plant a seed beneath the concrete

Learning is fun!

School is starting to stack up , i feel like my midterms came about two weeks after everyone elses. I had an interview this morning at the Blue Heron with Courtney and one of the owners, Colleen, which I believe went well but it made me realize for the 19024394 time that i talk too much, I'm just itching, yearning to say something, I wish I had conversational patience to listen more intently and not be on the blocks to interject with my own information.

I babysat for Craig and Jenna last night so that they could go to see Corcoran, Josh, and Devin play at Rascal's. By babysat, I really mean I ate their mastacholli and ice cream while the kids slept. Soccer was also last night. We lost, though I dont believe we should have. We played very well, it was just two simple mistakes that cost us the 1-0 lead.

So the elections are coming up and I'm still debating of what to do. I think it's too late to get an absentee ballot, so I think I might end up in MN. Just as well, they have more competitive elections.

So i have this thing about skipping over the daily mundane stuff and always trying to attack the larger, questionably unanswerable, questions and discovering or saying something profound. But I think I'll try to put my mind at ease for right now, I'm listening to some Brand New and it's taking my mind off of those gigantic problems that face the world that I tend to obsess over.

Halloween in Madison? Probably not. Work, work, work. I wouldn't be leaving until saturday and coming back on sunday, so I don't see it happening. Alas, another weekend of fun aborted for the sake of responsibility and good grades.

Time to think.

all fall down

it is fall. finally. my favorite time of the year. partly because i stop sweating when i go outside and partly because i can comfortably wear a sweatshirt for the next 6 months. im diggin it.

few things of note:

im riding my bike across the country to raise money for various charities

i attended Campus Camp Wellstone last weekend and it was excellent. it taught us techniques and gave us ideas on how to effectively reach our target audience, get new recruits, and network with other activists. it also really inspired and motivated me to get my act together and really create change.

i want to get starbucks out of target. i want to get my roomates to recycle. i want to get my roomates more politically active and more earth friendly. and most importantly. i want to get on top of my homework.

Winona could be awesome. it really amazes me how the old coots have such a power hold on the community. i have two years (maybe) left. ill fix that.

Who Rides Bikes?

Winona is 12 blocks wide. From Lake St. to 2nd St. it is .9 miles according to Google Maps. And Merchants’ Bank is leveling the buildings on their block for a parking lot? To be honest, I could care less that they are tearing down the buildings, but what makes me upset is that they are doing it to put up a parking lot. Do you even need a car in Winona? Honestly? I’ve been here for three years now, and I’m selling my car. I don’t use it and between gas and insurance, it is just not worth it to me to keep it around anymore. I can bike to work, school, soccer, downtown, up to the beach, and even out to Holzinger Lodge. I realized the other day that about 90% of the cars in Winona are unnecessary. I was riding an exercise bike at WSU, catching up on some reading and getting in a workout, and I checked my speed. I was cruising at a good 11 mph and barely breaking a sweat, and so, I thought, “Without any stops, I could go from Sarnia St. to 2nd St. in about 5 minutes, maybe less if I tried.”

Before you start thinking “It’s just some stupid college kid. He doesn’t have a job or a family or anywhere to go but school and to parties.” I would like you to know what I already understand. I understand that I am a student, and that my realm of Winona doesn’t expand as much as some of the families that live out in the suburbs, up in the bluffs, on the west side of town, or the farmers that live out of town. I also understand that it is Minnesota, and snow is on the ground for about 4 months out of the year, thus making it much more difficult and dangerous to bike during the winter months. I would also like you, Winona, to understand that beating rush traffic in Milwaukee by bike is a pretty sweet feeling, and to be able to go from 118th St., way out in the suburbs, to Lake Michigan (about 12 miles) in less than 45 minutes is also pretty neat. My challenge to you, Winona, is to beat the Huff St. traffic by using that desolate bike lane and maybe see how much it can change your life.

The benefits of biking should be obvious, but ill take a few moments to generalize a few big ones.

By biking to work you are engaging in a low stress (easy on joints), cardiovascular (good for the heart) exercise that burns about 500 calories an hour. Daily exercise relieves stress, depression, detoxifies the blood and lungs, and promotes over all good health. If you don’t care about your mental and physical well being, how about your fiscal muscles?
The yearly cost of owning a vehicle is $7,830 based on 15,000 miles of driving per year according to 2006 research conducted by AAA, the American Automobile Association (download the report at www.aaapublicaffairs.com). I’ve had my 70’s road bike for more than 3 years now (it was given to me by my dad) and I just recently got it tuned up for a whopping 54$. That included two new sets of brakes, re-gripping the handlebars, and some work to get the wobble out of my wheels. They even polished my seat for me. I’m sure they would have offered to top off the tank, but oh wait…my bike doesn’t need to be filled up at over $3.00 a gallon during summer. When’s the last time your mechanic gave you a bill for less than a couple hundred?

But you’ve got money to burn, right? Do you have lungs to burn, too? There are so many statistics showing the ill effects of car pollution on the planet and our health that I feel I don’t even need to list any, instead, use a computer and type in “bad health pollution car” into any search browser. Just like that, I know it isn’t even a complete sentence, but I promise that you will find more statistics about the health problems caused by car pollution than you even thought existed. Think of it like second hand smoke, but instead of people smoking packs, they burn gallons. Maybe you’re employer offers an excellent health benefits package?
So, you might not care about your health, your wealth, or the environment, but, you know what? That is alright, because this is America and you are entitled to the freedom to not care. You work at Merchants’ Bank and you have your own employee parking lot and can park anywhere in it without a worry in the world, but what about Pete? He just got a promotion and with it came a cozy little parking spot in the front row, closest to the office. Want my final reason on why to bike?

Parking. With a bike you can park wherever the hell you want! All it takes is 3 digits on your lock and you can safely park your bike virtually wherever your little heart desires. In fact, many businesses, let you bring it right into the office. Want to stick it to Pete? Beat him to the coffee and donuts in the break room every morning because you don’t have to stop for gas, find a spot, deal with traffic, or even worry about getting a dent while your car is sitting defenseless in the parking lot. You can even still use “Sorry, I got a flat tire” as a legitimate excuse.

Biking is by far the most efficient form of transportation available to us today, and although it is against our American nature to give up our lush comforts for the more socially responsible way of life (America is 5% of the world population but we use 25% of its energy) I hope I’ve made you a little more inclined to trade in your car keys for a bike lock. Whether it is for the health benefits, saving money, improving the environment, or beating Pete to the blueberry bagel, biking can be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made with your life.

Here’s to you, Merchants’ Bank, for pursuing your right to be lazy, to be poor, to pollute the environment, and have a bad parking spot, the only way, the American way.

Tonight We Ride

Tonight We Ride is the best name for a hardcore band ever (thanks to Mattie) and I hope that it is put to use soon.

I met with the Green Party candidate for MN Governor today. The meet and greet was interesting and it was fun to see the different people that turned out. I think Ken Pentel has some excellent ideas, particularly making MN an organic state, single-payer health care, and taking the money out of politics.

soccer tonight, and The Black Dahlia.

support true cost pricing. ride your bike. burn an SUV.