Travel=Evil

Ivan and I went to a family wedding this weekend in the 'burbs of Chicago. One of those 200 person family weddings with the crazy great uncle once removed (or something) who was a drycleaner and inhaled one too many gallons of dry cleaning fluid.

To get to said wedding, we had to board a plane. Two planes, actually. The first plane was late (thank you east coast storms), meaning we missed our connection to the last flight out of Rochester NY. Thus we had to run all over the terminal looking for anyone left in the building (there were 2 people) and, once we found those people, ask them for a change in flight and a hotel room. We got the hotel room (it was a smoking room...grrrrr), and got up at 4am on the day of the wedding to catch our flight. Then this morning we had to get up at 5am the day after the wedding to catch our flight home (which, by the way, went totally smoothly).

So now I am tired. Very, very tired. Time for bed....

Wowsers!

A few interesting things have happened to me in the past few days, all of which have to do with my career, my future, and so on.

So first I get an email from a local college, offering me a section of composition to teach. I hem and haw, but the course time turns out to conflict with several important meetings at work. So I turn them down with a "but please think of me next time..."

Second, I get assigned my first short piece to write for our major publication, two weeks after I've started work. I get the feeling I'm being groomed to possibly take an editor spot. I go out to lunch with one of the bosses, and lo and behold, I am being groomed to possibly take an editor spot.

Third and finally, I get my "do you want this funding?" letter in the mail. So now I have a decision to make, a decision I had hoped to put off for another few months. Methinks I might cheat the system and tell them "yes, I want the funding" and then back out of it later if I need to. Easy enough.

But still. Weird weird week.

TaDa!

I got to write my first pieces for our newsletter this week. This means that, as of next month sometime, I will be officially....published!

Yay.

Oh, and the sun came out in full force today. We haven't seen it here in about 2 months, and Vermont farmers are hurting. Their corn is rotting in the ground. No good way, as that fiancee of mine would say. But hey, "here comes the sun, do do do do."

Greening an Apartment

In which I put the things I learn at work to use in my (rented) apartment....

First, we decided to paint: tobacco and grease stains abounded, not to mention water damage. Off I go, researching paint options. I want a paint with low or no VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions (the "wet paint smell"). Consumer price? $34 a gallon. Um, no. Let's go with paint that has been gathered and recycled locally: $16-18 for 2 gallons. MUCH better. Less "green" in one sense, but green in others. A trade off.

We keep the paint colors on the lightish side, with plenty of white trim (and cabinets): this allows for reflection of natural light, which cuts down on our electic light use.

Next, we install compact flourescents and a low flow showerhead. We put filled milk jugs in the toilet to reduce water use.

Things still on the list? Fixing the mold/mildew problem in the bathroom. We have to kill what's there and put a mildew resistant paint up, and we have a dehumidifier on order. Taking "navy" showers (get wet, water off, soap up, rinse off, water off, etc) will help, too. We're also building a vermicomposting bin (that's worms), from which we will get "worm tea" for the plants along with delightful compost for our plants and those in other people's houses. We hope to cut our waste output down by about 75-80% through the composting process and through the recycling program here in town. Finally, we want to put roman shades in the windows so that we can reduce "solar heat gain" during the hot summer. It's not that big of a deal in our place (we live under a tree), but the privacy will be good, too.

So. That's what I've been busy doing....

Working with Hippies

I'm working in a real job! And I have an apartment, which I am allowed to paint pretty colors. Yay!

That's the short version. The long version is really quite boring. Work is good--I spend 8 hours a day in front of a computer, but I'm learning a lot about green building and the environmental movement. Oh, and I get to take a free online course if I so choose (just in case I start needing my academic fix).

As for the apartment, Ivan and I are painting. The place was pretty dingy when we moved in, and the landlord didn't seem inclined to do anything about it, so we started painting and cleaning. The stove was nasty--I'll spare you a description. But now it's clean, the cabinets are bright white (good for reflecting natural light so we don't need to turn on the lights) and the walls are a really pretty spring green. The living room is yellow, and the other rooms have yet to have colors decided upon.

Oh, and my veggies are getting really big, and my mint is threatening to take over the world.

AND Ivan's mom and I have started a Stitch n' Bitch at the family gallery (I'm there right now).

So live is busy, but good. But I miss y'all! Speaking of which, happy end of the quarter!