no, I really do want your slowest internet, THANKS

   So, I'm in a huff about trying to order some cheap internet for our new place in Asheville.   Part of Kim and I's current eco craze means doing with less in an attempt to live frugally.  Which means we've been attempting to cut things out like smart phones and cable television. 
    Currently in Pittsburgh we have basic cable and internet for thirty dollars a month.  Yes, it's basic, but the speed seems just fine to me, and I'm not breaking the bank on internet and television.  Anyways... Today, I called the cable provider in Asheville and got verbally abused for wanting the cheapest internet known as 'Lite'.  The operator asked me repeatedly if I was sure I wanted the 'Lite' internet.  At one point he said, "You realize that you basically won't be able to do anything with this package."  Long awkward pause and then I shifted into asshole mode.  I proceeded to tell him that I'm not a fool, I realize what 1 megabit per second means and I'm okay with that.  I told him that I'm not trying to keep up with everyone else, I just need and want basic internet.  I believe I also threw in there that I have a college education (from Walsh University, bam!).  The cable guy comes to our new place next Friday, so we'll see how slow 1 mbps really is. 
  The whole problem I have with all of this is that anytime you want the most basic of something people act like you're Amish or you live in a cave.  Other examples of being talked down to include going to the Verizon store and downgrading our smart phones to 'dumb' phones.  The man proceeded to look at us in amazement.  Then with a straight face he told us that smart phones actually pay for themselves.  Well, I have my old crappy flip phone back and it's great.  When Kim and I bought our Subaru the guy thought I was nuts for changing my own oil.  His exact words were, "Tell me something, doesn't that take a long time?"  Tell me, does it kill you to do something on your own?    
    I'd just like to round this all out in perfect five paragraph form.  In conclusion, I realize that going against the grain means that people will try and pull you back onto the wagon, but that doesn't mean I have to like or go along with it.

Granola, Locavores, Inconvenience

    So lots of things have been going down recently.  Kim and I are moving to Asheville in just about 2 weeks, which amounts to craziness.  I'm about to leave my first job that taught me how to be a nurse.  And many other things.  One of the biggest things going on right now is Kim and I's fervor for the environment.  I'm not sure what has happened recently, but we have both become full out tree huggers.  I mean we are trying to buy as locally, planning on planting a garden, planning on composting I no longer use plastic bags in my lunch, I cringe every time I see people loading plastic shopping bags at the grocery store, and at Subway I tell the Sandwich Artist that I do not need a bag for that sub.  The list goes on and should get bigger.
   The whole "green" thing has been happening for some time.  It all started back in college in my Honor's classes that tied in the environment with Shakespearean literature.   The fervor has increased over the past few years, but has ramped up quite a bit in the past month or two.  Kim has been the catalyst that got things going seriously.  She sites the blog Zero Waste Home and then a friend told her to watch No Impact Man (you can stream it on Netflix) and that kind of got the ball rolling for her.  I then watched No Impact Man and was intrigued.  Over the next couple of weeks I kept thinking about all the plastic we consume and how most of it is made from oil (which is now over $100 a barrel) and most of it ends up in a landfill for an eternity before it's leached into the soil as it breaks down.   All of this earth humping madness coincided with Kim and I attempting to make Asheville a reality.
    Asheville is this neat little mountain city that Kim and I have been exploring/drooling over the past 5 months.  Asheville has experienced a cool rebirth in the past 15 years, part of this regrowth is a very strong Buy Local campaign.  The city is made up of many many local businesses and all of the sport the latest ad's such as, "Put your money where your heart is.  Buy Local." or, "Local is the new black."  The owner of Kim's new coffee shop has compostable to-go cups, which is fantastic.  BUT, they are made locally.
     For now that is about all I have.  Think about all of the actions we as a society make and how detrimental they are towards the environment.  Why do we need everything to be individually packaged and wrapped?