This weekend I'm volunteering at the 2004 Tour of Solar and Green Built Homes and it has gotten me excited again about the dream of living Off-grid. What could be better?
First of all: No utility bill.
Second: Getting to build your own wind turbine. How cool is that?
But most importantly: Living with just a little bit more freedom. Knowing that you can provide electricity and climate control for yourself and your family. Knowing that you are decreasing the level of harmful emissions, if even just the tiniest fraction. Lessening your own personal negative impact on your world.
Plus: Being able to proclaim yourself Queen/King of the Hippies and having all other hippies bow down to your green-ness!
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Come On, Now...
A funny sign at my school this morning located near the stairs:
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE
5th Floor - Use Elevator
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE
5th Floor - Use Elevator
Monday, September 27, 2004
Moving Right Along
As happens in, you know, life things are ending and things are beginning.
The ended part: My student group had its first event on Friday and it went really well. No technical difficulties, people showed up, the caterers brought fantastic vegan food and we even had the added bonus of a vegan dessert table.
The event itself was a screening of the documentary Peaceable Kingdom with a guest speaker from the film following with a lecture and Q&A. The film was incredibly moving and I think that many in the audience learned something. So, all in all: Success!
The beginning part: I have officially begun a senior's honors thesis which I will defend in April. I'm very excited about the topic (extraterrestrial energy resources and the feasibility of using these on Earth) and about working with my advising team. This is more than likely very boring to others, however, so I will probably write very little about it here.
The stagnant part: The personal statement. Congrats to Janine for finishing a draft! I have a couple of days off of school at the end of this week. I'm feeling confident about making progress during this long weekend. No, really.
The ended part: My student group had its first event on Friday and it went really well. No technical difficulties, people showed up, the caterers brought fantastic vegan food and we even had the added bonus of a vegan dessert table.
The event itself was a screening of the documentary Peaceable Kingdom with a guest speaker from the film following with a lecture and Q&A. The film was incredibly moving and I think that many in the audience learned something. So, all in all: Success!
The beginning part: I have officially begun a senior's honors thesis which I will defend in April. I'm very excited about the topic (extraterrestrial energy resources and the feasibility of using these on Earth) and about working with my advising team. This is more than likely very boring to others, however, so I will probably write very little about it here.
The stagnant part: The personal statement. Congrats to Janine for finishing a draft! I have a couple of days off of school at the end of this week. I'm feeling confident about making progress during this long weekend. No, really.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Why Law?
Anna Ivey from Vault.com helps applicants answer the question: "Why Law?"
Why are you going to law school? Or if you're already there why did you go? If you have a blog entry that answers this question let me know. I'd like to gather them all together and put them on the side bar.
Why are you going to law school? Or if you're already there why did you go? If you have a blog entry that answers this question let me know. I'd like to gather them all together and put them on the side bar.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Am I The Only One?
Am I the last to complete the personal statement? I'm about to resort to the plan where I lock myself away somewhere with my laptop and resolve not to come out until I have a decent first draft. The logical to-do-list-obsessed part of me is screaming, "Just write it! Just do it! It's not going to get any easier! Do you realize it's September 21st already? Do you?"
I will write it. I swear. After I write my Dante paper. And my engineering paper. Oh, and after I study for my Econ test. Maybe this weekend...
I will write it. I swear. After I write my Dante paper. And my engineering paper. Oh, and after I study for my Econ test. Maybe this weekend...
Monday, September 20, 2004
A Little Sad
Two young kids, one from Colorado State University and one from my school CU Boulder, died recently. In each case the mostly likely cause of death was alcohol poisoning. The girl from CSU apparently drank the equivalent of 40 beers in 11 hours. She reportedly posted on her blog that day that she was going to "get extremely wasted" (or wording very similar) that night.
The boy was a frat pledge at my school who had just won a spot on the lacrosse team and supposedly told his mother earlier that the day had been one of the best of his life.
The alcohol culture at my school is extremely pervasive. I think it is incredibly scary and sad when 18 and 19 year olds feel like they have to apologize for not drinking. I think it is pathetic that the kids that come to class on Fridays with hangovers are seen as "cool." Yeah, yeah, it's all part of the "college experience." But why? Why does drinking necessarily have to be a part of every young person's life?
Maybe some of the young people on these campuses will have that realization where they think, "It could have been me!" and have one less shot of tequila or 5 less beers next time. Maybe.
The boy was a frat pledge at my school who had just won a spot on the lacrosse team and supposedly told his mother earlier that the day had been one of the best of his life.
The alcohol culture at my school is extremely pervasive. I think it is incredibly scary and sad when 18 and 19 year olds feel like they have to apologize for not drinking. I think it is pathetic that the kids that come to class on Fridays with hangovers are seen as "cool." Yeah, yeah, it's all part of the "college experience." But why? Why does drinking necessarily have to be a part of every young person's life?
Maybe some of the young people on these campuses will have that realization where they think, "It could have been me!" and have one less shot of tequila or 5 less beers next time. Maybe.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
A Living Final
I'm pretty sure I was somebody's final exam today. I went in for my physical therapy - for my syndromed knee and sprained ankle - and much to my surprise I was therapied by a student. There was a lot of Socratic method being bandied about between doctor and student and way too much poking and prodding with nervous, cold hands.
I think maybe before a doctor's office has a new patient be a living final they might ask first. Or at least inform them that they are going to be looked at by someone who may or may not be competent. Just a thought.
I just hope she passed.
I think maybe before a doctor's office has a new patient be a living final they might ask first. Or at least inform them that they are going to be looked at by someone who may or may not be competent. Just a thought.
I just hope she passed.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Fall Day
Fall Day may just be my favorite holiday. It signals the end of the go-go-go mentality of Summer and the start of settling into a few months of snuggly weather and hibernation behavior. Coffee and cider in the evenings with new TV, wearing a favorite sweater for the first time since early Spring, that satisfying feeling of long hours studying while the cold wind is blowing leaves around outside. That burnt orange and brown and yellow colors that are suddenly everywhere one day. The first snow of the season. The first big snow of the season. Cooking with pumpkins and squashes and apples and cinnamon. The holiday times when everyone's kind of nice.
Eight more days until the day!
Eight more days until the day!
Monday, September 13, 2004
Learning Latin
Instead of starting a new book I've decided to try and teach myself Latin. I've gotten through the first five units of the book/audio combo. So far it hasn't been too difficult, and is actually very satisfying. It's nice attempting to learn a language without the constant threat of oral exams and presentations.
I have a fascination with obscure languages. Latin is probably the most practical of the languages I'm most interested in learning. My boyfriend only wants to learn languages that we can actually, you know, communicate with others in. How provincial! ;-)
The tops of my language to-do list are Welsh and Latin. His are Portuguese and Japanese. We settled on Chinese (Mandarin) . Mostly because we want to watch Kung Fu movies without the subtitles.
I have a fascination with obscure languages. Latin is probably the most practical of the languages I'm most interested in learning. My boyfriend only wants to learn languages that we can actually, you know, communicate with others in. How provincial! ;-)
The tops of my language to-do list are Welsh and Latin. His are Portuguese and Japanese. We settled on Chinese (Mandarin) . Mostly because we want to watch Kung Fu movies without the subtitles.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Wicked
The last time I can remember being truly sad at having reached the end of a book was the first time I read the Hobbit. Don't get me wrong, I've loved lots of books in between, but that feeling of remorse as the right hand side pages decrease in number is unique. This most recent book to hit me where it hurts is Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.
I love the cleverness that can arise from looking at a story or situation from a relatively minor character's point of view. I also believe that analyzing a "good" or "evil" character in order to find the grey areas of their morals and personality is an excellent exercise. Probably one that should be practiced in real life as well.
Anyway, this book follows the life of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz from her birth to her death. One aspect of the story that particularly appealed to me was the Witch as a defender of Animal rights. I could feel her pain when she looked around with bewilderment at how Animals in her world were treated, and wondered why no one else noticed - or if so, didn't care. She doesn't use the word "humanity" because to her, to be human is to be capable of the most horrendous acts imaginable. "That's all I want," she asserts at one point in the story, "to do no harm." Again - relatable.
A beautiful story that looks at "evil" and wonders if it really is.
I love the cleverness that can arise from looking at a story or situation from a relatively minor character's point of view. I also believe that analyzing a "good" or "evil" character in order to find the grey areas of their morals and personality is an excellent exercise. Probably one that should be practiced in real life as well.
Anyway, this book follows the life of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz from her birth to her death. One aspect of the story that particularly appealed to me was the Witch as a defender of Animal rights. I could feel her pain when she looked around with bewilderment at how Animals in her world were treated, and wondered why no one else noticed - or if so, didn't care. She doesn't use the word "humanity" because to her, to be human is to be capable of the most horrendous acts imaginable. "That's all I want," she asserts at one point in the story, "to do no harm." Again - relatable.
A beautiful story that looks at "evil" and wonders if it really is.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
In The Presence of Celebrity
Okay, check it out: Sarah from MTV's Road Rules 11 Campus Crawl is in my Physics class. I'm not kidding you. She just joined the class on Tuesday - after the first homework was due. If I had been paying attention in the hall before class I would have recognized her and offered to give her the assignment, but I didn't. Damn.
Anyway, I've decided I'm going to sit a couple of rows behind her and pretend I'm watching TV. Every time I look at her I get the Road Rules song in my head. You know the one: Doo dee doo, these are the road rules...Hum dee dum, here are the road rules...
Okay, well I don't actually know the song. I do know that this whole minor celebrity extravaganza is going to make physics class much more entertaining.
Anyway, I've decided I'm going to sit a couple of rows behind her and pretend I'm watching TV. Every time I look at her I get the Road Rules song in my head. You know the one: Doo dee doo, these are the road rules...Hum dee dum, here are the road rules...
Okay, well I don't actually know the song. I do know that this whole minor celebrity extravaganza is going to make physics class much more entertaining.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
One Answer
Kristine at Divine Angst provides her answer to the question: "Why Law?"
An excerpt:
An excerpt:
Because it's interesting to me, it will allow me to do things I enjoy (like write and research), I'm definitely qualified, and there's a chance—a pretty big one—that when I'm out, I'll actually be able to get a job related to my graduate education.
New Glasses
Did you know that trees have individual leaves? Not just close up, but far away, too? Did you know that it is possible to drive at night? How about reading for more than an hour without getting a blinding headache? These are just some of the things I have learned from my new glasses in the past two days. I have also learned that magnetic clip-on sunglasses are just about the coolest things you can put on your face.
Here's to right angles!
Here's to right angles!
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Friday, September 03, 2004
Oh, the drama of it all...
So it turns out my knee has an actual condition. A syndrome, if you will. I guess it's pretty common and is also called "runner's knee." Still, it's been a pretty sucky week because of it. It started hurting very badly during my sports conditioning class on Tuesday - and just kept on hurting. It started freaking me out so I decided to go in and see a specialist. This is where I found out about my syndrome - and how I have to start physical therapy, and how I can no longer go to the gym classes I love - again! I guess it doesn't sound like such a big deal, but I'm pretty bummed out about it. I've found some new classes that are within my new, limited capabilities but I don't think they will be nearly as fun. Plus they don't as well with my schedule. Still, I'll make the best of it and hope that I'll be better soon.
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