For those of you who do not know (which is almost everyone), we (Tom and I) have begun our adventure in vermicomposting. So far it has been very fun/gross, but we did have two worms commit suicide today. I am not sure why yet but it’s got me a little worried. Hopefully the others have taken note on what happens when you escape the worm bin but I doubt that will keep them from doing anything rash.
The reason I wanted to start vermicomposting was to cut down on the trash we make but so far we haven’t created a good enough system to do that yet. But our refrigerator also broke down so we have been feeding them things that went bad in the old fridge. I guess we will see when circumstances change how much trash we can really cut down on.
I have always wanted to compost because, I don’t know about you guys, but I happen to create very little trash. I try to recycle everything I can and what’s left over is stuff I have no control over such as unrecyclable plastics, styrofoam and food trash. But now I do have some control. Although I cannot compost animal products, I can still turn my other organice trash into someone else’s treasure. Wee! Those worms sure do love our garbage, save for the two suicidal ones, I guess.
It started out with a couple of plastic tubs from Home Depot that only costed a couple bucks each and came in fun colors. We drilled holes all over one of them so the worms could breathe. The problem was finding worms. I preferred not to order online because it just seemed better to meet up with someone who could tell me a little something about vermicomposting. I searched everywhere for worm farms nearby but the closest I could find was in Glendale. I checked Craigslist but people were either selling them too expensive or only sold whole composting systems (bins that were already started) which were also quite expensive. We didn’t want to drive that far or buy whole systems so ordering online was looking better and better.
One day while bored in class, I was looking on Craigslist and found someone selling them for a pretty good price. He happened to have bought the same bins as we did and even had this really cool graffiti art on it. But anyway, I contacted him and he just seemed so knowledgeable and friendly and excited (I LOVE excited people). We met up with him later that night. He showed us his awesome garden and worm bin and he gave us tips on gardening and composting. He also gave us some of his fresh veggies and some lettuce seeds. It was awesome. Tom was so excited that he wanted to put the worms in right away but I made him wait until after dinner. I felt like a mom setting ground rules for her kid.
There hasn’t been much of a smell, which I think is amazing. After the first night, though, when it was smelliest, there were all these other critters hanging out around and inside the bin. It was so nasty. We finally got it to normalize a little in terms of scent and excess critters. I’m just waiting for the weather to get a little better so they don’t get too hot. I can’t wait to have gorgeous dirt for our plants! There has already been so much progress. Wee!
Filed under: greenies
Found this just now. It’s kind of geared towards athletes and stuff, especially famous ones, to spread the word, but I think it’s a really snazzy concept. Unfortunately, I very rarely wear shoes with shoelaces so I probably won’t be buying these. Plus, I already have a pair of shoelaces that are made from post-consumer plastic. You can opt to just wear the laces like a bracelet like in the picture but I’d rather find a different way to show off my greenness. BUT if you wear shoelaces often, show off your love for Mother Earth by sporting some GreenLaces!
I am officially a bad mamma jamma. So I’ve been creepily looking at this moped outside my class and one day I took a picture of it (as you can see). I noticed on one side of it that it said Vespa and the side I took a picture of said Ciao, so I Googled that and learned a little about them. Then I typed it into CraigsList, thinking they would not possibly have anything like that on there but they did! It was just for looksies but I sent the link to Tom and he loved it and said I should get it. I wasn’t really going to but the more I thought about it, the more appealing and cool it seemed so I e-mailed the guy on Thursday, we met with him that same day and tried it out and then I bought it. It’s a sexy orange vintage Vespa Piaggio Ciao! Another impulse purchase… I think any new eletronic devices will have to wait a little while but this is so totally worth it! Pictures of my new bike and perhaps a formal introduction coming soon!
Filed under: greenies
The little step I am taking towards saving the world today? Well, my laptop overheats like no other, so rather than thawing my chicken by wasting water or electricity, I have turned off my cooling pad and put my tupperware of frozen chicken next to where the computer gets hottest. Haha. The outside of it is sweating profusely. Hopefully it’ll be done before I feel like eating dinner!
Filed under: biking
The cold of wind resistence bites my nose as the two-wheeled beast rolls on through the semi-residential area of Westwood. After being cooped up indoors all day, it’s nice to get some air and get the endorphines moving about. There are so many different smells out there, sometimes good like blossoms but there’s always that occasional whiff of dog poop. People, please pick up after your dogs. I know they aren’t stray in this area. This is probably my first time exercising in months and I wonder why I don’t do it more often. I’ve become a frumpy couch potato, doing little besides sleeping and eating during my downtime. Long gone are any hobbies I had in the past and any side projects I have been working on. There is not a whole lot I get joy out of these days besides hanging out with Blankey, friends and family, which I don’t seem to get to do often enough. I’m so over school but there’s so much more to go. People say I’ll miss it after I graduate but I’d really beg to differ. Why would I miss one of the few things that really cause me mental anguish? I barely even get to take my bike out for a spin anymore because I’m too tired most of the time from work and school. Today I felt particularly saddened by all this, so much so that even the upliftingness of gospel choir couldn’t bring me back, but the bike ride around the neighborhood done me good. I need to get off my butt more often.
This Saturday past, Thomas Robert and I cheated on his roommates with mine. We had quite the eco-friendly weekend. Being carless and all, we bussed around to reach our destinations. Lazy as we were, we stayed in bed until late morning. I was then fed gruel disguised as something called “Farina” (just kidding, it was good until I had too much of it). We then left his place to start our adventures for the day. We first got on the 704 towards Santa Monica. We were going to switch lines and meet up with Meeshella (roomie) and Eddie (pseudo-roomie) at my apartment but continued towards Santa Monica and opted to meet them there. Oddly enough, we got there well before they did, those car-ful suckers. Teehee.
We originally went to the vintage fair going on at the Santa Monica Convention Center to take free ballroom dancing lessons but the moment Tom and I saw all the neato stuff for sale, we decided our time would be better spent rummaging through the oldies but goodies and immediately went on a hunt for an ATM. We spent HOURS there at the vintage fair…and stayed until closing. It was inevitable that I would make off with a purse…or two, but my eyes were oft caught by the amazing dresses. Unfortunately, I did not try on too many, and most that I saw that I REALLY REALLY would have wanted were too small so I did not bother. I very nearly bought this 80s dress but could not think of any situation that would call for it so I hesitantly decided against it. Tom got a snazzy tie… we just can’t seem to stay away from ze vintage accessories. 
I also got to meet his new roomies last Thursday, who are quite the hilarious duo, and Friday we saw Coraline (so awesome!). I love spending weekends with the b-friend. <3
I am officially cursed with electronics. My laptop has passed away and I am missing a couple months worth of photos because the last time I backed up my computer was in March. Farewell, Drew Jr. Luckily I got off my resume and movies. The pictures are important but I have a lot of them on my Flickr, so I guess that’s good. Sigh. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have bent (bended?) the truth because now my computer and I are suffering. I’m on my sister’s computer now and she’s not here in the daytime so no worries. I’ve been keeping busy anyway. Sunday I went to Heren’s grad dinner, Monday went to Old Town and Panera Bread with Wendorz and then we went to do decor child labor for Susan’s mum. haha. Today I met Dar at Boba Express by biking and then we biked to his house to Partyville and then play Diddy Kong when his dad kicked us out of the TV room (crazy new TV they have) to watch the Lakers game. Biking home was pretty tough because it’s all uphill but perhaps I will have awesome legs by the end of summer then.
Before all the hype about gas rising to four bucks, I was looking at folding bikes. It wasn’t because I wanted to save money on gas, since I don’t drive, and it wasn’t because I had any difficulty getting to places I needed to go, because there is a shuttle that stops right around the corner from my apartment that takes me to campus, which is really the farthest place I need to go during the week. I wanted a bike just because. I wanted the option to bike somewhere if I felt like doing so, thinking mostly about bringing it to campus for when the shuttles stop running.
Thinking about biking is a lot easier than actually doing it. Duh. I rode around a lot as a kid, but I kind of stopped when I sold my soul to the computer and started spending most of my time online. We’ve got a couple bikes back home, but I wanted something more BA, something not that common but easy to transport. That’s when I got to lookin’ at folding bikes. I wanted one of those cool, shiny ones that fold in 15 seconds, but they were pretty expensive. I thought I needed something fancy that changed gears and whatnot and I was on the verge of calling this person on Craigslist when I thought I found the perfect deal until I saw another Craigslist post with pictures of this guy. I can’t resist something fun looking AND vintage. Are you crazy? So I went and bought it and it is a BA piece of pre-loved awesomeness.
The first week I had it, I thought it would somehow enable me to beat traffic, but I seemed to have forgotten that it is powered by my ability to ride it. Because I leave for my sister’s work during typical LA rush hours, I thought I would gain the upper hand in traffic by riding my bicycle part of the way and then boarding my normal bus when I got too tired to go on. I did not account for my out-of-shapeness, the hilliness of Wilshire Blvd, and the fact that Wilshire doesn’t really get so packed that a bike would outrun a bus. As I trudged along, watching bus after bus pass me by, Wilshire began to bend. I figured it would be a shortcut if I took some local streets and then met Wilshire again later. Unfortunately, the moment I turned onto a street, it was all hill. I figured after I went over one, that would be it, but no, there was more. I eventually made my way back to Wilshire, probably only moving up one block, and gave up. It was beyond hot and my legs were butt tired. I had barely put a dent in my nine-mile trip but wasted probably at least half an hour.
To make matters worse, the driver of the bus I boarded was SUCH a jerk. It was my first time using a bike rack and I had no idea what to do, so I asked the bus driver and he, with a scowl on his face, impatiently told me there were directions on the rack. I fought with the bike rack for a minute or so (mind you, I had a large duffelbag and heavy backpack to carry, as well) and I looked up to the bus driver for a little sympathy but there was none to be had and his scowl just turned more sour. Finally, this nice man on the bus got off and asked if I needed help and he put my bike in the rack for me. I was already running late to my sister’s and all the previous events of that day had just put me in such a bad mood. At least I found out the rack thing on my bike can hold my duffelbag without needing bungee cords. That was pretty impressive.
But anyway, when I’m not pressed for time and carrying a buttload of stuff, biking is a pretty cool, relaxing, and sustainable way to get around. Speaking of sustainable, sorta, I actually read somewhere that some old Royce Union bikes (don’t know about mine) were made from scrap metal from cars, which I thought was interesting enough to share with you. Anyway, for longer commutes with heavy items, I suggest just taking the bus if it is more convenient (which, for me, it is, since the bus stop is very close to my apartment and drops me off a couple blocks from my sister’s work).
I don’t really know anything about bikes, but according to my friend, I am in desperate need of a new bike chain, because mine could potentially kill me. I have made few mods to it since its purchase (by few, I mean adding a bell that says “I <3 My Bike”), but I am going to clean it up some more during the summer and decide if I want to give it new parts or keep it original. I’m considering a new seat because my bum really hurts after riding a while. All this talk of biking makes me want to ride around the block, so I am going to do that now. If anyone wants to join my bicycle gang, feel free to ask me.
Filed under: greenies
This is kind of weird…
So Discovery is launching a new “green” TV network and all the shows described on that page include some extremely random casts. Ludacris and Tommy Lee? Battling against the toxic forces destroying Mother Earth? They make it seem like they’re the new Captain Planets or something, which, might I add, was a really awesome show and totally ahead of its time and may have had something to do with my childhood greenness. Anyway, the network’s line-up sounds (weird but) interesting and I’m glad Bill Nye will have his own show again, instead of being a street correspondent for The Weather Channel.
I’ve been so out of it lately. I haven’t done anything productive in weeks, it seems. I’m such a bum! And I’ve been getting sleepy a lot earlier lately. What is wrong with me? Also, I am very irritable. Maybe it’s the Spring Quarter Blues. I can’t wait for summer.
I’ve been flyering this week for this referendum we were trying to get passed to fund student-led sustainability projects called The Green Initiative Fund, which has already been passed at three other UCs and last night we found out IT PASSED! Yayyy! 74% of the voters voted yes on it! All that bad press from all those Negative Nancys seemed to have had little effect on the voters, or it could possibly have been the lightbulbs that we handed out that won people over. Haha, just kidding. I hope. Flyering kind of sucked and I probably didn’t help a whole lot, but it’s over now. Yays. Thanks to all who voted yes!
