I love these people!

A big part of being a PhillyCarShare member is that you must recognize your responsibility to the group. It really is a co-op in a way. For instance, the gas is free - but you have to take the time to fill it up. Fines or penalties only get handed out when you do something that causes a problem to other members, like leaving it with an empty tank or returning a car very late. There's even a credit if you get the car washed! (Hmmm - maybe I'll do that tomorrow if I have extra time!)

It's just the way I want my 1st and 2nd-grade classroom to run. Neither has a perfect set of natural consequences/ intrinsic rewards, but the facsimile is parallel. Expectations are clearly defined and met; there are consequences for carelessness and rewards for caring and responsibility.

It makes me feel so happy each time I use a car, because it feels so fair and sensible. The thought that people I pass on the street could be fellow members also gives me a warm feeling. I wish everyone could have access to this. Just plain renting a car never feels this light. :)

Alas, we almost used a Phillycarshare for our trip to Baltimore for Thanksgiving. It turned out that just driving the buick was a leeeettle bit cheaper in the immediate sense. Oh well. At least you can take that as evidence that I'm not completely brainwashed or something.

I am feeling rather philosophical today, so here's one more tidbit:

At the end of a long day, when I am tired yet there is still work to be done, I often find myself thinking, "Am I really LIVING? Is this the life I want? When will the never-ending vacation of my fantasies begin?" But if I take a moment to add up the meaning of it all - my work as a teacher, the part I play in my community and the world (including being a part of groups like Weaver's Way food Co-op and PhillyCarShare ), and all of the love that surrounds these pursuits, I feel very grass-roots, close to the source, makin' a difference, "whole-grain" about my life. And there are days when it's almost a shock to realize how natural I feel going about my life-work. Mindfulness of this turns it into a precious gift.

Of course, given the way my mind and soul work, I doubt I would last long doing it any other way.

By this time it's a well-established precedent, proven by my salary, that you couldn't pay me to give that up.

Namaste

Bike Commute Update

Though I haven't used it recently - with morning light arriving later these days - I do now have a bike/train route through the park that works quite well and isn't as complicated as the one I experimented with before. I take a park trail that follows the wiley Wissahickon creek (about a 20 minute ride from one end to the other going fast), and then catch regional rail at the other end for a 10-minute ride to work. Then there's a 15-minute walk from the station to the school.

I wonder what people in their traffic jams would give to spend just 20 minutes rambling through the woods beside the creek's rapids. I consider myself lucky to have this option. I don't know if chilly weather will slow down my time at all, and I worry about being late if there's ever a mishap in one leg of the journey. But, I may try again to enjoy the route before it truly gets too cold or dark or both. Braving a little fall air in the morning can me feel strong and tough! Then a downhill coast in the afternoon is a sweet reward after a long day!

People are so kind!

It's been far too long since I made an entry. This has been a day to deal with things on my computer, though, as I just archived or deleted over 600 emails in my yahoo account. I'm hoping that seeing Inbox (2) instead of Inbox (347) will help to ease my mind and make replying to those work-not-play-generating emails that much easier.
Anyhoo - commuting update - My legs are very strong. Since the first or second week of school, I have been regularly carpooling with a colleague who lives just a little over a mile from my house. So - I walk around 15-30 minutes or a half a mile or more each morning, depending on how early each of us is leaving the house (We meet somewhere in the middle), then I do it again in the evening.
Still, that doesn't prevent my gym's Sunday morning yoga instructor from kicking my ass leg-wise. I noticed she had extraordinary calves from the beginning - but I didn't expect the soreness from all of those poses to last for a week! Note to self - remember to stretch every day!

Financial update - I had to rejoin Geico as a second driver on Julius's car. So - am I REEEELY saving money? Well, carpooling has saved me the cost of SEPTA tickets and passes for now (Thanks, Elisa!), and, compared to the penalties I'd face for driving without being insured, I guess it's a bargain!
Also, without a car, I make far fewer trips into the world of shameless commerce.

Wedding update - We're gonna make that trip to visit possible wedding venues one of these days! Any day now - really! Sheesh. It's not even funny how little we've got ready for the spring or summer nuptials. And I haven't even had the energy to think about the carbon footprint we're leaving just by having a bunch of people from different places all fly or drive to the event. Would that Philly venues weren't so expensive - at least we could work public transport into PART of the day. At least we're shooting for ceremony, reception, and lodging for the family at one place. Wish me luck in finding venues and caterers we can afford!
Also, we're going to make a trip up to NYC soon to visit Rev. Ron Brugler. Julius really dug him when they met this summer at Almont summer camp, and so we're hoping we can have this officiant, with his warm and fuzzy voice on the big day. I'm hoping that he and his wife of 30+ years can also give us some tough questions to sort out in the realm of pre-marital counseling. We could use some guidance on how to disagree fairly and...I dunno....constructively? I could hardly euphamize it any more than that - but I think married people know what I'm talking about!

My summary of this entry - walk more. It feels good.

Also, Julius is quite handsome. Seriously. (Thank you for that addition, Julius).

Bike Commute

Ok - Yesterday I did some preliminary research on the possibility of a BIKE COMMUTE to school. I chose a route that goes straight up through Fairmount Park (One of the largest urban parks in the country) using Forbidden Drive. Though it's a gravel path with lots of rocks, which probably slows me down, it saves me a huge amount of stress not to be contending with car traffic for at least 2 and a half miles of the roughly 7 mile trip.

At the beginning of the trip, I foolishly neglected to note whether I was going upstream or down along the Wissahickon and I went about 2 miles in the wrong direction. I have used Forbidden drive many times and know many of the trails and entrances to the park. Therefore, I attribute this mistake, this failure to trust my instincts regarding some familiar landmarks, my failure to simply THINK for a moment about which side of the creek I was on, to an abiding bad sense of direction, a wacky, fragmented internal map, and my lack of confidence (That'll be 5 cents, please - Thank you, Lucy Van Pelt).

Finding myself under the Walnut Lane bridge instead of at the Andorra Natural Area (Hmm, I had a feeling I was going the wrong way) changed my trip plan a bit, but it gave me more time to enjoy the park.

I did turn around and go back up to Andorra, and then found a different way back out of the park. I took Rex avenue, which likely used to host horse-and-buggy and even model-T traffic, but that was before Forbidden Drive was forbidden.

Philadelphia actually has a number of abandoned streets (or sections of streets) that were left behind upon the building of bridges or highways or train tracks. I suspect it's the reason why many of our streets stop and then start again halfway across the city. It's fascinating to be walking in the middle of the woods and suddenly find a row of old Belgian block curbstones or, in one case, a fire-hydrant and an upside-down car. Yes, in the woods - right next to the fleeing red fox. But that's another story.

The Rex avenue route is one that I will never, ever take again toting a bike for these reasons:
A. In the park, Rex Avenue consists of the same old "cobbles" (though they're rougher than cobbles, really) that it had 150 years ago, except now they are separated and the soil around them has eroded somewhat. Imagine a half-mile of miniature tombstones.
B. It's a steep uphill, so, given all the rocks, I had to walk up it with my heavy steel bike.
C. It's kind of creepy back there, like a ghost-street!

A lovely walk, though. Really! And you might enjoy the downhill version if you like heavy impact.

So, I emerged from the park into the sunlit streets of Chestnut Hill once again, had a delightful time coasting down the roads, and was almost home when (I guess I just hadn't gotten enough yet) I decided to check out the trail that goes along the stream under the McCallum Street Bridge. It's a very cool bridge, rebuilt in 1984 or so, and you wouldn't think it's pretty until you're under it. The trail is inviting, but gets VERY narrow very quickly. It reminded me of my first mountain-bike treks through the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge near Saginaw, MI. I need to thank my brother for convincing me that I don't need to trade in my fat tires for slick road tires just yet. Having a mountain bike made this final trail of the day an adventure instead of a nightmare!

I think I travelled maybe 10 miles during my 3 hours out, but, based on my time getting to the park, through the park, and the distance left to get to Miquon, I think biking to work will take me about 3 20-minute stretches - 1 hour. It's worth a try at least once or twice - I'd certainly get strong, but my wrists still feel a little hot today, a good reason to keep my options open, I think.

First Time!

I was so excited about my first time using PhillyCarShare that I forgot to take a picture of me and the car! Oh well. It was a Prius liftback. I borrowed it for four hours today to take my stuff over to Miquon , where the kids will be returning in about two weeks! Tomorrow I'll try getting to school by train to see how well that works.

Car-share or train, I'm definitely doing more walking! You see, I realized today that the car closest to me, right down the street, costs $4.90/hr, not $2.90/hr. But the car up at the Co-op, a little less than a mile away (about 20-30 minutes walking), is the cheap price. Same car. Guess the demand is higher over here.

Anyway, it was really fun to drive the hybrid after a brisk walk, and once I figured out how to start it (It has a POWER button!).


This car also comes with a detailed, full-color display that has multiple stats on energy use, etc. (only the passenger can safely read this display, I believe) and it switches to a camera view from the rear bumper whenever you're in reverse! That was neat, but didn't help that much as it didn't show trees and poles just to the side. The best part is when the car goes silent as you glide along. It evokes the feeling of coasting down a hill on a bike. Fun. It got my haulin' done, and I can't wait to take Julius for a spin!

Off She Goes

Well, it's done. My local "cash-for-cars" company came and picked 'er up today. Top dollar it certainly isn't, but recycling it is. I guess, considering that I recieved money (even a small amount) instead of spending the value of the car to get it fixed, I should feel some relief. I think that sense will fill out later when I'm NOT paying hundreds on insurance.


Yet, I still have that little pang of regret - that I've somehow let the little Nissan down or maybe even hurt its feelings...like when you let some other kid walk away from your garage sale with an old toy that used to be yours. Yeah. It's kinda like that. I suppose when you spend about 5 years of good and bad times relying on one constant companion to take you everywhere, your car, it almost becomes like your horse. We've been through a lot together. (A note for horse-lovers: I think I can only get away with saying this because I never actually owned or got to know a horse for real. There was that time when Crackers, my friends' old, old horse, flipped out and bolted while I was walking her - that scared me - and a horse named Budweiser who took me around a trail once in mid-Michigan, munching on grass along the way. While they were living beings with actual personalities, we didn't really have time to build a relationship.)

But enough of that. A big part of my moping is that I feel powerless without wheels. But, to look on the bright side, I got cash for the car, a small refund from GEICO, and now the confidence that my public transportation and PhillyCarShare costs will save me money compared to my old insurance, gas, and repair costs.
Next post - my first spin in a shared car (hopefully!) - maybe next week!

Bio-diesel

I was just checking out and catching up on the Online Swedenborgian Church when I browsed over to the environmental discussion board. Here I learned that one of the website's steering committee members sells older, recycled Mercedes in the greater Philadelphia area, always available for conversion to bio-diesel/veggie oil use! She notes that in winter in colder climes the bio-diesel doesn't work for starting the car - so you have to use some regular diesel. I'm just glad that I know about Sue's business. It sounds like it's not too high-maintenance, so perhaps I could try a bio-diesel car in the future...if a seller of bio-diesel fuel ever steps up in the area, that is. Apparently this is much easier in California.

In the meantime, I am still waiting to recieve my PhillyCarShare membership in the mail. Pretty soon I'm going to have to contact coworkers about this whole carpooling thing. I feel as though I must have surely saved money these last few weeks, having no car with which to go out shopping, but it's going to get frustrating if I can't access a car to at least go out and try on a few bridal gowns and such!

At any rate, I love how one thing leads to another once you set your focus in a particular direction. Not only did I pick up some info on earth-friendlier driving, I think I am learning more about people from my church by reading several little posts on the environmental page than I have gleaned from the past few years of attending the annual Swedenborgian Church convention! This is another good reason for trying to become a better listener. Maybe I can work on my small-talk skills and learn how to turn small-talk into real conversations!

Goodbye to an old friend

This is the Nissan in happier (inspection-passed) times.

Sharing cars - what a concept!

Earlier this summer, when I realized that my car was up for its annual inspection, I thought "No problem - it passed last year." I soon found out, however, that my little reliable '91 Nissan (which only had 60,000 miles on it when I purchased it, oh, 5 years ago) was worse off than I imagined. The repairs to make it roadworthy - that is, safe to drive again- would cost more than the value of the car (or at least more than I payed for it). And this is good information coming from Fred's Mt. Airy Motors, once a recipient (though not this year) of the Best of Philly Honest Mechanics award. So - I took the news, parked my car out of the way, and went on vacation.
Though my dad would say something like "The car you own is the cheapest car you can have"....(i.e. no monthly payments) - owning this car wasn't that cheap. Insurance in Pennsylvania is pretty expensive, and the need for repairs can pop up at the least convenient time financially. So, I decided to join PhillyCarShare a non-profit organization with a vision of a Philadlephia region in which the convenience, affordability and flexibility of car sharing exceeds that of owning a car. They want to make the city more about people and less about cars.
For a girl from Michigan, once the car capital of the country - maybe the world, this is a big leap! But I think this organization is the only catalyst capable of ripping from my clenching midwestern fists the addictive, though perhaps false, "freedom" of car ownership. I'm ready to embrace my urban lifestyle and commit to public transportation...at least for one year.

Based on the growing number of users and "pods," or phillycarshare parking spaces, I'd say their mission:

To maximize the economic, environmental, and social benefits of reduced automobile dependence in the Philadelphia
region through community-based car sharing.

is well on its way to becoming reality. That makes me feel like maybe I can do this for more than just one year. I just have to get into a new routine and step away from car gluttony.

Now, I'll be honest here. Julius, my fiancee, still has the Buick, so a lot of times I'll just galavant around the city with him. We had gotten into the habit of using his car with its superior sound system and working air conditioning when we go out, anyway. But our place is a distance from both of our places of work and he has tougher hours, so my commute is now going to involve a web of carpooling with coworkers, SEPTA regional rail, buses, my bike, and Phillycarshare. At any rate, public transportation, now including Phillycarshare, is just one of the things I love about Philadelphia. I'll let you know how it goes!