My honey and I have this friend Oliver from school that is biking across the U.S. this summer. I have really enjoyed his blog as I can't get away this summer for a vacation. Kinda a vicarious cross-country roadtrip. I believe he started out in Astoria, Oregon and makes his way to Virginia. He's always been a free spirit and at one point had hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.
I always admire those that actually take the time to adventure like that. Hopefully I'll get the guts to do something I've always wanted to do.... Thats the part Im having trouble with... What IS it that I've always wanted to do??
Monday, July 10, 2006
Thursday, July 06, 2006
"An Inconvenient Truth"
No joke, yesterday I filled up my car to the price tag of $40.00. 12.97 gallons..... Crikey! I can hardly believe it! When I was in high school I could give my girlfriend $10.00 for driving me home from track practice and it would fill the car up! That was only 10 years ago!
That being said, my honey and I got an email from a mutual friend that is a pastor in Chicago. The friend had just seen the Al Gore documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" and was urging everyone to go see it. Now, I will say that even as a Tennessee resident I totally did not vote for Gore in 2000 as I did not then nor do I now think that he was the right choice... It's seriously a whole other post... I voted for Nader....
ANYHOW! I enjoyed the documentary, though dragging a little at times and I was sure I was going to see an Apple advert at the end due to the numerous "Al Gore with his Apple computer" shots, it was worth the 2hrs or whatever. (The music is a bit overly dramatic when it doesn't need to be, the subject speaks for itself) Having grown up in a school system that taught about Earth Day, recycling etc, I found that there wasn't necessarily any thing "new" about the message. What was frustrating was how evident it was that we haven't GOTTEN it yet. There was one part in particular that totally made me mad and that was something about how because of our emissions standards or MPG standards are so low that we can't even sell cars in other parts of the world because their standards are higher. There were definitely some graphs to see that really helped spell out the issue for me as a visual person. I will have a hard time forgetting what those graphs looked like. They totally looked like the folks in Washington have never gone to school. Or at least the type I grew up in.
But the big question comes to this... "Now what?" As a household manager, what steps will I take to actually try and reduce my households carbon 'whatever'? I learned about recycling and such as a kid in elementary school but now its time to actually put what I learned into practice as an ADULT. Part of the problem right there, as a consumer nation no one wants to take responsibility for anything.
So any ideas? Any tips on Green Homemaking? We already recycle cans, plastic, paper etc. Any thoughts on Gas furnace vs. Oil? Both are natural resources... Pretty much the same price at the moment and both have shot up over the years. Any thoughts?
P.S. The message I grew up with in school was to take care of the environment because its the responsible thing to do. Especially in light of the effects that it DOES have. Case in point : Aquanet hairspray. Big hair, no-no. You can barely find the stuff nowadays. Secondly, this idea of environmental stewardship is only reinforced morally through the reading of Biblical Scriptures. We were created in part to take care of the Earth God created, yes the depravity of man shows itself in social injustices, but man's sin spills itself over into over consumption as well. An environmental obesity if you will...
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Karen E. Negri Santoro
Karen,
I just realized that when you and Bob hired me as a part-time employee, that you were only two years older than I am right now! When I look back I am amazed at how much LIFE you have lived over the years...
Adam and I loved you guys very much, we were always trying to figure out how to get in contact with you over the years. Im not sure if you ever got it, but I sent a note to you guys when I got my first real job in the design world after college. I realize now that it must have been when you might have been pretty busy with expecting Dawson.
You were the first woman in my life, outside of family and church, that poured into me and encouraged me to take the path that greatly shaped me into the woman I am today. You took a high school kid who was fooling around with drafting and encouraged her to go further with it. I had only thought about Interior Design, but by allowing me to work with the two of you, I had an inside peak at the industry. I saw what a partnership looked like professionally and with regards to marriage. You always made me feel like I was an important part of the firm, I never just felt like an employee, whether drafting, thinning out Bob's magazines or painting the fence, I felt like I was part of the family, not just part of the business.
You guys were always living life to its fullest. I remember you guys off in the Cayman Islands, Honduras and a few other places, and that's only in the year and a half I worked for you!
You told me funny stories about your college years, something about 'borrowing' bulletin boards... I can't remember now exactly. You actually gave me a list of things NOT to do in school!
You took me seriously, when Ads and I broke up, you didn't treat it like a high school romance gone bad, you actually listened to me and gave me really good advice. You didn't just brush it off. You were very caring...
A month before Ads and I got married we tracked you down in Atlanta, Ga. We didn't have your phone number and from a pay phone , Adam called information and got the listing for every Robert Santoro in the book. Eventually we found what we hoped was you guys. We busted out the map and drove around until we found one of the houses. You and Bob were outside stripping paint off of the doors of the house. You looked up from your work and just stared at us until we got really close. Turns out you didnt have your glasses on and couldn't figure out who Bob was making such a fuss over. The funny thing was you guys didn't even live at this house, you were working on it to sell. We could have totally missed you guys that day! It was great catching up! I remember you saying that you wouldn't be able to come to our wedding because you were going to be just getting back from the Dominican Republic in celebration of you fifth(?) anniversary. That means you just celebrated your fourteenth a week ago....
Anyhow, you guys kept moving on, next was California. That awesome card you sent with the picture of you two in your new house. I remember it said that from the roof you could see the ocean looking forward and looking at the backyard, the mountains. It even had an orange tree in the yard! So many new beginnings.
A year ago I tried sending you a birth announcement for my son. It came back and I wondered if you guys had moved onto somewhere else. We always thought about you and Bob, wondering if you guys had started a family or not. I think I found online when I was trying to track you guys down that you were pregnant (with Dawson?) . It was when Bob was resigning from the Para-gliding club. I always thought it was funny that I could find that out from the meeting minutes but I couldn't find your address! You guys must have been so excited, and evidently, everyone else was excited for you also!
I had always hoped that we could surprise you guys again, by flying out to CA and just showing up again on your doorstep.... Im so sorry that I wont be able to see you again... My heart just hurts so much at that thought...
We are praying for Bob and Dawson with a desperation that you can only imagine. Im sure you know how many people loved you and will do anything for your family.
Thank you so much for so many funny, wonderful memories and for being such a beautiful person. Thank you for following your dreams and for showing me how to live life to its fullest. I could go on with so many stories...
May you find everlasting joy with your little one, Ian, in the arms of our Lord and Savior.
Peace to you...
I just realized that when you and Bob hired me as a part-time employee, that you were only two years older than I am right now! When I look back I am amazed at how much LIFE you have lived over the years...
Adam and I loved you guys very much, we were always trying to figure out how to get in contact with you over the years. Im not sure if you ever got it, but I sent a note to you guys when I got my first real job in the design world after college. I realize now that it must have been when you might have been pretty busy with expecting Dawson.
You were the first woman in my life, outside of family and church, that poured into me and encouraged me to take the path that greatly shaped me into the woman I am today. You took a high school kid who was fooling around with drafting and encouraged her to go further with it. I had only thought about Interior Design, but by allowing me to work with the two of you, I had an inside peak at the industry. I saw what a partnership looked like professionally and with regards to marriage. You always made me feel like I was an important part of the firm, I never just felt like an employee, whether drafting, thinning out Bob's magazines or painting the fence, I felt like I was part of the family, not just part of the business.
You guys were always living life to its fullest. I remember you guys off in the Cayman Islands, Honduras and a few other places, and that's only in the year and a half I worked for you!
You told me funny stories about your college years, something about 'borrowing' bulletin boards... I can't remember now exactly. You actually gave me a list of things NOT to do in school!
You took me seriously, when Ads and I broke up, you didn't treat it like a high school romance gone bad, you actually listened to me and gave me really good advice. You didn't just brush it off. You were very caring...
A month before Ads and I got married we tracked you down in Atlanta, Ga. We didn't have your phone number and from a pay phone , Adam called information and got the listing for every Robert Santoro in the book. Eventually we found what we hoped was you guys. We busted out the map and drove around until we found one of the houses. You and Bob were outside stripping paint off of the doors of the house. You looked up from your work and just stared at us until we got really close. Turns out you didnt have your glasses on and couldn't figure out who Bob was making such a fuss over. The funny thing was you guys didn't even live at this house, you were working on it to sell. We could have totally missed you guys that day! It was great catching up! I remember you saying that you wouldn't be able to come to our wedding because you were going to be just getting back from the Dominican Republic in celebration of you fifth(?) anniversary. That means you just celebrated your fourteenth a week ago....
Anyhow, you guys kept moving on, next was California. That awesome card you sent with the picture of you two in your new house. I remember it said that from the roof you could see the ocean looking forward and looking at the backyard, the mountains. It even had an orange tree in the yard! So many new beginnings.
A year ago I tried sending you a birth announcement for my son. It came back and I wondered if you guys had moved onto somewhere else. We always thought about you and Bob, wondering if you guys had started a family or not. I think I found online when I was trying to track you guys down that you were pregnant (with Dawson?) . It was when Bob was resigning from the Para-gliding club. I always thought it was funny that I could find that out from the meeting minutes but I couldn't find your address! You guys must have been so excited, and evidently, everyone else was excited for you also!
I had always hoped that we could surprise you guys again, by flying out to CA and just showing up again on your doorstep.... Im so sorry that I wont be able to see you again... My heart just hurts so much at that thought...
We are praying for Bob and Dawson with a desperation that you can only imagine. Im sure you know how many people loved you and will do anything for your family.
Thank you so much for so many funny, wonderful memories and for being such a beautiful person. Thank you for following your dreams and for showing me how to live life to its fullest. I could go on with so many stories...
May you find everlasting joy with your little one, Ian, in the arms of our Lord and Savior.
Peace to you...
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