One Month Catch-Up

Whew! It’s been quite a month! I didn’t get the job at the Audubon, but I did get a crew leader position at the census, so I’ve been working for the US Census since April 12^th. As with any short-term government job (actually, I don’t know if that’s the case with government jobs, it's more like a political campaign gig) I was notified just days before and then hit the ground running. I’ve been trying to get organized and find some kind of routine ever since!

So, here I am on a Thursday morning, just before the start of my 42^nd year, trying to summarize my last month of my 41^st year. My thoughts are: I didn’t get the job at Audubon; I did get accepted to Chatham University’s Food Studies Masters program; my census job is fun and challenging, I have a great crew. Along with my fellow crew leaders, that fulfills my need for coworkers; my 17 year old car needs a $1,000 head gasket so I’ve found a car to buy-a 2006 Subaru Forester-and I’m having fun with my bank to get the $12K for it; the Oakland community garden is coming along nicely; right now is the peak of busy-ness of all my projects!

Did get the job- I’m kind of relieved…I know that sounds like a defensive statement, but how was I going to do a Masters program with a full time job? I have to find $30,000 to pay for school, plus my expenses while I go to school (I could just have 2 Silpada parties a month and pay for my personal expenses…) but I’m not worried…I probably should be, but I’m not. I’m just so excited about the future! Who knows where I’ll end up!

The Census job is great! Its kind of crazy in that the rules change every day…you’d think an organization that’s been doing this for 230 years would have their system down pat! But it doesn’t work that way. Very interesting and challenging, and I love it! My crew is fantastic and I hear I’m the only one not complaining about her staff…maybe I’m just a positive person and don’t want to bother people with details, but that doesn’t sound like me…

OMG I had the craziest week back in April…my second week with the Census. I was hoping my 1993 Honda Civic would last through this summer. However, the head gasket problem escalated and was sucking the radiator dry, so the car was overheating. I couldn’t deny it anymore. My folks were still in Florida and my mom offered me her car while I searched for another. She got friends to take it from her house to her mechanic to get inspected; I got a ride up to get it. (About 45mins north of here) I used it for Census training on Tuesday and came home, got changed for the gym and got back in the car. I put it into drive but the light on the dash, the one that indicates what gear you’re in, didn’t move…humm…nothing. Turns out the cable that connects the gear shifter to the transmission had snapped! WHEN DOES THAT EVER HAPPEN!!???!!?? So, I had to manually (under the hood, at the transmission) shift the car into drive, take it to my mechanic. However, I had a meeting the next day, so I thought, OK, I’ll ride my bike. Well, half way there my tire goes flat. I fill it at the station and I end up pushing it home after pushing it to my meeting! I was afraid to walk anywhere for fear of breaking my legs! (and I recently sprained my ankle, but that’s another story) BTW, the selector cable for my mom’s car cost $400!l

My folks have a friend who buys cars at auctions around the country. I’ve been working with him to find a car. I wanted a Honda Element, but that seems to be the hot car of the season and couldn’t get one in my price range. So I cast my net a bit wider and found a Subaru Forester that I like. I really like! Have you ever driven one? They are so much fun! I can’t wait to get it! It’s higher off the ground than my Civic and even higher than the Outback, which I thought I wanted. It’s got a lot of space for camping gear and stuff, and it’s a seriously tough vehicle! I’m so excited! But my bank is giving me a hard time loaning me the $12,200.

First, let me say that my go-to loan guy is on vacation. He went on vacation the day after I applied for a loan and left it in his coworker’s capable hands. The underwriter, however, is taking advantage of this fact. The poor woman, she said she would be sympathetic to my plight if I were the only one she was having that conversation with…every loan she is working with is getting the same treatment. She wants to hide under a desk until my friend gets back so he can fight with the underwriter!!!

Here’s how it went. I applied for the loan. The car is worth $13,000 online at Edmonds.com (blue book) but they needed info from the dealer about the car. I put Bobby in touch with the bank. (turns out they didn’t ask him anything different than what I could have told them) Next, there is an outstanding balance from an account I closed in 2007…What? Turns out that there was a series of unfortunate overdrafts while we were on vacation, camping, no access to bank, internet, etc. and the bank offered to waive some of the fees and, in their words “Settle the account” for $150…which left a balance of $182…apparently “settled” doesn’t mean the same thing in Dollar Bank language as it does in normal English. It means “Ok, we’ll take $150 now, and wait till you need something, then we’ll bend you over this barrel and see how much you really need us!” So I paid the $182, and expressed how unhappy I was, but was paying it anyway. The next day, the underwriter still wasn’t happy with my credit rating…my husband’s is a bit better, but he’s not comfortable with giving me $12,2000. I, apparently, can’t talk to him directly, so I plead my case with a nice woman on the phone. Over the past 2 years, (while being unemployed, I tell you but didn’t tell them), I have managed to pay off my student loans, all my credit cards, my loan to them (Dollar Bank), and completely wiped out all my debt ($10K). We don’t have a mortgage; we don’t have credit cards (F**K them!) …We don’t have ANY debt….and I have good credit…I’ve paid on time and more than was due most of the time. What does he have to be “uncomfortable” with!?!?!? He won’t disclose details about what he doesn’t like, so I have nothing to go with. He’s offered me $11K…what am I supposed to do with $11K?!?!? No, it’s all or nothing, my friend. I’m confident that I qualify, I’m worthy and I deserve it. So if you want to make me wait until Kevin comes back, fine. You’re so ON!

I am not desperate. If I need to, I can put the $1000 into my 17-year-old vehicle and drive it another few months until I save up enough money to buy another car. I could start a campaign to get people to withdraw money from their Dollar Bank Account and hold it until Dollar Bank gives me the money…I’m sure I can get $12,000+ removed from Dollar Bank in less than a day. I guess they could argue that if I know people with money, why don’t I just borrow it from them…But THEY ARE A BANK! That’s what they do. I can wait.

Thanks for letting me rant this morning. I now have to go get ready for my busy day. I have census work, then I have to make signs for the farm’s plant sale tomorrow, and I have to do a final drawing (Large!) for the Oakland garden…called Frazier Farms…for Saturday. Oh, yea, I have to prepare to turn 41 on Sunday. Wish me luck!

I'll be blogging more about Michael Pollan soon!

Micheal Pollan - I ONE

The age of Nutritionism: ONE-From Foods to Nutrients

Since the early 19^th century scientists have been trying to figure out how food turns into flesh and energy. They started with Protien, Carbs and Fat. Sailors still got sick on voyages…oops! Forgot vitamins! They isolated nutrients from foods and then synthesized them in a lab.

Epidemiologists observed that during the war years, when dairy and meat were rationed, heart disease went down only to leap up again after the war. Based on this “lipid hypothesis”, in 1977 the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs chaired by Senator George McGovern created the Dietary Goals for the US which plainly suggested that Americans “eat less meat and dairy”. Of course the lobbyists were outraged and McGovern, being from South Dakota, really took the heat (Lots of cattle in SD) The recommendation was changed to read, “choose meats, poultry, and fish that will reduce saturated fat intake” What the hell does that mean to your average person!?!? Lobbyists are powerful and the food industry has many! Never again did the US dietary guidelines mention a particular food…only the obscure nutrients.

Because of this, we now have a large picture of misinformation. Studies show that groups with higher cancer rates consumed more fats and fewer plant foods, so the cancer could be caused by dietary cholesterol OR lack of plants. Scientists study the nutrients that fight cancer and other diseases, but how do we know it’s not something else in the orange besides the vitamin C that’s helpful? So, we have recommendations that say “avoid saturated fats and eat antioxidants” instead of “eat less beef and more broccoli”.

Because of the 1982 National Academy of Science report we speak in terms like polyunsaturated, cholesterol, monounsaturated, carbohydrate, fiber, polyphenols, amino acids, flavonols, carotenoids, antioxidants, probiotics and phytochemicals instead of FOOD. We don’t eat food anymore, we eat nutrients!

Michael Pollan – In Defense of Food - Intro

For my friends and family, I would like you to read this book, however, it may not fit into your schedule. This book has changed my way of thinking about food and I want to absorb it even more, so I’m going to re-read it and post summaries of it here on my blog. I’m realizing that so many of our guidelines about eating are based on outdated recommendations and that’s why we have such a problem with our school lunches, and why people like Jamie Oliver is starting a “Food Revolution”.

If you’d like to know about this Michael Pollan guy, here’s a link to his website. http://www.michaelpollan.com/about.php He’s a journalist and has written about the food system for some time.

In the introduction to In Defense of Food he talks about why he wrote this book. He’s done a lot of research on the history of the Western Diet and the details are fascinating! In summary, we westerners, particularly Americans, have lost confidence in what we choose to eat. We have stopped looking at food as food, and think of it more at nutrients. We depend on scientist to tell us what to eat. An orange is not an orange, it’s a source of vitamin C, never mind the other benefits to eating an orange that isn’t in a vitamin C pill.

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. That’s the short lesson of this book. He’s not telling us what to eat, just getting us to think about the choices we make. We are caught in between the food scientists telling us what to eat (no butter, marg…oops! No marg, butter) and the “thirty-two-billion-dollar food-marketing machine that thrives on change for its own sake.” This country’s industrialization of the food system began in the 60’s and it’s taken this long…over 40 years…to get back to basics. Food chemistry creates flavors that make things taste good, like that chicken sandwich from your favorite fast food joint; the feed lot chicken doesn’t have much flavor or nutrition, but they add it so you think it’s good and wholesome food. It’s not! There is so much added flavor, sugar, corn syrup and fat to our food, and the labels are so confusing, most of us just give up and eat whatever.

It seems ridiculous that there is need for a book to be written, with the first rule “Eat Food”. It seems obvious, of course we eat food…but we don’t…we eat foodlike substances. Through this book you’ll see what I mean. It’s really changed me and I hope you enjoy it too!

Dream - The Company

I have always had very random dreams, and occasionally throughout my life I have had friends who ask about my weird dreams. This blog is the perfect outlet for those stories!

I had a dream last night about interviewing for a job. I was dressed in a suit, but forgot to change out of my slippers. And I forgot to brush my teeth. The company was housed in a big complex, and I wasn’t sure what they did. My friend from high school (and the island game on FB!), Janette, was working there and got me in for an interview. It took me awhile to figure out the elevators because they went up, down and sideways…everyone else seemed to move so efficiently! My being around bothered no one. I didn’t get in for an appointment, but they told me to just hang around. I was trying to figure out what they did, so I could form my argument for why they should hire me but no one could tell me…they just smiled and asked me what I wanted to do. After awhile, I just put down my bag and started cutting fabric into shapes and sewing them together…there was a whale and a bear and a raccoon and a bird. They were cute stuffed animals, I called them prototypes, and the company loved them. They set me up with a desk and sewing machine and handed me money. I got a parking spot too. They said I could wear slippers everyday if I wanted to. No one seemed to notice I didn’t brush my teeth.

Grad studies Essay part III

The Urban Farm

The food bank’s farm was organic. Before I really knew what “organic” meant, I would joke “It grows therefore isn’t it organic? Duh!” Like most people, it didn’t occur to me what was happening in our food production in the U.S. Until that time I never thought about what methods of pest control or fertilizers were being used or how far food was traveling to get to us. I started shopping at the local farmers market. That’s where I met Barb and Randa, owners of Mildred’s Daughters Urban Farm. They had a dream that everyone in Pittsburgh would grow their food. They own the last remaining legally zoned farmland in the City of Pittsburgh and wanted to share it! Their plan included tours of the farm, sessions on cooking and preserving the harvest, a CSA, and even a school! Barb and Randa, together with a fellow urban homesteader, Mindy, called their dream “Grow Pittsburgh”, a sort of call to action. After a couple years they hired an executive director. The first funded project was the Edible Schoolyard and I was hired as the project coordinator.

Grow! Pittsburgh

I worked with Grow Pittsburgh to help establish the first edible schoolyards in Pittsburgh. (There are currently 4 school gardens in Pittsburgh Public elementary schools) It’s so rewarding to see kids excited about growing food! They are astonished when they see a vegetable magically appear on a vine that grew from a seed THEY planted! It changes their view of plants and food in a positive way. I learned a lot about people’s perceptions of a garden, too. A parent at one of the schools found a picture from 1910 of a group of kids in a garden holding up vegetables they had grown. It was their school garden! It got me thinking about how relatively recent our disconnection from our food source is.

CHICKENS!

Our office was in the Penn State Agricultural Extension office along with the 4-H program. Like many 4-H programs, they would send eggs out to schools in March and April and for two months small batches of peeps came and went around the office. After chick sitting over Easter weekend I couldn’t resist. Most of the peeps went to local farms but I brought home 5 chickens; 4 hens and a rooster. After some research my husband and I built a coop in the back yard next to the garage. The chickens grew quickly and loved to wander the neighborhood, getting over the fence even after I clipped their wings! After 5 months, like clockwork, they started laying beautiful, tasty, huge eggs.

Discovering the Joy of Farms

The first summer after the Edible Schoolyards were established Grow Pittsburgh had the dilemma of maintaining the gardens while school was on summer break. We got funding to hire a 6-member crew of teen interns. The program was designed with a focus on workforce development but it also included gardening skills, field trips and nutrition lessons. The field trips were as fun for me as they were for the interns; we held 2-day-old piglets, ran a grain mill and even (accidentally) visited a Hare Krishna commune food farm! The following summer we expanded Summer Intern Program to include 3 garden sites, 21 interns and 3 college-age supervisors. The program was successful — no one quit, no one was fired and many of them wanted to work with us again! Unfortunately, the economy took a turn for the worse and Grow Pittsburgh didn’t get funding for the 2009 season.

Search for Garden Space

My neighbor whose yard I was using moved so I couldn’t have my vegetable garden anymore. For a couple of years, I had a spot at a shared garden at the top of the cemetery but the deer broke down or jumped over every fence I built. I managed to integrate some potted tomato plants and basil into our backyard. I joined Mildreds Daughter’s Farm CSA but I could only afford a half share the first year. They started a working member group after that, and for 5 hours of work on the farm every week I received a full share of the harvest.

Expanded Homesteading and Conservation

This past summer, being unemployed, I spent more time at the farm. I was able to work directly with Barb Kline, co-owner and main vegetable grower for the farm. I learned a lot from Barb everyday, from planting methods to soil enrichment, pest control and crop rotation. I started to think about the food I used on a daily basis and how I could grow it myself. I spent a lot of time making jams, canning peaches, tomatoes and beans, and I experimented with fermentation making pickles, dill beans, Kim chi and sauerkraut.

Over the years, my husband and I have grown increasingly aware of the waste in our lives…food, water, energy, etc. We’re big on recycling, we save rainwater and we have a compost bin. One year I received a multi-level vermicomposter for a birthday gift! We even started using our dishwater in the garden using environmentally friendly dish soap!

I got a feeling

It could just be me and it could be the gloomy day or maybe the fact that I feel like I’m coming down with something but I don’t have a good feeling about my job prospect. I’ve been thinking of my alternative plan which consists of either working for the county elections division training poll workers, or working for the census (they offered me a job for 2 months starting mid-April), plus doing the community garden for the Oakland Planning and Development Corp, still doing Silpada parties, working on the farm, working farmers markets for Mish Farms and becoming a Green Irene consultant. It’s a patchwork income flow but it would work. I would be working from home mostly, setting my own schedule so I’d still have free time to take Brett to work and take days off for working on the farm or canning or whatever. That wouldn’t be too bad, but I was looking forward to the security of a full time gig and the environment with co-workers. I miss a workplace, I really do. Maybe I need to get a group of work-from-home people to make a co-worker coffee group…but I haven’t heard anything concrete from the Audubon… it’s just a feeling. I hope I’m wrong!

My Take on the Health Care Law

To be honest I wasn’t sure how I felt about the health care bill. Everyone being forced to have health insurance…I just wanted to be able to see my doctor when I needed to and be able to afford it. Like a couple years ago when I had a sore throat I wanted to be sure it wasn’t strep throat. I knew my doctor’s office charged $65 for a visit and then the test and medication would be even more, so I went to one of those “Take Care” clinics in Walgreen’s. Turns out that they charge $75 if you don’t have insurance! I was thinking that $25 - $35 would be reasonable. The nurse in the take care clinic wouldn’t even LOOK at me, at my face, never mind my throat, once she found out I didn’t have insurance! It was horrible. So I’m not a big fan of what the health insurance companies have done to our medical services, and I wasn’t thrilled about all of us being at their mercy.

But a thought occurred to me the other day…they have to pay for everything for everyone. They can’t turn you down or shut you off, they can’t drop you or pick and choose what they will cover anymore. Our health is their responsibility…our health is their responsibility! The largest lobbying group in the country will have an interest in our HEALTH…are you getting it yet? They will WANT US TO BE HEALTHY! They’ll want us to eat better and get more exercise so they won’t have to pay out so much… and they will make it happen. That is my theory. All the people working to get people to eat more fruits and veggies, and less factory farmed (which is less nutritious anyway) meat, and less sugar and less fat – from Alice Waters to Michael Pollan to Morgan Spurlock – will now have the health insurance companies looking to them for guidance. This could be the best thing to happen to this country ever. Studies prove that better nutrition, like better school lunches for example, decreases bad behavior in children. Then they are less likely to become “the bad kid” in class, and they’ll have more confidence, and are more likely to succeed. They won’t turn to drugs and thuggery and won’t get arrested and will become respectful members of society. Not that those problems will completely go away, but it will not be the norm like it is today. Good nutrition could also help with ADHD and lots of other disorders as well.

Call me an optimist, but I think I’m on to something here. I don’t like the idea of someone telling me I MUST have insurance, I’d rather pay as I go, at a reasonable rate, and have insurance only for emergencies and trauma, but if this law does what I think it will do, and the insurance company’s lobbyists are more powerful than the food industry lobbyists, then Jamie Oliver will really think he’s a miracle worker with his food revolution because that type of thinking will spread in no time. Look for it in about 2-4 years. You heard it here...I think first.