanted to go meditate in nature. However, I was busy from the time I woke up until about 7:30 PM with a performance that lasted half an hour. Since I had missed out on all the daylight, I decided to go to the tightest place to hang out after dark, the cemetery. I biked around there for a while. It was very dark, slightly spooky, and brimming with homeless people and high-schoolers cheesing. Okay I made that last part up. I found a comfortable spot near Roy and Eva Kiser, bless their souls, where I could lay down and see some stars and stayed until my feet were uncomfortably cold. It gave me time to recall, digest, and reflect on all the events of the day and previous couple days. It also gave me time to unwind and just think about nothing while watching the stars or closing my eyes. It was a very peaceful and rejuvenating experience. When I returned home, I found myself in a far greater mood than when I had left. I was transformed from stressed out and tired to upbeat and energetic. I would highly recommend it! I went back the next day to explore the trails at the far end of the cemetery, very cool area. Totally chill.
Ttyl.
Peace
Hello everyone.
Welcome to my blog, Reconnecting to the Outside World. My plan is to give up electronics one day of the week. Throughout the month I will increase the amount of things I do not use on the chosen “no electronics” day. During that day, I will write and reflect about what I think about and possibly how much I suffer. The next day I will post it for you all to read.
What I hope to gain from this is a decreased dependence on electronics for information and entertainment. If I can find some fun facts to share along the way that will be even better.
Darryl
~Looking to find the joy in every journey~
I did a little brainstorming on ways that I could help the Manhattan community and reduce my plastic bag usage. Of course I came up with the usual suggestions such as taking my own reusable bags into stores. I also thought of a couple other little things like making notes to remind myself not to use so many plastic bags and to remind me not to forget to take my own bags into stores. I also think that I can reduce usage by not even using any bags at all if I’m only buying one or two things. If I do end up forgetting my own bags and have to use plastic bags, then I will make sure I save these bags and reuse them for other things around the house. The last little thing I can do is to encourage and remind my friends, roommates, and teammates to only use reusable bags.
These are all little things I can do, but I thought there might be a more creative way to use less plastic. It would take alot of planning and communication, but I was thinking I could donate my time to a local grocery store. I thought I could maybe stand outside the store trying to get people to buy reusable bags, and everyone that would buy I would autograph it. Another way I could help, might be to help bag groceries, but only if the customers had reusable bags. I think this would be a fun way to interact with people in the community, getting them to see that even a person like me likes to help the environment.
Does anyone have any other good ideas?
I have been in the transition to a healthier lifestyle for the last several years, and quite frankly I have realized I have too much stuff. It is amazing how clutter accumulates. I became rather poor after having suffering some losses, so it became very difficult for me to release my stuff (such as clothes that do not fit, stuff with sentimental value, etc.). I have a two bedroom apartment and one of the bedrooms is full of boxes of stuff, from paperwork to china. Plus, I have a storage unit that has cost me over 3,000 dollars in rent over the past couple of years. I would like to get back down to only needing a one bedroom, because I really like this idea of voluntary simplicity. I feel so weighted down by all my extraneous stuff. I have really reached a saturation point, in that I simply cannot keep taking in more stuff, without getting rid of something.
I have started my quest to get rid of my Affluenza started this past Wednesday as I believe there is a betterment factor to releasing my stuff so it can benefit others, and I want to improve upon my healthier life changes. I am also not going to buy anything that I do not need to have during this time, because that would defeat the purpose of getting rid of my stuff. I have also realized I spend way too much money on eating out so I am giving that up, but this is difficult for me because I do not generally know what I can tolerate from day to day, but I am tired of getting sick from wait staff that really should have stayed home. Plus, I cleaned out one of my kitchen cabinets today and found that I had expired powered soup. I do have a tendency to get tired easily and sometimes the amount of stuff is just seems overwhelming, so I hope that 15 minutes a day is enough to at least make progress, so I do not get too tired.
Over the course of the next 4 weeks, I intend to become a Locovore Vegan. What does that even mean? Well a locovore diet is one made of local foods. Local is defined differently in many contexts; for the purposes of this project, I will use the same definition the natural grocery store I used to work for used, which is a 4 hour radius by over the road transport. Highway speed limits being what they are, this is equivalent to about 300 miles. Most people don’t know where their food comes from, so this will be one of the focuses of this project. The second part, vegan, means that by the end of the 4 weeks, my diet will consist of no animal products. This means that I will not be participating in the factory farming that produces much of our available animal products. I call the project LocoVegan to suggest the theme, but also as a play on words, this project is crazy (loco), I will talk over the course of these 4 weeks about all the things that go into locating and eating local and vegan.
I will talk about the project in a couple of ways. First, what I will do, and second, why this impacts the environment. Here is the plan:
WEEK 1:
This is my kick off blog, so I haven’t yet changed my eating at all, but here it goes! I am a pescatarian, that means that I eat fish, but no other meat. I made this decision for health reasons, then kept it up after learning about factory farms. (I will talk about those later). As a full time college student, a mom/grandma, an activist, and a member of lots of campus and community organizations, I find little time to think much about what I eat. I eat what is easy and lately more prepackaged stuff, sandwiches (from misc. sandwich shops on and around campus) and soups (from a can). I eat fish as much as once a week, because it helps me keep my nutrition levels where they need to be, because on top of my generally busy schedule, I bike everywhere. Two years ago, I made the switch from car to bike, and recently fully committed, getting rid of the car altogether. When I first switched to the bike I had some nutrition problems, not getting enough of the right stuff and I passed out a couple times, causing a couple relatively serious bike crashes.
This first week I will cut out the fish. I will be a true vegetarian. Cutting out the fish means cutting out the Omega 3 fatty acids, which is part of why I kept the fish in my diet when I became a form of vegetarian. I will be looking for a local flax oil or other alternative to help replace that. This will be the easiest week for me in diet, but I will also be starting a food diary, to see what i eat and where it comes from. This is a practice that I have never done before, so it will be an exercise. I will also keep track of costs of what I eat, I have some suspicions of how this will impact my wallet, but that is for another blog.
The ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT – First, shortly after I became a vegetarian I took a road trip to New Mexico. I drove from KC south to Dallas(ish), then across to New Mexico. If case you are lucky enough to have never been on this drive, I will explain what you see in western Texas. You see cows! Lots of cows! They are not on farms like I see them in KS, they are in a feed lot. I was unlucky enough to be on this road while it was under construction and traffic was inching down the highway. There were cows are far as the eye could see packed so tight into these metal corrals with feeding troughs, that they could not turn around and often could not sit down. Some cows were leaning against the fences, some had open sores. I watched a cow poop on another cow, because they were packed so tight that it could not fall to the ground. The sight was heart breaking and the smell was nauseating. I cried much of the way through west Texas, and I wish I could do more than not eat meat to help those cows have a better quality of life. Off this tangent, and back on track. This type of factory farming produces so much methane that there is no housing anywhere near this. The gas is toxic at the levels that are created in these miles upon miles of feedlots. The ground water is polluted by the massive amounts of animal waste. The land is single purpose, not like the complex ecosystems that occur in nature, the land here is barren, only used to enclose the cows being fattened for slaughter.
Most fish are still wild caught, though there are increasing numbers of “farm” raised fish in grocery stores. Taking the fish out of my diet means that I will not be participating in the energy used to fuel fishing boats, and the seafood populations impacts of over fishing single types of fish. Also as most fish (especially what I eat) is from an ocean, and I am clearly in the middle of the country with no access to oceans, I will not be participating in the shipping of seafood which is often flown in.
The rest of the project will go like this:
WEEK 2: Cut out the dairy (Vegan)
WEEK 3: Only buy local stuff, but eating what I have.
WEEK 4: Only eat local vegan food.
Well off I go, wish me luck! I will update you soon!
