On Being Fair

I was just thinking about Daylight Savings Time yesterday and how much I loathe it...

A few days ago, my wonderful wife went to the laundromat. She's a brave soul, to say the least. I guess she doesn't want us smelling like skunks at school, though, so it makes sense. And because she was busy making sure nobody stole our clothes, I was left alone to run some errands.

The first thing you need to know in this situation is that the idea of me "running errands" (a.k.a. going to the store) is a terrible idea. I don't know my right from my left at the store. My wife does all of the shopping and does a mighty fine job at it. Why mess with a good thing?

In this case, though, desperate times called for desperate measures. You see, I ran out of coffee Friday morning. And although my wonderful wife brought me a cup from the Kwikshop down the street, that wasn't going to cut it past that morning. I can't help it - I tend to be a coffee snob most days.

So I braved the journey to Dillon's, where I proceeded to walk to the wrong end of the store for the coffee. After finding my way back to the aisle of liquid gold, I started searching high and low. For what? you might be asking. Well, you see, coffee buying is an art. It takes time, precision, a good eye, and patience. Okay, so maybe it's not that difficult - I just make it that hard.

Seriously, though, I did have to look pretty hard for some coffee that I could purchase. You see, Goal #62 on my 111 in 2011 demands that I look high and low: I'm only supposed to buy Fair Trade coffee this year.

So what's the big deal with Fair Trade? Well, think of it this way...

I have something I want to sell that I've hand-crafted. Let's say I built a time machine and I'm trying to sell it (YES!). I search high and low for people to buy my time machine, and since I'm ignorant of the market for such things, I latch on to the first buyer I can find. The company offers me what seems like a pretty fair price, so I take it, happy to have made a few dollars so I can feed my family.

In the process, I think this whole time machine business might actually be viable, so I decide to build another. Except it seems like, oddly enough, that I have even less money than I did before after I finish building my second time machine. Something isn't quite adding up here...

But I sell the second one to the first buyer because, once again, I need to feed my family. And again, I go to build another time machine with even less money.

So maybe the time machine example is a bit outrageous. But you get the point. If I build time machines, but have no way to know how much they're selling for, I have no leverage. And frankly, putting food on the table for my family is much more important to me than anything else, so I'll take any offer I can get for those things. People can take advantage of my family and me without me ever knowing.

This is where Fair Trade comes into the mix. If I decided to begin participating in Fair Trade time machine building, I would be given a reasonable, sustainable offer on the work that I do. There's a global standard set so that people can't rip me off. This allows my business to become more sustainable while allowing me to feed my family. Heck, this might even let me send one of my kids to school this year instead of staying home to help out with those wretched machines!

Per the Fair Trade USA website:

Most small-scale coffee farmers live in remote locations and typically have no access to the world market, nor knowledge of trends in their industry. Farmers often sell their coffee at a fraction of its worth, which leaves them unable to invest in sustainable farming methods and forces them to lean heavily on their own children of help. When children are required to work, instead of going to school, the cycle of poverty perpetuates.

Now I realize that counter-arguments exist. And I don't have answers for all of them. But here's what I do know:

• I'm one the richest people in the world.

• With great power, comes great responsibility.

• Thus, I must consciously choose to be responsible with every dollar I spend, because every dollar is a vote for something. If I am lax in my responsibility as someone with such great power in this world, somebody will be impacted, and most likely not for the positive.

My line of reasoning may seem futile to some, but I believe that true change begins with one person. If I, as on person, choose to vote with every dollar that I spend, instead of passively spending and hoping everything turns out alright, change will eventually come. I believe that choosing to spend my money responsibly is better than choosing to ignore my responsibility. Especially as someone whose belief system says to care for the poor and the oppressed.

Now I'm not really one to beg, but I'd ask you to at least consider what I'm talking about here. Consider what you're voting for with every dollar you spend. Consider the impact of your spending habits. Consider the fact that you could effect positive change in the lives of others simply by being more aware of the products you choose to buy.

Here are a couple of resources to help you in this:
Better World Shopper 
Fair Trade USA 

Question(s): What do you think about the idea that every dollar you spend is a vote? Have you ever considered responsibility in your spending habits? What's something tangible that you can do this month to spend your money more responsibly?

I'm Getting Old

Alright, I'm not usually one to go on about the weather, but this heat is getting a bit out of control. I thought hurricanes were supposed to cool down the country, not cause a heat stroke!

I've come to a sad realization over the last couple of weeks as school has started: 

I'm getting old, people.

Yeah, yeah. I know. You're probably scrambling, trying to figure out my age so you can decide if I'm crazy. And I'll just help you out here. I'm all of 21 years old. 21 and a half, if we want to get technical.

And sadly, I'm starting to feel old. Why? Well there's a ridiculous number of possibilities.

Possibility #1: I start my day before the sun comes up, which can mean rising from anytime between 4 AM to 6 AM. Around a college town, those are the "forbidden hours." You're only awake because some demented teacher actually wants to push you to learn and grow and actually get something from your $60,000 education. Or because you took a No-Doz a little too late.

Possibility #2: My ridiculously early day doesn't start without coffee. Even today, when my apartment feels like a furnace. If I don't get my coffee (or some ample substitute, for instance, chocolate milk), then please understand why there's a permanent scowl on my face throughout the day.

Possibility #3: If we're going to be obvious here, my lungs are old and decrepit. I do believe my last lung function test described my "Lung Age" as ">84 years old." Ouch.

None of these, though, really make me feel old. I like to think these things make me "unique."

No, it's not until I went to write this blog post that I started to feel old. And then Blogger had to go and say, "Hey, do you want to try out our new interface?" And of course I was curious, so I checked it out.

My first thought?

Why the crap does all this new-fangled stuff keep coming out and all my beloved old stuff keep changing?!

The first indicator of my early-onset old age would probably have to be my unnecessary use of the word "new-fangled." But beyond that...

Seriously, I just can't keep up with everything new! 

First off, it's a new school year. New classes. New teachers. To boot, we have a new system to manage our online classes, which is much more painful as a work-study than as a student. This is followed by other new programs, like Spotify or Google Plus. Or old, reliable programs, like Facebook or Blogger, changing themselves around to look new.

And it's only the second week of school!

So, sadly, I feel myself aging. My initial reaction is frustration, because my heart longs for things to remain where they are. My mind is simply searching for a constant, something, anything that won't change in this world. And frankly, nothing can be found.

So I guess I'm already getting old. In ten or twenty years, I can't even imagine what things are going to be like. I suppose I should probably learn to let go and keep learning. But it's stinking hard.

And gosh darn it, isn't life hard enough without Facebook changing every 2 weeks?!

Question: Have you noticed this trend in your own life? Do you sometimes miss "the way things were?" How have you learned to move on? 

Grateful

So my breathing machine broke and I had to replace it. The thing I'm most disappointed about? It had really cool stickers on it.

It's Thursday... err... I mean... Friday! 

This whole 4 day week thing has thrown me for a loop.

And, as you should know (if you don't, I'll forgive you this once), Friday means something pretty special around here!

It's time for Five Minute Friday!

Here's the 411 (courtesy of The Gypsy Mama), in case you're new to this:

First Rule - Write for 5 minutes flat with no editing, tweaking or self critiquing.

Second Rule - Link back to The Gypsy Mama and invite others to join in.

Third Rule - Go and tell the person who linked up before you what their words meant to you. Every writer longs to feel heard.

Pretty simple, eh? Give it a shot!

This week's prompt?

Grateful

On your mark... Get set... GO!

There's no way on God's green Earth that this is fair. I need 50 minutes to write on this, not just five!

Gratitude is something I've been taught by God since I began a relationship with him. A lot of pretty crappy, sucky stuff has happened over the last few years, and that grateful attitude that he taught me early on really helped push me through (and is continuing to help me to this day).

Something I learned early on was the habit of making lists of things I was thankful for. I've definitely fallen out of that habit (I don't remember the last time I did that), but it's really cool to look back and see how many good things God gives us each and every day.

So today, since I'm only allowed five minutes to talk about how stinking grateful I am, I'm going to make a list!

Here are just a few things I'm grateful for:

You. Without you being here to read all of this gibberish, I wouldn't be able to keep writing. I love writing, but more than anything, I love communicating, and that's a two-way street.

My wife. If it weren't for her, I'd be curled up in the fetal position most days, hiding in a dark corner waiting for someone to find me. Just kidding. But she is pretty awesome.

My fam.

This new medicine that has helped so much.

My new doctor.

My internship.

My education.

My wealth - both worldly and spiritual.

My life. I'm reminded each and every day that I'm alive for a reason. God didn't have to help me fight through these diseases if he didn't want to.

STOP!

Okay, not fair at all. I had a million things running through my head, colliding into each other, causing all kinds of chaos in that five minutes. And I didn't even get to mention one of my favorite things to be thankful for...

COFFEE!

Suffice it to say that this blog wouldn't exist without coffee. 

Anyway... That's my Five Minute Friday for this week! Give it a shot... if you're up to the challenge!

What are you grateful for today? Are there things in your life that you sometimes take for granted that are there every day? What are some of those things? I'd love to hear from you about this (or anything else, for that matter!). Just a comment and/or shoot me an e-mail!

Well, This is No Good

I figured out yesterday that I spend almost 10 hours a day hooked up to machines for my health. Insane!

As I opened my eyes this morning, I was a little tired.

I rolled over, checked out the time on my phone (6:30 AM, as always - with no alarm), and crawled out of bed.

I sort of half-walked, half-slept my way into the kitchen, ready to start another day. But not before I made myself a cup of coffee. Days don't actually start until that first sip, don't ya know?

I prepared the coffee as usual. Empty old grinds. Put in new ones. Insert into Keurig. Press a button and wait.

I left the kitchen, knowing full well that when I returned in a minute, I'd have a piping hot cup of coffee waiting to be consumed.

What I found, instead, almost ruined my morning...

an empty cup of coffee!

7 of 111: Goal 90

It's a beautiful Friday morning.

(The imperative word here is Friday, in case you missed it.)

Actually, I like most mornings. I'm not really sure that I'm a morning person, because my wife has an abnormal fear of waking me in the morning. But, regardless of her (most likely justified) paranoia, I enjoy my mornings.

Okay, I lied. Just a little.

When I say "I enjoy my mornings," what I'm really saying is double-speak. It's something more like...

"I enjoy a little time by myself, which only seems to happen early on in the day. And I REALLY like coffee and waking up is a great excuse to enjoy it."

Don't tell my mom, but when I was a kid, I hated coffee. Everything about it disgusted me. The smell, the look, the taste, the way it made your breath stank (and no, that's not a typo). It grossed me out, and I swore on some meaningless moniker that I would never drink coffee.

Boy, was I wrong. And my deepest apologies to whoever I swore on, as well. Hopefully they don't haunt me in my old age as I continue to enjoy my coffee, even when I can't remember my own name, let alone theirs.

I was so wrong, in fact, that I made it a goal this year to drink 5 cups of coffee in one day. Now, mind you, I know people who drink whole pots of coffee like their lives depend on it. I, however, cannot do that. My stomach does not expand to the size of a small cow on command, so I am content to have two cups of coffee every morning. 

Okay, maybe 3. 

Sometimes even 4. 

But 5? 

Nah. Don't even go there...