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initial unwrapping : first layer of packaging removed and placed to the bottom left portion of the slash/stair break, products in their additional packaging to the upper right

 

I read a great book called 'Plastic Free : How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too' by Beth Terry and in general have been increasing my awareness around packaging and minimizing my personal creation of plastic waste. My family received a gift basket this holiday season that exemplified the over-packaging epidemic and as I watched my mother open it I could not help but be horrified. The amount of food and usable goods that resulted compared to the amount of packaging produced flabbergasted me. The worst was the Styrofoam (notoriously difficult to recycle - most recycling centers don't even take it) at the bottom of the basket in and the quadruple-wrapped chocolates only added insult to injury (chocolate wrapped in aluminum foil, wrapped in plastic, encased in a box, in the plastic wrapped basket).

I wish I had taken a picture of the 'before' basket, but this plague of excessive packaging was only revealed after the basket had already been opened and dismantled, and at which point I felt a strong call to duty to document it. I hope that this serves as a reminder to expand / intensify our awareness around packaging and what we can each do in our own personal lives to reduce our footprint on the earth.

 

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removal of second and third layer packaging in the upper right triangle, first layer of packaging in the same position in the lower left triangle, edible products arranged on household plates on the leftmost strip/stair

 

 

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removal of some of the plates and bowls to more accurately represent what the basket contained on it's own - now the only things that were not originally included in the basket are the white plate upon which the chocolates rest and small white bowl containing the yellow 'cheese'

 

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photos : karmic apples from the apple tree growing out of the redwood stump from which I fell and originally tore my ACL

The surgery went well : I received a femoral artery block and was surprised at how quickly I went under from the general anesthesia - it was somewhere around 10-20 seconds after I as injected through my IV.  I felt none of the euphoria / addictive potential that many speak of when others reflect fondly upon their anesthesia experiences (e.g. 'liquid warmth flowing from the IV into my veins and through my arm, filling my body').

When I came to about 1 and a half to 2 hours later I came back into consciousness in pain which was a bit of a unpleasant shock and was administered 2 units of pain medication. I then was kept in the recovery room because was intensely nauseous due to the anesthesia (they told me to inform the anesthesiologist of this tendency if I will ever receive anesthesia in the future) even after they administered anti-nausea medication. Eventually, after 2-3 hours waiting in my drugged haze I realized that I was under the false impression that the nurse was waiting for me to eat something so that I could get more pain medication, but that this was not actually the case (interesting that I was operating under such a narrative) and I left the hospital with my parents after I clarified what was going on.

I slept on the first floor couch for the first few days, eating my prescribed Hydrocodone / Acetaminophen 7.5-325 . One interesting side effect of the medication that I was not expecting was that when I tried to stand up to use the restroom with my crutches, that I got dizzy, faint, and my vision began to black out in many small spots and I had to sit down. The feeling kept returning and I had to lie down for 15 minutes to be able to make it to the bathroom - stopping halfway through the lengthy journey. I have not taken prescription medication in many years, and would have preferred to not take any but the pain was at a level that I worked with the tools that the medical complex equipped me with.

I was able to walk without crutches after a week and a half. At this point I stopped taking the Hydrocodone and began to eat prunes [sleuths know why!]. Unfortunately, I still wake up every night with pain (it used to be several times a night, now it is typically only once or twice).

After I had stopped taking the Hydrocodone for a few days, I took one right before physical therapy [PT] Monday, as it is always painful. As I was standing getting my leg taped up, I felt a rush of heat and sweat break out, and a few moments later, my PT's voice faded and became distant while my sight was being eaten away by little black dots that started from the edges of my vision. I only realized that I fainted as I regained consciousness to my PT and another PT easing me onto my back on the table I was standing in front of and propping my legs up on a wedge to return the blood flow to my brain. I came back with a tingling in my body and a feeling like I was underwater - slowed physical movements and sensory experience. After I lay there for several minutes and had some water I was fine, but I had never lost consciousness in such a way.

 

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the return of chiberia and below zero temperatures in Chicago caused channel 5 to issue some recommendations about how to stay survive extremely cold temperatures :

wear mittens rather then gloves - this keeps the fingers together, warming the extremities

cover mouth to protect lungs - in low temperatures one can injure their respiratory tract by breathing very cold air

multiple loose fitting layers - trap air in layers close to your body

 

Additional personal recommendations include thick wool socks and a hat as well as well made boots. Also, urinating helps conserve your body's energy because it requires energy to heat the water in one's bladder.

Stumbled upon a Harry Potter marathon and was struck by the conversation between Harry and Dumbledore in the liminal space at the end of Deathly Hollows (Part II)

 

"Do not pity the dead...pity the living, and above all - all those who live without love"

- Albus Dumbledore

 

"Professor is this all real or is it just happening inside my head?" - Harry Potter

"Of course it's happening inside your head Harry, why should that mean it's not real?" - Albus Dumbledore

 

"It's cheaper to keep her. Where's my t.v. show?" S.T.A.

"Hey! I wanna waste some money on me!" T.B.

Edit: alive - was told by the surgeon that I have great fat tendons making for an easy harvest. Thanks ecstatic dance, contact improved, biking, and general active ox-like lifestyle. Rehabbing in southwest Chicago burbs...

I completely tore my anterior crucial ligament (ACL) a stabilizing structure that controls rotation and forward and backward motion of the knee. I will be getting reconstructive surgery on 5:15 am January 10th 2014 by Doctor Leonard, with Doctor Redondo assisting, and Doctor Borden on anesthesia. But let's rewind a bit an explain how we got to this point.

The setting: I have been swooped up by captain a and first mate w to escape from the urban jungle of Oakland and head up north to be immersed in the redwoods at The Farm in Mendocino. My interest is twofold : to immerse myself in the experience that is Mendocino and breathe it's clean, pure air in addition to meeting with j, the maintainer of the property to hear of his hopes/plans to host a natural building festival termed Cobstock on the property. We arrive in mendo by the light of the moon but not before stopping to hug a big stand of redwoods by the side of the road, breathing big lungfuls of crisp air, and gazing at the now visible starry splash of the Milky Way. We arrive on the Farm and make camp under the redwood trees, w sleeping curled among the roots like a mouse.
We wake to the sound of the birds chirping in the trees and sunlight streaming in slotted beams through the dense canopy. As we head to the barn we are informed that a young male goat has escaped through a hole in the holding fence. This is mountain lion territory...
I head out with j and a bucket of feed which he frequently shakes while doing a pitch perfect bleat. We charge through the wild pacific coastline noting a beautiful and diverse range of wild mushrooms and stopping every few steps to bleat and shake the grain bucket. At one point we hear a faint bleat to our right hand side and charge through the brush in that direction. We see bobcat scat and bear scat evidencing that it is fond of getting into the farms apple orchard. We no longer hear bleating and after some time continuing the ritual I learn that there are hundreds of miles of wilderness that the farm backs up against, causing our likelihood of locating the goat to be slim. The survival of the buck seems slim as it is would be an easy and exotic snack for a mountain lion.
We head back to the property and captain a commandeers the vessel to experience the quaint and quirky town of Mendocino. We cruise through town at a leisurely pace, and it reminds me of a costal mountain town of low houses and unique details at every turn. Whether it is the water towers turned houses, to the mom and pop shops selling ceramic birds, the food cooperatives, or the local music venues. Our vessel is piloted to the coastline which is right next to town, and I climb down the rocky sandy crags to reach the waters edge. I feel the smoothness of the ocean polished rocks and gaze at the colorful collections of seaweed, effervescent mussel shells, driftwood, and ocean detritus and dip my hands into the foamy water. I have been to this place in my dreams.
Eventually we split up and I set out to visit the local art gallery. On my way there I run into two folks sitting at a folding table covered in a local comic book called 'Mendosphere' and I give the artist and his companion a healing hug. I continue on my way to the art gallery which contains many photographs of the area, an extensive collection of cast brass birds, and an exquisite table carved of wood ravaged by ship worms causing it to look like Swiss cheese.

The next day I am told that there is work needing to be done gleaning apples from the orchard and a and w decide to head into town to shower. I am outfitted with an apple picker (a basket with claw opening on one side mounted on a long extendable rod) and the orchard and lone trees scattered around the property that needed tending. I ask if I should leave any apples on the tree (as an offering of thanks to the bounty of the earth and as a gift to the animals) and I was told, 'no take them all off, or else they will just rot on the tree.

[long story short (gotta get some sleep before surgery) I use a ladder to get up to the top of the old growth redwood stump that the apple tree is growing out of, and just as i swing my legs over the trunk and get my weight up a wasps' nest swarms up out of the stump and begins stinging my left hand. I scramble down the ladder, get caught in the blackberry brambles which encircled the stump, and wrench my knee in my haste to get down. the pain was so immense i had to dissociate somewhat from my body to be able to concentrate on getting the wasps off of me and getting away from their nest (i am fortunate that i have developed the capability to do this in certain situations)]

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Alien spacecraft were visible for a few seconds in the skies over Chicago this evening. There were few witnesses as the streets were abandoned due to the below freezing temperatures. Many huddled in their homes, sequestered by the governors declaration of a state of disaster for Illinois earlier today, closing interstates and strongly discouraging travel.
Several factors are still unclear : whether the craft chose to reveal themselves by choice or whether the brutal cold caused a malfunction in the cloaking mechanism of the craft. Additional questions arise at to whether this is the fist arrival of these craft, a return visit, or if these beings are constantly present in our skies. The purpose of their presence and broader intention is also unknown at this time.
Although much is unclear at their point one thing is certain - they are among us.

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Bare shelves in the gold coast chicago early Saturday evening on January 4th 2014.
Folks were scurrying around shopping carts stocked with 'snowed in' supplies to last a few days. Store employees attempted to restock shelves in vain. When questioned by harried customers about the absence of traditional common kitchen staples that they were all out for the day and would get shipments in the next few days.

The forecast predicts a blizzard with temperatures at a high of -11 and a low of -15 without wind chill for tomorrow, Monday January 6th.

On the radio they were advising to take frequent breaks when shovelling and to not try to move more snow then one can handle 'because snow is heavy'.

source material :

Unsettling Ourselves Solutions and Resources for Deconstructing Colonial Mentality

Serptember 2009

White Supremacy Culture

thank you to L. for sharing this succinct, solutionary [evolutionary action focused on solutions rather then just a reactionary rebelling 'revolution' against the current system, which is often seen as flawed] work by Tema Okun 

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