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.

Trying hard

Well, I'm still unemployed (unless you count the 10 hours a week that I pay $20/hour to work), and still desperate for paid employment. Hell, I'd probably babysit for my old price of $2 per kid per hour if someone asked. Except that I probably shouldn't be left alone with children...
But I digress. In my unemployment, I have decided to attempt to better myself in some way, and given that I am now a size 16 (almost), and with zero income can't really afford new clothes, let alone new suits, losing weight seems like a great idea. Plus, I'm already verging on scary hippie-dom with my refusal to use plastic bags and use of public transport (which, like Jenny says, is miraculous), love for all things organic and free of scariness like trans fats, hydrogenated whatnot, and high-fructose corn syrup, and so on.
My mom gave me this book, Ultrametabolism, by Dr. Mark Hyman, and it seems so soundly based in science and not fad-like and all that I couldn't put it down. I even tried to give up caffeine for a week, but when I had to drive 200 miles to Crested Butte I decided that I would be a danger to myself and others without at least 16 ounces of coffee. So. I lasted 7 days without caffeine, which I think is still pretty remarkable.
Anyway, the diet is based essentially on the principles of whole foods and the Mediterranean diet with healthy fats and so on. For over a week, I have avoided gluten and dairy (done so that one can determine if one has any allergies to these commonly irritating foods). I eat only whole grains (not even whole-grain wheat, though), which is how I discovered amaranth. I use soy milk rather than the cow kind, and have discovered that it is SO delicious. Unfortunately, I am now hooked on $4 iced soy lattes, but what with my income that should be no problem... I still eat out plenty, and have found that vinegar alone is just about the most delicious salad dressing I have ever had. I'm not kidding, and it doesn't even matter what kind of vinegar it is. I'd pretty much kill for cheese, but if I can last two weeks of the recommended three without, I'll still feel like a success. I have lost about 2 lbs in the first week, and feel good about being so good to my body.
Another think I love about Dr. Hyman's plan is that he urges consumption of only organic fruits and vegetables, and grass-fed range meats. Did you know that a feed lot steer has 500 times the saturated fat of a grass-fed range steer? That is not a typo. Healthier AND good for the environment! Cows are still bad, but they are less bad when sustainable grazing practices are implemented. Also, organic grains are really cheap at Whole Foods, and so what could be better? The diet fits with my understanding of what my body wants and urges people to be more eco-friendly (it's also much healthier for you to eat organic etc.), and so far I think it's pretty awesome. So cross your fingers for me that I can fit into my suits...I'll never get a job if I show up in elastic-waisted capris and a baggy shirt!

Obama strikes out again

What I didn’t like about Obama was his constant promising that we would have CHANGE!!!! Well, of course we need change in this country. Change I can believe in, even. But I want real change, not empty statements of policy that sounds great but that may not be achievable. In her campaign, Hillary could back up all of her numbers and financial proposals, which I loved. Now, Obama’s promise for health care savings may not be all the “change” he has promised. The NYT says that of the money Obama has said we’ll save ($2,500 for a family of four, per year), most of that savings will be by the employer, not the employee. It breaks down to roughly ¼ of that amount to be saved by the family itself, with the remainder of savings going to the business. Yet Obama routinely promises that a family will save $2,500 a year in premiums. This seems misleading, if you ask me. Furthermore, analysts are now saying that it’s not clear that such savings can even be achieved in the time he has promised, with some saying it’s like waiting for pigs to fly. I am, once again, disappointed in this “change I can believe in.”