jeremyrandall / blog /

Some events and exhibitions going on at the SFPL:

• Presidential Inauguration. January 20, 2009, 9am-12pm, Koret Auditorium, Main Library, Lower Level: “Join us to watch the swearing in and inaugural address of President-elect Barack Obama. Celebratory refreshments in Latino/Hispanic Community Room B.”
• Harvey Milk: Private Life, Public Life. Through January 10, 2009, Main Library, Third Floor, James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center, Sixth Floor, San Francisco History Center. “An exhibit of original photographs and archival material drawn from the collections of the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center and the San Francisco History Center that explores the life of Harvey Milk from his childhood to his days on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Highlights include family photos, love letters, candid snapshots and political papers.”
• Our Rights as Human Beings, The 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Through December 1, 2009, Main Library, Third Floor, International Center. “In honor of the December 10, 1948 United Nations General Assembly adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Library presents a unique 1949 photo display designed to explain these rights in a way accessible to all, regardless of the language you speak, along with the full text of the Declaration.”
• All Aboard! The San Fracisco Public Library Holiday Train. Through January 9, 2009, Main Library, Second Floor, Fisher Children’s Center. Featured is a Lionel O Scale replica of the Polar Express, which starred in Chris Van Allsburg’s 1985 holiday classic and the subsequent 2004 movie adaptation of the same name.

All programs at the Library are free.

San Francisco Public Library

It’s the time of the holidays and the day before Christmas.

In the past, for me, the holidays have really fluctuated between the “good the bad and the ugly.” Cue the stories of crazy family antics, fights and disappointments. Sprinkle in some good times. Stir in some really bad times, disappointments and outright hurtful situations. It’s complicated. There have been years that I was into the holidays, years that I showed up for events and made the best of it, years that I was not pleased to be there at all and years that I just ignored the whole thing.

I started thinking awhile back about how I feel about the holidays this year. And about how inconsistent the holidays have been for me in the past. I started thinking about what I want and need from the holidays, what I want to offer and which holiday traditions I find enjoyable and which I dislike. I started thinking about how I can make the holidays work well for me and how I can build some consistency for future holiday seasons.

So I came up with a plan to let go of the holidays of the past and to start anew with holiday events and traditions that I like and that let me be involved in ways that I enjoy. I’ve given myself permission to say no to things I’m not interested in (doing so politely and in a caring way). I’ve made plans with people who are here in my life and talked and emailed with people who are far away, maintaining connections in an enjoyable and manageable way.

It’s working really well. I’m actually excited about the holidays this year. I don’t have to be excited about the parts I don’t like. I am excited about the parts I do like. I’m focused on what holiday cheer means to me and to the people close to me. I even did a little decorating, while avoiding the over-the-top stuff. I don’t believe in rampant consumerism, so I don’t give or receive wasteful items or things folks don’t really need.

Balance, joy, sustainability, good wishes, caring, people. It’s pretty great.

Happy Holidays, big goofy hugs and lots of love, y’all!

I think most people in the United States take fresh water for granted. It’s readily available in every building, it’s clean and it can be used pretty much without restriction, from taking a long shower to washing clothes to hosing down the sidewalk or just letting it run down the drain while we brush our teeth or turn away from the faucet in the kitchen. Not to mention using a whole toilet-tank full of water to flush away a few ounces of pee (yes, I said pee). Americans use a lot of water and they don’t really pay much attention to conserving it. I believe that, like thoughtless use of fuel and energy, thoughtless use of water is not sustainable and is going to need to stop sooner rather than later.

I don’t pretend to understand all the complexities of water use, water distribution and water conservation, but it seems to me that there are some easy ways to use less water. I limit my water usage by turning off the sink when I’m brushing my teeth, only running the dishwasher (yikes, what a luxury a dishwasher actually is!) when there’s a full load, only doing full loads of laundry, sweeping the sidewalk instead of hosing it (I run the hose sparingly when someone lets their dog pee all over the front sidewalk) and only flushing the toilet once in the morning even if there have been multiple trips to the bathroom at night. Flushing the toilet less saves a ton of water so I do this during the day when I’m home alone or with someone who’s also comfortable with this.

Taking showers together with someone else is a great way to use less water (I happen to think it’s also enjoyable!). Using a single bucket of water and a brush to clean things (like cars) saves a lot of water over using a running hose.

Some larger-scale water saving ideas include rooftop rainwater collection, gray water reclaimation and landscaping that uses low-water plants instead of water-wasteful grass lawns (personally I find that varied plantings look so much better than lawns anyway!).

I’ve written about saving water before, in the context of “dual flush toilets” that save water by using different amounts to flush “number one” and “number two” (I use the word “pee” there too!).

What prompted me to write this was coming across the WATER Institute (Watershed Advocacy, Training, Education, & Research) and their publication “Basins Of Relations: A Citizen’s Guide to Protecting and Restoring Our Watersheds.”

Their organization is dedicated to educating the public about water use and about how important the overall health of watersheds is to communities:

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• Day-after-Thanksgiving vegetarian/vegan Thanksgiving dinner with new friends was fantastic.
• Emails and text messages received today have been making me smile.
• Horatio Hornblower DVD borrowed from the Library was fun and I’m going to borrow more.
• Chilly with crisp sunlight outside, cozy with steam heat inside.
• Helped comfort a dear friend last night who’s going through a breakup.
• Dinner plans with rockstar friend “Southern French” tonight.
• Upgraded this blog software and updated the spam comment filtering system.
• Checked backups and tweaked settings.
• Had some turkey meatballs for lunch (I’m about 65% vegetarian right now)

I really believe that there is always opportunity available and it takes getting out there and doing the work to find it. So when a change happens with little warning, it’s time to get out there and find out what the next right thing will be.

Last week the company I was working for laid off 20% of the staff, including me. The current economic situation made things tighten up really fast, and they had to batten down the hatches and make cuts to weather the storm (I love nautical metaphors). It was a good job and it’s a good company. I count myself lucky to have worked there and I learned a lot while I was there. The guys I worked for were fantastic and the layoffs were handled professionally and with sensitivity. That’s a nice thing.

Afterwards folks went over to the restaurant down the street for lunch. Lots of our co-workers and managers stopped by to grab a bite, reminisce about the work we all did together and say goodbye (a few stayed up in the office because they were too upset to come down). I’m always interested in seeing hard situations handled well and I left feeling really well, excited even. Of course it’s scary when your job ends, but I feel a real sense of excitement about looking for new jobs or projects, networking, touching base with folks and finding new adventures. There’s always an opportunity out there and I’ve found the next one is usually as great as the last.

I’ve been adding contacts on LinkedIn and making sure my profile is up to date. I’ve received some great references there from co-workers and from managers. Here’s the link to my professional profile.

Have an interesting opportunity or project idea (technology, writing, training or something totally unexpected) in San Francisco? Drop me a line. Or if we’ve worked together in the past, I’d love to hear from you. I’ve already had some great conversations with folks in the last few days, which is just the first opportunity that has become available.

I feel that I should also throw out the obligatory, “hey, go vote tomorrow!” I certainly don’t think I have any special ability to inspire anyone to vote, but I do think it’s really, really important; an opportunity to make a difference in a very real way.

What’s the theme of this post? Oh yeah!