penn

101 things: month 8

I'm in sunny Florida. Yes, I do love my blog's scheduling feature!

69. Update my address book
I have updated my address book! True, this now just means that I have a bunch of addresses in my gmail, but what better way to search for them? It's actually pretty awesome. AND I just put the addresses into a text file and popped into onto my ipod. Now, I don't have to print out addresses to carry around when I'm traveling, which is beyond awesome. By the way, I'm sure I missed some people, so if you are reading my blog and didn't send my your address recently, please do so!

96. Visit the Mall of America
I visited the Mall of America back in early November with a coworker. We went to go see "Nick and Norah's Ultimate Playlist" (not my fave Michael Cera flick), and we wandered around the mall before the movie started. That thing really is huge. And there really is an amusement park in the middle, complete with rollercoasters and a log flume.

99. buy some new underthings for myself
On the way back from the conference I attended last week, my roommate and I stopped at an outlet mall. I was debating visiting the Nike outlet (I need new running shorts -- one pair is not enough), but I then saw the Hanes/L'Eggs/etc outlet and decided to knock an item off my list. For $50, I got three new bras and six pairs of underwear. I should be completely good to go for at least a year or so now. Sad admission: before this purchase, I only owned one bra I actually liked wearing. And that bra wore out recently. Now that I bought three new ones in one fell swoop, I am trashing all the backup-yet-uncomfortable bras that I used to own.

33. Do 5 video posts on my blog
#4; almost done!

49. Implement three household changes to be more eco-friendly
I'm not sure if this is exactly a household change, per se, but I have begun to use an earth friendly "female" product. I'll spare the details, but if you want to know, feel free to email me. I'm using the diva cup. Will definitely help me continue to reduce my waste stream.

1 more in progress for 7 total in progress
3 more completed for 28 total completed

Video post!

so, um, that part about hitting the gym? I'm really going to do that more after watching this video. holy cow :-/ or I'm going to stop wearing turtlenecks. The free snacks at work are killing me.

About Time

for a random post about my life.

This past weekend, my roommate and I went to the Minnesota Naturalists Association Annual Meeting. It was a lot of fun to meet people who work at other nature centers, and the talks were all really awesome. I honestly do miss going to random talks about cool biological stuff, and I wish I knew how to get that back into my life (other than going to grad school or getting my PhD, of course). The keynotes were about weather phenomena -- namely, tornadoes -- and catching snakes. I went to breakout sessions about writing children's books, the secret insides of fish, and osprey sex. In the fish one, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I still remembered all the interior portions of fish, including the location of the gall bladder. Go vertebrate zoology!

The meeting was mildly depressing at times. Turns out that you have to do a lot of seasonal work (ie 2 years or so) before securing a permanent position. I'm not sure if that's something I want to do. I'm currently researching my options and considering where I want my career to head next.

In the intern house, there's a rule from last year written on the fridge: "music must be played while cooking." We mostly adhere to this rule, thanks to the stereo in the dining room and the excellent collection of CDs. I added a lot of my own to the mix due to the number of CDs I inherited when my grandfather passed on. Interestingly, one of my grandad's CDs has become a favorite around the house: the Chocolat soundtrack. I'm currently enjoying the strains of vaguely Spanish/Arabian/Moorish/French combined music as my roommate cooks stuffed peppers for us all (it's her week on the Tuesday "family dinner" rotation).

This weekend, I'll be headed to Orlando to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. I doubt our festivities will involve turkey, but it will be nice to see my brothers. I haven't seen them since last Christmas, and I've only seen my parents one day (graduation) more.

I've been working out at the gym. Sometimes, it's hard to get myself motivated. I've got to work out at least 12 times a month in order to qualify for a discount through my health insurance, and I have to go tomorrow to get this month's discount. In December, I will only be in town until the 18th, so I'll have to be much more diligent regarding my attendance.

I do enjoy the gym. I've been running intervals on the treadmill for about 30 minutes or so as I get my fitness level back up. On Monday and Wednesday, I go to a deep water aerobics class that involves aqua jogging, kickboards, water weights, and some wicked ab workouts. I definitely feel that the next day. I'm looking forward to lifting weights again in December -- I slacked in November -- and I am considering lap swimming again. I'm not a fast swimmer, but does speed really matter?

That's all for now. But I'll be back again later with more randomness, so don't worry!

Wants

Due to my less-than-stellar intern pay, I spend a lot of time contemplating my budget (November numbers coming soon!). I survived just fine on grad student pay, and I didn't obsess too much over little things, but $190 a week gives me little margin for anything. I actually have a slush fund of allowable money to cut into for indulgences during this year (for example, I'm going to DC in January to visit Zandria and some other friends. In my budget? No. In the slush fund, and a reasonable treat? Yes). I saved up for the slush fund once I realized that I would be taking a significant pay cut for this job, so I feel okay spending it.

Part of this contemplation is realizing where my wants lie on a continuum of happiness. Today, I read a stellar blog post about how you can't always get what you want. In it, JD at Get Rich Slowly relates a conversation he had with his cousin. His cousin came up with sage advice: "It’s not want that’s the problem, but the habit of constantly satisfying wants.” That is to say, it is okay to sometimes indulge. You just can't indulge all the time.

JD's big indulgence wish is a minicooper. He pines after that thing. He must mention it at least twice a month on his blog, if not more. But he's considering whether or not it's okay to buy one if he comes into some cash (say, from an inheritance or a book deal). When is it good to address the indulgence? When should you do something more practical with the money?

For me, I'm starting to figure this out. I've got a few examples that ramp up in scale. Since I make nothing near what a normal person might make, we won't even start to talk about cars (tho I must say that I am fortunate to really love a car that is affordable and reliable, so I managed to get my paid off dream car while still making crap for money). We'll stick to little things that actually do influence my minor budget.

Symmetry in Nature

Two Empty Shells
Originally uploaded by nomm de photo

This lovely photo was posted over on flickr, the photo sharing website I use. To me, it is a really striking image of how form repeats itself throughout the natural world. I'm not sure whether a guiding hand exists in any sort of form in life, but this does seem to indicate that some greater pattern is at work. Whether this pattern is a function of creation or of some as-of-yet unknown physical property of our world remains to be seen.

In a somewhat related tack, I just finished reading an amazing short story by Isaac Asimov. I was directed there while doing some research to understand Monday's xkcd (worth checking out!). Asimov's story, The Last Question considers the fate of the universe. The scale of the story is quite grand, and I found the story to frankly be disturbing, but the true value of the story comes out in the last few paragraphs.

I'm not always sure what to make out of life. I'd love to have an afterlife where I sit in the ethereal mist and just observe the workings of the universe (from individual people to evolution to the movement of galaxies). The patterns that emerge would be, I am sure, beyond description.

Champion the locasexual movement

I'm off for a weekend in Iowa (yeah for leaving early!), but I thought I'd leave you all with some interesting reading in case you have a boring hour or two left at your desk. I'd write commentary, but, really, the article speaks for itself. The environmental impact of dating, and a request to "date local," as seen in Slate magazine.

Beyond materialism with children

This whole "celebrating the holidays with kids" thing is on my mind. I'm especially thinking about ways to celebrate the holidays without religious or commercial observances. As part of my job, I help plan and run mini-camps for kids during school breaks. One of our camps happens to be during winter break, and my activities will revolve around how different cultures approach winter and the lack of light.

In doing my research, I keep running across fabulous websites with good suggestions for celebrating the holidays with kids. They likely won't work well for my camp, but I think the suggestions bear redistribution. After my recent post on raising charitable children, other little extras have been catching my eye.

Today, I found an article on making a global wish list as an alternative (or addition) to the santa letter. Seems to me that this would be an excellent way to springboard a family discussion about positive actions toward achieving these global wishes. For example, if your children are particularly concerned about ending world hunger, you might research charities like OXFAM, Heifer Project International, or other organizations. Children concerned with the environment can learn about Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, or the World Wildlife Fund. You can even look for charitable giving opportunities in your own backyard, like your local nature center (hint hint) or historical society.

Furthermore, this is a potential opportunity to delve into economics and business sense. Many national charities (and perhaps local ones too) publish information about where dollars go when they are donated. Talk to your kids about how organizations use the money; why can't every cent donated be used directly to buy food for the poor, environmentally sensitive land, or fund patrolling rangers to protect against poaching?

As your children get older, encourage them to begin their own work to raise more money for causes they believe in. Reader's Digest recently profiled a 12 year old girl who raised $50,000 to build a school in Vietnam. Perhaps your own 12 year old is not that ambitious, but perhaps she or he can weed yards, rake leaves, or shovel snow for neighbors with the goal of donating the money to a good cause.

The idea here is to move Christmas/Hanukkah/etc away from a present glut and toward a more thoughtful, reflective holiday. Yes, a present or two is nice for your children. But so is learning to share the season. Family Fun (the website with the global wish list idea) has a bunch of fabulous ideas within the same article, including building a toy workshop to refurbish your old toys before giving them away to charity. What better way to clear some space on the shelves before adding new presents? And, again, this fulfills multiple purposes. You remind your children to share, you encourage them to reuse the items rather than trashing them, and you get a good feeling from passing along something you are no longer using. Overall, by implementing more community- and world-minded implements into your holiday, you begin to raise mindful children who understand that there is a whole world around them.

Codifying hate

For a week now, I've been trying to find the words to write about Prop 8 (California) and the other decisions made by other states to eliminate the right of homosexuals to marry. I know this isn't the first time this has happened; in fact, many more states have voted this way in the past 8 years. But this time was a major decision, as Californians decided "well, we let them marry. And now we'll pull the rug out from underneath them."

It almost seems like a cruel trick: a way to rub salt into the wound. Oh, thought we'd really let you have all our same rights? Not so fast! And those across California who were able to wed, and who have a marriage license, and who previously enjoyed the right that every single heterosexual can claim at a 24 hour drive through wedding chapel are now invalidated.

I'm supposed to be happy about this recent election, right? For the first time in my personal voting history, my candidate actually won the presidency. And he won it quite handily. Many candidates I liked in many states won, and others are locked in recounts because they managed to mount a campaign no one expected (read: Al Franken of Minnesota and Darcy Burner of Washington). The Land, Water, and Legacy amendment passed in Minnesota, so it might actually help provide money for me to get a job. If nothing else, it will provide a dedicated stream of income to support the environment and arts in Minnesota. I'm jazzed about so many outcomes. But the passage of Prop 8 soured the whole year.

I try to think about why this bothers me so much. I know a few homosexuals, but none of them are really involved in my day to day life. I think the following editorial by Keith Olbermann really sums it up for me. I care because people seeking to marry want exactly the same things I want. They want stability, and they want a legal document that shows that someone else is there for them no matter what. They want the symbolism and recognition and validation of relationship that comes with a marriage license.

I'll leave you with Olbermann. I'm still so mad about this outcome. I hope my generation will be the one to win this great civil rights battle.

Another way to redistribute, as it were

I stumbled across an awesome article that details 6 ways to raise a charitable child. The basic message is simple: be a good role model, and get your child started early. What I particularly love is the idea put forth by the parents in the article. They suggest that you make donations in your child's name, but be sure to make age-appropriate donations to organizations that are interesting for the child. Therefore, good donations for young children include "adopting" an animal at the zoo or giving money to the Humane Society.

The key to age-appropriate donating is making sure that kids are able to connect with their giving. As children get older, you can help them choose appropriate charities. Political or abstract giving (say, to world hunger) is better for teens, and giving to public schools or third world nations might be good for children in upper elementary.

Still, tho, the main point is to set up a culture of generosity within your household. Sit down with children, and make sure they understand where your charitable giving goes. And allow kids to participate in how the family's money will be spent.

For my part, I have a couple of organizations that I support when I'm able. Due to my internship, my giving has dropped somewhat this year, but I try hard to still give something. I've already donated to the nature center where I work, and I have several more causes that will get my money sometime in the next few months, including

* The Nature Conservancy (conserve land throughout the world, including in your own backyard)
* Heifer International (buy animals and training for third world citizens)
* Donors Choose (public school supplies for low-income schools)
* Habitat for Humanity
* various nature centers/zoos/etc via "adopting animals," but typically done spur-of-the-moment, so I have no links

So, what are your favorite charities? Where do you choose to donate money?

Whee!

The scene at my house this morning when I left for the gym at 6.15 am (thank you, roommate, for being an early bird worker outer). It still seems that the pavement is too warm for sticking. I think that's okay right now.