Thursday, August 16, 2007

Tag I'm It

I was tagged by Sarah! Here are the NEW (Rachelle) rules:

-Let others know who tagged you. -Players answer questions about themselves Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 questions and answers. -Players should tag 3 or more people and tell them they’ve been tagged.

1. one thing people might not know about you:

I started snowboarding 16 years ago when I was 14. Nothing made me happier than to be out on the slopes for a day, listening to music and flying down the hill. Back then, in the very beginning, you could be out all day long and see almost no other girls on boards. I started because my brother was a snowboarder and I wanted a change from skiing. My parents would take us up to our house in Harbor Springs most weekends in the winter and would leave us at Boyne Highlands for the day. It was great. I remember the first time I bought snowboarding pants and a jacket, there really weren't even girls clothing then, I had to buy giant guy stuff. I love my board, I still have her and will never trade her in. Apparently the board has now been reissued as a "Retro". She's a Burton Twin Tip 139. I was a jibber I suppose. Or at least I attempted to be one. Oh to be young again........
2. the best invention ever is: I have to go with Sarah on this one, definitly the internet. It connects people, it educates, it entertains. If I had to pick a second answer that was my own though, I guess it would be... air travel. Even though flying isn't my favorite activity, how amazing is it that you can wake up in Detroit, hop on a plane and be in San Francisco for lunch! It made the world so much smaller.
3. in my next house, i vow: Live downtown. I loved living in SF because you could walk out your door and go to the neighborhood market, coffee shop, cleaners, etc. We have an easy walk to downtown now, but it's not quite the same. Walkable communities are really important to me. I don't like suburban sprawl.
4. in my next life, i vow:
To come back in Europe somewhere. I'd like to be European next time. I'm kind of tired of American culture and society. I would still like to be a girl if I could chose. Of course London would be nice, but I am interested in the lifestyles of Scandinavians. I don't know what really happens when we pass away, and I'm sorry, but nobody really knows what happens with 100% certainty. That's part of the human condition, so far, we just don't know the answers to some things. Personally, my gut instinct says that there is reincarnation. I'm betting on it. Actually, I think that there is a possibility that something different happens for each of us, that maybe we can chose to stay or come back Scandinavian.
5. if i had nothing else to do i would be happy:
Walking the grounds of Cranbrook or sitting in my house alone all day, with the phone turned off.
6. my dream date would be:
Flying to San Francisco for the weekend and hitting up all of our old favorite restaurants, coffee shops and stores. And HERE and HERE and HERE!
7. one thing i do and one thing i will try to do to make our planet greener:
I try. I recycle, buy organic, have some compact fluorescent, don't drive a gas guzzler... I want to start a campaign to get Starbucks to recycle. Can you believe it, I asked a few weeks ago if Starbucks recycles their glass bottles and they said "no"!!!!!
8. one thing that astonishes me and one thing that amazes me:
I am astonished that sometimes humans go through life without really questioning things. That there are still people, in 2007, in the United Sates, let alone in the world, that don't have enough food or clean water to drink. That our current president was elected .
I am amazed that I was born in this day and age, in this country, to my parents, which has so far allowed me to have an interesting life, without major hardship and has been full of freedom and opportunity . I am very very thankful. I am amazed by some people's kindness and selflessness.


Now I will tag Jon, Magdalena and Jeremy.

3 comments:

Judy said...

I'm not a fan of the suburban sprawl either, even though I'm on the cusp of it here. Downtown living is so much more FUN. However, downtown living HERE isn't. Which is why I live where I do.

I knew there was a reason I didn't go to Starbucks! They need to recycle!

daedra said...

The husband in my current bradley class is the assitant manager at the starbucks at somerset. he said that they use the most plastic cups when they give away free water to mall employees. He personally has started to ask each person to bring in a cup or bring back their original cup for a refill to save on waste. Pretty cool, huh!

Jeremy said...

Go green!

There is no reason why people can't be using compact fluorescent bulbs and being smarter about their energy consumption.

People complain about the expense, but I find deals all the time at Target, Home Depot, and Lowes on energy saving bulbs.

Also, knowing the energy consumption of your household appliances makes a huge difference. Have a 15 year old fridge? It could be costing you twice as much a year to run than a newer model.

Also, if you have DTE energy, call them up and ask that your energy consumption is offset by renewable energy sources such as wind, geothermal and hydro. It's only a few extra bucks a month, but it makes me feel better knowing I'm not burning coal.

July bill 2004: $228

What I paid this July: $76