Year of the Car Share

2009-03-27T17:47:00.001-07:00

Oh I wish that my digital camera worked.
Oh I wish that my digital camera worked
If my camera were operational
I could share pictures that are inspirational
And that would be truly celebrational....
Don't you ALSO wish that my camera worked?

Well, I'll soon see if new batteries do the trick for stopping bad poetry and starting new post ideas!
Until then, enjoy this old picture.

Remembering The Alamo, The Arawaks, and Your Anniversary

2008-08-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Julius and I just got back from our "mini-moon" (mini because the big honeymoon adventure is scheduled for next summer). We spent a week on the beach on Lake Huron in Tawas, Michigan, even throwing in a little side-trip to Mackinaw Island for bike-riding and fudge! Then we went to the annual KIPP Summit. This year it was in San Antonio, Texas. While San Antonio itself was a little more theme-parky than we were expecting, we had a great time in a brand-new hotel and meeting and learning from many amazing and energetic young educators. I also visited the Alamo, which is right smack-dab in the middle of the touristy river-walk area we came to call "frontier-land," and I have mixed feelings about why I should remember it. The motto, "Victory or Death" has never resonated with me that strongly. Especially not when, as with the Alamo, it involves a fight for land that gets confused with a fight for freedom or justice. I understand the desire to make "heroes" of the underdogs, but I don't think we'll be fully evolved as humankind until we realize that there is no such thing as a just war. So, I will remember the Alamo as long as people and governments are fighting for land and power instead of for justice for all. KIPP Summit was a good place to remember that, actually. KIPP dares to ask why, in the land of liberty and justice for all, poverty is a leading factor in sub-par education. If you look at our urban centers, it's not hard to see that de-facto racial segregation also exists alongside this phenomenon. Being involved in KIPP is, for many, a powerful way to be a part of the continued civil rights movement. The statistics prove that the civil rights movement isn't finished.

"How's that?" you may ask. "I thought the civil rights movement was in the 50's and 60's."

Well, here's one take. Though I am not even a land-owner myself, I daily take for granted the benefits I reap from white privilege: a leg-up in my daily interactions with people, simply because my white forerunners held the land and the power, oh, since about the first time people of color were enslaved by them. On this continent, that process began around, you got it, early October, 1492. To be fair, Columbus is certainly not the first to take other human beings by force as slaves, maybe not even the first on this continent. He is just the one we "celebrate" each October. If we celebrate anything on that day, it should be the dying out of the worldview that allowed human beings, Columbus and his people, to see other human beings, the native Arawaks, primarily as a people to be subjugated. The first slave ships from Africa to the Americas were not far behind - beginning in the mid-to-late 1500's. Fast-forward to the National Voting Rights Act of 1965. 1965! Just 13 years before I was born! And you question why that "pick-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps" attitude toward making it in the United States does not exactly feel equal-access to all? 400+ years of largely ignored but gross inequality can really mess a culture up. So that's why the civil rights movement isn't completed. And, I'm sorry, but it's heck of a lot more important to me than the Texas revolution. Want to know more about white privilege? Check out Tim Wise's website and blog. For something to really make you think, check out this video of his, The Creation of Whiteness

So, um... also....we got married! It was a wonderful, beautiful, magical day. I have been so happy to hear from many guests that they enjoyed it as much as we did! The guys in the band even said it was one of the coolest, most laid-back weddings they had ever played. Maybe I'll write more about the wedding later. Right now it's just nice being home and being married!

Getting back to the attempted theme of this blog, I still own no car of my own. I wonder if even one year of car sharing and public transport can make up for the carbon emissions of flying from Michigan to Texas and back. I hope so. Just in case it doesn't, I'm still trying. Oh yes! One highlight of KIPP Summit was meeting Sara Cotner, a fellow blogger who was also married on July 19th and who also chose meaning over mammon for her wedding. I hope she doesn't mind my linking to her superb blog about that. So - here's to remembering, in all things, what's really important!

love, Katie

Fairly, not Frilly (....in Philly)

2008-07-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

OK - I'm back from my week in the Boston area where I was attending the national convention of the Swedenborgian Church. I volunteered for some things in the church while I was still in school, never expecting the commitments would continue 5+ years. The big perk is that I get to go to Convention and hang out with my mom, my "beta-mom" (Mom's best friend) and lots of good friends.
Now that school's out and convention's over, I can feel, for a short while, that I am actually on vacation. Yet, we are still planning a wedding here!
So - time to open up and introduce you all to the one comic strip I regularly read online. Lynn Johnson's For Better Or For Worse
To call it a "comic" is almost a misnomer. It's more like a whimsical little family-oriented soap opera, with poignant "ah, life" funnies instead of "ha-ha" funnies - though, to be fair, I feel like there must be a "ha-ha" in there somewhere. Over the past few years, I've enjoyed following the drama of character Liz's love life, and it just so happens that we are both getting married soon.
So - though I haven't yet experienced the utter....frazzled-ness? (or shall I use the word "frazzle" itself as a noun?) ... depicted in today's strip exactly - the emotion of urgency and nervousness over the planning is definitely there just beneath the surface.
I also feel compelled to note that, rather than working on the wedding with my mom (though she pitches in as well as she can from 600 miles away and will be working on making cookies by the hundreds for the big event), I am working on it primarily with my almost-HUSBAND, Julius. I am so lucky to have a partner who shares our life's tasks without delineations of "man's work" or "woman's work", even down to the frillier aspects of a wedding (Um - not that our wedding really qualifies as particularly "frilly" as weddings go). Besides, practicing how to work together well and fairly without getting bratty toward each other is just another page out of our ongoing efforts toward better living through Gestalt Therapy. (Maybe I can add a link to that later. For now, you'll just have to look it up.)

2008-05-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

Occasionally people ask me, "So, how's the blog going?"

I pitifully answer, "Well, I haven't really been adding to it.....I'm not sure if I'm really comfortable with the personal aspects of blogging...." or something like that.

Part of it is the feeling of, "Is anybody out there?!" and some guilt associated with presuming my life to be worthy of adding to the limitless banter on the web, even though one friend with an absolutely wonderful blog about her children assures me that my life is more interesting than the simple fact that I own no car.
And part of it is not knowing just how much one can reveal about one's life online without becoming vulnerable to some sort of invasion of privacy. Sheesh - Julius and I met on the internet - so you'd think I'd feel plenty savvy - but we used eHarmony, which I'd characterize as the most nit-pickingly careful and safe matching website out there....(for heterosexual people, I should note ... Honestly, I almost quit because this isn't fair but then I actually DID meet the love of my life so, well, I had to give 'em some credit)
Or maybe my reason for not posting on my blog since November is that I've had a ridiculously challenging school year and also the battery-charger for my digital camera died?
Well, at the moment I'm back, and maybe I'll even check in again before gittin' married in July.

Oh yeah - how could I forget? Julius bought a PRI-US! Did my own car-fasting have ANYTHING WHATSOEVER to do with it? Probably not - Julius has been quite keen on the hybrids for some time. Just one more reason I love you, Julius!
But our driving now feels even more guilt and worry-free. Life is so good.

There now. That wasn't so bad, now, was it?

I love these people!

2007-11-29T15:12:00.000-08:00

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

2007-10-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-10-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-08-22T13:15:00.001-07:00

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

2007-08-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-11T10:55:00.001-07:00

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

2007-08-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

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

Sharing cars - what a concept!

2007-08-07T12:58:00.000-07:00

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!