Is it all it's cracked up to be?

I have a love/hate relationship with the whole notion of eating local. I like the idea. I think there are many benefits, some of which can include getting to know the farmer, less transportation of the food, and fresher food. But, I love things that cannot and do not grow here. I will never get an avocado grown in Oregon. If I did it would have to be grown in such an artificial environment that it would defeat the purpose of not being from California or Mexico. So, eat local or eat those things I like that aren't local or do a bit of both. I do a bit of both. Such a wide variety of tasty foods are grown in Oregon/Washington that I can usually, without trying too hard, find something in season that is relatively local (there's a lot of debate about what is local...that's not the point today).

A few things I eat just naturally seem to be local. Honey is one of them. It's readily available and I like to buy in bulk. Doesn't hurt that my in-laws gave us a gallon jar of honey. We're starting in on year two with that big boy. The fact that we don't eat large quantities plays a role as well. Today, I read an article that reminded me of another reason I like eating local. Adulteration. This can happen anywhere but it seems that more and more, food from other countries - finger pointing at China - are not all they seem. This article from the Seattle PI shows the great lengths that exporters in China have gone to export honey that is tainted with animal antibiotics (super bug anyone). Does it make sense that Singapore is now a major exporter of honey to the US and they don't have any bees?

So, while I am not a fanatic about eating local, I would like to encourage you to think about where your food is produced. Is it all it's cracked up to be? If not, you might want to consider making some changes...for your health! And read that article above. We all need to start paying attention to where our food comes from...and no, the right answer is not McDonalds!

What the hell?

The other day, I happened to be looking at BBC news headlines and stumbled on this article "Getting high on HIV drugs in S Africa." Seriously, what the hell?

People are grinding anti-retroviral drugs (the ones that keep you from progressing to AIDS when you are HIV positive) into powder and smoking them. And this is not typically the patients. Kids are doing this too. It all comes down to the money. Patients and even healthcare staff are selling the pills for money according to the author. Why are people smoking these pills? Oh wait, "Smoking the pills has a hallucinogenic and relaxing effect."

So let's get this straight. We have a country where people actually believe AIDS isn't real; we have a disease with no known cure; and we have people who are compromising their health and the ability of the drugs to work because of the potential for resistance (as in, the drugs will no longer work when someone who is truely HIV positive needs them). Sorry, climate change and peak oil don't mean a damn thing if humanity isn't on Earth!

I'll Do It Myself!

Why is it always so hard to work in a group? Is it just me or does it always seem like a few people do the lion's share of the work. I hated group projects in school. While I understand we all have different strengths, blah, blah, blah...there are a lot of times I would rather just do it myself. Thanks Dad (said with sarcasm!)

Today has reminded me of this dilemma. It appears to be happening in multiple areas of my life. I'm concerned about how easy it is to point fingers and speak poorly about others. Frustration causes me to do things I'd really rather not be doing. I don't really think pointing fingers or talking badly about one "team member" with other team members is conducive to solving the problem. Nor does it feel right.

What do you do in these situations? Do you care if you start pointing fingers? Does it bother you when you are speaking badly about other "team members"? Just food for thought.

Adventures in a Stick Shift or Finding Out What It Isn't

I got to revisit how dependent I am on my automatic yesterday.  I love my automatic.  It's taken me nearly five years to say that.  I drove my grandparents to OHSU in Portland.  It's on a hill.  There was traffic, lots of traffic.  I didn't kill the car, us or anyone else but I sure wished I had the automatic!

Know what it feels like to find out what something isn't but still not know what it is?  That's what Grandma got to feel yesterday.  While everything the doctor had to say was encouraging, it didn't get at the root of her problem.  She's healthy, he expects her to live to 113, and the veins to her brain are great.  The chances of a stroke are low.  But none of this explained why she's dizzy.  "I feel defeated," she said at lunch.  I know what she meant but had no words to buoy her up.  

Should she feel defeated? That's open to debate.  People like to say things are what they are.  All things point to health.  Is that what she should focus on?  I don't know. I know in my life I hate it when I don't know the answer.  Why do things happen the way they do?  Are we supposed to be learning something from life? Or, are things what they are? Okay, so no great answers today.  

Only once did I forget I was driving their car and try to start it without pushing in the clutch...at REI.  Luckily, I had pulled forward into the next spot so there wasn't a car in front of me to hit.  It was what it was.

The Importance of Being Trustworthy

I woke up with a thought this morning.  I've been thinking about relationships for the last couple of days.  What is the most important thing we can do to create, keep or save our relationships?  Many times we think of relationships as being between partners, like a husband and wife or boyfriend and girlfriend.  We all have relationships though.  Relationships with family, with friends, with co-workers, with pretty much anybody we meet.   These relationships don't always go well.  I'm not trying to be negative.  I'm just trying to point out something I think we can all work on. 

Have you ever really thought about why relationships don't always go so well?  Are you pointing the finger at someone else right now?  Be honest.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that perhaps relationships don't go well when there is a trust issue.  If each person in the relationship can trust the other, all other things fall into place.  Communication cannot work if there isn't trust. If money is involved, things can get really bad really quick if there isn't trust. If it's a sexual relationship, trust plays a huge role.  Every part of a relationship comes back to trust.

Being who you say your are and doing what you say you will goes a long ways towards creating a person that others will trust.  If others trust you then you are leaps and bounds ahead on creating a good relationship!