Back to school, back to school…

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I work at a school, if you haven’t gathered that already.

Today is Day 1 for the high schoolers. Do you even REMEMBER the first day of high school? I don’t, but I remember plenty of DAYS from high school, and let me tell you: I’m glad that’s over.

But I digress. My point is: today is the first day. Of September, of school, of another academic year. Although most of us live our days out on a yearly calendar, I can’t help thinking it’s nice I never took a break from the academic cycle. New pencils, new clothes, new friends, and new projects all start in September. Another holiday season, coming up before we know it. Another fall full of Indian Summer days, cool nights, and wishing in vain that crunchy leaves would fall (and they will, although late here, in California…)

Things that are happening in my autumn:

Melissa has moved to LA (thank God!) and we’re going to explore the wonderful world of gluten-free cooking.

SS and K get here this weekend to celebrate Labor Day in full force.

A third Thanksgiving with my Cali-family.

Book fairs, soccer games, and farmer’s markets full of spaghetti squash (they are on their way: I saw them this weekend.)

My job’s busy season: my time to shine.

Moms coming to town. (Thought not my own, moms are always nice to have around.)

Chaperoning, because apparently I’m old enough.

Rock climbing.

This is also the time of the year that my blog entries thin, but I will do my best to keep up.

Oooh….Volvo!

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That’s what I exclaim every time I see one on the road, and every time we saw one this weekend on our car shopping trip. “I know I can’t have one” I said to Jeff, because we were worried about maintenance costs, etc. But what did we end up with?

A beautiful, 2003 Volvo S40.

Complete with a sunroof.

Flash mob, on a serious note.

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Yesterday I was emailed this video by Moveon.org:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FhMMmqzbD8&feature=player_embedded]

While I think it’s hilarious, I also find it pretty serious. Kate and I talked about this a few weeks ago, and I think it’s really important to talk about it in context.

Let me begin with another chain: Walmart. As my friend S has pointed out, yes, sometimes it’s cheaper. I get it. But is that all that matters? Maybe for some people, and I understand that right now I am lucky to have a job, and a support system. But can we really turn a blind eye to our morals when we can get a bookshelf $10 cheaper? How does that feel on your conscious? I know for some, it doesn’t matter. Target and Walmart are the same in their eyes: giant corporations that swindle you with crap that becomes broken and unusable as the Target 2011 rolls out, promising shiny new low prices and bookshelves.

And, for the most part, I agree. Why is Target selling me something that won’t last? Why wouldn’t we strive for things that will last us, as strong as the so-called American spirit? Where would you buy kitchen supplies if not for Target? Towels? Stationary? Make-up?

When I was in China, I reluctantly shopped at Walmart for my needs. I was only there for two months, and I didn’t know where else to go. But I am sure if I had spent some time in the Hutongs around my campus, I would have been able to find almost everything I needed. And you can bet I would have been that much more proficient in Mandarin. I have never been inside a US Walmart, and I hope that will be true for the rest of my life. I have morals, and I try hard to live by them every day, not just when it’s convenient.

But, some people think Target is different. Or is it? I read this article, and was surprised to find that maybe, Target isn’t as Anti-Walmart as we think. Also this article, which explains the similarities between them. I have a friend moving here in a few weeks, and no-doubt Target will be on our minds as we go through the shopping list one needs to start in an apartment. But what do we do if we don’t go to Target? Where would we go? Well, I aim to find out. I understand that not everyone thinks their money will make a difference, that not spending $50 at Target isn’t going to make them miss a beat. But what if everyone you KNEW did that? That’d be a lot more money…and think of the effects around the country.

What if we got tools and cleaning supplies from our local hardware store? Kitchen supplies from our local kitchen store, etc., etc.? I know, I know, big brands are just as bad: why would I pay more to buy a hammer from a small ACE than from Home Depot or Target? Because I want that small retailer to stay. I want them to thrive, and to pay their employees more, to know my name when I walk in, for them to understand my problems. Now, maybe this is the Michigan country-girl in me, or the small business toy store worker in me, but I think that’s important.

Living in LA, everyone strives to go to local restaurants, to places small and large, places successful and booming, to places small and uncrowded. Why aren’t we the same with the rest of what we buy? Now, I know that sometime in the near future I am going to cave to the bullseye. I am going to go to Target to get something I know they sell. But what if we all tried that much harder to just buy local? Could we really help LA’s economy grow? Maybe, just maybe, we could.

Triathlon Blues

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This is my sister.

This is her climbing a wall in LA. She’s afraid of heights, but when she came to visit, she insisted we go rock climbing, as it is something she wanted to try.

Nikki is having a little Triathlon Blues this week, and who can blame her? Her Tri is less than two weeks away, and she’s sick of getting up early, of only ever working out, and probably sick of writing about it. That’s where I come in.

When my sister and I were younger, we both played soccer. She was better (but I still maintain I was faster.) We played piano: she was better. We both wrote (she was better) and we both took joy out of being mean to each other (she, most definitely, was better.) I had a blog: she wanted one. (Hers is funnier.) Although I am mostly better at bossing people around, and baking, she is better than most things. I’d like to think it’s because she is two years older, so two years wiser, but I suspect it’s because she maintains the attitude of “oh yea? I can’t do whatever I want, just because I am a woman, short, and don’t have much directional sense? Watch me.”

And so, when my sister, who used to share an equal hate with me of running, declared that she loved running and was going to do a triathlon, (the idea of my sister swimming in open water made me laugh and want to call the Coast Guard all at once) I wasn’t that surprised.

She ran, a lot. She had already run 5ks, and a half marathon. With hills. Which had ALREADY surprised me.

She started swimming because the doctor told her she couldn’t run. Tendinitis be damned, this girl was GOING to work out, and you couldn’t stop her. This was nearly a year ago, and she’s now up to swimming a full mile, in OPEN WATER. Do you think I’ll be hoping in the Pacific any time soon to swim a mile? (Nope, not after this year’s special on Great White Sharks, and also, I can’t swim really…)

Then, girl writes on April 1 (so let’s be honest, she could have been joking) that in August she was going to do a Triathlon. SERIOUSLY? Is there nothing my sister won’t do? All I do is yoga, Nikki: you’ve beat me. You can stop now, I swear.

In June, my sister bought a bike.

For those of you who don’t know, my sister and I learned how to ride bikes at the same time. I am pretty sure I was up and off training wheels first. Her coordination is lacking, and although I bike through the streets of LA, I couldn’t foresee my sister EVER wanting to do so in Chicago. But here was the evidence, on her blog, of her, fearless (almost) and biking to the lake.

So let’s go over the timeline, one more time:

October, 2009: My sister gets tendinitis, and is told she can’t run. So she swims.

April 1, 2010: My sister decides that she’s going to do a triathlon.

June 11, 2010: She buys a bike

July 14, 2010: She gets into the open water for her first open water swim.

August 29, 2010: My sister will be doing her first triathlon.

Unfortunately, I won’t be there to cheer her on, and see how awesome she does. But for now, I am basically trying to tell her (and you, so you can tell her, too) that she is going to do fine. Better than fine. Great. Wonderful. She is doing something that I have never even considered. She is doing something that a year ago I would have found crazy. She has trained for almost 5 months for something, devoting most of her free time to it, and Tendinitis, coordination, avid triathletes be damned: she will win, because she will finish. And then, by September, she will be on to a new crazy project: the next one, I hope, will involved yoga, and getting herself to a handstand. Nikki: you will be wonderful. Get get ’em.