Like a Rebel

“Look at them!  They're digging through the trash!”

Like a rebel? 

Yep.  Two Georgia Tech grads, digging through the trash.  Have we gone mad?!?  

Not at all!  My friend Lawrence and I chose to make a difference, however small, to impact our surroundings for the better.  In digging through the trash, we not only saved two full bags of recyclables from the landfill, we took a stand – setting an example for those around us.  We absolutely must have the mindset that we are in no way above digging through the trash to save valuable resources for Mother Nature.  If we don't take care of her, who will? 

This past weekend, 70,000 people descended upon Zilker Park in Austin, TX to celebrate live music at the Austin City Limits Festival.  To responsibly handle the waste from all those people eating and drinking, The Rock & Recycle initiative invited volunteers to help divert waste from the landfills by educating and promoting recycling and composting among ACL festival goers.  Anyone interested in helping out could pick up a large, green recycling bag and fill it up with cans, plastic bottles, and water cartons from around the park.  In return, you get the satisfaction of helping divert precious resources from the landfill (as well as a very cool, eco-friendly t-shirt … “the only t-shirt you can’t buy” at ACL :) 

So, how did Lawrence and I go about filling up our recycling bags?  We did it one bag at a time, and took different approaches for each.

Here’s a snapshot of my thought stream for the first bag:

At first, you hesitate.  Tentatively walk up to the trashcan.  Become super conscious that people all around you are going about their business as usual.  This is so wired!!  Look down into the bin, see if there’s anything in there.  At first, secretly hope there’s nothing there so you can walk away pretending like nothing happened.  Digging through the trash??   For the first dive, gingerly pick up the plastic bottle in the trash with two fingers and your pinky popped up, like it’s a foreign object.  A couple of bottles and cans later, walk away from the trash can with your recycling bag in one hand and holding your other hand away from your body, making huge efforts to not let it touch any other part of you.  It’s so dirty!  It’s probably super contaminated!

After a couple trash cans, your perspective does a complete 180.  It doesn't feel so weird.

Now, you're saving plastic and cans.  Saving them from a nearly permanent burial underneath huge mounds of other stuff with little hope of seeing the light of day again.

Ah ha!  There’s a technique to it!  Get the surface findings first, be sure to collect the recyclables that you can see on the top of the other trash.  Then go around the perimeter and pull up the sides of the trash bag and give it a little shake.  Usually you'll strike gold when you do this.  It’ll reveal other recyclables underneath the other trash.

The comrade with other trash diggers is great.  They’re hard to miss – lugging a huge green bag around with you does make you stand out. 

The unexpected amount of gratitude and thank-yous we get is awesome!  One guy even did a funny prayer and bow for us (... he may or may not have been slightly intoxicated).  

Turning in the full green bag is so satisfying.  Just think – otherwise, all that material would have stayed in the trash… on to the landfill and pretty much ending its useful life as material.  It may only be one bag at this point, but one bag helps make a really big pile.  And, not to mention, everyone that saw us in the process of digging through the trash might just think twice about what they’re throwing away next time. 

Now. Where's that Purell? J

For the next bag, we took a totally different approach. Cleaner, too. We walked through the AMD stage crowd while The Skins were playing and picked up cans and plastic bottles from the ground around people’s feet.  People would offer their used stuff when the saw us coming with our big green bag.  There was some competition, too.  Other Rock & Recyclers were out and about in the same area.  In the afternoon the program seemed to have gotten popular.

No more digging through the trash can - we have moved up in the world to picking trash up off the ground!!  It doesn't seem to take as long.  The better spots are where the crowd is tightly packed.... fewer volunteers are hitting up these spots.  They’re probably less aggressive and don’t want to push through people, but I say let’s go for it!  Toward the end we found an area in the middle of the crowd that no one had been to for a while and before we knew it the bag was full.  It felt kind of bad to have to leave stuff laying on the ground, and to turn people away offering us their trash :( Sorry guys......

We will be back!!

Dirty Work ... in Action!

What a weighty effort!! 

Lawrence and I in front of the Rock & Recycle tent at ACL 2012

Look at that Pile!!! :)

In the middle of it all ... collecting recyclables in the AMD Stage crowd
with great music playing in the background :D 

View of Zilker Park at night with the Austin skyline in the background.  What a beautiful sight!

This Might Surprise You: A Story of Plastic Bags in Pictures

It all started off like this...

In February of 2012, I learned plastic bags were not accepted in Austin's Single Stream recycling program (story of discovery...here).  So, a collection of plastic bags ensued.  All colors, shapes, sizes, and purposes.  Eventually, things started to get a bit out of control.  Something had to be done:

The first step involved getting a better understanding of what we were dealing with.  Once all the bags were put on the table, it was quite an impressive sight.  This is the picture of two, average female consumers making a conscious choice to divert plastic bags from the trash/recycling bags over the period of four months.  This is what we had:

Impressive, huh?  

Digging a little deeper reveals a variety of plastic types.  Identified by the number within the recycling triangle, there were at least three different kinds of plastic in the pile.  There was #2 (HDPE), #4 (LDPE), and #5 (PP).   

Our pile was massive.  Once folded and organized, the random, chaotic pile was turned into a stack of plastic pushing 9 inches high.

The pile above is the nicer, thicker plastic bags from places like the UT Coop, Gap, etc.  That pile was NOT including the thinner plastic bags from places like HEB, Target, Walmart, etc.  Thankfully, we had a BIG plastic bag capable of holding all of the smaller plastic baggies.  

What if our table of plastic bags could go from something like this:

To something like this:

If TWO people could create THAT much plastic bag excess in FOUR months... think about how much plastic is used WORLDWIDE.  And most people don't even think about the packaging and bags they use.  Typically, bags aren't thought of as part of the 'product'.  While plastic has helped revolutionize the packaging industry because it is strong and light, it's creating a lot of waste in landfills.  But, back to what we CAN do with the plastic bags we already have...

After doing some reading on the different types of plastics, apparently certain types are not generally accepted by recycling programs.  Being a proactive recycler, I called up HEB.  After talking with the store manager about his plastic bag recycling program, it seemed as though any and all types of plastic baggies were welcome.  The more the merrier!  And, after looking up and down and all around the collection bin outside of HEB, no reference to plastic selectively could be found. 

The plastic bag recycling bin is the next step as our plastic bags go on to bigger and better things. But who knows, we might just come across our (recycled) plastic again =) 

Other links of interest:

Interesting plastic recycling facts from the EPA

PKG Packaging is an example of a company in California that is working to make eco-friendly packaging.



Update: August 3, 2012

All new bags, one month after recycling the other bag of bags.  Wow.

As I separated the two piles, I noticed 

• a lot of cereal bags.  This makes me think of in.gredients, the first zero packaging grocery store in Austin, supposed to open sometime this summer! :D
• more plastic Ziploc baggies.  I think this trend has to do with the fact that there are two people in the apartment now, and we're both taking our lunch to work.  We both like to cook and keep our leftovers and partially used veggies in Tupperware containers.  So, when we run out of Tupperware for lunch packing purposes, we go for the ziplock baggies  ...We should consider getting more Tupperware!  Or, even better, relieving a friend of their commonly unused Tupperware containers :D

Update: October 8, 2012

Just over 2 months later:

By far, hands down, without a doubt the most surprising thing since recycling plastic bags has been realizing just how many there are!  Our collection bag just keeps on filling up!  Two months later and we have THIS many plastic bags??  How??!!   Sorting through the collection before we take it to the recycling bin at the grocery store offers some insight into what the makeup of our plastic collection looks like.  We've done a pretty good job at almost eliminating individual Ziploc baggie usage as well as grocery store plastic bags, so most of what we collect nowadays tends to be food packing related.  There were lots of bags from bread (sometimes 2 bags for 1 loaf), tortillas,  veggie and fruit plastic bags from the produce section, pasta bags, and bulk food section bags.  Then there was some toilet paper plastic wrap and a massive wad of plastic film from the dry-cleaners.  It just all adds up to an impressive amount.  

This was Gloriana's first trip to recycle the bags.  She was pretty pumped :)

Let's see... any takers on when the collection bag will fill up again? :D  

Update: December 5, 2012
I'm starting to notice a trend in the time intervals between updates...

Bag Untouched

Bag Sorted Through .... Kind of :) 

  This is a pretty easy project to keep tracking, so... stayed tuned! :) 

Texas Hill Country

Hill Country is a common phrase out here in Texas.  Being in Austin, it's known to be 'West' ... with 'west' meaning pretty much anywhere west of Austin.  Being a lover of nature, I find it hard to believe that I've never explored any area of this state that promises 'hills'.  Before 5 pm on Sunday, May 6th, the farthest west I'd ever travelled was to the well-known Oasis Restaurant with my parents, which is on the east side of Lake Travis (about 20 minutes from downtown).

Come 5pm this afternoon, as I'm sitting in my new favorite coffee shop hoping that being surrounded by other people studying for finals will help me study for finals, I realize that I finally have some breathing room:  nothing is absolutely due tomorrow.  So, after getting to a good stoping point, I decide to satisfy the itch that's been building up every since I moved here.  I'm heading out to see as much of the hill country as I can before sunset.

Walking out of the coffee shop, I've got the names of 4 roads written on my inside palm.  After consulting mapquest, these will get me pretty far out, and then I can figure out where to go from there.  4 roads means 4 numbers, and something I've come to learn about TX is that the farther out you go, the more likely you're going to be on a FM#### road (FM means Farm to Market .. thanks dad for the tip before moving out here!: )

It takes about 20 minutes to get farther out than I've ever been before and I get a little giddy as I pass the sign for the Oasis...  new territory.  The welcome sign for Jonestown, TX is reassuring and exciting - this city is apparently the 'Gateway to the Hill Country'.

It's a gorgeous day.  The 90 degree sun on my skin is cooled off by the wind blowing through my open windows.  The roads I'm on are 40-55 mph roads, but they're hilly and windy.  I pass a rock/aggregate quarry.  Hidden behind trees, the short glimpse over my shoulder I get reveals a huge pit with no sign of a bottom.  There are other treats along the way.  Lake Travis, west of Austin, is a popular water-sports lake.  Last year, however, Lake Travis was in the news for a different reason - being bone dry in some parts and having a deficit of ~50 feet.  I've seen pictures, but I can't believe what I see driving by this afternoon.  Wildflowers are growing in the area that is obviously a lakebed: there are docks with boats in them sitting in a field of wildflowers.

There's a point where I crest a hill and my mouth literally drops and my breath is taken away.  The view of the hills is gorgeous.  Once I figure out why it impresses me so much, I realize that for almost a year, I haven't truly been on a hill top with a view of land around me.  There is something so captivating about cresting a ridge and seeing beautiful land for as far as you can see.

If there were any objective to this trip besides simply getting out there, it's to see the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge.  It's the largest expanse of 'green' on my map anywhere near Austin, so I'm drawn to it.  Part of my drive takes me along the border and then through the Refuge.  It is a different kind of beautiful than I'm used to.  Instead of the lush trees and greenery of the East Coast, the trees here seem a little less dense and a little less tall.  The ground follows the same 'less lush' feel in the fact that it's dry and light-colored as opposed dark, fertile soil.  But, it's still pretty.  Wildflowers line most of the roads - purples, reds, pinks, blues, all so pretty.  And, getting out of the city means the views are farther reaching, meaning I can finally see large expanses of land again.

When I get tired of the cars behind me making me feel like I need to hurry up, I turn.  On the roads with only one lane in each direction, I try to at least go the speed limit while still stealing looks at the scenery.  It's a happy reminder of the difference between the joy of driving through gorgeous country versus simply getting through it.  There isn't much wildlife, actually, besides a few cows here and there, as well as a few horses.  I made a MapMyRide of the drive so that I'd be able to recall exactly where I went.

MapMyRide Map

It isn't till about the road going through the Refuge (the road through the green area in the picture above) that I feel like I can safely snap a few pictures.  When there is no car traffic for 10 minutes, I feel like it's safe to slow down a little bit.

Being out here is so peaceful.  Me, my car, good music, sunshine, and cool wind. Freedom.

Notice the trees.  I don't know what kind they are yet, but they're awesome!  Different than the kind back
on the East Coast... Kind of safari-like.

You can see for forever!  The flowers in the foreground are a little blurry, but they were so pretty.

  

It's also on the road going through the Wildlife Refuge that I start feeling nature calling on my bladder.  All the water from the coffee shop is catching up to me right on time, about an hour into my drive (I obviously know too much about my the size of my bladder.. hehe, I suppose a side effect of constantly having a water bottle with me).  One of the wonderful, terrible things about being out in the middle of nowhere, is that you're out in the middle of nowhere.

I find a decent looking gas station when I get back into civilization... aka Leander, TX.  The pit stop turns into kind of a break from driving.  After using the restroom and typing up a few notes back in the truck (truck), I notice there's now empty space in the tummy.  The Blue Bell ice cream sandwich back inside is calling my name.  It's satisfying knowing that this awesome adventure cost $1.50, with tax (plus 1/4 tank of gas... but that's not an immediate cost :P).  Eating the ice cream sandwich is an excuse to people watch.  I'm surprised when I realize almost everyone at the gas station is getting beer.  Either a six pack or two, or a big bag of those extra tall, cold cans.  It's Sunday.  Hmm.  Maybe it's the fact that this is the closest establishment for a long while, which draws in a lot of thirsty people...

Once in Leander, the drive pretty much runs through civilization the whole way.  Which, is a neat chance to notice the suburbs!  The land is fairly flat, and stone is everywhere.  White stone houses, buildings, and retaining walls.  Even neighborhood entrances are marked by a big flat-sided stone with the name etched in cursive.  I think it's a pretty kind of architecture, and, combined with the weather and the landscape, reminds me of being out West (the West US, not West TX).  There are also lots of drainage ditches on the sides of roads.  These are easy to notice because they look like big slabs of concrete laid over the land.  A mark of being in a dry area is that drainage, when it does rain, becomes a big deal.  The sudden introduction of rain to an area with parched earth that can't absorb much water usually means flooding if there aren't well-designed concrete ditches and drainage systems.

I can't wait to get back out there.  Maybe next time I'll actually have a chance to get out of my car.

The Hill Country gives me one last treat as I'm heading home and hit the highway.  The view in my rearview mirror is a rose/amarillo sunset.   

One of my favorites :)  (Just replace 'farm' with 'ranch' :)

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

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

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.

Neighbor's Pet

Today I noticed my neighbor in Hyde Park had four chickens in their front yard.  The first adjective that came to mind was ... weird...  Then I smiled, laughed out loud, stopped to take a picture, and continued on my merry way.  Then I came home, shared the image, and hoped it would make you lol, too.
This is the second yard I've seen in the neighborhood with chickens out front. 

Rain Event and Squeaky Clean

I just had to document this proof!

I am well aware this is my second post devoted solely to rain.  That’s how big of a deal this is. Austin, Texas finally gets more than a Sprinkle Storm.  Today we are getting treated to the good stuff.

To show you just how big of a deal this rain event is, let me share a story about my car.  My car, a green Ford Explorer, is very, very lucky to get to live in a carport now that he’s moved to Texas.  Even at my parent’s house, he had to stay outside in the driveway, exposed to all sorts of sun, heat, rain, hail, thunder, night and day.   Now that he and I are on our own, his standard of living has risen quite substantially. 

However, he has been in dire need of a good washing.  Especially, the back bumper and window that stick out from the carport’s cover and is exposed to the nearby tree’s sap drippings.  Mix in wind and dust and dirt, and this guy is hurting for a ‘WASH ME’. 

After going outside for a run this morning, I can tell it has the potential for rain.  Like any good mamma, my thoughts are always on how best to care for my chillins.  So, I grab keys when I get back to my apartment and move my car to the side street.  Conditioned now to the typical Texas ‘Sprinkle storm’, where rain is a few drops that barely get the ground wet, I even make sure not to park under or near any trees: this could limit the exposure to those precious rain drops. 

A few hours later and we have a real soaker on our hands.  We even get the lightening and thunder that usually come with thunderstorms.  It gets me pretty excited.  Even having to get wet going to class is exciting.  I check up on the Explorer when I get back and I’m one happy mamma:  he's squeaky clean and is lookin’ mighty fine J So clean you can see your reflection in the window now!!...  

Squeaky Clean

Migas. Simple Style

Since being in Austin, I've had the pleasure of trying migas.  My first encounter was ordering them at Kerby Lane Cafe, and I've been hooked ever since.  In addition to being tex-mex, Spanish style migas can be quite different.  All the versions I've encountered in Austin have been the tex-mex style and generally consist of scrambled eggs, tortilla chips mixed in, cheese, tomatos, and onions.  Having a huge craving and a lot of eggs that needed to be eaten, I came up with my own version.

Migas: Simple Style

Grind some fresh pepper and salt into skillet along with a dab of olive oil.  Heat and scramble two eggs (that have been beaten and a little bit of milk added).   Put some grated cheddar cheese and some broken up tortilla chips (I used whole grain Tostitos) in a bowl.  When the eggs are down cooking, immediately add them to the bowl and stir with the cheese and chips.  Add some pico de gallo for a fresh taste.  Enjoy!! 

If you want to get a little more fancy, this recipe from Texascooking.com looks great.

When life gives you just one tree,

Hyde Park, just north of the UT campus
Austin, TX
10.8.11 pm

Bike Route 47

Date: Friday October 7, 2011
Time:  6pm
Temperature:  86 degrees F

Road conditions varied quite a bit.  There were sections of freshly paved asphalt and then sections of under-construction concrete patches and bumps.   Today, my ride included the 3.5 mile section from Hyde Park to the 183 underpass.  It seemed like the route stopped there, but according to this map, it actually keeps going further north for quite a while.   My turnaround point was when I got to the 'Austin China Center' parking lot.

Along the way are neighborhoods and industrial parks.  While the route crosses several major intersections, they are all lighted.  The route itself is on not-too-busy roads with wider than normal lanes for passing.  There is a designated bike lane for pretty much all of the section I saw today.

With it being October and halloween season, there were lots of fantastic halloween displays.   One included spiders crawling around a tree stump that had to be at least 2.5 feet wide.   Lights are very popular in Austin in any time of year.  Now, most of the lights you come across are orange :)  It's fun to see everyone's take on decorating for the holiday.  Not to mention all the houses are neat to look at anyway - unique character, landscaping, and architecture.  Now that it's cooling off, this might just have to become a weekly habit.  Hmm.. to bike every bike route in Austin...

Cut Off Jeans

 Lucky Jeans - 1st Generation 

Due to my conservative upbringing, I've never had cutoffs.  Or, more correctly, never made my own cutoffs.  A couple of weeks ago, I decided I wanted a pair.  And today, I realized my window of opportunity is closing in rather unexpectedly.  You see, cutoffs are usually shorts (as opposed to capris) and shorts are worn in warm weather.  But, out of the blue, it's starting to get a bit chilly in Austin.  Quite a surprise to me.  The 100+ degree days had 'frozen' a picture in my mind of it simply always being hot in Austin.

The subject was a first generation pair of my Lucky Jeans. Originally purchased back in the wee years of undergrad, they were the response to my American Eagle jeans literally disintegrating after 5 years of intimate love.  Those AE jeans were stretch, and boy did I test that characteristic.  They'll always hold a soft spot in my heart.  But, these Lucky jeans had a good life, too.  Saw the best of my undergrad years and were officially retired last year when I upgraded to a dark shade of Luckys... more grown up and sophisticated.  You know, you gotta grow up some time.

Cutting any sort of material short of wrapping paper or construction paper is going out of my comfort zone.  For reassurance, I came up with a plan of action for taking my jeans under the knife.  Cutting material seems really really final in my mind, and I didn't want to screw up my cut and render the jeans unwearable.  Not that I was wearing them as long jeans anyways, but still - I'd hate to see a perfectly good pair of jeans permanently damaged.  To put my uneasiness at ease, I tried a practice cut way down south of the danger zone.  My fear that cutting the thick material would be difficult was quickly diminished.  It was easy.  

Where to make the final cut was the next task.  I didn't want to go too short.  Remember, I'm grown up now and tend to side on dressing more conservatively.  Having ample coverage on my legs while biking was another practical reason for leaving the shorts fairly long.  Standing in front of the mirror, I eyeball a good length and use my straightedge (engineers scale) to mark with the red pen a line across one leg.  I'm surprised when I lay the pants down on the floor and the red pen line is arched across the left leg.  Hmm.  I cut along anxiously and try 'em on - one leg long, one leg short.  Satisfied with the length, I repeat with the same method: bathroom, mirror, straightedge, red pen, knife.  I mean, scissors. 

Final Product!

The cut is almost too clean.  It isn't exactly the look I was thinking I'd get, but then realize I'm working with stretch jeans that were already pretty thin to begin with.  Improvising, I try rolling up the bottoms.  I like the way this looks.  A more permanent solution will be to sew the two sides... but that'll have to wait for another day.   For the time being, I'll admire my first pair of homemade anything (clothing wise) (!! :D).  And also ponder... what to do with the leftover jean legs?? :P 

Rain Clouds?

We all have moods.  This is a subject that some, including myself, are more qualified to relate to than others, but none-the-less, let's face it.  To some degree, we all have some days that are better than others.  

So, it struck me by surprise when I realized that my environment had not had a mood swing since I've been here.  I live in Austin, TX.  And in Austin, TX, it hardly ever rains.  In fact, I've seen it rain once in the past month.  And that rainstorm was so wimpy that the ground hardly got wet due to evaporation of the precipitation before it hit the ground.  In the shade, there was evidence to damp concrete.  In the sun, no chance.  Every day is pretty much sunny.  It's really almost like the paradise weather you'd find on a beach, with the exception of  20-30 degrees added to it.  The lack of weather changes has actually been starting to get to me.  I've had several up and down days myself and gosh darn it, I want the weather to reflect that in some way.  

But today felt different.  There was a breeze in the air and the sky had a dark blue to it... the fancy clothes magazines would probably call it 'Steel'.  It's definitely still very hot, but the air has the energy feel to it that usually means it's about to storm.   Yayyyy :D  From my laptop, the weather report quotes a 30% chance of t-storms.  Yayyy :D  Even with the 30%, I get hopeful.   Because believe me, this is one mood swing that I, and the rest of the state of Texas, am definitely ready for.

Video shot from the IF route bus stop on Speedway at 7pm on 9/27

................................................................27................................................................

Today, bridesmaids dresses, a child in need of love and sponsorship in Ethiopia, and a random comment at a church group tonight hit me in the face with LOVE.  And it came in the form of the number 27.

~

Love to live and Live to love

~

Have you ever seen 27 Dresses?  A girlfriend of mine and I both have.  Over a dinner conversation one night the topic came up of dresses and the movie.  It just so happened to come up around the time I'd told my friends about the idea to financially sponsor an Ethiopian child in need of love and support.  Through a friend's suggestion and encouragement, I'd decided to invest in an organization founded by a Georgia Tech professor and his wife that were doing mission work in Africa.  The decision to sponsor was easy ... the decision on which one to sponsor was the hard part.  There were close to 40 children that still needed sponsorship.   And so, in a very random way, we decided why not the 27th child on the list?  I'm sure there was more to the decision behind 27 (maybe .. ?)  But, in the end, it made it easy to select the 27th child on the website's list and go with that child, whoever it may be.  It would save me the heart wrenching decision of picking a child myself.  Sooooo.... that is how 27 entered my life:

TSEGAYE MEKONEN MEGERSA

'27' as we lovingly refer to him is a 5 year old boy who does not attend school for financial reasons.  Until now.  He lives with his natural mother and runs errands for the family.  And now, he has an extended family of American 20-something's who will send him love and support from the States in the hopes that our sponsorship will have a positive impact on his life and future.  Maybe, just maybe, the love and pictures we send him of our smiling faces will put a smile on his.

Because of Kennedy, the organization that we're sponsoring 27 through, is a Christian based group that shares Christian teachings with the kids.  Tonight, in the midst of studying and work and research and other of life's craziness, 27 was far from my mind.  I was sitting with a group from a local church talking about 'Walls' that we put up inside ourselves and between others around us.  Someone randomly brings up a stat he'd heard about it taking someone hearing about Jesus 27 times before they start to  respond to the Church and to Jesus.  Yep - 27 times.

It takes three seconds for me to make the connection to 'my' 27 and the dinner conversation about 27 Dresses I'd had several weeks before.  It's a weird coincidence that a chick flick movie about a gal after true love leads to the decision on which child to sponsor that leads to a stat I hear tonight about it taking 27 times for a person to truly start to respond to talk about  Jesus.  However random it all may be, my heart swells when I think of the ONE thing they all have in common.

Love.  Love in marriage and between friends.  Love of children and the future.  And love in your faith.  

~

"If I have the gift of prophesy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing".  

My Own Little World by Matthew West

Challenge yourself to think outside your world.  Would you be satisfied with your impact?

Conversation Partner Intro

She was saying things like "it doesn't have to be anything glamorous" and throwing out ideas like "take your student on the bus ride, to the grocery store, to the gym, out to eat at a restaurant, or to a sporting event".

And I sat in that nothing-fancy conference room around a table with about 15 other volunteers focusing on the projector slides and I knew - I knew - exactly what kind of experiences I wanted to share with my students.  Because, just this past summer, I had been in the same cultural standpoint these students are in right now.

I was attending the short intro/training course at the Texas Intensive English Center for their first ever conversation partner program.  A volunteer conversation program that allows students at the school, most of whom are here with the sole purpose of becoming fluent enough to enroll in college, to interact with native English speakers.  The other volunteers and I were learning the history and demographics of the school.  We were talking about the intricacies of the relationships we are about to form with the students we get paired with.  For the next semester, our focus will be on forming friendships and developing into mentors as these students adopt American lifestyles.  And that's when she starts talking about things to do beyond simply sitting in a coffee shop and chatting about American culture and customs.  Why sit there and chat when you can get up and Go??

An overwhelming majority of the kids in the English School are from the single country of Saudi Arabia.  The Saudi government is heavily promoting their students to learn English by sponsoring scholarships for them to come to the US.  The next largest bucket of nationalities represented in the school are Asians, followed by a few South Americans and a scatter of students from other countries.

While in the 30 minute long presentation by the program director, I hardly chatted with the other volunteers.  I had yet to lay an eye on a student wandering the halls.  But, I felt qualified to introduce these students to my culture.  Having been submersed in European and Chinese cultures for over a month this summer, I started craving the simple adventures.  Only after about a month walking around cities seeing all the 'must sees' can you appreciate the desire to see the 'must goes' - like grocery stores, shopping malls, the doctor office, etc.

I remember being held back from fully experiencing a culture due to my language barrier and also the intimidation of foreign systems.  On Monday, I'll get to meet the student(s) I am paired up with in the program.  As you can probably tell, I am totally pumped.  This comes at a time when I've just gotten several writing assignments for the campus magazine to report on Austin weirdness... food, shops, activities.  It also comes at a time when my interest in other foreign cultures is peaking.  I can't help but be totally psyched.  For once, I feel like I'm qualified to do a good job.  And, I can't help but  wonder how my own personal discovery of Austin will influence my student's impression of American culture.  I wonder... will they come away thinking Americans are even remotely... weird?

There's only one way to find out :D  Stay tuned.

Travel Decisions by the Numbers

A friend's wedding and my mom's birthday gave me more than enough reason to book a flight home to Nashville, TN for this coming weekend.  I'm flying Southwest out of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) and was wondering earlier today how I'm going to get my little toosh to the airport tomorrow.  Hmmm... typical and instantaneous response:  Drive.  Duh.  I'm independent, I love my Explorer, and I will be able to travel to and from the airport as I please (or as my flight schedule coming back permits).

Walking through campus yesterday headed to where most of the buses stop I see an Airport Flyer bus at one of the stops...So...Stretch idea... how about the Bus?  Yeah!!... the buses in Austin are pretty awesome.  "They go everywhere" is the impression most Austinites have of the system.

Being ADD about planning (especially new ideas), I have to know when, where, ... and how.  I look up the bus schedule and map (http://www.capmetro.org/riding/routes_100.asp) for the 'Airport Flyer' (aka Route 100).  Going to ABIA on Friday I'm plenty good on time between my last class and my departure time and have several bus times I can take.  Coming back Sunday will be tight.  I get in at 10:25pm and the last bus leaves from ABIA at 11.  As long as my plane is not delayed, I'll be fine.

But, what if I am delayed?

I'll have to take a cab.  After 11pm, I'd hate to make a friend come and get me.   I call Lonestar Cab Company to get an estimated price(http://www.lonestarcabaustin.com/).  After getting my home address, the woman on the phone quotes me 29 bucks.  And, before I finish my question, she answers "Yes, we always have tons of cabs at the airport". (Again, duh).

29 bucks IF I have to take a cab.  Well... I could always drive like I had planned in the first place.  I check the airport satellite parking lot: (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport/lots.htm) for the cheapest parking rates.  7 bucks a day x 3 days = 21 bucks.

This means I could possibly have to pay 8 dollars more IF my flight is delayed.

I'm taking the Bus.  A combination of the bus system having a great reputation and being easily accessible gets me to consider taking the bus.  The hope of my return flight not getting delayed and having to pay the 8 extra dollars heavily outweighs the alternative of driving my car (where I would be guaranteed a 21 dollar fee for parking).   And, the bus ride would be a new exciting adventure, whereas I would hope a trip in my car would be 'uneventful'.  And, even if I do have to end up taking a taxi, I'll at least have company on the way home late Sunday night :D

So, Momma's bday and Prisca's Wedding, here I come!! Via foot, BUS, and plane!  :))

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Airport Flyer Shuttle at stop near UT campus on Dean Keaton Blvd.