Time for a break

With grad school rapidly approaching and lots of changes underway (work, marriage), I'm going to be taking a break from blogging.  This has been a fun side project for me and good practice in the blogosphere.  It may resurface sometime down the road, perhaps in a slightly different form/context (tehehe).

Thanks to my friends and family for supporting my little writing endeavor!  And thanks to the new connections who stumbled across my little blog.

Things that make me happy

It's the little things in life.  Like just-right reusable containers with a yummy zucchini muffin.  I just hope I can find one like this as I replace my old containers with new BPA-free and stainless versions!

Art and Sustainable Cities: A Dialogue

I'm currently working on the third in our series of Art and Environment Dialogues. It's sure to be a great event! Please spread the word and attend if you can.

Art and Sustainable Cities: A Dialogue

August 27, 2009

11:30 am–1 pm

Olympic Sculpture Park, PACCAR Pavilion

SAM and the Cascade Land Conservancy present the next panel discussion exploring the intersection of art, culture and the environment. Can steps be taken to ensure that revitalization and increased density are beneficial for both the arts and artists? How can we avoid artists being pushed out of our cities by rising prices? What roles do diversity and equity play in building vibrant, sustainable cities? Join us as we consider these and other questions.

Featuring:

Michael Kinsley, American political journalist (moderator)

Randy Engstrom, Founding Director, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center

D.K. Pan and NKO, Founders, Free Sheep Foundation

Buster Simpson, Northwest Artist

Beth Takekawa, Executive Director, Wing Luke Asian Museum

“Art and Sustainable Cities: A Dialogue” is part of SAM’s Pivotal Perspectives series. Bringing together some of the most compelling thinkers on a given cultural subject, Pivotal Perspectives is a timely and innovative forum that addresses pressing issues in art and society.

Free and open to the public. To reserve your space, please email boxoffice@seattleartmuseum.org or call the SAM Box Office at 206.654.3121.

Presented with support from the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs

I drove my first Zipcar!

World, I'd like to introduce you to "Cushinberry":

Photo by Brian W. Carver
(Note: This isn't the exact car, but a Cushinberry twin.)

Yesterday I found Cushinberry online, and I made an appointment for our first meeting - in the parking garage of a condo near work. I used my Zipcar to open the doors, and we set off for my meeting at the UW. We made it without any problems; no traffic and easy parking. I had never driven a hybrid, and it was amsuing to notice how quietly she runs. When it was time to head back to work, Cushinberry was patiently waiting for me. With plenty of time remaining in our appointment window, we returned to Cushinbery's reserved parking space in the condo and said our goodbyes. It was a good first outing, and I look forward to our "second date" real soon!

:)

We did the Danskin!

You may have noticed that I didn't write much in anticipation of the Danskin...well, that's because I was REALLY nervous and unsure of whether or not I could do the swim. But, on Sunday morning I was out there with my friends. I'm proud to say that we all finished - and I think I speak for everyone when I say we're glad it's done!

We started out with a 1/2 mile swim - this was the scary part for me. We all lined up in the water, then swam in a triangle that ended back at shore. I was doing a lot of backstroking and was definitely one of the slowest in my wave, but I did it!

I was sooooo much happier to be on my bike. The swim was behind me, and I knew I could make up some time during our 12 mile ride across I-90. I managed an average speed of 15mph, which I think is pretty respectable given that I have been on all of 2 rides this season...

I am not a runner. In fact, I really hate running when it doesn't involve following a soccer ball. Still, it was so exciting to be on the last leg of the race, that I was practically giddy on our run/walk. Here I am running up to the finish.

All in all, I'm glad I was there with my friends. The Danskin is a really amazing event - seeing so many woman of all ages come together to challenge themselves.

Now that it's done, I plan to support Fiance-with-the-mostest in preparing for his triathlon in September. When school begins, I hope to schedule myself for regular time at the gym, and hopefully some of the great classes offered at low prices for students. I think relaxing workouts, like yoga, will be more appropriate for a while! :)

Coming to the end of the Low Car Diet

I just submitted my final Low Car Diet post. Here it is, and I'll let you know when you can see the full story on Zipcar's website.

It's been a great final Low Car Diet week, highlighted by a car-free trip to the Sounders and a stay-at-home weekend:
http://sustainablejackie.blogspot.com/2009/08/our-car-free-trip-to-sounders-game.html
http://sustainablejackie.blogspot.com/2009/08/car-free-weekend-filled-with-cleaning.html

I haven't needed to use my Zipcar credit yet, but I'm planning to for a work meeting later this month and an upcoming trip to visit my parents on the Hood Canal. I love that we can take the ferry to Bainbridge and get a Zipcar there!

This has been a great experience. It reinforced the things that I'm already doing right, and helped me identify the areas where I can improve. At this point we are almost ready to sell a car, and the availability of car sharing is an important benefit in support of "taking the leap." I would highly recommend a do-it-yourself Low Car Diet to anyone considering selling a second car, or becoming car-free!

A car-free weekend, filled with cleaning

It's been an interesting, productive weekend.

On Friday night we enjoyed a lovely sing-along/karaoke evening with friends, until the cops came by with a noise complaint. Considering we were singing Disney songs and you pretty much can't find a more law-abiding group of 20-somethings, we found this rather amusing.

Since then, Fiance-with-the-mostest and I haven't left Kirkland or used any form of motorized transportation all weekend. On Saturday I slept late, and then relaxed into the afternoon. At that point we started "the cleaning." You see, the house was a DISASTER. I wish I had before pictures, except I'd be too embarrassed to show them. Stress, heat, and jam-packed schedules meant we did a lot of procrastinating in the little time we had available to pick up. Plus, we still had organization to do since I moved in more than 4 months ago (sad).

So, we cleaned. And I'm pretty darn happy with the results. Things are organized, and everything has it's place. There are even pictures on the walls! I'll be the last person to tell you it's perfect, and we have a lot of stuff for a small space, but I feel sooooooo much better.

The blue bins on our TV stand now house Rock Band equipment.

We removed the hutch from the desk (I hate hutches. Hate them.), and created a more functional space. In this photo we're making use of my iFish and a fan, but at least there is ROOM for that!

Here's the rest of the office. You can see the floor again!

I love containers. It's kind of a problem.

We got a great bookcase a few weeks ago to fit under our counter and provide extra storage in an unused space.

FWTM picked some of our beautiful pale yellow sunflowers from the garden.

We also have ideas for some paint color changes (more details to come)...it's so exciting to be able to make these adjustments, and to feel comfortable in our home. It's also exciting to donate the things we don't need/want and simply our lives...


We still have to figure out where we're taking all the donations - I'll be reporting back. It's tricky trying to do the right thing and keep unwanted items out of the landfill. But, for now, I'm enjoying a quiet, relaxed evening in our clean space. (Contented sigh.)

Our car-free trip to the Sounders game

Last night Fiance-with-the-mostest and I went to the Sounders vs. Barcelona game with 66,000 of our closest friends. In addition to celebrating the arrival of the amazing Barcelona team, we were honoring my little brother's birthday. Thanks for picking such an awesome activity, bro!

We knew that traffic and parking would be intense given the crowds, so we decided that FWTM would spend a day on the Low Car Diet, too. It went something like this:
- FWTM drives in to work and Jackie buses to work, as usual.
- Jackie hangs out at work after she's off, taking the opportunity to go for a triathlon training run.
- FWTM uses a convenient free ride ticket to bus from his office in Issaquah to downtown Seattle.
- We enjoy the game!

Can't you tell we're having fun? And I love the scarf!

- Following the flow of the crowd, we head to the International District station in the tunnel and catch the bus home. We just barely got on that bus. A group of 4 behind us were the last allowed on, and we were packed in tight. Others had to wait for the next bus, at least 30 minutes away (sad). I don't say this to scare people away - we just need more support for bus services!
- We walked home from the transit center (1/2 a mile, my usual commute).
- This morning FWTM left early and put his bike on a bus from Kirkland to Redmond. From Redmond it is easy to ride around Lake Sammamish to Issaquah. Unfortunately there is a big hill to get out of Kirkland and the roads aren't very nice, and it would take 3 buses to take public transit all the way to his office.
- Jackie bused to work as usual.
- FWTM reports that he had no problem loading his bike, thanks to clear instructions just for newbies like him. He did experience a bit of rubbing from one of his brakes, and didn't have a multi tool to make repairs. Something must have shifted since our ride on Sunday. He will drive home with his bike loaded on the car tonight.

Altogether I'd call that a successful experience! We got home as quickly as we could have in a car (maybe even faster), and we saved parking money. FWTM also eliminated a full day's worth of commute miles. Woo hoo!

Things I accomplished while commuting this week

1. Exercise - walked more than 13 miles
2. Read - About 100 pages of Little Women
3. Checked e-mail - Oh, Blackberry. What would I do without you?)
4. Spent much needed time spacing out
5. Achieved cooling - I'm fortunate to ride a bus with air conditioning.
6. Ran errands - Stopped in stores to look for a card, watered the garden on the way to work
7. Remembered things I'd forgotten
8. Made lists of things I shouldn't forget
9. Observed traffic and construction without having to navigate it myself - Thank you, METRO drivers!
10. Reduced the carbon impact of my commute - Woo hoo!

At least under standard conditions, items #1, 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10 couldn't be done in a single occupancy vehicle. I'm also pretty sure #4 wouldn't be a very good idea.

I feel very accomplished.

Oysters

I'm published! It only took 4 years after I originally wrote and submitted two articles on native Olympia oysters for me to make the big time in the Journal of Shellfish Research. Hehe.

But seriously, it's pretty cool. I spent almost 2 years on the project, which included historical research on oyster management as well as a field project on restoration techniques. I checked out books from the Washington State Library in Tumwater that no one had borrowed for almost 20 years. I trudged through mud in my hip waders, and nearly had to live there when I became stuck and the tide was rising around me. I even braved the tideflats in the middle of the night (when low tides occur in the winter time) to collect shells for examination back in the lab.

In the end, I decided that I enjoyed teaching science more than doing it myself. But, I never could have figured that out without doing years worth of undergraduate research - and support work for other people's research - on Mt. St. Helens recovery ecology (scanning slides), microbial ecology of deep sea hydrothermal vents (real lab work with vials and microscopes - I even presented at the Geological Society of America!), geoduck/eelgrass interactions (more mud and lots of measuring), and of course my native oyster projects.

So what does this have to do with sustainability? Two things:

1) I found my passion - part of my journey toward personal sustainability. I had to try out ecology to learn that I would rather make science accessible to the public - and I think I'm pretty good at it. I just didn't have the patience for lab work, and I wanted to work more actively with people. If I got to the point where I was teaching, I think I'd like that part of academia.

2) My oyster work is an example of the science behind sustainability. So often we recognize a problem (i.e. oyster populations are dwindling), but it's hard to understand why and how to solve the problem. It's an exciting moment, as in many arenas - climate science, green energy, agriculture, etc. - we're looking for and finding new options that are leading towards solutions. It's incredible to think, but my work could inform people doing on the ground restoration. Believe it or not, people do read this rather obscure journal!

And I'm just proud! :)

Low Car Diet: 2 week update

As of today, we're halfway through the Low Car Diet. So how has it been going? Here's a break down:

Wednesday 7/15 - Launch of the diet. I took the bus to work early to set up for the event - it was a lovely morning, and I was amazed how easy it is to take the bus at 6 in the morning! That day I walked from SAM downtown to the Olympic Sculpture Park, back to Watermark Tower, back to OSP for a meeting, and downtown (again) to catch a bus to Bellevue. Whew! In Bellevue I met Fiance-with-the-mostest, and we got some dinner and saw Harry Potter. It was great, since Bellevue is on FWTM's way home from work, and we were able to carpool home after the movie.

Thursday 7/16 - I took the bus and walked to and from work. That evening I was packing for our trip to Hawaii (yay!). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend a very fun book club. Usually I carpool with friends, but those folks weren't attending. I thought about using a Zipcar, but I wouldn't be able to return it without a late night bus ride or keeping the car overnight. And I thought about using Dave's car when he got home, but that just didn't feel right with the diet. I decided it was a good lesson - that sometimes reducing your miles means choosing how many events you can handle - but it wasn't easy.

Friday 7/17 - Friday 7/24 - Maui! This week wasn't the most accurate test since I had a pre-planned vacation. FWTM and I joined my family for a wonderful and relaxing trip. While not the greenest, I did notice some sustainability choices associated with our trip. 1) We did use rental cars on the island, but had 2 cars for 10 people. 2) Dave and I were staying just down the beach from my family, and we walked back and forth about half a mile each way. 3) We did a great zipline course through a company working to be green. 4) Most of the time we stayed close to the hotels, limited our need for transportation. 5) We spent a lot of time enjoying the local flora and fauna. 6) We ate lots of locally grown foods.

Saturday 7/25 - We spent most of the day recovering from our trip. We did use FWTM's car for a trip to the Marymoor garden to water and to get food. It took us some time to readjust to life at home.

Sunday 7/26 - This was another day primarily spent relaxing and recovering. We didn't drive at all. We also tried the outdoor pool within walking distance for the first time, since I will need to use it during the challenge to continue my training for the Danskin triathlon. In the evening we walked to the Kirkland garden, and harvested some zucchini, lettuce, and peas.

Monday 7/27 - My first day back to work! I bused and walked in the morning, bused and walked to the library and a meeting downtown, and bused home. FWTM and I returned to the pool for a swim tonight. We decided to divide and conquer to get to the grocery store and the garden on foot before dark, which worked out great. We're lucky to have all these resources so close to home!

Tuesday 7/28 - A slow day. I bused and walked to and from work, and walked to the garden in the evening.

Wednesday 7/29 - So far I've done my normal commute to work (bus and walk). Iwalked to the downtown museum and back later today to stop by a colleague's baby shower. Tonight...well, I'm not so sure yet. I'm either going to soccer or to hang out with Fiance-with-the-mostest and his family. Given the temperature, I'm hoping for a game cancellation and option 2.

So far, I'm finding that my biggest limitation is stress. Here's something I've figured out about myself: I like to please people. I feel beyond horrible when people are upset with me, or I have to say I can't do something. I try to do everything, get stressed, have to say no to something, and then feel MORE stressed because I'm upset. Ugh.

How does this relate? Well, when I'm car-free and coordinating trips with FWTM, sometimes evening events are harder to get to. Take tonight. I can bus to soccer, but I have no idea how I'm going to get home. I can't think of any buses that run near there at that time, or at least not frequently. So, I could get a Zipcar, but I'd have to get it overnight (I'm still deciding). If I go hang out with Fiance-with-the-mostest, I will most likely hitch a ride with some of his family that will be carpooling over, and then ride home with FWTM. In any case, I have to PLAN these things. Normally I thrive on my detailed Google calendar (thinking color coding and syncing), but add in the stress factor...well, it's not pretty. My next "challenge" is obvious - find ways to manage stress, and my schedule, so they don't take away from the Low Car Diet.

We'll see how I do...

Garden = Yum

I love my garden. Having fresh produce is, well, cool! I mean, how could you not be excited about all this?


And that's just one harvest a couple of weeks ago. We can pick something almost every time we visit. The peas have been one of my favorites. It's so fun to eat a few fresh off the plant while watering the garden.


The broccoli is producing well, too. I'm not a big fan (though I like our better since we grew it), but Fiance-with-the-mostest is pleased. The side shoots - what grows after you cut the main stem - have been producing, too.


And more is on the way! Our tomatoes are growing, the potatoes have died back (that's what they are supposed to do), and the onions are flowering.




I do have some sad news to share. Our lavender plant has passed on. I actually dug it up, and the roots just never took after transplanting from the nursery pot. I'm not sure if it was me, or if it was always doomed. Rest in peace little lavender. We loved you.

Broccoli bouquet?

Yes, broccoli does flower. Remember when Fiance-with-the-mostest and I put some broccoli in water to see what would happen? The results were actually kind of pretty!


Who's up for a broccoli bouquet?

Mahalo, Hawaii

We're back from Maui after a wonderful, relaxing week. I'll be back to blogging soon, but until then, here are a few trip highlights:

We survived the road to Hana, and even climbed to the top of a waterfall. Woo hoo!

Along the way, we visited the Garden of Eden. It was paradise for the photographers in our group (including Fiance-with-the-mostest).

I still managed some nice shots, despite my non-fancy camera.

Near Hana, we saw a black sand beach with lava tubes. We weren't very good at obeying the warning signs, though.

See?

This is how FWTM spent most of his time...

On another day, we did a zipline course with my brothers in Ka'anapali. Last year we did the one at Haleakala, so we were ready to zip!

I really like Skyline Eco Adventures and their "active zipping" style. You are in a rock climbing harness, and at each line they clip you in, and you jump. On most zips you even control your direction, and you have to get your feet down for landing. Other companies on Maui use chairs - so not as fun (in my opinion).

Here I am in action! The views were amazing, and we were lucky to have some clouds for cooler conditions.

Here's the last zip - 1000 feet across and more than 20 seconds of time in crossing.

The video is kind of small, but here's the older (and bigger) of my little brothers on our final zip. Wait for it - first you'll hear the line, then see him as a small dot, and finally he'll land right next to where I'm filming.

Thank you, Hawaii. We had a great time!

Off to Hawaii

In just over 8 hours our plane will take off and we'll be on the way to Maui. Hoorah!

Here are some highlights of my last Hawaii trip:






I'm looking forward to the beach, pool, zipline, and just relaxing. And of course I'll be thinking about the Low Car Diet and how to lower the impact of our vacation. :)

More after the 24th...

Starting the Low Car Diet

Yes, that's right: car not carb.

Yesterday morning we hosted the launch of Zipcar's Low Car Diet Challenge at the downtown Seattle Art Museum next to the Hammering Man. Through the program, 30 participants are committing to live without their car for the next month, and instead will walk, bike, ride the bus, and use car sharing. I am one of the participants, and will be representin' for SAM.

The event was great - 20 of the 30 Seattle-area participants came out, and we heard from past participants, all ceremonially turned in our keys, and received an awesome goodie bag of SWAG. It was great to meet some of my fellow participants, and I can't wait to learn more about them as we all blog about our experiences.

Zipcar also brought out a couple of stylish cars, and now they have me excited about trying out fun options like the Mini Cooper convertible and some of the new hybrids. Why would I want to stick with my same old car when I can car share and keep trying something new?

So what are my goals for the challenge? For one, I hope to assess our ability to live as a one-car household. I haven't used my car more than a couple of times a week in a long time, and now that I've moved in with fiance-with-the-mostest, it seems silly to have my little Honda sitting on the street all the time. I already take the bus to work, we can walk to our garden, the grocery store, and many restaurants, and we carpool most evenings and weekends anyway. Now that I'm headed back to school and we're planning our wedding, having the extra money from selling my car would be nice.

I also see this as a next step in living sustainably. Being free of my car means one less car on the road, and it will give me the extra incentive to not use a car when it isn't really necessary. I feel like having a car naturally leads to laziness. If I have a car, I have a place to park it, and it means I can sleep for 5 more minutes if I drive, it's hard to break the cycle of car culture. Even when I combine trips, I still feel guilty when I have my car at the garden or grocery store that is 5 minutes from my house. Maybe I'm not using a lot more gas, but I am adding to congestion, not getting extra exercise, and not setting a good example.

But, it's not going to be easy. 95% of the time it won't be an issue, but those other 5%...

What I've realized, though, is that I just need to do my best. Like any other diet, it has to be sustainable. I want to approach this challenge from the perspective of how we would manage transportation without my car. That means recognizing that I will still ride in a car sometimes, and this is the "low" car diet rather than "no" car diet (I don't think I'm ready for that one yet).

So, wish me luck!

Education

I. Am. So. Tired.

It's a busy week, to say the least. There are a lot of really wonderful things happening (like the bachelorette party and wedding of one of my best friends), and things that are frustrating (getting a sore throat).

Next week you will start hearing about my newest adventure: Zipcar's Low Car Diet. But, given my tiredness, I've been struggling for blog ideas.

So, I thought I'd tell you more about my pending reintroduction to the world of academia (AKA graduate school). At the end of September, I will begin the Master's in Education program at the University of Washington, in the area of Curriculum and Instruction.

So how did I get here? Just a touch over 4 years ago I graduated from UW with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a B.S. in Biology. Outside of classes, I was co-president of the Earth Club (planning Earth Week events on campus), worked on several undergraduate research projects (including studying oyster restoration ecology - yes, I'm serious), trained as a Beach Naturalist (I'm such a nerd), and volunteered and worked in a number of other capacities. I learned a lot about myself and what I liked (and didn't like) to do.

After a couple of brief stints after graduation, I started working at our local science museum. I LOVED it. Everyone else liked science. It was like nerd heaven! It was so easy to make friends, feel included, and pass an 8 hour work day! But, I'm ambitious. I wanted to advance, get benefits, and be a leader. So, I started splitting my time to teach environmental education. If I thought I was in love before, this time I was hit hard. I regularly doubted myself as a teacher, but working with kids was incredibly rewarding. I'd come home singing camp songs, exhilarated and covered in dirt. What more could you want in life? But, alas, I still needed a job with benefits, and was about to be kicked off my dad's. Note: I almost cried when I recently went to see the newly expanded and LEED-certified nature center. It's amazing.

For the past two years I've been in my current position, working on environmental programs for the art museum. I'm still amazed that I got this job. How could they have looked at me and thought I could do this? But, I learned. I asked questions. I shared ideas. I worked hard. Sometimes I forget just how much we've done (and how much I've grown). It's hard to express how grateful I am to my boss and this museum for taking a chance on me.

Why go back to school then? I love to learn, and I care about helping others to learn (especially about the environment). I'm a very academic person - in that sense, I could probably start down the path to most any career I wanted. I don't mean that to brag at all, my friends will tell you I'm sufficiently clueless about other aspects of life to make up for my book smarts. But Education is one of the most challenging fields I have ever experienced. As a teacher, I always want to do better and give more. I have a love-hate relationship with challenge.

Long term, I hope that I will work at an environmental education center again, be a leader to informal educators, develop curriculum, help build partnership between information education institutions and schools, and even mix in some green event planning and sustainability consulting (those are all about education, too). I admit it, I get bored easily. I thrive on change and building new things. For me, teaching feels that way.

It's kind of crazy how many changes I'm experiencing this year: moves, grad school, engagement. I don't love the transitions (I thrive on routine), but I do know that I wouldn't have it any other way. It's amazing to think about where life will be in a year!