Earth Hour!

In one hour from now the best hour of the year will begin:  Earth Hour! What is Earth Hour, you ask.  Well let me educate you.  At 8:30pm the lights of the world will go dark for one hour.  This act of collective solidarity helps us all to remember we are united as global citizens.  We have one earth, and for one hour, we honor her.

I have celebrate three Earth Hours in my day.  The first, harkens back to my senior year of college.  The lights when out and somehow I ended up in the bathtub with my two roommates.  They say college is all about experimenting, right?  To calm the heart rates of my family members who happen to read my blog, I must clarify. Anne, Dani and I were fully clothed.  We decided we wanted to try this cool thing Anne had read about.  First you needed to be in a completely dark room.  The darkest place in our apartment at the time was the bathroom because it had no windows.  Second you needed a camera with a flash.  The idea was each person would make a funny face and the flash would go off and you'd be able to see the negative of the funny face.  So the three of us climbed into the bathtub.  We were quite a sight, twisted this way and that, making faces and such.  What a good time*. 

This year I plan to sit in my bathtub, fully clothed and read my favorite book of all time, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by candlelight. 

Why don't you join the rest of the world in this collective tribute to Lady Earth.  Turn off your lights and have a little fun.

--Caro


*For the inquiring minds, we were completely sober.

How Art Can Save the World

As I was sipping on my bold coffee blend from my favorite local organic, fair trade coffee shop Aquarius Star, I was catching up on all my blog subscriptions on google reader and this post caught my eye:  Solving World Disasters through Art.  This post is from "Books of Adam," a blog written by a fellow misanthrope, Adam Ellis, who chooses to bestow the goings-on of his life upon the undeserving, but ultimately grateful community of the internets.

When I first saw the title I thought to myself, "I love art!  The world's pretty boss.  How do I save the world with art?!"  Naturally, I clicked on the link and read Adam's post.  He delightfully insulted the American people and their obsession with reality television while simultaneously asking for the world to provide support the Japanese people.  Adam has created a few drawings and put them up for auction on eBay.  All proceeds will go to the rescue efforts in Japan via International Medical Corp.

So, you have a choice.  You can either go to eBay and vote on any one of these three picture (personally, I'm a fan of the Sailor Moon one) or you can text REDCROSS to 90999 (US) to donate $10 to help Japan.

It's up to you.  Be a global citizen.  Help out the country that brought us George Tekai, Godzilla, and Mario Brothers.

--Caro

Second Star to the Right and Straight on 'Til Morning

I really enjoy making lists.  I have them all over my apartment -- in my planner, on my refrigerator, on the wall behind my computer, note cards on my desk, excel spreadsheets, etc.  I could single handedly keep 3M in business with all the Post-It Notes I use.  Each list is different.  I have my daily "Things To Accomplish: 'Day of the Week' Edition list, my recipes to try list, the accompanying grocery list, books I want to read, music I want to purchase, movies I want to see, articles I want to read, things I need to research for my thesis.  The list making never ends. 

The closer I am to finishing school, the longer my things to do/acquire when I'm a "real adult” list becomes. You might say, "But Carolyne, you are an adult.  You've been able to vote for almost 6 years.  You can legally drink.  Contracts are valid when you sign then, provided you've met the four requirements of a contract and you're not entering into a deal with a minor and something or other about life necessities." Yes, all those are true, but I still don't really feel like a real adult.  I can't rent a car without extraordinary insurance fees.  I still don't pay for my own health insurance.  I don't have a real job.  Frankly, I've never had a full time job for more than four months at a time.  I still operate at a deficit.  Again, you may say, "But Carolyne, lots of people are in debt.  It's almost like a mark of being a real adult -- going to school for something that may never pay off.  Also, with unemployment rates as high as they are, you won't be the only adult without a job!"  Again, that is true, but I have a certain list of things I need to do or acquire before I feel I’ve become a real adult.  I've already made a couple steps in that direction.  I own coasters and I purchased curtains.  I pay rent and other bills every month.  So what are these other mysterious real adult qualifications?  Let me write you a brief list.

1. Subscribe to the Sunday Times.
2. Subscribe to at least 3 art organizations, or be a member.
3. Keep a plant alive.
4. Have a career (or job) that has benefits!!! -- also having the same full time job for at least one year
5. Pay back student loans.
6. Start investing
7. Owning a real couch/love seat instead of a futon.
8. Matching silverware.
9. Actually being able to put money into my savings account and keep it there.
10. Subscribe to magazines, particularly Opera News, Classical Singer, Cooking Light, The New Yorker, Marie Claire, Time, and The Economist.
11. Colonoscopy.  Need I say more?

This is not an all inclusive list.  It doesn't even really begin to scratch the surface. Clearly some of the things on my list won't, well shouldn't, be crossed off for many, many years.  That begs the question, do we ever become "real adults?" 

In my life experience I have seen many adults act like children.  Even the most mature individuals still behave like a tantrum throwing four year old because someone told them no.  Are we really just children in adult bodies?  Is "adult" a societal concept we've created over the years to distinguish ourselves from children?  When does childhood really end?  A good friend of mine brought up an interesting point saying, "Your childhood seems to affect everything that happens in your adulthood.  We are constantly referring to what happened to us when we were kids whether we're trying to recreate it or change it."  That's very true.  Some parents live vicariously through their own children because they had terrible childhoods.  Adult versus child is a very interesting concept.  Are we confusing “grown up” or “mature” with “adult?” Are we really trying to identify the point at which a person stops thinking only of themselves and starts considering other people?  Believe you me, it sure as hell isn't 18.  Perhaps this is something, like how many licks it takes to get the the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop, the world will never know.

--Caro