the new BFF: interspecies friendships

I was perusing one of my new fav sites, Animal Intelligence, and really enjoyed the following video

happy channukah to myself

I have been meaning to make an eco-friendly holiday gift list...but law school finals have been a shock to the system (note my lack of posts).

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my life post veganism. Actually, I find that I am happier and calmer than I have been since I was youngin'. I wouldn't say that is the exclusive result of being a vegan--but I definitely think that becoming a vegan has been significant part of a bigger project to live, let live, and love life.

In celebration, I really wanted a fun vegan charm necklace. I found the perfect one, inspired by an E.E. Cummings poem, made by Vaute Couture (from recycled aluminum). Check it out. Note that there are two other styles.

more on No Impact Man

I found Colin Beaven aka No Impact Man's blog! Here is a great piece I wanted to share:

My wife Michelle and I decided, before jumping in at the deep end of this year-long project, to try no impact living as an experiment for a week. No garbage. No greenhouse gasses. No toxins. No water pollution. No air pollution. No electricity. No produce shipped from distant lands. No impact. Or so we naively hoped.

We started one Thursday night at 10:00 PM in the middle of the August, 2006 heat wave. Our sweat-soaked tempers frayed immediately. We argued about who would take our 18-month-old daughter, Isabella, to the babysitter since both our schedules now had to accommodate a lot of walking. We had tense discussions about who would be in charge of picking up Isabella’s milk from the only New York dairy farmer who uses reusable glass bottles. We both pretended not to notice the mounting pile of dirty dishes resulting from the dishwasher being out of bounds.

But then Michelle surprised herself by loving her walk to and from the office. It gave her back something she missed since becoming a mom: time alone. With no TV, we found ourselves playing with Isabella more, reading more, talking more and—hurray!—having more, well, you know. Having perennially struggled with finding time for the gym to wrestle off our middle-aged midriffs, a couple of pounds immediately dropped off us both. Who needs a gym when you’re riding bikes and refusing lifts in elevators and walking everywhere?

In that one week, we discovered that, without transportation to rush us around and junk-food media to steal our time, there is a different, calmer life to be had right here in Manhattan. No TV to oppress you with news of Britney’s failure as a mother. No concerns that charging another pair of Diesel jeans might be declined by Amex. No worrying that the bad cooking oil from the Chinese takeout is clogging your coronary artery. We developed a consciousness of our actions that that felt suspiciously akin to the living in the moment that the Dalai Lama keeps coming to New York to tell us about.

We got the glimpse of a life with an entirely different rhythm. We began to think that, by depriving us of our Madison Avenue addictions, the no impact experiment might actually make us happier. It was only a seven-day experiment, but it convinced us that living no impact can be done, it can be done pleasantly, and that we could conceivably end up happier rather than sadder--which is why, God help us, we're in it for a year. Read more

gym fees and shopping sprees: conspicuous v inconspicuous consumption

I recently read a study that found money can buy happiness--if you know where to shop. This got me thinking a lot about conspicuous versus inconspicuous consumption.

Conspicuous consumption refers to pricey clothing, snazzy jewelry, and fabulous shoes. You know, those things that you buy for yourself--and incidentally for everyone else to see.

Conspicuous consumption does nothing for happiness after a certain degree of basic needs are met. What would make us happier is inconspicuous consumption. That is, longer vacations, more time with friends, and other leisurely folly.

This all came to head yesterday as I found myself once more contemplating life alongside the latest pieces of one of my favorite fashion designers. I believe that clothing is worth a pretty penny if it fits well and you feel great in it. Yet I have come to discover a trend among all those pretty pennies I have been spending.

My closet is teeming. In fact, all of my clothes do not even fit in it. I have so many dresses crammed in such close proximity--and I have not a thing to wear. What looked great two weeks ago is boring and ugly and fits poorly this week. And that is when I realized, that maybe I just don't know where to shop.

Yes. I could have dropped more than I should have on that red dress that would be quite stunning on Monday night at the Christmas party that I am going to. Or, I could take that money and buy plane tickets to visit very dear friends in New York and Louisiana.

Amidst these buzzing thoughts, I did a quick inventory check. Of all the new items I have been so pleased to bring into my collection, none of them have made me any happier. In fact, not many of them retain their original flare in my heart (that's not to say I don't like anything--it's just that buying new things all of the time doesn't make me feel any better about what is really bothering me).

Today, after years of being frugal with my gym fees and loosey goosey in my shopping sprees, I decided it was time to reprioritize my finances and focus on inconspicuous spending. I am at the gym nearly everyday--it is an important part of my life and my health--and I keep going back to my usual shit hole because it costs me 12 dollars a month (I've been a member forever). However, what would truly improve the quality of my day is working out in a beautiful, upgraded, hygienic atmosphere with luxurious amenities to boot.

A few hours ago, I did just that. Such a better work out. Such a better day. Such a better bang for my buck.