Seven Days, Day One

Today is day one. My alarm has been going off for the past two hours. Gonzalo isn't in the bed next to me and my neck is sticky from the Tiger Balm applied last night. But I'm up; and today is the first step in new routine for a healthier + happier self.

It was at my second meeting with my graduate advisor, the meeting both Zalo and I went to, that an idea was planted. He told us that it only takes 7 days for a habit to form, for someone to fall into a new routine. He then said that the majority of us are most productive in the morning and for me, this couldn't be more true. But for those of us who work early in the morning, like myself, getting things done before work is more difficult than it sounds. For me there were two options: 1) Continue the current routine of wake up, go to work, come home and do everything else you need to do that day, feel guilty for not getting everything done, sleep OR 2) wake up earlier, get some stuff done, go to work, come home and get a few more things done while being able to spend time with family and/or relax without falling into a guilt-trap. So I chose to change it up.

I went to bed last night at 8pm and even though I did have some trouble falling asleep I woke up this morning at 5am, an hour later than planned, but earlier than usual. I made my coffee, a healthy breakfast and started in on my work. The mystical "work" I keep referring to is my thesis. I'm probably about half-way done with it at this point but still have a lot of work ahead of me and my time is running out. I graduate in March 2015 and with school starting in less than a month I know my time will be even more precious come October. I'm hoping that with these few extra hours in the morning, I'll be able to chip away at that amount of work left to be done and be in a good spot to stop when school starts. Obviously I won't quit working on my thesis altogether, but I have to be realistic, especially knowing the course load I'm taking Fall and Winter term. My saving grace is the almost-month-off we have for winter break. Not saying I'll be doing finishing touches, but hopefully I'll see the light at the end of the tunnel.

// Same name, new direction.

In the past 9 months, so much has changed. I came back from an truly amazing study abroad experience with SEA where I learned so much about the oceans and myself and came away with a group of friends I hope to see a whole lot more of in the future. It was business as usual for awhile there; going to school, working, playing volleyball and settling back into the normalcy of everyday life. But during spring break, it all changed. 

I became an intern with COASST in the newly formed marine debris program, helping to develop procedures for citizen scientists to collect debris and the accompanying data. In April I became the Secretary for The Coastal Society at Oregon State University and even though we're in our infancy, the organization as a whole isn't, and it won't be long before we start gaining some ground and become a presence at OSU. In June I achieved my biggest accomplishment so far; I became the Beach and Highway Cleanup Coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation, Newport Chapter and since then have coordinated a number of beach cleanups and awareness events as well as made contacts with local people and businesses alike. With this position also comes the role of Zone Captain for Solve, which coordinates the Beach Captains for the big beach and riverside cleanups Solve hosts biannually. 

Needless to say, I am becoming a name in my field, marine debris. I have given presentations, hosted cleanups and personally surveyed and sampling beaches along Oregon's coast. I am proud of the work I am doing, and so I've decided to transform this blog into a place where I can advocate for change and raise awareness about issues that are so near and dear to my heart, such as microplastic debris. I invite all to be skeptical and ask the hard questions about any issue I raise. Keep being curious and if you have any questions please post them in the comments below! 

Living the dream...

Life lately has been pretty phenomenal, and I have so many things to be grateful for. I guess if I was religious I would be thanking God...since that isn't the case, I guess the thanks can go to myself and you know what, I deserve them. Ever since high school, I have been working my butt off to envelop  myself in the subject of marine debris. And though I can't recall what started this obsession, I have worked very hard to get where I am today and to become sort of a name in the marine debris community. 

Currently I am a part of three different non-profit organizations, of which all are dedicated to the cause of marine debris. The first, and the one I have been involved with the longest, is Solve (formerly SOLV). Solve is...

"...a non-profit organization that brings together individuals, business groups, and service and conservation groups through volunteering and education to restore our natural spaces and take good care of this great state of which we are all so proud. SOLVE facilitates Oregonians of all kinds coming together to volunteer, focusing on beach and illegal dump cleanup, planting native trees, removing invasive plants, and other environmental maintenance projects. SOLVE annually creates an average of 50,000 volunteer opportunities in 185 communities all across this diverse state, and has provided around $60,000,000 in service to Oregon since 1997."

To me, Solve is the organization I have been volunteering with since I was in high school. They organize the largest and only major beach cleanup in Oregon and I am proud to have once been a volunteer, a beach captain and now a zone captain. That is my first accomplishment, taking on more responsibility with one of the great Oregonian non-profits and I'm so excited for the fall beach clean up!  

The second non-profit is COASST, and I am one of their marine debris interns. COASST is...

"...a citizen science project of the University of Washington in partnership with state, tribal and federal agencies, environmental organizations, and community groups. COASST believes citizens of coastal communities are essential scientific partners in monitoring marine ecosystem health. By collaborating with citizens, natural resource management agencies and environmental organizations, COASST works to translate long-term monitoring into effective marine conservation solutions. " 

To me, COASST is a cutting edge non-profit, ahead of the game and trying to make valuable Basically I am helping them develop standardized procedures to collect marine debris on beaches nationwide, maybe even globally! My main task is to give feedback on the small debris portion, as I am interested mainly in microplastic. 

My most recent accomplishment, and biggest by far, is my new position with the Surfrider Foundation, Newport Chapter. I am the new Beach and Highway Cleanup Coordinator and let me tell you, I am so flipping excited. I've already gone to one event, the Otter Rock 'n' Roll which was a youth surfing competition and beach cleanup. Although I didn't lead that one, I have an upcoming post-fouth-of-July beach cleanup on July 5th in Newport partnering with the Cetacean Society! I can't wait and I will be plugging this event like crazy on Facebook to try and drag my friends out to the beach for a good cause!!

Lastly, and certainly not least, I am continuing to work on my thesis. It has changed quite a few times to many different and unforeseen circumstances but I am certain that I have found "the one". I will be working with Dr. White, an associate professor at OSU to develop standardized procedure for collecting microplastic in order to establish a baseline of information from which we can measure change. We will also be building kits which we can give to anyone who is interested in gathering data. This procedure will be easy and relatively hassle free and should give us an idea of how much microplastic debris actually inhabits our beaches. Of course the procedure will be developed here, in Oregon, but should be able to be applied to any beach, oceanic or not. 

All in all, it is an exciting time. I'm truly living the dream and doing what makes me happy and I feel like all of this school is finally starting to pay off. 

If you're interested in visiting any of the above non-profit websites click the names below! 

SOLVE

COASST

Surfrider, Newport Chapter

A New Leaf

No one ever tells you how much change you experience in your early twenties. I turned 23 two weeks ago and I feel like a completely different person. I'm more mature, logical, steady and I'm seeking more out of life than I used to, like traveling. I also have a lot more going on in my life right now, and that is the understatement of the year. Let's see...

• my one year marriage anniversary is this Tuesday;
• I'm working part time, going to school full time;
• I'm completing research for my honors thesis;
• I'm an intern with the Coastal Observation And Seabird Survey Team (COASST), the newly created marine debris side;
• I'm the secretary/treasurer for The Coastal Society at Oregon State University;
• I'm planning on graduating from OSU next Winter term and
• I have a meeting for a [possibly paid] summer research job this week.

Add to that the fact that I am a proud mama of two beautiful baby-dogs (and one asshole parrot) and I still manage to play volleyball at least twice a week with some extra gym time when I can. 

Now this all sounds a little 'braggy' but that's not the point of this post. The real point is to say I think I've finally found a way to get my shit together. I know I have a lot on my plate, but it's all stuff I love doing. I tried to free up my schedule a bit, but I just can't get rid of anything. So I had to make a choice; either get my shit together or make some sacrifices. I chose the former. 

This decision manifested itself when I went to Canada for my 23rd birthday. That trip was supposed to be amazing, but I ended up moping and staying in my hotel room a lot. I did get out and have a good time, and I don't regret going, but let's just say if I could do it over again, I would. ;) I hit a real low in the hotel room, alone and in a different country. I wasn't happy with the way I was living my life and ever since I got back I have made conscious decisions to change, and I sought help. What I thought was depression turned out to be intense situational stress, which can mimic many of the signs for depression. Now that I knew what was wrong, I could focus on ways to change. I started with volleyball. 

As much as I love volleyball, it is a big source of stress for me and I never knew why. Then one day it came to me; I was spending way too much time focusing on how others were playing instead of focusing on myself. So I got selfish. Now when I play I don't worry when someone on my team fucks up because ultimately, I can't control them, I can only control myself. Once I stopped focusing on others, my play improved and my attitude stayed in the positive. Now I'm actually pleasant to play with (or at least I think so) and I can actually see my skills improving again. 

Surprisingly [and thankfully], this change came easily. The difficult part now is applying this attitude to other areas of my life that cause me stress, such as driving...I'm working on that! Other sources of stress aren't as easy to control, such as the stress from looming assignments or thesis deadlines, but I've found that once I eliminated those other stress factors I had more time and energy to devote to more important areas of my life. 

I guess you can say that things are looking up. I'm learning how to listen to my body and take cues when I'm stressed, which will help me make healthier decisions. I'm learning how much I can handle, what I'm comfortable with and what my true interests are. Best of all I think I'm finally feeling comfortable in my own skin, at the ripe old age of 23, and let me tell you, it feels great. 

An overwhelming desire to sing

Ever since I went out a few weeks ago and sang karaoke I haven't been able to get my mind off of it. I've always loved to sing, and since I drive so much I have ample time to perform, for myself that is. But lately, it's just not enough. More and more I get the insatiable urge to go sing, to perform in front of others and I'm worried that if I don't quench these urges then I will regret them for the rest of my life. And that's a big deal. 

To remedy this I've been out two more times, both times singing, just one song due to wait times. The first time I was pretty drunk and even though I sang well (Beyonce's "Listen") and was complimented, I needed to know that I could sing sober too. And that's what I did last night. 

I went to a local gay bar and put in my name for the queue. I had to wait about 20 minutes but finally my name was called. I was excited but oh so nervous and it made my body sort of freeze. My voice, however, was on point and I sang my heart out. Sure, it was worse than when I'm alone, sitting in my car but that's to be expected. Sure, my legs almost gave out from being so nervous and I looked like a weirdo, as I just stood there, gently rocking back and forth, fidgeting with whatever I could get my hands on. But the point is that I did it. I sang Carrie Underwood's "Last Name" completely sober in front of a crowd, at a gay bar. I was applauded, complimented and cheered; and it felt so good. Am I celebrity material? No. Will I get famous? Probably not. Did I have fun doing something I love? Fuck yeah. And that's what matters to me. 

Stay tuned because as soon as I figure out how to play music from my phone and use the record feature on my camera, I will be posting videos on my blog of me singing in the car. I've overcome my fear and I really want to hear what people have to say; even the assholes. 

Much love to all my followers and regular readers. Please share my blog and comment below! 

That's it. I'm done.

With sweets that is. Oh and cheese too. Now I know those aren't the only two reasons for my weight gain, but darn it, they're not helping. Before leaving for SEA I weighed an unhealthy 240 lbs and when I got back I was a slightly healthier 217 lbs, quite a drop. But since I've been back I've gain back more than half of what I lost and I've had it, I'm done gaining, it's time to lose. 

My plan is to give up sweets entirely, no moderation about it, I'm going cold turkey. I know I can do it, and my friends from SEA (at least those in B house) know I can do it too, even in the face of extreme temptation, such as a never-ending bowl of Halloween candy...so it's time, once again to give up the stuff. I just can't eat a few pieces of candy or just a little bit of homemade peanut butter cookie dough, it's all or nothing with me and I know myself too well to try the moderation game. 

So you might be wondering, umm, you mentioned cheese too...yeah, I eat a lot of cheese. I'm a vegetarian, so what, you wanna fight about? No? Me either. Basically I eat too much cheese and I need to cut down, and drastically. I don't think this will be too hard as my husband is vegan and so once I'm out of cheese I just won't buy it again. We'll see just how "easy" it actually is though...my biggest cheese addiction is nachos. They are probably my favorite food and I usually eat them in the most unhealthy way: lots of chips, lots of cheese and a bit of salsa on top. Sometimes I get fancy but not too often. This meal is easy and delicious and is the biggest reason why I eat so much of it, but that's the problem, I tend to over-eat when I have nachos, one of the biggest diet faux pas. 

All in all what I'm trying to say is that I'm going to need your help. This isn't going to be easy, especially in the beginning and especially at work where I'm surrounded by candy. All. Day. Long. I'm going to begin to rely on this blog as a food diary of sorts, or at least that's the plan. I hope to get words or stories of encouragement, tips, tricks, friendly advice, etc. I'm counting on you all and let me tell you, I need all the help I can get. So please, share my blog post on Facebook, Twitter, the general interwebs. I would appreciate it so much! Love you guys! 

State of the Game

The game being volleyball; and the state being terrible. 

But really, volleyball has sucked lately and usually leaves me in a worse mood than the one I started with which is the opposite of what I want. I want to play and have fun and also get a good workout in, that's not so much to ask, is it?!? 

There are a few reasons why volleyball has had the suck factor lately. The first, and biggest, is the fact that I'm playing below my skill level. My team is just not working hard enough and it's because they just don't have the skill set to do so. Which leads into the second, and just as large, frankly, problem: my anger or rage if you will. 

I used to blame my anger issues on the fact that my entire family is hot headed, like that made it okay. Stupid, right? Since living on my own and getting married my temper has calmed a lot and I've even gotten a tattoo right on my wrist to help calm me in times of great rage. So I'm not a hopeless case, I have gotten markedly better; but lately volleyball has been getting under my skin and undoing all the work I've done these past few years. I'm not proud of my anger and I know the negative effects it has on myself and everyone around me, not to mention my relationship with my husband and my physical body as well. That's what's annoying about this whole thing, I know what my problem is and I even know how to [temporarily] fix it, but in the heat of the moment I am unstoppable. 

With all of this being said I am using you, my few readers, as a source of accountability. I am getting help. I will not let my family's anger control my life anymore. I will no longer be known as Rage Sage. I will get well and be happy. I will have fun again. As you as my witness, I will overcome. 

I'm giving it a week.

It's been almost three days since I've last washed my hair and let me tell you, I've almost had enough. My hair feels gross; so heavy, oily and thick (but not in a good way). I'm doing all I can to keep my head up and stick with it. So I've decided: I'm giving it a week. If I don't see some sort of improvement by this Thursday I'm using the good stuff, the Dove shampoo and conditioner I have waiting on the sidelines, yearning to be used. Haha, but really, I don't know if I can take this. 

I'm sure it's super healthy for you and whatnot but what has shampoo and conditioner ever actually done? And I'm talking about the good stuff, not the cheap crap that could make your hair fall out (hopefully nothing like that actually exists). It's definitely something worth looking in to...maybe a later post...

Either way I've about had it. This might work for some but I don't think it's right for me. Especially with all the exercising (volleyball) I do. Right now my hair sucks. Hopefully it will get better but if not, I will have lovely, nice smelling hair come Thursday night. 

My adventures in no poo...

It's almost been two weeks since I've stopped using 'traditional' shampoo [and conditioner] and I'll be honest, it has not been the easiest. Sometimes you just want to use the regular stuff and have hair that smells wonderful, and it's easier but I tell myself, "NO! Just stick with it!" That has to be one of my biggest problems, quitting when the going gets tough. I'm a quitter, there, I said it.

But today I took yet another no poo shower and afterwards my hair feels normal, light and clean. It's just a reminder that using baking soda and vinegar works just as well as Dove. Well, maybe that's a stretch, but it works almost as good, haha! I am getting kind of scared though, because Thursday is my last day of 'normal' washing before just using water for 4-5 weeks! It just sounds so gross! I don't know if I'll be able to do it, but I'm going to try. My husband is doing it with me too, so that should help a lot. I will say that I am noticing certain things about my hair. It feels softer and I'm getting more ringlet curls that ever before. But it tangles so easy! Such an issue with curly hair. Also, since I play volleyball so much my hair gets gross pretty fast. I find that I have to take a shower the night of playing volleyball [after, of course] or else my hair the next day is downright disgusting. It looks alright, but the back is a tangled mess!

Okay, so it doesn't look perfect [or even close to it, ha!] but it feels great and I can style it to look decent. This picture below I actually used product for my tips and they ended up being the frizzy mess you see there! The top is just natural curl! So crazy. I haven't tried using a curling iron, or wand yet, but I may in the future (if I can get up early enough!)

 This little ringlet is natural! I couldn't believe it myself!!

If you're interested I think you should try it. Obviously it won't work for everyone, but it's pretty cool and really inexpensive too! And, if you end up not doing it you have baking soda and vinegar, things everyone uses! Oh and vinegar has many, many uses. Like these!

If you're truly interested check out this site. It's the best and the one I use. She also has another post three years after using the no poo method! Check it out!

No Poo Movement

I'm not the first person, nor will I be the last, to write a blog post about the No Poo Movement. If you haven't heard about it, let me enlighten you.

Despite the title, it has nothing to do with actual poo. Rather it's talking about shampoo, or the lack thereof. The movement is about not using commercial shampoo [and conditioner] and instead using baking soda and apple cider vinegar if you do condition your hair, which you should. What?!?! But that's crazy talk!! I can't not use shampoo and conditioner!! Those were my reactions and I was the one who decided to do this! Let me tell you, it's weird not using the store-bought-stuff but now, after taking two showers without, I'll be hard pressed to go back.

Beside the obvious, there are a few differences when using baking soda and vinegar. The first being that neither of these lather. This kind of sucks... there's no reassuring lather to tell you it's working. Instead the baking soda makes your hair feel grainy and dry while the vinegar feels like nothing at all, but you can smell it, so there's that...I guess... The magic happens when you rinse out the vinegar. You hair feels smooth and silky, just like it does when using the 'real' stuff. Then I thought, "okay, it feels good now, but it's going to be a bear to brush (I have super curly hair, prone to tangling). Nope! I wrapped my hair in a towel, as I always do, and waited <10 minutes before brushing, again, what I always do. My hair was surprisingly easy to brush and manage. It didn't look or feel any different either, which was surprising.

My next step in my post-shower routine is to apply argan oil. This stuff is amazing and if you don't use it, go flipping get some. Not only does it smell ah-mazing, but it also makes your hair super silky soft and gives a beautiful luster. Then I let my hair air dry, it's jut easiest. The first time I didn't apply any mousse or curling agent and my hair looked pretty good; a little frizzy, but that's normal.

Today I took a shower again, using this same method and routine, but I added mousse to my hair after the argan oil. I've added some pictures to show you that my hair doesn't look gross. Haha! It doesn't look amazing, by any means, but again, that's normal for me. I, like most people I suspect, have my good days and my 'meh' days; today is a meh day. Oh and be nice, because I also don't have any makeup on (four consecutive snow days = no makeup or bra, although I do have one of those blasted things on, just for you guys).

A lot [all] of these photos are similar and that makes sense as I took them at the same time. If you think my hair looks normal and you'd like to try the No Poo Movement for yourself which has many benefits including major monetary savings as well as being environmentally friendly, then check out how I do it below. Or you can type it into Google and check out all the countless others who use it too.

I don't have a container yet, so I've been using a measuring cup, the plastic kind with a spout. I add one tablespoon of baking soda to one cup of warm shower water. This is the 'shampoo' part. If you do it right your hair will feel sort of smooth, that is, if you distribute the mixture evenly. Now leave this on for a few minutes (1-3) before you rinse. The next step is to add one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to one cup of warm shower water. Now, before I go on, it's super important that you use apple cider vinegar and not white distilled vinegar or else your hair will stink of vinegar even after you rinse. Pour this mixture over your hair just like you did with the baking soda mixture. I like to dip the ends of my hair into the mix first, then pour the rest on my head and massage into my scalp, just a little trick! Let this sit for another few minutes before rinsing. If you didn't add too much vinegar then your hair will not smell, but no promises.

The amounts above are perfect for my hair length, which should be obvious from the photos. I might even use a tad bit more next time. So, if you have shorter or longer hair, please adjust accordingly!

Overall, I'm very happy with this method and I intend on using it for awhile. So far my hair feels great and it's reacting well. That's not to say everyone's will, and some might experience more oil than others as their hair adjusts to the change. But stick with it! Nothing truly good comes easy.