Debt Dilemma

My life right now is a waiting game.  Waiting to hear back from schools to then decide where I'm going to spend the next three years.  Once we know, we can plan the next stage of our life.  We are thinking more and more it will be back in the Bay Area, as I've been accepted to California College of the Arts in SF.  A fantastic school with an awesome architecture program.  I should be ecstatic!  Why am I not?  Well, its a private art school that will run me a little over 30 K a year for 3 years... that's 3 times 30...equals a whole lotta dough, and a lot of interest to boot!

So I'm consumed with weighing the options of that being my best shot (if Berkeley doesn't come through... what's taking them so long!!) and wondering if its wise to go for it, damn the debt, and work my ass off afterwards to eternally pay it back.  I mean, that's the American way no?  The price I have to pay for quality education and the chance to move ahead in life.  Now, in a perfect world where the economy isn't tanking and I don't lie awake at night thinking the free market system is finally crashing and I should concentrate on growing food and building a home for the long term goal of sustainable old age, I think maybe the future is nothing but rainbows and high-paying commissions for sustainable architecture, and I'd have no dilemma at all.  But we all know that's not the case and the future is tentative at best.  Now, 3 years from now, this current crisis could all be a distant memory, or if history is our teacher, forgotten altogether, and we'll be on to the next bubble of business and profit$.  In that case, I should definitely go for it!

I know a lot of you are reading this thinking: Hell, I have waaaay more debt than this guy, and I'm making it.  House, car, school, saving for kid's school, etc.  Suck it up!  Join the club and get on with it.  OK, admittedly I've long lived with a philosophy that big debt is bad and the current form of slavery, or at least indentured servitude, and Jen has never had debt and we enjoy a certain freedom because of it.  What is lost and what is gained from debt?  From the living today on the hopes of tomorrow's earnings.  A scary time to do the math, I know, and no one (including and especially those in charge) know what the hell the world will look like in 3 or 5 years.  Do you?  If you are reading this, please comment and tell me your opinion, any advice, or your experiences living with/under/through indebtedness.  Roll the dice with me...

Casey

photo gallery

just getting around to posting some more photos of our apartment and the people we are getting to spend time with these days...

360 view

for those of you who might have missed this on facebook....here is a short video of what we see everyday, taken about a month ago...enjoy! we miss you and would love to hear from you soon. muchlove, jen

Could it be....Spring?

They say winter isn't over just yet, but we've had some glorious sunny weather that has melted most of the snow; at first, I was sad the snow was gone because it was how I related to my surroundings, the blanket of white. But now, the plants are peeking out of the ground and the animals seem to be rejoicing in this warmer reprieve... I even saw a bunny frolicking about the other day. Oh joy, it must be Spring!

I, too, am ready to come out of hibernation. For the first time, we donned down vests instead of parkas, and headed out on foot to find the Lee Reservoir. We walked down the street, past the flowing Housatonic River, over the bridge and then followed the creek upstream. It is nice to see rushing water again and hear the sounds of nature reawakening.

At the very top of the hill, we stumbled upon Leahey Farm, started in the early 1800s and has been in the same family ever since. They have cows and chickens and horses. They raise healthy, chemical free beef, and wonderful green blue eggs, which we were gifted with-so nice! They are about our age and doing everything they can to improve the quality of the soil naturally and be organic farmers and spread the word of their farm products locally.

They were wonderful to meet and it is nice to know there are people here who care about the land, preserving it and making a sustainable farm work, which is not easy in this day and age. I will make them some muffins and drop them over to thank them for the eggs, seems mighty country-friendly-like, dontcha think?

Their black and white dog escorted us the rest of the way, past their farm and straight up to the reservoir. He seemed to know just where to go....running ahead, and then waiting for us to catch up. As we neared further into the forest, the snow got thicker and the wind did pick up some, but we finally made it to the top to find the reservoir still frozen over, but an unbelievable view of the valley below. We even were able to spot our farmhouse all the way across many many acres of meadow, off in the distance. It is a beautiful place, this Berkshires...I can see it as a place that is easy to live, with kind people and a connection to nature and the arts that is strong. Our time here may be limited, but for me at least, it is so enriching to be here. Especially, in the quality of time I am getting with my family.

I am drinking this all in, trying to be useful, of service and be a good listener. I have enjoyed every moment so far...I think after 2 months, we are finding our rhythm together. Casey, of course, is a superstar and so nurturing, I could not ask for a more caring soul to walk this life with. And not only is he gentle, he is smart too....he's already been accepted to 2 out of 4 schools so far!! We're waiting to hear back from the other two, one of them Berkeley, his first choice school. Keep fingers crossed!! I am so proud of him.

And for now, I am present to the longer days, the feeling of all life waking up.... I had forgotten how special the change of seasons are....even Nola is exploring outside now too. We hope your Spring brings a renewed sense of wellbeing and vitality and that you too, are enjoying this soul-stirring cycle of the seasons. What seeds are you planting?

check out this article

i have so much i want to say about my experience training as a Nutrition Educator at Bauman College in berkeley, but i've been so wrapped up in this move and my family, that the subject has taken a huge backseat in my life. but it is there, just floating around, waiting to be acknowledged again. i have yet to take out my books and review the year's notes. subjects have come up with family and friends around the effects of Splenda, or why is high fructose corn syrup bad for you...and I will definitely address these questions in later posts. But for now, I just read an excellent article that I hope you will read too.

If you're curious about the argument for or against the use of soy products in relation to its impact on our health, here is a great article that breaks it down really well. I hope you'll take a look because this product is so pervasive in our food supply that I really want to bring some more awareness to this controversial food. It is a long article, but a really educational and unbiased assessment that is worth reading.

http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/issues/spring-2007/the-dish-on-soy/

I'd love to hear your feedback and your personal experience with soy...

Thanks for listening...more to come on this subject, not to mention my observations of the food they are feeding my parents at the old age home. But that's a whole other blog entry!

Also, here is a great nutrition blog done by a friend graduate from Bauman...her topics are in nice bite-size chunks, easy for digesting! (nutrition humor!!) http://www.bodaweightloss.com/blog/

For now, I wish you all good health and as always, thanks for being here.
Much love, jen

Sustaining Life

Many of you know that I am very interested in the concept and practice of Sustainability.  On a personal scale of treading lightly, and in a global scale of real survivability for the future generations (those of you who have procreated should be especially interested in this aspect).  There's an abundance of talk on this issue, from Obama's speech last night, all the way down to Chevron asking you to change your light bulbs, but what are we REALLY trying to accomplish? Jen and I recently took a trip up to Burlington, Vermont to visit some friends.  There we found a community that we really loved!  College town, great music scene, a wintertime farmer's market, and cafes and restaurants serving food from the local "foodshed".  Coming from the Bay Area, we felt right at home.  And Sustainability was in the air once more.  Living it and practicing it, because if we wait till tomorrow, well... its already too late.

 

Until recently, I've had a hard time getting my head around this issue.  I know China is building a new coal fired power plant approximately once a week!, and that 15 % of their pollution floats across to the western U.S. and that half of their air pollution comes from manufacturing items for export to places like us.  But with all these stats and more, I still have difficulty understanding what this all MEANS to me, and how to approach it with a actual GOAL to achieve.  Well, we might finally have what we're looking for.

What are the measurable goals when it comes to global climate change?  We hear of nations signing pacts to reduce our CO2 emissions because we know that this is the gas that is locking in the heat, causing the climate to shift erratically.  Because the problem is global, and we are a globe of many languages and emotions, perhaps the answer isn't a linguistic one.  We've seen politicians debate words and that gets us no where.  What we need is a NUMBER, something that all languages can wrap their heads around.  James Hansen, perhaps our greatest climatologist, has taken his years of research and wrapped it in a number.  THAT NUMBER IS 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide.

This number represents the upper bounds that our atmosphere can safely support life on earth as we know and like it.  Anything more than that and things start to unravel, just like they are now.  And right now, the atmosphere is carrying 385 ppm CO2.  You do the math!  Our work is set for us, and the next question is: What do we do to reduce this number?  If you think like me, then you say "Sure, I've changed my light bulbs to cfl's, cut my water usage, put up PV panels, insulated my home, etc., but what are the big corporations doing?  the Coal Plants? the industry spewing tons of toxins in to the air and watersheds?"  Exactly.  These are the people (and corporations ARE PEOPLE) that must get the message, the goal, and the pressure to reduce, curb and ultimately stop the cycle that trades short term profits for long term environmental damage.

Now what I haven't figured out is how to get the message of 350 out there.  I'm open to ideas.  Author and activist Bill McKibben has started 350.org to help tattoo this message on humans brains everywhere.  check it out.  Instilling meaning in a number might be our greatest challenge but I know we as artists, parents and humans can do it.

Casey

Covered in Russian Sweat

It's not what you think. Ok, it's exactly what you think.  Jen and I ventured down to Brooklyn this weekend and hooked up with some Russian friends Gleb and Kate, who we met and got to know on our honeymoon in Mexico 2 1/2 years ago. Very cool folks. We joined them for their weekly weekend ritual of going to the local LOCAL russian bath house, for what would become a 5 hour adventure into the dark secrets of the "way of sweat"--Russki style. They warned us that this was in no way a "spa", and be prepared to be surrounded by nothing but Russians, and their screaming kids, and concrete and tile and plastic chairs and hot Hot HOT saunas that would be sure to take our wimpy Californian asses to the edge of open-pore-insanity.

We were ready.  So after a quick tour we started with the steam room, the warm up as they say, complete with the traditional felt hat that looks like a booty version of the Kangol (re: LL Cool J circa 1990), that supposedly keeps the roots of the hair from drying out in the intense heat.  Just made me hotter, but I went with it.  After the steam we rested for a bit, easing into the experience.  I was already sweating, light headed and hot as hell, but I was assured this was just the beginning!  The facility was a giant reverberatingly concrete room with the ubiquitous white plastic chairs and tables scattered about with a shallow cool pool and a hot tub sized COOOOOLD plunge, complete with floating ice cubes.  Men, women and children comingled and I literally didn't hear a lick of English, just the occasional Spanish from the workers, frantically replacing towels and cleaning up.

We then made our way to the first of 3 dry Saunas.  Big rooms that could seat 30 each on 3 tiers of cedar benches, with huge red brick ovens in the corners, cranking out the heat and periodically stoked with water by whoever felt like it.  Soon, our pores opened and skin reddened, dripping with the toxin-laden moisture that we hadn't seen in a good month or two. Oh boy! I thought, here it comes, and the light-headedness soon joined in, and Jen and I bailed after just a few minutes.  Lightweights!  We retreated to the cool pool and brought our temp back down.  Grabbed a seat and ordered some fruit juice to up our glucose levels.  Nice!

Next, it was time for the big daddy: the "real heat" as Gleb liked to call it.  The next sauna room was packed with the locals, all shapes and sizes, loud and social in this cultural ritual that some claim keeps them healthy and happy for a lifetime.  We were assured that this experience was "authentic", and I was soon convinced.  As we checked in, I saw Gleb buying two short branches off an Oak tree, leaves and all, and then soaked them in a bucket of water for a while.  Once we got into the Real Heat sauna, I saw (and later felt) what they were all about.  Apparently, these branches work wonders to take the stimulation/circulation of the body to the next level.  As if a room hot enough to burn your lungs wasn't enough to get your toxins evacuating, try laying down and having one of your large, felt-hat-wearing countrymen rub, swat, slap, brush and crunch the oak leaves all up and down your body.  Like some kind of Sushi-Hana show chef at the grill: the dexterity and straight-up rock-drummer like actions was enough to make me laugh out loud in uncomfortableness, russian eyes quickly darting to my obviously not-russian body (except the hair--i for once felt practically bald in this place!).  I knew I was in for it.  Gleb got our oak branches and invited me to the top tier for a little extra something-something.  I obliged. . . when in Moscow, you know.  

It was great actually.  And the frigid cold plunge brought me instantly back to life.  Everyone got the beating that was coming to them, Jen included.  After we had all had a thorough heating up (about 4 hours later!), we sat down in our towels and feasted on a meal of potatoes (Kates favorite), beef tongue, shrimp, pea soup, eggplant, beers and cokes.  Ahhhh!!!!  (burp).  We waddled back to their Park Slope apartment, played some guitars and talked till we passed out from blissful exhaustion.  We were officially indoctrinated now, honorary Ukranians, complete with the first of hopefully many days spent in the "Bannya".