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Do your 5%

Just found this post from April in my drafts. I haven’t proof read it but I figured it was worth publishing. I dunno, maybe it’s pointless. Let’s find out!

This weekend I am in S.F. This morning at brunch Sean and I had this we had this talk about how our generation isn’t doing it’s part to create global social and political change, instead it’s in the park playing drunk kickball on the weekends. Actually I was just listening to my friend’s dissatisfaction with our generation. If the 20 and 30 year olds started taking the initiative to run for offices in their local and federal branches of the bureaucracy we could be making a difference. We should be trying to make a change, make a difference in this world and run it the way we think it should be run. He thinks everyone should be doing their 5%, at the very least.

I think maybe it’s from my upbringing but I don’t actually think things are that bad… maybe I am the problem with the world today. When I say “maybe its from my upbringing” what I mean by that is after years and years or trying to do what I want, I find it’s easier to do what my parents and elders think I should do. Yeah, thats called conformity, So I’ve been brainwashed, so I’ve been conditioned to think that things are okay when

It’s not that I don’t care, I just don’t think things are that bad. I mean I’m still alive and all, I’m relatively content and while I do think there are things we should be doing differently I’m not living in fear everyday or feel like I’m living in an intolerable environment. On one hand I do want to work toward a greater good but on the other hand I am still trying to make things good for myself. It’s like how much can you do for the community without giving up everything you want for yourself personally?

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Bike Stations are the new Coffee Shop

I always thought that in the future we’d have flying cars, cars that drive themselves, cars that don’t use gasoline. Unfortunately, someone has been slacking and instead of moving forward we are moving… sideways? I want to say backward but that sometimes has negative connotations. Instead we are (and by “we” I mean some people which may or may not include myself) are cycling instead of driving.

For those about to rock there is Bike Central and Bikestation (neither businesses have locations in my immediate area). These are businesses where cyclists can store their bikes, rent a bike, have repairs done, grab more fuel (i.e. snacks) and even shower! note: showering is only provided by Bike Central, not Bikestation.

Frankly, I think it’s genius. I just wish there were more and in areas I actually bike to (or would bike to).

also note: the title of this entry has nothing to do with the opening paragraph. that is because I changed the title after I wrote this.

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Heartache to Heartache We Stand

So leaving seems the thing to do
When I’m here I’m lost in thoughts of you
And in my dreams I’m city bound

I think I live on heartbreak. It’s sad to admit, but I think there might be some kind of closure in finally acknowledging it.

Nothing has happened to me. Nothing has happened for awhile, but I think without someone to feel sad about I don’t feel normal… or like myself, rather. I suppose that’s what I mean by “normal” in this case. I know some people might say I’m negative or a pessimist. The truth is, I do like being happy but “the sweet is never as sweet without the sour, and I know the sour.” I like to live from joy to joy as much as I live on the waning pangs of heartbreak, as strange as it sounds.

Maybe I’m comforted by it because I know this is one thing I know how to conquer. Dealing with the challenges of overcoming heartbreak is something I feel has been the secret, underlying lesson of my life. When I think back on it, I guess that statement is pretty true not just in romantic relationships but in ones with family and friends and the race of life… and things I’ve never felt were fair. Thinking about all the things I’ve let break me and how I promised myself I’d never let them break me again has shaped me into who I am now. I know I can’t be the only one who has put their life together in this way. Someone who has never known heartbreak is missing out on something that can’t be taught.

When it rains, it snows in this prairie town
And we just watch it fall to the ground
And wait for love to come around

So ask me in that way you do
And I’ll leave these fields and I’ll come to you
And watch my heart as it breaks in two

“Prairie Town” – The Wailin’ Jennys

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a double life

It’s Monday, the 16th at 10:13 pm. I’m sitting on my bed, watching World Trade Center.

I feel like sometimes I lead a double life. In my off time I want to save the planet. I’m inspired by movies, documentaries, blogs, news, and I want to make things happen. But then the work day comes and I sit in my office and work, sometimes never seeing daylight from 9 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. I’m not even doing anything that is making a difference. In fact, lately I’ve been finding myself participating in things that I don’t even believe in. I am wasting my time and thus, my life. I’m trying to come up with a plan. I just need some time.

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Live from New York, it’s… Thursday Night!

Just checking in from Auntie Evelyn’s in New York. I just arrived this morning and so far I’ve done close to nothing. This is mainly due to an injury sustained earlier this morning when we went to get breakfast. I’m hoping my foot feels better by tomorrow, I don’t want to miss out on anything while I’m here.

I’m planning on checking out this telescope thing: http://www.tiscali.co.uk/telectroscope/home.php. Take a look around this store: http://www.ekovaruhuset.se/newyork.htm. And look for Terra Planas: http://www.yelp.com/biz/terra-plana-new-york

Also, I just wanted to touch on a few things that have been on my mind lately. Gas prices… are now averaging around $4.50 per gallon. There is alot of talk about food shortages, we haven’t felt it so much in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, etc. but areas all over the world are feeling it. The poorest are the ones who are suffering the most. The weather, the weather is definitely changing. The entire temperature of the Earth has increased and I don’t think anyone can really ignore that global warming is very real and has already started.

All these things freak me out. I don’t want to give up my way of life, as lame as it sounds. I know nobody does, nobody that has it nice anyway, but that’s what we are going to have to do if we don’t want to go out in a puff of smoke. It’s suddenly very real and right at our doorstep. It can no longer be ignored and I feel like every available resource that we have should be put to finding new ways to live and adapt in the new global environment we have created. We need to stop what is happening, reverse the effects if possible, and find the best ways to live with what we still have. I’ve decided to stop eating meatall together. One less meat eater = one less person demanding the resources needed to raise a cow, pig, or chicken. One less unneccessary cow, pig or chicken leaving a carbon footprint and a methane bubble. I need to start riding my bike more, not so much because I need to, I take the train everywhere (though I believe it still runs on fossil fuels as of right now), but to show my solidarity with bike commuters and encourage ridership. I’m getting all preachy and starting to sound like I know what I’m talking about.

Anyway, these are just some ideas I needed to get out. Talk to you later.