#142 - SOLE food

what is SOLE food? SOLE is seasonal, organic, local and ethical. my philosophy and relationship to food changes all the time but i always love it. i love cooking, shopping, thinking about, looking at, smelling and eating food. food is something that you can treat purely in terms of energy (calories) and just eat for the sake of keeping your engine running. or if you are like me, food is something to really enjoy. i am in the position of being able to choose what i eat. each food dollar is like a vote and you can choose where you put that money. i choose to buy foods that are SOLE foods as much as possible. personally i believe they taste better and make me feel better but it is also better for the environment. un-SOLE foods cost more in petroleum costs, mostly due to packaging and transportation of the foods. if you are buying local produce, perhaps at a local farmer's market, the food will not be packaged as much and will have traveled less.

seasonal foods is a concept that i did not really think about before, when i lived in hawaii. there, it is 80F all year around so there aren't real "seasons". also, much of the produce is shipped in so you can get anything anytime. there are farmer's markets but if you shop in the grocery store, most of that is coming from thousands of miles away. in oregon, there are seasons and i love it. with the seasonal weather changes comes seasonal food availability. mostly, foods are still widely available despite a certain season but it is more expensive. foods that are in season are most likely coming from a closer source and will also be cheaper. these foods will be at their peak, with the highest level of freshness, and therefore best taste and nutrition. i love looking forward to eating berries in the summer and squash in the fall/winter. eating certain foods reminds me of the seasons and it is kind of strange to be eating fresh blueberries in the middle of winter. i just KNOW they are coming from far away.

organic means that the food is grown without the use of chemical fertilizers and this goes for the soil that it is grown in. the organic certification process is overseen by the government and requires three years of growing their produce organically and keeping extensive documentation. they are not able to use the "organic" label at the time and so is an expensive process. growing food organically is tough because you have to combat disease and pests without the use of chemicals. they use different methods that increase the cost but in the end, when you consume an organic piece of food you know that it has not been sprayed with chemicals. some studies have shown an increased level of nutrients in organic foods and better taste as well. while organic food is usually more expensive, it is worth the price to know that many tons of chemicals were not used to grow it.

local food i think might be the most important. when the produce is coming from somewhere closer to you, it will be more fresh and is likely to be in season. it is better for the environment and cuts the costs of transportation and packaging. it is imperative that a place like hawaii become more sustainable and self-sufficient since it is in the middle of the ocean. with rising fuel costs and increased global warming, reliance on fossil fuels and products coming from elsewhere is a very negative thing. these products have to be packaged in such a way to be safe for travel and that creates a lot of waste. some of it maybe recyclable but the first of the three R's is "reduce". hawaii is a great place to grow food and an increase in shopping at farmer's markets would be awesome. there are so many farmer's markets here in portland that i'm probably spoiled. if i had the choice between something that was organic grown in peru or something not but grown at a local farm, i would definitely choose local. especially if i am at the farmer's market and can ask the farmer how he/she grew the food.

ethical food has to do with most meat and dairy. animals have been used for food since the beginning of time but started with hunting and gathering. hunters chased animals and killed them with their own hands. these animals were wild and had a better nutritional profile, leaner. the majority of the food sources were the "gathered" foods and was not a meat-heavy diet. humans are omnivores and can digest almost anything. carnivores can eat as much meat, protein and cholesterol as they want and not have negative health effects. humans eat too much cholesterol and get bad hearts. i am not advocating for a meat-free diet (i have tried it) because for most people that is impossible. today's meat is not wild and much of it not "free range". many people have the fantasy that the cow was walking free, eating grass as he pleased and happy. the fact is most commercially grown meat is coming from animals raised in small, cramped quarters. they have no access to fresh air or enough room to roam. therefore they are given a lot of antibiotics to treat them for sicknesses arising from bad conditions. for more info on that, go to peta. that isn't what this is about. for me, i try to buy dairy and eggs that are from free range animals not given antibiotics. i try to buy meat from local animals raised without antibiotics and humanely treated. i read somewhere if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian. eating animals is not necessarily unethical but they should be raised and slaughtered in such a way that they are not in pain or abused.

so what does this all mean? food shouldn't be something we take for granted. if you can afford to make choices, why not make choices that are well-informed and thought out? why not choose where your money is going? is it going to pay for the cost of pesticides, packaging and advertisement or is it going towards the upkeep and maintenance of a farm? do we want to rely on other countries for our produce or find some alternatives closer to us, keeping americans in business? do we want to flood our environment with pesticides and chemicals or should we try to avoid using them? do we care about how animals are treated or should we accept the fact that they live in crammed quarters with no fresh air? in the spirit of election season, why not use your dollars as a vote to choose what you stand for?

#141 - giant killers III

i blogged a couple weeks ago about football season since we had just beaten hawaii. i wrote about the upcoming game against #1 USC and what we needed to do to beat them...well, we did it! oregon state 27, usc 21! it was our house and we defended it, we played with respect for USC and what they can do and just played beaver football. it was 21-0, oregon state at the half and i knew this usc team deserved to be #1 for a reason. they dominated the 3rd quarter and came back to within a touchdown, were going for another when greg laybourn intercepted mark sanchez's pass and ran it to the USC 2 yard line. the superstar of the night, jacquizz rodgers (a true freshman!), ran it in easily to put us up 27-14. of course they wouldn't stop and had a nice quick drive to pull within 6 with 1:19 to go. onside kick failed and it was history!

i wasn't there. (tear!) i didn't even watch it. i was in a meeting and had my friend texting me with updates. i was so nervous and clammy my whole meeting! when it was finally done i ran to a restaurant with a tv and stood outside cheering. it was crazy and i will definitely get a hold of a replay sometime. this team will be known as giant killers III. the original team was a dee andros team in 1967 who beat #1 USC 3-0. OJ simpson was on that USC team, it was historical. since then we have not beaten a #1 ranked team but we did beat them two years ago (i was there!) when they were ranked #3. although they weren't #1, many still consider it a giant victory. many thought that this year's USC team was the best and that sanchez would win the heisman. i am not sure if i doubt that now, if i say they aren't then maybe it's not a big a win as it seems. i want them to win out, i want them to play for the national championship (pretty slim chance i think) and i want to say that we were the only ones that could beat them this year. sure there are better teams than the beavs but we have a lot of heart. we've got an awesome quarterback with amazing energy. you can just feel it the way that he leads his team. he's a real leader.

sometimes i think i can believe in them hard enough so they will win. i think that maybe my cheering and believing actually makes a difference. who knows?! while i respect every opponent that dares to come into reser stadium, we will put up a fight. we will play our hearts out. we will prove that we belong here. and we will show you that just because you live in LA doesn't mean you're awesome. corvallis may be a sleepy little town, but it's a college town and it's all about the BEAVERS!!!

#140 - make me happy

today was the first day of school. i'm not sure if that's what got me in a mood or the fact that in the past year so much has happened, very personal and emotional. but anyway i am a little down right now, listening to music that will hopefully make me feel better. then i thought of doggies. so here are some pictures of me and the dogs at the beach in june! we spent a lot of time at the beach, sun bathing on the deck, snoozing and cuddling up together on the couch (all 4 of us!). it was one of the best weeks ever.















maui (white), hector (black) and sancho (brown) are such sweet hearts and i miss them very much! they love to cuddle up to me and play. sancho LOVES to play. he's still a puppy so he's always wanting to play fetch. silly sancho. hector is a bit on the rough side, to put it lightly. well, he doesn't like people or dogs he doesn't know. he's known me since he was a puppy so he loves me lots but others he like to growl at and bite. not good. maui is the sweetest thing ever put on this earth, he is the best dog. i love them all! just seeing their pictures puts a big goofy smile on my face. i miss those guys! i hope i can house/dog sit again soon. =)

#139 - ahhh, fall

tomorrow is the first official day of "autumn" but today certainly feels like it. it is crisp, overcast and wonderful. fall is my favorite season for many reasons, and october is my favorite month. we're almost there. why? the trees are all starting to change colors at the very tips of the leaves. orange tipped trees are beautiful. i love putting on layers of clothes and walking down the street with my face cold but body warm. i love the rain! my bike is now in it's "resting place" aka storage. i am a fair-weather biker. i admit it. having a bus pass and no fender for my bike really make it easy not to bike in the cold and rain. i am a wimp!

what a strange year it has been. just last week it was 90 degrees and now it's nipply out. i've been waiting patiently for fall to arrive and now it has. i start school tomorrow bright and early, with clinicals at the hospital as well. it is going to be one heck of a busy term and i am not sure i am prepared mentally. i am having major anxiety! on top of that i am looking for a new place to rent. i am currently living with 3 guys who i never really see or hang out with. so i have nothing really going for me here, and while it was nice to be across the street from a mcmenamins pub/theater i am over it. i want to be closer to work, school and friends. so i am moving. i'm gonna live with 2 gals from work who are awesome! i can't wait. first we have to find the perfect place though, and that's hard considering we are all poor/working/students.

on another note, RENT is done on broadway but doing a final tour with some of the original cast. i have been a fan of RENT since i first saw it. it's one of those shows that i really get and that i can relate to. other ones that i love i don't necessarily connect to but just like the music, like phantom of the opera and les miz. they are all essentially about love but RENT is set more in this age and place. also, the music is rockin and i love it! it is not coming until june but i just bought my tickets!!! i got orchestra seats for a thursday night but i'm thinking i'll probably try to rush for another night. they are only performing for a week so we'll see if i can.

i have to go to kickball soon. it's cold out and i'll have to dress warmly. last week we lost to the worst team, 10-2. we were short many people and our pitcher severely sprained his ankle. we had 2 guys who never played before and i was 0-3, something that's never happened. i'm not sure where my mojo went. hopefully it'll be back this week! go CHEATERS!

#138 - sarah palin

who is sarah palin?
for one, she is john mccain's choice for VP. his big issue/concern with obama was that he had no international experience blah blah and who does he pick? the governor of alaska who comes from a small town where she was mayor of less than 10,000 people. who is this woman? i'm sure you've heard or seen her "hockey mom" comment. if not, here is her joke (told at the republican nat'l conv) what's the difference between a hockey mom and a moose? LIPSTICK! omg that is too funny....not. this election is not a laughing matter. our country is in dire need of leadership and change, not four more of the same stuff.

palin is far right, she is against abortion (a woman's right to choose), doesn't believe of separation of church and state, member of NRA, opposes same sex marriage, wants to drill in the ANWR and would not hesitate to go to war with russia. i am all for believing what you want but this woman cannot be president. with mccain being such a dinosaur the chances that he croaks and palin becomes president are high. that is a scary thought.

just listen to this woman speak. first of all she never answers this guy's question, she just dodges and talks about something else. plus she always looks like she's trying to defend herself and looks uncomfortable under pressure.


i've been hearing people who were previously clinton supporters jump over to the mccain-palin side. i wonder why. is it because she doesn't have a penis? why would anyone base their vote on that?! it clearly can't be the issues because on each one they are total opposites - war, abortion, economy, etc. people who would vote for mccain just because he has a woman on his ticket are INSANE! they shouldn't have the right to vote. i also heard the ridiculous notion that by getting palin in this time it opens the door for hilary clinton in 2012! omg that is so wrong.

i hope voters educate themselves and figure out why they are voting for a candidate. not just because "she's hot" (seriously, i heard this!) or he's black. c'mon. look at the deep issues and where they stand on things that are important to you. there is only two months left till people have to make a big decision, which to me is easier than tying my shoes or getting dressed. there is no way i can let this war go on indefinitely, have roe vs. wade overturned, and have the already sinking economy get worse. don't you think our country has gotten bad enough? the time for change is now.

here is one last thing i leave you with. saturday night live, tina fey doing palin. it's comedy.

#137 - pictures with parents

i wrote a little about my travels with the 'rents but now i've got some pictures so i wanted to share a little bit about what we did.

SEATTLE
we stayed in seattle for two nights and did a few things that were new. we went to the olympic sculpture park for a free art walk. my dad is a big photographer and my mom needs to take pictures too cause then she has something to do while he's taking photos. so basically we all three had cameras and took awhile to go through the park. it was really cool cause it was free and you kind of just walk around and look at different sculptures. art is so up to interpretation, but i enjoy it sometimes. so this picture is of one of several giant safety cones. they were gigantic and while i thought they'd be made of the same material, they were not. they were metal. art.

bumbershoot! it's a weekend of music, music, music...and also some comedy and art. but i was there for the music. my parents were there also and i think had a good time. first we saw vince mira, a young guy from seattle with a voice like johnny cash. he sings a lot of cash covers and a few originals that are basically the same style. i saw blitzen trapper for the first time. they are a portland sextet and were pretty awesome, i'd definitely go see them again. they do lots of experimental stuff and mix country, bluegrass and folk. we got tickets to the show on the mainstage at night, which was death cab for cutie. i definitely like them and had a great time, even got to crowd surf, but my favorite act of the day was langhorne slim. he plays with an upright bass player and a drummer but is definitely the show. his music is kind of folk rock bluegrass and he has a different voice. some songs kind of remind me of bob dylan and others but other stuff is just different. real fresh and entertaining. here are a few vids from youtube:






CANADA
after seattle we drove up to vancouver, BC. vancouver is where the next olympics will be in 2010. can't wait! we stayed with some relatives and had really good dim sum. we went to grouse mountain which is the "peak of vancouver". most of the olympics will be held at whistler which is an hour away but this little mountain was cool. there was a tram ride up to the top and we saw a logger show and birds of prey, which was awesome. we saw a great horned owl, ferruginous hawk, turkey vulture and bald eagle. they would bring them out and the birds would fly from perch to perch, sometimes needed a little encouragement. it was really awesome though, one of them flew right over my head! these things are pretty dangerous/vicious to smaller animals and rodents. they have beaks but mainly use their strong talons to crush their prey! i learned a lot about these guys and it was a cool little demo. i learned that the bald eagle doesn't get a white head till it's pretty old, they start out all brown. they are also pretty big guys and build giant nests as well. it was neat. they also had two grizzly bears at grouse mountain. they were orphaned as babies and were brought to the mountain so they could be safe. they are testing out new ways to save orphans and return them to the wild so they don't have to be euthanized. so these guys are testing out electric fencing technologies.

after vancouver we took a ferry to vancouver island. we went to the butterfly gardens and butchart garden in victoria. they were both pretty fun and awesome. i've never really seen that many types of butterflies. my mom bought this butterfly chart and had me memories 34 types of butterflies while we were riding in the car. so i can identify those 34! haha i am such a nerd. there were so many, and it was set in this building with tropical plants and weather. it was chilly outside but almost 80 inside. there were many different sizes and colors of butterflies, including those popular orange and black monarchs. it made me think of all those caterpillars i saw in guatemala. i wonder what kind of butterflies they were going to be.

the butchart gardens were beautiful. we went before but i don't really remember much because it was in intermediate school but it's a giant garden and really british. it was cool but a little too proper for my tastes. there were tons of pretty flowers though and that was nice. we wanted to eat at the restaurant there but you needed reservations so we tried this place outside the park that had cajun/creole food and i had ribs that were delicious! we came back for the night gardens, which they pretty much just put lights on the different plants and it looked different. usually you think of flowers as beautiful for their colors so i experimented a little and did some B&W photography to capture their different shapes and sizes in the light with shadows. it was kind of fun and interesting. the whole day was basically photography with the parents, seriously they took hundreds, maybe thousands of pictures that day. i got away with only 200 maybe. so i had fun taking pics but it was kind of a long day. we went to our hotel in downtown victoria late that night and slept well. the next day was museum day and just hanging out around the town. it was a pretty nice time in canada, i always enjoy going there...mostly cause they say "eh"!

#136 - football season

ahhhh, fall. changing colors, (supposedly) cooler weather, and football! well i went to my first (and probably only) football game of the season. it's the third week already and this was the first game i've seen all season. what's that about?! well i've been on the road, went to canada where they don't pay much attention to football and just hanging with the parents. so the purpose of their trip was to see me, but they planned it around this football game. hawaii @ oregon state.

the last time the two teams played, OSU went to aloha stadium and won 35-32 at the end of what was an amazing season. we beat USC that year and won the civil war with UO. our last game was at hawaii against colt brennan and company. it was such a good game that was close all the way, with the Beavs coming out on top. that's what i was hoping for yesterday but it just wasn't meant to be. the warriors lost many key players to the NFL or graduation, including colt and his receivers. so hawaii scored first, a touchdown and i thought it'd be a great game. unfortunately there were a slew of hawaii injuries and the oregon state defense came alive. here are 10 mins of osu highlights.

so my parents were a little disappointed cause they came all the way to see this game, especially since the warriors didn't even play well. we went to eat chinese food after the game and al afalava and family were there eating too. he's from kahuku and had a big family come over for the game. in one of the newspapers he was quoted as saying if osu loses he can't go home, so now he's free to go and have bragging rights i guess. he's our hard hitting safety and a really nice guy despite his intense play on the field.

one of his hits last year at the civil war:


well next up is #1 USC on the 25th. they just spanked formerly #5 (overrated) ohio state 35-3. it wasn't even close. i am shaking in my little beaver boots. now i am in no way a fair weather fan but i seriously doubt my teams abilities in what might be the best USC team in the pete carroll era. they are deep, fast and good. this is a great football team that will be in the national championship game this year. no doubt. the last time the trojans came into Reser stadium they were ranked #3 and we won, 33-31


we've got some play makers and a decent quarterback-leader in moevao, speedy quizz rodgers and his brother james. sammie straughter is due for a breakout performance as well. the defense needs to step it up. while they did well against the warriors, the line is gonna really need to get some pressure on the QB sanchez and stop the run of the many many talented backs that USC has. we're gonna have to force many turnovers like last time and just play really well. we gotta bring the A game!

GO BEAVERS!

#135 - ahh, portland

travel is fun but it's always nice to come back home. i'm lucky and i have two such places, portland and hawaii. no matter how long i stay away for, hawaii still feels like home. i don't really want to live there anymore cause i love it on the mainland, but it is a special place. i am lucky to have family and friends there. i've been living in portland for 4 years now and oregon for a total of 8. i love the weather, people, places, greenery and attitudes.

my parents are here for two weeks so we went up to seattle and canada for one of them. after bumbershoot and spending time in seattle we drove up to canada. we have some far off relatives that live in vancouver, BC. we stayed with them for one night and they were nice people. i got to hear many stories about their past, many many stories of hardships they endured. it does get old eventually but they were pretty sweet and cute. we went to dim sum one day for brunch, it was the best i've had. the spring rolls with shrimp were amazing. the shrimp were HUGE and the outside so crispy and not greasy at all. roast duck (always a treat), choi sum, char siu bau and an assortment of other dim sum things. we also got a good spicy eggplant noodle dish. mmm...our relatives cooked dinner that night as well, baked salmon and tuna cakes. it was actually good, and i don't even like seafood. we visited grouse mountain, which is the highest peak in vancouver. they had a wildlife area with two grizzly bears and a program with birds of prey. it was pretty cool seeing the horned owl, ferruginous hawk, turkey vulture and bald eagle up close. they trained them to fly from post to post but some of them flew right over head. whooosh!

vancouver is where the olympics will be in 2010 so they are working hard on improving the city. it is costing them millions so i definitely plan on going and spending a few dollars up there. starting to save... my "aunty" (or however we are related) is not very happy about the money situation since they'll be in debt up to their heads and then have all these buildings afterwards. they had to build a curling building cause for olympics i guess it needs 8 lanes. the ones they had were only 4. so they built it on an old playground or something.

we took the ferry to victoria BC and went to the butterfly gardens and butchart gardens. i took many pics that i will upload soon. we spent lots of time and it was a lot of beautiful things with many colors. also in victoria we took a tour of the parliament building and visited the royal bc museum and saw two IMAX shows. it was fun!

all this was fun and i spent time with my parents but it was nice to finally come home to portland. it's comfortable here and i actually missed it while i was gone. seattle is too big and city-like, even though people like to think we're as big. we're not. being in canada was nice but we were mostly in touristy areas so that changes things a little. i'll be going back in 2 years and it'll be even more touristy. it's not a very big place yet thousands of people will be going for the olympics. i am giddy with excitement! stuff i want/need to see - snowboarding, ski jump, speed skating, figure skating (practice would be fine), hockey (any country). i am sure the events will all cost an arm and leg but i just want to be there.

#134 - bumbershoot

i'm in canada right now! we drove up to seattle and spent two nights there. the second day we went to bumbershoot, which is a huge music and arts festival. it's been going on for many years but has become a giant event. i went with my parents, which was kind of odd cause it was more a "young people" thing. :)

we got there early, before gates opened, and stood in a long line that went around the EMP and down the street. it took about 20 minutes to get in once the line started moving at 11. once in we had to get our evening show passes, which were first come first served. the passes were for Superchunk and Death Cab for Cutie. i kind of mapped out the bands i wanted to see. there were about 5 different stages set up around the area, all with nice grassy areas to sit/lay in or stand and dance.

first we went to see vince mira, a young boy from seattle with an old, deep johnny cash-like voice! it was great. then we went to see joshua morrison but he got called away on military orders so couldn't make it. in his place was kristin ward, a folk singer. at that point my parents wanted to go to a comedy show and i to more music. so i left them.

i saw mark pickerel & the praying hands, blitzen trapper (awesome band from portland), langhorne slim (really awesome!) and two gallants.

i found some new music and had a great time! and of course in the evening, after we left to have dinner, we went and saw the big names in the stadium. it was fun. i got to dance around and be stuck with a bunch of sweaty teenagers. i went crowd surfing!!! i love it, you can see everything and it's fun!