I slept through lunch today.
When I would normally be posting something for my weekly appointment with The Blog, I had an appointment instead with Dr Sandman and a box of Scotties. Oh, dear. It’s not fair, really, because I only just got over a cold! This is maybe the second time I’ve had consecutive rhinoviruses. Making up for those 9 months in which I wasn’t sick, eh?
I’ll need to muster up some energy to cook dinner and bake some birthday brownies for a certain someone. In order to do that of course, I need to clean up the kitchen. Yeah, I’d rather be at work! But it has to be done somehow. I’ll tempt myself with the promise of yummy squash later.
Speaking of yummy things, the following combination is awesome:
quinoa + dried cranberries + black beans (from can) + Stevia to take the edge off in case you didn’t soak the quinoa long enough first.*
cosy that up with
white rice + mixed frzn veggies (I like peas/carrots/corn/lima beans mix)
eat hot, topped with grated romano cheese. for omnivores, some canned fish is good, too.
Careful not to drool into your dish if it’s as good for you as it was for me. Quinoa is also good sauteed in butter with mushrooms; however, my mushrooms decided to dry out before I could eat them, little buggers, so I had to find another option.
Wish me well for next week to be in good shape again for a less head-cold inspired post. Oh, in the meantime, check out all the press my favourite little campaign has been garnering lately!
*The quinoa + cranberry dish is inspired by my sister. The quinoa + black bean combination is inspired by a steaming hot, delicious meal from the Foundation restaurant on Main St. in Vancouver.
I won’t get too into the specifics here, but basically, Metro Vancouver is going to see its landfills used up within two years. Solutions have been tossed about and out while very costly measures are currently in consideration. I came upon this article (via Stephen Rees) and this related article about the issues… wasted tax payer dollars, fears of consequences, and little discussion on waste management save the point from SPEC’s Eric Doherty:
“We’ve been hearing miracle cures for decades,” said Eric Doherty of the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation. “It’s still burning garbage. It’s still putting greenhouse gases into the air. It’s not the kind of solution that we need to be moving to.”
Doherty said it’s time for governments to push for policies that would reduce garbage production, and boost how much we reuse and recycle.
“We need to stop making garbage,” he said.
Reducing waste is a point I made in an earlier post on recycling (Surrey’s new initiatives).
Continue reading Trash talks stall solutions to Metro Vancouver’s burden »
Rail for the Valley will be at Gateway debate: a public Forum on Sustainable Transportation for the Fraser Valley presented by UCFV’s Environment Club.
When: 7:00pm Wednesday January 23
Where: Room B101 (Lecture Hall) University College of the Fraser Valley, 33844 King Rd. Abbotsford
Debate format + Q&A. Speakers include:
– Abbotsford/Clayburn MLA John van Dongen
– Nathan Pachal, of VALTAC and the Rail for the Valley campaign
– Transportation expert Stephen Rees
– Jim Houlahan, VP, CAW 111, representing 2000 bus drivers
– David Fields, Society Promoting Environmental Conservation
Join students, faculty, politicians and the community for a spirited discussion on transit issues in the Fraser Valley. Bring your questions and concerns.
Come and support the Rail for the Valley movement!
I’m excited to note that buttons I designed will be handed out at the event. There are two different styles, “collect them all.” Wear and share your support: take a few extra to give to your friends. If someone asks you about yours, offer it to them and explain you have another one at home. Tell them about the campaign. Let’s spread the message!
It’s just as well I went out for lunch instead of posting my blog today. I thought I’d get a chance before leaving work but alas… It’s just as well because mom just sent me a link to a Surrey Leader interview with Paul Hillsdon, a fellow Surrey resident I’m glad to say is becoming a friend of mine. It’s clear the underdogs are winning in this day and age where finding support for great, fresh ideas is becoming easier, ideas of which Paul is nothing short. You can read more about this young talent and his visions for transportation in Metro Vancouver at paulhillsdon.com.
And the other big thing in Surrey tonight is the lecture I attended by James Howard Kunstler. My introduction was awe-inspiring as I entered the glass boat-like SFU Surrey campus and ascended to the theatre. (One of these days I’m going to have to go in there with a camera!) I’ll write more about his lecture later but I should point out that those of you lucky enough to have reserved a seat for Thursday’s lecture in Vancouver can look forward to a highly informative, engaging, inspiring and even humourous talk. I’m just glad the last half centimetre of my mechanical pencil’s graphite held out! Scrawl to be typed up soon. The lecture was also videotaped; I’m not sure if that will be made available to the public.
Keep an eye out tomorrow morning for one more big thing: the full moon. It’s apparently full on Tuesday and if the time and atmosphere are just right (~7:15am), you might just catch it hovering on the horizon like a giant headlight. I’d never catch a good photo of it, but this morning it looked twice its size. When we got up to the main road going west it was sitting on the horizon, likely causing some “what the *&$% is that?!” reactions as drivers get confused seeing this oversized yellow plate glowing behind streetlights, trees and buildings. Tonight it had shrunk again, brilliant white. What a sight!
A follow up on yesterday’s post about the damn lightbulb. Read that one first if you haven’t already, or you’ll spoil the fun!
I received this reply this morning…
Continue reading It takes too many TransLink staff to change a lightbulb »
Hot on the tails of a huge announcement from the Province on new transit plans, the Monday lunch blog has a slightly smaller bone to pick.
One month ago I wrote TransLink an email requesting a burnt out lightbulb be replaced:
For months now there has been at least one pot light burnt out in the north lower stairwell at Surrey Central Station. This makes walking/running down the stairs difficult at night because there is less light and more shadows, particularly when it’s crowded. Given the area, I feel it is also somewhat more susceptible to crime. I noticed some lights were burnt out above the platform as well.
I also requested bus shelters at a number of stops. They got back to me two days later:
On 12-Dec-07, at 9:48 AM, TransLink Customer Relations wrote:
Than your email. We can take care of the first two points, however, we are not responsible for shelters at bus stops. As bus stops are on City right of way, the City of Surrey would provide shelters thru a contract with a private firm. You can call City Engineering with your request or contact CBS Outdoor at 604 630 1090.
Right. Well, I monitored said lightbulb, went on Christmas holiday, and when I came back, it was STILL burnt out. So I wrote them another email, only this time, less forgiving.
Continue reading How many TransLink staff does it take to change a lightbulb? »
Happy New Year! The Monday lunch blog returns…
The City of Surrey announced a new waste collection program that began last week. A key component of the program starts in June:
Beginning June 1, 2008, Single Stream Recycling collection will commence. You no longer will have to sort your recyclables. You will just empty, clean and place all acceptable recyclables in your blue box. The City will also be expanding the types of recyclables accepted to include Tetra Pak containers/cartons, milk cartons, and well as aluminum pie plates.
I think this is pretty exciting news — I just wish it were starting sooner! At the moment one has to drop off Tetra Paks at places like Safeway or the Bottle & Return-it Depot for recycling, which is a step less convenient than sorting it with the other recyclables and putting it on the curb. I’m keeping empty rice milk cartons if I can until this date because milk and milk substitute cartons are currently not accepted at Safeway, etc. I believe Bottle & Return-it Depots will accept them. Aluminum pie plates always ended up in the recycling at home anyway!
The convenience of the expanded program will, I think, encourage people to recycle more. Ultimately the emphasis for everyone should be on consuming less and reducing packaging. After all, the three Rs are Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
The latest ads from Tim Hortons feature the “Bagel B.E.L.T.”, a breakfast sandwich with bacon, eggs, lettuce “and toh-may-toooe.” Aside from my friends’ unrestrained mocking of the sheer stupidity of the commercial and the name (more belt notches, anyone?), I can’t help but wonder how Tim Hortons aims to uphold their “Always Fresh” slogan (with questionable typography, I might add) when it’s clear that the ingredients for the B.E.L.T. are anything but fresh in the middle of a Canadian winter. In the past their “freshness” has been called into question with a little doughnut scandal: apparently they were being baked out east and shipped westward to be warmed up before sale. Maybe the Tim Hortons idea of “fresh” is more to do with not being “canned, frozen or otherwise preserved” and less to do with being “recently made or obtained” (fresh, Oxford American Dictionaries).
Continue reading “Always Fresh?” »
