Not so Zippy

Taking a break from the "Is it Safe" Series...

While doing my daily browse of today’s news, I came across an article about the link between car access and poverty reduction. The article implied that poorer families would benefit more with a car of their own instead of just relying on public transportation. Easy access to a car can increase chances of having a good job, provide reliability in emergency situations, and save time and energy which, in turn, can reduce health issues. The problem is that cities, like Washington DC, are angling more towards public transportation and bike sharing.  So what does that mean for the poor areas of the city?

I am not a keen observer of studies about poverty, but it does peak my interest from time to time. When I started to discuss the article with my mother, pointing out the problem of the new transportation movement towards bikes and public transportation, my mother reminded me about Zipcars and other car sharing options. Since I have a car of my own I haven’t had the need to look into the option. After looking at Zipcars’ website, I found out that it is pretty revolutionary… 

Zipcar is a car sharing company that operates in several major cities in the US and Canada, as well as UK and Spain. You can find most of the reserved cars at public transportation hubs like subway stations. The company is pretty tech-savvy so you can make your reservations through mobile apps (just as cool as using the Uber taxi app), but if you don’t have a smart phone you can call as well. Individuals, companies, and universities can sign up for membership. With membership, you get a lot of discounts on entertainment, business start-ups, and free parking (in certain cities). The company boasts that they help a person save an average of $500/month in car expenses because Zipcar takes care of gas, insurance, and minor car maintenance. (However, damages to the car may cost up to $750.) Rates and membership fees are about $8-10/hour (or $84 for the day) but with membership of $6/month the reservation rate is a little bit lower. 

For a person who is on or below the poverty line, Zipcar might not be a beneficial option in my opinion. Although the person does not have to take care of maintenance, insurance, or gas, (and sometimes parking), the person still has to have a cushion of $750 for possible fees. Zipcar charges a fee for things like late returns, low gas (below the 1/4 mark), smoking in the car, and key or Zipcard (your membership card) replacement. There are also damage fees like flat tires, dents, scratches, and third party damages if the car was in an accident on your watch. Another thing about damage fees, if you reserved the car in an unavoidable event, like a flood, hail storm, or hurricane, you still need to pay for any damages to the Zipcar. The fees are not outrageous, but for a person who might be living from paycheck to paycheck it could be. A person who borrows a Zipcar needs to be meticulous in their plans in order to be cost efficient. You can’t just get in a Zipcar and go; You have to reserve ahead of time, be prepared to fill the tank with gas, and return the car to a designated spot before time runs out on your reservation. A person who lives every day in a organized, thought-out schedule probably will be able to use the Zipcar without problem, but I’m concerned that a person who lives in an unstable environment, like those in poor areas, might struggle with the regulations. 

Cities are pushing for more transportation sharing options. Public transportation, bike and car sharing, and upscale taxi service are all good things for a city in my opinion. However, the article in the Washington Post makes a good point about car access and poverty reduction. As I have researched, it has become easier to use a shared car in cities like Washington DC but for those with low income it is a struggle. 

Blah, blah, blah... IT'S COLD!

Wow. It’s 2014. Almost the one year anniversary of my solo trip to Singapore - a step to become independent. Unfortunately, I returned. I was broke, heartbroken, and a little bit broken-in. I learned a lot on my trip about being alone and left to my own devices, but that was to expected. What I didn’t expect was what I found when I returned home… But that’s not why I am writing today. Today is all about how uncool the cold weather is! (Hehehe)

OMG it’s cold outside! I put on at least two layers of clothing, such as socks, scarves, pants (tights or leggings underneath), and I still feel the wind go through me. I know I shouldn’t complain too much because I know it’s worse up in Canada and New York. It’s not easy living in cold weather. Just the other day my neighbor’s house flooded and iced over because her water pipes broke and I hear so many sad stories about house fires due to space heaters. I can’t wait for it to warm back up, but until then I’m grateful for heat in my house and a working oven. 

The cold weather seems bleak but here are some things to brighten your chilly days:

1. Wearing layers - As I said before I wear at least two of everything. I may look ridiculous walking into the office with a granny-style sweater, two scarves wrapped around my face and a coat so long it touches my ankles, but I’M WARM! 
2. Bake food for the week - I say forget about losing weight right now and put on some hibernation fat. Eat, eat, eat! This is probably one of my favorite things to do during the winter because, not only does the oven warm up your house, you also get some awesome treats while staying inside. 
3. Read - Settle into your bed or a nice chair next to a fireplace or a couch with a Snuggie and read SOMETHING. You could read a magazine, a newspaper, the Hunger Games series, a blog(!), but catch up on your reading. While watching TV or an online video might be nice, you will benefit more if you use that brain of yours and imagine what’s happening in the story. Blah, blah, blah. There’s a lot more statistics proving the benefits of reading but the point is when the weather warms up I bet you won’t have enough time to sit down to read. 
4. Play games - If you have children or some form of a family, this is a no brainer. For those who are young, single, and or don’t really want to play with their family you should still look into playing a game. Luminosity is my favorite thing to play, but board games, cards, word puzzles, Wii games, and the like are ways to keep you from catching cabin fever. Another game I like to play: hiding the TV remote. :-P
5. And finally my last suggestion: take pictures - Who knows when the next polar vortex will hit, but those memories of the ugly sweater contest at work, your first burnt batch of peanut butter cookies, and the moments you had playing your own version of the Hunger Games monopoly-style will be forever remembered in pictures. 

   

   My bedroom window during the "Polar Vortex 2014"

   
   
   
   

Yakkity yak! Don't come back!

For a couple of weeks now, I have been reading this book called Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. It's on the suggested reading guide for the Foreign Service Officer Test and since I am taking it in a couple of months it would be beneficial for me to take a look. The book mostly points out things that we do wrong when we try to analyze something quickly, but when we make a quick judgement that results in something good we call that “intuition.” Gladwell tries to breakdown “intuition” so we can call upon it when necessary such as when working in an ER or out on a battlefield. I’ve read several chapters of “thin-slicing” (where you pick out defining factors of a situation), snap decisions, and spontaneity. I am determined to finish the book, but what gave me a huge lightbulb was the idea that to avoid complicating things keep it simple.

Remember those days in school when your teacher would ask you to write an essay? On several occasions I was docked points because my essays were long and mostly boring. Fair enough - I won’t want to read over 100 10-page papers either if they didn’t capture my interest. Then my teachers introduced me to the concept of KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. Much of my writing was wordy so I quickly learned to omit and instill intrigue  Think of Hemingway; his signature writing was very simple and yet he was able to bring you into the story:

“A wine shop was open and I went in for some coffee. It smelled of early morning, of swept dust, spoons in coffee-glasses and the wet circles left by wine glasses.” 

How beautiful is that? It feels like I’m right there with him; walking into the shop, sitting in dust that hadn’t yet settled, and sipping from cups browned from countless uses. (That last sentence took me a while make it flow cause I’m no Ernest Hemingway.)

So this idea of keeping it simple [stupid] is brilliant! And I believe I can apply it to my dating rituals. Dating for me is a difficult concept to grasp and it upsets me when I go on a date. Though it is fun to meet new people, judgement is always on my back and it can be very painful in the end. I would love to just have a simple equation on how to meet your soulmate and I think I found it - KISS. 

In the movie P.S. I Love You, one of the main character’s best friends kept asking men 1) Are you single? 2) Are you strait? 3) Are you working? and then kissing them to see if there was a “spark.” It was funny to see how quickly she narrowed down the possibilities to finally find the man she would marry. She got RESULTS! What amazed me was that there is a similar affect that happens inside the ER, as described from Gladwell’s book, Blink. In order to quickly determine if someone’s chest pain is life threatening a man named Lee Goldman came up with a process to just ask three simple questions and use a heart reader. Then, from the results, doctors were able to tell where patients should go for further diagnosis. This process cut down on time and money, which is exactly what everyone wants! And when it comes to dating, even though this is just a THEORY, I can imagine that you would save yourself from headaches, drama, and draining your wallet. 

So to put this plainly: Stop your yakking and just KISS. 

Alive. And with a new outlook!

Hello, again!

I have been away for almost three months now. Camping did not allow me easy access to post, nor did I have the energy to write a lot.

During my time at the all-girls camp in New Hampshire I became really in tuned with who I am and how I look to others. They say the voice of a child is probably the most truthful voice of reason, so working with children (and some adults who acted like children, not a bad thing though) was quite eye opening. I was surprised that I went through even more soul searching after my isolation in Singapore. However going from the separation of social communication to almost no privacy was, mentally, a war zone. I fought with myself almost every day as I tried to become a friendly bystander instead of a creepy stalker while working every day in the camp office. Children never remembered my name, but that wasn't too much of a hardship. What really brought me down was my socializing with the other staff members. You should take note: if you do not practice socializing daily, you will become "the loser."

Other duly noted epiphanies was my new goal of foreign service. I will be taking the test to become a foreign service officer, however I need to study like my life depends on it. (No joke. Technically it does.) Though I am not as "fresh" as the newly graduated Masters degree holders, I still should try out of principal. I went to school for International Studies - a degree that is popular, but has so many career branches - so it was foolish for me to not pursue it further. However, when I did graduate college I was not in the mindset of making a life, I was more into making a moment. Now I see I DO have the potential to make a life for myself, something that has goals and nice shinny things! All things I don't need a husband or a family to accomplish. I am not a dependent person, no one in my family is, so here I am DECLARING  a new goal, (that is obtainable), to become a foreign service officer. BAM!

...

The night before the last day of camp, everyone on camp was given a "wish boat." We had to write our wish on it and when the sun had set we would sing at the campfire (at our beach front) and set the wish boat into the water with a candle. My wish, which was hastily made, was "Never give up. Always try." I wrote this several times on the wish boat to get my point across. (To who? I don't know.) Just know that I learned at camp that thinking too much can get you into trouble, and a spit second thought can have the most clarity.

Tolls tolls TOLLS

I got a new job for the summer in New Hampshire. Its an office position at a summer camp for girls. I was so excited to find out that I would be working there because I miss camping in the woods and I felt that I needed to get out of my parents house.

Driving up to New Hampshire is no problem for me. I would use my parents' old car and have it there with me for emergencies. Plus I've been craving a good road trip... Even if I'm by myself again.

So I'm already half way there. I'll be spending the night in upstate New York with family and then finishing the journey in the morning. The original route that I had planned was to go through Pennsylvania, visit a friend, and avoid the tolls. This morning, however, I woke up to a text telling me that my friend wouldn't be home when I got to their place so I, without thinking, plugged in my relatives' address in New York and found myself encountering one toll after another, after another! I have already spent at least $23.25 on tolls alone! And now I freak out if I see the purple Eazy-Pass sign (a electronic device that docks the amount from your credit card for the tolls). I do not have an Eazy-Pass because I don't travel toll roads often enough to need one. So now you know why I go crazy about it... And to top it all off... On a highway to Albany I saw a toll booth sign. Not wanting to pay a fine for missing a toll payment I drive to the booths. It was for trucks only. WHO'S HEARD OF TRUCKS ONLY TOLL BOOTHS? Apparently the girl who lives in a city and doesn't drive much.

Welcome to the open roads in America.

P.S. a sign on one of the highways politely reminded me that calling 911 is free. Finally something free!

What the hell is Water?

I saw a man the other day walking down the sidewalk. He was heavily dressed and carried two large, stuffed bags while pushing a cart that looked like it was crammed with his belongings. His salt and pepper hair hung limply on his oily face. He looked tired, but still showed courtesy towards other people walking on the sidewalk with him. All these indications points to this man being homeless.

As the weather turns into a more summery climate, you will see an increase of homeless people walking the streets. I know homeless shelters are still open to all who need it, but most homeless people will wander the streets in search of a way out of their deep chasm of life’s hardships. They will stand on street corners asking for money from anyone with ears. Most of the time, (and I do this too), people will just look forward as they walk by to avoid the awkward eye contact and the cheap lie of “I’m sorry. I don’t have any cash on me.” I don’t always do this, and sometimes I even go out of my way to find a dollar for a person who sits on the streets desperately begging for some charity, but sometimes it is necessary to keep walking in order to get by in a large city. No one is a saint every day of his or her life.

May is the month where college and university graduates listen to commencement speeches about what they need to be aware of as they take their shinny new degrees into the “real world.” I like listening to these speeches because they provide self-motivation and memories that one may have forgotten during their own graduation from school. Nostalgia sometimes gets the best of me and I cry like a baby, missing the good ol’ days of less responsibility. Other times I find great inspiration…

There is this one speech titled “This is water” by David Foster Wallace given to the graduating class of 2005 at Kenyon College. The whole speech is relatable and poetic. He draws you into the world of “reality” and gives you the option of changing your thought process.

Opened up a can of Culture Shock!

I returned home to the East Coast of the US knowing that I was going to be shocked by changes, the weather and things I had forgotten. Some of the changes I noticed were new buildings and my parents' new diet. The weather, even though its spring time, was a lot colder than I would like. The things I had forgotten, though, that was the most surprising and I eventually got me agitated. It was my culture shock.

When I got home I wasted no time in visiting friends and putting away all my things from my trip. I wanted to settle in immediately so I could hit the ground running on my job search. I also spent some time with my car because I had missed driving so much. I was hesitant to drive at first because I didn't know if driving would be like riding a bicycle, but it was almost magical how my mind remembered every little quark about my old 1997 Toyota Camry. It was if I never left home.

My friends and I made plans for the weekend I got back. My jet lag was not a factor. Some of my friends had already gotten tickets for the DC101 Chili Cook-off and other friends had plans for Cinco de Mayo. My weekend was going to be packed! Saturday was the cook-off and it was a semi-cold day, but perfect for the rock concert. We all took the metro to get to RFK stadium and I went on and on about the Singapore train system. I think I might have looked a little arrogant at that point. I forgot the train schedule and how to get anywhere so I relied on my friends to point me in the right direction. It took us about an hour to get there because the Red line (the most popular one) was, again, under construction. We got to the stadium and got in line for the entrance, in line for the drink tickets, in line for the food and, finally, in line for the beer. (The lines for the porta-johns weren't so bad). We rocked out to Silversun Pickups and Soundgarden and took a lot of pictures for Facebook. When it was time to go home the temperature was chilly. (It was the only kind of I got that day because the cook-off ironically didn't have chili.) Leaving the stadium was difficult. We came from the parking lot in the back and had to walk all the way around the stadium to get to the Metro station. When the crowd got to a staircase that was the only way out of the parking lot I saw everyone slowing down and I blew up. I was definitely arrogant as I listed/said really loudly all the stereotypes of "bad" Americans. My friends were shocked at my outburst but when I explained to them it was my culture shock they understood and got me a hot dog after we left the stadium. I was still fuming by the time we got to the train station, but the hot dog satisfied me enough that I didn't have the urge to shout out more derogatory terms about Americans. 

I love my American heritage and I will always choose to be an American over any other citizenship, but sometimes culture shock can really make you distain everything around you. Even though you were fine with the same situation in the past, your new experiences in another country can make you erupt with frustration. No one had the same experience as you did so they aren't going to curse at the slow moving people going up the stairs and wonder why there isn't another way out of the parking lot. They are not going to loudly suggest that the stadium should have escalators built, which could create more jobs. No one is going to admit out loud that a lot of people at the stadium are non-athletic, obese people... Its a good thing I have friends who understand that.

My Last Day Sunrise

A couple of years ago I came across the notion that on the last day of your travel the sunrise is the most beautiful. From then on I have tried my best to catch the sunrise on my last day of any journey. Watching it makes you feel incredibly accomplished by seeing the rising of the early light on the last day.

I had wanted to come to Singapore for years, but was both too scared to make the financial jump and the suffer the insecurity of not having a job and being alone. But then after I went through another relationship breakup I finally realized that I had wasted enough of my life on "what ifs." So I started planning my trip. It felt like many things in my life came slowly into place after that - a vacant apartment, a cheap plane ticket (thanks to my mom), a finished job. However there was one thing that that didn't fall into place - a new relationship. I never felt so lonely in my whole life as I boarded the plane to Singapore via Japan. Yet, from that time alone I learned the most amazing things about myself that I will never forget or regret. But my trip is not just another "Eat Pray Love" autobiography, even though I did do a lot of similar soul-searching. This trip was the end to my quarter-life crisis. This trip was my answer from God. This trip told me who I am, past, present, future.

As the sun rises on this new day, my last day, I find myself kind of at a loss for words about this feeling I have. Its not really accomplishment, its not love, its not a belief. Its just warmth. Its what the sun does, right?

I am still unemployed. I have used up a good chunk of my savings. I might have created unnecessary stress and drama. I didn't do all that I had set out here to do, but... There is always tomorrow and another sunrise.

Thanks for reading. :-)