Today I want to say a few words about friendship. I've spent a considerable amount of time lately thinking about my friends and really taking a look at the different types of relationships I have with them. While I haven't come up with anything truly profound to say about friendship, I must say I am amazed at the diversity of the relationships I have with friends.
Some of my friendships began when I was four or five. I managed to make friends in kindergarten that have stuck with me throughout the rest of my life. Those friendships have stood the test of time and I know I will never lose them. I have other friendships that began in middle school or high school. I am just as close to many of these friends because we helped one another as we blossomed from awkward, self-conscience children into adulthood. Some of these friendships have been tried and tested through distance. When someone moved away or we all went off to college, the weaker of the friendships slipped through the cracks. Others lasted. Some of those took more effort than others; with some, letters, emails, and phone calls kept us in touch regularly. With others, we may not have heard from one another in months but a holiday gathering proved that our love for one another was still strong and in no danger.
Methods for making new friends tend to shift with age. Once you are out of school it isn't as easy to find friends whose lifestyles and ideals mesh with yours. For this reason, I appreciate the friendships I have made as an adult just as much as the ones I have had for 4/5 of my life. Although I gained many of these friends less than a year ago we are already bosom friends (see Ann of Green Gables).
Some friends are best for having a good time, others are best for a serious talk, some are the best at comforting my woes; with some I reminisce about the past and with others I conjecture about the future. I cherish each one of these friendships and appreciate their diversity.
Since we've now moved to a city where our nearest friend is an hour away, I have to face the facts that I might need some additional friends at a closer proximity. I have had a bit of a bad attitude about this situation--I don't want to make new friends because I am perfectly happy with the friends I have. I also don't want to be comparing any new friends to the lofty friend standards I have set based on my current far-away friends. As I try to open my mind and heart and ready myself for embracing new people this song from elementary school continues to ring through my head:
Make new friends
And keep the old
One is silver and the other gold
A circle is round
It has no end
That's how long I want to be your friend
The things you learn at a young age have a funny way of being relavent and meaningful later in life.
Alright new friends, I'm as ready as I'll ever be!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
The Fishes of the Sea
Yesterday we took a little day trip to the fair country of Canada. After a two hour drive and a twenty minute wait we crossed the border and headed toward Vancouver. Our final destination was the Vancouver Aquarium (VanAqua). I consider myself a bit of an aquarium connoisseur but you can only go to the Newport Aquarium so many times before you need a change of scenery.
I am very fond of ocean-related things. I love to whales, water, sand, tidepools, kelp (the forests of the sea), and jellyfish. I get a kick out of imagining the ocean teeming with life, with schools of fish swimming around, whales traveling along the coast, crustaceans scuttling among the coral. Ahh, in my imagination all of the fish and sea mammals are smiling and happy. Unfortunately, the ocean is polluted, overfished, and dreary in many places. Whale populations are still trying to rebound from the dwindling numbers they reached during the hight of whaling. Some countries (ahem, Japan) continue whaling practices. People around the world enjoy eating seafood. There are many human health benefits that encourage the practice of seafood consumption. Sadly, much of the fish that is used for consumption is fished in a manner that is detrimental not only to fish populations but to the seafloor environment. The trawlers used by fishermen often scrape the seafloor ripping up kelp (essential to healthy ocean ecosystem function) and breaking coral (critical and endangered ocean habitat). Additionally, most fishing companies fish for a specific fish species. Their nets are unable to differentiate between the fish they are trying to catch and the fish they aren't (obviously). When they catch the "undesireable" fish they do not immediately throw them back. The fish die and are not used at all.
The phrase "there are plenty of fish in the sea" is slowly becoming a very inaccurate one. Sure there are a lot of fish left in the sea, but compared to the healthy levels that existed several decades ago, what is left looks mighty pitiful. So, the question to be asked here is not whether or not there will be enough fish left to feed this globe's ever booming population, but whether or not we can help the ocean ecosystem regain and maintain healthy function. Sea creatures depend on one another for survival--each species of fish or mammal eats the one smaller than it, many depend on kelp forests, coral, or iceburgs for shelter and protection, and all sea plants and animals (including sea birds) need clean water that is oil and garbage free.
Since fish populations are dwindling and most fisheries' practices are unsustainable I have decided not to eat seafood. This decision was influenced by other factors as well, such as the high levels of mercury that bioaccumulates in fish (particularly large fish) and the fact that the taste of fish is not particularly enjoyable to me. I made this decision a long time ago and have stuck to it. Fortunately for others who would still like to eat fish, sustainable fisheries are becoming more and more common! These fisheries do not "take" more fish from a population than is safe, closely monitor fish populations, use energy efficiently, and do not trawl the ocean floor. There are programs such as Ocean Wise that help consumers make sustainable seafood choices.
We were able to see some of the ocean's amazing creatures, as well as those that live in the Amazon Rainforest's rivers and banks at Vanaqua yesterday. Hooray!
There was an open area with amazing birds such as these Macaws, butterflies, and even a sloth!
There were all kinds of fish: tropical, pacific, freshwater, saltwater. The diversity down there is incredible.
There was no short supply of ocean mammals at the aquarium. We saw three beluga whales, three dolphins, three seals, two sea lions, and two otters!
There was also a cool exhibit where you could see jellyfish at every stage of jellyfish life, as well as one with about a1000 baby octopuses (octopi?). Great aquarium overall, and to think, we went to Canada and back for a day trip!
As a side note, one of my favorite photographers/environmental artists Chris Jordan did a set of work entitled Midway. He traveled to Midway island to expose the tragedy happening to the enormous albatross population that lives there. These photos are revealing, gut-wrenching, honest, and not for the faint of heart. I encourage all who care to learn about the plight these birds are in and why.
I am very fond of ocean-related things. I love to whales, water, sand, tidepools, kelp (the forests of the sea), and jellyfish. I get a kick out of imagining the ocean teeming with life, with schools of fish swimming around, whales traveling along the coast, crustaceans scuttling among the coral. Ahh, in my imagination all of the fish and sea mammals are smiling and happy. Unfortunately, the ocean is polluted, overfished, and dreary in many places. Whale populations are still trying to rebound from the dwindling numbers they reached during the hight of whaling. Some countries (ahem, Japan) continue whaling practices. People around the world enjoy eating seafood. There are many human health benefits that encourage the practice of seafood consumption. Sadly, much of the fish that is used for consumption is fished in a manner that is detrimental not only to fish populations but to the seafloor environment. The trawlers used by fishermen often scrape the seafloor ripping up kelp (essential to healthy ocean ecosystem function) and breaking coral (critical and endangered ocean habitat). Additionally, most fishing companies fish for a specific fish species. Their nets are unable to differentiate between the fish they are trying to catch and the fish they aren't (obviously). When they catch the "undesireable" fish they do not immediately throw them back. The fish die and are not used at all.
The phrase "there are plenty of fish in the sea" is slowly becoming a very inaccurate one. Sure there are a lot of fish left in the sea, but compared to the healthy levels that existed several decades ago, what is left looks mighty pitiful. So, the question to be asked here is not whether or not there will be enough fish left to feed this globe's ever booming population, but whether or not we can help the ocean ecosystem regain and maintain healthy function. Sea creatures depend on one another for survival--each species of fish or mammal eats the one smaller than it, many depend on kelp forests, coral, or iceburgs for shelter and protection, and all sea plants and animals (including sea birds) need clean water that is oil and garbage free.
Since fish populations are dwindling and most fisheries' practices are unsustainable I have decided not to eat seafood. This decision was influenced by other factors as well, such as the high levels of mercury that bioaccumulates in fish (particularly large fish) and the fact that the taste of fish is not particularly enjoyable to me. I made this decision a long time ago and have stuck to it. Fortunately for others who would still like to eat fish, sustainable fisheries are becoming more and more common! These fisheries do not "take" more fish from a population than is safe, closely monitor fish populations, use energy efficiently, and do not trawl the ocean floor. There are programs such as Ocean Wise that help consumers make sustainable seafood choices.
We were able to see some of the ocean's amazing creatures, as well as those that live in the Amazon Rainforest's rivers and banks at Vanaqua yesterday. Hooray!
There was an open area with amazing birds such as these Macaws, butterflies, and even a sloth!
There were all kinds of fish: tropical, pacific, freshwater, saltwater. The diversity down there is incredible.
There was no short supply of ocean mammals at the aquarium. We saw three beluga whales, three dolphins, three seals, two sea lions, and two otters!
There was also a cool exhibit where you could see jellyfish at every stage of jellyfish life, as well as one with about a1000 baby octopuses (octopi?). Great aquarium overall, and to think, we went to Canada and back for a day trip!
As a side note, one of my favorite photographers/environmental artists Chris Jordan did a set of work entitled Midway. He traveled to Midway island to expose the tragedy happening to the enormous albatross population that lives there. These photos are revealing, gut-wrenching, honest, and not for the faint of heart. I encourage all who care to learn about the plight these birds are in and why.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Eugenians Posing as Seattlites
Well, we made it. All three of us (I count Lucy dog as a person) are here, all of our stuff is here, and nothing was broken. Our apartment is really cool, we have great landlords upstairs, I am composting and gardening, and things are good. I feel extremely blessed that we found somewhere to live that is just right for us; I am grateful that at all of the other places we looked I listened to the Spirit and my gut and decided they weren't right for us. Our neighbors are friendly, and on one side they have chickens. They let me collect the eggs when I see them, which makes me feel like I'm on a farm. I like farms. If I walk for 10 minutes up the hill I can see the space needle. If I walk for 20 minutes down the hill I am at a little harbor called "Fisherman's Terminal." If I cross the train tracks and go over a different hill I can get to Queen Anne Ave., which has lots of adorable shops and trendy food that are fun to visit, although we could never afford them.
The only things that are lacking are jobs. I've applied for several with no luck yet; I'm trying to remain hopeful. For the most part I am surprised at my good attitude since we've been here. There have been a couple of short bursts of mopiness, seemingly triggered by nothing at all, but I've worked through them. I pictred myself lying around and crying all day, so I'm pleased that I haven't done that yet. It helps that I know a lot of my friends are out of town right now, so I can just pretend like I'm out of town too, however that little game will stop shortly. I can't quite rid myself of the jealousy I feel when I think of all of my Eugene friends hanging out together without us or all of the dinner parties and trips to the $1.50 theater I'm missing. I hold on to the fact that we moved to a cool city, so people will surely want to come visit us.
Although Eugene is far away, I'm glad that I can still watch my Ducks play every week on TV. It isn't the same as being there, but I can still wear my LaMichael James jersey and yell and scream. We did go out for lunch in our Duck gear last Saturday and were a bit frightened to be surrounded by purple and gold. Someone probably spit in our food.
The only things that are lacking are jobs. I've applied for several with no luck yet; I'm trying to remain hopeful. For the most part I am surprised at my good attitude since we've been here. There have been a couple of short bursts of mopiness, seemingly triggered by nothing at all, but I've worked through them. I pictred myself lying around and crying all day, so I'm pleased that I haven't done that yet. It helps that I know a lot of my friends are out of town right now, so I can just pretend like I'm out of town too, however that little game will stop shortly. I can't quite rid myself of the jealousy I feel when I think of all of my Eugene friends hanging out together without us or all of the dinner parties and trips to the $1.50 theater I'm missing. I hold on to the fact that we moved to a cool city, so people will surely want to come visit us.
Although Eugene is far away, I'm glad that I can still watch my Ducks play every week on TV. It isn't the same as being there, but I can still wear my LaMichael James jersey and yell and scream. We did go out for lunch in our Duck gear last Saturday and were a bit frightened to be surrounded by purple and gold. Someone probably spit in our food.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Feminism is not the only worthwhile "ism"
We finally found an apartment in Seattle and will be moving on Friday. Friday--as in the day after tomorrow. Yikes! I am so grateful that we were able to find a place that we like and that feels safe. We are having to downsize our amount of stuff quite a bit but I hink we'll manage. I am also feeling especially thankful for the prayer and fasting efforts of our friends and family. They all have plenty of things that they could have fasted for the past 2 fast Sundays, but they chose us.
Now that I've relayed that update, I'll move on to something that has been bugging me as of late. I have a lot of close friends that are feminists. We aren't just talking about people that, if asked to choose between a) I am a feminist or b) I am not a feminist, would choose a. We are talking about people that, if asked to choose five descriptors for themselves, would probably list "feminist" as one of them. I love these people, obviously, that's why they're my friends. However, sometimes my particular brand of "ism"--ENVIRONMENTALISM feels a bit shoved to the side and sometimes scoffed at by these feminist friends.
I am a feminist too. In fact, my four years of study has left me surprisingly well rounded. As an environmental studies major I learned all about the inside and outside layers of our planet. I learned about the diverse ecosystems that sit upon it. I learned about weather patterns and global climate change. I learned about Earth's history and the history of the creatures that lived/live upon it. I learned how to be and how to teach other people to be stewards of the earth. All this is to be expected from someone with and ENVS degree, however what I think many people fail to realize is that the most important things I learned in school are about humankind's relationship to the earth.
I took classes about gender and how gender issues and environment issues are related. I learned about poverty and wealth here, in Europe, in Asia, and in third world countries and how either poverty or wealth can effect one's relationship to the earth. I learned about Native Americans and their relationship to nature. I spent two years studying different religious and spiritual beliefs and how they can effect environmental beliefs. I learned about politics, sociology, and countless other topics as well.
A common theme that was woven throughout my studies was that of inequality and oppression. The majority of humankind has oppressed all of God's other creations. We have polluted the streams, oceans, air, and soil. We have chopped down forests, mined mountains, and caused inumerable species to become extinct. God gave all of creation the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth. Our job, as humans, was to oversee the fullfillment of this commandment--not thwart it at every turn. Why do we oppress nature? We oppress nature because we view ourselves as far greater than it. We are more important and God loves us more. Wrong. All living things, even ants and flowers, have spirits. They were made spiritually before they were created physically, and are therefore our brothers and sisters. These forms of inequality and oppression are on a very large scale--they can be found in different levels almost worldwide.
After that longwinded speech I will now get to my point. As an environmentalist, I am aware of and sympathetic to many kinds of oppression and inequality. Many types of oppression and inequality can be tied to issues of environmental justice. For example, locations for nuclear waste storage are often chosen on Native American sites. Additionally, our great and glorious country pays third world countries to dump all of our garbage on them. And, over and over, parallels can be drawn between how women have been treated and how the earth has been treated throughout the history of Western civilzation. Why then do so many feminists care so little about the oppression of nature? They seek equality with the men of our species, but do they realize that while seeking freedom from inequality they continue to oppress God's other precious souls? Our eyes are so focused at reaching up toward what we want, when will we look down and see who we have trampled on our path?
Rant, rant, rant. That was my airing of grievances for today. Thanks for tuning in, until next time.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
A Mish-mash
I began this blog with a rant. I had originally intended for this blog to be a place for me to go on little rants about the things that puzzle or bother me in life. However, after that rant, I didn't have anything that I felt like ranting about (in public) for a while so the whole thing fell by the wayside. After two months of contemplation I decided that this needs to just be a blog where I can rant if I want to, or express whatever overflow of emotion I'm having or even write about food. It's a mish-mash blog.
Thus being said, today I am feeling miserable and overwhelmed. I understand that miserable is a loaded term and that I've always been one for hyperboles, but that's how I'm feeling in Laurenland. We are moving to Seattle. We have to move there sometime between tomorrow and next Thursday. The imminence of this move has hovered over us for many months and it is finally here. Seattle is a beautiful city, don't get me wrong. I'm so glad we are moving there instead of somewhere less aesthetically pleasing like LA or Utah. Seattle is also REALLY expensive. Hubby and I have made three trips to Seattle in the past month and have yet to find anywhere to live. Our two main problems are 1) everywhere wants to charge (at the minimum) $900 to live in a one bedroom apartment 2) we haven't found jobs there yet and nobody will rent to us until we have definite income for when we get there. The major issue with these two problems is that it's really hard to find work in a city in which you do not live and have no connections. We have to be out of our current apartment in 12 days.
What's worse about this whole situation is that I was dreading moving even before all of these problems arose. I am a very social creature and am scared to death to be moving to a city where I have no friends or family. I am SO tired of hearing "everything will work out, you'll be fine," and "you'll make friends when you get there!" Here's the thing: I had a group of amazing friends in high school. I love those friends and have stayed very close to many of them. Unfortunately, after high school we were scattered to the four winds to go to our respective universities. In Eugene I had to make new friends, it took me three years to find them, but I have them now and I LOVE them. The thought of having to make more new friends sounds exhausting and frankly, I just don't want to. Why should I have to get new friends? I like the friends I have now, that's why they're my friends! Even if I made new friends, I would always be comparing them to my Eugene friends (which I will always love better). Additionally, I have this immature fear that when we move my friends will replace me. They will make new friends that they will do all of the same stuff with and have more fun with and like better. When I think about it rationally I know that this is probably not true but I can't convince my irrational, weeping heart to feel that way. I'm jealous that all of my friends get to keep being near each other and doing friends stuff. I want to do friends stuff too! I also don't want to hear "Seattle is not that far away," It's not that far in the grand scheme of things but it is far enough. Far enough to put a serious damper on our quadruple-weekly meals together.
Lastly, I love my Ducks. I am a person who doesn't particularly care to watch sports. However, since I moved to Eugene four years ago, my love for my football team has grown immensely. I am very invested in how the do (which is funny to think about--why be so invested in something that I have no control over?) and I will desperately miss the sense of community that exists on game days in Eugene. Ever since January's National Championship I have been waiting and waiting for football season to begin again. It is something I can look forward to almost every week for all of autumn. Today was the Ducks first preseason game against LSU. It was a horrible game. We had 4 turnovers, hideous mistakes, bad calls, and inumerable penalties. What the freak? We lost 33-20 and it was mostly our own fault. As Chip Kelly said, we were "shooting ourselves in the foot" over and over and over. I was really hoping for the little pick-me-up this game would give me and I didn't get it. Boo.
Over and out.
Thus being said, today I am feeling miserable and overwhelmed. I understand that miserable is a loaded term and that I've always been one for hyperboles, but that's how I'm feeling in Laurenland. We are moving to Seattle. We have to move there sometime between tomorrow and next Thursday. The imminence of this move has hovered over us for many months and it is finally here. Seattle is a beautiful city, don't get me wrong. I'm so glad we are moving there instead of somewhere less aesthetically pleasing like LA or Utah. Seattle is also REALLY expensive. Hubby and I have made three trips to Seattle in the past month and have yet to find anywhere to live. Our two main problems are 1) everywhere wants to charge (at the minimum) $900 to live in a one bedroom apartment 2) we haven't found jobs there yet and nobody will rent to us until we have definite income for when we get there. The major issue with these two problems is that it's really hard to find work in a city in which you do not live and have no connections. We have to be out of our current apartment in 12 days.
What's worse about this whole situation is that I was dreading moving even before all of these problems arose. I am a very social creature and am scared to death to be moving to a city where I have no friends or family. I am SO tired of hearing "everything will work out, you'll be fine," and "you'll make friends when you get there!" Here's the thing: I had a group of amazing friends in high school. I love those friends and have stayed very close to many of them. Unfortunately, after high school we were scattered to the four winds to go to our respective universities. In Eugene I had to make new friends, it took me three years to find them, but I have them now and I LOVE them. The thought of having to make more new friends sounds exhausting and frankly, I just don't want to. Why should I have to get new friends? I like the friends I have now, that's why they're my friends! Even if I made new friends, I would always be comparing them to my Eugene friends (which I will always love better). Additionally, I have this immature fear that when we move my friends will replace me. They will make new friends that they will do all of the same stuff with and have more fun with and like better. When I think about it rationally I know that this is probably not true but I can't convince my irrational, weeping heart to feel that way. I'm jealous that all of my friends get to keep being near each other and doing friends stuff. I want to do friends stuff too! I also don't want to hear "Seattle is not that far away," It's not that far in the grand scheme of things but it is far enough. Far enough to put a serious damper on our quadruple-weekly meals together.
Lastly, I love my Ducks. I am a person who doesn't particularly care to watch sports. However, since I moved to Eugene four years ago, my love for my football team has grown immensely. I am very invested in how the do (which is funny to think about--why be so invested in something that I have no control over?) and I will desperately miss the sense of community that exists on game days in Eugene. Ever since January's National Championship I have been waiting and waiting for football season to begin again. It is something I can look forward to almost every week for all of autumn. Today was the Ducks first preseason game against LSU. It was a horrible game. We had 4 turnovers, hideous mistakes, bad calls, and inumerable penalties. What the freak? We lost 33-20 and it was mostly our own fault. As Chip Kelly said, we were "shooting ourselves in the foot" over and over and over. I was really hoping for the little pick-me-up this game would give me and I didn't get it. Boo.
Over and out.
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