The Onus of Owning

Some good stuff on downsizing going on in these minimalist, recession days.

The Uniform Project (super cool clothing experiment. Thanks to my sister Ruthie for letting me know about this when it started!)

Tiny Houses (as soon as I find a good plot of land!). Love this tiny house, too.

And of course, The New York Times is covering all of it.

I'm not the Times, but I think I have written a few times about my own ambivalence towards and feelings of being burdened by possessions. I hate them. I hate acquiring them, I hate living around them, and most of all, I hate schlepping them. Thankfully, because I've moved abodes and/or changed states at least every 12 months* for the past several 13 years, I have kept my number of large possessions to a minimum (damn you, sea green metal medical cabinet). And each time I move, I purge a little more.

Currently, my mega-burdens are paper, clothing, and toiletries. And interestingly, the burden part of the equation comes largely from all the acquisitions I made (or gifts I received) from childhood through college. Yes, I'm a recovering packrat, and with the luxury of a stable childhood home and my own bedroom, I have a lifetime's worth of toiletries, perfume, and hair styling products.

I'm working on scanning the paper into oblivion, and I've started shampooing with my hand soap and rubbing myself frequently with all the exfoliants, moisturizers, and healing oils, but I'm always going to want to be surrounded by clothes. It's not that I'm buying new attire--I just love digging through my existing collection.

I'm glad I have experience with living with a small wardrobe. From 2003-2004, I went on a self-induced clothing diet. I was living in Los Angeles with only the carry-on suitcase I'd flown there for the weekend with. I had a dress, 1 or 2 pairs of pants, 3 or 4 shirts, and a t-shirt and shorts for working out. Jewelry consisted of two rings. It was enough variety that I wasn't wearing the same thing every single day, but I remember the excitement and fulfillment I felt when I returned to North Carolina and had full access to my entire wardrobe. I am winnowing my clothing habits down in one important way, though--quality over quantity.

I get inspired by reminding myself that I want my own tiny little house some day. Or, of course, a vintage Airstream. Could it be that the real estate one aspires to guides their life choices? E.g., picket-fenced house leads to need of husband to fit in which leads to need to birth kids to fit in which leads to need for new washer/dryer to fit in which leads to need to send daughter to ballet to fit in which leads to...

*Exception: from 2005-2007, I stayed in the same apartment for 2 years straight!

Mercury Retrograde, How Nice to Make Your Acquaintance!

Though I believe in a lot of astrology, I only have knowledge about the sun signs and a little about our moon signs.

Today, however, I learned about Mercury Retrograde and that as of today, we are

officially out of this particular episode, which means decision-making and

life choices should come much more easily now!

Wowzers. I mean, really. With as much stock as I put into sun signs (hello, my precious Libras and my compatriot Leos), I would have expected me to have at least some basic familiarity with this concept. It wasn't until listening to a metaphysical radio station today, though, that my eyes were opened and my world was blown. In fact, prior to today, I kind of thought the phrase referred to an idea that when the weather cools down from a big heat wave, people become more level-headed. In such case, the "mercury" refers to that element found in thermometers. I blame a terrible student play I watched in college for this misunderstanding and delight that at my age, I am still carrying with me utterly incorrect comprehensions about commonplace phrases and facts.

The past few weeks have been one of great confusion, chaos, upheaval, and tumult for me, so it is most fascinating for me to discover that my life chaos coincided with the retrograde.

Below is an excerpt from a long discussion of what happens when Mercury retrogrades:

--

Because Mercury itself rules how we think, we will be adjusting everything related to thoughts, concepts, ideas, and communication, especially how technology and material elements play a part in the physical manifestation of ideas. When Mercury retrogrades, we find that many parts of our life are being revised. Often these revisions can be a surprise or throw us back a step. However, these revisions which occur during a Mercury retrograde, are a "course correction" and provide a stop gap measure until we can review situations. During this time of revision, change is compounded and confusion is created by our reactions to the ever-changing situations. Thus anything started during this time will ultimately be taken back or even revised

further, making for a high-frustration time. This will be especially true with changing our minds, reviewing new ideas and our communication being improved and honed so not to be mis-understood.

The best mode to be in during a Mercury retrograde is one of "non-reaction", and with earth signs being impacted, physical environment will be changing continually during a Mercury retrograde. Treat the time period as a time of gathering information, yet because the information will be in constant change it would be like trying to comb your hair in a wind storm. Best to wait until the changes stop before attempting to make things orderly. Therefore, just let the winds of situations blow around you without reacting. Once Mercury turns direct, take a look at the information that is still around at that time and go about putting everything in order, while maintaining

the fine art of flexibility.

--

So cool.

Body Composition Analysis

I just found an ancient body composition analysis that was performed on me one of the (many) times I joined The Spa in Chapel Hill.

Behold the results of the Futrex-5000 NIR Assessment:

Sex: Female
Current Weight: 124 lbs
Body Frame: Medium
Height: 62.0 inches
Exercise frequency: 4/5
Exercise intensity: 4/5
Exercise time: 4/5
Body Fat: 22.0% (trainer's handwritten note beside this says "Good")
Fat weight: 27 lbs
Lean (fat-free weight): 97 lbs
Total Body Water: 33.10 liters or 58.7%
Recommended Maximum Weight: Maintain Current Weight

Based on what I recall of the experience and the chronological history of my life, I'm estimating this analysis must have been conducted 9-12 years ago. Specifically, perhaps the Summer of 1998 (when I was working in Carolina Meadows?), possibly the Summer of 1999 (before and after I worked at the Framingham Heart Study), or possibly the Summer of 2001 while I bided my time between college and moving to NYC. It probably was not high school because I believe I always worked out at The Club for Women Only the whole duration of high school.

Happy Valentine's Day - I Love Me

It's amazing how therapeutic buying yourself a present can be. People often talk about buying themselves a present, but I wonder how many of those presents are actually presented in a meaningful way to the receiver, e.g., gift-wrapped with a sentimental card attached, when the receiver is yourself.

When I engage in the act of getting/making a gift for someone special, my mind is forced into a place of tenderness for the gift recipient. I try to think of gifts that will make the person feel utterly spoiled. N.B. "spoiled" does not have to equal expensive to me--I think that a gift that satisfies any overlooked desire or avoided indulgence can fit the bill (my gift recipients may beg to differ here :) ).

This Valentine's Day, I'm celebrating the genesis of love: myself.

[You know what they say--you can't love another until you love yourself. When you strengthen your own love, you strengthen your romantic love, which many of us unconsciously aim for due to the strong human pair-bonding instinct.]

Awesome High School Teacher - Food, Land, and You

Article from the NY Times. Omg, I should really get started on my nonprofit project.

Learning What Food Looks Like Before It Goes Into the Package

By HANNAH WALLACE

Published: February 5, 2010

About 20 high school students stood behind the butcher counter, staring at a 160-pound piece of meat from a recently slaughtered cow.

“All of our meat comes from local farms, and we get it all whole,” said Tom Mylan, 33, one of three butchers at the Meat Hook, a new butcher shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that buys its meat locally and prizes nose-to-tail eating. “We don’t just buy steaks or pork chops or whatever.”

“How much does the whole cow cost?” one boy in a white hoodie had asked moments before. Answer: about $3.25 a pound. “Do you slaughter here?” asked another. Short answer: no—most slaughterhouses are upstate. “What is chorizo?” asked a girl. Answer: a spicy Spanish sausage.

These curious students, all juniors and seniors at Automotive High School in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, are taking a class called “Food, Land, and You.” Introduced by Jenny Kessler, a teacher at the school, three years ago, this elective English course is a primer about food broadly defined — its social, political and economic aspects. While dozens of New York City public schools have edible gardens, or offer student-grown food on the cafeteria menu, Ms. Kessler’s class is unusual in the wider perspective it takes.

“Food justice is a huge issue,” Ms. Kessler, 31, said. “But we study and talk blatantly about it — who has access to this food and why.”

Ms. Kessler’s pupils study factory farming and corn subsidies, read articles by Michael Pollan and Wendell Berry and watch documentaries like “Food, Inc.,” a dark look at the nation’s industrialized food system. They also tend a 2,500-square-foot organic vegetable garden that borders their school, financing it with funds they raise and with support from the New York chapter of Slow Food U.S.A. In season, their plot teems with cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peas, red cabbage, spinach, tomatoes and many herbs. The teenagers can take the food home free, and they sell the rest at an after-school farm stand.

But the popularity of Ms. Kessler’s class — it is one of the most sought-after at the school, according to Mary Brouder, the principal — may be due to the frequent trips, like the one to the Meat Hook.

In the fall, for example, Ms. Kessler took her charges to the Queens County Farm Museum, where they collected eggs, worked with compost and helped clear garden beds. She also secured a stand for her students at the Union Square Greenmarket, where they ran cooking demonstrations, and she organized a volunteer stint for them at the Bowery Mission, where they made lunch for the homeless.

Twice a year, Ms. Kessler also takes her students to Hawthorne Valley Farm in Ghent, N.Y., where they make apple cider and apple pies from scratch, feed the pigs and sweep up cow manure. For many of these students, who hail from gritty neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York, that excursion marks their first visit to a farm.

Back at the Meat Hook, another butcher, Brent Young, 27, was displaying the tools of his trade.

“Ninety percent of our work is done with our knives, most importantly this five-inch European-style breaking knife,” Mr. Young said, pulling the tool out of his scabbard for all to see. He then pointed out the band saw (used for cutting through thick bones), the three-horsepower meat grinder (for sausages and ground beef) and a hand saw (for cutting through muscle and bone). When a student asked if there were ever any accidents, Mr. Mylan produced a chain-mail vest, which he said the butchers use “when we’re doing really serious work.”

“Sometimes,” he added, “the dense bone and hard muscle is not exactly where you thought it was and that knife will just come through and you can really hurt yourself.”

When it came time to sampling some raw meat — something these butchers do every day to ensure the meat is of high quality — the students hesitated.

“If it’s nasty, I’m not going to try it again,” said Denzel Conze, 18.

Ben Turley, 29, another of the Meat Hook butchers, cut a raw flatiron steak into thin slices, sprinkling each with some salt.

“It tastes like salty gummy bears,” Jamie Colon, 16, said after a bite of the meat.

Most of Ms. Kessler’s students live in “food deserts”—neighborhoods with lots of fast food but little fresh produce or other healthy fare. Automotive High School’s students are predominantly low income, too, with 75 percent of them qualifying for a free lunch, according to Ms. Brouder.

Though the students may not return to the Meat Hook to buy the homemade sausages ($10.99 a pound), or even the grass-fed beef ($6 a pound), that’s not really the point. “The purpose of going there is just for them to know it’s out there,” Ms. Kessler said. “It’s really hard to cement in their heads that there are other options to industrial food.”

New Leaf #1: Cooking

It's nice to get back into the swing of things in the kitchen. It's even nicer to get back to trying to make healthier, more delicious versions of old restaurant staples. Behold, Palak Tofu.

Palak and saag paneer are my Indian comfort foods, yet even when I had the time, I put off making it because I'd heard rumors that a food processor was involved. The horror! Cooking for me is an organic, funky, sensory affair rather than a high-speed, motorized clean-hand endeavor that gets the job done with the touch of a button.

I've been experimenting with protein shakes daily as of late, which has put me in frequent contact with my mini food processor. Since it was already out, I decided I might as well throw some spinach into it and make my favorite dish once and for all. Once I got into the thick of things, though, I realized processing was unnecessary for my purposes--I always prefer the chunkier versions. The result: a solid B+! Needed more garlic.

A new old leaf

It's a new decade, for both me and the Gregorian calendar. Whether it be developmental, chronological, or sheer serendipity, a new leaf has most certainly been overturned at this stage of my life cycle. I've freed myself of the capitalist prison where so many evolved thoughts, vivid dreams, and loud laughs have no place to flourish. The proletariat is just no place for someone who has no respect for the bourgeoisie.

Regrets are for the weak, which I can be sometimes. I regret that my internal fearmaster told me that I have to enter a capitalist prison in order to be able to disclaim it, my intuitive knowledge being insufficient to justify my disparagement of such things. I can see the logic (how many stalks of empty bamboo can one person be, lol?!), but it's been a grueling and painful ride indeed.

Whew. Thank goodness for new leaves.