A Less-Trampled Path

So here's the deal. I'm back to blogging again. And once again, I'm serious about it (haha). I think this time it might stick. True, I've said this before. There's truly only one way to find out.

Sustainability is quite the catch-phrase these days, in this post-millennial, greenified world. First there was Al Gore, then Elphaba. Next, Lady Gaga will premiere her new Lady Gaia costume and become the first (?) international Green Revolution icon. I was a history major. I know all about using the figure of a woman as the symbol of a true revolution. I'm down.

I'm so “down,” in fact, that I'm prepared to put it onto the vast Internetverse. I know that Blogs are rather Old-School. Still, I shall persevere. Given my circumstances, I'd consider this a rather advanced personal technological achievement. Don't mock me. Just keep reading!

In trying to trace the root of this sudden zeal, I realized a few of the doubtless numerous and otherwise unnoticed influences upon my life. My new husband, Sean, is something of a zombie aficionado. What began as a kitchy interest and collection theme has blossomed into a fully fledged state of paranoia regarding the (most definitely real) zombie apocalypse. I'm yet skeptical, but anything is possible. Or, maybe this sprouts from his interest in the spread of diseases and epidemiology.

He's truly not insane, I promise. Or, are we both?

We've both recently graduated. In college, I became very involved in things. I worked at the library and joined a few honors societies, which I had some part in governing. I was a bit of a departmental starlet, although it seems very awkward (yet right) to call myself so. Harlot, sometimes. I studied creative non-fiction under one of the most influential women of my life. I became the aforementioned history major, in addition to majoring in English. I was on the fast-track to a career in retail and freelance, most likely.

Goodness, how true it's become!

I started to make friends with a fascinatingly diverse group of people. I found the most excellent mentors and academics available, there. And even more – they're actually invested in their students as individuals and future colleagues. It was flattering, startling, and emboldening. I'm truly lucky/blessed/______ to have been where I've been.

It goes deeper and deeper, I'm realizing while I write and reminisce. I used to spend my playtime, nearly every day, outside under the Texas sun. My dad's a gardener. Really, each relative I'm fortunate enough to have has influenced me toward this in some way or another. Really, all of you. Thank you.

Ah, I'm rambling. If anyone cares about the rest of the story, comment one day far into the future and I'll tell you more. I don't have time to dawdle!

What's in the Green Bag:
- Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation, by Jason Mattera
- Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future, by Bill McKibben
(I found this through a recent NYTimes review of Eaarth, and am simply stunned by the number of things I do not know, or simply have not paused to consider!)
- The End of Nature, by Bill McKibben
- The Age of Missing Information, by Bill McKibben
- Green Guide: The Complete Reference for Consuming Wisely (endorsed by NatGeo)
- Worms Eat My Garbage, by Appelhof (Sean's book, and by a local author!)
- Watershed: The Undamming of America, by Elizabeth Grossman
- Meditations from the Mat, by Gates aand Kenison
- A Few Brass Tacks, by Louis Bromfield
(I just happened upon this at work, and was astounded by the "Apologia" at the beginning. I'll post a version of it soon!)
- The Sunflower Forest: Ecological Restoration and the New Communion with Nature, by William R. Jordan III
(Ecological Restoration. Now, why haven't I heard of THIS before?)
- August Celebration: A Molecule of Hope for a Changing World, by Linda Grovner
(Another wildcard find from The Curious Book Shop!)
- The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces of an Active Life

One of my major problems is handling the barrage of information coming down all around me. Learning about so many new things at once is exhilarating and overwhelming. I'm coping with it in the only way I know how - by writing. My journal has become a good commonplace book over the last few weks, but I can recognize a situation which calls for a keyboard and forum.

The time, dear reader, is now.