Change is difficult, but needed.

As I contemplate my current employment situation, I realize it is time for a change.  I went back to school to work on food policy and advocacy.  In my current employment state, I commute by bike an hour in  the morning and an hour and a half if I go all the way home in the evening.  As of late I have not been going home, but stopping at my significant other’s place and crashing.  Working 10-12 hour days is not really bike commuting friendly.  Some of my co-workers point out this is my choice, which it is.  However, it was my choice to bike and work 8 hour days.  I have not been able to do anything in the evenings for the past month.  

Every year my supervisor goes on vacation.  We get stupid busy and highly overworked.  I have not really been happy for some time.  I think if my lab were closer to home and downtown, I might not feel this way.  Surely, I digress.  The point is that I am needing to move forward.  

I discovered that my passion for food policy outweighs my need for my current paycheck.  Not to say I do not need or wish to be paid, but that to change my situation I must be willing to endure hardship.  I have found a position that is probably lower wage than mine, less structured hours and probably more weekend and night work.  The upside is that I can see the potential of this position and I can see being able to transfer to other states and it gets me into food advocacy and policy.  I am feeling genuinely confident that this is the right route to take.  

I have stayed with my company for 8 years.  Every year this intolerable situation occurs.  I do not hate my job, but I have lost my passion for it.  I am at that burn out stage and it is time to move forward.  I am a huge advocate for change, but the first step is always the hardest.  I am embracing the challenge.  I look forward to the next step.

I see the most wonderful things on my daily commute.

Every morning that I ride the full course, I bike through Georgetown and then up East Marginal Way.  Right behind the AMPM on the Corner of East Marginal and Ellis Ave there is a small motel.  The Aeromotel I think is what it is called.  I hear a rooster crowing as I ride by.  One morning I actually caught a glimpse of him.  He is a small, golden bantey rooster with a feathertop fedora.  He is pretty and seems content to reign over the parking lot.  I have not seen any hens, I assume he is a loner. 

The Motel owners have put up full length mirrors all along the front of the building to keep him entertained.  I search for him daily.  Every time I see him I smile and he improves my day by miles.

 

How I feel about licensing cyclists.

The other day a co-worker asked me how I felt about licensing cyclists.  My first reaction was to ask, why, to end the argument that cyclist do not pay their fair share or for the hopes of regulation of law breaking cyclists?  She was more inclined to help fund bike lanes, racks and trails.  As I pondered this question, I had many questions of my own.

First off, to me cycling should be available to all.  Children should not have to pay for the joy of cycling, and low income people that may be trying to save funds by cycling on a second hand bike should not be forced to pay a fee.  She suggested an exemption for such cases as low income and under certain ages.  I am not opposed to paying a fee, seriously we have to fund the roads and sidewalks somehow.  What I have a serious problem with is that by adding fees it becomes a nightmare to enforce.  I seriously doubt that the City of Seattle would financially benefit from cyclist fees, and the cost to enforce might even put them in the negative.

My personal favorite form of fee, is a usage fee.  Charge for use on specified roads and paths.  I have no idea how you would enforce it, but if you put forth a user fee to cyclist, you damn well better toll the roads for cars too.  This, in my view, would certain end all arguments for a cycling fee.  If a cyclist caused nearly the damage a vehicle caused on the roads, I could totally see asking for a fee.  But cyclists are not the cause of pot holes, and rolls in the roads.  These come from heavier vehicles and city buses.

The issue of lawbreaking cyclist is a whole different issue.  I do think there should be more attention to red light running, and stop sign avoidance.  Cyclist are obligated to yield to pedestrians, and I firmly believe that this should be enforced.  Running over a pedestrian is truly indecent.  Hitting a pedestrian and taking off is or should be considered a hit and run, felony.  However, with that stated, pedestrians that jaywalk and walk into the paths of oncoming traffic, including cyclist should be cited as well. A jaywalking pedestrian that causes a collision should be cited and held accountable for damages if the cyclist was unable to stop in time.  Negligence is inexcusable.  There are no accidents, just lack of attention.  And this law should apply to everyone utilizing the streets, be it a cyclist, a car or a pedestrian.

Bike vacation adventures

Growing up I had a bike and I loved it.  I have never been a great cyclist.  I gave it up when I moved in with my fiance in 1990.  For some reason he found no reason for me to have a bike, and since our studio was small I agreed to get rid of my bike.  Later after we bought a house, I wanted a bike again.  He absolutely would not let me have one.  I was bitter about it, but I lived with it.  The problem I missed in this scenario is that he was abusive and controlling.

Not having my bike probably contributed to my eventual weight gain.  No excuses, but I think it attributed to a depressed state.  I worked nights for years and we had different schedules.  I look back on this now and wonder why I allowed this man to control things like this in my life.  This is just one instance of his control, there are many more.  I am not going to share those in this blog, because this blog is about biking.

My current partner bought a bike so he could bike with me.  We have taken one trip two years ago by Amtrak to Portland for a weekend of bike love.   This weekend was his birthday.  I decided to take him, or rather have him take me to Port Angeles.  He decided we should take our bikes.  He hates the bike rack we bought for his car so I was quite surprised that he wanted to strap the bikes on and take them with us.

We arrived Friday night and walked to the downtown area for a couple of drinks.  We found a brew pub and had a few samples of their flavors.  We then went around the corner to a place named Michael’s.  I ordered a 1st Street and Richard had a Vesper, think James Bond.  The 1st Street is House made Rosemary infused Hendricks Gin, balsamic reduction seasonal fruit muddled with basil and ice.  The fruit used for the one I had, was grapefruit, orange and lemon.  It was by far the best tasting cocktail I have ever had.

Saturday we went for the most watered down bloody mary’s and mediocre food.  Then off to ride a bike trail up the peninsula to the Coast Guard station.  It was a great ride and I loved the view and the sea air.  After that we checked the time and headed for a winery.  We ended up riding all over the place and down Highway 101, which is not my idea of fun.  We never did find the winery.  We ended up at this GastroPub to watch the Sounders game.  We walked in and The Master’s was on the TV.  Richard was positive they would not be watching Sounders, but the Chef saw our jerseys and informed us the game was qued up for 4:30.  So we ordered a bite to eat and Richard had a beer, I had a Sangria.  We watched the game and then at halftime I ordered this great salad with Crab and almonds, feta, fennel and some citrus vinaigrette.

After the game we headed back to the hotel and I was so tired I asked what he wanted to do.  I was willing to go back out, but frankly all the biking we did made me just want a hot bath and watch some movies.  We ended up grabbing some beer and bath salts at a local store and going out to this place called BushWhackers.  It seemed like a roadhouse until you got inside.  The food was decent and the staff friendly.  We ate then went back to the hotel and I took a long hot bath.  We then watched movies until we crashed, which for me was about 15 minutes.

It never occurred to me before to take my bike on trips.  Now I cannot imagine going anywhere without a bike or renting a bike.  From now on no matter what I will bike on vacations.  You cannot imagine the how much better you get to see a city perched upon the saddle of a bike.  I love it and I am so glad I have a partner to share this love with.

As a side note, Port Angeles is a great bike friendly town.  I had no idea this weekend was a mountain bike race.  I advise anyone that is interested in taking a bike on vacation to look up the city they intend to visit.  Find out if they have bike infrastructure.  Get ideas of where you would like to ride and then jump in the saddle and head out.

We are all our own advocates.

I read an article the other day in Bicycling Magazine, about how the worst enemies for bicycle infrastructure was actually misbehaving cyclist.  I thought about this as I read the article twice.  And there is a point there.  Most of us have needs and wants to be met.  Those in charge of granting those objects are often scrutinizing your every move.  Seriously have you ever been through a rough divorce?  I can tell you that whatever you do will be twisted into the most inaccurate description in front of a judge.  So a Friday night having a few drinks, suddenly becomes a huge orgy with the kids sleeping in the room next door.

So when we want things to make our lives more pleasant and safer we need to remember that those rules already in place must be followed.  Yielding to a pedestrian is a biggie for me.  As a cyclists with a few seasons I have seen many cyclists fail to yield.  This is part of my reasoning for not joining a bike club or riding in Critical Mass.  Making a complete nuisance of yourself is probably harming more than helping.  Are we so self righteous that we forget the rights of others to enjoy the streets and neighborhoods?

So as an advocate for myself and for safe streets for all, I implore you to please obey the traffic rules.  Stop at stop signals and signs, yield to the person who actually has the right of way, and for the love of humanity yield to pedestrians, they too are advocating for safe streets.  Why create enemies when you can have ally.

Thoughts I take from watching “The Lorax”

I am a huge Suess fan.  Give me all the great social agendas you want in brightly colored nonsensical  babble.  I have a list of favorites, but by far The Lorax has always had my heart.  For someone to put the environmental movement in the forefront of young minds is genius.  Seriously how do you reach adults?    Often through their kids.  You can get people to quit smoking, make better health choices and watch how they do things by utilizing their kids.

I love the message, which is so brief and simple.  “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing’s going to get better. It’s not.”  It is sadly true.  But what gives me hope is that there are people out there that do care.  Many care about many things and ultimately we have the power to evoke change and I believe the whole theme of many of Suess’s books is just that.  Change can happen, it is a matter of us caring enough to make an effort and to stand up for those things we believe in.  Standing up against those things we find wrong in our world, because it is our world!

I took my son to see the movie.  He doesn’t remember The Lorax from childhood, I never had that book for my kids.  I feel bad that he missed out on that one.  My son is one of those poor kids that gets drug around to all my enviro movies.  I took him for his bday to see “Food Inc.”, once I drug him to see “Fuel”.  He never really complains, I think he secretly likes documentaries and movies with a message.  But them he goes back to liking those weird video game based movies.  As a consolation I will plead that he is well balanced, now if I could just get him to eat more balanced!

If only Real Food had the same advertising pull that junk food has, pssst George Orwell was right.

What if we saw plastered on a huge billboard or the side of the bus, a picture of a bountiful variety to real food, including grains and veggies, fruit and even fish or poultry? What if beneath that sign it said America’s new Farmacy?  What if we dined on real food every meal?  What if for some strange reason the government decided to give you a tax write of on things like fresh produce, gym membership and running shoes?  Would this motivate us to eat healthier and be more active?  It would motivate me, but alas I am a unique case.  I am not swayed by commercialism, and capitalism creates a great stress in my life.  I am a true individual.  I do not want what everyone else has, I want the things that make me happy.  Those would be things like a roof over my head, some warm blankets, a nice cup of tea, some nights out to drink myself silly, good friends, great food, and adventures outside.  These things for the most part cannot be bought.  I am that sliver of a percent that barely contributes to our society economically.

So my thought here is, if I were in charge of things, well life would be way different.  First off corporations would not be in control of the governing bodies.  In fact the people would be in control.  I would give tax deductions for steps made for a healthier lifestyle.  I would require health insurance to cover you no matter what.  I would also require them to give great discounts for healthy lifestyle points.  I might even require them to cover a gym membership as part of the discount.  I think we could reduce the cost of health care, if we focused on supporting real food instead of medication as the answer.  Instead of getting insulin maybe we should initially prescribe two kale leaves, a bulb of garlic and some mushrooms.

When my kids were small, my husband and I were in a bitter divorce.  I took it upon myself to take as many parenting classes as possible.  If I didn’t have the money to fight him in court I could certainly do everything I could to provide proof I was the stronger parent.  It actually worked, but more importantly I learned many skills that could apply to things outside of raising children.  For example:  let the punishment fit the crime.  So if a food supplier fails to keep their production plants clean of pathogens, by  God they should have to lick that table and floor clean.  They want to send out tainted foods, they can be the first to ensure its safety.  Gage whether to send questionable food out, by if the CEO gets sick.  While we are at it, let’s make sure insurance company policies are the same for the clients as they are for the CEO and employees.

The absurdity of these suggestions are brought to you by the absurdity in the system we now support.  We rewarded Wall Street with bailouts, when we should have thrown those jerks in prison.  Let them be America’s Bitch for a moment, instead of the hard working people.   Our government is so wrapped around the corporations little fingers that We the people do not have a chance.  So if our votes do not count, what does?  Oh you guessed it, the same thing that keeps the corporations on top.  We need to vote with our dollars.  Yes, I went there.  We the people united, have the power to evoke change.  We have the power to bankrupt corporations.  But we all have to stand together.  You want WalMart out of your neighborhood, then for God Sake do not ever shop there.  If no one shops there, it goes out of business.  Ok I know now you will tell me that WalMart provides jobs for many people in your neighborhood.  No WalMart enslaves your neighbors and keeps them at part time so they do not have to provide health care.  What happens when that big corporation shuts down?  Smaller businesses have a chance to shine.  Smaller businesses can employ those that just got laid off.  But for this to happen we have to invest in our local small business.  Just like we need to invest in our local food supply.  If this concept is too foreign for you, check out the documentaries, “The Corporation” and “Freedom Fries: and other stupidity we will have to explain to our grandchildren.”  Both of these do a fine job of laying out how the system really works.  If you took US Government as  Junior in High School, you will be amazed at the differences from what you learned from a text book and what reality is in how our government works.  And then you may cry.  But you will hopefully be fueled with a determination to change things.

 

 

Changing our food system will take changing our perspective.

I was considering the idea that Americans as a rule, love to spend big money on things like coffee and alcohol, but in general food is viewed as too expensive.  This is a crazy perspective.  Are we truly willing to pay nearly $5 for a cup of coffee with no nutritional value yet balk at paying $5 for 3 apples?  How about when we go shopping, do we run to the aisle with the hamburger helper at $1.99 a box or do we go buy all the ingredients to make a pasta dish from scratch?

I often hear that food is so expensive, yet we pay over $4 for gas and no one complains anymore.  Are we more concerned about the cost of food because it is vital to our very being? Or are we so used to cheap industrial food, that food with a genuine cost to it shocks us silly?  I think it is a combination of both.  Had we never industrialized the food system, we would have been paying a genuine price for the last half a century. We would expect a handful of carrots to cost $5 and a bag of Doritos to cost $15.  No really, junk food should be charged according to it’s health benefit.  If Doritos cost me $15 a bag, I would probably only buy them once a month as a treat instead of once a day or every other day.  If soda cost $3 a serving, and I mean an 8oz serving, would it likely not be in every kid’s daily diet?  Would we balk at the cost of a gallon of milk if soda cost that much?  Probably not.  Nor would we be facing an obesity epidemic.

Taking it even further, maybe each one of us every meal should stop and think about the ingredients in our food.  From the lettuce that was trucked up from Mexico, hey yeah Mexico.  You know the place where all the illegal immigrants keep sneaking across our boarder to steal our jobs.  Oh you know those jobs picking fruit for pennies per pound.  The jobs that we so desperately seek are being stolen by those dirty immigrants. (Please take a moment to recognize satire here.)  Yeah those same dirty immigrants that grew your lettuce back home in Mexico.  The lettuce that should have come from a farmer close to you.  One that would participate in your economy.  Not some dirty foreigner that will just keep your money in his country.  See how absurd our food system is.  We expect cheap food, which perpetuates the immigration problems, which perpetuate the economic downfall, which increases cheap food.  Oh the vicious circle.  Can we ever escape?  Can we ever look at food with satisfaction and not fear again?  Of course you can.  You just need to not only respect your body, but your community and the local people that grow food for you.  Buck up and pay a bit more for fresh, and I mean fresh produce, poultry, meat and dairy.  Find a farm you can get fresh eggs from.  How about a dairy where you can buy fresh milk from.   Sure I still want imported cheese and wine, but I am willing to make that a treat.  That is something I splurge on.

Keeping on a budget is not as hard as most people think when it comes to food.  By focusing on what is in season, and what is local, you can get better deals and your body actually craves things that are in season.  In the winter I love root veggies and squash along with some lentils and mushrooms and not to be left out greens.  In the spring I go nuts for asparagus and fresh peas.  Oh and the baby spinach.  Summertime is for the fresh berries and fruits along with bruschetta.  Oh my, my mouth is watering.  Just thinking about the foods that we can cycle.  I love July in Seattle.  I can ride my bike around and find trucks camped out along the way selling fresh cherries and peaches.  Oh the joy of the first peach on the summer is quite extraordinary.

Again I ask, can you evolve your mind to walk past the cheap food and move onto real food.  Securing your own community economy, saving fossil fuel and the land are just a few of the benefits.  The number one benefit is that your health may just well improve.

AlleyCat Acres 2012 fundraiser and bike team!

This upcoming year I am co-captaining a bike team for my Garden/bike group AlleyCat Acres.  I am excited to be able to be part of this group.  We are working hard on a few projects and I am totally excited to get this ball rolling.  So soon I will start my fundraising endeavors and hope to be one of the top.  After the meeting today I am more excited to get going on this bike team and the bike riding.

So I am just posting this out there if anyone is inclined to sponsor me on the ride.  Grand prize I hear is a trip to DC to sit in on some food policy sessions.  So click here to go to the donation page, and I will be raising money for the tour de cure in a few months.  As I get ready to hit the streets again, I feel so out of shape.  My bike has been resting comfortably in my apartment for a couple of months.  I truly wish I had been able to ride in the snow.  No wait, I loathe snow, naw staying home and cooking more food than an army can eat was therapeutic.

Earlier this month, Richard bought a new bike.  He bought a bike two summers ago so he could ride with me.  He bought a pretty bike, but not well made and not practical.  I rode it before I got my new bike for a few months.  I just thought he was out of shape and didn’t understand gearing.  Nope, not him at all.  That bike is made for 1-2 mile and around the neighborhood trips.  My daughter is taking that bike, since she has never really biked before.  I hope eventually she gets that pesky biking bug.  I know she has the food bug, now she wants to get her business degree, then go on to culinary school.  Maybe I should go to culinary school .

Today we have our second official team ride, anyone may join us.  I am excited to get my bike out and explore.  I know the weather is cold, but not so cold we will not have fun. So just like every morning I am up early.  Not really early, but early enough.  I have been jittery all week, and I forgot to print my discount coupons.  We are riding through the Arboretum and then onto the Burke Museum to see a new food oriented display.  Cannot wait.  I hope to post a follow up this afternoon, maybe pictures.

Coping with the feeling of violation.

This last month there have been many car prowls/break-ins in my old neighborhood. My boyfriend and many of my friends still live in that hood, I live one hood over now. I feel the tension, I know it well. This last week my boyfriend and his roommates were burglarized. I too, know the feelings this causes. Several years ago I came home to find my place had been broken into. I am not a rich person. I did not have renter’s insurance and I certainly had no way to recovery the losses.

For nearly two months after that, I would get a knot in my stomach as I walked to my door. Would I find everything as I had left it, or would I have to clean up a mess again? I had issues sleeping and my appetite went down some. I would not want to be home, but I was afraid to leave the apartment. I was a prisoner of my own fear and anxiety. It took a long time and it took focus to overcome those feelings. I empathize with anyone who has endured this. Having your home violated, changes everything about it. Your home is your place of sanctuary, in fact on my check ins for Facebook, my home is named The Sanctuary. I truly feel that your home is the one place that you are free. You typically fill your home with things that comfort you, or that you enjoy. Things that remind you of better times.

I was so glad to move out within a year or two after that incident. I truly never did feel at ease there after that. Sadly what the thieves took from the boys was a few computers and stuff that was only of sentimental value. Things like a watch that belonged to a grandfather. Worthless and not running, yet of value to the person it belonged to. So the violation goes deeper than just the loss of things. It is the loss of your security, your right to feel safe is taken. Sometimes the mental anguish is much greater than the person lets on.  The only way to really conquer it, is to continue with life as usual.  I know it is hard, but you give power to the thieves by letting your anxiety and fear paralyze you.  Moving forward is the only destination.

Taking back your life is your only defense in these types of violations.