Free Write

My palms are sweaty, even though it is winter and it's about 40 degrees out here. The only thing I can think about is those kids. I can't imagine what they are both going through right now without their parents. They're so young and neither of them know where mommy and daddy went. The lights of the down town buildings glisten in the cold winter night. Any other night I would have had a huge amount of joy in me with the goosebumps in my arms, but tonight I can't imagine how anyone could feel the least amount of joy. So many different cold-hearted stories being told around us making us all wish this moment wasn't happening, not that we weren't already wishing that before. There is a woman sitting on the floor next to the building with a desperate look on her face. Her hair looks like a bird's nest and she lookes as if she hasn't slept for days. Her clothes are dirty and her sobbing broke all of our hearts. If we only knew her story, maybe someone could help her. But she isn't the only one going through something painful right now. We wre all there for a reason. A depressing reason in which only a few of us could keep the tears from running down our faces.

Cliche

It was 1 a.m. and we were still talking. I can't say we were waisting out time here, because we both knew we had a problem and we knew there was a lot we needed to talk about. So there we were, burning the midnight oil, trying to solve this problem even though we both knew it didn't have a solution. Still, we sat there hoping something would happen. Hoping we could come up with a solution to our dilemma. It was as if I could even feel his hand reach up to brush the hair away from my face. And then we knew. This was good-bye. The cheerful attitude, the laughs we both shared, were all gone. The forbidden friendship that tore us to pieces and brought us to tears. In out hearts we both knew we'd have to move on, even if neither of us wanted to. Even if we thought our love could overcome anything, and we would never part, we were wrong. That was an end of an era for both of us.

Dystopia

We're supposed to have nine lives, right? In a better world we wouldn't have any at all. Who wants to live if were not free? We're all locked inside the human households trapped and forced to live with people that are always calling me a pussy and and giving away my children. In my four years I've had seven lovers. My first man's name was Paolo (his owner was Italian). He was so passionate and loving, but as soon as I told him I was pregnant he ran off just like my mother told me he would. "All cats are the same," she always used to say. When I had my babies they were beautiful, but my owner took them away as soon as they could open their eyes. I don't even know where they are right now. Every night I think about my poor little babies, and I have to deal with the fact that they're all going through the same pain that I am going through right now. I just wish I could have their weak little bodies next to me. That's the only way I ever think of them when I think of my children. They're in their baby forms in my head, because that's the only way I ever saw them. They were taken away from me and I never got to see them grow up.

Cooking Blog

My idea of sustainable living is knowing how to live in a way that doesn’t affect the earth in any way. The reason why I think that we’re planting these edible herbs is because it relates to the book that we’ve been reading in class, called My Ishmael. The book explains how we became a “taker” society when the human race started to keep the food under lock and key and people had to start to work harder in order to eat and survive. Not only are we living more sustainable because were staying away from the job market in a way that won’t kill us, but we’re also growing things that we can eat so we can stay away from foods that contain chemicals ingredients that we cant even pronounce. This relates to our essential questions because by growing out own herbs and eating what we plant, we will live more sustainable and maybe if people see that we plant herbs they will start to do it also. We will also be more healthy since we know what we are putting in out bodies.

After weeks of watering and trying to learn as much as we could about out herbs we got to try to think of something that we could do with our plants so we could use them in a sustainable way. We then had to freedom to decide how it was we were going to use our herbs. When we had a couple of recipe ideas we were then able to get right to work on cooking with them. We cut the leafs off of our herbs (in my case they were lemons basil leaves, so we would be cooking with the leaves) and put them in a damp paper towel so we could take them home to cook. Lulu and I had the same herbs so we decided to make a video together. We wanted to make something simple, but out of the ordinary so we decided to make lemon basil lemonade. The recipe was very simple. All it asked for was to start of with a regular lemonade recipe and we the recipe added on the basil in a way that was quite simple. It asked to mash the sugar and the basil together which actually worked out well and then mix together the rest of the ingredients.


In the end I cant really say that I loved it because that would be a lie, but it wasn’t bad. Lulu seemed to like it so I guess it might have tasted good to some people. It needed more sugar, but we managed to fix that. If I could do it again, I probably would just try to make the video more professional and ask for help when it came to how to make a video that doesn’t look really bad when it comes to quality. Planting and cooking with herbs has definitely inspired me to have my own garden and plant my own carrots since I love them so much and I eat them all the time. At least if I plant my own I’ll know for sure there are no preservatives or chemicals in my food.

This I Believe

Coming out of the closet was probably the most difficult thing I had ever done. I didn’t really have a problem with telling other people that I liked girls, but I had no idea what my mom’s reaction was going to be like. I honestly didn’t really care about my dad’s opinion, since he didn’t really seem to care about me at the time anyway. My mom wasn’t always so religious, but she did always love God. When she became a Jehovah’s Witness I didn’t think much of it. I didn’t really think anything would change. I was wrong. Everything changed. I have always followed my mom and I love her with all my heart so I went with her to all her religious meetings and I went door-to-door preaching with her. I began to love god more than I even thought possible. When I learned that god disapproved of homosexuality it didn’t mean much to me. I guess you could say I never really liked boys and I had always been a little different than the rest of the girls at school. When I told my mom that I was a lesbian she freaked out and started to cry. It hurt me terribly to see that I was the cause of her pain. She told me that I was just confused and that I was just going through a faze. I have nothing against homosexuals and I truthfully respect them, but I couldn’t stand hurting my mother like that. Neither one of us mentioned that again. I think I can really relate to Joel Engarsio because our stories are very similar. They may not have the same ending, but I think you could say we’re both happy. I respect him for his decision, but I don’t think I could have made the same one. Either way, in the end, we both believe the same thing. I believe that we each believe something different, and to each one of us, what we believe is the truth. We all see the world as something different, but we should respect each other no matter how confusing someone’s beliefs might seem to us.

SPECIAL THANKS TO LIVY SOLIS WHO READ THIS ESSAY AND THOUGHT OF ME :)

BASIL RECEPIES

BASIL CHEESECAKE?!
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 1/2 cups basil, fresh
1/2 cup parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic
1 lb ricotta cheese, room temperature
2 lbs cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 lb parmesan cheese, grated
5 eggs
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted



BASIL FRIES!!
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4 medium red potatoes


BASIL LEMONADE!
1/2 cup rinsed lightly packed fresh basil leaf
3 tablespoons sugar
4 cups water
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 sprig fresh basil

sustainability visit (for real this time)

So it tunes out that "Henry's Farmers Market" isn't an actual Farmer's Market. lol. It's funny how in the last blog I mentioned how the "farmer's market" i went to wasn't much different compared to other grocery stores, since it is just another grocery store. Today when Lulu and I went to an actual farmers market I really noticed the difference. The food there actually seemed organic. There were people selling herbs and all sorts of plants that they grow themselves. Also, most things were more expensive except the products that came in abundance. It was an amazing experience :D

Sustainablility visit

1. What is your name and your role here at the farmers market?
A: Gloria Galuan, shopper

2. Why do you choose to shop here?
A: It's near my house and the prices are reasonable.

3: when did you first start coming here?
A: A long time ago, maybe about 15 years.

4: Do you garden at home? Why or Why not?
A: Yes, it helps save the environment.

5: How did you find out about this place?
A: I live near by, and I revieved their advertisments in the mail.

6: What would your advice to get others to do what you do?
A: I would keep telling them to come here, like i do.


To me it seemed like this store was just like any other grocery store I'd been too. It was pretty much what I expected because I was pretty sure it would be just like a Trader Joe's store, and it kind of was. I don't think I will start going to organic stores more often because that's not really my choice, it's my parents and I think they're pretty comfortable with the store they go to now, but this has motivated me to plant my own herbs and edible plants. Well I think that one of the main reasons why we did this project was to inform us on living sustainably, and by going and interviewing people who are doing so, we know what we can do to live more sustainably.

ecological intelligence

When you have ecological intelligence, you know what is wrong and right for the environment and you are informed about what you should and shouldn't do to help the earth. It also means that we not only understand why were doing what we do to live sustainably but what will happen if we don't live like that. It relates to our essential question because we could live more sustainably if we had ecological intelligence. We would not be able to use the excuse that we don't know how to be sustainably anymore because we would all have ecological intelligence. I don't really think that I'm very ecologically intelligent, for example, I didn't know that even though a shirt could be made of cotton, it still effected the environment because of all the water it uses to be created. Here is a website that will show what ecological intelligence is and that includes some shocking information about why it is that the way were living is wrong.

LULS interviews

We had a theory that people that bought organic food would shop at thrift stores, because those are two ways to help the environment go green. After we asked many people if they shopped at thrift stores and the if they bought organic food the people that bought organic food didn't really buy things at thrift stores. In my opinion this is because the people that buy organic food buy it because, one, they can afford it, and, two, they maybe just buy it because they care about their health and not really the environment. There was one women, though, that told us she traveled and she honestly looked like a person that has money and she said she did shop at thrift stores but the reason why she didn't shop there more often was that there weren't many in San Diego. Our theory about thrift store shoppers and organic food buyers were wrong but like I said somethings were a little surprising when we did these interviews. My angle for this campaign is to encourage people to shop at thrift stores. Also there will always be those who don't like shopping there for their own reasons but they can help as well by donating things they don't need anymore and recycling and reusing because that what thrift shopping is all about.

Homegrown Revolution

What strikes me about the way they lived is that they were so different, but they seemed to be living a happy life. They described they way they lived as if it were no different as anyone else. Their way of life seemed very simple and relaxing. They made and grew their own food, and lived what I would consider a sustainable lifestyle. I think their needs list would be longer than their wants list, but then again, they provide a lot of things that they need themselves so I'm guessing their wants list wouldn't be that difficult to obtain. In my opinion they are very related to what we're learning about in "My Ishmael because they aren't living the way our mother culture says we should be living. I think that if Ishmael were to meet this family, he would be very content with their lifestyle. I would honestly like to live that way, but there are just so many things in the way of my actually doing it, and I think that's what's stopping a lot of people from acting instead of just talking about making a difference in their lives. Here are a couple of websites related to these families and their life:
http://www.pathtofreedom.com/
http://www.homegrownrevolution.com/shop
http://www.peddlerswagon.com/
http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/01/06/100-foot-diet-challenge-launch/

ishmael #2 :)

anthropomorphism

noun
the representation of objects (especially a god) as having human form or traits

I really like the way he describes why it is that humans fight for territory the way they do. He says that in a way, people believe that that's the way it's supposed to be. Even animals seem to do that by how they get their territory with scent and things like that, when animals don't care for territory.

For them, it's like an agreement of peace, or like a peace treaty. It was a system that in a way brought justice to the people. It was a peace treaty method because it created organization within the community which brought peace withing the people. They didn't finish each other off because they wouldn't be able to continue their species that way.

Ishmael

I do agree with Ishmael when he says that everybody is from the same culture. When he says that everybody is from the same culture, what I think he means is that where we are from has a lot to do with who we are when we grow up. Like he mentioned to julie, if you are a baby, and you are given to another society with another way of living you would conform to that and that would become who you are. On page 48, he tells her,"Bring a farmer's baby up amoung foragers, and he'll be a forager. I would have to agree, because that even works out with races or how much money your family has.

Personally, I agree with Ishmael. I think that the whole reason why we're like this is because of our human flaws. Nobody can be perfect, no matter how hard they try. Everybody has their own idea of perfect and nobody could possibly cover all of those ideas.


The takers are, what in our modern world the men and women that work in big coorporations and recieve and handle all the money that is to be handled. The Leavers are more like the men and women who believe that we should be more like a community where people would each get what came to them and live on what they had.

living sustainably

In my opinion, a sustainable society would be a small part of perfection. I love the city, but there is nothing in the world that I think is more beautiful than nature. If we lived in a sustainable world that would be, to me, a world where there were not pollution, no war, and trees everywhere. This may sound like a cliche, but nature is a big part in having a world with no worries in my opinion. A world where everyone is healthy and everyone can go skydiving.

Personally, I don't have very much freedom. When it comes to my culture, I should have some freedom, but my parents don't really agree with that. I'm pretty sure the government doesn't think I should have freedom, otherwise kids my age would have more privileges, like driving for instance.

I don't think I could make a sustainable world but I could make my life more sustainable. I could try recycling more and I could try to just have my life together and plant trees. Also since there isn't much about the city that attracts me, I could move, but since first I have to save up enough money to buy a house somewhere else, I think I could just try to keep things together around here.

second semester goals 09

Well, first of all, I would have to say that I'm different in the sense that now I know what to expect. I know what the school is like, the teachers, and the people. I have the advantage of knowing what to look forward to. In this Charlotte's class, I think that one of the main things is to have all my work done and on time, and mainly to try to do a good job with my work to show effort. I'm not sure if anyone could really use the work "difficult" so the main thing that you would have to do to stay on top is just to follow all requirements and get your work done. The main thing that I think that I have to work on this to stay on task and meet my requirements and deadlines. My last few grades were low because of my low effort and missing deadlines, so that would be where I would have to work. In humanities, the main thing that I really want to do more of is reading. I actually enjoy reading now, and if we had books assigned to us that are good and interesting enough to make me want to keep reading then I'm pretty sure I could keep my grades up.