Saving the Planet

In Boulder, alternate energy sources are abundant and you will VERY rarely see someone actually throw anything away that can be recycled.  Cardboard, newpaper, aluminum cans, glass bottles, junk mail, milk cartons, juice containers, and even the cardboard box tampons come in!  You name it, they recycle it!  It not just about recycling.  Its about water and fuel and pollution and open space and so on.  Here in AZ, it seems that the standard thought process is about a decade behind when it comes to preserving our natural resources.  Don't get me wrong; people still think of it. Just not nearly to the degree they do in Boulder.

I have decided not to let the fact that I live in AZ deter me from my Boulderite sense of energy awareness.  So yes, I still recycle.  And yes, as soon as its not 110 when I get off of work, I'll be commuting on bike.  But the most recent decision I have come to, is that I am going to line-dry all my clothes.  I first thought of it when I noticed that you cannot turn on the light in my laundry room without a fan turning on.  I cleverly deducted that the reason behind such mandatory air circulation was because a dryer heats the air you are paying $$$ to cool with A/C.  Hence, the fan to draw out the hot air before it seeps into the rest of the apartment simply to get cooled back down.  My conclusion?  Skip the dryer all together and hang your laundry.  I found a convenient rack that can hold almost a full load  (I don't want my personals hanging off my balcony, anyway) and it collapses nicely to be stored when not in use. (The one I have is similar to this: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=11072972)  So yes I'm saving energy, but that's not even the best part!  My clothes dry QUICKER in the AZ summer sun then they do in the dark confines of man-made dryer.  Ironic, eh?

I guess I should mention one thing to AZ's credit. I noticed that my water heater is located outside in the storage closet off my deck.  It makes a perverse sort of sense...  I already miss the snow.

Pushing Through The Pain

Some of you may be privy to this, but others may not be.

I am training for a marathon.

Why on Earth would I ever do such a thing? Well, its simple really. I'm doing it for cancer research. I found a program called Team in Training that trains aspiring athletes while raising money for all types of Blood related cancers.

Check out my website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs10/kogilvi0a1

I can honestly say, its not a lot of fun to actually get up at 5:30 AM almost every morning to run just so I can get my mileage in before 1) it gets "hot" (typically its about 80 deg in the mornings) and 2) so I'll have time to cool down so people don't ask me why my face is so red. When I work out, my skin goes from almost translucent white to bright red!

Although, its not fun, I am already starting to see the benefits of running on a consistent basis. My legs are solid muscle and I seem to sleep 9 times better than I ever have in the past.

I am now on my 4th week of training and therefore have worked up to about 4 miles on my long runs. I can only imagine how I'm going to feel once I'm up to 10 or 15 miles. The first mile always sucks, but as my coach says, it does not suck as much as a round of chemo. As long as that holds true, I'll keep running toward the finish line!

p.s. Feel free to contribute to TNT on my website! (Link is above)

Like buttah'

I recently started using my counter-top butter container again. For those of you unaware, a butter container is the second best invention in the history of the world. (The first being the wheel.) It is a porcelain container that keeps your butter fresh at room temperature. You put 1/2 inch of water in the container but the lid is a large enough to mash a stick of butter inside of it. Thus, when you place the lid on the container, the butter is sealed from the air, protecting it from spoiling quickly. Butter at room temperature ALWAYS!!! Its genius! No more cutting little tiny pieces and taking so much time spreading the butter that your toast goes cold before you eat it. S'wonderful!!!

The reason why I said "recently started using, again" is because there is a delicate balance that must be upheld when one lives on their own. You see, although the container offers air-tight protection, nothing can maintain butter indefinately; even the freezer. When I first got my porcelain chassis, I would put an entire stick of butter in the lid. Unfortunately, (and fortunately for my heart) I do not eat a whole stick of butter very quickly. I learned relatively quickly that rotten butter smells almost as bad as rotten fish. Seeing how this is not a scent Victoria's Secret would pick up in its next round of perfumes, I decided to quit using it until a future date when I had a family to help me dispose of the butter in a manner more pleasing to the senses.

When I moved into my new apartment and ran across my porcelain container as I was unpacking boxes, I decided to give it one more shot. This time, I only put in about 1/3 of a stick each time I refilled. It works! I can now get through my butter without the rancid disposal process.