I'd already been thinking about this a bit, but Sharon Sharonrecently had an interesting post on Obsolete Technologiesobsolete technologies that got me thinking a bit more.
I have to confess, I have technology. I just (literally yesterday) bought a new laptop. A new, high-end, very expensive laptop. It took me a long time to get it - almost 8 months to finally bite the bullet and just get it, and even then it took a lot of hand holding to get me through. I put it on my credit card, but I have the money, and have been saving for this for years, but for some reason this doesn't tend to make spending the money any easier for me. I always debate purchases like this, and then debate them some more. But, given my academic research (virtual worlds and the like), my old four and half year old laptop literally couldn't run the programs I needed anymore and was causing me a lot of grief. It felt like a worthwhile investment to get a new one. Now, I could probably have done this cheaper, or with a less nice computer. But the plan is that this one will last me a long time and will, with any luck, get me through the dissertation faster which will be cheaper in the long run. And so, here I am.
A laptop isn't all that I have. I have a TV and a VCR, both of which I inherited when my grandmother died, as well as a $40 DVD player that was a gift from my sweetie. I have a cell phone, which is a hand-me-down from my sweetie and soon to be on a cheapie pay-as-you-go plan. I also have an iPod, which was a birthday gift four or five years ago from my ex. I have a digital camera (which may be used for some photos here soon), but that I bought for myself, also with the intention of it lasting a number of years. Now, I do like most of this technology - love the iPod, the cell is handy in emergencies, and the TV is nice for cheap entertainment and vegging out in the evenings. But, truth be told, I'd be fine without any of it, but looking at the list, it's all been passed along by someone else.
Other than the laptop and the camera, all of this technology has been giving to me. And, when I look around, I realise that most of what I've bought for myself and what gets used regularly are not the fancy technology options. I have my grandmother's 1950s electric sewing machine, but I frequently use that without power and just hand crank it instead. I have a hand-crank radio that I listen to when I'm working around the house. I love my little spring-loaded chopper, my hand-crank grain mill (as coarse as it grinds), and kneading bread by hand before it goes into the oven.
I sometimes feel as though I live in two worlds. Because of my research, I participate regularly in a high-technology and high-energy world just by virtue of my research (although I am working on some papers dealing with energy consumption and social justice issues in the hopes of somehow redeeming myself.) But, when I'm at home, I slip into a rather domestic, rather low-energy space where I cook from scratch, knit, bake, sew, try to grow things, and use whatever obsolete technologies I have that I enjoy.
But lately I've been thinking about these high-level technologies, and wondering how I might be able to make them work for me a bit better than they are now. How, for example, can they serve as tools for this low-energy, sustainable life that I'm looking for? How can they serve me other than academically? At the same time, I'm also looking into how I might be able to power a laptop long term, and might see if a friend of mine at 3M could help me set up a solar rig for the new laptop, since it has lower energy needs than the old one.
I haven't quite worked it all yet, but here are a few ideas that I'm looking into.
1. Learning and teaching - with the availability of podcasts and videos now, I'm trying to build up a library of materials (especially now that I have a much larger hard drive) that will be useful for teaching and learning. Thus far, I'm looking into subject podcasts, like history, science, and social studies, as well as language lessons. I'd also like to get together a bunch of videos showing things like bike repair, building a chicken coop, milking a goat, playing a guitar, and anything else that might be useful to know. I'm also pulling together a library of PDFs with the same information - books and articles, printouts of web pages, musical scores - really, anything that might be useful.
2. Entertainment - I love my guitar for entertainment, and have many shelves worth of books around my apartment. But, sometimes it's nice to just sit down and watch a movie. And, while learning takes priority, I haven't ruled out the possibility of using a laptop for some music or a film when the urge strikes.
3. Warmth - Okay, this might be stretching it a bit, but once I realised that my old laptop threw a lot of heat, I made sure to use it in bed with me. It warmed up the bed a bit, and felt rather nice. My hot water bottle is just as effective and less prone to breakage, but I'll take whatever I can get right.
I'm still thinking this through, but would be happy to take on any suggestions that others might have about how they're using their technologies.
Showing posts with label consumption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label consumption. Show all posts
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
A story of my stuff
I often feel like I have too much stuff. I think I've written about this before, but sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all that's in my apartment. Certainly it's been commented on - often by me, very frequently by my parents, and even sometimes by my boyfriend and friends (most of whom are grad students and so move around a lot and try not to keep too many things.)
I've always had a fair amount of stuff. I have a lot of interests, and stuff seems to come along with that. But lately I've been finding that I'm acquiring more stuff not for interests or hobbies, but because it allows me to feel safe. Some of this is very practical - a grinder means I can make bread, and extra food means I can eat. Some of this might be less so - extra jeans means I'm less likely to run out, but I still suspect that I have too many pairs to truly be necessary.
As much as possible, I've been trying to pick up things that I need. This is a pretty significant change in my shopping habits and, to a degree, to my spending. I'm spending more, and more often than I have in awhile now (although, admittedly, most of this spending is still fairly minimal, since it's mostly been at the thrift store.) Over the past few months I've bought cast iron pots and pans, books, wool, blankets, sweaters, extra knitting needles, a mattress, canning supplies, a grinder, a washboard, sewing supplies, a flashlight, a hand-crank radio, and food. Still on my list are rechargeable batteries (preferably with a solar charger), a hand-crank blender, a grain mill, and a whole slew of other things.
The thing I'm having trouble with is this. I just keep buying stuff. And, really, it does help me feel more secure, and certainly more secure than the things I was buying before I was Peak Oil aware. Even with my apartment more full than it was before, I don't feel as overwhelmed in terms of space. But I don't like buying things, and I don't like buying things for feelings of security. While I wasn't completely blasé about the things I had before, I wasn't all that attached to them, and it wasn't a huge deal if something broke. But now, I feel like these things are important to me, and that increases theirvalue - they keep me warm, fed, and healthy, and for that I value them quite highly. Which also makes the threat of their loss more dire and more overwhelming in a totally different way than volume did.
So, I'm trying to think more about skills and relationships that I can develop. Skills and relationships that will both protect me and allow me to be useful to people without just relying on my stuff. It's difficult - sometimes I feel like I just want to hole up in here with the locks on the doors and the hatches battened down. But that's not the best approach, and I need to move beyond it. This is one of my biggest challenges - to forge community and find ways to get beyong this stuff.
I've always had a fair amount of stuff. I have a lot of interests, and stuff seems to come along with that. But lately I've been finding that I'm acquiring more stuff not for interests or hobbies, but because it allows me to feel safe. Some of this is very practical - a grinder means I can make bread, and extra food means I can eat. Some of this might be less so - extra jeans means I'm less likely to run out, but I still suspect that I have too many pairs to truly be necessary.
As much as possible, I've been trying to pick up things that I need. This is a pretty significant change in my shopping habits and, to a degree, to my spending. I'm spending more, and more often than I have in awhile now (although, admittedly, most of this spending is still fairly minimal, since it's mostly been at the thrift store.) Over the past few months I've bought cast iron pots and pans, books, wool, blankets, sweaters, extra knitting needles, a mattress, canning supplies, a grinder, a washboard, sewing supplies, a flashlight, a hand-crank radio, and food. Still on my list are rechargeable batteries (preferably with a solar charger), a hand-crank blender, a grain mill, and a whole slew of other things.
The thing I'm having trouble with is this. I just keep buying stuff. And, really, it does help me feel more secure, and certainly more secure than the things I was buying before I was Peak Oil aware. Even with my apartment more full than it was before, I don't feel as overwhelmed in terms of space. But I don't like buying things, and I don't like buying things for feelings of security. While I wasn't completely blasé about the things I had before, I wasn't all that attached to them, and it wasn't a huge deal if something broke. But now, I feel like these things are important to me, and that increases theirvalue - they keep me warm, fed, and healthy, and for that I value them quite highly. Which also makes the threat of their loss more dire and more overwhelming in a totally different way than volume did.
So, I'm trying to think more about skills and relationships that I can develop. Skills and relationships that will both protect me and allow me to be useful to people without just relying on my stuff. It's difficult - sometimes I feel like I just want to hole up in here with the locks on the doors and the hatches battened down. But that's not the best approach, and I need to move beyond it. This is one of my biggest challenges - to forge community and find ways to get beyong this stuff.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Karmic thrifting?
For the last few days I've had a friend and her menagerie of pets (four) living with me in my apartment. It was an interesting exercise in seeing how living with someone (and maybe a few someone) could be if people had to move in with me. It wasn't always easy, but I think I learned a few things about what I need to survive with more people than just me and my sweetie around.
Since she was moving across the country, she brough over some things that just wound up staying here, rather than moving with her. Some of it is useful to me - I'll be keeping a water jug, a shopping basket for the back of my bike, and a few other bits and pieces. Other stuff will be on it's way out, especially the cleaners that made their way over here, since I don't use chemical cleaners. Still other things will probably be on their way to Goodwill, since I just don't have room for it all.
So, in an effort to tidy up a bit, this morning I wandered over to the Goodwill so I could drop off some of the left-behind stuff. I managed to find some more dishes for mom's Christmas present. But, even better, I found two things that have been on my list for awhile now.
It's no substitute for a good grain mill, but I got a small manual grinder. It grinds very (very!) coarsly, but I'm going to experiment with it and see what it can do. I also got a small washboard. It was decorated to be hung on a wall, but I stripped off the flowers, will wash it up and maybe wax it, since it will be in water. And, I now have myself a very low energy way of doing the laundry. Someday I'd like a larger one, but for a whole $2.29, this is a good start, I think.
I like to think that, after doing a somewhat big favour for a friend, the thrift gods smiled down on me. These were two of the things that I really wanted to add to my Peak Oil preparations, and I really appreciate having them.
Since she was moving across the country, she brough over some things that just wound up staying here, rather than moving with her. Some of it is useful to me - I'll be keeping a water jug, a shopping basket for the back of my bike, and a few other bits and pieces. Other stuff will be on it's way out, especially the cleaners that made their way over here, since I don't use chemical cleaners. Still other things will probably be on their way to Goodwill, since I just don't have room for it all.
So, in an effort to tidy up a bit, this morning I wandered over to the Goodwill so I could drop off some of the left-behind stuff. I managed to find some more dishes for mom's Christmas present. But, even better, I found two things that have been on my list for awhile now.
It's no substitute for a good grain mill, but I got a small manual grinder. It grinds very (very!) coarsly, but I'm going to experiment with it and see what it can do. I also got a small washboard. It was decorated to be hung on a wall, but I stripped off the flowers, will wash it up and maybe wax it, since it will be in water. And, I now have myself a very low energy way of doing the laundry. Someday I'd like a larger one, but for a whole $2.29, this is a good start, I think.
I like to think that, after doing a somewhat big favour for a friend, the thrift gods smiled down on me. These were two of the things that I really wanted to add to my Peak Oil preparations, and I really appreciate having them.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Confessions
I have to make a confession. Maybe even a few confessions.
I haven't bought anything on Buy Nothing Day for a decade now. Now, I live in Canada, where we don't have Black Friday per se, so it's perhaps not a big deal as it is in the US. But, on principle, I've gone along with it because I do have issues with consumption. These issues range from the extremely personal to the more widely social, but I've always taken some pride in my lower-consumption life, both in general and on Buy Nothing Day.
But I bought stuff today. And not only that, but I bought something from WalMart today.
(The horror...the horror.)
The things that I bought were all on my list of preparations that I want to make just in case. But I still don't feel so good about them, and I don't know if it's shopping in general that's getting to me, or shopping new instead of used, or shopping specifically on BND.
All told I spent about $75 today. I bought an air mattress, because I have a friend coming to stay with me for a few weeks, and need a place for her to sleep. I've also wanted one for awhile now, just in case people need to come stay with me if things go south. It's not an ideal solution, but I have room for this, and it's easily portable. I also bought a hand-crank radio and a flashlight to keep around for emergencies (happily, both on clearance and fairly cheap). And, finally, in an effort to start in on one of my competence projects, I picked up canning jars, a magnetic wand, extra lids, and a jar lifter so I can start learning how to preserve food.
I don't think there's much here that I should feel that badly about. I bought what I needed, and only things that I'd been planning to buy for awhile now (admittedly, I wasn't planning to get he radio today, but it was on my list, and newly on sale). But overall this is something that I feel fairly pleased about.
Happily, I do this very infrequently. My so-called shopping sprees are always of things that I need and usually happen annually, and that I can live with. Ideally, I'd like it to stop altogether. I'd prefer to have smaller local stores where I can get what I need from people that I know at least a bit. I'd rather buy from people I know, and businesses that I can feel comfortable with.
I wonder now if maybe it's not that I feel guilty, but that I find the whole shopping experience to be wretched. In general, I still find myself hating shopping, and especially hating shopping for things that are new and buried in the back of a huge overstocked store with underpaid employees. Part of my hatred comes from walking into a store and seeing so much stuff - on the shelves, being bought - and regretting the huge focus on consumption in our society. Part of it is hating being around crowds of people, and and another part is the helplessness of not being able to find what I want. And, part of it is probably a result of the horrible news of a WalMart employee killed this morning by stampeding customers. I understand that people are feeling the crunch this year, but this form of consumption - extreme, driven, and more concerned with stuff than with people - horifies me, and leaves me wanting even less involvement in the system han I had before, minimal as it was. I didn't hear this story until after I got home today, but it reaffirms my desire to find even more ways to buy locally and from smaller companies, and to not buy into any of the highly problematic elements of consumption.
I haven't bought anything on Buy Nothing Day for a decade now. Now, I live in Canada, where we don't have Black Friday per se, so it's perhaps not a big deal as it is in the US. But, on principle, I've gone along with it because I do have issues with consumption. These issues range from the extremely personal to the more widely social, but I've always taken some pride in my lower-consumption life, both in general and on Buy Nothing Day.
But I bought stuff today. And not only that, but I bought something from WalMart today.
(The horror...the horror.)
The things that I bought were all on my list of preparations that I want to make just in case. But I still don't feel so good about them, and I don't know if it's shopping in general that's getting to me, or shopping new instead of used, or shopping specifically on BND.
All told I spent about $75 today. I bought an air mattress, because I have a friend coming to stay with me for a few weeks, and need a place for her to sleep. I've also wanted one for awhile now, just in case people need to come stay with me if things go south. It's not an ideal solution, but I have room for this, and it's easily portable. I also bought a hand-crank radio and a flashlight to keep around for emergencies (happily, both on clearance and fairly cheap). And, finally, in an effort to start in on one of my competence projects, I picked up canning jars, a magnetic wand, extra lids, and a jar lifter so I can start learning how to preserve food.
I don't think there's much here that I should feel that badly about. I bought what I needed, and only things that I'd been planning to buy for awhile now (admittedly, I wasn't planning to get he radio today, but it was on my list, and newly on sale). But overall this is something that I feel fairly pleased about.
Happily, I do this very infrequently. My so-called shopping sprees are always of things that I need and usually happen annually, and that I can live with. Ideally, I'd like it to stop altogether. I'd prefer to have smaller local stores where I can get what I need from people that I know at least a bit. I'd rather buy from people I know, and businesses that I can feel comfortable with.
I wonder now if maybe it's not that I feel guilty, but that I find the whole shopping experience to be wretched. In general, I still find myself hating shopping, and especially hating shopping for things that are new and buried in the back of a huge overstocked store with underpaid employees. Part of my hatred comes from walking into a store and seeing so much stuff - on the shelves, being bought - and regretting the huge focus on consumption in our society. Part of it is hating being around crowds of people, and and another part is the helplessness of not being able to find what I want. And, part of it is probably a result of the horrible news of a WalMart employee killed this morning by stampeding customers. I understand that people are feeling the crunch this year, but this form of consumption - extreme, driven, and more concerned with stuff than with people - horifies me, and leaves me wanting even less involvement in the system han I had before, minimal as it was. I didn't hear this story until after I got home today, but it reaffirms my desire to find even more ways to buy locally and from smaller companies, and to not buy into any of the highly problematic elements of consumption.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Ecological footprint
I had a bit of trouble getting to sleep last night, and so I sat up for a bit with some ecological footprint calculators. I knew going into it that the numbers wouldn't be pretty. In the past six months I've flown to England (for a wonderful summer program and, while I regret the ecological implications, I don't regret the program at all), as well as to British Columbia (ostensibly for a family wedding, but more to see my Nanna, who's been rather ill for the last year - better to fly out for a party than a funeral, I think.) But, they were even less pretty than I hoped, and for the first time I sat down and actively tried to figure out why that is.
Part of the issue is that I live alone. No matter how much I reduce my consumption, use less energy and less water, and change all of the small details about how I live, living alone hurts my footprint, even in a medium-sized apartment. Another part is that I use the bus a lot, not just to get to school, but to go see my boyfriend, who lives over 500 km away. I've pretty much eliminated flying there, which is a good thing, but the travel is still not such a good thing, although I'm hoping that can be remedied soon. The trouble is, at this point in time, these are things that are difficult for me to change, much as I would like to. I'm working on it, but it is slow.
The other thing (although not the biggest by quite a stretch), and the one that's probably easiest for me is food. I'm vegetarian, but I am rather fond of cheese and eggs, which ups my numbers. I also don't live all that close to a farmer's market, and most of my food comes from the supermarket, which isn't always known for its local food options. But, out of all the things to change, this is the one that I can start immediately and most easily, so I took food on as my afternoon project.
Since I was heading out anyway, I first decided to go to the Goodwill bookstore up the street. Happily, I came away with a copy of "Putting Food By". It's an older one, so I'm going to double check the canning standards, but I'm excited about having instructions and recipes for preserving foods now.
I then wandered over to the grocery store. At best, foods are labelled with their province or country of origin, so I decided to stick to those grown in Ontario. It's not a perfect solution, but better than nothing for now. I wound up with a large cabbage, 10 pounds each of potatoes, yellow onions, and carrots, and a bag of empire apples. Other options were squash, rutabega, and turnips, although I left those alone for now. I found it harder to go with local foods when I was working on my food stores. I picked up peanut butter, a large bag of cornmeal, and brown rice, none of which are local. They'll be added to my food stores for future use.
I don't know if this was entirely a success. Some staples - like pasta and peanut butter - seem to be a lot harder to find locally grown. I haven't started looking for eggs or cheese yet, since I have rather a lot of that in the fridge from a past grocery shopping trip. I'm sure it's not impossible, and I'm going to look harder, but I was hoping for better. Fresh stuff, however, seemed to be relatively easy, so long as I was willing to walk past the citrus and less hardy greens at the front of the store. I'm going to keep looking, but in the meantime, I'm going to settle in and make myself a barbeque potato and carrot casserole where at least half the ingredients are local.
Part of the issue is that I live alone. No matter how much I reduce my consumption, use less energy and less water, and change all of the small details about how I live, living alone hurts my footprint, even in a medium-sized apartment. Another part is that I use the bus a lot, not just to get to school, but to go see my boyfriend, who lives over 500 km away. I've pretty much eliminated flying there, which is a good thing, but the travel is still not such a good thing, although I'm hoping that can be remedied soon. The trouble is, at this point in time, these are things that are difficult for me to change, much as I would like to. I'm working on it, but it is slow.
The other thing (although not the biggest by quite a stretch), and the one that's probably easiest for me is food. I'm vegetarian, but I am rather fond of cheese and eggs, which ups my numbers. I also don't live all that close to a farmer's market, and most of my food comes from the supermarket, which isn't always known for its local food options. But, out of all the things to change, this is the one that I can start immediately and most easily, so I took food on as my afternoon project.
Since I was heading out anyway, I first decided to go to the Goodwill bookstore up the street. Happily, I came away with a copy of "Putting Food By". It's an older one, so I'm going to double check the canning standards, but I'm excited about having instructions and recipes for preserving foods now.
I then wandered over to the grocery store. At best, foods are labelled with their province or country of origin, so I decided to stick to those grown in Ontario. It's not a perfect solution, but better than nothing for now. I wound up with a large cabbage, 10 pounds each of potatoes, yellow onions, and carrots, and a bag of empire apples. Other options were squash, rutabega, and turnips, although I left those alone for now. I found it harder to go with local foods when I was working on my food stores. I picked up peanut butter, a large bag of cornmeal, and brown rice, none of which are local. They'll be added to my food stores for future use.
I don't know if this was entirely a success. Some staples - like pasta and peanut butter - seem to be a lot harder to find locally grown. I haven't started looking for eggs or cheese yet, since I have rather a lot of that in the fridge from a past grocery shopping trip. I'm sure it's not impossible, and I'm going to look harder, but I was hoping for better. Fresh stuff, however, seemed to be relatively easy, so long as I was willing to walk past the citrus and less hardy greens at the front of the store. I'm going to keep looking, but in the meantime, I'm going to settle in and make myself a barbeque potato and carrot casserole where at least half the ingredients are local.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
New blankets
Whenever I'm over at the library these days (which, admittedly, is quite a lot since I keep ordering books that I hope will help me expand my skills and knowledge a bit more), I stop by the local thrift store. Really, I don't much like it. I think many of its things are overpriced, and it kind of depresses me in general. But, thrift stores are one of the few places to get the dishes that my mom collects and that are the only thing we're allowed to get her as gifts, so I check every time I'm around.
I found four of her plates this time, which was lovely and will be great for Christmas, but even lovelier was what I found in the bedding section. I've been looking for a nice wool blanket for awhile now. My dream one is Hudson's Bay four point blanket (the white with the coloured stripes), but that's pretty much a pipe dream, since they tend to be very expensive be they new or old. In general, I really just want them to keep me warm in the winter, and because they wear so well, but I'd been coming up empty.
And today, I found two wool blankets. First, a lovely throw sized blanket in wool from originally from Ikea, which will be much used as I work and read on the couch. In addition, I found a full sized trapper-ish blanket in dusty pink to go on the bed. The cost? $14 for the two of them, and no Riot 4 Austerity points, since they came from the thrift store. I don't shop much anymore, and although it's hugely embarassing for me to be so excited by consumption, I'm really very pleased with these - I've spent the evening in bed wrapped in the pink one already, and it's kept me very warm indeed. I don't have pictures right now, but hopefully soon.
True, these are more things that I'm bringing into my apartment, but I think they're worth it. They're warm, and useful, and something I've been looking for for awhile now. And despite my efforts in non-consumption, this is consumption that I can certainly live with.
I found four of her plates this time, which was lovely and will be great for Christmas, but even lovelier was what I found in the bedding section. I've been looking for a nice wool blanket for awhile now. My dream one is Hudson's Bay four point blanket (the white with the coloured stripes), but that's pretty much a pipe dream, since they tend to be very expensive be they new or old. In general, I really just want them to keep me warm in the winter, and because they wear so well, but I'd been coming up empty.
And today, I found two wool blankets. First, a lovely throw sized blanket in wool from originally from Ikea, which will be much used as I work and read on the couch. In addition, I found a full sized trapper-ish blanket in dusty pink to go on the bed. The cost? $14 for the two of them, and no Riot 4 Austerity points, since they came from the thrift store. I don't shop much anymore, and although it's hugely embarassing for me to be so excited by consumption, I'm really very pleased with these - I've spent the evening in bed wrapped in the pink one already, and it's kept me very warm indeed. I don't have pictures right now, but hopefully soon.
True, these are more things that I'm bringing into my apartment, but I think they're worth it. They're warm, and useful, and something I've been looking for for awhile now. And despite my efforts in non-consumption, this is consumption that I can certainly live with.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Budgeting the budget
Despite the fact that "budget" frequently seems to be a dirtly word, redolant of self-denial, I have a budget that I try to stick to. I'm generally pretty good about it too - I know how much my rent, utilities, and other expenses should be. But sometimes, I don't stick to the budget and, this morning, I'm thinking about why that is, and why that's not necessarily such a bad thing.
First, let me say that I have savings and I live beneath my means (although, admittedly, my means are grad school funding and therefore not very much). Going over budget here or there isn't going to break me, and isn't even going to require dipping into savings. Sure, it means I put a little less away in a month, but I'm not convinced this is always a bad thing.
This morning I woke up really nauseous. I've started taking iron pills at my doctor's request, as well as a large quantity of B12. Iron and B12 are not easy on the stomach, even when take with meals, and feeling icky is a common side effect. I didn't want to take an anti-nausea drug, so I tottered over to the grocery store to pick up ginger and a few things that weren't available at the other store where I went shopping the other day. I got what I needed - skim milk powder, oats, brown sugar, ginger, and orange juice (not a usual purchase, but helps the iron to absorb better - but then I picked up some extra things as well. After many weeks without, they had tahini in stock again, so I picked up a tub of that. They also had cheese on sale for almost half price, so I bought some of that to freeze. I also found one lone bag of red cargo rice, which I've never seen before - because it has way more iron than most other rice, and I like trying new things, that came home with me as well. I finished up with some extra eggs, tortilla wraps, a box of sale clementines, pasta, and super-cheap canned soup.
All told, what should have been a $20 shopping trip came out over $50. My usual food budget is $100 per month, and right now, including my one-day early shopping trip, I'm at $75 this early in the month. Now, none of these things are items that I wouldn't buy anyway. For the most part, they're fairly healthy, and will even last me awhile - there's nothing in that list that will get consumed completely this week, and most of it will last for awhile - the skim milk alone lasts for a good six months at the rate that I use it.
It still unsettles me to go over budget, though. So I was thinking about it this morning as I was walking home (which also helped me to not think about how sore my poor arms were.)
First, I don't mind going over budget a bit in the name of stocking up. Not everything I bought is going to be stockpiled, but the rice will be, as will the tahini, oats, and some of the canned items. My pantry is getting close to maximum capacity, but I feel better having this food around. As an added bonus, when I'm too busy to shop, there's something to eat and I don't have to rely on take-out.
Second, I don't mind paying a bit more a month to stock up on things while they're on sale. I was delighted to find the cheese on sale today, especially since my boyfriend is coming to visit and we like to make pizza. What we don't use (which will still be a lot) will be frozen and, at the rate I use it, will last quite some time. Rather than having to buy cheese at full price when I really want it, having it on hand can save me a bit of money.
Third, I don't generally mind going over budget (so long as I can relatively comfortably afford it) on things that add to my health. I certainly didn't mind spending money on iron and B12 supplements the other day, and I also don't mind buying food that's going to help me stay healthy. I don't normally buy orange juice (when did it get so expensive?!), but if it helps me absorb iron better, then I'm willing to spring for it. I picked up the red rice specifically because of its iron content - it's not as cheap as plain white rice, but for a lot more iron, I can justify the bit of extra cost.
Finally, it's likely that I can compensate for these extra expenses over the course of the month. If I know how much I've spent already, I can avoid grocery trips a bit more, or try to spread them out a bit further. I can eat a bit less while eating more nutrient rich foods, or eat from my stores just a little bit more to balance it. But, for now, I think the most important thing is to maintain my health and build up some stores of food, so this isn't really coming into play as much right now as it used to.
If I didn't have the money, this wouldn't be an option. If I had to do this on credit...well, I probably wouldn't. And I know for people who can't afford it that this just isn't possible, good justifications or not. But, with that said, while I love having a budget to follow, there are also instances where sticking to a budget may be too limiting. I'm pleased with what I got today, and although I like sticking to a budget, I'm rather glad that I didn't in this case. I certainly don't recommend going over all the time, but in some cases it might not be a bad idea to budget just how much I rely on the budget.
First, let me say that I have savings and I live beneath my means (although, admittedly, my means are grad school funding and therefore not very much). Going over budget here or there isn't going to break me, and isn't even going to require dipping into savings. Sure, it means I put a little less away in a month, but I'm not convinced this is always a bad thing.
This morning I woke up really nauseous. I've started taking iron pills at my doctor's request, as well as a large quantity of B12. Iron and B12 are not easy on the stomach, even when take with meals, and feeling icky is a common side effect. I didn't want to take an anti-nausea drug, so I tottered over to the grocery store to pick up ginger and a few things that weren't available at the other store where I went shopping the other day. I got what I needed - skim milk powder, oats, brown sugar, ginger, and orange juice (not a usual purchase, but helps the iron to absorb better - but then I picked up some extra things as well. After many weeks without, they had tahini in stock again, so I picked up a tub of that. They also had cheese on sale for almost half price, so I bought some of that to freeze. I also found one lone bag of red cargo rice, which I've never seen before - because it has way more iron than most other rice, and I like trying new things, that came home with me as well. I finished up with some extra eggs, tortilla wraps, a box of sale clementines, pasta, and super-cheap canned soup.
All told, what should have been a $20 shopping trip came out over $50. My usual food budget is $100 per month, and right now, including my one-day early shopping trip, I'm at $75 this early in the month. Now, none of these things are items that I wouldn't buy anyway. For the most part, they're fairly healthy, and will even last me awhile - there's nothing in that list that will get consumed completely this week, and most of it will last for awhile - the skim milk alone lasts for a good six months at the rate that I use it.
It still unsettles me to go over budget, though. So I was thinking about it this morning as I was walking home (which also helped me to not think about how sore my poor arms were.)
First, I don't mind going over budget a bit in the name of stocking up. Not everything I bought is going to be stockpiled, but the rice will be, as will the tahini, oats, and some of the canned items. My pantry is getting close to maximum capacity, but I feel better having this food around. As an added bonus, when I'm too busy to shop, there's something to eat and I don't have to rely on take-out.
Second, I don't mind paying a bit more a month to stock up on things while they're on sale. I was delighted to find the cheese on sale today, especially since my boyfriend is coming to visit and we like to make pizza. What we don't use (which will still be a lot) will be frozen and, at the rate I use it, will last quite some time. Rather than having to buy cheese at full price when I really want it, having it on hand can save me a bit of money.
Third, I don't generally mind going over budget (so long as I can relatively comfortably afford it) on things that add to my health. I certainly didn't mind spending money on iron and B12 supplements the other day, and I also don't mind buying food that's going to help me stay healthy. I don't normally buy orange juice (when did it get so expensive?!), but if it helps me absorb iron better, then I'm willing to spring for it. I picked up the red rice specifically because of its iron content - it's not as cheap as plain white rice, but for a lot more iron, I can justify the bit of extra cost.
Finally, it's likely that I can compensate for these extra expenses over the course of the month. If I know how much I've spent already, I can avoid grocery trips a bit more, or try to spread them out a bit further. I can eat a bit less while eating more nutrient rich foods, or eat from my stores just a little bit more to balance it. But, for now, I think the most important thing is to maintain my health and build up some stores of food, so this isn't really coming into play as much right now as it used to.
If I didn't have the money, this wouldn't be an option. If I had to do this on credit...well, I probably wouldn't. And I know for people who can't afford it that this just isn't possible, good justifications or not. But, with that said, while I love having a budget to follow, there are also instances where sticking to a budget may be too limiting. I'm pleased with what I got today, and although I like sticking to a budget, I'm rather glad that I didn't in this case. I certainly don't recommend going over all the time, but in some cases it might not be a bad idea to budget just how much I rely on the budget.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
What the heck is this all about?
Part Two
So, back to Van Morrison again.
By the way, if you don't know "Dweller on the Threshold," there's a good performance of it here.
So, the other reason the song spoke to me was because it seemed to articulate, in a rather roundabout way, some of my concerns about a wide variety of current issues. As I said in my first post, I'm trying to think about how these issues and changes are going to work within my academic life. But I think the idea of the dweller on the threshold also speaks to peak oil, climate change, food security, and a whole host of other issues in a more general way, and one that's probably relatable to a bunch of people beyond me.
Now, clearly the song doesn't deal specifically with these issues. It's a song, after all, and a bit of an older one, and I'm sure Van likes to sell his records and not depress his fans too much. I am, however, about to go vaguely literature interpretation on you with some of the lyrics, thanks to that BA in English, but I'll try not to get to heavy,
In any case, the song deals with a lot of similar themes - waiting in darkness, moving from darkness into light, having to move through doors, the loss of illusion, and seeing without perceiving. These are all issues I think we're having to face now. Our world is changing rapidly, and we're having to come to a lot of really difficult conclusions about the impact that we're having on a whole host of things we depend on - weather, the environment, oil, water, food, travel, and how we fundamentally live our lives. We're losing the illusions that we've held onto for years and being, in at least some cases, forced through the door and into the light.
In some ways, I feel like we're talking about Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" on a grand scale (good grief, I hope this works, since it just came to me now). For those unfamiliar with this work, it's essentially a tale of a number of people chained in a cave, facing the back wall, and lit from behind. All they know of the world is the shadows that are projected on the wall that they face, sinc ethat's all that they can see. But eventually, one of these people is dragged away from the cave, so he can see the actual world, and not just the shadows. And it hurts. The sunlight hurts his eyes (and, if we're talking post-ozone, might even burn his skin). He has a difficult time equating the shadows of the cave with what he can now see of the real world. Everything is new and strange and damn scary.
Again, we've got a dark to light transition, a movement from one way of being to another. And we also have a sense of the pain that maybe, just maybe, comes up in "Dweller" in the ideas of crossing the burning ground, and then of drowning. Now, we too are being hauled out of the cave, en masse. I certainly feel like I've been dragged out, especially with regard to issues around peak oil and food security. For some, I'm sure it's a more difficult transition than others.
But, there can be a happy ending. In Plato's allegory, the person who is dragged away from the cave adjust, and even returns to the cave to try to convince ther others how wonderful non-cave life is. They, of course, do not believe him, since they need to experience it themselves and work through their own fears and deal with the changes themselves. But it is possible to grow used to it.
I think there are a lot of reasons that we've lived so long in what only now seems to be the darkness. It's been comfortable and, until now, has been relatively easy to go along with. In addition, it's been even easier because the powers that be - those who have a vested interest in keeping us working, buying, and living in particular ways that tend to support capitalism - have led us to believe that this is the best way. That's not to say that we're dupes. I think that far too often the tendency is to assume that people are dupes of the system. But, we're talking about a system that's been around for awhile, and one that's so normalized and expected that it's just plain difficult to get away from enough that it can be questioned and confronted on any large scale. But, we're being pulled far enough away now that we can begin to see these things - sadly, it seems to be much easier to question the system when it's difficult to afford fuel, or food, or housing. As a result, we're being forced into a position where not only our ways of life our changing, but our assumptions and illusions about them are as well. And so, we're all, in a sense, dwellers on a threshold, whether we know it or not yet, and we need to figure out how this transition is going to work for us.
This turned out a bit more general than I wanted it too. Maybe I'm wrong, and I'm the only one who feels like Van's dweller on the threshold, or the guy hauled out of Plato's cave into the glimmering and shiny world. But I suspect a lot of us feel like this. That a lot of us are making this transition and trying to manage the pain and shock and confusion of moving past the dark and into this new light. I know it's not always a picnic over here, and so I'm going to write about it. Yeah, I want to think about integrating my domestic life a little better with my academic life, but I also think these issues and means of dealing with them are worth thinking about on their own.
So, back to Van Morrison again.
By the way, if you don't know "Dweller on the Threshold," there's a good performance of it here.
So, the other reason the song spoke to me was because it seemed to articulate, in a rather roundabout way, some of my concerns about a wide variety of current issues. As I said in my first post, I'm trying to think about how these issues and changes are going to work within my academic life. But I think the idea of the dweller on the threshold also speaks to peak oil, climate change, food security, and a whole host of other issues in a more general way, and one that's probably relatable to a bunch of people beyond me.
Now, clearly the song doesn't deal specifically with these issues. It's a song, after all, and a bit of an older one, and I'm sure Van likes to sell his records and not depress his fans too much. I am, however, about to go vaguely literature interpretation on you with some of the lyrics, thanks to that BA in English, but I'll try not to get to heavy,
In any case, the song deals with a lot of similar themes - waiting in darkness, moving from darkness into light, having to move through doors, the loss of illusion, and seeing without perceiving. These are all issues I think we're having to face now. Our world is changing rapidly, and we're having to come to a lot of really difficult conclusions about the impact that we're having on a whole host of things we depend on - weather, the environment, oil, water, food, travel, and how we fundamentally live our lives. We're losing the illusions that we've held onto for years and being, in at least some cases, forced through the door and into the light.
In some ways, I feel like we're talking about Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" on a grand scale (good grief, I hope this works, since it just came to me now). For those unfamiliar with this work, it's essentially a tale of a number of people chained in a cave, facing the back wall, and lit from behind. All they know of the world is the shadows that are projected on the wall that they face, sinc ethat's all that they can see. But eventually, one of these people is dragged away from the cave, so he can see the actual world, and not just the shadows. And it hurts. The sunlight hurts his eyes (and, if we're talking post-ozone, might even burn his skin). He has a difficult time equating the shadows of the cave with what he can now see of the real world. Everything is new and strange and damn scary.
Again, we've got a dark to light transition, a movement from one way of being to another. And we also have a sense of the pain that maybe, just maybe, comes up in "Dweller" in the ideas of crossing the burning ground, and then of drowning. Now, we too are being hauled out of the cave, en masse. I certainly feel like I've been dragged out, especially with regard to issues around peak oil and food security. For some, I'm sure it's a more difficult transition than others.
But, there can be a happy ending. In Plato's allegory, the person who is dragged away from the cave adjust, and even returns to the cave to try to convince ther others how wonderful non-cave life is. They, of course, do not believe him, since they need to experience it themselves and work through their own fears and deal with the changes themselves. But it is possible to grow used to it.
I think there are a lot of reasons that we've lived so long in what only now seems to be the darkness. It's been comfortable and, until now, has been relatively easy to go along with. In addition, it's been even easier because the powers that be - those who have a vested interest in keeping us working, buying, and living in particular ways that tend to support capitalism - have led us to believe that this is the best way. That's not to say that we're dupes. I think that far too often the tendency is to assume that people are dupes of the system. But, we're talking about a system that's been around for awhile, and one that's so normalized and expected that it's just plain difficult to get away from enough that it can be questioned and confronted on any large scale. But, we're being pulled far enough away now that we can begin to see these things - sadly, it seems to be much easier to question the system when it's difficult to afford fuel, or food, or housing. As a result, we're being forced into a position where not only our ways of life our changing, but our assumptions and illusions about them are as well. And so, we're all, in a sense, dwellers on a threshold, whether we know it or not yet, and we need to figure out how this transition is going to work for us.
This turned out a bit more general than I wanted it too. Maybe I'm wrong, and I'm the only one who feels like Van's dweller on the threshold, or the guy hauled out of Plato's cave into the glimmering and shiny world. But I suspect a lot of us feel like this. That a lot of us are making this transition and trying to manage the pain and shock and confusion of moving past the dark and into this new light. I know it's not always a picnic over here, and so I'm going to write about it. Yeah, I want to think about integrating my domestic life a little better with my academic life, but I also think these issues and means of dealing with them are worth thinking about on their own.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
What the heck is this all about?
Part One
Really, this is a question that I get a lot, although especially from my family and boyfriend. I suspect the only question I get more is, "what the heck are you wearing?", but that usually comes from my dad. It's almost a running joke. Almost.
In terms of background, I live in a fairly small city in Canada, on my own, in an apartment full of books and other assorted things (yeah, shoes too, I admit it). I'm a doctoral candidate finishing my third year and working on my dissertation. My research isn't really important here - suffice it to say that it's markedly removed from...well...most of the stuff that I'm hoping to work on and work through here.
So, then, what am I doing here? And what's with the title?
Well, the title is borrowed from a Van Morrison song, and I've posted the lyrics here. I started listening to it a lot recently, and thought it would make a great blog name, but it also seemed like it worked well with some of the things I was trying to puzzle through in terms of my life-at-large (as opposed to my life-as-academia.)
I sometimes feel like a dweller on the threshold, although I'm not always sure of what that threshold is. I do academic research, but the ivory tower is, in many ways, so far removed from other elements of my life, especially given my specific focus. So, I exist somewhere between these two worlds, one where I do academic research on fairly technological subject matter, and the other where I have a baby garden on my patio, knit socks for myself, cook vegetarian food, and concern myself more and more with environmental and food security issues.
To a degree, I've supressed this latter part of my life. Academic takes up so much of my time, and tends to come first. But more and more I feel like my interests here (fromerly dealt with only in the summer and those odd moments when I don't have things immediately due) need to be addressed in some way. They certainly won't take over from my academic life, but I think they need some more inclusion, because right now they're so very separate.
Of course, this isn't to say that these two things have to be mutually exclusive. It's just that I feel the divide very acutely at some times, and I'm not always sure how to reconcile it. Some of these concerns are making their way into my academic life a bit more as time progresses, but the divide is still there. I don't even think that I can work it out through here necessarily, but I at least want to give voice to these things and give them a bit more actual rather than just theoretical space in my life.
So, although I'm not as metaphorical as good old Van, I guess I feel like a dweller on the threshold of something new in my own life, or at least of something that's an increasingly source of concern and focus. And I hope, at least in some small way, to figure out what this is that I'm dealing with, and how I can better integrate it at least into my world, if not into my work.
Really, this is a question that I get a lot, although especially from my family and boyfriend. I suspect the only question I get more is, "what the heck are you wearing?", but that usually comes from my dad. It's almost a running joke. Almost.
In terms of background, I live in a fairly small city in Canada, on my own, in an apartment full of books and other assorted things (yeah, shoes too, I admit it). I'm a doctoral candidate finishing my third year and working on my dissertation. My research isn't really important here - suffice it to say that it's markedly removed from...well...most of the stuff that I'm hoping to work on and work through here.
So, then, what am I doing here? And what's with the title?
Well, the title is borrowed from a Van Morrison song, and I've posted the lyrics here. I started listening to it a lot recently, and thought it would make a great blog name, but it also seemed like it worked well with some of the things I was trying to puzzle through in terms of my life-at-large (as opposed to my life-as-academia.)
I sometimes feel like a dweller on the threshold, although I'm not always sure of what that threshold is. I do academic research, but the ivory tower is, in many ways, so far removed from other elements of my life, especially given my specific focus. So, I exist somewhere between these two worlds, one where I do academic research on fairly technological subject matter, and the other where I have a baby garden on my patio, knit socks for myself, cook vegetarian food, and concern myself more and more with environmental and food security issues.
To a degree, I've supressed this latter part of my life. Academic takes up so much of my time, and tends to come first. But more and more I feel like my interests here (fromerly dealt with only in the summer and those odd moments when I don't have things immediately due) need to be addressed in some way. They certainly won't take over from my academic life, but I think they need some more inclusion, because right now they're so very separate.
Of course, this isn't to say that these two things have to be mutually exclusive. It's just that I feel the divide very acutely at some times, and I'm not always sure how to reconcile it. Some of these concerns are making their way into my academic life a bit more as time progresses, but the divide is still there. I don't even think that I can work it out through here necessarily, but I at least want to give voice to these things and give them a bit more actual rather than just theoretical space in my life.
So, although I'm not as metaphorical as good old Van, I guess I feel like a dweller on the threshold of something new in my own life, or at least of something that's an increasingly source of concern and focus. And I hope, at least in some small way, to figure out what this is that I'm dealing with, and how I can better integrate it at least into my world, if not into my work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
