Made In China

Most things we assume are made in China, but every so often there are items that surprise us. Like TOMS. TOMS prides it's self on being a company that makes a quality product AND for every pair of shoes you buy another goes to a child in a developing nation - cool huh? So like many others I was both surprised and disappointed (and maybe a tad embarrassed) that TOMS were made in China. However they do claim that their employees make a fair wage (http://www.toms.com/manufacturing-practices). And then I look at my beloved shoes - green Merrell hiking shoes - which are also made in China...I spent about $80 on them because Merrell makes an amazing shoe and like magic my back never hurts when I'm wearing them. Would I be willing to spend an extra $20 on them if they were made in the United States? Absolutely.

Sweetie, are you cold?

Yesterday I was coming home from ballet on my bike and I'm sitting a a red light and I "feel" this car creeping closer to me. Then I hear, "sweetie, are you cold?" I turn around and there's this mid 40sish woman, an RN according to her name tag, in a tan corolla with her window down. "Do you want a pair of mittens"? was the next thing she asked, while holding a bright red, balled up pair toward me. "No, I'm fine, but thank you" was my response as the light turned green. How cute was that?!

Rims Real Big.

About two months ago I started noticing these older, souped up cars over by were I work. Mostly Luminas, but I've seen what looks like a 1994 Corolla as well. Now I see them EVERYWHERE! My favorite is a lime green early 1990s Oldsmobile with giant lime green rims to match.

Yellow bellied sapsucker.

Today I went for a walk with our friend Katie while Jeremy was helping Ivan fix his bike, and on our way to Pick N Save (grocery store) I saw a little black and white bird laying on the ground next to a house with two large windows. my first thought was that I was going to walk up on a really disoriented bird that had flown into the window. After getting closer I found that it had flown into the window, but rather than being cute and dizzy it had died. The first emotion to come was sadness because birds are amazing and I don't like seeing dead animals. But then I got curious. Obviously I have seen birds before, but generally not this close up. So I got a stick and checked out it's feet and wings, and flipped it over to see it's back and belly. I was still sad, but more fascinated in seeing this bird up close, so I called Jeremy. And called. And called. Oh yeah, he was helping Ivan fix his bike - his phone was upstairs in their house. So me being me I found a plastic bag, picked up the bird and carried it back to the house to show Jeremy. After a little "awww" of pity we identified it (yellow bellied sapsucker - male), took a few pictures and then buried it in our friend's flower bed. I wish I had found a live bird, but I am thankful to have had such a learning experience.

things you deal with when undergrads are around...

So last weekend there was a HUGE party at the undergrad house next to our apartment building. HUGE. Needless to say campus security was called by a number of residents in the area. Anyway, there were undergrads everywhere - girls yellin' and screamin', guys gettin' in flights, and someone apparently dancin' on our car....