| A little R & R... & R -- Reduce Reuse Recycle |
[14 May 2008|02:28am] |
So, I'm out of school and deciding what I want to do now that I'm all grown up. I haven't really come up with THE ANSWER, but I did decide that I'd really like to be more environmentally aware and reduce that "pesky carbon footprint" I've been hearing about.
Honestly, as for being an environmentalist, I thought I was doing a lot. I recycle everything I can, buy organic foods, donate, shop on craig's list instead of buying new stuff, I don't drive, and I absolutely won't shop at Wal-mart or Sam's Club. But there are a lot of other things I can do, and most of them are less extreme than what I've been doing.
These videos really helped give me a boost. They informed me of what's going on and gave ideas on what to do about it. It got me pumped.
First is The Story of Stuff, which breaks down our consumer cycle and why our current way of living is simply unsustainable. I already knew most of what was said in this video, but this really helped me put it all together and see the big picture. This video will open your eyes!
Next up is Garbage Island, a documentary about the floating island of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean that is larger than the size of Texas. If anything, this has made me hyper aware of the useless packaging that comes with everything I buy. Now I try hard to buy things that come in recycled and recyclable packaging. The less wrappers and cellophane, the better.
Lastly is the Nature Mill Indoor Composter. It's expensive, but I know I have to get one. Because I avoid unhealthy processed foods, I eat a ton of fresh foods. This also means that the majority of my kitchen waste is organic. This doesn't surprise me, since their fabulous video mentioned that 40% of residential waste is actually organic. The site also mentions that it will keep about 2 tons of waste out of landfills over the life of the Composter. Plus, I won't have to pay a bunch of money for topsoil and fertilizers.
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| Getting this journal rolling again... |
[31 Mar 2008|12:08am] |
A lot of rl stuff has happened since my last post, but I haven't had time to update since I got back from Japan. I wanted this semester to be my last, so I overloaded on classes and hardly have any free time. I'm also planning my wedding, so any free time I have gets sucking into doing tedious shit like gluing down corners on my invitations. >_o
My activities in fandom have also felt the burn. In Japan, I had school pretty much all the time. I MEAN ALL THE DAMN TIME; Monday-Friday, 9-5:30. It was like a day job where they crammed as much Kanji and grammar into my brain as possible and then let me paint some pretty pictures after my skull was full of pâté.
When I was out of school, I was spending time with all the great people I met in the program. We did everything together, including a lot of sightseeing, karaoke, shopping, drinking, eating, and surprisingly, cooking. There was just a ton of stuff to do! I also had limited internet access, which curbed my websurfing habits for all 4 months. Admittedly, that was kind of painful, but I got my ass to the bookstores and bought myself a few manga and novels to read while commuting. That was pretty much it. Other than that and the occasional Naruto episode I'd catch on TV, I wasn't involved.
But, but, but...! Over winter and spring break, I was able to catch up on all my episodes, rewatch a couple of my favorite series, and reread a couple longer manga series. I was also able to start talking more regularly with my fangirl friends, which is really my favorite aspect of fandom. In Japan, I didn't have anyone to flail with, so it wasn't as fun.
So anyway, back to the internetz, back to the fandoms, back to the flailing!!!!1
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| UNGH. |
[22 Aug 2007|06:19pm] |
I'm very sick. Very sick. Theraflu-and-toast-and-bed sick. I'm leaving for Japan in 36 hours. This is going to be a nightmare. Have I mentioned that my mom is coming tomorrow? That my house is a mess? That I'm totally unprepared to leave? Add feverish, dizzy, clumsy, and nauseous to the list. whymetoday.
Besides having a killer headache on the plane, I'm going to be bothering everyone around me. I'm going to be sharing a small dorm room with 2 other girls while coughing my lungs up. They are so going to hate me. ;_; Gomen roomate-san!
I'll be over it in a few days, but this couldn't me more ill-timed. So much for traveling well. As long as I make all my flights and collect all my luggage, I won't complain further. Those two things are really all I'm hoping for.
I'm off to finish packing very, very slowly.
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| Oh reality, you cruel mistress, you. |
[21 Aug 2007|01:50am] |
FYI: the schedule has been raped and plundered. Messily.
I got really sick on Thursday night, to the point that I thought I had food poisoning. It turns out that it was a reaction to my generic birth control, which I recently started taking. I was having morning sickness symptoms and it really sucked, but I got over it quickly.
The next day, Adam caught a cold. Probably from staying up with my pukey self all night. His cold has gotten increasingly worse since. We didn't make it to Tampa this weekend, meaning I didn't get to see Maria off before she went to Korea. I had really been looking forward to that. ;_;
With the 2 of us sick, nothing has gotten done around here. The house is a mess, I still don't have everything I need, and I'm still very, very anxious.
( And the shopping gods hate me. )
New schedule:
5/Tu: Laundry hell, clean shoes, and collect 3 computers' worth of data onto 1 external hard drive.
4/W: Lunch with Adam's co-workers. Shopping. I STILL need: A skirt, sneakers, a bra, 10 pairs of underwear, tanktops, brown tights, pantyhose, wrapping paper, and a card.
3/Th: Laundry hell part 2, packing.
2/F: Leave house at 3am for 6am flight. Total flight is 18 hours.
1/Sa: Arrive in Japan at 5pm. Wait 'til 8pm for Kansai Gaidai pick-up.
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XPOSTED@LJ
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| I'll be in Japan in 10 days. |
[16 Aug 2007|03:43am] |
That means I have about 9 more days to freak out. I haven't studied. I haven't packed. I haven't gone shopping. I'm really not ready to go. Sometimes I don't even want to go. Rather than being excited, I think I'm depressed.
My study abroad adviser told me that these feelings are completely normal and that I'm just experiencing pre-departure jitters. Meanwhile, I keep hyperventilating and feeling the need to buy lots of shit I don't need. It's like having a mid-twenties crisis. It's fucking stupid.
Know what I'm really afraid of? Loving Japan to the point that I want to move there. I can't do that. My fiance doesn't even speak Japanese. But I guess if it gets really bad, I'll move to Portland. They have an amazing public school there that teaches Japanese K-12. Check out the video. Plus Des lives there. She specializes in 3 important things: porn, chocolate, and costumes. Des = win.
My OMFGJapanin9days!!!!1 Schedule:
10/Th: Clean the kitchen. Throw away anything perishable. This place will return to bachelor pad once my plane leaves the ground.
9/F: Shopping. I need: A dress, a bra, 10 pairs of underwear, socks, jeans, black pants, shoes, a purse, pjs, an army of tanktops, wrapping paper, and a card.
8/Sa: 10am pick-up at the bakery and boba tea shop, driving to Tampa for Maria's going away to Korea party, then going out with Adam's friends that night.
7/Su: Lunch with the in-laws, then more shopping if I couldn't find what I wanted on Friday.
6/M: Laundry hell, 409 all shoes, then spray with Scotchgard (my sad defense against Japan's evil mold problems), dinner at Tomo Sushi.
5/Tu: Lunch with Jordan, scavenger hunt for Japanese textbooks, collecting 3 computers' worth of data onto 1 external hard drive.
4/W: Lunch with Adam's co-workers, changing out $3,000 for 347,685円.
3/Th: Packing, shopping for toiletry items.
2/F: Leave house at 3am for 6am flight. Total flight is 18 hours.
1/Sa: Arrive in Japan at 5pm. Wait 'til 8pm for Kansai Gaidai pick-up.
Let the countdown begin.
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XPOSTED@LJ
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| Settling in. |
[02 Apr 2007|09:09pm] |
Well. I didn't think it would come to this, but I guess IJ is going to be my journal's new home. It isn't as pretty, and there aren't many communities, but at least my smut is safe. :D
I need to get some icons.
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