Reminder

So, I was reminded in the last few days about this blog, and I decided I should update everyone on my life a bit. In the getting rid of department, I threw out a bunch of garbage paper I've been holding onto, I always seem to keep old mail that I don't need, and I broke my water bottle :( so I threw it away too. I only broke the top, because that was the plastic part, but the bottle is only useful as a cup anyway. I did however acquire a few things, a belt, and a rain jacket. Minimalism is slowly slipping out of my grasp, but I think if I lived in a temperate climate I would be able to get by without most of my jackets, coats, and sweaters.

I have been running though, and while I don't know if I will actually run a half marathon one day, I am training with a girl who plans to, so I might be able to. I also recently got a job for a research company related to transportation. They own a car sharing company (which I am already a member) and are big in promoting transit. I'll be helping to map transit access around the country. But the most exciting part is that in the interview they actually asked me what my opinions on sustainability are, and they wanted to make sure that I felt strongly enough to fit in with them about general sustainability. While I am not a super hippy kind of person, I think that generally I am a "sustainable" type of person, I like to turn off my lights when I'm not using them, and I try to unplug my chargers when I don't need to charge things. But generally I think that not overusing things is important for everyone. Just being asked that made me want to think more about sustainability, it mad me realize that I like to try to help save the earth (even if I am sure I destroy it with my lifestyle also.

Since moving to Chicago, I have become more of an advocate of public transit, partially because I realize that I actually love people, even the weird ones (maybe especially the weird ones). Yesterday I rode on the bus and was told someone's life story in the process of waiting for the bus to come. The way people live their lives and need to talk to random people at bus stops amazes me. I can't imagine that anyone could be lonely in a city when there are so many people to meet. I also know though, that without any friends to talk to on a regular basis I would probably be lonely as well.

Rick is still thinking of moving to New York. Cities and sustainable living can go hand in hand, and I think New York, being giant and dense and amazing may be the perfect place to go after I graduate. What better place to start work on transportation planning than New York, with a fairly well established public transit system and still a lot of traffic congestion. I am glad I am doing transportation, now to find a way to get rid of more stuff so if I end up moving to New York I'll be able to fit into an even smaller apartment.

Check in

So today I avoided going out to eat with a friend, not because I don't like her, but because I don't want to spend so much money. However, I am still of the mind that I want to just allow myself to spend money on cooking when I want, I need to hold back from random luxuries for a while. I just bought my ticket to Brazil. In December I will leave the USA for the first time and enter a country I have always wanted to go explore. I do plan to travel around while I am there, so I am trying to decide how I will pack in the minimum to still be able to have fun. It will be an interesting test of minimalism for me because I will have to balance socially acceptable means of travel with personal needs. If it were just me, I would probably pack only a few shirts, and a few bottoms, and a bathing suit, along with necessary undergarments and toiletries. While that would probably pass over fine with my travel mates, I may also need to pack "going out gear" and other random essentials. Hopefully I can keep my packing down to one backpack so that when we traverse the random parts of the country I won't need to carry too much.

On another note, I have successfully gotten rid of a few clothing items, and the small brown suitcase that I had. I love suitcases, but I know that I don't need small hard cased ones for general purposes. However, I did acquire a bicycle, a bicycle helmet, lights, a lock, and a pump.... sigh... a few more things to add to the list of things I own. I am beginning to wonder what is acceptable to re-gift as well. For Christmas I have some valuable things that I don't need anymore, but were given to me as gifts. I don't want to donate them to a random charity, but I also don't want to keep them around building up dust when I cannot use them. So I will begin to ask the gift donors if it is acceptable.

Also, Chicago is getting cold, and I am actually not minding the weather at all, I have a sweater and a jacket and a coat and that should get me through the winter along with two hats, some gloves, and a scarf. As the days get colder though, I will have to decide to do laundry more often to maintain normal hygiene with my limited underclothes.