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What’s A Girl To Do?

For a very long time I considered myself an analyst, but not in the sense that I get paid for analyzing things. My analyzing is mostly about my own life and romantic relationships.

Apparently I’m not alone, not that I ever thought I was. Today I’ve come across two editorials about just that sort of thing that I’ve been worried about since,  well seems like since I was 13 or so. The Observer has a post about the Cautionary Matron, older, wiser women entering into their 40s either unwed or divorced and “realizing that ‘having it all’ was really a lie.” They learned that their dreams of having a career, getting married, having a family and being successful in all those aspects didn’t really work out the way they had planned – or the way they had been led to believe.

Of course in the middle of reading The Observer’s post I stumbled across Jezebel’s piece on Marcus Buckingham‘s suggestion that women should outsource parts of their lives so they can stop worrying about it. Dear Marcus, I don’t think letting someone else take care of our laundry is going to make us stop worrying if they are going to shrink our favorite sweater.  Though,  I understand his point about the importance of “the now” instead of the past or future.

Still, it all  seems to just bring up more stuff to worry about, the Cautionary Matron article especially. Though it sort of confirms and further cements my hunch that I’m going to die alone. No biggie though, at least I know what’s coming.

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“America, We Can Not Turn Back.”

I’m watching Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention from last night. He’s a very good speaker and I do like him, but at the same time I always wonder how much of what he’s saying is actually what he is going to do. I’m always skeptical and untrusting of politicians, no matter how well liked they are.

I feel like he’s saying everything we want to hear but isn’t that the point? I mean isn’t that what he has to do to get elected? I don’t think I’ll be able to say whether or not he’d make a good president until after we’ve seen what he does. Of course, by that time it would be too late to turn back.

I guess I’m a cynic.

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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.

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Treasure Island: Gold and Green

Cross posted from MLR

Check this out:

“ All the buildings on Treasure Island will meet the gold standard of the U.S. Green Building Council, further reducing energy consumption.”

Taken from the recent article in Popular Mechanics revealing new plans to use San Francisco’s Treasure Island as a testing center for new green building developments and ideas.

That’s what they said, ALL the buildings. That’s pretty sweet.

Some of the other new features planned for Treasure Island’s green makeover include completely redesigning the infrastructure of the island to taking into consideration the amount sun and wind exposure unique to the location.

Sometimes it blows my mind that city planners hadn’t taken any of this into consideration when they had originally designed the city. What did they study in school and what were they getting paid for? I mean, granted they didn’t think about the effects of global warning, use of fossil fuels, etc. when the island was built in 1939 but even the Ancient Greeks knew about building their homes to receive winter sun and summer shade.

The article goes into more details as to the some of the projects they already have planned for the island. I’m really exited about this since I visit the Bay Area quite often. I’ve actually never been to Treasure Island myself but I’m thinking this will be great excuse to go on my next trip and get some “before” shots taken.