Cosy

Happy New Year! It always takes me about a week into the new year to realize it is, in fact, a new year, and that something must be done about it (aside from getting used to writing another number in my dates, that is). Greeting “Happy New Year” and all that—I think it’s just to keep me confused.

I disappeared somewhat suddenly at the end of November, overcome with school and feeling. Writing just didn’t seem pleasant then; knitting and going out with friends and finishing the semester Right did. I was still online and chatting almost daily, but my heart certainly wasn’t in my writing.

I suppose Nanowrimo had something to do with that.

Anyway, it’s the new year, there are endless possibilities, good and bad. It’s my birthday month, and my mom said we’ll probably have to celebrate two weekends early, which is this coming weekend. So I’ve been working on my birthday wishlist, and purchasing those things I’d like. My Christmas was great because I got a lot of clothes, which I absolutely needed, but for my birthday I’d like a few more fun things.

After reading Getting through Winter from Hygge House I asked for soy candles to burn in the evenings in my room in Minnesota. Now that I’m in the German house, technically I’m still not allowed to have candles, but no one really cares. I’ve always felt that the heat of candles gives off a cosy glow, and if there’s one thing I really need in Minnesota, it’s cosy.

It is nice to get a break from there, I admit.

In December I made myself a new rule: If I’m feeling cold, I’ll make myself a cup of tea. In reality I didn’t feel that cold that often, but it’s a good way to warm up, drinking a cup of something hot, and something I should remember here, where I don’t need a jacket because if I’m comfortably dressed inside the house it’s enough to go out in.

Anyway, as more and more of my life exists in colder climates I’m trying to catch up by figuring out how to stay cosy… especially on top of mounds and mountains of schoolwork. I’ve been mulling over Becky’s list of things to do to stay cosy. The cat idea is one I employ, willingly or not, while at home with my furball Pepper who doesn’t seem to think of me as a person, just as a lap. I also have a nice blanket I throw over myself when I’m not working on the computer.

See, the problem with staying cosy is that it’s very hard to do while working on your laptop and stressing over schoolwork. But I’ll keep trying.

Writing is a craft that needs to be practiced, and I’m trying to start to get back into it. Hopefully I’ll see more of you in the coming weeks!

Social Virtualism

Recently Chris wrote a great entry on what he dubbed Social Virtualization, or the idea that you can follow your friends on Twitter and Facebook in such a way that you never need to actually “catch up” with them, but instead you can know intimately about their lives based on the information you’re given (for example, learning about a friend’s upcoming wedding on Facebook – no need to actually call a person to inform them of your engagement!). It means you’re constantly connected with the people around you long after your relationship with them has faded, and similarly, you are connected to people long before you forge a friendship with them.

Chris mentioned social virtualism as a constant connection thing and the dangers of being unable to disconnect and how that is detrimental to a lot of relationships. You forget to check your friend’s twitter update? They might get pissed at you. If you disconnect for a minute people actually get offended by the fact that you haven’t been following their status updates. One example he gave was texting – texting is considered to be an “immediate” form of communication, but texting is actually silent and easy to miss. Many people turn their phone ringers on but turn a texting ringer off – if your phone is in your bag and you have it set to vibrate (or nothing at all), you will miss the text until the next time you check your phone. But many people get offended if you do not answer their texts immediately.

I’d like to talk about the flip-side, though. More communication does NOT mean more friendships. Honestly, it can mean less. We spend so long in our Internet world, forging “friendships” with people we would never want to meet in real life or hang out with or have a phone call with. Stephanie and I met online and quickly became fast friends but we have visited each other twice, despite the fact that we live across the country from each other. But I’ve noticed that these are rare, and more often do people spend their time hanging on to high-school acquaintances, cultivating their 4000 Facebook “friends”, and generally avoiding actually spending quality time with people.

I’m an advocate of turning off the computer and going outside – a huge advocate. I work as a designer/web developer – I sit and stare at a screen allllllllll day. When I get home I want to do nothing more than turn off the computer and play with my cats, paint a picture, or go for a walk with Chris. I don’t want to post on message boards, follow Twitter religiously, and check my email every five minutes. These aren’t fun to me, and I understand they’re fun for other people, but you have to realize something.

There are people out there like me, Stephanie, and Chris who are interested in people like you. We want to hang out with you, have coffee and lunch or go to the park. Unfortunately, I really can’t beat the appeal of “networking” on the “Internet.” I can’t beat World of Warcraft and Farmville and chatting online. I’m interesting but people are far more likely and willing to sit on their butts all day because it’s “fun.”

As little as 10 years ago, we met people through our community. I think those days are long gone, replaced by social virtualization, the act of thinking you have friends when really they’re all just virtual. It’s no wonder we have fewer friends now than we did 25 years ago. Not including family or Chris, I have four people that I can go to for anything I need – three friends from school and Stephanie, but many Americans have NONE. Am I the only one who thinks this is sad?

I think this is just one part of the problem why we have no friends. I will touch on the next part in my next post. It involves trust.

How do you feel about this? Why do you think we have less friends? What do you think communities will look like 10 years from now?

Things to do to cozy up for the winter

It’s been getting chilly here in Texas – it snowed last Friday all over the state. Texas tends to be warmer on average than most other states in the US, but when it gets cold here, it’s just as cold as many other places. It’s been in the 30s lately (and it’s been hovering around 0F where Stephanie is in Minnesota!) and the chilly weather is definitely appropriate for wrapping up and getting cozy, especially with all the rain (and snow, I suppose) that’s been falling. I bike to work 3 miles there and back and the weather has been so chilly and wet that I have been craving some warmth lately.

Here is a list of ways to stay cozy!

1. 1. A super cozy winter throw – I’ve been wrapped up in blankets all winter for things like playing games and reading books. I also have a heated blanket that is a life saver! My feet and hands get icy cold really easily, so without a heated blanket it would take forever to get to sleep at night. It’s perfect!
2. 2. Candles – Soy candles, of course! Lighting a candle instantly makes the place feel warmer.
3. 3. Hot chocolate – We’ve been drinking insane amounts of hot chocolate which is probably terrible for us but oh so good.
4. 4. Watching movies at night – I don’t watch a lot of movies in the summer because the weather is warm! there’s so much to see! there’s so much to do! But in the winter time, I tend to want to snuggle with a blanket and watch a good movie from the rental store or watch some PBS.
5. 5. Baking! – Recently I made macarons, which are terrible for you but completely perfect. I recommend you make some immediately for your health and safety. There’s no better way to make the kitchen (or your stomach!) warm than by baking some cookies.
6. 6. Having cats on your lap – Some of you may not be so fortunate as to have two huge balls of cute, but having two cats, there’s always one that’s willing to climb up and take a nap. Cats make great heaters, especially when they’re asleep.
7. 7. Tea or mulled cider – Nothing warmer (except maybe hot chocolate). We’ve been mulling cider and drinking tea like it’s nobody’s business.
8. 8. Get off the computer and get under a blanket – Seriously, office chairs are cold!

How are you staying cozy this winter (or if you live in the Southern hemisphere, how are you staying cool)?

Blog Action Day!

Today is Blog Action Day and this will be the first year ever I’ll be participating. Interestingly enough, the theme for this year is a theme that I am not sure I entirely agree is so black and white, but I’m going to take a stab anyway and share my thoughts.

The theme for this year is Climate Change. I’m assuming they’re talking about global warming and I must confess I’m not 100% convinced that the increased temperatures are caused by CO2 or ozone or what have you. It’s possible we’re coming out of a baby ice age or there’s some other explanation for it. That said, however, there is no excuse for continuing our current behaviors, especially as Americans.

I like to think I’m quite the eco-freak. I drive a Smart when I do drive at all. I commute to work and back by bike. I use as little power as I possibly can – in fact, my electricity bill was almost 1/4th the average electricity bill of Austin last month. I do my best to eliminate trash whenever I can – Chris and I go through maybe a bag of trash a week and we recycle like crazy. Even if I don’t believe that the climate change is necessarily caused by us, I still believe that it is so important to reduce your ecological footprint, because the sheer amount of waste that is occurring is ridiculous, and it’s ridiculous because it’s preventable.

There is no reason NOT to do your best to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Buy used clothes. Buy used shoes. Or better yet – save money and don’t buy at all! Reduce is the most important, followed by reusing, and then recycle if you can’t do the first two.

This earth is only going to last so long unless we do something about it. Even if it’s a simple change it’s also a necessary change. Even if you feel like you’re not doing much, as long as we all do it together it’ll add up. So my advice to the world is to be aware that our resources aren’t going to last forever, and our earth isn’t going to hold up against the onslaught of trash and pollution we’re giving it. We all have the power to enact change if we want it badly enough. You don’t have to rally on the streets – just plant a tree.

Blog Action Day is tomorrow!

Tomorrow is Blog Action Day everyone. Stay tuned!

Drought

Right now, as you may or may not know, there’s a severe drought in Texas. We’ve had something like sixty or so days of three-digit heat (100F and over), and maybe like two days of rain. It’s been ridiculous, and the sad part is most people around here (especially people from out of town, which is most everyone, because school has started up again) don’t even realize we’re in a drought. This means that I need to try doubly hard to make up for it!

The drought is really awful. Right now we’re allowed to only water our lawns and wash our cars at certain times, no fountains are active, no water is served at restaurants unless specifically requested, and no streets are to be washed. I think a lot of people are a little queasy these days about things like dirt and grime and have to use ten tons of water to clean everything, but really this isn’t the case. It’s easy to use little water each day, as long as you prioritize what’s important to you.

For example, a clean kitchen is important to me, and by clean I mean no crumbs on the counter and dishes shouldn’t hang around in the dishwasher for weeks at a time. So I will definitely still be doing dishes often. But it’s not quite so important to me to drink water, so Chris and I will be drinking juice and milk. It’s also not important to take long showers, so I’m going to be using the: rinse, turn off water, soap, turn on water, rinse method. And my yard is a patch of dirt, so I’m not going to be attempting to ressurect the grass until the fall at least.

So it really boils down to what’s important. You can’t do everything but you can definitely do SOMETHING, even if it’s simple. Doing something is always better than doing nothing, and even if your area isn’t in a drought it’s important to conserve water so that there’s enough for everyone and for the future.

I’m not sure how long this drought is going to last but I’m going to continue trying to conserve water even after it’s over. We’re supposed to have a rainy fall and winter here, but now is a good time to build up some good habits.

Are you in a drought right now? If so, what are you doing to try to conserve? If not, how do you feel about being environmentally conscious?

As a note, make sure you read about the Postcard Giveaway! C’mon, you know you want a postcard!

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