Who thought it would be so hard to volunteer? This month didn't quite go as planned. I applied to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald house...no reply. I scoured the University of Kentucky's website for causes to help out with...nothing available at night/weekends. I sent emails to environmental groups for weekend clean ups and signed up for a local organic farms volunteer list...nada.
I did get to help out at my good friend Lego's camp one weekend. It was awesome. It was at a camp with adults and kids with disabilities. I met a camper who really opened my eyes to the importance of not judging a book by its cover. There was a man who was in his 50's (he told me his age, but I forgot it...so much for being a good listener). The first time I saw him he seemed very quiet/shy, but super sweet. I tried talking to him the first night of camp, but really didn't get much of a response. No big deal, it's not out of the ordinary for someone at camp to be shy or not communicate much. I just assumed he might be nonverbal, gave him a wave, and walked away.
I tried again the next morning, but more of the same. A sweet nod of the head, and a smile, but nothing else. Luckily one of the other volunteers knew him and informed me that he was deaf, but could communicate through sign language. I know how to sign a little, and the how to spell, so I started talking with him. This guy was awesome. He taught me a lot about sign language, helped me brush up on my skills, and was one of the nicest guys I met at camp. I'll never forget how patient he was with me. Anytime I couldn't remember a word, he would teach me. Anytime I didn't make sense, he would pull out a sticky note pad and we would write notes back and forth. Besides my buddy Lego, he was my favorite person to hang out with that weekend.
Thinking back, he made me realize how quickly I judge people. I have spent many hours hanging out with amazing people at camp. I really feel like I'm ahead of the curve as far as respecting peoples differences and disabilities, but here I was, judging someone on looks and a quiet first encounter. What I almost missed out on was meeting a really awesome guy who taught me a lot about sign language, and pointed out one of my character flaws. I'm judgemental as ten dudes, but I'm going to work on it.
All in all things didn't go as planned. The best unplanned part of the month was when Nicki went into labor a week early. The fact that we have a healthy baby boy is the best way I can think of ending a rather uneventful month.
I really don't have anything else to say about this month. So here are some updates on previous and future months.
January
I weighed myself today and topped off at 166.5 pounds. That's a 20+ pound loss since the beginning of the year. We are only buying organic food for the home (I should say mostly...I didn't argue when the Mrs. bought food during the pregnancy), but still enjoy the occasional restaurant trip. It's crazy how my food habits have completely changed. I now enjoy eating vegetables, I can now eat tomatoes and cucumbers without gagging, and I have fully made the switch from Qdoba to Chipotle. Not only does Chipotle have a more eco-friendly menu, but I think Qdoba tastes "cheaper". I didn't think it would happen, but I'm starting to become a food snob. Organic oranges are in a league of their own compared to any other oranges I have eaten. Organic juices are ridiculously good (J.W. Knudsen brand juices rule my face) whereas other store brand juices seem to have a fake artificial taste. It's hard to explain, but I feel really good after eating a nice organic meal. On the other hand, if we go out and I eat something highly processed, I feel like shit for a while.
February
We are both using Lush shampoo, conditioner, and a natural soap. I'm still making my own toothpaste, but have tweaked the recipe...adding hydrogen peroxide really dampens the salty taste, and gives me a more clean mouth feeling. I have given up on the notion of completely stopping the consumption of plastic, but now I get a guilty feeling if I find myself buying something in plastic, keeping the consumption low.
March
The fruit flies had a baby boom while we were at the hospital, but I am slowly killing those suckers off.
I think we have a full bin of ready to use compost now, and our worms must have gotten the memo about the baby boom also. We should be up to about 2000 worms now, but I'm too lazy to count.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
March was great, April is off to a pretty slow start.
All in all, no waste March was pretty successful. It was pretty eye opening to discover how much unnecessary packaging is being used. Nicki and I ended up with just over a half bag of garbage for the month...not exactly my goal, but still much better than before. I realized how much planning goes into making meals( and found out that no one in town sells tortilla shells without plastic wrapping).
The big change for me is going to come in the way of paper composting. I know paper can be recycled, but most recycling places claim they will not take paper with any food or waste on it. I can only assume everything gets lumped together and recycled, and if I put in a dirty napkin it will most likely be recycled, but I'm not 100% sure. I have been very good about keeping my napkins, receipts, and paper towels from restaurants/work and composting them. It's almost automatic now, to the occasional eye rolling of my wife. The way I see it, it takes very little effort to put the paper in my pocket instead of the trash. I understand that the paper will biodegrade in a landfill, but then what? It's still taking up space, its still not being reused, and its wasteful. I feel good knowing that all this paper is being converted into soil that will then be reused and help feed a plant to grow.
We did run into a little issue with the composting this month, however. Our apt got a bad case of the fruit flies. The bad: they are kind of a pain, and used to hang out by the sink. The good: it has turned into a nightly game of "lets see how many fruit flies I can suck up with the vacuum hose" and they really don't bother anything. But like I said, they are slowly going away (into the vacuum bag) and I have started to put more paper in the compost to help combat the situation.
Now on to April. I had a real hard time getting inspired by anything life changing to do this month. My brother in law suggested volunteering, and I flirted with the idea of going vegan, or giving up dairy and eggs, all I think are great ideas. As I was looking around for different volunteering ideas I came across a website that suggested varying ways to give back and help those who need it. I got really excited about doing something nice/helpful for people. I feel like its already a part of who I am. It's my job. After thinking about ways to make a change in myself, I realized that although I help people physically, my job has caused me to make quick assumptions.
Imagine having to listen to peoples pain stories all day long. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but people want to tell me EVERYTHING about their pain. And to be honest, 50% of the information they tell me I pay little attention to. I have to try to sort out their problem so I am constantly redirecting questions, politely cutting people off, in order to try and figure out their problem. Unfortunately, I find this type of behavior has started to take hold in my day to day life. I find myself listening to people tell me stories, and before they finish talking my brain starts making conclusions. I notice I am agreeing with what someone is saying before I even hear what they have to say...and it annoys me.
This month is more about me. Not my health, or the environment, but my attention to the things around me. I want to try to be more aware of the things around me that I can help. I want to start listening to people more, in hopes of finding out what ways I may be able help them with something. I want to be more aware of others when I am out in the community. I want to volunteer and hear peoples stories, I want to help local organizations who share the same ideals I believe in.
My goal for the month is to do "something" for someone everyday, and to volunteer every weekend. Seems easy. But I was a bit naive to think I could just turn the corner and be able to do something helpful. There have been days so far that have been successful, some days not so successful. I'll keep you posted on what I've been up to this month.
If you live in the lexington area, and have any volunteering ideas, send them my way.
The big change for me is going to come in the way of paper composting. I know paper can be recycled, but most recycling places claim they will not take paper with any food or waste on it. I can only assume everything gets lumped together and recycled, and if I put in a dirty napkin it will most likely be recycled, but I'm not 100% sure. I have been very good about keeping my napkins, receipts, and paper towels from restaurants/work and composting them. It's almost automatic now, to the occasional eye rolling of my wife. The way I see it, it takes very little effort to put the paper in my pocket instead of the trash. I understand that the paper will biodegrade in a landfill, but then what? It's still taking up space, its still not being reused, and its wasteful. I feel good knowing that all this paper is being converted into soil that will then be reused and help feed a plant to grow.
We did run into a little issue with the composting this month, however. Our apt got a bad case of the fruit flies. The bad: they are kind of a pain, and used to hang out by the sink. The good: it has turned into a nightly game of "lets see how many fruit flies I can suck up with the vacuum hose" and they really don't bother anything. But like I said, they are slowly going away (into the vacuum bag) and I have started to put more paper in the compost to help combat the situation.
Now on to April. I had a real hard time getting inspired by anything life changing to do this month. My brother in law suggested volunteering, and I flirted with the idea of going vegan, or giving up dairy and eggs, all I think are great ideas. As I was looking around for different volunteering ideas I came across a website that suggested varying ways to give back and help those who need it. I got really excited about doing something nice/helpful for people. I feel like its already a part of who I am. It's my job. After thinking about ways to make a change in myself, I realized that although I help people physically, my job has caused me to make quick assumptions.
Imagine having to listen to peoples pain stories all day long. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but people want to tell me EVERYTHING about their pain. And to be honest, 50% of the information they tell me I pay little attention to. I have to try to sort out their problem so I am constantly redirecting questions, politely cutting people off, in order to try and figure out their problem. Unfortunately, I find this type of behavior has started to take hold in my day to day life. I find myself listening to people tell me stories, and before they finish talking my brain starts making conclusions. I notice I am agreeing with what someone is saying before I even hear what they have to say...and it annoys me.
This month is more about me. Not my health, or the environment, but my attention to the things around me. I want to try to be more aware of the things around me that I can help. I want to start listening to people more, in hopes of finding out what ways I may be able help them with something. I want to be more aware of others when I am out in the community. I want to volunteer and hear peoples stories, I want to help local organizations who share the same ideals I believe in.
My goal for the month is to do "something" for someone everyday, and to volunteer every weekend. Seems easy. But I was a bit naive to think I could just turn the corner and be able to do something helpful. There have been days so far that have been successful, some days not so successful. I'll keep you posted on what I've been up to this month.
If you live in the lexington area, and have any volunteering ideas, send them my way.
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