Sales

When I was young, I wanted to grow up and be a cowgirl, a teacher, a judge. I never thought much about selling stuff to people, I was never really interested in it.

In middle school and high school I focused on legal studies, the law, philosophy. I wanted to be a lawyer.
In college I found the earth and decided I wanted to be a cultivator of health and happiness... (seriously what sounds better than that..in my opinion?) I wanted to be a farmer.

Well my life has taken some dips and turns, and I've ended up in the Greenbuilding Industry. The thing is, I'm not on the consulting side, or enforcement or policy side, I'm in sales. I'm also in research and development. and Marketing. And HR. Really not what I thought I'd be doing, but I am in love with my company and the things we do. I sell high end compost toilet systems and urine diverting toilets. Yeah stick that in your sewer pipe and flush it. I am glad that everyday I help the world become a better place, even if that place is literally the shitter.

But what I do hate is the cold calling. ah, its so cold! Its such a strange thing in my opnion, cold calling. Just tryin to sell ya something here! I always thing that people don't want it. And mostly they don't. Personally I am a incredibly stingy individual that rarely buys anything (and thankfully my parents cover the rest right now). But I forget that people can be interested. Its just hard to come at them at the sales point of view. If I was a consultant, they'd kiss my feet and invite me over when the house is finished for a glass of champagne.

Its hard because I really do believe in my cause, I know what I am doing its right, but it gets discouraging with the lack of people who care about fighting officials to make it change. I just want to help people make people aware. What I sell is a good, well designed, smartly and green designed product, and thats awesome. Sometimes I just loose faith in peoples interest...

Coalition Against Institutionalized Education

I used to love being a college student. Partying, learning, experiencing new things. To me, it was a wonderland of a new life, filled with endless possibilities.

Well, I'm now too years out, and at risk of sounding too cynical too soon, I would just like to say, screw institutional education.

Firstly, if you are in a Liberal Arts major, forget getting a job. There are almost no opportunities for someone with a B.A. looking for a practical job. And whats more, no liberal arts degree will ever give you any practical experience on doing anything life related :cars, insurance, business, interacting with people. And whats worse is a college will charge you 50 grand to learn aloof facts about some culture in Kenya. I'm not saying knowledge isnt important, but college students, don't be fooled. Schools arent in the business of education, they are in the business of making money.

Secondly, the professors. Now, I have had my share of incredible professors. People truly interested in sharing their knowledge with people for the betterment of mankind. Then you interact with the ASSHOLES who have tenure and sit on their cushy throwns condescending anyone who doesn't have a PhD. Truthfully, I had a professor in college whose lab I had to miss because my grandfather passed away. I gave him five days notice of the situation, and the day after the lab I missed, he wrote back to me saying if I missed another lab I failed his course. Seriously?

And then you get the professors that just think they are so goddamn important. PROFESSOR GREG EVANYLO of Virginia Tech got on the phone with me today regarding an inquiry about SARE (Sustainable agriculture research and education) grant opportunities as he is the extension specialist you must go through to secure the grant. This condescending human had the nerve to tell me first that I had no idea what I was talking about, second, that I sounded like a pushy saleswoman hiding behind a research project to get money, and third that you can put urine directly on plants. Who is this fucking guy? I tried to explain to him that firstly, I did in fact know what I was talking about and the research organization I was partnering with had done all the necessary research to back this project up, that second, I am a college graduate, a terrible saleswoman and instead I try to save the world every day when I get up, not make money, and third that you would kill every plant you had if you peed on it. Even though this guy works in the soil and crop science, he probably never even put his hands in dirt or actually tried to fertilize plants with raw material. I spent six months on a sustainable farm in Israel, and that may not be a super long time, but I know how plants grow. I am no idiot.

The problem is that academics have turned from education to business. There is no knowledge for the sake of progression anymore. There is no collaboration. There is only knowledge for money and the promise of tenure to treat people however you want. Well while this asshole is sitting in his cushy Virginia Tech office, I'm actually trying to make the world a better place everyday, and convincing people that even though  sewage is the least glamorous side of sustainability, it is still heavily important.

I urge people to stand together against this monopoly of knowledge. College is totally useless unless you pursue higher education, and that only throws people into more debt and more issues. They don't actually teach you anything useful that can be applied to a profession outside the academic world. Today I start the Coalition against Institutionalized Education. I'm sick of their shit and empty promises and bad attitudes. I want to start a new kind of education. One that teaches people how to be productive members of society and one that values those members. One that teaches you how to do your taxes or file for insurance or to apply research. knowledge for the sake of knowledge is useless. Knowledge for the sake of Progression, that is what our society needs.

Getting Caught In the Middle

So, am I the only one that this happens to?

I met this amazing guy in October at party. He mentioned that he rock climbed, to which I replied, "I know you! (creepy but whatever) You always come to the gym with your girlfriend!"

We had been going to the same gym for two months, and I always saw him with his girlfriend, who was definitely a begginer. However, I meant nothing by the comment.

He replies, "Yeah she's so annoying when she climbs" I awkwardly turned away but knew this relationship was semi doomed. Although he is stunning, it really makes no difference for me, as I have an amazing boyfriend that I wouldn't break up with for Prince Charles.

Over the past few months this guy and I have been spending time together, as it is convienent to carpool to the rock gym together, and we enjoy the same music, and general activites. But I never saw him more than a friend, and both he and his girlfriend have met my wonderful boyfriend.

Unfortuantely for him, his relationship has gone down the drain. I feel bad for him that he is stuck in a lease with the girl he no longer wants to be with. That is not a situation comfortable for anyone.

But heres the real shitty part: SHE HATES ME! And I've spent time with her and him together, we have great conversations, shes an incredible jewelry maker that I really admire. I think she is wonderful, and to be honest I am very sorry their relationship is down the drain. But why does that mean that ours has to as well? She says i'm intimidating (something I've also heard before, I dont know how as I am literally 5 feet and 105 pounds. I'm just about as intimidating as a baby chiwowa) and doesn't want me in thier apartment.

 This is not my first time down this road. I enjoy male friends more because becasue they talk about frivolous and insecure things less, enjoy outdoor and rugged activities, and are not offended to the dirty rap music I like. But somehow it alwasy gets me in to trouble with thier women, even if I do nothing wrong.

Ladies, lighten up will you? If a man says he loves you and looks you in the eye while saying it and gives you a passionate kiss, he probably loves you no matter how much he hangs out with his friends that are girls. Or if he sleeps on the couch and can't look you in the eye, blame him and his disinterest, not his innocent friends. I'm done loosing cool girlfriends because of jealousy.

The Boogie Man of Judiasm: Interfaith Marriages

This morning I had a second to scan at the newspaper in front of my Bolthouse Farm Juice and Orange Juice cocktail.

Now do not be mistaken, reading the newspaper is not something I do regularly, but I caught something on the front page of the Forward (a Jewish publication) of all newspapers. Now, the fact that my family gets the publication should give you some indication of my Jewish background, i.e. parents. are. observant.

The piece was titled " find title" Even though normally I would never consider reading a Jewish newspaper, I couldn't help but to scoff and wonder what the spin of this article would be. So I proceeded to page A10.

The author of this article, argued about the inevitability of intermarriage. He quoted another rabbi has saying that intermarriage is like gravity, and this author explored that by saying we could accept it as inevitability, or we can encourage our fellow jews to stay true to our faith and relations. That with staying strong we can keep our faith alive and continue our sacred traditions that have been passed thru generations. If we intermarry, we will surely loose these rituals. He says do not accept inevitability and try to compensate, rather  encourage your fellow jews to keep the noogie within the faith. Avoid American assimilation. Its imperative.

Well, heres my thoughts: this author can take his conservative views and shove them where the green don't grow. I grew up from a young age being told that after high school I had to date a Jew. And I have stayed strong against that, dating nothing but beautiful blonde haired blue-eyed guys and men my whole life. I never dated a Jew and I couldn't be more happy with my desicion. I'll just come right out and say that I think Jewish men are momma's boys. They are whipped by thier women.

These are the times of the future. Religion has to be static and flexible, otherwise it will never be able to stretch and twist with these changing times. Thats why so many people have abandoned it in the traditional sense. There are too many rules today that can't be justified within our societal context. Why bother with something that we can't even relate to?

Is this guy really concerned with the love of interfaith couples? If he's so worried that Judaism will die with assimilation, perhaps he should be spending his time integrating Judaism into the future so the children can be taught to appreciate the traditions for their excitement, mystery and stories,  instead of being told before they can spell that they can have to marry a Jew. Certainly didn't work for me!

 I love my non-Jewish boyfriend. Heck, maybe I'll marry him.

Birth Control Haters

So the article I want to comment on is not recent, but it still makes me angry everytime I think about it. 

http://www.treehugger.com/health/why-i-wont-consider-using-natural-birth-control-methods.html

This woman wrote an article about Natural vs. Artifical Birth Control, claiming that natural birth control is not as reliable as traditional birth control. And no offense to her, but I could really wring her neck for the way she talks about this issue. She talks about it as if taking birth control is as normal as eating food for breakfast or drinking water during the day. As if its a normal part of life, that is a requirement/necessity to take to survive normally. Guess what, sweetheart, ITS NOT. And as a Treehugger writer, I'm surprised she takes part in such alteration of her own body. Below is what I wrote write after I read this article, fuming at my office desk. 

 

While I agree that it is probably hard to change birth controls (I actually dont know, I try to limit the amount of foreign things that enter my body, especially things i cant spell or pronounce), and that is not something to be taken lightly, the issue at hand here is not the birth control, its the responsibility. Sex is not like blinking your eye or going to the bathroom. While it happens often, there is a conscious choice that is involved in the process. And those that are not capable of dealing with the consequences that arise then should not be partaking. 

I don't think its fair to blame natural birth control for not being as reliable, when the only rouge variable in this equation is your mind and the conscious decision to have sex. If one is not ready to have a child or get an abortion, deal with the horrors of STDs, then they should be making the conscious decision to abstain. Even though I am far from abstinence, as a young woman who enjoys sex very much, I also have all my escape routes and mental plans for if/when problems arise. 

Don't blame failures on birth control, especially when they don’t advertise 100% success. The responsibility is on the women who cant cope with the consequences. I'm sorry, but women, its time to start taking responsibility for your actions and conscious decisions.  

Mistaking Sustainability in New Orleans

Recently an article has been posted by Mother Nature Network (love this site) about Brad Pitts' sustainable homes that were constructed in the ninth ward after Hurricane Katrina. And what a mess.

These Make it Right Foundation homes built in New Orleans were the first of their kind in the area. Choc full of renewable energy solar panels, paints and flooring absent of VOCs, water collection systems, and dual flush toilet systems, it seemed that the Bradd Pitt-funded homes were a home run. And Perhaps they were as singular modular units.

As a Tulane University Alumn, I have seen the homes with my own eyes. No one can deny their beauty and innovation. They are fabulous sustainable homes. Even if they do dot the landscape like plastic leggos on a demolition site.

But sustainability is not an independent variable. Sustainability relies on all of its external and internal factors. Its working with nature, not ignoring it.

In Green/Sustainable building and design there are several things that a architect/builder/contractor must consider. Firstly, location, location, location. The ninth ward is NOT a sustainable place to live. Over 9 feet under sea level, and right next to water ways and Lake Pontchartrain, this area is a target for long standing flooding. So if a storm of epic proportions ever hit NOLA again which is decently probable since sea level rise is increasing, as is the average severity of storms, the ninth ward is the first place to go. Again. Regardless of how energy efficient/recycled content/water saving the homes are, nothing of that will matter if a giant wave of brackish water hits the homes like a brick wall.

No one doubts the horrors that the locals there experienced, which is why there is no one left. Which is yet another reason the homes are unsuccessful.  They are inhabited by elders, with no businesses in the area. No restaurants, no stores, not even a supermarket. They community there is not sustainable.

The article highlights the use of a wood technology called TimberSIL, a non-toxic glass infused wood that is praised for being completely rot resistant without using any toxic treatment. The wood is backed by a 40 year garuntee. At this point, the structures have been standing for almost ten years, and rottage is highly noticabble. Now, I'm not one to critisize mistakes. I make them frequently and easily. However, I am a 23 year old young professional that knows pretty much nothing about anything except plants and partying. But the professionals at Make it Right should have considered their environment when building stairs and decking. NOLA is HOT AND HUMID. They should have used Black Locust.

It is important for people to remember when rebuilding destroyed sites to consider EVERYTHING. Sustainability is holistic. So sustainable professionals, think of everything... thats what you are paid to do.

http://www.mnn.com/your-home/remodeling-design/blogs/nontoxic-treated-wood-used-in-make-it-right-homes-starts-to-rot