#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?

#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.

#107 - obama rally

it's election season! primaries to be exact. i've never voted in a primary, mostly because i was an independent. this year, i decided to register democrat, cause it actually matters a lot to me and i have hope. imagine that, hope in a candidate that is different and hope for a better future for my country. barack obama has been my guy for awhile now, i don't really like to preach about politics and don't like telling people who to vote for because i wouldn't want anyone to do so to me, but it's just so exciting!

the oregon primary election officially is on tuesday. in oregon we vote by mail, so everyone got their ballots awhile ago. all you have to do is mail it in or drop it into an official box by tuesday at 8pm. i've filled mine out. it's signed and sealed, just not delivered. i'm such a procrastinator. voter registration (especially democratic) is up this year and that is such a great thing for this country. it doesn't even matter if you are a different party. although i believe that obama is the way to change this country for the better, i am excited that more people are getting interested in the future and in politics. people are sick of the same old washington. people are fed up with politics and politicians in bed with lobbyists.

today there was a rally for barack obama at the waterfront. it was a gorgeous oregon day. it was sunny and in the 80's and the place was packed. authorities estimated that over 72,000 people were there to see him. i think he was even surprised at how many people were there to support him. the first minute of him speaking was pretty much him saying "wow" and amazed at the turnout. he talked a lot of what this campaign means to him and what he envisions when he is president. he talked a lot about policies and what will change. ending the war, universal healthcare, and environmental stuff. if you really want to know more, go to his website.


i kind of got chicken skin listening to him. he is a very good speaker and i enjoyed the feeling of being excited for the future. it feels good to really care and believe. "yes we can!" he is not the usual politician that we've become used to. he is not the guy a regular American cannot relate to. he is different and will change this country, for the better.

#95 - spring, then summer

it's the middle of april (yes, i did my taxes) and so it's spring. it's been spring for a month now, but what does that really mean? to me, lots of things - flowers for one! they are everywhere! one of my favorite trees is the cherry blossom, or sakura. portland is a great place to grow them i guess because they are everywhere. i love it. while i may not be a girly girl, i love my share of pretty flowers. one of my big projects in the past years was to take photos of flowers and make them into cards. i give a whole set to my mom and grandma for mother's day. last year i gave one to each of the moms in my nursing class (i didn't do anything for the dads, oops). i could sell them but that would be just too much work.

another thing is erratic, spontaneous, unpredictable and crazy weather. as of this moment, the temperature is 38F. i had to wear a sweatshirt and a coat out tonight. it rained this morning and throughout the day. yesterday was in the 50s. this past weekend got up into the high 70s and was just gorgeous. i sat out on the porch studying, in shorts and t-shirt. it was on the verge of hot. couple weeks ago it snowed/hailed a little. and of course rain here and there and everywhere. it is bizarre but at the same time i love it. it's telling me enjoy this weather now cause once summer hits it's gonna be hot for awhile. i'm not a hot weather person (thus the move to oregon). it doesn't help that i'll be traveling to mexico and guatemala during the summer. i start sweating thinking about it! april showers bring may flowers. but what do may flowers bring?
pilgrims! hahaha my attempt at humor. sad really. there are actually a few things i enjoy about summer: bbq & cocktails/beer, beer festivals, wearing chacos, going to the river (which is strangely still ice cold), abundance of tomatoes & basil, berry picking, no school (sort of), vacation, usually a trip to hawaii, obon, my birthday (duh), kickball and relaxing. while i'm thinking about all the wonderful things i'll be doing this summer, i will enjoy SPRING now and all it has to offer.

#75 - i miss dodgeball

i enjoy being here in hawaii, it's great to see family and just do nothing but i'm getting bored. i'm here till monday night, when i take the red eye back to the mainland. but i really miss dodgeball! it's not only a great way to take out the stress in my life (which is not that much) and workout, it's a great way to meet people. i've met so many awesome people through dodgeball!

although i don't necessarily miss work, i do miss seeing my old people and friends at work. i actually do enjoy what i do. if only i got paid more (and certain people were FIRED or quit) it'd be a great job. i enjoy going to workout at the gym after work then going home and relaxing for a bit before making dinner. dinner is always the same, a salad, but i have come to look forward to it.

i play dodgeball on tuesdays, thursday, and friday. somehow that is not enough. it is really strangely addicting and i really want to get better at it. we have two more games then a tournament, then the season is over! i think we start again in april but it's just sad. my current teams are so awesome! they are both great teams with great people who don't take themselves too seriously (i don't think you can when you're playing with a red rubber ball) and have fun afterwards at the bar. =)

i miss portland and oregon, the cool weather, my room & roomies, cooking for myself, eating healthy (not eating everything in sight, at every meal) and working out almost every day. here i am so lazy. i have worked out a few times but it's just not the same. i have no motivation, it's called "polynesian paralysis". you don't want to do anything. and there is no surfing here, well at least not for me. i'm pretty home bound cause the g-parents need help and stuff like that. 3 more days.

#58 - rain and cold

i don't know why but i love the rain and cold. yes, i grew up in hawaii where the weather is quite predictably warm. it's been in the 30's here in oregon for a week or so, and i love it! unfortunately it hasn't snowed yet but i am waiting patiently. i missed the "white christmas" because i was in aforementioned warm climate. i love being able to bundle up and wear my big puffy jacket or peacoat. it's so nice to wear sweaters and sweats too. i LOVE seeing my breath outside when i breathe. last year about this time in late january it snowed and it was great!! i got to make a snowman and snowdog, snowboard in the street (sort of), watch maui run around and enjoy the snow with pogo, walk to work a mile in the snow (enjoying the crunch and quiet of the snow), sit inside in front of a fire in between playing in the snow, and just enjoy something kind of new. i look forward to the changing seasons and love the rain and cold while it lasts!

i do also love being able to go home to hawaii though and feel at home even though i'm only visiting. it will always be my home no matter where i go. hopefully i'll always be able to boogie board in the blue waters at waimanalo beach park where the sand is the finest you'll ever find. or trying to surf the small waves at white plains on my big ass board. there are many reasons why i don't live there but it's a great place. if i could somehow create real seasons there...i'd move in a heartbeat.

so now as i type and can't feel my hands or feet, i think about going out somewhere (like the gym) and just get lazy cause it's so nice to be in sweats and not do anything when it's cold. i am so comfortable! in hot weather i am always miserable unless i'm at the beach. most people think hawaii=beach but really not many people go to the beach everyday. hawaii is like any other place where when you live there you don't quite appreciate everything around you. maybe that is why i love oregon weather, it's not very extreme. you don't get to a point where you can't appreciate things because it changes pretty often. just about the time when you are hoping for warmer weather, you get it.