Same old, same old.

Now that we have totally gotten out of this recession *sarcasm* people are once again spending in droves. It seems consumer mindset is in full swing. I say this is a bad thing. We cannot go back to buying things we don't need and we cannot keep buying things to make us happy. We should be conserving resources! Has anyone learned anything from whats been going on? Last year there was a huge focus on being "green" which was mostly a marketing campaign, but the marketing campaign was a response to a growing environmental consciousness. Now since money is flowing once again, it seems everyone has forgotten about helping the environment. Our priorities are screwed up.

The future

I spend a lot of time thinking about how I am perceived. Being an American probably means I am using more energy, eating more food, and buying more stuff than my European counterpart. It's not exactly my fault, I am trying to cut back. Admitting you have a problem is the first part of therapy. As a country we need to step back and examine our priorities. Americans need to buy less and stop referring to themselves as consumers. Buying less plastic junk will also mean that people will have to rethink their work: does my job have a place in a sustainable future economy? I believe we are going to move back to agriculture eventually, organic agriculture to be precise. I also believe people are going to be driving a lot less than they are now. This concept should be embraced. People should relocate close to their workplaces, library, grocery store. The new model will be central cities as well as small villages surrounded by farmland. The new cities will be walkable as well as cycling friendly.

About being seen on a bicycle.

My mom keeps nagging me about putting more lights on my bicycle so I finally put down for another xenon strobe light and LED light strips on my bicycle. It was my aunts complaining that drove my mom to tell me to put more lights on my bicycle. I am partly pissed off because I feel as if my aunt doesn't believe in the cycling cause. She believes it is too dangerous to ride on the road and therefore they do not belong there. I believe that the continued habit of driving everywhere is dangerous for our society, but that's a different topic. I will put the extra lights on my bicycle begrudgingly, but they are necessary to keep me from getting killed. Cars suck.

Living in a unit, instead of a house.

I am always looking at ways to become more efficient and from my last post I talked about choosing a place to live. This post is about what type of living I hope to accomplish. My whole life I have spent living in single family homes (except for a duplex) and am now investigating whether it would be worth my while to live in a unit rather than a house. The main reason is efficiency. I don't really do anything with a lawn, so it doesn't make sense to have one. I especially don't need a driveway or garage, because I don't own a car. I like the idea of having shared walls to reduce heating and cooling costs and would like a building that isn't too high up to access my room with a flight of stairs (not a fan of elevators). The building must have secure bicycle parking in their garage and should be close to a grocery store, my workplace and a library. I am a big fan of ownership and have no interest in renting. I am looking for a permanent place. I would like to have a flexible association willing to investigate conservation measures such as adding extra insulation, having solar hot water panels on the roof, as well as allowing rooftop gardening. This is my American dream.

progress is slow.....

With global warming becoming a reality I have been thinking of moving to another country that is more supportive of cycling and transit. The answer of course would be somewhere in Europe. Here's where it gets a little sloppy though: even though places such as Germany and the Netherlands are very cycling friendly, they are also nearly 5000km away from Cleveland. Jet travel will inevitably get more expensive and I may not have the opportunity to visit my family if I live over there. Over the past few days I have been obsessing over this. Questions always pop up in my head about where I would like to be five years from now.
I guess my consensus now is that I am probably going to stay around the midwest area. I like my family and the community here. I might not stay in Ohio. They are way too conservative here and ODOT is not my friend. Maybe I will move some place that has more of a "village" feel. Here are my criteria for finding a city in which I would like to live: it must have groceries, library and work within 10mi of my home. It must have public transportation. It should have some type of cycling culture (at least 5% modal share is probably the highest number one could hope to reach over here) and it should have some type of nightlife scene and outdoor activities. The place should also have a low crime rate. Maybe college towns will fit the bill. My job is pretty portable, I can work anywhere there is a hospital, which is everywhere.
I am always looking for a transformation in how our nation is responding to the rising need of cycling, walking and transit and progress is always slow and depressing. It seems everyone in America is still fixated on driving everywhere because that is all they know. Every now and then there is a ray of hope. I like reading planetizen because it shares my point of view, but there is little interest in my views in the regular news.

No more paper!!!!!!!

About a month ago I got a Tablet PC with the notion of using it for my online classes. So far its been great to read off of and write notes. All my class notes are in PDF so I use PDF annotator to add comments to it, just as I would a regular sheet of paper. By the end of this class it will save me time (not having to print everything out) and money (not having to buy ink) and I feel really good about not having to use any more paper. I also feel more organized with this system because all the PDFs are already named for me and I dont have to punch and bind all those papers. Why aren't more people doing this? Maybe all the teachers should provide students with the option of using electronic documents for handouts and assinments. Unorganized paper spreads across my desk like the plague!

What I'm doing with my life.

I have been exercising more recently. I am still riding my bicycle and walking my dog, but I have also started to take yoga and pilates classes at a nearby gym. What really makes this such a great deal is that my dad and mom are both doing it, so I am motivated to go as well. As far as food goes I haven't been eating very healthy food. Most of my meals are meat and potatoes with a side of ice cream. Cholesterol city. I tried to become a vegeterian about a year ago because of the health benefits and for the environmental benefits but fell of the wagon because my parents werent into it, and they usually cook dinner. Oh well.