Monthly Archives: February 2008

Friends and family, here is a video with a very important message about consumption. It’s called The Story of Stuff and is 20 minutes long. How I wish every person in our country – every man, woman and especially child in school – could watch this video! It is both enlightening and inspiring.

I’ve always known that things like exploitation of natural resources and poor workers in developing countries were bad, and that big discount stores like Walmart were evil, but I never really saw how everything fit together – until now!

CRYSTAL SAYS, here are some key actions we can take to reduce our consumption:

• Spend quality time with our children. We can teach them that the things of value in life are love, family, community and leisure time – rather than STUFF!
• Surround yourself with people who live out values of simplicity, care for the environment and make you feel good without regard to the STUFF YOU OWN. Our neighbors, co-workers and friends can influence us in ways we don’t realize. It’s so much healthier not to have people around you who make you feel inadequate. Feelings of inadequacy leads our society to shop!
• If you feel the need to buy something new at the store, ask yourself (1) “Do I really need this thing, or do I want it?”, and (2) “Why do I want this thing?” Take some time to very thoughtfully consider the answers. If you do indeed feel you want the item, wait one week before purchasing it. Then ask yourself the questions again. Imagine your life without the item. Would you feel an emptiness, and could you fill the emptiness with something more fulfilling and long-lasting, like spending time with your girlfriend or boyfriend, calling your sister on the phone, going on a walk or volunteering?
• Consider whether you absolutely must have a brand new item. Could you buy a used model instead?
• Consider whether you absolutely must have this item all to yourself. Could you borrow this thing from a friend, or perhaps trade them for it in exchange for something else?
• STOP WATCHING TELEVISION. I do so strongly feel that television with all its ads and shallow messages is poisonous to our minds and makes us want more stuff.

Friends and family, I hope you will take a few minutes to watch this interesting and very educational clip about the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The DRC is a jungle-y country in sub-Saharan Africa not so far from Gabon where I lived during the Peace Corps. It is not easy to grasp how the world’s demand for diamonds can cause people pain and strife, such as it does in the DRC, but this short video does a very good job of explaining.

For those of us who are attracted to all things that sparkle (including me!!), let’s remember that there are much better options out there for us than the diamonds mined in developing nations, the very diamonds which are sold in every jewelry store in our country. Better options include jewelry from companies like Brilliant Earth that offer “conflict-free gems”.

Haircut
So, I got one of the best haircuts I’ve ever had in my entire life yesterday. I had been going to Mina’s Studio in Chapel Hill, which is a fantastic place, but it’s now too far of a drive for me from ole North Durham. Then I switched to Wavelengths on Ninth St for a while, but I didn’t feel that they ever really cared about me or my hair that much, you know?

In the interest of supporting small, local, women-owned businesses, I decided to try The Garden Salon which is located right smack in downtown Durham. I parked near the YMCA and walked the two blocks to the salon.

Things I like about The Garden Salon:

• First of all, it’s beautiful inside – with high ceilings, Chinese lanterns and very cool local art on the walls.
• You can make your appointment online and a confirmation message is sent to you by e-mail, plus you receive a reminder message the day before. For a busy person like me, being able to schedule my hair appointment Sunday at midnight is a real plus.
• Shea Davis, the owner and one of the hair stylists, is super nice and really does a good job of listening to what you want done with your hair. And for people like me who don’t actually have real clue what they want, she makes great suggestions. I walked out of there feeling and looking great. The color looks amazing and the cut is so easy to style.
• Today when I ran the 12.1-mile Coach Bubba race, I wore a hat. After the race, I took off the hat and fluffed up my (very) sweaty hair so I could meet the gang for breakfast, and my hair STILL looked great!

I highly recommend this salon to others. If you’re interested in going, please contact me, as I have special referral cards that will get you $10 off your cut or color – both for you AND me!

Race
Like I said, today I ran the 20km (12.1 mile) Coach Bubba race and kicked its butt! I think it was one of the better races I’ve run, as far as how strong I felt throughout – about 10x better than I felt during this race last year. I sprinted into the finish line, as usual, and enjoyed the race’s choice of three types of soup afterward! Also, the t-shirts this year are really cool – longsleeve v-necks with “Coach Bubba 2008″ down the sleeve.

It has been such a long time.

Here’s what’s going on with me:

• A few weeks ago, my mom came down to Durham, NC to stay with us for a week and to experience what our lives are like these days. Of course, she stocked our pantry and refrigerator, ironed all our clothes and managed to put up with three very furry pets (she’s allergic), so that was pretty great. Apparently we didn’t scare her off too badly, because she plans to come back in the late spring…
• Went to a fantastic conference two weeks ago in Boston called Conference of Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), in which all of the world’s top HIV scientists and researchers came together to present their findings on HIV virology, immunology, pharmacology, etc. I soaked up a ton of knowledge. I was like kid in a candy store in the poster exhibition halls.
• I’m writing articles for a new Web site of mine which I will soon formally “launch” and announce to the world. Stay tuned!
• I’m not having such a good bowling season this year, but am having lots of fun at it anyway. Even Clinton sometimes bowls as a sub with The Hammers: U Can’t Touch This (that’s the name of our team).
• As soon as bowling season ends, I vow to add more yoga into my life. My goals are to try Anusara style yoga and to achieve a hand stand by the end of 2008. Yoga makes me feel so grounded and peaceful.
• With regard to working with difficult colleagues, Julia reminded me yesterday during our Monday run that I should keep my eyes on the prize (i.e., long-term goal of helping people in need). This is a very good reminder. Had a very bad day today, but thanks to ERUUF and my Sweetie Clinton, I survived and feel much better now.
• Making lots and lots of progress in the arena of personal growth. I am so thankful for my therapist, my acupuncturist, my yoga instructor and ERUUF.
• It was hilarious today to receive a super fancy (edged in gold, comes with mail-in RSVP card) invitation in the mail for the 50th anniversary events for Clarkston, Washington’s Jr. Miss Pageant. For those of you who don’t know, I was 4th runner up in the 1995 pageant in Clarkston, and I was also crowned Miss Clarkston Fitness 1995. And will you just look at me now! It is unfortunate that I will be unable to attend this event, as it would be both very interesting and very bloggable.
• I have been taking East Coast Swing lessons with Clinton and many friends. Two weekends ago, we went to a swing dance with a live big band at the Durham Armory, and I had so much fun my heart was truly soaring. (Crystal L-O-V-E-S to dance.) But I think this is another thing I have to give up in the interest of having more free time during my week. After all, the weather is warming up, and I will soon start biking again…

Upcoming excitement:

• Backyard revitalization. We have taken the first step in a multi-year plan to renovate our backyard in a major way. It will be completely redone in hardscaping and native, drought-resistant plants – both for the purposes of being low maintenance and eco-friendly, but also dog friendly! In two years, it should be amazing.
• New York, here I come! Seven of us Fartlekers will run a half marathon in Central Park on April 6th. Wish us Southern country girls luck in the big city! I’ll be staying at the same hotel as Borat in the movie – the one where he had the naked wrestling fight with the fat man, I believe.

It is great to work in the reproductive health world, if nothing else to hear about amazing (and funny) new technologies like this one. Read this article from New Scientist to find out more.