be the change you wish to see in the world
It’s a bit busy around here! I’m working on some really cool things right now, and hitting the homestretch for my masters’ thesis. Yikes!
But I still found time to read this great post.
And I also want to point out that I’m close to knocking out another one of my 2008 goals. So close I can almost taste it!
So I sucked big time this week!
1. Climb 2x a week. Only made it once, sadly. I was at the gym a second time, but was working instead.
2. Practice yoga 3-4x a week. Yikes, only once.
3. Walk to work 3-4x a week. Only once!
4. Have a strong outline for my thesis. Still data mining! This is getting absurd. 
So the question is – what DID I do this week?!
A lot of interesting news stories lately…
Don’t be so quick to buy that playstation.
Once again, your brain is fooling you.
Americans don’t like sex.
Math is not tough.
I have recently discovered the downside to faithfully reading my favorite blogs. Occasionally, these bloggers will post something that, for whatever reason, lets you down. It might be badly written, it might have an offensive tone, or it might just run counter to what you thought you believed about that blogger.
I first tasted this disappointment when David at The Good Human posted about the HPV vaccine. After my initial comments, I have yet to go back and read that post again because I had such a strong reaction (one reason why I am not linking to it). In fact, I’ve noticed that my visits to that site have definitely decreased, which is unfortunate, because it’s an awesome awesome site (and still in my blogroll). Vaccine issues are something I feel strongly about, because public health prevention is so important and so key to our nation’s health.
Disappointment #2 came on the Brazen Careerist. I found Penelope through her Yahoo column. Despite the devastating comments, I thought she had very clever and important things to say. When she left Yahoo, I became a fan of her blog (which was more personal and thus more well-rounded). Until this post, which turned me off the entire site for a couple of months. I was so disappointed in the defensive tone. In my mind, Penelope had fought off the horrible comments on Yahoo, only to fall prey to the need to justify her actions. Luckily, this story has a happy ending – when I came back to the Brazen Careerist, this post reminded me why I love this site.
And then there was the infamous “purity’ post at Zen Habits. I love Leo and his site. I love his writing and I find his lists to be very useful. But then his guest poster left this piece of drivel. It was so unzen and so un-Leo. And frankly, so surprising to see. The only good thing about it was the fabulous comments. I didn’t stop reading Zen Habits, because this was more a lapse in judgment in choosing a guest author, vs an actual post from the blog author himself.
The latest blogger to disappoint is Trent at the Simple Dollar. His posts are normally excellent and helpful. They are chockful of useful simple information. More importantly, he writes about his own experiences. And occaisoanlly, that can bite you in the ass. His latest is a reflection of his personal belief. Nothing wrong with that, except when you’re writing for not just yourself. What is most disappointing about this post, though, is the commentary. While some people have stopped short and questioned the tone, most of the responders fall in line with Trent. This disturbs me.
Bloggers aren’t perfect, after all. And eventually, everyone will disappoint. We are human after all. Still, it’s always so hard to be reminded of that.
After recently learning that my immune system is a little on the weak side, I have begun an in-depth exploration into my diet. Before the advent of modern pharmaceuticals, the best way to regulate health was through diet. Even now, I believe it is the best way, though of course, drugs do make things a bit easier! But eating simple, diverse, and minimally processed foods is the cheapest and most effective method for addressing minor, non-specific conditions that occaisonally affect overall health.
As a nutrition researcher, I’m familiar with the importance of a balanced diet. As an American, I sometimes forget that fact, and look for the quick and easy shortcuts. Some of those are harmless, but some are not. Shortcuts I’ve fallen into in the past:
Box it up. There is no faster way to make a meal than to open a box of something easy-to-prepare, add some water/milk/oil and chow down. But a lot of boxed foods are overly processed and contain those unpronounceable ingredients that aren’t doing you any good.
Zap it. I used to worship the microwave. Now I barely use it. There’s some controversy about whether there are any adverse health effects from microwaving. I don’t know the answer, but I do know that nothing ever tastes very good out of the microwave.
Have it your way. Fast food is cheap and easy, the two things we need more of in life. Unfortunately, it’s also fat- and calorie-laden. It’s also an industry that contributes to a large amount of social injustice and environmental degradation.
Superfoods. Some foods are healthier than others. But eating off a specific list is not making you any healthier. Special additives aren’t really all that helpful either.
So what’s the answer? Don’t think of food as a way to get specific nutrients. Think of it as a way to improve your health overall.
At the same time, food shouldn’t be an afterthought – something you have to do, or else. It should be mindful and joyful. You should revel in your tastebuds. You should embrace quality.
I’m working on a better diet plan to improve balance. I need more colorful vegetables and fruits, particularly the dark, leafy kind. I also want more variety – not just in individual items, but within dishes.
it isn’t about antioxidants and vitamin K and calcium and low carbs. It’s about the big picture of health.
Not so bad this week:
1. Climb 2x a week. Only made it once, but have a plan to make next week better.
2. Practice yoga 3-4x a week. Five days this week!
3. Walk to work 3-4x a week. Walked 6 times to/from work!
4. Have a strong outline for my thesis. Still data mining! Should be done this weekend.
Mrs Micah recently issued a personal finance challenge – take one single step towards improving your personal finances.
I thought long and hard about this one and couldn’t think of anything. Truth be told, my finances are in excellent shape (recent stock market troubles notwithstanding). I took a look at the responses to see if I could get an idea of something I might want to do, and found nothing.
Because here’s the thing – I’m on a debt repayment plan (currently scheduled to be debt-free by the end of August), I have a wonderful budget, I’m tracking savings, I have diversified retirement, I have a will, I’ve gone paperless, and I have a plan. What does that leave me?
Well, I just realized there’s one thing I haven’t done – make a public announcement. I don’t mean shouting from the rooftops and spreading the news. I mean a public declaration for accountability. Because next to tracking, accountability is the second biggest reason why goals are successfully achieved.
So, here’s my first (or perhaps last) step on the road to fabulous finances:
1. I have a budget. It consists of a number of categories (some broken down to weekly expenses) for both expenditures and income sources. It also contains additional sheets for future tracking of monetary flow.
2. I have two savings accounts and automatic expenditures into one. The second one has manual deposits from my second job (who actually has to mail checks anymore?).
3. I contribute to my 403b a set amount per paycheck. My employer also contributes, and I track my 401k from my old job. I also contribute the max to my Roth IRA.
4. I have a will, which names beneficiaries (also named on each account). I also have a living will.
5. I have no dependents, so I have no life insurance, but I do have long-term disability. I also have homeowners insurance (for my condo).
6. Everything is set up to run paperless and automatic. I still monitor things on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis as necessary.
7. I am currently working out a budget for my move overseas while on fellowship.
8. I am currently contributing any leftover income to my travel savings account, for post-fellowship.
9. I will be out of debt by the end of August, and have already set up the auto transfers to pay off what’s left.
10. I have two credit cards that I use regularly for rewards (paid off every month). I’ve allocated certain categories of expenditures for each card to maximize the rewards.
So there we go. Now I have some public accountability!
I am a packrat. I am horribly disorganized. I have poor time management skills. I could stand to work on prioritizing.
I know all this, and accept these things about myself. I read lots of blogs about how to be more productive, how to be more organized, how to manage time better. I’ve tried a number of web hacks to achieve better flow in life.
But I have finally come to a simple conclusion.
I don’t need decluttering advice. I don’t need organization hacks. I don’t need a scheduling process. I don’t need 43 folders.
I need a personal assistant to take care of these things for me!
Let me be honest. Details bore me. My job is to come up with the ideas… someone else makes it happen (and while they’re at it, they can clean my office).
Whoever said that a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind missed a really important fact. Some of us are able to find calm in the center of the clutter. The clutter, disorganization, procrastination, time-wasting, what-have-you, is peripheral. My focus is internal.
Because at the end of the day, I get the job done, and I do it well. Messy desk notwithstanding.
I had a conversation recently with some colleagues about what adaptation means. The context was global warming, but it could easily be rising prices+inflation+tightening credit (I happen to not think these are all separate).
When it comes to climate change, the experts all talk about adaptation and mitigation. Adapting meant changing, and mitigating meant lessening. Nowadays, we talk about the two in the same sentence, because one will require the other. We can’t mitigate effects on the environment without adapting to major changes in our lifestyle.
So the bottom line – adaptation means hard change. It doesn’t mean biofuel or recycling. It means bikes and reusable packaging. It means giving up our dependence not just on oil, but on energy. It means moving from the suburbs to the city. It doesn’t mean canceling the cable, it means blackout days. Turning off piped water. Doubling the percentage of your income you spend on food.
This seems unduly pessimistic, but the early warnings are being seen already. Having to choose between heat and food doesn’t seem like something the average American worries about it. But it will. Maybe not in the next 10 years, but probably in the next 50-100. We’re way behind in the research for alternative fuels, and until we hit the tipping point in the changeover, we’ll be living hard times for a while. Of course, in a 100 years, most of us won’t be around anymore, but our kids will. And this is what we leave for them.
Life will get interesting in the next several years. Food prices might stabilize, but oil is not likely to. The area I live in is changing USDA hardiness zones, which is resulting in some interesting new biotica. Globally, we’re seeing tropical diseases in temperate zones, rising sea levels, the breakup of polar ice, and mass desertification of some of the most important agricultural areas in the world.
Of course, not everyone believes that climate change is something to worry about. Perhaps not. But the symptoms (even if they are of something else) are still there for us to see and address. The question is, how will we react?
