just laura

I support this… let’s hope it happens. :)

Nickels and Conlin Propose Green Fee on Shopping Bags, Ban on Foam
Proposed Waste Prevention Measures Would Take Effect Jan. 1, 2009

SEATTLE — Mayor Greg Nickels and City Council President Richard Conlin today proposed a 20-cent “green fee” on all disposable shopping bags at the city’s grocery, drug and convenience stores. A recent city-sponsored report determined that both paper and plastic are harmful to the environment. The proposal also calls for a ban on foam containers in the food service industry. If adopted by the City Council, the waste prevention measures would take effect Jan. 1, 2009.

Nickels and Conlin said the bag fee and foam ban will cut down on waste, reduce the use of environmentally harmful plastics and cut the production of greenhouse gases.

“The answer to the question ‘paper or plastic’ is neither — both harm the environment. Every piece of plastic ever made is still with us. The best way to handle a ton of waste is not to create it,” said Nickels. “This proposal is all about forming new habits. Taking a reusable bag to grocery stores and pharmacies is a simple thing that has an enormous impact.”

“The bag fee and foam ban are the right thing for the climate, our environment, and the long-term economic health of our city,” said Conlin. “We are turning Seattleites’ environmental values into tangible actions. This combination of environmental and economic stewardship will help ensure a truly sustainable city.”

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) estimates 360 million disposable bags are used in the city every year, most made of plastic. Almost 75 percent of these come from the city’s 575 grocery, drug and convenience stores (out of a total 3,600 retail and restaurant businesses). While Seattleites have a good record of recycling paper bags, most plastic ends up in landfills. But paper bags will also be subject to the fee because, taking into account the environmental costs of logging and shipping, they are actually worse for the planet.

The green fee is intended to encourage and promote the use of reusable shopping bags. The city will set aside $1 million to distribute these bags and promote their advantages. Retailers will keep 5-cents of every bag to cover administrative costs. Retailers grossing less than $1 million annually will keep the entire 20-cent fee.

Charging a fee for disposable bags will cut the number of throw-away bags coming out of grocery, drug and convenience stores by an estimated 70 percent or more according to the city’s analysis and will reduce the use of disposable shopping bags in Seattle overall by more than 50 percent. By preventing the manufacture of 184 million bags a year, Seattle will cut greenhouse gas production by nearly 112,000 tons over a 30-year period. A similar fee in Ireland achieved a 90 percent reduction in use from 325 to 23 bags per person per year.

The proposed ban on foam containers used by the food service industry would include such items as plates, trays, “clamshells” and hot and cold beverage cups used at restaurants, delicatessens, fast food outlets and coffee shops, and meat trays and egg cartons used at grocery stores. The legislation would also require that by July 1, 2010, all food service businesses currently using disposable plastic or plastic-coated paper products to convert to packaging that is compostable or locally recyclable.

Cities across the world are adopting policies to discourage throwaway plastic and plastic-coated paper products in the food service industry, said Conlin and Nickels. As a result, manufacturers and suppliers are responding with new products — including compostable plastics made from vegetable sources, such as corn starch and sugar cane. Over the next two years there will likely be a variety of new products on the market.

More than 20 U.S. cities have banned polystyrene food packaging, including Portland, Ore., San Francisco, Oakland, Calif., and Suffolk County, N.Y.

To smooth the transition, the city will set up business advisory committees representing the retail and restaurant sectors. In addition, the city will help food service businesses work together for lower prices on new compostable products.

SPU expects to collect about $10 million annually from the green fee. About $2 million will be spent to promote the switch to reusable bags, including the distribution of free bags to low income families and those on fixed incomes. The rest of the money, about $8 million, will go toward waste prevention and recycling programs and environmental education programs.

The foam ban and green fee for shopping bags are just two of several parts of the city’s new waste reduction and recycling strategies approved by the Council and mayor in 2007. The overall goal is to increase Seattle’s recycling rate to 70 percent by 2025 and reduce the amount of waste shipped to landfills by at least one percent per year over the next five years.

According to a study recently conducted by Herrera Environmental for SPU, all disposable paper and plastic bags have significant energy, climate change, wastewater, litter and water quality impacts on the region’s environment — although plastic is especially damaging to marine animals and shore birds.

The Herrera study examined the life cycle environmental impact of disposable shopping bags and found the overall impact of paper bags was four times worse than that of an equal number of plastic bags (for all categories weighted equally), and worse in every category except litter and marine litter. Banning plastic bags but not paper would push stores and shoppers to use more paper bags, resulting in significantly greater greenhouse gas generation.

For more information, go to: http://www.seattle.gov/util/bagsandfoam

Visit the mayor’s web site at http://www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the mayor’s inside view on initiatives to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm

Subscribe to City Council President Conlin’s monthly newsletter, Making It Work. www.mailermailer.com/x?oid=33062p. Making It Work will keep you up to date on the City’s emergency management initiative, strategies to reduce solid waste, and other ways the City Council is working to make the Seattle more sustainable.

I wanted to play a little April Fool’s joke at work, but wasn’t sure if it’d be hip in my new company. I was delighted when I received this email from our CFO on Tuesday.

This email is to inform you that we are adopting new timesheet and Billing Rate policies effective immediately.

The SMT has decided that in order to achieve billing targets and improve profitability (both of which fell below expectations last year), staff should keep track of time for 12 hours each day rather than just 8. It is hoped that staff will work and bill more time while still maintaining a strong work-life balance.

To implement this policy, I have created an expanded list of timesheet entries, which you can view in the Project Info Center under the project titled, “Personal Time.” Please let me know if you require any categories of time entry not currently accounted for in the task list. I have also revised the time allocations, with 110% being the new minimum work expectation for all Project Assistants and 115% for Senior Associates and Pod Leads. The additional time availability has been added to your Billing Target. (See attached for revised Billing Targets.)

I hope you will understand the need for these changes and that you will still be able to maintain the work-life balance that we remain committed to. I believe the policy changes are essential to the future success of the company as we continue to grow and position ourselves as the premier environmental consulting company in the country. If you have any questions or concerns about this new policy please email Charlie so he can set up a meeting with the SMT or feel free to talk with Jackie who can relay information in confidence to the SMT.

Thanks!

I was so delighted to see the joke in my inbox, I immediately wrote back a one sentence email that said “Guess which new employee is pregnant?!” I figured he’d clearly know I was kidding. But nope… he ran over to my desk minutes later asking “REALLY?! Are you serious?” It was great! I asked him back “Are you serious?” and then he figured it out. I guess in a company where most everyone is married and more than 5-10 people had babies in the last year or two, a pregnant new employee could be easily believable. Good times.

I was even more delighted an hour or two later when this email came from one of our two founders/Principals:

Hi All,

This is an email to let you all know – as you have figured out – that the SMT did not authorize the new timesheet policy email. While we appreciate Francis’s attempt at April Fools humor, we did not find it really all that funny. In this instance Francis has not lived up to our expectations. Effective at the end of today, Francis has been placed on unpaid administrative leave for the rest of the week, to do with himself in his unbalanced personal time, whatever he wants. I have spoken with Rob and he will not have access to email during this time.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this unfortunate incident.

Blah, blah, blah. I apparently haven’t blogged much this week, despite a bit of much cherish downtime. However, since I don’t post much these days beside the normal weekly recap, it doesn’t take much effort so here you go. :) This week I got to see Rod and Clare, eat Ethiopian, and pick out pictures to be donated to the auction fund raiser coming up May 15th. Rod’s really building an impressive portfolio and I totally wish I could’ve joined him in Alaska this weekend. I hate turning down invites for places I want to visit! I also spent an evening this week framing a few of my own pictures to donate to another nonprofit’s auction, also happening in May. Thursday night I went to First Thursday Art Walk and brought along Barry. This month felt “big” and we saw a poetry reading, a fashion show, belly dancers, live bluegrass, DJs, and much more. We ran into many Burners and many of my photo friends, ran into one guy I’d gone out on one date with, was approached by a woman who bought one of my pictures at a previous gallery showing (such a great feeling!), chatted with another woman who I met recently at a clothing swap who was a model in the fashion show, debated buying a piece of art from a guy on the 4th floor, and saw lots of entertainment. I ended up not buying the big painting yet, but did buy a pair of earrings from M’s friend Alison. While art walk was lovely, I was more excited by the good conversation that followed up for the second half of the evening. Yay, yay, yay communication! Last night and tonight are date nights with M… last night we did dinner and a bit of shopping and tonight is a party. He’s always silly, generous, and lots of fun, though his best trait might still be his amazing gift of communication. This morning I got my haircut at Caruh (pics coming soon) and tomorrow Caroline returns from SF. Oh! My big news of the week: I went to the gym 5 of the last 7 days. Wahoo! My first time back at the gym since surgery! Yay me! So, life is full, work is way hectic, I feel healthy, and I still generally consider myself blessed to have so many good people in all aspects of my life. Hope y’all are well!

HOPE is a dimension of the soul… an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart. It transcends the world that is immediately experienced and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons… It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.
-Vaclev Havel

For only $40, you could see Meg Wheatly speak tomorrow at Seattle U. I just remembered it was happening tomorrow and would love to go, tough call as I also wanted to hit Green Drinks and also have dinner invites. Decisions, decisions! Meg’s a woman I admire greatly and would pretty much love to do what she does… organizational change for the greater good of the world. No small task, but she’s doing what she can to mobilize and inspire. I’ve attended some of her previous conferences and am fortunate to have actually served on an organizing committee with her for Willing Disturbers, a national committee of of women interested in creating social change. I haven’t been involved in a few years (leaving the country will do that), but am excited to see she’s published another book and is in town tomorrow. Ah, why must life always be so busy??

FINDING HOPE IN THE MIDST OF HOPELESSNESS
hosted by Seattle University at the Pigott Auditorium
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 7-9pm, reception to follow

Some themes she’ll talk about are:
* How do we maintain our courage, conviction and clarity as the darkness deepens around us?
–* What are we to do as we are confronted by so many tragedies and abominations?
* How do we sustain our personal well-being as we become overwhelmed, exhausted and demoralized?
* And what can we learn from people in other times and other places who have confronted dark times and yet found meaning and purpose?

There are no easy answers to these questions, but the first step is to have the courage to ask them. Together, in earnest inquiry, we can find our way.

To register for the evening go to http://www.seelpugetsound.org

Margaret Wheatley writes, teaches, and speaks about how we might organize and accomplish our work in chaotic times. She invites us to attend to the quality of our relationships to weather the increasing turbulence. She knows that whatever the problem, community is the answer. She is co-founder and President Emerita of The Berkana Institute, a charitable global foundation that connects and supports pioneering, life affirming leaders around the world who strengthen their communities by working with the wisdom and wealth already present in its people, traditions and environment. (www.berkana.org) She has written four books: Leadership and the New Science (in twenty languages and third edition), Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future, A Simpler Way and, most recently, Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time. Her numerous articles appear in both professional and popular journals and may be downloaded free from her website. www.margaretwheatley.com Wheatley received her doctorate in Organizational Behavior and Change from Harvard University, and a Masters in Media Ecology from New York University. She has been a global citizen since her youth, serving in the Peace Corps in Korea in the 1960s. She was a practicing consultant for 30 years to a very wide variety of organizations on all continents.

Today I’m mourning the death of a baby girl I don’t even know. I’ve always been a sucker for kids, especially kids in need, and Emma was definitely in a hard place. Anyone following Matt and Ellen’s story of their daughter Emma knows the struggle they’ve had in her first four months and the incredible fight she’s shown to live. Their blog posts and updates on twitter have left friends, and strangers like me, rooting for Emma and now mourning her loss. My sincerest condolences go out to Matt and Ellen now that Emma’s struggle has ended and she’s passed along to a more peaceful place.

click to enlarge

My new company was just featured in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine as one of the hottest companies in town. Pretty cool! Go us!

This weekend was rather indulgently fun! M and I went shopping for cute stuff, Clare and I went shopping for cute stuff, I got my hair cut, and date nights both Fri and Sat were rather decadent. Here are two pics from Saturday’s party.

With the always irresistible M (you can see a bit of my strapless dress to prove I’m not actually topless)

With Walter, my mini-crush of the weekend (he’s a friend of Lesley’s and he lured me in dancing like Brittany Spears while wearing a Utilikilt). Was very fun to meet the SF posse… Walter, his beautiful girlfriend Jen, and the very fun Steve and Antoinette. Recapping the party, Walter said the most effective pick up line of the evening seemed to be “Hi my name is…” As Steve said, “You had me at “H…”

…frustrated at work. Again. My new mantra: “I just need to care less.” We’ll see how I do. I tend to get rather invested in the things I’m involved with, especially if I’m doing them for 40 or 50 hours a week. Wish me luck…

I created my favorite station yet in Pandora: Low Millions, Scissor Sisters, Spoon, Arrested Development, and Gnarls Barkley. I totally rule. Also… you know how much I love getting mixtapes. I was delighted to find two friends have stuff up on muxtape.com… Joe’s mix and Samantha’s mix. Love it.

Also… Caroline rules. Last night we did Thai food and conversation, venting, speculation, girl talk, photo perusing, and hair dying. Tuesday was another girls’ night dinner party with Bobbi, Mary Ellen, and Brenda. Guess some girl time was in order to balance out last weekend? Looking forward to seeing Barry tonight and am totally looking forward to a great party on Saturday! Yay friends!

From the NY Times… I like that Seattle is “his kind of town.” Nice to have kindred spirits in peace, activism, and compassion for the world around you.

April 11, 2008
Dalai Lama Arrives for a Five-Day Conference in Seattle, Very Much His Kind of Town
By WILLIAM YARDLEY

SEATTLE — The Baptist church that once stood on a residential corner in this city’s Greenwood neighborhood was long ago converted to a Buddhist monastery, pillows in the place of pews.

Outside, a bright white stupa stands amid half-million-dollar bungalows, some with signs in their windows reciting current creed: “Another Neighbor for Peace and Justice.”

“It’s a spiritual city, perhaps more than a religious city,” Chuck Pettis, president of the Sakya Monastery, where three monks practice Tibetan Buddhism, said of Seattle.

Spirits here are soaring these days. In a town where oms often drone out hallelujahs, more than 150,000 people are expected to flock to hear the Dalai Lama during a five-day conference starting Friday.

The visit by the Dalai Lama, who arrived here Thursday afternoon on a flight from Japan, is his first to the United States since the onset of international protests over the Chinese crackdown in Tibet. But the trip was planned long before the recent troubles, and few expect him to use it to begin making demands for Tibetan independence.

Nor, for that matter, is he expected to guest on bass or bellow backup vocals when he joins the rocker and local organic parent Dave Matthews onstage here Friday evening.

The expectation, instead, is that he will stick with what got him here, “dialoguing” about the importance of an inclusive kindness and compassion: pitch-perfect preaching for an area with one of the country’s lowest rates of church attendance and a notable lack of interest in mainstream American religion.

“How can you argue about compassion?” said Dan Kranzler, whose Kirlin Charitable Foundation has been the lead fund-raiser for the conference, called Seeds of Compassion and taking place at a number of venues around the city.

The last time the Dalai Lama visited Seattle, in 1993, his total audience was perhaps a tenth of what is expected this time. In addition to the Dave Matthews concert and a variety of other events, including an address at the University of Washington, he is to speak at Qwest Field, where the Seattle Seahawks play football. More than 50,000 people are expected there.

The conference will feature workshops on topics as varied as business issues and the nurturing of compassion in young children.

“It’s got nothing to do with religion,” Mr. Kranzler said.

Much of Seattle has long had Sunday mornings free. Some Lutheran churches in the old Scandinavian fishing neighborhoods of Ballard have been converted to housing. Churches downtown have been sold. The Episcopal cathedral, on a hill overlooking the city, has struggled with budgets and internal politics.

Yet Mr. Pettis, of the monastery, estimated that more than 100,000 people now practiced Tibetan Buddhism here, by most accounts a huge increase in the last two decades, even if the noninstitutional nature of Buddhism makes clean counts elusive.

People move to the Northwest “to separate, to differentiate themselves from their families and their traditions,” said James K. Wellman Jr., an associate professor in the comparative religion department at the University of Washington. “And then they get here, and there’s not many people, so there’s this sense of isolation. There’s an ambivalence about it. They both love it and they wonder, ‘Well, how can I connect?’ ”

Spirituality and self-help sections in bookstores do well, neighborhood farmer’s markets thrive, and craigslist is the place to go this week if you want to buy tickets from scalpers to see the “simple monk” from Tibet.

Dr. Wellman said it was striking that little had been made of the fact that the Dalai Lama was speaking at a public university, where he is also to receive an honorary doctorate, and that his visit was being openly supported by many local elected officials. Should Pope Benedict XVI extend his United States visit to Seattle, he said, “that would cause so much tension: people would fear church-and-state problems.”

Tibetan Buddhism “gets a pass,” he said, in part because many people here say it is not so much a religion as “a spiritual way of being in the world that’s about nonviolence and peace.”

Still, the visit is stirring tension. A group of Chinese students met this week with the university’s president, Mark Emmert, seeking assurance that the Dalai Lama’s visit “has no political agenda, and that his speech will not arouse any anti-China sentiments on our beloved campus,” according to a letter the group posted online beforehand.

Afterward, the students posted another letter saying Dr. Emmert had assured them that the university would nurture a “harmonious relationship” with China and “make sure that no sensitive and political questions would be raised” during the Dalai Lama’s speech.

Norm Arkans, a spokesman for the university, said that “we’re not censoring anybody” but that the focus of the event there was not Tibet and that preselected questions from the audience would maintain the focus. Mr. Arkans noted that the university had rejected attempts by the Chinese government to cancel the event altogether.

Ron Chew, a former director of the Wing Luke Asian Museum here, said he was struck by the array of responses the visit was generating, from the Zen and zeal of the yoga and feng shui faithful to the concerns expressed by the students. And then there are the Chinese nonprofits whose leaders, he said, have been wary of trying to raise money in recent weeks for fear of an anti-China backlash.

Mr. Chew, who is on the steering committee for Seeds of Compassion, said he was still deciding whether to attend the main event at Qwest Field. “Somebody was joking with me,” he said. “ ‘You know, I think I can feel the compassion sitting in my house watching it on cable.’ ”

Wedding day 40 years ago

Operation Surprise Party was a great success! Mom and Dad celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this weekend and I flew into Austin on Friday night to help throw a surprise party. Stef and I set up the building on Saturday with all of the standards… food, decor, old pics, and a slide show, and then everyone arrived. By the time Dad brought Mom by to “run a quick errand” we had 75 of their friends all clapping and cheering and yelling surprise! Mom was definitely surprised to see everyone, was totally shocked to see me live in Texas, was surprised by a vow renewal ceremony from the pastor, and a good time was had by all. :) This was especially fun because my family isn’t generally a big party family. We’ll have small dinner parties of 10-15 of my friends over to the house at the holidays or on my birthday when I’m in town, that kind of thing, but throwing a catered event for 75 folks was definitely a special occasion. Many congrats Mom and Dad on 40 great years!

Yesterday I wanted to buy a pound of coffee at the coffee shop and was told I had to wait in line behind the long snake of people ordering their espresso drinks. The nice guy at the front of the line immediately scammed the barista to give me a place at the front of the line. Just lied directly to her on my behalf. I thanked him, turned down his kind offer, and chose to patiently wait my turn at the end of the line. Once at the end, the guy in front of me insisted I go in front of him out of order. I know it was just a little thing, but I totally appreciate the rule breaker spirit and the kindness of two different strangers wanting to let me avoid the long line for my quick purchase. Yay rule breakers at the coffee shop!

On Sunday we did breakfast at the Juarez Bakery, had great breakfast tacos, and got some tres leches to go. Yeow! I then spent the morning at the new Town Lake park with Mom, Dad, Charlie, Stef, and Gus. I attempted in vain to teach Gus how to blow bubbles and spent a lot of time laughing hysterically at my almost 2 year old nephew who can now add stubborn to cute and talented. My favorite was when he grabbed the bubbles out of my hand, pulled really hard, and yelled “SHARE!!!” He’s not quite got that concept down yet. I laughed so hard I cried… who knew bubbles and a two year old could be so funny? I also got pretty sunburned Sunday morning, was in pain for a few days, and am now peeling. Super attractive. Sunday afternoon Beal and Andy called, so we did lunch at Trudy’s, ate some Amy’s ice cream, and make steak for dinner. Was a low key day just hanging out around the house with old friends. Nice.

Monday I woke at 3am and flew back to Seattle in time to be at work by noon. Talk about not wanting to go to work. It was cold and rainy and I was tired, tired, tired. Luckily, Monday night was date night with M and it was lovely as always. A slow and relaxing dinner at Flying Fish in Belltown. Good conversation. Good times. Tuesday was a BBQ with some of my new coworkers. I’m not entirely comfortable in my new role yet but was very excited to get the BBQ invite and hang out socially. The work may not be perfect yet, but the people are really pretty great. Last night was dinner with Jen, now Professor Jen, at May Thai in Wallingford. She’s teaching three classes at two colleges this quarter and is struggling under the work load. I was excited to get her out for a night and catch up. Last night I also got to hang out with Barry, who seems to have recovered nicely from his recent bout of illness that kept him in bed and out of work for over a week. This morning he head’s out to a 20 year reunion with old friends at Carnegie Mellon… so fun! I’ve yet to do any college reunion stuff, not even for MISA which I think would be thoroughly entertaining.

For today though, I should quit procrastinating and get to work. Gotta get in those billable hours! Be well, y’all. Great to see all of you Austinites last weekend for my very brief visit to town!

April means it’s time for tulips in the Northwest, but since it was SNOWING again this weekend I decided to pass on today’s planned field trip. That’s right. I said snow. Again. It started last night on my way over to M’s house. So, instead of me and Rod heading to the festival today, you kind folks will get a picture from the last time I went to the tulip festival. Enjoy.

Despite the freakish little bits of snow making appearances this weekend, it’s been a good weekend so far. Last night M and I dressed up and went for a really lovely meal at Crush. I highly recommend the place and highly recommend meals with M in general. :) Afterwards was a dark chocolate tasting party with more good people, good conversations, and good chocolate. I was a bit thrown off, and totally delighted, to see Nancy there… the blending of seemingly disparate worlds can still startle and entertain me, even knowing that Seattle is, and always will be, a very small world.

Crush
2319 E Madison St, Seattle, WA 98112, (206) 302-7874
“Crush revolves around our food. Chef Jason Wilson selects the region’s finest ingredients each day to create his Modern Northwest Cuisine. His musings tempt our eyes and seduce our palates. The Crush menu migrates through the seasons, with food procured from local, artisanal producers.”

Today I ran into Andrew who came back to my place and hung out for a while. I’m totally bummed to be losing my neighbor, even if he’s only moving a mile away. I’ll have to starting hanging with Blaque, Amanda, Shaina, Mike, or Olli soon… I’ve got to take advantage of my fellow Fremonsters while they’re still in the ‘hood. Tonight Caroline and I are party hopping and tomorrow is women and wine night. Gotta run! Hope y’all are well!

Go plant some trees or walk or ride your bike or carpool or bus or compost or shower quicker or wash your clothes on cold or turn off some extra lights or do some trail restoration or fix your leaky faucet or consume less. Or just appreciate more. Really. Every bit helps celebrate the goodness.

I’m in another one of those stretches where I have something every night for a few weeks straight, giving me little time to work out, respond to email, cook, or do much of anything (run errands, hem pants, whatever). No complaints, but it feels quite busy. Mike was in from Portland last weekend and while I’d hoped to get him to brunch, timing didn’t work out so we did lunch Saturday instead. Saturday night’s Valloween festivities were entertaining (I always relish the chance to wear a wig and a spandex jump suit), and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Toby, Rachel, Hillary and her roomie, and a few others. Friendly people.

I wanted to spend a few hours at M’s party happening at the same time so I left Valloween by midnight. M had a good turnout as always, giving me the opportunity to see my regulars I always like to chat with, time for longer conversations with good people I don’t always get to chat with, and time to meet a few new folks I haven’t met before.

Sunday morning I went to brunch at Rod’s… always a good time. Was good to have time time to catch up time with Clare and Kat. I am enjoying getting to know Blaque better. Laughing lots makes me happy. I’m loving cuddly crowds lately (whether at M’s parties or at brunches the following morning) and that closeness can even improve an already good day. How many people have told me I’m “popular” or used the exact quote “the belle of the ball” lately? At least a handful, if not more. I do sincerely refute it, but admit it’s entertaining to have Rod serve me, Reese serve me, Jon serve me, and Blaque feed me. Silly, silly life.

Sunday night was Wine, Women, and Song at Mainstage in Queen Anne with Caroline. The first two performers were so-so, but the next three were quite enjoyable. I skipped the free wine and tried a few free ports instead… yum! I suspect the music is hit and miss, but it could be a fun monthly gathering regardless. I’m generally up for supporting local musicians even while knowing quality can vary.

Monday night I was supposed to hang out with Barry, and was also supposed to get drinks to celebrate Caroline’s new job. I’m pleased to say Barry joined us for some voluntary blending of worlds before we went out on our own afterwards. Yay! I’m finding time with Barry to be quite enjoyable these days and the increased communication thing is rather novel. :)

Last night was yet another Capitol Hill night… Pat and I cooked dinner together at his lovely new place and we ended up talking till almost midnight. I’d hoped to stop by M’s afterwards but that didn’t happen since I totally lost track of time, enjoying a fabulous mango curry, papaya salad, and good conversation. Tonight’s girls night at my place and Thursday is Dine Out for Life with Erin, so I’ll have to be patient and wait to see M till Friday.

In unrelated news… my job has been good this week. Feeling productive, needed, and enjoying splitting my time between a few new projects. I am off to be productive now, but felt the need to catch up this morning. Hope y’all are well.

I exercised five days so far this week. Caroline even joined me for 4 miles of it. We rule. :)

I’ve had the best steak of my life and it beat out the Kampala steaks of ’07. This indulgent meal, courtesy of M, came from Andaluca, a Mediterranean influenced restaurant downtown in the Mayflower. “CABRALES CRUSTED BEEF TENDERLOIN. Spanish blue cheese, grilled pears, Marsala demi glace, Idiazabal mashed potatoes.” Whoa. I paired it was a fabulous salad, also in honor of my anemia. “GALA APPLE SALAD. Baby spinach, goat cheese, candied walnuts, pickled onions, apple cider vinaigrette.”

Andaluca Restaurant & Bar
www.andaluca.com
407 Olive Way
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 382-6999

Symptoms of anemia, in case you are wondering, include:
* Weakness and fatigue are the most common symptoms of even mild anemia. Even iron deficiency without anemia can reduce working capacity in some people.
* Shortness of breath on exertion
* Rapid heartbeat
* Lightheadedness or dizziness
* Headache
* Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
* Irritability and other mood disturbances
* Pale skin (however, healthy-looking skin color does not rule out anemia if a patient has risk factors and other symptoms of anemia)
* Iron deficiency, even at a level too mild to cause anemia, has been linked to restless legs syndrome (RLS) in some people. Some studies have reported RLS in 25 – 30% of people with low iron levels. Studies suggest, in fact, that RLS in some people may be due to impaired iron acquisition in cells that regulate dopamine in the brain. Dopamine abnormalities are known to play a role in RLS.
* Mental confusion
* Loss of sexual drive

I’d like it all to be done now. But at least I’m doing my part by taking my pills, eating greens, and enjoying steak dinners with M. :)

A few weeks ago I flew home to Austin for a quick 48 hours to throw a surprise party for my parents 40th wedding anniversary. I got to see many of my closest college friends, tons of my parents’ friends, our old neighbors, and all kinds of good folks. More stories to follow, but for now, a few highlights of the short weekend…

M did a Myers-Briggs today and asked me about my profile. So, I redid it today and was a bit surprised to see I still ended up with a profile so similar to what I have always had. I used to feel drawn towards leadership roles, and don’t think I feel as compelled to do so in recent times. That said, I think it’s still in my nature and guess the test saw that too. I’m always an EN–, and this time I was ENTJ. I don’t agree with 100% of the text, but most is a relatively close observation.

From MyType:

Extroverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging
The Executive

ENTJs take charge quickly and deal directly with problems, especially in situations that involve confusion and inefficiency. They provide structure to the organizations to which they belong and design strategies to accomplish their personal and organizational goals. They are ‘take charge’ people who organise their own and others’ external environments. They use their resources to find a way to meet the challenge. They are at their best in using their analytical and strategic thinking.

ENTJs enjoy an active and diverse lifestyle. They are likely to be in extracurricular activities and often function as the team captain, the president, or the leader. They pursue leadership roles very directly and have difficulty following others unless those individuals demonstrate more competence than they themselves have. Even then, it may be tough for the ENTJ to follow long.

Occupations that require tough-mindedness, goal direction, and a global perspective tend to attract ENTJs. They use logic and analysis to form conclusions, to organize themselves and others, to give direction, and to take charge. Some occupations seem to be especially attractive to ENTJs: administrator, attorney, consultant, credit investigator, labor relations worker, manager, marketing personnel, mortgage banker, personnel professional, systems analyst, and other occupations that allow them to use their strategic sense.

From Rebel Eagle Productions:

Extroverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging

“Creating order out of chaos” is one extraverted thinker’s way of describing her volition. Determined, logical, critical, they love a challenge, especially one that will allow tangible improvement in productivity, efficiency or profitability. They are direct, finding the quickest, most direct path between what is and what should be.

They excel at implementing ideas and are often on the lookout for good ideas worthy of their attention. They are quick to organize, orchestrate, find resources, coordinate, and follow through to the end of a project. They love a problem, especially one that will make full use of their competencies, their logic and sense of order, justice and fair play.

Many find competition to be stimulating and fun. “These are the rules of the game now let us play.” Fairness is sharing and respecting the same set of rules, so may the best one win. And since they readily acknowledge that there will be a winner and a loser, they would simply much rather be the winner. So they hone their strategies on the fine knife of experience and sharpen their skills to meet the next challenge head on.

They love having greater challenges bestowed on them as a result of having successfully met the last, as this attests to their competence and skills. They appear dispassionate because of their impersonal and objective approach, but close observation will reveal deep passion and enthusiasm as well as sensitivity, especially to cherished ones. However they expect others to roll up their sleeves as they do and meet the task in spite of personal hardships or discomfort.

They have little tolerance for personal whims that threaten a smooth running operation. They are direct and honest with most things that displease them and expect others to do the same. Their humanity shows in their sense of fairness and justice as well as their love of humour.

Friday night was a rather low key date night with M with really yummy food. Guess it’s can’t be all wild and crazy parties. :) Saturday morning meant lazily lying in the sun for a good long while. It was a rare sunny spring day so I didn’t actually lay too long. I was up bright and early, scraped my plans, and decided on a day trip with Rod instead. We drove with the sun roof open, took a ferry ride, went to Bainbridge Island, ate tons of food, saw lots of little girls in crowns and tiaras, took pictures, hung out at the state park, visited a winery (all too briefly), and enjoyed a lovely day. Was shocked and excited to run into Nicole from SY 01-02… I don’t think I’d seen her since graduation and she totally recognized me and came up to chat for a while. So great to see former employees… all grown up, married, and with an adorable 17 month old daughter! Saturday night Caroline and I headed to Capitol Hill, attempted to see a show at Chop Suey, but ended up even luckier and ran into Duff and Susie (who conveniently missed the same show!). Drinks followed at the Cha Cha and it was great catching up with Duff. Fun to hear he’s leaving behind a corporate PM role for a job as a baker! Yay following your dreams! Guess I’m not the only one who’s hip with massive voluntary pay cuts. :)

Sunday was brunch and this week’s talk of Burning Man left me all excited about the possibility of going to CM in June and very excited about camping in BRC in August. I’m pretty sure I’ll camp with Blaque unless something new and crazy presents itself. As for CM in June… my business trip for May got postponed to June, and as of today it’s been rescheduled yet again. Instead of 2-3 weeks in California, I might spend a few weeks jumping around 10 cities in the West… from South Dakota and North Dakota to Arizona, Wyoming, Montana, California, Oregon, Washington, and more. Makes it hard to plan events like a week long camping trip, but it does mean if the client keeps moving dates, that the week of CM might free up after all. :)

Sunday night was more live music for the second weekend in a row. Yay! Went to Pies and Pints for bluegrass night, where I had two lovely crowds with which to split my time. Good to see Jess and Rebecca from SY 01-02, and good to see Susie, Jeff, and Kevin (formerly of Sunday dinner fame). Kevin officially gifted me his putty knife and I feel unworthy of such a fine tool. Was good to see Sus, Jeff, and Kevin all three!

Tonight I went to see Mary Roach speak at Town Hall. She’s the NY Times best selling author of Stiff and Spook, and just wrote “Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.” She had a good turn out, and it was fun to see Rod, Clare, Kat, Jon, and even Noah and Erica. Small world? Always.

Dubbed “the funniest science writer in the country” by The New Yorker, Mary Roach has devoted two years to researching sexual physiology… ­what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better! In her new book Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, the bestselling author of Stiff and Spook shows how and why sexual arousal and orgasm can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to make the bedroom a more satisfying place.

I’m a bit tired I think, feeling like I need a bit more down time, but otherwise am generally enjoying life. Hope y’all are too. Be well!

From the New York Times…

April 18, 2008
Bottle Maker to Stop Using Plastic Linked to Health Concerns
By IAN AUSTEN

OTTAWA — Nalgene, the brand that popularized water bottles made from hard, clear and nearly unbreakable polycarbonate, will stop using the plastic because of growing concern over one of its ingredients.

The decision by Nalgene Outdoor Products, a unit of Thermo Fisher Scientific, based in Rochester, came after reports that the Canadian government would declare the chemical bisphenol-a, or BPA, toxic. Some animal studies have linked the chemical to changes in the hormonal system.

Those reports also prompted many of Canada’s largest retailers, including Wal-Mart Canada, to remove food-related products made with plastics containing the compound chemical, like baby bottles, toddler sipping cups and food containers, from their stores this week.

“Based on all available scientific evidence, we continue to believe that Nalgene products containing BPA are safe for their intended use,” Steven Silverman, the general manager of the Nalgene unit, said in a statement. “However, our customers indicated they preferred BPA-free alternatives, and we acted in response to those concerns.”

The National Toxicology Program in the United States released a draft report on Tuesday reporting that some rats that were fed or injected with low doses of the chemical developed precancerous tumors and urinary tract problems and reached puberty early. While the report said the animal tests provided “limited evidence,” it also noted that the “possibility that bisphenol-a may alter human development cannot be dismissed.”

Late Thursday, the American Chemistry Council, which says that there is no evidence suggesting that the chemical has an adverse impact on people, asked the Food and Drug Administration to review the chemical.

“We hope that the leading regulatory agency charged with protecting the public’s health, including evaluating the safety of food containers, will put to rest questions about the safety of bisphenol-a,” the industry group said.

Nalgene’s decision to drop the plastic that transformed it from an obscure maker of laboratory equipment into a consumer brand does not mean the company is leaving the drinking bottle business. It has long made bottles from other plastics that lack the glasslike transparency and rigidity that made polycarbonate popular.

Last month, Nalgene introduced a line of bottles made from a relatively new plastic from the Eastman Chemical Company, Tritan copolyester, that shares most of polycarbonate’s properties, including shatter-resistance, but is made without the chemical.

A person knowledgeable about Canada’s chemical review program said this week that the government had decided to list the compound as a toxic substance under the country’s environmental protection act. Because of confidentiality rules, he spoke on the condition he not be identified.

Tony Clement, the minister of health, has scheduled a news conference for Friday to discuss the issue.

Designation of the chemical will begin a two-year regulatory process that ultimately could lead to restrictions or a ban on the use of the compound.

But some retailers in Canada say that interest in food-related products made with the chemical, particularly those intended for infants and small children, is fast vanishing.

“Consumer demand for BPA products had largely dried up,” said Hillary Marshall, a spokeswoman for the Hudson’s Bay Company. The retailer removed all baby-related products made with plastics that contained the chemical from its 94 department stores and 280 Zellers discount stores this week. It is working on removing other merchandise made with polycarbonates.

Not all consumers are pleased by the actions. Because of Health Canada’s review, London Drugs, which is based in Richmond, British Columbia, began withdrawing merchandise that contained the chemical Jan. 10 and replacing it with alternatives made of other plastics or stainless steel. Wynne Powell, the company’s president, said the last 10 products were taken away this week.

“I had some complaints come to my desk complaining that we were fear-mongering by pulling products,” Mr. Powell said. “The public was not totally on board.”

Asked whether it plans to follow the lead of its Canadian operations in the United States, Wal-Mart said in a statement, “We are working to expand our BPA-free offerings and expect the entire assortment of baby bottles to be BPA-free sometime early next year.”

A difficult question for retailers will be how to handle products, including soft drinks, that are packaged in aluminum or steel cans.

For the last two decades, the interiors of most cans have been coated with an epoxy resin that is made using the chemical to extend the shelf life of the contents and prevent the metal from affecting the flavors of food and drinks.

John M. Rost, the chairman of the North American Metal Packaging Alliance, an industry group, said that there was no evidence that the linings expose humans to significant amounts of the chemical, a position not shared by all scientists. He added that researchers had been unable to develop an alternative lining that performs as well as the current epoxy.

“The epoxy resins are the gold standard right now,” said Dr. Rost, who is a chemist. “The speculation of what’s to be published has led to reactions from retailers that is not based on any actual data from Health Canada. So we are encouraging a release as soon as possible.”