I want to see this movie.

I picked up one of these Snapware GlassLock containers at Bed Bath and Beyond this past weekend and I’m already smitten. Basically it functions like tupperware except it’s a glass bowl and a silicon lid. Read: no scary plastic chemicals leeching into your food, fewer disposable tupperware containers in the landfills. The glass is heavy and durable so it doesn’t feel like it will break if you throw it your lunch bag and the seal is airtight. The container is microwave friendly and dishwasher safe and all those good things (not that I have a dishwasher!). The only downside is the price, but probably that evens out over time.

This is my wallpaper. Leaves + teal = obviously.

Leaves and their annual magic show color-change have always been a part of my life. As a child, there were leaf piles to play in and special detours down Persimmon Tree Road to see specific vibrant trees. Chris Van Allsburg captured the magic of Jack Frost in my childhood imagination. Leaves mean going back to school and travel soccer games, homecoming parties and new wool sweaters. Leaves come with the cool, crisp air that I love and provide a rainbow in nature unmatched by the other seasons. Growing up in Connecticut and Maryland, then living in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, I took the leaves for granted. Every fall I would take a little longer to drive home and relish some extra time on the windy New England back roads. I hiked up firetowers or simply walked to class amongst the colors.

Last year I somehow missed it all. Walking in the concrete jungle can be secluding. Fall came and went and then it was cold and I’d missed my chance to see the leaves. So this year I’ve been stalking the fall. Starting in September I watched their southward progression. When the marathon was on television a week or so ago I noted the leaves in Central Park were still green. Then all of a sudden the report said “Peak Color!” The sun had set before I left work each day last week, so I knew it had to be today. Today was my day to see the leaves. So today I went to Central Park and I leaf peeped in my own city. It isn’t the New Hampshire wilderness, but for this New Englander, it will suffice.

My parents were here last week and helped me out with some stuff around the house, including replacing the ten or so dead light bulbs that weren’t doing much good. My mom is on-top-of-it when it comes to nifty little factoids like the one above, so one of my newly replaced light bulbs is a high-efficiency bulb by GE. You can join the Change a Light, Change the World campaign if you want to feel warm and fuzzy about doing something good for the environment (even if it’s only a drop in the bucket…).

I just watched a charming little piece of propaganda billed as a movie on HBO (The Girl in the Cafe). While the movie trailers might have you think the movie is a romantic comedy, it’s really just another plea for progressive action on poverty, debt, and trade at the G8. In short, the female lead uses her unlikely presence at the G8 to stand up for what she believes in, because, quite simply, she hasn’t got anything to lose.

I guess the point of the film is to make people think. So I did some thinking… What do I do to stand up for what I believe in?

Ummm, I wear a white “One” campaign wristband. I’ll explain to people what it means and that they can go to www.one.org to support the One Campaign. A few times a year I’ll give money to something I deem to be a worthy cause. But quite honestly, that’s about it. I haven’t dedicated my time to helping solve any of the large scale problems our world faces. I claim to be of a liberal orientation and I’m quick to bemoan our current government, but at the same time I don’t really do that much. Should I feel guilty for that? Part of me says “yes” I should do more. Part of me says “no” the problems are so big, what could I possibly do to help? I guess maybe I can just chalk this issue up to yet another source of internal conflict.

Right now the list of sources of internal conflict is loooooong. For starters:

• I should drive a hybrid vehicle but I actually drive an premium gas guzzling SUV.
• I should pay for all the music I listen to but I don’t.
• I should eat organic food but I can’t afford to.
• I should use my training/knowledge to help people but I’m more concerned with finally earning a salary.
• I should stop buying goods made in sweatshops but I know I won’t.
• I should never whine about my life when clearly I’m more fortunate than most, but sometimes even my easy life doesn’t seem so easy.
• I should…

At some point, there has to be a balance between doing what I think I should do and what I actually do. I need to be happy with my life, but also need to feel like I’ve done something. I guess every person finds their own balance. Luckily there are some people in the world who are selfless enough to dedicate their lives to helping others. I know I can’t hide behind their work, and I know that saying “it’s too hard” is just an excuse. But, for now, that’s all I can manage. I’ll keep wearing my trendy white wristband.

Normally I drive about 150-200 miles/week. At 18 miles/gallon, that’s 8-11 gallons of gasoline at $2.10 = $21.00, for 3 weeks = $63.00.

For the next three weeks, in my little Toyota Prius I will probably only drive 100-150 miles/week. At 60 miles/gallon that’s 2-3 gallons of gasoline at $1.90 = $5, for three weeks = $15.

So I guess I’m actually saving about $48.00, and hopefully repaying some of that karmic debt. It’s definitely a new experience to drive a car with “On” and “Park” buttons.

For those of you who are concerned, don’t worry – I’m fine. My car is not, but hopefully the guys over at Franchi Bros. will fix it up nice and good. For insurance purposes I’m not going to discuss the accident, but I will say that it wasn’t my fault. Booooo. That’s the bad karma for ya.

About a year ago, I watched Blue Vinyl on HBO. Blue Vinyl is a great documentary about the dangers of vinyl siding (and vinyl in general). Turns out that the production and incineration of PVC produces dioxin (a known carcinogen) that accumulates in our fatty tissues. It’s also thought that some dioxin leeches into the environment from vinyl products (makes you think twice about the pipes in your house, the packaging your food comes in, and the toys your infant cousin chews on, right?). Again – pretty scary! The problem was that my annual condo association meeting was just a few days later. I wasn’t going to go seeing as I think there’s a level of baseline resentment that I encounter for being a 24 year old homeowner, but the association management company called and told me that since I hadn’t submitted my proxy form I had to go. Riiiiiight….my proxy form, because I’m sure they make such amazingly important decisions at these meetings. I decided it couldn’t be so bad, so I got in my car and headed over to the Polish home or Lions club or whatever random local building they’d reserved for the meeting…

I managed to snag a seat at the back of the crowd, fortunately avoiding any meaningful conversation or eye contact, and I read a textbook while the discussion covered everything from the color of the garage doors (you won’t believe how upset one guy got about the color of his garage door) to the type of flowers in the flower beds by the mailboxes (lilies? tulips? that’s a tough call). At this point I was really beginning to wonder when these all important votes were going to take place. Then, as if solely to rescue me from boredom, the discussion turned to the siding that had recently been installed. My hand shot up: “I was just wondering what the siding that was installed is made of?” I asked, as if I had any doubts. Turns out it was vinyl siding. So then I asked if the construction committee and association management company had considered the implications of using a product and supporting an industry that produces a product that is poisoning America. Whoa…. that drew some stares. After some considerable stammering, the spokesman informed me that the vinyl siding was the only economical option. I settled back down in my seat and resolved to let it go, but then the conversation turned to the garage doors again. Turns out they were planning to replace the wooden garage doors with, yep, you guessed it, vinyl garage doors. After an exchange strikingly similar to the one that had occurred five minutes before I was really getting some nasty looks. That discussion was followed shortly thereafter by a discussion about replacing the wooden decks with Trex material – yet another artifically made product – but this product, I was assured, is actually safer because the arsenic in the sealant for wooden decks REALLY is toxic. Well, THAT makes me feel better about the deck I’ve got out there now. Anyhow, to make a long story short, those looks of resentment I was getting before are full-fledged glares now and I’m pretty sure I didn’t make any friends. But I suppose that if I caused just one person to think about what they put in their homes and what effects it might have on their health, I succeeded in some small way. At least that’s what I tell myself at night so that I can sleep (on a mattress that is probably poisoning me).