Weirdest Call Ever

My cell phone rang tonight and I ran down to answer it of course. I picked up the phone and the conversation went something like this.

Me: Hello?
Woman:
Me: Hello?
Woman: Wendy?
Me: No, you have the wrong number.
Woman : No? Oh? Well, do you get a lot of calls for Wendy?
Me: Ummm...no?
Woman: Well, ok. Sorry.

Elephants on Parade

I've recently been obsessed with elephants and so I've assembled a whole folder full of elephant related products that have stuck my fancy in the last few months. Here's a few of my favorites.

Classic white teapot

Beautiful handmade journal

Art painted by Phetmanee the elephant

Humorous elephant t-shirt

Ridiculously cute coaster set

The most fun place mat I have ever laid eyes on

Mouse pad to make a heart light

Indian elephant bed spread

Elephants on a mobile...two obsessions in one

Graceful Thai elephant oil burner

Unique photo album I am in love with even though I don't use them

My personal favorite...paper made from elephant dung!

The item that started it all, the little stuffed sky blue elephant.

A Day of Pictures

Since I uploaded pictures last night, I figured I'd share some of them with you today. I'm really enjoying Picasa2 and the ease of uploading to and using their web albums feature. I also just discovered you can embed slide shows. I feel all high tech.

These are some pictures of a walk in the woods at home that I took back in September. It's also how I got the 70 some bug bites I previously mentioned- probably chiggers. Yuck. But it was worth it!

Here a few more random pictures from October on.

Thanksgiving Update

Things have been moving along nicely here at the apartment. We have a few final things to do in terms of the setting up/unpacking/moving in and we're about to move in to the decorating phase this weekend. Life is starting to feel a bit more settled which is good since Kim started her job this Monday and I start this coming Monday. It's been a bit of a trial with getting paperwork sent where it needed to, but everything seems to have come through and I should have my practice permit on Saturday, just in the nick of time. We'll probably also be decorating for Christmas, which is always a highlight. I can't believe how quickly Christmas is coming up! It seems like only yesterday it was Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving, we had dinner at my parent's house. When I was younger, we had Thanksgiving at our house almost every year with both sets of grandparents. Then my mom's parents moved to Florida so it was just my dad's parents. Then my dad's parents got a new, bigger house and so my grandmother starting cooking dinner for the whole family again. Which was nice and all, but everyone besides us would already have eaten at their other in-laws house so then my grandmother would just complain about how no one ate her food. So since my grandfather has been sick this year, she threw in the towel and my mom and I got to make Thanksgiving. It was fun and with only minor arguments, my mom and I pulled off a fantastic dinner. My dad even pitched in by deep frying the turkey. And I am telling you it was to die for! Most of the family did get together the following Saturday for homemade pizza which was equally yummy in its own way. I'll leave you with a few selected shots of Thanksgiving at the Calimer's.

Thanksgiving

A Not So Bright Spot

Dear Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs:

I love your product. I really do. You help me be a better person. You help me save the environment and lower my carbon footprint. You simultaneously save me money in both your lower energy usage and your mega long life span. You are so wonderful in so many ways.

But you have a major flaw. Why, oh wonderful CFL, must you shatter into so very, very many pieces when broken? Moving is stressful and things are bound to get broken. But compact fluorescent you are truly a problem. Your pieces are so small, like thousands of grains of sand, deadly, sharp grains of sand. Your broken bits have adorned our carpet, shining like tiny flecks of glitter in what little light remains in your wake. We all know how hard glitter is to pick up, and you, my friend, are just as hard. So please, in the future, remain intact. Spare us the death defying clean-ups the the meticulous vacuuming. And live up to your long life potential.

Sincerely,
Caitlin

Three Places at Once

Moving is not a fun endeavor. Especially not prolonged, drug out moving. That is exactly what I'm currently doing. Sadly, I don't even remember where I slept when in the past week. All I know is that in about the last two weeks I haven't spent more then two nights in a row in the same place. My little overnight bag has been perpetually packed. I've actually just been washing the clothes in it over night and then stuffing them back in again and rotating out my pajamas and socks while I'm at my school apartment. Anyway, the moving, it's not so fun.

When I'm at my school apartment, I've been trying to pack things to take to my Philly apartment every time I'm going there. At first this was easy and non-stressful and kind of fun. Then I looked at my google homepage and it said 7 days till furniture moving day. And only time for one trip to Philly between now and then. I've begun to panic. I have too much stuff to move on Saturday. I have to have everything out of the apartment by the walk through on the 20th. I currently am working in 3 piles: take to Philly, store at my parents, or toss/Goodwill. My major question in life is when I do I take the things to my parents? I think these are primarily going to be kitchen essentials and by nature of the fact that they are essential, I can't just pack them up and bring them home till I'm sure that I won't be there and need food. I don't know when that point is. The only thing that I'm sure of next week is that Wednesday at 3pm I will be graduating and giving a speech because I am number 2 in my class (yay!). I've survived nursing school, but somehow I can't handle a move.

This whole moving thing would be much easier if: 1) I didn't currently have possessions in 3 locations separated by an hour. It's hard to decide where you'll need things when you don't even know what you're doing. I currently have a plastic shopping bag of important papers that I don't really know where to leave that I'm shuffling around with me. It's a bad system. 2) I was moving out of a place where I don't have a deadline that is rapidly approaching. I'm not worried about the stuff at my parents. I can move that whenever. 3) I wasn't moving from one third story apartment into another third story apartment an hour and a half away. This makes moving a tiring and slightly exhausting ordeal. And finally 4) If I had some money to buy boxes or remembered to steal some from Kim so I could stop using random backpacks, suitcases, shopping bags, and tote bags from my closet. They don't call me the bag lady for nothing.

I'd like to say this will all be over soon, but really I have no idea when it will be over. The stressful part should be over on the 20th. And hopefully nothing else will go wrong till then.

First Day of Freedom

Yesterday was my last day of nursing school and today was my first day of...nothing. Oh yes, it was grand. So in honor of the first day of no nursing school, here are my five favorite nursing t-shirts from cafepress.com.

#5- Polyuria Rocks!
#4- Annie's in V-tach#3- Oh I wish I were a ninja...

#2- Florence Nightingale is my idol!
#1- My all time favorite

Reproductive Outsourcing

A few weeks ago, I happened to be flipping through the channels and for some reason settled on Oprah. The show was about infertility and the segment that happened to be on was on a very new kind of outsourcing: wombs. Apparently, as the cost of fertility treatments and surrogacy continues to rise in the West, more and more couples are turning to India for the answer. I already find surrogacy to be a dubious ethical practice and I was honestly even more repulsed at the thought of paying Indian women to do it for us. Obviously, it's difficult to find people and costs a lot here for a reason. And obviously the reason we're going to India is because it's cheaper and less regulated. Dubious to the second power. What bothered me the most, perhaps, was that Lisa Ling (who did the investigative work for Oprah) worked very hard to paint this practice as empowering to women every where. She talked about how it was women helping women with American women providing economic empowerment for Indian women and Indian women providing babies for American women. In my opinion, it boils down to Americans using their economic edge to exploit those who live in poverty to do something they probably never would otherwise do: rent their wombs. No women should ever have to be forced to rent her womb to provide food and education for her children.

After a little more research, I found out a few important things about surrogacy in India. The industry is worth $449 million in India. Surrogate mothers are typically paid $2500 with the total cost around $6000 in India in contrast with $15,000 in America plus about $30,000 in agency fees. What else makes India attractive? First, there is ready access to high quality health care in private hospitals at a low cost. Second, it has a high percentage of English speaking doctors. Third, India's laws favor what has been dubbed "reproductive tourism." Indian women sign away their rights to the baby as soon as it is delivered and up to 5 embryos can be implanted. (Much looser laws then say Great Britain). Finally, perhaps the most sinister reason of all, there are plenty of lower-middle class women willing to do it. The lure of earning $2500 in a country where the average per capita income is $500 and 35% live on $1 a day or less is just too much.

Despite the many ways that the media and industry try to spin this as a win-win situation, one surrogate mother summed it best when she said, "How else will us uneducated women earn this kind of money, without doing anything immoral?" Other aspects to consider are that Indian women have fewer rights and are often forced to do the bidding of their husbands and in-laws. The potential for women to be forced into surrogacy is great. It cannot be assured that the money made will go toward the education of that woman's children or the betterment of her living situation, as so many claim. There is also tremendous social stigma. One couple interviewed for an article in the Christian Science Monitor moved to a different town in order to avoid becoming social pariahs after the delivery. An article from the Asia Times Online pointed out that in addition to turning to India to answer out customer service calls, the West is now turning to them to have our babies.

As infertility continues to grow, so do ways to get that all important baby. Money is being thrown around desperately. Anytime there is desperation and money to be had, it reeks of corruption. Now that corruption has the potential to be spread to other people around the world. This practice raises so many ethical questions, I can't even begin to wrap my mind around them. A few examples: what if too many fetuses implant and the woman is unwilling to abort and the biological parents are unwilling to take the additional children? who takes the child if the couple is unable or unwilling to do so, such as in the event of death or divorce (which has happened 65 times in the history of surrogacy in contrast to the surrogate trying to keep the baby only 20 times)? who is spared if there is a condition where only mother or baby can be saved? Obviously, all these situations favor the biological parents because well, they're paying good money for the baby and the women is just another poor Indian. While some may be motivated at least in part by altruism, the motivating factor here is clearly financial. No one should have to sell or rent their body to provide a decent lifestyle for their family. How can we be so selfish and short-sighted? Children are important and special, but at what price? There are already so many children in this world without people to love them, so do we really need to go to such great expense and risk just to have our own biological offspring? Renting your womb is not exactly like micro loans here people. Get a grip.

First Philly

Friday was a very successful day for me! I got a job offer (I'll give more details once it's official) and Kim and I signed the lease on our new apartment. It's official! We're beginning our lives in Philly! Click the picture below to enjoy the photos of our new apartment.

New Apartment

I Think She's Commenting on the Weather

Overheard at the hospital today.

Nurse: I think that Al Gore is on to something.

The Many Countdowns

This update is, as everything has been lately, sadly tardy. Much has been happening lately! I thought I'd give you a little picture of the things I'm looking forward to in the near future.

1) 5 days till my first nursing job interview at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
2) 9 days till my last day of nursing school!!
3) 11 days till Kim and I sign the lease on our new apartment in Philadelphia
4) 24 days till commencement activities a.k.a. freedom from Seton Hall
5) 30 days till I am completely and officially moved out of my present apartment :(

As you can see the next month is rather busy indeed. Since I missed posting this when it happened, I'll give you the update on the new apartment in Philly, because that's really the most interesting thing anyway.

On Friday October 12th I had the day off from class for "Fall Break." Whoot, one whole day. Despite what looked like a pitiful showing on Craigslist, Kim and I decided to schedule some appointments to go look at apartments in Philadelphia. We managed to schedule to see 6 apartments in various locations though out the city. The one with the most promise by far was one in Old City. But we'll get there. So we drove into Philly for out first showing at 9:30am. The apartment was ok but a loft and small and in Chinatown which smells. The next apartment we saw the old guy was randomly mean to us and the kitchen was from the 70's. Really. The next apartment was a bargain price and was actually a little better then we expected but by no means what we were looking for. The next apartment was the one in Old City.

It's over a fabulous used book store and just blocks from the major Old City attractions (think Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross House, etc.). The location is more fabulous then we ever thought we could afford. The first apartment we looked at was a nice size, had hardwood floors, but one bedroom was significantly smaller and had no windows. Bummer. Then the landlord mentions that there is actually another apartment and he just find out the guys deposit check bounced, so why don't we take a look? We agree and trot upstairs. This apartment is bi-level. Dream come true. It has a skylight and two big windows in the living area. The kitchen has a bar/pass-through into the living/dining area with cool pendent lighting that hands over it. The bathroom is large and has a lovely large mirror over the sink. The bedrooms are relatively equal in size with nice, equally large closets. And the rooms are not plain boxes but have interesting alcoves and angled walls as one might expect from a 200 year old building. There is a washer/dryer in the bathroom. The living area is on the top floor so neighbors cannot be upset about late night games of Wii tennis or DDR. Dogs are permitted and there is a nice fenced in park nearby to walk them. Each apartment has a 10x10 lockable storage closet in the basement. The only downside? The yucky navy blue industrial looking carpet. Oh well, we can buy area rugs. We leave the apartment, in love with both the building and the landlord.

We went to look at our last apartment and while it is perfectly fine, even nice, it just does not compare to the beautiful bi-level in size, amenities, location, or price. We immediately call the lovable landlord who e-mails us applications and after filling them out and dropping off our deposit, the apartment it being held for us. Unfortunately, the lovable landlord has given Mr. Slacker Bounced Check until 5:30pm to get his money in. We put our deposit in for either apartment with our first choice being the bi-level. Everything must be rushed because he is showing the apartment again at 6:30. We frantically exchange e-mails and calls until finally...we have the bi-level! Yay! The other apartment is also rented that evening. The following week we get e-mails saying that our applications (with the help of our parents as co-signers) have been approved and we can sign the lease November 1st. I am overwhelmed with excitement.

I'm helping Kim move the majority of her stuff in on Nov. 3rd. Which is also the day she takes her math GRE. Will someone else please tell her how crazy this is? I will probably be gradually moving my stuff in starting then with the majority being moved on Nov. 17th. Anyone in the area is more then welcome to lend a hand!

One of the most exciting parts of our new apartment is the fabulous location! Every month Old City hosts First Friday which is an open house for the many art galleries in the area. Music, wine, and cheese abound and with at least 2 art galleries on our block, it's sure to be hopping. It's also conveniently on our move in day this month! What a way to be welcomed into the neighborhood. According to Lonely Planet, Old City also has the densest concentration of liquor licenses anywhere in the U.S. besides New Orleans. See, you really do want to come help us move.

Some Deep Thoughts

Happy Fall! Things have been a little hectic lately, but I'll start with the good news. I passed my comprehensive exam in the 99th percentile! That means that I can in fact graduate in 27 days. It also makes it very tempting not to study any more. Now that this test is finished, I've been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting on the last few weeks. I get pretty fired up about a lot of things. I'm a notorious ranter. Hey, that's why I have a blog. But recently it's gone beyond just rants.

As I handle progressively more acute patients, I often find my head spinning. There is so much wrong in our health care system. Staff are over-worked and unable to perform some of the most basic, important things that every student learns (like checking medication orders). Nurses spend less time at the bedside, providing direct care and more time supervising, charting, and giving medications. It breaks my heart to see the way some people are treated in the hospital. There is no one to blame though. It's not as though the staff sit and around the nurse's station and polish their nails. Every one's working as hard as they can, but you just can't do everything. Health care in our country is politically motivated, it's financially motivated, it's so far from ideal it sometimes hurts me.

On the other hand, there are my classmates, the future shining stars of nursing. I don't want to say too much, however, some seem to have a skewed view of what nursing is. As nurse, you do sometimes have to do things that are disgusting and you do have to do things that could pose a risk to your health. You always watch out for your own health first, however, we learn infection control in order to have a correct and appropriate understanding or infectious diseases and how to prevent them. But no matter what you do, if you choose health care as your profession there is the chance that you will be exposed. It's slight, but it's there. Every profession comes with its own job risks. The risk in nursing is largely to your health. Accept it or move on. No matter what one's view of nursing, whether it's a calling, a job, or a profession, we touch patients. It should be our goal, as human beings, to touch them and treat them in a way that is respectful and dignified. Sometimes, that requires me to change a diaper. Sometimes that requires me to ignore things like dirt, flaking skin, or bad breath. But I do it because that human being I am treating has a right to dignity and compassion. I try to treat every patient like I would want to be treated in their situation, or like I would want my family and friends to be treated. Sometimes that means challenging my patient or encouraging them to do something they don't want to, but it is always with their best interest in mind. I question that motivation in some of my classmates. When we fail to see the humanity in the people that we encounter, we commit the greatest injustice of all.

My recent patients have also been challenging my beliefs about euthanasia and in some ways the very meaning of life. It is so hard to see the value in preserving a heavily medicated, slowly deteriorating life. I almost hate to admit that I ever had such thoughts. I know that every human life has value, that no life is a mistake, and that there is a purpose to everything. It's so hard to watch some one's life break down. To see someone who was once a vibrant person become a completely dependent, helpless thing. To literally watch someone slowly, pitifully, helplessly march to their death all the while expending energy and resources to prevent their body from shutting down becomes so exhausting. I cannot imagine the physical and mental anguish. You don't have to walk a mile in those shoes to know that they just don't want to walk anymore. But for whatever reason or whatever circumstances, I have to do everything in my power to prolong that walk, to slow the march, and, in many ways, slowly torture them. I'm just not sure I can keep doing it. I know I have to and while I think euthanasia is a slippery slope, I wish that we were more willing to challenge families and doctors and institutes that prolong what is inevitable. In the last 10 months I have faced more death then ever in my life and while it is so hard and so painful, it is something we must accept. We can make it comfortable and dignified or we can make it long and painful. Why do we keep insisting on the latter?

Whatever the current climate in health care is and whatever my classmates may due, I am so glad that I know where I want to be and that I can keep challenging the status quo. The only thing scarier then facing these thoughts is reaching the point of acceptance and tolerance of the way things are.

Mwenge Wants It

I've had my eye on these for quite sometime. Mwenge, my beta fish, currently resides in a coffee pot, and while it is very spacious, I am quite sure he'd appreciate the upgrade.
And Mwenge would get a new friend! He would also be useful as (I'm not sure you can tell by the picture) they are bookends! So exciting! I first saw these on dooce, but you can buy them from Wrapables.com. Christmas anyone?

A Week of Excitment

This week has been pretty...eventful. To start with, Monday I woke up with bug bites from my toes to my waist. This annoyed me all day and only seemed to get worse through Monday night and into Tuesday. Tuesday I washed all my bed linens and that seems to have taken care of the problem. The bites are so itchy and annoying I couldn't tell if I was getting more or not, so last night I circled them all to see if any new ones appeared. Then I decided since they were all so obvious now I should count them. Well I lost count somewhere around 70! I'm pretty sure I've gotten no new bites and the problem is now under control. There must just have been some bug in my bed. The only problem now is that they itch like crazy. I've been taking Benadryl at night to prevent myself from itching and today when I got home it was overwhelming. I popped a Benadryl and in 45 minutes the room was spinning every time I moved too quickly. I'm much recovered now, but the itching it back in full force. At least the problem is contained now.

Tuesday and Wednesday for my clinical I was in the ER. Tuesday was ok, but Wednesday was quite eventful. I got to insert two foley catheters which doesn't sound so exciting but is a major think you practice and hype up for in nursing school. Then, someone came in CPR in progress and we were allowed to do the chest compressions. While I wasn't happy about it, it was exciting and a great opportunity to practice a needed skill hands on. Way different then "Annie" in the BLS class. The weirdest part was when tje ribs cracked. If you're doing CPR correctly the ribs should crack (after all, you're pushing all your weight into somebody's chest to try and pump blood to their whole body) but the feeling and sound were very weird. It also made me very aware just how much power our little hearts have.

Today, we oriented at a home care agency for community health. It's a very extensive agency with many, many services. Listening to the different nurses speaking about their roles and their passion for advocacy for their patients really got me excited. It reminded my why I went to nursing school in the first place and where my true passion lies. (In case you didn't know, it's to hopefully go to a developing country and provide services and resources to marginalized women and children). I think the community/home care setting is really the area where I'm going to get the best experiences to prepare me for the kind of work I want to do. I think my clinical instructor thought I was a little crazy when I all but begged to go to the AIDS clinics. I'm really looking forward to the semester and it should generate some good stories.

In other news, I'm going to add two new kinds of posts to huruma. One I've been planning for awhile and they're going to be about my favorite, moderately healthy, easy, one-person friendly meals. I've tried cook books, but there are always too many ingredients or too time consuming so I've worked out some of my own (which usually consists of putting everything in one pot/skillet/dish) and I'll share them with you. I don't claim to be gourmet, but they're pretty good and pretty easy and won't cost you too much, time or dollars. The second kind of posts are going to be things I discover that I think are really cool and kind of want. I have a whole folder in my bookmarks of fun things I find and so I figured it's time to share them with someone. Anyway, just some things to look forward to. Happy Friday everyone!

And Many More

Happy 25th Birthday to the original emoticon, the smiley face! It's kind of weird to think that it's older then I am. For this story and lots more fun, interesting news, check out happynews.com. It's sure to put a smile on you digital face. :-)

The Latest and Greatest

I've actually gotten to do a fair amount of reading recently and I wanted to give you a quick rundown on what I've been reading, what's on my to read list, and why.

1. The C.S. Lewis Signature Collection-
It's kind of lousy of me to take the high road on the very first one, but I will. This isn't one book but a collection of 6 of C.S. Lewis' best works. Yes, that's the same guy who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia. He also happens to be a great Christian apologetic. I have to say that C.S. Lewis is one of the most intelligent, witty, easy to understand writers I have ever read. Everything he writes just makes me say, "Oh! So that's what that means!" The man is truly brilliant. He answered questions of faith that I didn't even realize I was asking. Best of all, he does it in a way that is simultaneously ingenious and simple. If you've ever had a question of faith, C.S. Lewis is your go-to man. He wasn't one of those people who believed his whole life. He really struggled with his faith and I think we can all find common ground in that. My two personal favorites from the collection are Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain. I still have one left, A Grief Observed, but I heard it from good authority that it's quite good as well.

2. Living History by Hillary Clinton-
I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. It started off a little slow, but quickly became truly fascinating. Hearing everything that went on during Bill Clinton's presidency from Hillary's perspective was insightful and eye-opening. Her passion for women and children's issues really took the forefront. I didn't realize all of the work that Hillary had done on behalf of women and children in this country and abroad. The more I read, the more I resonated with what she had to say. I finished this book with a profound appreciation for Hillary Clinton and the work that she has done and the beliefs that she has worked so hard to champion. Whatever people may say about her, her passion for and knowledge of marginalized people is to be respected.

3. Pathologies of Power by Dr. Paul Farmer-
I know I've talked about this book a few times on this blog, but I have to say I can't get enough of it. There is so much more to some political conflicts then we can ever know. Paul Farmer isn't afraid to tell the truth, whatever it may. No one is safe, liberal or conservative, if they are not on the side of the poor. Farmer carefully defines structural violence and gives tangible, real life examples of how that concept is lived out across the world. Intelligent man, intelligent ideas.

4. Freakonomics by Stephen D. Levitt-
This book answers all those questions you probably never even thought to ask, and maybe some you did. Does reading to your kids matter? They say no. I'm not entirely sure about their research methods (research can be easily manipulated after all and it all depends on how you define your variables). Overwhelming, the book had a definite wow factor. Swimming pools are more likely to kill kids then guns. And abortion is responsible for the drop in the crime rate. Curious? You should defiantly read it.

5. Giving by Bill Clinton-
I just purchased this book from Barnes and Noble over the weekend and I am so excited about reading it. I can't say I've ever really ran out and bought a new book, but this one I did. I really respect Bill Clinton and he talks about Paul Farmer. Too much for me to handle. The book is all about grassroots organizations and individuals who have made a positive difference in the world. I can't think of anything better to read then that. As soon as I'm done, I'll be sure to post a review. In the meantime, enjoy these reviews on Amazon.com.

So there you have it. Four books I read, one I didn't and really want to. Any other recommendations?

The End is Near

This is my nursing pin. My Seton Hall University nursing pin. It's white gold.

This will be pinned to me at my pinning ceremony in roughly 48 days. This means the end is in sight! I looked up the history of nursing pins today and, according to Wikipedia, the ancestor of nursing pins is the Maltese Cross which has been used since the First Crusade. I'm not so fond of this. The pinning ceremony is a nursing tradition that traces its roots back to 1880 and the first Florence Nightingale School of Nursing in America. Nursing pins have become a symbol of professional status as well as a way to declare which nursing school you attended. Each school has their own unique design and coloring. I didn't expect to be as excited about my pin, but when I got it in class on Monday, I completely fell in love. I think it represents everything that all the frustration, all the work, all the lack of sleep, and all the stress has helped me achieve. I can't wait to actually wear it!

An Inside Look

I realized that I have lived in my apartment for over a year now and I have never really shared pictures! Last night, I straightened up a bit and took some. So now you can see where I've been living for the past year. I have to say, I'm generally pretty proud of it. It's decorated mostly with hand-me downs and bargains, but I think it turned out just right. I've tried really hard to include some sentimental things with things from my travels and all the things I need for everyday life. The result makes me happy and I think that's what really matters.

This is what it looks like when you walk in the front door. You can see our balcony through the sliding glass doors. The door to the left of the sliding glass doors is my bathroom.

This is the dining area and the window into the kitchen. Down the hallway is my roommate's bedroom.

This is our kitchen. The L-shape is great and gives us tons of counter space. We kind of went with a coffee theme.

This is my little area. The bathroom is just to the left. I used a curtain on a tension rod to create an attached bathroom/suite feeling to my room. It also adds some privacy when my roommate has friends over. The banner over the door is Indian and was purchased from Overstock.com's WorldStock store.

Here's the wide angle shot of my bedroom. I think you can definitely see the teal and brown theme I have going.

Here's a more up close shot of my bed. The bed platform, night table, and lamp are all from Walmart and the bedspread is IKEA. The artwork is from Tanzania and the Bahamas and the plant is an amaryllis.

I've had this dresser since I was a baby. My parent's bought it from my baby-sitter and refinished it. The orange jewelry stand cost me $1 at Goodwill and the small box/basket in the front was a gift from my friend Sharyn. Her parent's brought it back from Venezuela.

Here's my desk! It was also purchased from Walmart. The candle sticks are from Tanzania and the art on the wall is my name in Chinese, brought back from Hong Kong by Kim and Brandon.

This is my little reading corner. I don't really read here, but it looks nice. The art work is from Congo and Tanzania. The dolls are from Grand Cayman and Tanzania. I bought the stool before I went to college and my mom made that cover for it.

Finally, here's my bathroom. I carried over the teal and brown theme but brightened it and added some mod fun to it. The shower curtain, hooks, towels, and rug are all from ValueCity and the baskets are Longaberger baskets given to me by my mom and used for storage of make-up, hair accessories, and everyday essentials like toothpaste and face wash.


So there it is! My little house. I hope you liked the tour! The biggest lessons I learned from decorating my room where to not be afraid to use things that probably clash in style. I think if you use the things you love, it all comes together somehow. I also learned to re-purpose things. My curtains were intended to be panels on a canopy bed but work perfectly as regular curtains. Goodwill or your own closet are great resources for that. And the best thing? You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a great look! Nothing in this room (with the exception of books and electronics) cost more then $100 dollars. That includes the furniture, rug, lamps, and decor. All the art together didn't cost anymore then $30. It's all the framing. Never underestimate the power of a great professional frame! I'm so glad I was able to make my apartment, and more specifically my room, a place that is peaceful and makes me happy!

Cake in a Cup

One of my new favorite foods are cupcakes. I've had a few barbeque/party type events to go to recently and I've decided to make cupcakes my thing. For some people it's some kind of salad or cookies but my thing is officially cupcakes. I think that cupcakes are a generally overlooked food. Everyone loves them but I think we all associate them with elementary school birthdays. Before I started making them I don't think I'd had a cupcake in years. But they're the perfect food. Bite size, you eat it with your fingers, and everyone loves them. I usually try to make some kind of "gourmet" cupcake to make it a little more interesting and adult, but you can't skimp on the sprinkles either.

This Saturday, I made chocolate surprise cupcakes for my church's softball picnic. The other great thing about cupcakes? When you have 12 left over they're really easy to give away. Two to one of the kids, two to my roommate, four for a shut-in and his caregiver, and four for my parents and I have to eat absolutely zero cupcakes before they go bad. Unlike the huge bowl of expensive dip I had left over from the Super Bowl party I went to. The only downside to cupcakes is they probably take a little longer and make a bigger mess then some other options. But I think the work/reward ratio is defiantly in the right proportion when it comes to making cupcakes. They're just so cute, how can they not make you happy?

Now that you know my love for cupcakes, my new link addition will make perfect sense! It's a blog called Cupcakes Take the Cake. It's written by "true cupcake fans" and claims to be "all cupcakes, all the time." Expect some taste tests in the near future.

Your Life is Not Yet Complete

My roommate and I were having childhood flashbacks this evening and watching New Kids on the Block videos on youtube when suddenly, she says, "Have you seen Yatta?" "No," I reply. Well, now I have and you must also. Here it is, the Japanese sensation that is Yatta.

It Continues to Haunt Me

Today was my first day back from class after my month long break so to console myself I didn't pay attention and surfed the Internet. Really I always do that, but I thought I'd attempt a justification. After exhausting my usual reading material, I decided to check housingmaps.com for apartment available in Philadelphia. I'm scrolling through the list, not really seeing too much that's appealing when I come across a listing for a luxury two bedroom in Society Hill. I open it up and what do I find? The amazing apartment with original hardwood floors (listed as such this time) and tons of charm that I previously drooled over in this post! It was just listed again yesterday. This sent me into fresh waves of wanting it and whining about it to everyone that would listen again. It's like it's there, waiting just for me. Or it's there to torture me. I'm not really quite sure which yet. Anyone looking to sublease for two months in Philly?

Without Prejudice?

I just finished watching what could be my new favorite TV show. It's called Without Prejudice? and it airs on the Game Show Network. Each show there is a 5 member panel and 5 contestants. The five member panel has to decide which of the contestants to award $25,000 to. The first vote-out is based on appearances only and then more information is gradually revealed until two are left at which point the panelists get to interview the contestants.

In the show that I watched there was an older white matchmaker, a middle-aged white guy in a wheel chair, a middle-aged white guy who was a gay pastor, a middle-aged white woman who was a Mormon polygamist, and a black college student. It was so interesting to see how the panelists felt about the contestants initially and how their opinions changed as more information was revealed. The panel is very opinionated and the questions asked of the contestants are of a potentially inflammatory nature. Are you religious? How much money do you make? What do you think about gay marriage, prostitution, and the legalization of marijuana? It was amazing to see what actually mattered to the panelists at the beginning that suddenly didn't matter anymore.

I can't really describe to you just how fascinating it was, but you really should watch it. It's a psychology student's dream. You can watch past episodes online or catch the new episodes on GSN on Tuesdays at 9pm. I recommend watching it with a friend. It might spark some lively discussions of your own.

Two Quick Pet Peeves

Now that I'm home for Mexico and have had two whole days to loaf around my house, I have come up with fresh blogging ideas. Yay! First I'm sharing with you two things I recently discovered that kind of pushed my buttons.

1) When I order a Lite Latte at Dunkin Donuts, it bothers me that they ask me if I want whipped cream. I realize that they are just being polite and offering me the very American "choices." I'm ordering a Lite Latte. Obviously I want to save myself fat and calories. I have the will power. But then, they have to ask, "Would you like whipped cream on that?" And all my will power? It just fades away. "Yes! And while you're at it, can you add a side of fried lard and roll me out to my car?"

2) There is a Cheerios ad that shows the grandfather talking to his grandsons about tests and the grandfather is saying he has a test that morning that he hopes to score a 190 on. The grandson, of course, is astonished and says "oh you must be smart grandpa" or some such thing. The grandfather is obviously talking about a cholesterol test he's about to leave to have. While he's eating cheerios. This occurred to me as I was on my way out the door to my own cholesterol test yesterday morning. You can't eat before a cholesterol test! I wonder how many people walk into their cholesterol tests each day, puffed up with pride that they ate their Cheerios to get their cholesterol into the absolute highest range it can possibly be in without being considered unhealthy (because that's what I aim for all the time, I just want to squeak by with a pass, no doing better then average for me!), only to be told that they have to come back tomorrow. Thanks Cheerios!

The Philadelphia Story: A Day of Apartment Hunting

On Wednesday, my future roommate Kim and I set out to begin the research for our planned November exodus to the City of Brotherly Love. I finish my nursing program on October 31st so our goal is to move to Philly sometime around then. While we have been planning this for many months, no real actual progress has been made on the plans so on Wednesday, the second hottest day of the summer or some such thing, the research kicked off in high gear.

We spent most of Tuesday night researching apartments on Craigslist. But not directly on Craigslist. No no. We had done just enough research to discover the fabulous hybrid of HousingMaps. With HousingMaps, you get a blend of Craigslist and GoogleMaps with fabulous searching features. Simply pick your city and price range and off you go, or click on show filters for some more great tools like number of rooms. After investigating, we had a list of 20 or so apartments that interested us. Next came phase two, or the part where we plotted them on GoogleMaps using the MyMaps feature and e-mailed listings that only had e-mail addresses for information on how we could see the apartments. After about four hours of research we went to bed, only to wake up the next morning and call all the people on the list to make appointments. To make a long story short, we ended up with 6 appointment to see 7 apartments.

We saw everything from tiny, dirty apartments to spacious townhouses with basements and yards. We looked everywhere from center city to scary ghetto South Philly. The results were kind of strange. The price range? $1450-1695. It didn't seem to matter where the apartment was or what sort of features it was offering. That's just the standard price for a two bedroom. In fact, the pricest apartment was the one in scary ghetto South Philly. One apartment we looked at had a bedroom so small you could barely close the door with a twin bed in it. For only $50 dollars more you got an apartment 5 blocks away with better location, skylights, a parking spot in the private attached garage, and a roof deck. No, I don't get it either. For a $100 more you could get a spacious 4th floor walk-up with more closets then I have ever seen in an apartment in Society Hill in a historic 18th century brownstone with what looked like the original floors. Oh just thinking about the amount of charm hurts me a little bit inside. Needless to say, I was distraught that we could not immediately make a deposit on it. In fact I moaned about this very fact for something like 45 minutes. Everytime I would whine, Kim would start to list all of its wonderful features dreamily. It was not a good cycle.

So after sweating it out on the streets, we realized that our prospects look good, if not a little more expensive then I was hoping for. But I guess it's worth it to live in right in the heart of such a great city. Now that we have some info, we're suspending the hunt until such a time when we can actually take the next apartment we fall in love with. Which is probably wise because I don't think I could stand to loose another 18th century fourth floor walkup with central air, no matter how bad the parking is.

Hybrids vs. Hummers? Should I Even Be Asking This?

Well it seems that I have once again taken a blogging hiatus. My apologies. Nursing school sometimes gets the better of me. But I have one full month of freedom! So before I head off to a wonderful, relaxing vacation in Mexico, I thought I'd leave you with something to read. After my parents returned from a rather ill-fated trip to Colorado (an elk ran into my dad's truck, no joke), my dad dropped an interesting piece of information in my lap. I was on some environmental tirade when my father grinned and said, "oh yeah? did you know that hybrids are worse for the environment then hummers?" I immediately balked at this statement, shook my head, and denied it all. But I agreed to look it up, and so now you get to hear about the results.

As usual, the details are sketchy. The issue comes in in how hybrid cars are made. One article summed it up something like this. The batteries that power the cars are made from nickel. The nickel is mined in Canada (Eh?). According to one article I read, the area around the mine is so dead that NASA tests moon rovers there. Which I'm not sure entirely makes sense, but we'll go with it. Once mined the nickel is shipped to Europe, then China, then Japan, and then finally back to the US as a Prius battery. So far, this is not biding well for the Prius. One study found that the Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over its lifetime of 100,000 miles. The Hummer costs only $1.95 per mile and is expected to last for 300,000 miles. Yes, I hear the crickets chirping too. Can we just take a moment to be dumb-founded?

Well fortunately the story doesn't end there. As I said, the details of the article are sketchy, biased, and some claim just plain wrong. Check out the reply post here for a discussion of some of the issues. Some argue that the environmental impact of producing the car is offset by the savings in gas usage. Others claim that if you use this logic, it makes much more sense to buy a cheap, fuel-efficient car and make some modifications to make it even more fuel efficient. And what about biodiesel? One also must consider the fact that Toyota has a recycling program in place for their batteries. Tree-hugger has another great sample of the discussion surrounding this issue.

I think the bottom line here is that maybe hybrid cars aren't everything we've dreamed they could be. The reality of the matter is that hybrids aren't making as big an impact as we'd like to think they are. Should we all go out and buy Hummers? No. Could hybrids be distracting us from the bigger issue at hand? Maybe. Are they preventing us from popularizing and using better alternatives? Probably. Do I still want one? ...Yes. Especially in that light sagey/seafoam green.

The Health of Our Children

Here's an issue that you may not have known about. You've probably heard of SCHIP or the State Children's Health Insurance Program. It was passed by Congress in 1997 and provided matching grants for states to develop programs to meet the needs of the many, many children in our country who are uninsured. In order to be eligible for Medicaid, families with children under 6 have to make less then 133% of the poverty line, over 6 it's 100% of the poverty line. According to the United States Department of Health and Human services the 2007 poverty line for a single person is $10,210. For a family of four it's $20,650. Um...wow. That's not so much money. So SCHIP is designed to cover the people that make more then that, up to 200% of the poverty line. Because I think we can all agree that $25,000 is not much money to get decent insurance coverage for your two kids.

Currently, SCHIP covers about 4.6 million children and teens. That still leaves somewhere around 9 million children in our country uninsured. And just in case you're thinking about blaming the illegal immigrants, 80% of people in the US without insurance are US citizens. Different states have expanded their coverage to families above the 200% mark and some adults. Other states have experienced short-falls in funding and have had to close enrollment. Obviously we have a problem. So now we know basically what SCHIP is and what it covers. What's the big deal?

The program expires on September 30th and must be reauthorized by Congress. Democrats what to expand the program to cover kids with higher incomes using a monthly fee and co-pay system based on income. Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell wants to expand the program in his state to cover any child that needs it, regardless of income. Those with incomes too high to qualify could buy the coverage at the state's cost. Republicans say this is a sneaky move by the democrats to usher in universal health coverage. President Bush on the other hand wants to cut the program back to cover only those up the 200% income mark. To give you a figure, that's $41,300 for a family of four.

I just don't think that $42,000 if enough to get quality health insurance for two kids. By not providing some kind of affordable coverage, we are simply perpetuating that cycle of poverty and ill-health. We're over-loading our hospitals and ERs and preventing other people who need it from accessing health care in a timely, affordable manner. I don't understand why the government can't see this. I know it's a complex issue, but instead of cutting funding to a program that has the potential to work, why not increase the funding to address the short-falls in some states and to continue to support the expansion of this much needed program? For a more coherent review of the issue, check out this article at thehill.com.

How to Save the World: The Fourth

Here's yet another easy way I'm currently trying to save the world. This time, it's cleaning supplies!

I decided to explore this topic after reading about the toilet flush spray in the bathroom. I wanted to scrub my bathroom down, but I hate cleaning supplies! You have to change into old clothes so you don't bleach or stain them, you have to wear gloves so you don't destroy your skin, you have to rinse thoroughly so you're not touching chemicals all the time, and you have to deal with that awful perfumed chemical smell. Not to mention the fact that they're expensive. So I decided to try natural. I figured there was really no harm in it. Instead of just buying some green cleaner from the store, I decided to save money and make my own. Plus that way if I didn't like the results, it was no big deal and I didn't have a whole bottle of expensive crappy cleaner sitting around.

After doing a little research, I mixed up my own blend of vinegar, water, lemon juice, and baking soda. Pretty easy. I put it in a spray bottle, grabbed a scrub brush and headed off to the bathroom. I found myself pleasantly surprised. I didn't have to change my clothes because no risk of bleaching and the smell was actually kind of pleasant. Not to mention the fact that these three ingredients can basically clean everything in your house. No more buckets of bottles and oh no, I don't have enough of toilet bowl cleaner now what? I was more then happy with the results and my roommate even commented on how clean and shiny my bathroom was.

Here's two sites that have various formulas for just about everything and suggestions for making your own cleaning products. I don't remember exactly how I mixed mine, but I don't think it tremendously matters. Enjoy your new non-toxic, nature-friendly house!

http://www.eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm
http://www.at-home-with-mama.com/bathroom-cleaning-tips.html

Bottled Water Revisited

I never thought I'd get so wrapped up in something so silly as bottled water. But I'm coming to realize that maybe it's not so silly after all. Apartment Therapy has mentioned bottled water twice recently. I followed the link back to fastcompany.com's article, Message in a Bottle. For some reason, it made me rather emotional. I urge you to read it. Here are some excerpts I found especially interesting.

"Thirty years ago, bottled water barely existed as a business in the United States. Last year, we spent more on Poland Spring, Fiji Water, Evian, Aquafina, and Dasani than we spent on iPods or movie tickets--$15 billion. It will be $16 billion this year. Bottled water is the food phenomenon of our times. We--a generation raised on tap water and water fountains--drink a billion bottles of water a week, and we're raising a generation that views tap water with disdain and water fountains with suspicion. We've come to pay good money--two or three or four times the cost of gasoline--for a product we have always gotten, and can still get, for free, from taps in our homes."

"Bottled water is often simply an indulgence, and despite the stories we tell ourselves, it is not a benign indulgence. . . Meanwhile, one out of six people in the world has no dependable, safe drinking water. The global economy has contrived to deny the most fundamental element of life to 1 billion people, while delivering to us an array of water "varieties" from around the globe, not one of which we actually need. That tension is only complicated by the fact that if we suddenly decided not to purchase the lake of Poland Spring water in Hollis, Maine, none of that water would find its way to people who really are thirsty."

"In San Francisco, the municipal water comes from inside Yosemite National Park. It's so good the EPA doesn't require San Francisco to filter it. If you bought and drank a bottle of Evian, you could refill that bottle once a day for 10 years, 5 months, and 21 days with San Francisco tap water before that water would cost $1.35. Put another way, if the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000."

"Where the drinking water is safe, bottled water is simply a superfluous luxury that we should do without. . . We're completely thoughtless about handing out $1 for this bottle of water, when there are virtually identical alternatives for free. It's a level of affluence that we just take for granted. What could you do? Put that dollar in a jar on the counter instead, carry a water bottle, and at the end of the month, send all the money to Oxfam or CARE and help someone who has real needs. And you're no worse off."

"Bottled water is not a sin. But it is a choice. . .Once you understand the resources mustered to deliver the bottle of water, it's reasonable to ask as you reach for the next bottle, not just 'Does the value to me equal the 99 cents I'm about to spend?' but 'Does the value equal the impact I'm about to leave behind?' Simply asking the question takes the carelessness out of the transaction. And once you understand where the water comes from, and how it got here, it's hard to look at that bottle in the same way again."

Feeling inspired? You really, really should read the full article. And check out Sigg for great, reusable bottles that are super fun and eco-friendly. We've been using Sigg bottles for about 6 years and we still have the same original four. I highly recommend them!

Biohazard in the Bathroom

It all started out with a harmless enough seeming sentence. "Hey did you know that your toilet sprays 20 feet when you flush it so you shouldn't keep your toothbrush by it?" Initially I brushed this off as the stuff urban legends are made of. My bathroom isn't even 20 feet and my toothbrush tastes fine so who cares? Once I was able to rationalize myself out of a germaphobe panic, my curiosity peaked. So I did the research. And I will now present my startling findings to you.

There's actually a name for this toilet spraying thing. It's called the aerosol effect of toilets and was first mentioned by University of Arizona environmental microbiologist Charles Gerba when he published a scientific article in 1975 describing bacterial and viral aerosols due to toilet flushing. "Droplets are going all over the place—it's like the Fourth of July," said Gerba. Gerba's research has shown that water droplets travel in an invisible cloud six to eight feet up and out every time you flush your toilet. Given the size of most bathrooms, that pretty much means your entire bathroom is regularly sprayed with toilet water. That means your towels, toothbrush, toilet paper, and reading material are all pretty well contaminated.

Not only is this bacterial mist flying around eight feet, it is also capable of remaining in the air for two hours after each flush, giving it maximal time to float and spread. That means not only is your bathroom contaminated, but it's contaminating you. Every time you flush you are covering yourself with and inhaling this toilet-generated bacterial mist. One researcher called this the F3 force: fecal fountain factor. The potential for bacteria is further compounded by the room temperature of the water. To break it down for you: Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, E. coli and Shigella bacteria, hepatitis A virus and the common cold virus are all common inhabitants of public bathrooms. The best way to keep yourself healthy? Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water for 20-30 seconds (that's roughly three times through Row, Row, Row Your Boat) every time you use the bathroom.

Surprisingly, toilet seats are the least contaminated place in the bathroom. The place with the highest concentration will probably surprise you. I'll give you a hint. It's not the toilet. You might want to brace yourself for this. The place with the highest microbial concentration is.....the sink. Gerba attributes this to infrequent and less attentive cleaning. And your toothbrush? It's a hot spot for fecal bacteria and germs spewed into the air by the aerosol effect.

What does that mean for you? Clean your bathroom more often and more thoroughly. Every area should be cleaned just as well as you clean your toilet, including the ceiling. Also, since your sink is the most contaminated area, you should thoroughly wash your hands after any sink-related activity like washing your face and brushing your teeth. And remember to wash your hands after using your blow-dryer. Like hot-air hand dryers, it can increase the bacterial count on your hands by as much as 162%. If you're still not convinced that bacteria exist in any significant quantities on your hands, consider that the kitchen sink actually harbors the most fecal matter in the average home, carried there by unwashed hands after using the bathroom. Keep your toothbrush out of the line of fire in a medicine cabinet or buy a cover for it. Finally, the simplest solution of all, close the toilet lid before you flush. This greatly reduces the effects of the aerosol effect.

If you're still not convinced, try your own experiment. Flush your toilet. Add 1 tablespoon of food coloring. Lift the toilet seat and stretch plastic wrap across the toilet bowl. Flush and watch the droplets fly up. If the plastic wrap wasn't there, all that would now be in the air. Remove the plastic wrap and wash your hands.

Note: When I performed this experiment at home, I was under-whelmed with the amount of toilet spray. My conclusion? This is probably not a concern for your average healthy adult. Those who are immunocompromised (children, the elderly, etc.) may want to take this into consideration. Personally, I'm trying to close the lid, because hey why not?

That Travel Bug

I love to travel. Recently, pretty much any free time I've gotten I hit the road. This year, I've traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, Lexington, Kentucky, Massachusetts (I'm not entirely sure that counts as fun vacation travel, but I did go there), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and all my fabulous cruising destinations. In August, Kim's family is taking me to Mexico!! Whoot. I can't wait. I want to go NOW. But enough about my travel bug.

If you have a travel big too (which I'm sure you do, because really why not?) you should check out Tripbase Alpha. This ingenious site allows you to enter what you like to do or not do on vacation. The categories include nightlife, dining, shopping, nature, and attractions. You simply use a sliding bar to indicate how important these things are to you and Tripbase spits back your top travel destinations. Once you've put this info in, you can hide popular destinations, set the dates and duration of your trip, departure city, budget, type of trip, weather, tourist season, and continents. For fun, I did a test run. I lowered the importance of nightlife, upped the food a smidge, upped the shopping a little more but less then the food, upped nature, and set attractions to the max. Tripbase then tells that 15 places match what I like: London, Boston, San Fransisco, New York, Sydney, Paris, Chicago, San Diego, Washington, Singapore, Rome, Portland, Florence, Auckland, and Beijing. If you weren't happy with these results, you can continue to tweek your sliding bar settings until you get results you're happy with. I think my favorite feature is the hide popular destinations. When I use this feature, my very typical list of major world cities turns much more interesting. Now my 15 results include places like: Kyoto, Japan; Lyon, France; Hobart, Australia; Jerusalem, Israel; Caracas, Venezuela; George Town, Malaysia; and Mumbai, India. I'd be happy to test the accuracy of these results if anyone would like to give me a free vacation. Anyone?

How to Save the World: Part III

After a brief hiatus, How to Save the World has returned! Up this week is something I've been working on for the past few months: stop eating beef.

This one is kind of hard for me because I really enjoy beef in all of its forms, my family eats a lot of beef, and when someone else is picking up the tab, I almost always get beef. But I've been trying not to. I figure reducing my beef intake has to be beneficial. I think you'll think so to.

Why should you stop eating beef? Mad cow disease? Well, that could be one reason, but it's actually not the best one. Too much cholesterol? True, but I don't care if you want to go on statins. The biggest beef concern? Its detrimental effects on the environment and the economy.

Let's start with the environment. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization released a report with some shocking realities. According to the report:

+ Livestock use 30% of the earth's entire land surface, including 33% of global arable land used in producing feed for livestock
+ Livestock generate 18% more greenhouse gasses then transportation
+ Livestock account for 9% of CO2 derived from human-related activities but much larger
portions of the more potent greenhouse gasses: 65% of human-related nitrous oxide and 37% of human-related methane
+ In Latin America, 70% of former rain forests in the Amazon have been turned over to grazing. In fact, beef production is the major cause of the destruction of the world's rain forests. The high price of beef encourages ranchers to burn the forest to create new range lands. The fragile, thin rain forest soil cover is quickly destroyed by grazing in 1-2 years, and the ranchers move on to burn another area, in a never-ending cycle of destruction. Thousands of species of plants and animals have already been destroyed forever, as well as straining the earth's ability to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. At current rates, the rain forests will be totally destroyed in 30-50 years.

So basically one-third of our planet and one-fifth of the planet's animals are being used to feed your tummy. Surprising, huh? And we haven't even looked at the economy yet. We already know that livestock take up a third of the earth's land. That's not too bad sounding until you consider who that beef is feeding: the US, Europe, and Japan. Here's another third for you. One third of the world's grain harvest is used to feed cows instead of feeding people. In the US, that number is more then 70%. It takes 16 pounds of grain to produce a single pound of beef. All this in a world where nearly one billion people do not have enough food. And it's not just children in Africa. According to the USDA 35.1 million people in the US live in food insecure households. 16.9% of ALL US children live in food insecure households. And these numbers are only rising. As beef consumption and prices continue to rise, we are only perpetuating this cycle. Economies based on local cash crops are quickly being converted to beef exports with the profits going to the wealthy few.

So what can you go? It's pretty simple. Stop eating beef. If you can't stop, limit your consumption to special occasions or for cravings. Not only are you helping to save the world, but you'll lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of exposure to the deadly E. coli bacteria. And mad cow. And weird icky hormones. Really, it's a win win situation. The Chick-fil-a cows are right. Eat more chicken!

Blowing Bubbles if the Key to World Peace

While not endorsing smoking, I do whole-heartedly endorse bubbles. Therefore, I must endorse the Bubble Guy. This guy has a love for bubbles that even I cannot comprehend, and I do love bubbles. I've always said that if everyone stopped each day and blew some bubbles, we had have world peace because how can you blow bubbles and not be happy? So if you can't blow bubbles, watch this guy blow some.

Me Thinks I Need This

This is one I just can't explain. Wow. You need to check this out. I could make some mean frozen drinks with this sucker.

The Perils of Illegal Downloading

I have to say that my life would not be the same without the MajorGeeks. I, despite my seemingly innocent exterior, like to download cracks to those games you have to buy from places like shockwave and bigfish. Most of the time, this does not work and I end up with some trojan, malware, or other virus on my computer. Why do I keep doing this you ask? Well...because so far I've been able to take care of it every time. I discovered this malware removal guide from MajorGeeks. It takes a little while to work through and might involve some posting and working on some fixes, but when you're done, your hard drive will be squeaky clean and minty fresh. I highly recommend it to anyone that's having any computer issues or has downloaded anything from other then 100% reputable sources. You'd be surprised what's hiding out in there. If you go back to their forums, they also have tons of free help for all kinds of issues you might have with your computer. Thanks MajorGeeks for saving my illegal downloading ass!

Failing to Save the World

I've been realizing more and more lately that I really need a new pair of sneakers (or tennis shoes if you live in the part of the country that doesn't count). I've always hated my current sneakers. They're Nike walking shoes and in addition to their tendency to rip the skin off the back of my heels, they make me feel really bad since they were produced by some exploited child sweatshop worker. I decided that instead of just getting another pair of whatever is cheap, that I wanted to get some sweatshop free sneakers. Little did I know what a task that would be. Basically every brand you could possibly think of makes at least some of their shoes in China. Including New Balance which everyone thinks is an American company. Granted, New Balance is probably more responsible then some of their competitors, but it's still not the ideal solution I was looking for. Everything I've read seems to suggest that Saucony's are ok, but I can't really get any information either way. Timberlands also come recommended but their only sneaker-like shoe is really more a low hiker. I just want a pair of sneakers with decent arch support and some degree of shock absorption for walking and going to the gym. Aside from those options, the next best thing seems to be the european made spider sneaker from vegetarian shoes. You can check it out here. The problem is I would like to see them before I buy them and MooShoes only has a location in New York. So maybe I'll be going up there one day. I do kind of feel like a bit of an extremist to be buying from a company called MooShoes though. I guess I'm just put out that someone who is trying to be socially responisble can have such a hard time doing it. It's kind of frustrating to do hours of research just to be left with the choice of lesser evils. It's sad that no company wants to stand up, be a little transparent, and say hey we try to treat our workers fairly. None of this "it meets the local regulations and standards" crap. I have to make a decision soon though because I can't stand ripping up my heels anymore!

Ahh...Refreshing

Two posts in one night! Whoah. Too much to handle. Anyway, I was catching up on some old blog reading today and I ran across a little gem in Ben's blog that was too wonderful not to post on. Evidentally, Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies decided to set up a camera and film himself singing in the bathroom. I just watched one on youtube and it just reminded on how awesome Bare Naked Ladies are and how fun their music is and how much I need to find that CD and put it in iTunes if it isn't already. I remember when One Week first came out and everyone tried to memorize all the words and sing along. Well, now you can relive that moment on youtube. It made my heart happy.

A Recent Conversation on the Price of Gas

Random Friend: my parents and i were just fighting again about gas prices

Me: lol

Random Friend: my mom's like "i just heard they are making $200,000 a minute - this needs to be stopped"

Random Friend: and i was like "yep, you know how you stop it? stop buying it"

Random Friend: she didn't seem to think it was so simple

Me: It's not the governments job to regulate prices

Me: That would make us socialist

Random Friend: exactly, and that's what my dad just said "the government stepped up and regulated utilities in the 80s - they need to do the same now for gas"

Random Friend: and i was like "we shouldn't just sit around and wait for someone else to do something about it"

Random Friend: i'm glad someone's on my side

Me: lol

Me: But I still want to drive to Paramus

Random Friend: exactly

Random Friend: WE ARE SO GOING

Me: lol

Me: I thought so

Random Friend: but see? the gas companies deserve to make that profit because i'm willing to pay them outrageous amounts of money to drive up to see you and then drive up to paramus

Me: Exactly. I 100% agree

Me: In fact, if you really believe in capitalism (which I don't necessarily), kudos to them for charging so much and making so much

Random Friend: exactly!

Random Friend: that was my point

Me: And and! The rest of the world pays this much all the time

Me: The oil companies are just "living the american dream"

Random Friend: i know! lol

Random Friend: which is why america sucks

Me: Preach it sister

Random Friend: don't blame the oil companies

Random Friend: blame america

Me: You should have Jon Stewart's babies
Random Friend: i know!!! god i want to!