t-giving

Thanksgiving was "bleh" as always. I've never liked the holiday much. I'm not the biggest fan of thanksgiving food. I did run the 10K race in about 50 minutes, which is not bad considering the fact that a lot of people were running with strollers and dogs and the path was PACKED!
Buy nothing day turned out o.k., we stayed in and watched movies. Both of us were feeling under the weather. I'm still deciding what to do for christmas gifts. I haven't really learned how to knit. It looks like I'll be making donations on behalf of people..or something like that. Grrr. I really wish that we could just skip the formalities of these holidays. It causes more stress than what it is worth.

the compact

so...i found about a group in san fran that is in the midst of a year-long fast. i'm not the only one. i decided to nix the knitting yarn from my list of acceptable items. i have enough lying around to make at least one scarf. besides, it is easy to buy a used sweater or blanket, tear it apart, and create something new. people did it for generations..before all of this madness set in.

so far, the fast is easy and manageable. i don't think that i've mentioned that i live across the street from a goodwill.

i need to find other bloggers who are either part of the "compact" or who generally make a habit out of buying everything used.

Consumer Fast- Day 9

I'm not buying anything new for a year. There are a few exceptions, but the goal is to buy:

-no new consumer goods for an entire year. this includes, but is not limited to the following:
-no electronics
-no new clothing
-no new shoes (this will be hard because i run up to 50 miles a week)
-no new cell phone
-no new furniture
-no miscellaneous items (tupperware, office/school supplies, hair clips, etc).
- no bottled water
-no NEW CDs, LPs, DVDs

the following items will be considered acceptable:

-health and beauty aids within reason
-food (eating at restaurants will be limited..i've been living off of canned and frozen food that
i've had for over a year..i figure that i can kill some of it off before buying grocieries)
-knitting yarn (i'm going to make, bake, or cook all gifts)

-gasoline (sounds pretty... well.. ridiculous...but i can't find a way around driving to work. i do have a hyrbid, though.

because we decided last minute not to buy anything in L.A., i'd like to add even more to my accumulated savings. when we move, i should have a considerable amount.

i've spent about $10.00 over the past week, mostly on vegetables.

this is so easy.
i even washed some of my clothes in the bathtub..like the japanese.

the transition is just about over.
i love the new place here. the neighborhood, albeit dodgy, has grit (a la Pulp's common people).
here are some pictures. my days have not been too eventful, but that is exactly what i wanted. i wake up, make a pot of coffee, read the entire newspaper, run errands, make lunch, plow through a book, work on the apartment, eat dinner, jog, watch a movie. these are the things that i usually cannot find the time for during the school year.
i'm going to pittsburgh tomorrow and at the moment, i'm updating my ipod so that i can practice my spanish and listen to some podcasts on the plane.

my weakness

This scene...me holding a cup of coffee that is bigger than my head...is becoming too common of a sight. Its pricey...labor practices are questionable...and the adverse health effects are many. I can't stop though.