Plastic Bags

California has considered proposing a law to ban plastic bags at all grocery and retail outlets. Some cities have already enacted this legislation. I love this idea--it needs to be statewide, and eventually nationwide. California needs to lead the way, just like we did with smoking bans. According to info on the Internet, Americans use at least 380 BILLION plastic bags a year, and only 1 % are recycled. Plastic lives forever. It pollutes our land and waterways, harms animals and fish, and can cause outages and even fires if it gets hung up on power lines. It's been windy and rainy here lately and I've seen a ton of plastic bags blowing around outside this week. I always take reusable canvas bags to the grocery store with me. I just have one suggestion: train the clerks and baggers to fill the canvas bags properly. I stop at the front of the store on my way out, rebag my groceries, and dump the extra plastic bags in the handy recycling bin before I even leave the store. Putting 3 or 4 items in my canvas bags is ridiculous. Fill them up! Canvas is a lot stronger than plastic. Reusable bags can take it! Many clerks won't bag certain items together. It's not like stuff is unwrapped. Meat comes in its own separate, sealed package, and I wash all my veggies when I get them home anyhow--so throw them all in the same canvas bag. I hope that if this legislation ever comes to pass, that we can learn to fill the bags correctly. Reusable bags are a great idea, and banning plastic bags saves money and helps the environment. A win-win situation!

paint and carpet

I am so excited--I'm getting a fresh coat of paint and new carpet at my place this week! I've put it off for years, so it's way overdue. It's a hassle taking all the pictures down, and packing up all the knick-knacks, but I will be very happy when it's all over. And everything will be super clean since I'll be polishing and washing everything before it gets put back in place. I started boxing up stuff today and realized why my friends sneeze at my house--I am not a good duster! I hate dusting! Hate, hate, hate it!! I love swiffering the floors, but I hate moving stuff to dust, so I don't do it very often. Everyone who knows me, knows that my house is usually neat and tidy, but you just can't see the dust I miss, on purpose. Moving everything off the shelves exposes it all. And believe me, there's a lot! Right now, the place smells like Endust, lemony fresh! I know more dust will be created when they rip the carpet up, but with nothing on the bookshelves, hutch or entertainment center, it will be easy to clean. I'll probably get allergies now since it'll be spotless. I'm sure I've built up immunities to it all over the years. I'm looking forward to the fresh start, maybe it'll spill over into other aspects of my life, too!

The Tillman Story

I finally went to see The Tillman Story today. It's the documentary about the friendly-fire death of Pat Tillman, the NFLer-turned-Army Ranger. I've read all the accounts in the news and I knew the movie would make my liberal heart even madder once I saw it. I was right--I was pissed off about 10 seconds into the film. It brought back all the anger I have about the US being in a stupid, senseless war. It brought back all the sadness of attending the funeral of my friend's son, who was killed in Iraq a few months after Pat Tillman died. Why is it so hard, in the military, in government, in business; why is it so fucking hard to tell the truth? All the Tillman family wants is for someone to admit the truth. Why is it so damn easy to blame someone else, then cross your fingers and hope it all blows over? Why can't someone man-up and say "Oh my God, we really fucked up. We're responsible. We can't change the outcome but we'll work hard to prevent it from happening again." And I applaud the Tillman family for not backing down, for continuing to ask the hard questions, because that's what democracy is about, that's why Pat Tillman joined up, that's what our founding fathers envisioned for America. We should be grateful to those who stand up and question authority. Blind allegiance to a leader is irresponsible. We should question, research, and learn the facts, not the rhetoric. Too many leaders abuse their power, lose sight of what is important, and the power itself becomes the end-all. And that is a very dangerous thing.

Food Trucks

The food truck craze is huge in Los Angeles. No longer the 'roach coach' days of old, these are gourmet restaurants on wheels. And, finally, my little corner of Orange County has gotten in on all the rage. Food Truck Fare Thursdays happens every week at the fairgrounds, just around the corner from my house. I went this week. Told my friends I felt really hip doing it! I started off with the spicy pork taco from the Korean/Mexican fusion truck. Oh my God--it was excellent! Really flavorful, and only $2! After that, it was the caprese empanada from the South American truck. Mozzarella, basil and tomato with an awesome herb dipping spread. It was also only two bucks. A great deal for great food. Didn't check out the Dogzilla truck but their hot dogs and sausages smelled really good. Different trucks are going to be there each week, but I hope ChunknChip comes back. I need to try their rocky road ice cream brownie sandwich. It looked wonderfully decadent, and I'm not averse to doing ice cream for lunch! The Greek truck is on my list too, and I hope they're on the schedule soon, since I'll be back every Thursday. So, count me among the food truck aficionados. I'm happy to be with the crowd!

Yoga

My yoga instructor is hilarious. I know that's not how you would normally describe yoga instructors. They're supposed to be spiritual, calming, zen-like. Not her. She's funny. She even refers to herself as a goofball. It cracks me up when she says "Be careful on this move. A lot of people break their nose on this one." On other moves, its arms or legs that get broken. If she asks how we're doing and no one answers, she threatens us with push-ups, so we all answer then. The thing is--she's a great instructor. Everyone loves her class and it's an awesome workout. I've been trying to fight off a late summer cold. I just got home from class and I feel better than I have for days. This centuries-old practice has a little twist in her class (no pun intended.) It's beneficial, it's fun, and I can't wait for the next class.

horoscope

My horoscope in today's paper reads as follows: "The problem with being as conscientious as you are is that there are times when your head spins with so many responsibilities and possibilities that you don't know what to do. Empty it all onto paper." That totally sums up how I feel about my life right now, and why I decided to start blogging. Sometimes I am completely overwhelmed in looking for a job. I am so bored by not being able to spend money or do things I like. I miss going to the movies, and buying crap at Target! And the news is very depressing--unemployment went UP again last month in California. A local hospital is opening a new medical center nearby. They have 900 openings for which they received 100,000 applications! I feel sorry for the HR people who have to process all of those resumes. A restaurant opened and had 100 positions available. They received nearly 1500 applications--for minimum wage restaurant jobs! My friends tell me to stop reading the paper, but I can't --I'm a news freak. I have to know what is going on in the world! I guess I'll heed my horoscope and keep blogging.

travel and tennis

I just got home from a long weekend in Ohio. If you've read my blog, you are aware of my bad luck with airline travel. Naturally, I thought I'd have a good story to tell everyone after this trip. NOTHING went wrong! Nada! Zilch! No delays, no cancellations. No drunks being kicked off during boarding, no INS officers storming the plane on arrival, no sheriffs waiting to arrest people for joining the mile high club. Not even a single screaming baby! There was a little issue with the landing nose gear in Columbus, but they fixed it quickly and we made up the time in the air so all four legs of my flights were on time, even a little early. I even got to stow my roller bag in the overhead instead of under the seat in front of me. I had leg room! Best of all, there was a rain delay at the US Open. Instead of being on a plane, I was sitting at a friends house watching the final two sets as Nadal beat Djokovic. I got to see tennis history, live, not taped. A perfect travel experience for Maggie Gallagher??? It was like a miracle! Maybe my luck is changing. I can only hope.