Friday, February 15, 2008

No More Mylar Balloons...evuh!

I love my local recycling center here in Beautiful Downtown Burbank, so when they send out little flyers with my electric bill I am always sure to read them through and through. (That’s how we got our free energy-saving replacement torchiere lamp and our free worm bin!) This month’s insert alerted me to something I never even considered before: the fact that 20% of all my city’s power outages are due to Mylar balloons. When they escape into the air, if the metallic coating comes in contact with power lines, pop, pop, fizzle, fizzle, out go the lights. (It’s a miracle yesterday’s gale force winds + curb-side Valentine’s Day cottage industries didn’t shut the whole city down.) My pilot friends also attest to the danger of the balloons if they get sucked into plane engines or stuck to the windshield. So on second thought, how about a nice bouquet of organic daisies instead?

Thursday, February 14, 2008

12 Resolutions January Wrap/ February Half-time Report: January

Well it’s been a busy few weeks, and already the shortest month is half over. First an update on my January goal, despite a few screw ups (credit card late fee, parking ticket) and a few uncharacteristic splurges (snowboarding weekend) I managed to cut my spending by not just the 25% I wanted to achieve, but a full 30%. All I can say is, that if I can pare down my meager spending habits that much in just one month, anyone can do it. (I guess bringing my lunch from home every day really does add up!)
As far as my February goal of becoming a vegetarian, I’ve been less, shall we say, successful. Day two and I was already ordering a Chinese chicken salad (at a Thai restaurant, nonetheless). A few days later, a bad day sent me right into the arms of my favorite meal ever (Lala's Argentinian Grill Ensalada Melrose, more chicken) and a few days later a moment of weakness on production and fried chicken strips were totally worth the lapse (in for a penny, in for a pound, I had myself a few pieces of 3-meat sub sandwich that day too.) But since then, I think I’ve been more dedicated to the goal. It’s been a struggle, I don’t usually eat that much meat, but I really enjoy the option of having meat if I so desire. That said, I’m gonna try my best to stick it out for the next 14 days and 10 hours (but who’s really counting). But no one should be surprised when they find me in the drive-thru of In-n-Out Burger at 12:01a March 1st.