Several things to hooray about lately

1) I'm boating in Canada for a month beginning Saturday and will have 250+ hours for novel writing and jewelry making. I finally put my 180+ novel scenes on a storyboard (or two).

2) My jewelry site is finally updated and complete. The site is at http://www.fiorejewelrydesigns.com.

3) I've officially been accepted to the CELTA program in San Francisco (a certificate to teach English), which I'll do in Seattle for a few years before heading off to Buddha knows where.

4) Since I'm not going to Bainbridge Graduate Institute for the Certificate in Sustainable Business program, I'm able to continue going to my Wednesday night sangha at a beautiful yurt on Bainbridge Island.

And one Boooo...

I'm going to miss the hell out of my babies for the two months I'm gone :( I'm going to give them a complex, I leave them so much!

Yes, I'm nearly 36 and have a Pooh Bear bedsheet cover for fur purposes. I've gotten quite a bit of use out of the $3 thing the last 10 years.

the scoop on recyclable poop

I've been too busy to comment much, but I attended an amazing discussion at Town Hall last night (I used to go to so many events there, they should've charged me rent) -- it was the third and last installment of a sustainability series: Exploring Energy and Design: Smart Solutions. Jason McLennan of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council and Alan Durning of Sightline Institute (and 1999's "Green Collar Jobs" book fame) spoke to a packed house high on free wine, veggies, fattening cheese and hummus (all composted afterwards, of course). I'm really inspired by the design innovations that the LEED system is fostering (learn about Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design at the U.S. Green Building Council site). Who knew our own Islandwood's toilets were a closed-circuit Living Machine system: toilet --> pipes --> multi-level plant and rock/sand system that feeds off and cleans the sewage --> clean (enough) water --> more pipes --> toilet. No water bill. EVER. I was actually at this greenhouse last month. Smelled like -- well, a greenhouse. Impressive, considering I can smell the cat litterbox at 50 paces even when there's nothing in it. This coming Thursday there's a noon rally in support of Obama's climate change plan at Bell Harbor International Conference Center. And Friday begins the Northwest Folklife Festival, my most favoritest event of the year. What a week!

your $$$ or your life

I've been poking around looking at our national debt. We need to switch the terms "astronomical numbers" and "economical numbers," as the latter have clearly eclipsed (no pun intended) the former. What ever would we do if Japan and China closed their purses? What would the USA's credit rating be -- is it possible to have a negative score? And yet...

So much for the 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The same companies that are under the gun now -- manufacturing, steel, etc -- are the ones that would be creamed by the reductions, which is a tough call. I understand the point -- it's pricey -- but so are 20 years of mammograms. However, I'd rather lose $4,000 getting my girls repeatedly squished in a machine over the next two decades than lose $800,000, my breasts, and possibly my life because I didn't think long-term. Poor Obama -- he could've done so much if we weren't in a near-depression.

Hooray for everything and all that

I'm full of the happy today -- I had my Monday night two-hour meditation session on the island with 16 other folks, plus I applied for my 1st business license this afternoon -- to sell my jewelry! I'm going to get business cards, a bust to photograph my stuff on, and set up a website on my main website for the time being. I'm tired of people telling me I should be selling stuff -- I should just start doing it. Tomorrow I'm seeing Star Trek again (I know, I know) and Wednesday I'm attending Exploring Energy and Design: Smart Solutions at the Town Hall in Seattle. And in a few weeks, Northwest Folklife Festival is coming -- my favorite event of the year. Right now I'm watching Pi, a fascinating 1997 film about numbers, the meaning of the universe, and boring a hole in your head with an electronimical tool.

sprinkled double-scoop of NERD

In a semi-rare extravaganza of science-related geekery, I attended a lecture by a U. Washington PhD astronomy / cosmology student (that's not astrology / cosmetology) on dark matter and the premiere night of Star Trek -- which I had only heard of the previous week. It got a 96% "fresh" rating on www.rottentomatoes.com, which is about 60% better than the other films on the island were rated, so off I went. I'd never see films if it weren't for Netflix and Rotten Tomatoes. Great film! Funny, adventurous, and plenty of eye candy. I may be "out of my Vulcan mind," but I might see it again soon, as I missed about 13% of the plot and had a hard time distinguishing the Russian accent guy from the Scottish accent guy.

Given that my previous Star Trek knowledge was limited to the tribble episode and several spoofs on shows like The Simpsons and Futurama, I missed some of the jokes and plot significance, but whatever. Blinky lights, witty repartee, and cute 20-somethings in uniform smoothed over the gaps quite nicely. Instead of the 60-something audience I usually encounter in my church, Buddhist, book club, or other outings on Bainbridge Island, the audience was a bunch of young guys (shocking!), though not the markedly socially / cosmetologically inept set you'd expect. I guess the old farts I usually hang with have grandkids on the island.

In other news, I'm completely overwhelmed by recently acquired books again (is there a 12-step program for this kind of thing?). A ton of environmental stuff. I'd comment on it, but it's a gorgeous day out, and in the Seattle area, that warrants spending no more than 10 minutes inside. Live long and prosper...

Dairy Go-Round

I've been poking around the last week or two trying to find places to buy cruelty-free dairy -- eggs and cheese from farms where the animals not only aren't pumped full of virulent post-apocalyptic chemicals, but also aren't tortured, de-beaked, or stuffed into pens the size of pot holders. I found a few Washington farms, and this article in the now-defunct Seattle P.I. about Whistling Train Farm in Kent, WA. I didn't know they had a Starbucks in the industrial grossplex of Kent, let alone a humane farm. Apologies to Kentonians.

If you want to find other humane farms, there are a bunch of WA farms listed on the Pacific Northwest Cheese website if you scroll down and look at the left. The prices are pretty steep -- and a lot of them are goat cheese rather than the quesadilla-friendly cheddar variety -- but it's certainly better than "sheese," the non-dairy substitute from Scotland, which is like drinking non-alcoholic wine (just have a soda). However, if you can stomach the stuff, good for you. If you can't, check out the standards for "certified humane" at the Humane Farm Animal Care site and find out how the brands / stores you use measure up.

in spite of facebook...

i've decided to resuscitate my blog -- mostly because i'm reviving and updating my website, but don't want to redo all of the graphics, and removing the Blog menu image would require that. besides, i'm pretty busy lately and excited about what i'm up to / full of opinions, so if i post it here, it means i won't have to bore you about it in person.