Happy Monday! [100]

Generosity and friendship: thoughts on Sandy [98, 99]

So this post was supposed to go up weeks ago, but it somehow never made it. But the message still holds true, so here it is:

As Sandy continued on her way, still reeking havoc the week after Halloween, I was thankful that my area was pretty unaffected. Lots of schools got canceled and offices were shut down on Monday and even into Tuesday, but the damage was minimal compared to other states. When we were hunkered down at home the day of the hurricane, my roommate parked her car in the front yard, as far away from the trees that surround our house as possible. We did end up losing power, but only for a couple hours, in which we reconnected with our old fashioned sides by knitting and reading by candlelight. While we went the candle route, the vet school was closed to students but the vet hospital was open and running on backup generators. On Tuesday, campus was still relying on the generators, so classes were confined to the few buildings with power.

Now it's time to repair and rebuild and seeing pictures of the damage has been utterly overwhelming. Everyone wanted and still wants to help, but where to start? I've found it easiest to start with my friends. Effects from Hurricane Sandy (being nicknamed Frankenstorm) were (are) being felt all the way to the Great Lakes, so chances are, you know somebody affected by the storm, if that someone isn't you. For me, it's of course a lot of people because not only was it me in a tiny way, I have friends from Massachusetts down to New Jersey and every state in between. But, highest on the list and first on my mind was my classmate, friend, and the woman my whole class has kind of nicknamed "mom": Terri. While she's living up here, her husband is back in New York City with one of her dogs and he got stranded above his shop in the city once the flooding started. His car is wrecked and his shop was under four feet of water. My class is a mixed bag of people but quite a few of us have perfected the poor college student lifestyle, so money-wise we have very little to offer for support. And, anyway, in the days after the storm it was too early for us to really know what kind of help Terri and her husband needed. BUT, turns out we've got pretty big hearts because we all chipped in a little bit of money for something that we could do, which is a gift card for Terri and her husband to pay for anything they need or want. So far, it's been used to buy Terri's puppy a new harness and leash set to replace the one covered in toxic gunk during the storm. 

 

"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. 

I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not in my nature."

Jane Austin, Northanger Abbey 

To each their own and do what you can [97]

I'm on a mission to remotivate myself. I'm naturally a downer: cranky, nervous, glass half-empty. But I want to see the silver lining, the good parts, the glass half full. So I'm off on a little internet adventure in search of some of the biggest "change the world" attempts. Up first: Miranda Gibson and The Observer Tree. This girl's been up on a platform, in a 400 year old tree, 200 feet above the ground, in the middle of Tasmania's southern forest since December 14th, 2011, hoping to bring enough attention to the conflict between conservationists and loggers over the forest to bring about Earth-friendly solutions. Disclaimer: of course not everything she says may be 100% true, a lot of it is emotionally-charged, and there may be some truth to claims that she hasn't actually been up there 24/7 all 300 whatever days as she claims. But can we at least take the general message that she's trying to convey? Specifically, save the environment, in general: do the impossible for the things you believe in.

Muir Woods in CA (not the Tasmanian forest, but same idea)

Civil liberties and civic duty [96]

It's November 6th, get out and VOTE! It doesn't matter if you're an elephant or donkey or as free as a bird 

(sorry, had to get the animal references in... I am getting a Masters in Animals [and Public Policy] after all), 

the future depends partially on the people in power, so get your bum over to the voting booths!

Food festing part deux [95]

At the local food festival from the last post I heard about another food fest, the Vegetarian Food Festival, that would be going on a couple weekends later, and this one was supposed to have a lot more free food than the local one did. Needless to say, I was sold. Veggie and free? I'm there. So, this past Saturday a couple friends and I trundled over to Boston to experience the wonderfulness that was Veggie Fest. I was sad to find that it wasn't quite as wonderful as the local fest in the sense of setting and space. It was inside, it was hot, and it was crowded. But, I am happy to report that on the food front it was delicious! We made several trips around the room, once clockwise, another time counterclockwise, and possibly even a third time weaving back and forth. And there was free food everywhere, just as promised. Veggie sausages and fake chicken, coconut milk ice cream, daiya vegan cheese, peanut butter, hummus and pretzels, Indian food and African food and Thai food. There were also tables piled high with cookbooks and veggie fest shirts. And then, in the back corner, hidden by a never-ending line was the most delicious finding of all: a table full of yummy yummy sweet treats. Cupcakes and donuts and tiny slices of cake. There was chocolate and pumpkin and some were Halloween-themed and some were not. And even though this was one of the few stands where you had to pay for the food, it was totally worth it. Pumpkin creme donut? Om nom nom!

I'm really starting to fall in love with this city xx