Sunday, January 30, 2011

Day 30: New Food

It's Sunday and I had a lot of studying to do which means I cooked a few meals for the week. I tried two more new recipes from the Eat For Health book.
First I made a "Fast Black bean Soup" that has frozen veggies in it and is garnished with avocado and green onion.

The second dish was "Spaghetti Squash Primavera" with an assortment of fresh veggies. The secret ingredient to that dish was a fair amount of thyme that made it surprisingly fragrant. I thought I'd made spaghetti squash at some point in the past but it must have been my mom who has made it because I realized I've never cooked it before.




I tasted both tonight and liked the black bean soup much more that the squash primavera. There may be improvements to that recipe that I can try in the future.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Day 29: UX4good



I had the good fortune of being invited to the cocktail party type event at the closing of UXXU 2011. The event grouped UX designers, non-profit executives and creative sparks into think-tank type teams to find creative solutions to large complex social problems. (Described in their own words: http://www.ux4good.com/overview/) This approach to brainstorming or innovation is not new, I even work with women who are expert facilitators of Ideation processes. What was new to me was the grand approach of pooling a wide variety of resources, including people from very different fields, and using creative problem solving techniques to fix broken social systems. I got inspired and filled with lots of good ideas at the UXXU 2011 closing reception.

From my opinion the Cease Fire group did a really fabulous job identifying what ways the average person can help cub violence, what type of resources are needed to facilitate the great work Cease fire organization is currently doing and what other services the community needs to help address the problem long-term. I will definitely start following their work.
http://www.ux4good.com/challenges/

I’m sure there will be video of the presentations as well as of parts of the process.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Day 28: A new Milonga

I've been invited out to a new Milonga tonight that I think is only once a month called Milonga PORTEÑA. Not only will it be cool to check out another setting & slightly different crowd but there will also be a performance to start things off (after the brief beginner class). I'm very new to this world of Tango but I am enjoying learning how to walk again and discovering the different spots.

I did a quick google search of the performers and found a YouTube video of a performance they did last week in NYC.

Day 27: Shoeshine

Awhile back I was browsing another blog that started as a project to do something new everyday called In the New http://jen365.blogspot.com/ and I saw that one of the things she did was shine her shoes with a banana peel. I have never heard of doing such a thing so the idea stayed with me and I just had to try it.

It was a bit odd rubbing banana peel gook on my shoes but they did shine up quite nicely. I shine them so rarely that just wiping the salt off is an improvement in itself, but I did find that the banana peel appeared to work. I finished the shine using a cheesecloth to wipe off any pieces of banana that had stuck to the shoe in the process.


I also had some fun arranging and photographing the shoes. Since I don't really know what I'm doing, I could fiddle with that kind of thing for hours.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Day 26: New look

I have some wispy short hairs around my face that were like long bangs that could be pushed to the side or styled to be like bangs. Since I'm totally wash and go with my hair, I thought of them as training bangs. They didn't take much work but with a few minutes can change up my look. Once of my main problem with bangs is that they grow out too fast. And since my training bangs started out long, they've grown out really fast. They were hanging in my face today so I dug out a headband that I've stored conveniently in the bottom of a random drawer. Since I usually don't deal with things like bangs, I don't usually have a reason to use accessories like headbands. So today I wore a headband to class. I think it looks ok right when it's been put on but I'm not sure it looks as good an hour later. It will probably end up back in the drawer.


Trying to capture the look of the headband I've discovered that the flash on my computer washes out my face in an odd way. I find the lighting effects a more interesting way of twisting my look. Too bad I can't walk around with my own lighting.


Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Day 25: #SOTU

Tonight was the State of the Union and I watched white house feed on http://www.whitehouse.gov/state-of-the-union-2011

For the first time ever I live blogged an event and tweeted during the speech with my opinions and lines I found worth remarking on. It was an engaging active way to watch. The screen shots of the tweets are small and hard to read. I enjoyed watching the live feed and not have to listen to annoying newscaster comments. But now I'm missing the tone of the commentary.




Monday, January 24, 2011

Day 24: Car battery care

Friday night I wanted to nip out to the store and I found that my car wouldn't start. All the lights would flash but it only made a weak attempt to roll over and start the ignition. Since my errand wasn't essential and the day had been especially cold I decided to stay home. Sleeping on it did not solve the problem and I found the same odd reaction. After a few calls, including one to the dealer and 2 others to neighbors and family with opinions on cars, I learned that batteries weaken in extreme cold and that they also neen more power in cold weather to generate the juice needed to start the car. After a quick jump start my car was back in action.

So today I looked up some more information on car batteries and how to care for them. If a car battery is more than 2 years old, it is more likely to leak power in cold weather. http://www.thedailyeaston.com/wheels/dont-freeze-your-battery This explains why I've had the car for 3 years and I've never had this problem before. The other reason maybe because I used to have a garage and now I park outside. A mechanic or dealer can test a car battery to determine it's performance and I guess they can also somehow measure the wear and tear, or the potential power. When it warms up a bit I'll take my car to the dealer to have it checked.

This is not may car but one terrifying picture that is amusing only in the comfort that it didn't happen to me.



Also in the news today was a man in NYC who found his car covered in ice...

http://news.yahoo.com/video/newyorkcbs2-15751042/car-frozen-in-place-23949191

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Day 23: Have you ever heard a bassoon solo?

Tonight I went to a concert of Music of the Baroque at the First United Methodist Church in Evanston, IL. It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday evening. A highlight was Mozart's Concerto for the basson in B-flat Major, K. 191. I had never heard a basson solo before and I found the range and depth of sound really fabulous. I am by no means qualified to be a reviewer of music, it feels like I'm possibly using inappropriate vocabulary even in these few lines. Nonetheless, the sounds were new, the setting was also new and I enjoyed it.

I was a bit shy taking a picture during the performance but luckily, all kinds of media can be found online. You can even hear parts of the concert from the group's website.

http://www.baroque.org/seasons/2010-2011/haydn-symphonies-mozart-concertos/

First United Methodist Church in Evanston


Bill Buchman: Bassoonist

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Day 22: Territory

I'm headed out to a milonga and try dancing tango. I went for the very first time in 2010 so I can't count it as a very new thing even though it is new that I'm learning the steps and rhythm and I'm sure I'm dancing a bit better than before. This counts tonight because I expect that when I check in tonight on foursquare, I am expecting to become Mayor of the American Tango Institute. Here's to dancing the night away.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Day 21: Hours long and seconds short

I had other plans for today but got totally sidetracked by a phone call from an old Peace Corps friend. We hadn't talked in awhile so we had a lot to catch up on. Toward the end of the call we were both shocked to see that we had been talking for way over 2 hours. By the time we finally hung up we had actually been on the phone for 2 hours 59 minutes and 57 seconds. That has to have been a record of some kind.

Completely unrelated, my Christmas cactus I've been nurturing for 4 years is in bloom for the first time.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Day 20: It's a puppy

So many of my new things recently have been part of my planned activities for the day. It is nice to see that my regular daily life actually involves new things on a regular basis. but I was also starting to feel like I'm cheating or missing the point of this whole project. It was time to try something new and create something.

I have a cup full of bottle caps so I decided to use them to create a design. I thought the easiest would be a smiley face but that generic shape actually wasn't easy with the caps I had. So I played with different shapes and I ended up with what you see below. It looks like a puppy to me. I've named him Stout.



Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Day 19: Case study

The biggest new thing today was that I presented part of a case study in class on zoonotic diseases including some background on swine flu and some information on surveillance efforts. On the way to class I was running a bit late and walking fast but I did catch the eye of Rahm Emmanuel at the Fullerton el station. I looked at him because it was odd that people were taking pictures at the entrance to the stop. He looked at me because he was campaigning and he was just as interested in the people plowing past him as the people capturing pictures.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Day 18: Kashi is thinking beyond the box

Once a month the we have a special seminar class on Tuesday nights. At first it didn't sound like much but having class three nights in a row instead of the regular Mon & Wed classes makes for an extra hectic week. On top of that, the 3 day Hawaiian class I took over the weekend meant that I did not get to cook a few dishes for the week, like a big pot of soup, which has been my habit recently.

So when I got home from class I microwaved a frozen entree. Shopping recently at Target I picked up a new Kashi meal, Lemongrass Coconut Chicken. The box was new, it is a brown cardboard that looks and feels recycled. The stamp on the front does not explain the new material but does claim that the new design uses 11% less packaging. I wish more companies were making similar efforts! The Kashi website explains their efforts in sustainability, provides links to CDC sources and has interactive tools to a healthier lifestyle.

http://kashi.com/articles/sustainability


Monday, January 17, 2011

Day 17: An extra hour

Today is almost as simple as can be. I got out of class an hour early and I am going to try to get to bed before 10pm or as soon after as possible.

Day 16: New Connection

The clock is about to strike midnight and the day will turn, so I'm in a hurry to get today recorded on the actual day...

Today was the final day of the Lomi class and it was full on new sensations and Aha moments that hit me physically as well as shifts in understanding healing and transformation.

In addition I had dinner one on one with an important friend and we opened new doors of possibility for our friendship to develop.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Day 15: First massage

I am taking a 3 day Lomi class focused on teaching pieces of Lomilomi, an ancient Hawaiian form of massage that traditionally involves spiritual layers of prayer, aloha, intention and can be experienced on several levels. My interest in the Hawaiian traditions and the layers of healing energies that lead me to the class. One thing naturally led to another and it was time to give it a try. It didn’t really occur to me that I was in a class about massage until I was actually giving a massage. Yes that is a bit elemental and it was presented with a few steps of hula. It was totally cool to step so far out of my daily realm.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Day 14: Paint markers

It’s not the most sophisticated material but today I bought some paint markers and I came home to give them a try on colored construction paper. They feel and act more like marker than paint but I’ll have to experiment some with different papers and see if I can get the colors to blend.

Day 13: A look back at 2010

I took an interesting look back at 2010 by flipping through several different calendars of mine. I scanned through my personal appointments overlaid on a communal work calendar for all projects and I realized that the year had been full of interesting projects and diverse activities and travels and classes. We often look back at the year in pictures or parties but more telling I found that a variety of memories were linked to reflecting on the work I'd accomplished over the year.

If I knew how to automate a slideshow and load it here I would have. I'll have to save that learning for another day.

Day 12: Toxic Receipts

A brief student presentation about an environmental issue in the news really surprised me. I learned that BPA (Bisphenol A), a plastic hardener is on receipt paper and can leach into your body through your skin! Fear of adverse affects of BPA is why people avoid plastic bottles, especially ones that have been left in the sun. But this news article says that the BPA on receipts is actually stronger than the chemical is in bottles.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-health-receipt-health-risk,0,6755213.story

The next time you have a bag of fries, it's probably not a good idea to put the receipt in the bag!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Day 11: Memorable and remarkable

It is a day people have been anticipating when the numbers line up nicely. I get three different important odd numbers out of the date that sum up this day for me nicely.

Jan 11 = 0+1+1+1 = 3

01/11/11 = 0+1+1+1+1+1=5

Jan 11, 2011 = 0+1+1+1+2+0+1+1=7

I was confronted with evaluating some significant things in my life today, which called into play new things beginning, the realities of the present as well as a wide variety of future possibilities. These dynamics are well represented by 3, 5, 7. It wasn’t as fun as it may sound but it was a day I will remember.

Today for the first time I over analyzed the date. I was going to link to an interesting article about the date but apparently I'm not the only one over analyzing it or giving it my own meaning.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Day 10: Making the most out of a familiar menu

It is a busy time of year pack with new projects at work, new classes, New Year’s resolutions and strong efforts for a few new habits. Today my new thing is simple. I ordered something new off a familiar menu. Instead of choosing between curry dishes, I ordered Pra Ram Loung Song (Rama Chicken). Lunch was completely enjoyable - I appreciated the new dish and the company was enjoyable and uplifting. While it wasn’t the most significant or interesting thing I did new today, it is something that I chose differently because of this project.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Day 9: Hearty Vegetable Stew

This weekend’s recipe was a variation of Hearty Vegetable stew. While I didn’t have and there didn’t use all of the ingredients, it did help me empty my fridge of leftover fresh vegetables from last week’s cooking frenzy. I used a hand blender to pulverize more than half of the soup, which thicken it up considerably but didn’t result in a very appetizing looking meal. I’ll have to try this recipe again to see if the missing ingredients including carrot juice and eggplant have a significant effect on the visual appeal and taste of this dish.



For several weeks now, I have been making at least one big pot of soup on Sunday and then freezing several containers of it. This has given me a nice array of ready, homemade health meals on hand that I can eat each week. Today for the first time, I actually labeled what I put into the freezer so that I can keep track of what is there and how long it has been frozen waiting for me.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Day 8: Writing group holiday reunion

After a creative writing class 3 years ago at the story studio a group of us didn't want to loose the connection of familiarity and trusted ears that we'd acquired during the class so we decided to continue meeting after class. At first we did rather well getting together monthly but we didn't maintain that for too long. We met on a week night and then on Saturday mornings and then back to week nights. Now it seems that we can only find a date that works for all of us seasonally. Today I hosted the group for the first time in my new apartment.

It always takes us a good hour or so to catch up on each other's news before we settle down to do writing exercises and workshop each other's work. I couldn't pull a more electic group together if I tried in age and backgrounds. But we all write. We all travel. We are all dynamic, open curious women. The reunion today energized and inspired me. There are great things ahead for each of us.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Day 7: The Daily Cup

I’ve worked from home for two days and stayed confined to my own apartment because of my cold. So when the workday finished tonight I ventured out in the snowy evening to a local coffee shop, The Daily Cup. I sat with a big supersized mug of cappuccino and read through a stack of articles for my case study for Environmental Health class. It’s a very pleasant place to sit and I’ve very happy to have discovered a new place to study.

Day 6: season 3 of The Wire

I’m coming down with a cold and feeling generally yucky with a sore throat and coarse voice. So I stayed home tonight instead of going to see a friend’s new band play and I started watching season 3 of the Wire with a mini marathon of 4 episodes. I guess these aren't really new shows but they're new to me and this was the best I can offer for a sick day.

Day 5: started another class

The first session of Intro to Environmental Health started tonight. The class will cover a lot of interesting topics. Like my other class this term there are a lot of small assignments to do each week in addition to exams and final projects as opposed to last term when I just had 3 papers to write for a class.

(Wed. Jan 5th, some sort of technical issues kept me from posting)

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Day 4: Downloaded a new game app

Some small kids taught my big boss the newest game at a party over the holidays and finally the new trend reaches the rest of us in a trickle affect. In need of a new game for the New Year I took the tip right to the app store and downloaded Angry Birds. It took a few tries to work through the first easy levels and suddenly I realized I am already hooked. I did a few seconds of research and found out that the game was just released in December 2009 and has supposedly sold more than 12 million copies already. I also found this promo video….

Monday, January 3, 2011

Day 3: Started a new class

Today was not only the first day back to work in the new year but the start of a new term in grad school. I went to the first session of Current Issues in Public Health. It looks like an interesting class that I will get a lot out of if I get into it and really put time and thought into. I think that is often the case but it will be even more so with this one. Some of the research and discovery needed for this class with probably appear on this blog on future dates.

I’d like to share some videos (shown in class) from campaigns created to define Public Health and educate the general public on just how pervasive and important Public Health issues are.

This is my first attempt to embed a video!




(There's a purple NYU flag in the background in some of the shots and that flag marks the building I lived in Freshman and Sophomore years when I was an undergrad there.)

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Day 1: Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

I have been making some new soups out of Eat for Health the last few weekends. I save some for the week and then freeze several portions. It's helping me stock up on healthy meals. Today I tried another new recipe, vegetarian version of Shepherd’s Pie. I didn’t realize how many variations of vegetarian Shepherd’s pie are out there until I Google searched it while looking for the recipe I just made. The ingredients vary widely including carrots, peas, beans, tomatoes, fake meats, cheesy potatoes. I’ll try another variation another day.

The pie I made included broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, spinach, tofu and I added some portabella mushrooms that I had in the fridge at risk of going bad. I topped it all off with sweet potato mash and almonds. I found a copy of the recipe on the Cleveland Clinic website promoting Immunity Booting foods.

http://www.360-5.com/body/ImmunityBoosters/Pages/VegetableShepherdsPie.aspx



I’m somehow off today and it took me much longer than it should have to cook this pie. To make the sauce I used 2 cups of carrot juice instead of ½ cup, which I eventually figured out when the sauce wouldn’t thicken. I did happen to have corn starch on hand. I actually bought some last week to make fondue christmas eve and I was complaining about having my cupboard filled with ingredients I'll never use.

The meal was delicious and I have a pie in the freezer to bake and eat on a busy day in the furture.