I have never gone this long without having a job; well at least since before I was legal to have a job, at 15. And instead of loving having all this free time, I am starting to go insane! I am the kind of person that likes to be busy, with new things happening every day, and of course a few hours of relaxation is nice ;). But I have gone since June without work. I must add that the first 3 months I was spending traveling and having fun... but as you know I moved down to Arizona to be with Erik in October, with no prior plans of a job down here. But with the luck I used to have finding jobs in the past, I figured everything would be fine; I was bound to get something! But I have actively been searching for 4 straight months and: nothing.
I graduated with a Wildlife degree, and there is not much down here in the midst of that... and I knew that coming down here. I just figured something would turn up by now. I have applied to a few wildlife jobs, but nothing really stands out, and no one is actually hiring. I have sorta become desperate and have applied to bookstores, and veterinary hospitals (10 total today). I'm sticking with places that are appealing to me, in this area, but everything else is sales! Big corporate businesses that I could never see myself working in. With the economy the way it is, there are few businesses actually hiring; most are laying off. Intel (where Erik works) will be laying off a lot of people in a couple weeks. I don't think he'll have a problem though since he is so new and fresh, and they'd rather get rid of the old. And he's a good worker.
Anyway, I am just writing this in hope that since I've kept it secret for so long that I'm FAILING AT LIFE (just kidding)... that maybe a door will be open tomorrow or the next day for me. You never know.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
New Years Resolution: NO MORE MEAT!
I have always wanted to become a vegetarian, and I am finally making it official as my New Years Resolution of 2009. I have never liked red meat, and usually when looking through a menu, something with poultry or pork is the last thing I would pick. So I know it won't be hard for me. But I guess I am considered a semi-vegetarian, or "pescetarian", since I am still allowing myself to eat fish and shellfish, as long as they are not farm raised.
There are a number of reasons I have decided to do this. I have always been an animal lover, and Earth freak. My biggest reason is ethics. I believe that the production and slaughtering of animals is unethical, and I have seen first-hand behind the scenes in farming facilities and slaughterhouses, and it was really awful to me. Chickens are penned up in pens no larger than their own bodies, and their feet actually grow into the pen. Their beaks have to be cut off so they don't peck at each other, and they can't even turn around. They live like this until they are killed. Then when they're slaughtered, they are dipped in boiling water to loosen their feathers, and sometimes they don't even fully die, and suffer. Same goes for cows. They are kept in a stall so small they can't turn around, and after seeing how they slaughter them in an animal science class in 2004, I never wanted to eat meat again... That lasted 6 months, but when I worked at Reds Meadow, since all they really serve are meaty meals and I was working 11 hours a day with no rest, I needed the extra protein.
Another reason is environmental. I believe the production of meat and animal products for mass consumption, especially through factory farming, is environmentally unsustainable. According to a 2006 United Nations initiative, the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation worldwide, and modern practices of raising animals for food contributes on a "massive scale" to air and water pollution, land degradation, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. In addition, animal agriculture has been pointed out as one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases – responsible for 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalents. By comparison, all of the world's transportation (including all cars, trucks, buses, trains, ships, and planes) emits 13.5 percent of the CO2. Animal farming produces 65 percent of human-related nitrous oxide and 37 percent of all human-induced methane. The habitat for wildlife provided by large industrial monoculture farms is very poor, and modern industrial agriculture has been considered a threat to biodiversity compared with farming practices.
Another reason is health. Studies have shown vegetarianism significantly lowers risks of cancer, heart disease, and other fatal diseases. It's been said that vegetarians tend to have lower body mass index, lower levels of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less incidence of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, renal disease, osteoporosis, dementias such as Alzheimer’s Disease and other disorders.
I am still eating fish as long as they are not farmed, and dairy products, just less of them. I will still be getting an adequate amount of proteins and iron, as I know what to subsitute meats for. So don't be worring about me! I know what I'm doing, and I'm proud to do it.
There are a number of reasons I have decided to do this. I have always been an animal lover, and Earth freak. My biggest reason is ethics. I believe that the production and slaughtering of animals is unethical, and I have seen first-hand behind the scenes in farming facilities and slaughterhouses, and it was really awful to me. Chickens are penned up in pens no larger than their own bodies, and their feet actually grow into the pen. Their beaks have to be cut off so they don't peck at each other, and they can't even turn around. They live like this until they are killed. Then when they're slaughtered, they are dipped in boiling water to loosen their feathers, and sometimes they don't even fully die, and suffer. Same goes for cows. They are kept in a stall so small they can't turn around, and after seeing how they slaughter them in an animal science class in 2004, I never wanted to eat meat again... That lasted 6 months, but when I worked at Reds Meadow, since all they really serve are meaty meals and I was working 11 hours a day with no rest, I needed the extra protein.
Another reason is environmental. I believe the production of meat and animal products for mass consumption, especially through factory farming, is environmentally unsustainable. According to a 2006 United Nations initiative, the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation worldwide, and modern practices of raising animals for food contributes on a "massive scale" to air and water pollution, land degradation, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. In addition, animal agriculture has been pointed out as one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases – responsible for 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalents. By comparison, all of the world's transportation (including all cars, trucks, buses, trains, ships, and planes) emits 13.5 percent of the CO2. Animal farming produces 65 percent of human-related nitrous oxide and 37 percent of all human-induced methane. The habitat for wildlife provided by large industrial monoculture farms is very poor, and modern industrial agriculture has been considered a threat to biodiversity compared with farming practices.
Another reason is health. Studies have shown vegetarianism significantly lowers risks of cancer, heart disease, and other fatal diseases. It's been said that vegetarians tend to have lower body mass index, lower levels of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less incidence of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, renal disease, osteoporosis, dementias such as Alzheimer’s Disease and other disorders.
I am still eating fish as long as they are not farmed, and dairy products, just less of them. I will still be getting an adequate amount of proteins and iron, as I know what to subsitute meats for. So don't be worring about me! I know what I'm doing, and I'm proud to do it.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Recap of 2008
I thought I would say a "farewell" to 2008 by giving a recap on the happenings! 2008 was probably the biggest year for me in my life. I graduated from college proudly with a Bachelor's Degree in Wildlife in December of 2007, and was soon after accepted into a job working for Oregon State University in Newport, OR studying the migration patterns of gray whales. I didn't think it would be that easy to get into a decent paying job right out of college, and felt so lucky. I moved into a huge house just a block from the beach with 2 roommates, with a view of the lighthouse, and life was amazing! I got to experience whale watching and acquired a great fond of bald eagles, as there were at least 4 living in the area that we observed every day.
The job was only granted a 6 month contract though, and sadly I had to leave it May 30th. I was happy at the time to be done with the job, since I had so many plans for the summer. First Erik and I went camping together in his freshly running '74 VW Bus, to Detroit Lake and Silver Falls State Park. He had bought the bus not running, and fixed it up himself.
This was followed by taking a road trip with my friend Sheila to the Sierra Nevadas, CA, where my dad manages a resort, Reds Meadow. I have practically grown up there since I have gone every summer of my life (skipping a few when I was really young) and first learned to ride horses and discover my love for nature and wildlife. I visited my old friends and even took a few rides out for a little tip money ;).
Soon after our little trip to CA, my next stop was Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, where I went for the first time in my life with my grandma, aunt and cousin on my dad's side. It is such an amazing place, I just wish it wasn't so freaking crowded with people! We went in July, which is probably the worst time to go because of crowds, but it was still worth it. We were there for 10 days which was a perfect amount of time. We saw everything we came to see and more. I can't even go into too much detail about the place since it was so amazing to me and it would take up this entire webpage, but we definitely had our share of experiences there with both wildlife and nature. I just have to say, if you have not gone, you must.
After getting back from Yellowstone, Erik and I went to the coast for our last little bit of time together before he had to move to Arizona. He had been called for an interview about a month before he even graduated from college for a job with Intel, and was accepted soon after, so how could he not take it? And since distance with us is so difficult, we both new deep down it wouldn't work between us, so it was a hard time for me that last weekend. Our last day at the coast, he asked me if I would like to take a little road trip. Well that meant driving down with him in his VW bus from Oregon to Arizona! I said yes of course, and we left the next day.
We took the Sierra Nevada route, and went by Reds Meadow again, after camping and exploring Yosemite for 2 nights, and then made our way around Death Valley (no air conditioning, so we avoided it as much as possible!) and to Vegas where we stayed one night at the MGM Grand, which was great after sleeping in a van the last 3 nights! It was my first time to Vegas, and unfortunately since we were both broke, we didn't do or spend much, but we still had fun. My favorite casino was definitely Paris!
The job was only granted a 6 month contract though, and sadly I had to leave it May 30th. I was happy at the time to be done with the job, since I had so many plans for the summer. First Erik and I went camping together in his freshly running '74 VW Bus, to Detroit Lake and Silver Falls State Park. He had bought the bus not running, and fixed it up himself.
This was followed by taking a road trip with my friend Sheila to the Sierra Nevadas, CA, where my dad manages a resort, Reds Meadow. I have practically grown up there since I have gone every summer of my life (skipping a few when I was really young) and first learned to ride horses and discover my love for nature and wildlife. I visited my old friends and even took a few rides out for a little tip money ;).
Soon after our little trip to CA, my next stop was Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, where I went for the first time in my life with my grandma, aunt and cousin on my dad's side. It is such an amazing place, I just wish it wasn't so freaking crowded with people! We went in July, which is probably the worst time to go because of crowds, but it was still worth it. We were there for 10 days which was a perfect amount of time. We saw everything we came to see and more. I can't even go into too much detail about the place since it was so amazing to me and it would take up this entire webpage, but we definitely had our share of experiences there with both wildlife and nature. I just have to say, if you have not gone, you must.
After getting back from Yellowstone, Erik and I went to the coast for our last little bit of time together before he had to move to Arizona. He had been called for an interview about a month before he even graduated from college for a job with Intel, and was accepted soon after, so how could he not take it? And since distance with us is so difficult, we both new deep down it wouldn't work between us, so it was a hard time for me that last weekend. Our last day at the coast, he asked me if I would like to take a little road trip. Well that meant driving down with him in his VW bus from Oregon to Arizona! I said yes of course, and we left the next day.
We took the Sierra Nevada route, and went by Reds Meadow again, after camping and exploring Yosemite for 2 nights, and then made our way around Death Valley (no air conditioning, so we avoided it as much as possible!) and to Vegas where we stayed one night at the MGM Grand, which was great after sleeping in a van the last 3 nights! It was my first time to Vegas, and unfortunately since we were both broke, we didn't do or spend much, but we still had fun. My favorite casino was definitely Paris!
After getting to Phoenix with no bus troubles whatsoever, Erik and I spent 4 more days together finding things to do around Tempe. It reached 115 degrees, and not having air conditioning in the bus made it very hard to get around and see things! I also started to get very moody because I new we would have to say goodbye soon, for a very long time, and with the possibility of having to end our relationship because of the distance. The last day was very hard for me, as I am the worst at goodbyes. I flew back to Oregon after a great trip together that I will never forget.
A month went by, and during that time Erik and I tried to make it work as hard as we could, but things were getting harder and harder. I was not finding a job, I hated living back at my mom's after not living there for 5 years, and I was just in a bad place in life where time stood completely still. I'd never experienced that before, and I hated it. I've always been so lucky with jobs, and not having one was driving me insane, not to mention Erik's and my relationship falling apart. I needed to get out of Oregon, and start over. Finally Erik invited me to come down and live with him, and I did so in 2 weeks. In those 2 weeks, I had taken all of my things out of storage where my entire apartment had been the last 6 months, set up a garage sale all by myself and sold all my stuff for $300, giving the remains away to the Humane Society Donation Center. I only kept what I could shove into my little VW Jetta that Erik and I would drive down in together in 2 days. It was a very exciting, fast-paced couple of weeks. I knew it would be hard for me to find a job in my field in Arizona, but it was worth it to me to save Erik's and my relationship. I guess I'm in love ;).
So, this is where I started my blog. My first day in Arizona was my first blog on Hug a Cactus, and it goes on from there to finish off 2008. It was a great year, so full of every up and down, and so many different experiences! I'm really hoping that 2009 will be just as great, if not even better, and I hope the same for you!
Happy New Year.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
A Very White Christmas!
Well I must appologize it's been two weeks since my last posting! Soon after going to the Grand Canyon, I went home to Salem to have Christmas with the family. I was one of the very lucky ones who only had a delayed flight, and no cancelations. Erik was not so lucky, and since he was planning on coming home three days after me, he had 2 cancelations in a row, followed by being stranded in Salt Lake City. He did get a flight into Eugene though, a day later than he had hoped to get home, and got a ride to Salem.
It was so wonderful coming home to almost a foot of snow! Salem hadn't had a white christmas since 1990, the first year we moved to Salem. So I immediately took advantage of the wintery wonderland, and went out with my dog. For those of you that have long-haired dogs and snowy winters, you'd know that snow gathers on the hair on their legs like snowballs, and just get bigger and bigger until they can no longer pick up their feet! Poor Hoss only got to this point about 2 blocks away where we had to turn around and go back.
The next day we had an ice storm, which I enjoy because of the beauty, but it really sucks trying to get anywhere. Many people were hospitalized due to falls and car accidents, and a lot of people didn't get to finish their last minute Christmas shopping.
And because of this ice storm, Erik couldn't come home yet, and our power went out for 3 miserable days. (The picture above of the fallen tree is the culprit.) It got down to 47 degrees in the house, and we had to decorate our tree in the dark :(. Apparently about 1400 people were out of power in Salem for at least 8 hours. I'm just happy it came back just in time for Christmas Eve cooking so we could eat a huge hot meal of my Granny's traditional Christmas dinner: ham, yams, potatoes, green beans with almonds, rolls and jello salad, all of which I made (except for the smoked ham, Tom did that) all by myself ;).
The next morning we awoke to snow on the ground (yay!) and my Gran and Bump came over for presents. This was the first Chritmas we were able to have them since 1993, so it was great having them with us. Hoss even helped my gpa open his present!
It was so wonderful coming home to almost a foot of snow! Salem hadn't had a white christmas since 1990, the first year we moved to Salem. So I immediately took advantage of the wintery wonderland, and went out with my dog. For those of you that have long-haired dogs and snowy winters, you'd know that snow gathers on the hair on their legs like snowballs, and just get bigger and bigger until they can no longer pick up their feet! Poor Hoss only got to this point about 2 blocks away where we had to turn around and go back.
The next day we had an ice storm, which I enjoy because of the beauty, but it really sucks trying to get anywhere. Many people were hospitalized due to falls and car accidents, and a lot of people didn't get to finish their last minute Christmas shopping.
And because of this ice storm, Erik couldn't come home yet, and our power went out for 3 miserable days. (The picture above of the fallen tree is the culprit.) It got down to 47 degrees in the house, and we had to decorate our tree in the dark :(. Apparently about 1400 people were out of power in Salem for at least 8 hours. I'm just happy it came back just in time for Christmas Eve cooking so we could eat a huge hot meal of my Granny's traditional Christmas dinner: ham, yams, potatoes, green beans with almonds, rolls and jello salad, all of which I made (except for the smoked ham, Tom did that) all by myself ;).
The next morning we awoke to snow on the ground (yay!) and my Gran and Bump came over for presents. This was the first Chritmas we were able to have them since 1993, so it was great having them with us. Hoss even helped my gpa open his present!
It did turn out to be a very nice Christmas, and I'm glad the ice storm left us just in time. Hope you all had a great Christmas as well!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The Grand Canyon!
This last weekend Erik and I met his parents up in Sedona, AZ (about 115 miles North of Phoenix) where they were staying the past week at a resort. The whole area is completely different from Phoenix. The elevation is about 3000ft higher, so it was felt more like winter there! The area is so amazing. Sedona is quite the resort town, with little shops and hotels along the strip. Beautiful Red Rock was all around us. They are all completely different, with names very fitting, such as "Coffee Pot", "Bell Rock", and even "Linus and Lucy" and "Snoopy and Woodstock".
Erik's parents kept good care of us while we were there and spoiled us with 4 big meals that Sedona Restaurants had to offer. I highly recommend ordering the belgian waffle at The Coffee Pot Restaurant. They also drove us all around the area to show us different sites, and tell us about the dino tracks, hiking trails, and "vortexes" (nothing like the Oregon Vortex I must add!) Sedona also still had leaves on most of the deciduous trees, so this left for a very nice view of colors in the valley.
Well the biggest reason to go North, was to of course see the Grand Canyon! The drive to the canyon was pretty cool, because of how different the land seems from just 200 miles to the South, in Phoenix. The Flagstaff area reminds me a lot of Central Oregon, with a lot of Ponderosa Pine and Juniper, as opposed to nothing but cactus and sagebrush in Phoenix. There of course is a lot more wildlife there, with mule deer, elk, and even black bear. And as a side-note, driving along the interstate we almost hit a tumbleweed the size of our car...
When we reached the Grand Canyon, it was very cloudy. But it cleared away fast because the winds were blowing between 20 and 40mph, with gusts up to 60mph! There were moments we were almost blown over. So with the cold winter weather, adding wind chill, the temperature was around freezing. So you can see why we are all bundled up ;) (P.S. the low that night was 1 degree, and it snowed 3 inches.)
It was jaw-dropping. It was my first time ever going to the Grand Canyon, and it was much more amazing than I imagined. I thought we were going to go and do the Chevy Chase bit in "Vacation" and walk up to the edge, stand there for 2 seconds and go "ok, I've seen it", but it was much more amazing than that. We stopped at every lookout we could, since every view was completely different. It was so picturesque, and almost unreal. I felt like I was staring into a large photograph. Erik and I will definitely be going back in the spring, and do some hiking, and for SURE some mule-back riding down to the bottom!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The Arizona "Hippie"
Today at Walmart I saw a personalized licence plate on a huge over-sized gas-guzzling truck that read "Protect our Environment". Are you freaking KIDDING me?? It might as well have been a Hummer driver shopping for organic foods. And I must add there are plenty of those people down here.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Thanksgiving!
I just spent the last week and a half all over the place... Let's see... Started out in Tucson, AZ for the OSU/UofA game, where the Beavers ROCKED IT!
Then had FriendsGiving at a friends house where I got to meet a lot more people our age from the area (Intel people and their girlfriends/wives). Then Erik and I flew into Oregon on the 24th. I had a great time catching up with the fam and friends, and cooking most of the Thanksgiving meals (Tom did the smoked turkey and desert (pumpkin crembule), and I did the rest: mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans w/almonds, etc.) We had my grandparents over, who haven't had Thanksgiving in Oregon since the early 90's! It was perfect. As you can see my Gpa, "Bumper", loved the turkey!
That weekend Erik and I went to Newport, OR to camp in a yurt (see image below) and go crabbing with 6 other friends from Corvallis. We had a blast, although we had the worst luck ever that weekend! The Beavers LOST the Civil War game horribly (if they had won we would have had a big chance at the Rose Bowl), the girls lost all our money at the casino, the racoons ate our apple pie (yes, Kevin did leave it out on the porch while we were gone), and after 5 hours of crabbing, the guys only caught ONE CRAB! Pretty lame. But the weather was beautiful and the company was great.
After getting back in Salem, my Uncle Mike and I helped my grandparents get organized in their NEW HOME. For those of you family members reading this, I will be sure and take pictures of it for you when it's all finished (when I go back for Christmas). It is SO much nicer than their other place. This is more of a house than an apartment; it has a large living room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a FULL KITCHEN which of course Bumper LOVES, a gas fireplace, and get a load of the backyard: a duck pond with a waterfall in view of their living room window, with 2 swans that hang out there almost every day. It's wonderful. They are both so much happier.
So that was the end of a great week. Now Erik and I are back in Arizona, with him working and me getting back to figuring out things to do around here!
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