DNC!

I am going to the Obama acceptance speech at Invesco Field in Denver tomorrow. I got my grubby hands on two of those coveted community credentials because I have all the right connections (none of which can get me a job, but that's a different issue). And I am ridiculously excited.

It's not what you know, and I know Katie.

Seriously, a Band-Aid?

I ripped this off from my sister, but seriously? Band-Aids as a real, honest-to-god fashion accessory? In the world of U.S. high fashion, this is the next hot accessory/jewelry. I tell no lies, and they MUST be coordinated with your outfit and handbag. Even if you're a dude.

And I thought my engagement ring was pretty...should have asked for an engagement Band-Aid. THEN I'd be soooo cool.

Ever been a renter?

Then this should speak to you:


toothpastefordinner.com

Sneaky

My mom was in New York last week for a merchandise show, as she is twice a year. She likes to catch Broadway shows when she can, and if she can get a good deal on tickets, when she's in the Big Apple. A few years ago, she saw The Producers with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick for $100, a ticket that she scalped from some guy on the street (and she refused to pay more than face value, thank you very much). Last week, she went to check out Wicked, and found that tickets were $250 and up. So, she decided not to go. What she did do, however, was sneak into Mamma Mia. Not her first choice, but the theater was easier to sneak into. When the ushers busted her, and she admitted to not having a ticket, they escorted her to a seat where she watched the end of the first act and all of the second. I guess when there's a well-dressed 62-year-old lady sneaking in, you can't do much else, can you?

Gadget irony

I was reading this article about iPhones and other tech gadgets in classes, distracting students. While I am sitting in class. Surfing the internet on my laptop with wireless internet. Then, the irony of it struck me but also the inevitability.

Professors, it's inevitable. We cannot pay attention for more than 5 minutes, and if you're just gonna ramble on up there (for three and a half hours, in the case of this class), yes, we are going to take advantage of all that Steve Jobs and his cronies have given us.

No "poo"

Since I totally lack the ability to come up with my own subject matter, here is another post that I have ripped off from another blogger. At least I know Miss Grace personally.

A little while back, Miss Grace posted a link (here's Grace's post) about going shampoo-free, and as soon as I read it I was convinced. I have to admit that I avoid regular dish soapi and laundry detergent (with phosphates and so on) like the plague, but failed to think about the horribleness that is shampoo. So, I almost immediately went "no-poo" (almost because I was out of baking soda and had to trek to the store for some). I am so pleased! My hair feels perfectly clean, and I love not using shampoo (not least of all because I use the expensive kind, and it's, well, expensive). Baking soda works remarkably well, and I can't wait to try all the fun other stuff I can add, like chamomile and lavender.

On a side note, Rex is going "poo-free" with me, and I put the baking soda mix in a green shampoo bottle. Remembering that it was in the green bottle, he washed his hair with a large amount of Clinique face wash (I know, I need to get off that too. Any suggestions?). He didn't like it as well as the baking soda.

Every day I get a little more "hippie," and every day I love it more. My food is more expensive, but most other stuff is cheaper (like baking soda, tupperware rather than ziplocs, walking not driving, ...). I recommend hippie-ness whole-heartedly. But please, I think we should all continue to bathe (using water in your home is not actually very wasteful, most of it is recycled, and soon we'll all be drinking our used water, and so, yeah, please bathe).

Beef, humanely

I went vegetarian for a while, mostly for ethical reasons related to how our meat is raised. I've gone back to meat, and will admit that though I try to eat only ethical meat, on my budget I "cheat" way too frequently. My own hypocrisy aside, here is a post from the Daily Coyote about cows and grass-fed (and finished) beef, which is the only kind any of us should ever eat. Grass-fed, which is as opposed to grain-fed, means the cows have been out to pasture eating grass their whole lives (it must also be grass-finished, a cow can be grass-fed and then sent to a feedlot for "finishing," which defeats the whole purpose). Grain fed cattle are those from the infamous CAFOs, which are concentrated animal feeding operations. If you've ever driven through the Davis area in California, you've been by a CAFO. Cows are packed tightly and wallow in their own waste, being stuffed grain (which is not nearly as good for them as grass). The result is a cow inhumanely treated, and on the consumer end it is not only unethical but has 500 times the saturated fat of a grass-fed steer. Writing this is a good reminder to me how important it is to eat ethical meat. I am lucky because in Boulder, I have access to great beef at relatively affordable prices, and it's local to boot. I can also get it in several restaurants, which is a place where people tend to cheat the most when trying to eat ethically. You might not be as lucky, but not only are CAFOs inhumane, they contribute a remarkable amount to climate change--the methane emitted by cattle is toxic for the environment, and more potent that carbon dioxide in it's global warming ability. Grass-fed cattle don't release any less methane, but if we try to eat ethically, we tend to eat less meat, which is better, anyway.
Thanks to the Daily Coyote for posting about this (again), it's an issue I think about a lot.

Wasting my time....

Just had a job interview. They said, "your resume is very appealing," and sounded ready to offer me a job on the spot. For a job that I actually want. Then, I ask about salary. The job is unpaid. Thanks for your time, judges. On to the next thing. Maybe someone will decide one day that my law degree makes me deserving of a paycheck (however paltry, I'll take just about anything at this point).

My dancing grandma

She's 92...

Caffeine, my hero

I'm a coffee drinker. I'm one of those people who is utterly dysfunctional until I've had 16oz of strong coffee. I try to balance it with water, because I never manage to drink enough non-diuretic fluids, and am therefore constantly dehydrated. Or so I thought. Today, my favorite news source revealed that caffeinated beverages, unless they are extremely high in caffeine, count towards the body's need for hydration and are NOT diuretics (coffee's caffeine level is below the diuretic level). SERIOUSLY. Which means I can drink as much sweet, sweet coffee as I want and not feel guilty that I'm depriving my body of much needed water. Not only that, but the article touts several other POSITIVE (or neutral) health aspects of the glory beverage, debunking several myths about the tolls caffeine and coffee can take on one's health. So, I'm raising my mug in a toast to coffee. Starbucks, here I come.

I (sort of) got a job!

I got a job that will last about three weeks! I take an $8/hour pay cut from my last job, but it pays infinitely more than this one (which, if you didn't know, pays nothing). It's short term, but any money is better than no money. I get to work from home on my own schedule, so it's worth it for even a few bucks (and another line on my resume, which is proliferating by the minute). Plus, I learned how to sell my old casebooks on Half.com, and so have made a little dough that way. Things are starting to look up (and I'm starting to look around to see what else I can sell on the internet).

Status update?

Since I'm still out of a job (and in my last week at my unpaid position with EPA), I figured I better find SOMETHING to do with my time, so I decided to volunteer. I already do tours for the law school, but this week I agreed to serve as a bailiff for a capital murder trial. In Centennial. Almost 50 miles away. So I will be commuting almost 100 miles round trip to escort jurors to and from the courtroom. At least I'm a good citizen?

My affair with Chuck

So the pictures are two years old (it took Jodie that long to send them to me), but this is me in the throes of a love affair with a horse named Chuck. He has since retired, and I have had to begin a new affair (now with Badger and Ladago), but since Haze lost her camera, I don't have photos of that tryst. Jodie will have to take me riding again so that there can be photos of Haze on a horse...it's so damn adorable!

These photos were taken on a ride up to Jodie's cabin, out towards Paradise Divide, outside Crested Butte. The last photo is a spectacular shot of the divide.

Grandma gets struck (almost) by lightning

I went to visit my Grandma while I was home over the weekend, and if you've ever met her, you know that she's hysterical and entertaining, especially for a 92-year-old. In fabulous health, the woman is up-to-date on current events and has a razor-sharp wit. So while I'm visiting her, she asks if I've heard what happened to her and Martha the previous week. No, I tell her, I've not heard anything. I start to worry that it's something health-related, because 92 is pretty old.
Grandma embarks on a story about how Martha came by one evening wanting Grandma to go with her to Sonic to get a hot dog. Grandma agreed to go along for the ride in Martha's Crown Victoria, even though she'd already eaten. Off to Sonic they went, and Martha got her hot dog and Grandma a strawberry milkshake, and they headed for home where they were going to enjoy their treats in front of Martha's telly.
On the short drive home, the weather quickly turned ugly. It got windy, started to rain, and the next thing the old ladies knew they saw a bolt of lightning strike a tree, split it in half, and half of the tree came crashing down on top of the Crown Vic. Martha hit the brakes, and a man came running out of his house to see if they were all right.
What he saw was two old ladies, stunned silent in the Crown Vic, one holding a hot dog and the other a pink milkshake, with the car all beat to hell from the half-tree that was on top of it. The ladies didn't want to open the door for want of getting shocked should the car be charged, so the nice man cleared his way to the door and opened it. Both ladies were unhurt (thank goodness), and still had their Sonic foodstuffs. The mental image I get of this event is just outstanding.
Well, the insurance company won't fix Martha's car. They called it "an act of God," which for the most religious woman I've ever met, just seems too cruel. She's elderly and godly, for Chrissakes just fix the damn car!
At least God didn't want to hurt the old ladies, just the old Crown Victoria.