I was reading CTWW at 2:30am this morning, such is the power of an elderly bladder.
So intrigued by the idea of this week’s post, that 20 minutes later I had finished my first coffee and I have Simon & Garfunkel’s tune “Hello darkness, my old friend” running through my head as I gaze into my empty coffee mug. Ever since yesterday’s post Pusillanimous, I’ve had the song running through my head like a stuck record. I love it, but I just wish it would go away.
Eyes are not so rusty this morning. Last week was a bad case.
I was, and am still, adjusting to this damned DST. Russia has done away with it after adopting it as a permanent feature, they put the clocks back to normal for the last time.
Onions and jars ready for pickling
This weekend I was round at the sacolão (fruit & vege shop), and they had a bin full of tiny onions. After rummaging through the bin I had a sack full of roundish onions, enough to make a couple of big jars of pickled onions. That’ll be my project for when I wake up.
My new herbs are doing well. I put a kebab stick (used and recycled) in as a small stake to support the spindly plant, and it is already twice the height. Yesterday I had to put in a bigger stake (a piece that was used to frame a discarded election poster I found on the street).
Good news! The owner of the botequim (bar) nextdoor, has finally been convinced to put his empty glass bottles out for the Tuesday recycle collection, instead of just in the normal rubbish. Now I have to work on him to do the same with all the PET soda bottles… *Evil grin*
He has cans too, but catadores (poor street collectors) often pass by and he lets them rummage through and take them. They sell them to the ferro velho (scrapyard), so they get recycled.
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Okay, it’s time for this week’s CTWW on dealing with our Comfort Zones.
I like my comfort zone… it’s comfortable.
This week, step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Need some ideas?
- Turn off your heat or A/C for a day.
- Experience life without a refrigerator for a day (or a week) by refusing to open/use yours.
- Turn off the computer for a day.
- Go grocery shopping and only buy organic.
- Skip taking a bath for at least one more day than you normally would.
- Eat raw, vegan food for day or longer.
The idea, this week, is to force ourselves out of our comfort zones and try something which we’ve hesitated to try in the past. Who knows, it could open us up to a whole new world.
Steeping our of one’s comfort zone is a big deal because we have developed that zone over many years, and it’s, well… where we feel comfortable.
It becomes entrenched in our lives and we rarely step out of it.
But it’s not too late to change.
The awkward stage is taking that first step, and that’s what Small is suggesting we do in this CTWW.
I did it recently. My comfort zone required that I eat sushi in a restaurant where it has become incredibly expensive. I dithered with the idea of making my own for ages; why? Because even though I am a chef, I was scared of using raw fish. I finally took the leap across that awkward zone when one of my students told me that she regularly made sushi at home. Now I reject the idea of restaurant sushi, and my comfort zone has been expanded, and cheaper. Plus I get the satisfaction that I am doing something different.
Let’s have a look at Small’s list:
- Air conditioning and heat, don’t apply. I use neither.
- Not using the fridge… how will I keep my beer cold? That would be a real step outside my comfort zone. I live in a hot climate, and most food is kept in the fridge, even vegan-like food.
- Turn off the PC for a day. I am 24/7 on the PC. My step outside my comfort zone is my time out for my daily walk around the park. Besides, I need the PC for work communication as well.
- Very difficult to find organic here, but it is appearing. Could be done.
- I shower daily, in hot weather, more than once. Okay, cool days, I can skip a shower.
- Eat raw food, I already do that sometimes.
The fridge and the PC would be the hardest. The others are doable.
But there are other areas where I have made it out of my comfort zone. Incandescent light bulbs, for example. I like them, but slowly I have become at ease with CFLs, changing one at a time. I have only the bathroom light to go. I would prefer LEDs, but they are terribly expensive here.
I’m off back to bed… It’s 4:40am.
See you next week.
Eco-Crap 