Camera Cord...Rest of Week

My apologies. This is the second day I forgot the camera cord to download photos.
I had an English teacher, Mrs. Harding...who gave me a quote I often use: excuses are the building blocks of failure.

So, this is not an excuse...but an explanation! I was busy.

Tomorrow I hope to have a new posting. I can say this...the Puyallup Fair makes it very hard to recycle. My parents are calling me "Earthy Crunchy." And all my garbage fit into a standard plastic shopping bag! Yeah me!

I am thinking about another challenge... water conservation. What is the least amount of water I can use in 7 days? Think I should try?

Oh. That's Me.

Day 4:
So I am sitting in Control 2 transcribing Listener Testimonials. These are short audio files of our members encouraing listeners (not you because you're already a member) to become members and support NWPR. I'm happily typing away. Giddy at the thought of finishing this major project today....when sniff sniff. Man. I smell like garlic! I unzip my jacket and smell it. No. I lift up my t-shirt and smell...nope. What the heck? I thought. It must be my lunch. But I don't have garlic in my lunch today. Then there it is...that white plastic blob...pillowy and smelling like GARLIC!

You see, while you can compost chicken bones after boiling them down, or removing all meats...I don't have the time this week.

I read Tess's blog today and she's right on when she says:
I think the best way to get people to reduce their waste stream is to make it easy, manageable, and [ahem] palatable for them to do so.

Maybe there's a big business in this? Instead of Scrap Booking...Table Scrapping? A truck comes around, picks up scraps/bones...compost them and sell it back to us! Or something like that.

I sure feel sorry for the next Board Operator/DJ...Maybe I'll play on a joke on them and come into control 2 and ask..."What smells in here?"

I Want to Say One Word To You. Just One Word

Plastics.

I have noticed that most of my garbage (Day 3) is coming from plastic wrap. I'm not sure what to do with Saran wrap coated with food. This morning I thought about wrappin my melon in wrap. Then I decided to cut it up and store it in a reusable plastic container. Score! Notice the lack of meat. One commentator suggested going Vegan. I did it for lunch.


All this has me thinking. What can we do with plastic bags?
Plastic Bag Chair


Plastic Evening Bag


Plastic Bag Crafts



I also found a Safeway plastic bag dress (shudder) and various plastic bag toy animals No lead paint in them I'm sure!

I took the advice from commentators and am composting Mochi's poo. I have yet to boil my chicken bones down and compost them...thus the eerily delicious decomposing dinner smell in my purse.


I forgot my hankie today. Notice the tissue box in my purse. Thank goodness for recycling!

NO! Chicken Bones, Napkins and My Competitive Nature

Day 2: I'm still alive. I now have a little bag of garbage. It irritates me.


So far I have learned that I grab tissues and napkins like dogs grab tennis balls. So, I hand washed a hankie (which was given to me so I didn't have to purchase it and create a receipt AND...the best part...was left behind by a hippie with dreadlocks on a hiking trail.) and am going to buy cloth napkins.
This is making me think a lot about what I use and my habits. Oh! And I have confirmed that I am ever so slightly competitive. My goal is to generate the lease amount of trash EVER. So when I cooked dinner and realized I used up all my rice noodles, thus, leaving behind a plastic bag, which I don't think is recyclable, I was pretty hard on myself!



Thinking about what I am eating is not new to me. Some of you know about my food allergies. However, thinking about the packaging and bones involved is!

But here is where the learning begins. I didn't know you could compost bones! Then I did some research:


Since then, I have learned to cook the turkey neck and make soup from it, and then, when most of the meat has been stripped, it can be buried deep within a pile in a pocket of aged material. Now I compost chicken bones, T-bones, pork chop bones, etc. with absolutely no problems at all.

Tomorrow...how to deal with Old Man The Mochi Shih Tzu Poo!

My Garbage Challenge

I’m going to carry around my garbage for a week.

I was inspired by Marketplace's Tess Vigeland who is hauling her household garbage with her for two weeks. Hear Tess talk about this challenge: Garbage Challenge

Tess is doing it for 2 weeks. I will not set myself up for failure and have changed some of the rules.

1. I will carry my household/office trash for 1 week.
2. I will be recycling or composting EVERYTHING I can!
3. I’m going to modify my eating and shopping to keep the trash down.

I have a feeling I will still be carrying a lot of garbage. Oh Crap! I have a dog. Good thing he is a Shih Tzu…I have to figure out how to compost his nuggets.

Wish me luck and I’ll take photos!

UPDATE: 9/17/2007 10:25am
I made it 10 hours without generating any garbage. Then...I watered my office plants and to dry my hands I automatically reached for the paper towels! NOOO! Do I recycle this? Can I compost this? Thom heard my gasp and suggested I reuse it until it dispears. Then...without really thinking I blew my nose in it. Thom was mortified. "Well, now try and wipe things up with it!" So this makes me think of two things.
1. Paper towels make terrible hankies. I need to use that hankie a dear friend gave me...
2. Dish towel
My first piece of garbage is a paper towel.

Our Potluck Winners!

Remember our Online Auction back in February? One of the items up for bid was a potluck by Northwest Public Radio staff! Here are our lucky winners!

Connie and Reed Figley drove to Pullman from the Tri Cities to be stuffed with food!

I met that in the Bookie parking lot and was expecting a nice, old Lincoln to pull up. Perhaps even a Subaru. Well, I was very excited to see a 1988 Lotus!

The staff had a great time playing around their car. I almost wonder if we should have bid on this event ourselves!


Robin Rilette above - looks great in a Lotus!



Above: Left to Right - Robin Rilette, Mary Hawkins, Sueann Ramella, Gillian Coldsnow, Reed and Connie Figley, Thom Kokenge and Tom Hungate




Lunch was full of great dishes - as always. Gillian baked delicious homemade pigs in a blanket. When she said the name in French it sounded even more fabulous! Robin Rilette made her devilish deviled eggs. Thom Kokenge whip us up some croquettes and I made stuffed peppers. Other highlight dishes: goat cheese spinach squares, amazing brownies, pineapple upside down cake, delicious salads, chicken, shrimp rice dish, etc. It was...FILLING!



We chatted with Connie and Reed about how they met (work), what they like about public radio (news, weekend shows, ALL OF IT!), how they got into Lotus and car collecting, and about their awesome dogs.

A fine afternoon with friends we have always talked to, but never met. That's radio.



Gillian Coldsnow (whom I lovingly call 'G') and myself...she calls me "Missy."

War Is In All Of Us

Paul Watson gave me pause today. He is a Canadian journalist who won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for his photograph of a dead American soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu in Somalia. Terry Gross interviewed him on Fresh Air.

This type of interview is public radio to me; deep, difficult, and sometimes raw.

When Watson took the photo he mouthed, “I’m Sorry,” to the other soldiers. The tone of his voice and the way he described the situation made me feel like I was there. It hurt.

When he described innocent people surrounding him, protecting him from a vicious mob, I could see it.

When he said, “I know where war lives. It lives inside all of us.” I believe it.

His memoir, Where War Lives, will be on my list.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes! Climate Changes So Does Sueann

I wanted to make this entry incredibly entertaining. Full of funny phrases, jokes and insight into Sueann's world. But...not today. Instead. You get straight up, plain Sueann blogpost.
What I want to tell you:
1. I am not shopping at Walmart as much as I used to.
2. I am using tote bags when I go shopping
3. I feel a need to buy environmentally friendly dish soap
4. I want a motorcycle bad.
5. I got rid of 2/3s of my belongings in a yard sale...including my precious Martha Stewart magazine library.
6. I'm eating better, feel healthier and buy from the Coop

Why I did this:
Because I have been influenced to change by...
1.NPR's Climate Connection Series
2. Laura Hartner, co-worker/friend, and her environmental-pals
3. The feeling of getting rid of things you don't need - Freedom
4. Necessity - moving to a smaller, more economical place
5. Realized I vote with my money
6. Realized I can afford to eat healthy, organic, humane foods when I'm not buying things I don't need.

There are a few other shows and stories that influenced me as well. I'll share those soon....and some Nine Inch Nails lyrics.

Racism, Football and My Weekend

Did you hear this? I was just...shocked! Beating Charges Split Town Along Racial Lines
I know I shouldn't be so naive but I found myself talking to my Klotz Board asking, "Are we in the 60's?" Then I actually spoke out loud to the reporter..."You gotta be kidding me!?" In this day and age...I guess so.

I found it interesting that despite the clear racial problems at this school - both whites and blacks came together for football. I'm not sure if I think this is super or surreal. They were having an amazing football season, thanks mostly to the black students, so tensions didn't boil over until after the season was over.

Football either brought them together in teamwork or football was a fantastic distraction - doing well made everyone feel good and forget about skin color. Hmmm.

This story made me appreciate my weekend even more. I went to the Moscow Motorcycle Rally...a nice turn out for a first time event. There, in downtown Moscow, are bikers and across the street... a Gay Pride Parade. Ahh Moscow, you are a special place on this planet.

Oh and props to Idaho Star and my instructors who taught me how to ride! Love ya Mark n Gang!

Peace.
Sueann

Truth, White Lies, Yes You Look Fat in That

Do you think you can be radically honest? Can you say to your wife when she asks, "Does this make me look fat?" "Yes Babe. It does you no good?"

I think truth without love is malice...but if I had to choose malice over deception...I choose malice. I guess you could say - I highly value truth. So I was very excited about On Point when they did an interview with Brad Blanton. On Point

Here is Blanton's website. Radical Honestly Try to be a little more honest...but do it with love. You'r not going to do this huh? Just tell me the truth. No. You're not. Thanks for being honest.

OH but something that may help us all be radically honest with ourselves and each other? Less judgement.

Good Show, Say It Ain't So Dad!

Thanks for having me back! So today's show was a bit entertaining to me. First, the latest updates about Iraq.White House Report on Iraqi's Progress Then we lighten it up with some choice kids songs you will like too.Kid's Songs But then...then we have time to catch up on R. Kelly's court proceedings? Yuk! I am not even going to post a link to that story. Which reminds me of something...So while I was home hanging with my folks I learned a terrible thing about my father. Here's the scene:
Me upstairs. Dad in rec room watching TV news. Mom brewing tea in Kitchen.
Dad: "Oh I don't believe this Hon! Hey Honey! Can you believe this?"
Mom: "What is it?"
Dad: "This is ridiculous. That girl needs to get a job. That's her problem!"
Me: (thinking in my head)...OMG. Is he talking about what I think he's talking about?
Mom: "I think so. Too easy life."
Dad: "If they let her go..."
Me: (yelling down the stairs) "Oh My God Dad! Are you REALLY watching a story about Paris Hilton? Please, my love for you depends on the answer!
Dad: "I don't know what you're on about!"
Me: (running down the stairs into the rec room) "Dad. Seriously. This is so upsetting to me! You are watching COURT TV??? Oh Dad! It's Paris Hilton! Aren't there better things to watch? Like...an infomercial or something?"
Dad: "Shut up! (said lovingly I assure you) She'd be a pretty girl if she ate something and didn't dress like a hooker."
Me: (rolling eyes) "Dad. You're always complaining that there isn't any real news on. Look what you're doing. You're feeding the beast Dad...Just look at yourself Man! (shaking head and pointing and being dramatic) "MOM! Dad is watching crap tv!"
Mom: "Her friend... what's her name? Nicole Ritchie? She needs to eat too!"

Out for A While, Thinking of You

I am in a cafe, in the West side and contemplating traffic. My mind is busy swirling around thoughts of pollution, SUVs, gas prices, the changing of the weather, the processes of Mother Nature, the life of humans...and why the heck would I want take 167 from Auburn to Puyallup at 5:05pm?? Insanity!

I remember when my hometown was half its size in population. That was in 1996. The South Hill mall was 75% full of merchants at best - we thought for sure the mall would close. But the owners probably did their population growth charts and knew better than we that this area would explode. At least there is still the horse ranch near my parent's place. I used to drive past it everyday on the way to school and think, "How nice of a 'country' lifestyle we live in." LOL. One horse ranch, now surrounded by noisey traffic, a mega highway stretching out above the horse's mane.

I'm thinking of you and how much fun I have with our one way communication. I know sometimes I make you smile, make you go, "What was she thinking?" or "What just happened?" or... she sounds NPRish today. If only we could talk all day about the news, the traffic, the weather together! I'll be back soon. Till then....

Where Are the Birds? Where Did the Shoreline GO? Why Did She Post a Photo of Mad Max?

I am loving the special reports that ATC is doing on climate change. Tonight, we learned about Fiji and how their shoreline is disapearing. Read/Listen Here Did you want to have some of that Kava drink too? It would be a nice distraction from thinking about the planet and the inevitable changes coming. My friends will tell you that I like end of the world stories and movies. They make my imagination fly. How will I survive, what would life be like? Think Mad Max and Blue Gender - so as I am listening to the story on Fiji I think...oh that is bad. Then I read an article on CNN Common Backyard Birds Becoming Less Common and I feel panic. This isn't a movie to be entertained by. This is all really happening. The CNN article says the reasons the birds are disapearing are: Agriculture, habitat loss, pesticides, invasive species, global warming. What must we do?

Spay and Neuter Please!

I'm doing something I usually can't stand that other people do. So please excuse my hypocrisy...I usually do not like it when people hear half a story and express their opinions on it. But here goes!

California is looking to pass a bill that would require pet owners to spay or neuter their animals.

That's all I heard so far and I say, "VOTE YES!"

I'll post more after I hear the story and actually finish working this show. I'm blogging while on the air! hehehe.

Glad I'm Not A Teen Driver!

Did you hear our local news story about SAFECO's new way to track teen drivers? It cracked me up! Teen Driver Tracking Story Why? Because I was thinking what if they had this when I was a teen driver? My parents would have known that I was really in Seattle hanging out when I told them I was at Rosalie's house in Puyallup! They also would have known that when I broke curfew that September night back in 1995...I was parked two blocks away! What I was doing was normal and not illegal. The marks are still on the road...that's all I'll say. But what if my parents had GPS on my car?! Dad would have walked over and caught me! Wait. That doesn't really matter because I was grounded for like...ever anyway.

The GPS insurance thing is really just proof parents can show their kids that they(kids) were caught. When, let's face it parents...you don't need proof to reprimand your kids/teens. Why? Because you say so!

How Was Graduation?

So...did you go to a party? Did you finish your thesis? Did you finish high school? How do you feel? Or, are you a supporter of a grad? How do you feel?

When I graduated from high school I felt like it was just one step toward my future. I thought I would be participating in at least 2 more cause I wanted a PhD. Well, I don't think I want to put in the time and work for a PhD anytime soon!

Here is the story on ATC this evening that made me ponder graduation.High School Graduation

Oh Baby!

Today on ATC we heard about a book called, "Everything
Conceivable" Listen to report here. It takes a look at how and when we conceive and how the lucrative fertility business is influencing both men and women's reproduction.

I found it interesting that the author thinks doctors should be more forceful in limiting the number of eggs implanted. Normally, it is the patient who decides the number of eggs -you can ask for a whole lot! Whoa. She thinks it is far too dangerous for both mother and child. I keep hearing her say, "The womb is a single occupancy room..." or something like that.

My imagination goes crazy thinking about this "FOR RENT" sign on a gal... then I imagine a sign that says, "One Room Needs Several Occupants. Inquire Within." Doctors told her that many patients want twins, or triplets. Honestly, I would like twins but it's all about efficiency to me.

Two birds with one stone...then I can adopt the rest you know? But her point is that we are creating health problems. Babies born premature have health problems, some twins take nutrients from each other and die...

We are in a society that practically gets whatever it wants...and on the flip side, if you don't want babies OR periods OR cramps how about Librel? Here's a blurb about it on Planned Parenthood:

"One such development on the horizon is Librel, a continuous-use birth control pill. Where Seasonale limits periods to just four per year, Librel would eliminate periods completely. The manufacturer of the new regimen is expected to seek FDA approval in 2005. Stay tuned."

Well it's 2007 and goodbye period! I couldn't find any Librel sites...so here's my opinion.

We can do anything we want with technology! But that's not always a good thing for everyone. Thoughts?

There was a point in my life that I swear would make a good Lifetime For Women movie. One couple who can't have kids looking into adoption, their friends, who can't have kids doing fertility treatments, their couple friends suffering a miscarriage then affair...and the couple friend of them all who can have kids, want kids but for some reason aren't.

Clearwater National Forest

The past weekend I went for a little hike with some friends and coworkers! In the picture above you see myself, Laura Hartner(Ops Assistant), and Scott Weatherly(Operations Manager). Not photographed: Chuck Blessing and Kevin Anderson.

Let me tell you right now... that this was one of the best weekends of my life! The last time I did this hike I was a host mother to two teens. We took a group of exchange students up. They did well, but it took a LONG time to go up the 6 miles. Not only that, but I was a pack mule carrying a lot of gear. This time, I was with friends and had a lighter pack - though later I would learn the importance of evenly stuffing your pack.

It was perfect and beautiful! You may have read or heard the report on Bark Beetle and Budworm destroying trees in our region. Read and Listen to story here I only recall seeing a few trees slowly dying from disease. From what I could tell, it looked more like a fungal problem but I am no expert and only took one mycology class. What I am curious about though, is how likely are we to stop or even slow this process?

Speaking of stopping and slowing a process. On our way back across the Clearwater river, I froze. There I was, standing on the log "bridge" and I couldn't move.

I have done this before but there I was with my mind stuck on "DON'T MOVE!" I was embarrassed. I was curious too about what my brain was thinking...I tried to tell myself to move but nothing. I even thought about Muad'Dib:

“I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.”

But then the visual of sandworms flooded my brain - which, at the time, was getting flooded by the visuals of the river...and it didn't help.

Scott offered to take my pack and I gave it to him. Then, with no problem, I crossed. He said my pack was unbalanced...So. Note to self: Learn to pack.
Despite that little episode being in the hot springs, crossing the river and hiking and hanging was great. When Gillian Coldsnow asked me about my weekend I said, "This is what I said out loud G...'I am Sueann Ramella, in the middle of the Clearwater National Forest, sitting in the Stanley Hot Springs, on a clear night and watching the stars. I LOVE MY LIFE!'"

Why Are Koreans Apologizing for Cho? I Sorta Know and I'm Sorry Too

I know I am late with this topic. As with our culture, we tend to forget things fast unless it is connected to E-online or complete nonesense. (I am in a serious mood today, yes, it happens.) Anyway, I was reminded of my Korean ancestry several times yesterday and this morning. That is why I felt compelled to share. My mother called me last night and we discussed Cho and how she is embarrassed and yet, she struggles with the apology from the Korean community.

My Mother: "I am American. We don't need to apologize for everything. But I also feel embarrassed. His poor parents. I feel so bad for them and the victims."

Me: "Me too mom. I feel kinda responsible and I have no idea why. Why do you feel that way?"

Mom: "Because he is Korean. But...I was also American. I dunno. I feel sad."

May I remind you of Han?

Then I had a conversation with Gillian Coldsnow about collective guilt in the Asian community. The differences between individualism of American culture and the collective thinking of most Asian cultures. We concluded that it seems to be in our genes...the collective. I just hope we are not like the Borg.

My conversation with Gillian reminded me of my ancestry. How strange it is to stand between two amazing cultures, hating and loving one or the other all the time.

Later that night, a friend said to me that it is cool I am half Asian. I suspect he meant my unique insight into things, but it could quiet possibly be my unique fashion sense and facial features.

Finally, this morning, I got a call from my Korean exchange student. He just finished some finals and had a brief moment to catch up with me. He brought up Cho and the massacre. He said to me, "I feel so ashamed. I feel so bad for his parents and for the people. Why did he have to be Korean?"

I asked him why did he feel shame?

He said, "...because I must. He (Cho)was Korean, I am Korean." Then Jun Bum, that's his name, says to me. "Nuna, (Korean for big sister) some people I met in the States have too much American spirit. I have trouble understanding them. But you have Korean spirit and you get me. We understand most of each other huh?"

I agreed. It really is in my genes.

I came across an article that sort of says it all for me.

"Even though, a group expression of regret stretched the boundary way past what is appropriate or even needed when an individual commits a monstrous crime, it ultimately served a noble purpose. It showed that Koreans as all other Americans felt the intense pain and suffering that Cho wreaked on innocents at Virginia Tech. Their regret said that the victim's suffering was their suffering too." Earl Ofari Hutchinson, New America Media.
Hutchinson's Article

Your suffering is my suffering too. It is noble.

For more on this topic read Gillian's blog entry on it.
Gillian's great blog entry on Korean apology, well done G!

Living with Cancer: Leroy Sievers

For the most part, I am a very blessed person. I have had no immediate family suffer from disease. In fact, I have yet to attend a blood relative's funeral. But I empathize, and I do this a lot. So when I got a chance to speak with Leroy Sievers I was very interested to ask him some questions.
My hardest question was why should we care? I was prepping with Gillian Coldsnow and asked her this. Her facial expression told me that she was impressed with the frankness of the question but concerned about how I phrased it. Don't worry, I was more polite when I asked Sievers! I was just reading all his entries and started thinking about the world. People dying in Darfur, Iraq, so many people suffering the world over - why should we care? Why do we care and empathize? Sievers's answer moved me deeply, and my heart felt the truth in his words.
"Cause we’re all human. Look, I spent my adult life as a journalist going and watching bad things happen to people. I've literally seen tens of thousands of deaths in front of me. There are a lot of deaths in the world and lot of deaths in this world are meaningless, cruel and violent. WE should care about all of them whether you know the person or not. And one of the things with cancer patients is I may not know most of them, only electronically, and there are people out there that don’t write in, or they may just be readers, but I know just through shared experience... I have a sense of they’re going through and they have a sense of what I am going through and that’s meaningful. No death is meaningless no life is meaningless."

You can read Leroy Sievers's blog here
My Cancer for more on the feature in Morning Edition: Leroy on Morning Edition

You can read my interview with Leroy on our website:

NWPR Interview with Sievers