Like We Don't Even Care

This image caught my eye as I came home today:

A black comforter has been rolled up into a bag and trashed in the dumpster.

The root of this post is the idea of taking ultimate responsibility - for yourself, your actions, and the resources and materials you consume.  Lately I've been inspired and motivated to think about the whole lifecycle of stuff that I consume.  The envelope from junk mail doesn't go away when I throw it in the trash.  Neither does the burned out lightbulb, the dead battery, the banana peel, or the empty printer ink cartridge.  Once it's in the garbage, it's easy to fall into the out of sight, out of mind thinking.  Sometimes, we act like we don't even care where, who, or what is going to deal with our trash.  There is no magic genie that will make trash go poof.  All of your stuff - everything you own and consume - has to go somewhere.  

Odds are, you have a lot of stuff.  Look around you and take in all the binders, books, electronics you have.  Then, stop.  You're probably starting to get overwhelmed.  Thankfully, there are already systems in place that will help people interested in gradually assuming more responsibility for the stuff they use.

One of the things I've come to love about Austin is the awesome vibe of environmental awareness and entrepreneurial spirit for spearheading organizations and efforts.  The more I look into the city's infrastructure and dedication to environmental protection, the more I'm impressed.  Austin has a 30 year plan to be a zero waste city.  Awesome!!

The final straw for me today was using a ziplock plastic baggie and not knowing what to do with it after eating my snack.  Normally, I'd save it and throw it in my recycling bag at home.  But, when I googled 'recycling ziplock baggies', I was surprised to learn from the Ziplock website that most recycling programs don't support plastic bags.  My apartment complex has access to a single stream recycling program (sponsored by the City of Austin), which makes it super easy to recycle.  Single stream means you put all recyclable material in one bin and they sort it for you.  After looking up the allowable items of this program, I realize they don't support plastic baggie recycling, either.  Since I've been putting plastic baggies in the blue bins ever since I moved in, I wondered what the consequence of this was - what happens to the sorting equipment when it comes across a plastic baggie?  After calling the Austin Resource Recovery center, I learn that plastic usually gets caught in the sorter and shredded.  This means the plastic is not being sorted or allotted to a reuse stream.

I love HEB even more when I call and find out they support plastic baggie recycling (go here to find out why I love HEB in the first place).  The one in Hancock Center near Hyde Park has several collection bins at each entrance (as do most locations).  You can put plastic grocery bags and ziplock baggies in there.    HEB as a company is fully supporting recycling efforts.  

So, this is one step you can take in gradually assuming more responsibility for what you consume.  When you remember that everything in the trashcan has to go somewhere, maybe you'll be encouraged to think about alternative forms of disposal other than the trash can...  like reusing or recycling :)

Blue Single Stream Recycling bins collected by the City of Austin

Single Stream Recycling Guidelines

Muffin Possible!

"Good luck finding a muffin recipe without eggs, Heather."  My mom's healthy criticism was part of the motivation behind the latest batch of muffins to come out of my kitchen.

I proved to myself muffins without eggs, white sugar, and margarine/butter ARE possible.  Before now, I always cringed cracking eggs and whisking them up.  It was the unknown I was afraid of...  What if they didn't cook all the way... What if I accidentally got eggshell in the mix... what if?  Carrots, apples, zucchini, and banana on the other hand- I feel completely comfortable with.  Doesn't it make sense to cook with ingredients you'd feel fine eating straight up by themselves?

Being a PRO at snacking, I've wanted to find something healthy I could easily make that would be Good, Raw, Pure, and Yummy.  You have no idea how happy I am now that I've found the first of many possibilities to come.

Enter = Healthy Moist Zucchini Carrot Apple Muffins 

http://vegweb.com/index.php?action=printrecipe;topic=27381.0

Modifications for next batch:
The walnuts were sprinkled on top of the batter for this first trial.  Next time, I'll mix them into the batter.  This will prevent them from getting slightly burnt on top while the muffins cook all the way through.  It will also serve to break up some of the dense, moist, goodness at the core of the muffin.

I won't use paper muffin liners.  I only had 7 when I cooked these, and the ones that didn't have the liner came out better.  They didn't stick to the pan and came out clean with ease.  The increased surface area of direct contact with baking pan helped them cook more throughly since the batter is quite thick.

Make sure there are enough chocolate chips to go on every muffin.... so Yummy!

Muffin Production Timeline:

Raw beginning: Fruit and Vege -
Wet mix

--- ---

Coming to life!  Gradually adding in Dry Mix of
Flour, Cinnamon, etc.

  ---   ---

Variation in toppings (From left column: Choc chips,
nothing, walnut crumbs, chopped walnuts)

--- ---

Taking out the Trash of vege scraps :)  Put in a reused baggie so that it can
be taken out to the trash directly instead of stinking up my larger
garbage bag... if anyone has a use for scraps / compost,
PLEASE let me know!!  I have lots of fuel for ya!

Update: 2/23/12: Compost scrapes can de donated to most community gardens around Austin.  To see the extensive network of community gardens and to find one near you go to: http://communitygardensaustin.org/

Michael Oher in Purple

Michael Oher is an NFL football player and plays on a team from Baltimore, Maryland.  He was born and grew up in a town on the Mississippi River, Memphis, TN.  He had a rough childhood, got taken in by a very generous and loving family, excelled at football, played on scholarship for Ole Miss, and got drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.

I know about this after falling in love with Sandra Bullock's character in The Blind Side.  I've heard Michael's story several times.

I'm writing about this because after Michael got settled in to playing football, he shared his perspective on his amazing story in a book called I Beat the Odds.  After he wrote his book, he then decided to host a book signing in Austin, at the very popular independent bookstore downtown, BookPeople.

I care about this because my mama just so happens to also be a fan of The Blindside.  But, her affinity with the movie stems from the collegiate connection she shares with Michael Oher and the Tuohy family -  None other than Ole Miss, by damn (a play on their fight song... not meant to be a curse word).  And thus, my adventure to BookPeople to meet Mr. Oher and get a copy of his book signed is born.

~~  

There is a certain satisfaction to be had about riding the Austin city busses.  For students with a UT ID card, it costs no money.  For anyone with a smartphone, the schedules and routes can easily be found.  As I explained to the person next to me in line tonight, I like knowing the system.  In Europe, we were forever traveling via train, bus, or metro.  Often in French or Italian, Celine led the way most of the time.  Here, in Austin, I like the control I have of figuring things out for myself.  This satisfaction may be temporary and may be naive, but for now, it makes me feel good to use what's already there.  The bus will come and the bus will go on its schedule, but I get the chance to take part - to be in the know on how it works.  I get to use the secrete sign language like a pro when I put up one hand discretely to communicate with the driver that I want to get on his bus.  It may seem funny, but it's a language.  When this huge, rectangular monster of a bus comes barreling down the street, one little hand signal can bring it to a halt with doors opening right in front of you.  It's pretty cool :).

I sit towards the back, near an open window seat.  Once the bus starts moving again right after I sit down, someone gets up from the very back of the bus and sits in the seat across the aisle.   His face that isn't being covered by his scraggly beard is hidden in a shadow cast by his warn and sun-parched baseball cap.  He thinks me knowing that he wants to run for Student Body President is more important than the book I've just opened.  His main issue is the library being open 24 hours during the semester.  His plan, as President, would be to make it close at 10pm... students shouldn't study pass 10pm - there are other important things to do.  A smile and nod sends him my well wishes.  Several stops later, the 30 something year old gets off the bus after saying all he needs now is a UT ID and wishes me a blessed day.  

Even with good intensions of reading, I can't keep my eyes on the page for very long.  It's about 6pm and the sun is still shining on the city.  It's a comfortable temperature to wear jeans and a short sleeve shirt, and there's lots of life happening outside right now.  Lamar, a street I frequently take, somehow has a different look from a bus window.  We pass Central Market (the HEB version of Whole Foods), EZ's (a retro-style cafe/diner Rachel and I went to several weeks ago), and P. Terry's (a popular drive-in hamburger joint).  At one stop, a guy sits on the bench with his head down and one arm propping up a thin, white pole.  The bus drivers opens the doors and shouts '338!' (our route #) two times and then taps his horn.  The guy quickly comes out of his slumber and gets up to get on the bus.  With him is his black Labrador seeing eye dog.  After feeling his way to swipe his card, the driver communicates with him about the open seat at the front of the bus.  

The ride downtown seems to go by quickly.  We pass the capital and before I know it, I'm getting off the bus at my stop.  After discovering BookPeople several days ago, I know right where it is now - tucked alongside the REI and Anthropologie store and across the street from the Whole Foods.  I smile after  getting off the bus.  I feel sophisticated and cosmopolitan for riding the bus downtown.  I've got my boots on.  My tight-fitting dark denim jeans are paired with my cashmere-like black sweater that I usually save for 'nice events' (you can't put it in the dryer, and therefore it's a class above almost all of my other clothes).  The Italian leather laptop bag is slung over my right shoulder.  There is life all around me.  Cars fill the busy intersection of Lamar and 6th.  People dot the sidewalk and gather in groups waiting at crosswalks.   I smile and enjoy the warm air outside and the sight of the blue BookPeople sign in front of me.  

At T-minus 45 minutes till Michael Oher, the BookPeople entrance is calm.  I purchase a copy of the book and head upstairs to get a wrist band.  The red and white stripped band puts me in the first group of 50 to get to line up to go upstairs (3rd of 3 floors).  At T-minus 30 minutes, we are channeled into the roped-off line.  I meet a Dad who is getting a signed copy for his two daughters who are 'in love' with Michael.  A staffer comes by with sticky notes and a pen to spell out the name we want in the book.  At T-minus 0 minutes, we are led upstairs where I can see Michael in the room waiting for people to come.  In front of me in line is a group from the Ole Miss alumni club.  Their style of dress hint at it, the small, temporary 'Ole Miss' tattoos the two women are wearing confirms it, and the 'hotty toddy' cheer they do with Michael make everyone else aware of it.

His handshake was firm and his hand pretty much swallowed mine.  It all went by very quickly:  I'm next in line, I hand my book to the attendant, I hand my camera phone to another staffer, and I'm shaking his hand.  I tell him how nice it is to meet him (duh?!) and how the book is for my mom who also went to Ole Miss (mom, he says hi back to you).  Then we're smiling to take the picture, he hands me my book back, I get my phone, and I'm walking out of the room.  Just like that - it all went by in a flash.  He seemed like a normal person.  His presence doesn't shout super-athletic.  He seemed like a pretty down-to-earth dude whose cheeks would probably hurt by the end of the night after smiling for several hours.

It's dusk outside the bookstore.  After looking up the map on my phone, I learn there's a 338 scheduled to stop in front of the store in 5 minutes - perfect!  (I think it comes like every 40-50 minutes).  Waiting at the busstop is a treat: a very nice homeless guy who says he's just come from Waterloo Records where they were serving free beer and hosting a music gig.  He is very talkative for the 5 minutes we spend together at the stop.  I learn how he goes to different venues to get free food and drink.  Art shows are the best - particularly the East Austin Art Show (that I happen to have been to), where different houses set up a temporary studio in their garage to showcase local artists' work.  Apparently they usually have good free snacks and drinks.  He starts getting into the legal rules of collecting money as a homeless person as the bus pulls up.  

This 338 is smelling.  I've sat next to a woman who I think has not showered in quite some time.  In front of me sits a guy with an accompanying seeing eye dog.  Again, it's a black Lab.  The 20 minute ride goes by quite quickly, and I'm soon on my home turf in Hyde Park walking home again :)  

Heather with Michael Oher
at BookPeople on Feb. 15th

The Chinese Migration

According to the report A Nation of City Slickers from The Economist Magazine, China now has more city dwellers than farmers.  More impressive is the rate at which migration in the country has occurred.

In 1980 fewer than a fifth of Chinese lived in cities, a smaller urban proportion than in India or Indonesia. Over the next ten years the government remained wary of free movement, even as it made its peace with free enterprise. Touting a policy of “leaving the land but not the villages, entering the factories but not cities”, it sought industrialisation without urbanisation, only to discover that it could not have one without the other.   -- The Economist 

This report reinforces what I'm reading in the novel Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China.  Leslie Chang shares stories about the migration of Chinese from rural countryside villages into the factory towns and larger cities.  Migrants would come in by the trainloads and saturate factory towns.  Developing relationships over time, Leslie was then able to share the stories and experiences of the girls whose lives were changed by the factories.

Does anyone find this migration ironic?   Occurring not just in China, but in countries all over the world, the urban population is increasing across the globe.  With the internet, smarter technology, and the increased popularity of working from home, why is everyone still insisting on congesting cities?  A person in the US can be linked digitally with a coworker in Asia, Europe, or Australia.  You would think this digital connection would allow us the freedom to disperse.  Also a growing trend is sustainable development - going back to nature.  But, it seems people want to design and live in 'earthy' homes in the midst of vast expanses of urban sprawl ... not nature.

HEB - A Second Chance That Won Me Over

I made a mistake, and this is the fix.

In August of 2011, I moved to Austin and had my first HEB experience.  It was overwhelming, chaotic, and I wasn't fully prepared for the whole HEB experience.  I wrote several negative comments in my August 27th post on Morning Glory Muffins.  Today, I'm setting the record straight on HEB to all my friends and family outside the state of Texas.  I do NOT want you to live your life with the wrong impression of this Texas tradition.

HEB is a Texas grocery store based out of San Antonio, a city about 1.5 hours south of Austin.  There are stores all throughout Texas and Mexico.  HEB

was founded in 1905,

now has over 300 stores and

over 75,000 employees.

It is

the 25th largest retailer in the United States and

donates 5 percent of pre-tax profits to charity.

Several things have completely turned my view of HEB around.

1. One of those 'adventuresome recipe' days called for fresh ginger root.  On my trip to the produce section at HEB, I couldn't find ginger among the other roots.  The staffer told me the manager had turned away today's shipment of ginger root... he didn't think their quality was high enough to put out on the floor.
2. Another time I needed pastry flour for a different recipe of morning glory muffins I was trying.  I knew I'd seen pastry flour before on the shelves at HEB, but for the life of me could not find it on the day I needed it.  I approached a shelver in a red shirt, and was amazed at how quickly she turned my problem into hers.  She knew right where the flour should be, but after not finding it there after several minutes of looking, went off to find the expert for the natural foods section (where the pastry flour should be).  They both couldn't find any in stock, and showed me how to use the 'bulk' section.  A whole aisle at HEB, the bulk section is where you can find commodity goods from nuts, dried fruit, coffee, flour, etc.  You scoop out however much you need into a baggie, weigh it, and record the item number - just like in the produce section.  Just like that, my problem was solved for less than $2 - way cheaper than the larger box would have been.  
3. Today's business lecture focused on corporate social responsibility.  Being in Texas, HEB was a prime example my professor discussed.  She told us how, when she was growing up, there were three grocery stores in her town.  Now, there is just HEB.  HEB won over loyal customers due to their commitment and involvement with the communities around them.   They supported local's efforts by investing time and money.

So HEB, I'm sorry I gave you a bad review back in August.  I'm glad something made me go back the second time.  I'll be a loyal customer in the future as long as I live in Texas.  I haven't been to Randalls, your main competitor, and I kinda don't even want to try it out.  I like you HEB, and I see good things in our future.

Exercise

Control

Which I couldn't exercise after getting some Girl Scout cookies.

An "Oppsiesss.. I probably won't have to eat dinner tonight" Moment

The Body

Which I probably really needed to exercise after half the box of Thin Mints.

The Spirit

A casual, very slow bike ride around my very flat neighborhood made me feel much better about the lack of the first two.

:D