I'm Absolutely Positive I'm Pretty Negative

So, The Professor brought this book back from the library a couple of weeks ago, and as he was in the middle of something already, I took a crack at it. Although the title has the ring of one of those touchy-feely self-help kind of things, (something I have never seen The Professor's nose buried in, and thus was surprised when it was in his bag on return from the library), it's written by a psychologist (Dr. Barbara Fredrickson) distinguished in this field and is based on years of rigorous research. This is big with The Professor (being a professor and all), and whenever I mention a study or announce a finding someone's come up with, he always wants to know about the research it's based on. (Sadly, I am rarely able to tell him anything more conclusive then, "Well, they said...)

While it is written by a professor/researcher, it's a good read for those of us that have only the most minimal of understanding of both psychology and research methods. The crux of the book is that having positive emotions is important to flourish, not only emotionally, but physically as well. She actually has worked out through about 20 years of research that there is a ratio of positive to negative emotions that is important to reach - it's 3 to 1. She even has a test in the book (is it a bad thing that when I went to take the test, I sighed and announced that I was pretty sure it was going to go badly?) to figure out your ratio. Mine was 1.2 to 1. Hmmmm...seems I have a little bit of work to do.

She has a website where you can take the tests and even track your scores to see if you are getting more positive. It's a really interesting idea, and the book is full of useful suggestions that you can use in your everyday life. It's definitely given me some food for thought recently, even if I have staunchly refused to take the test again (I took it a second time and aced it - 3.4 to 1, but my answers may have been slightly affected by the fact that I was pretty bummed out by my first score and refused to see such numbers again...don't judge me).

It's kind of like starting a new diet - I'll start being more positive tomorrow; today I need to bask in a little negativity (or ice cream).

The Last Lecture

I had read about Randy Pausch quite a while ago; he was a Carnegie Mellon professor who found out he was dying of pancreatic cancer. Apparently it's common in academia to give something called a "last lecture," in which professors review their lives and impart some wisdom that they've learned.

This last lecture was different in that it actually would be from the point of view of someone who had only a short time to live. I've been on the waiting list at my library for a LONG time (sadly I didn't start actually reading the book until I realized it was already overdue) and was surprised by this book. I was expecting something rather maudlin, and instead it was interesting, funny, and inspiring. Obviously, the subject matter being what it is, there were parts that were sad, but the overall tone of the book was one of optimism and humor. This man lived the heck out of his life, accomplished dreams, and loved his family.

There's a You Tube video of the actual lecture, but I enjoyed the book more. I liked being able to read the chapters in my own time and give them some thought. It was a short read, and divided up into small chapters (perfect for my time schedule these days). Randy Pausch died on July 25th of this year from pancreatic cancer, and judging from the way he lived his life, I'm sure he is missed by many.

Knowledge Can Be Expensive

I've been watching the grocery budget here at Chez Necessity continue to climb. We are a family of four, and we don't eat meat (but do eat fish). I used to be able to feed everyone for about $240 a month. Lately, my head hurts when I go onto my Quicken file, because our monthly bill has climbed to about $340 a month. Some of this can be blamed on the rising cost of food. I especially enjoy the price increases that the food companies think are hidden, such as the shrinking package size. Just irritating (but then, I am easily irritated).

The other reason for the vast increase in our grocery bill is reading. Yes, reading. If I (and The Professor) would stop reading I think we would be rich as kings. I used to be very leery of the organic food movement (I used to live up by Woodstock, and the people on this bandwagon were a bit too crunchy granola for me), but after reading again and again what the use of pesticides, antibiotics and the like is doing to our food, ourselves, and our environment, we have begun switching to more and more organic products. Milk was my final holdout, because it's so pricey, but I finally gave in this summer.

The other issue is one of fair trade practices. I am not one who spends huge amounts of time scrutinizing the labor practices around the world, so it's always a shock to me when I learn about what goes on. We started buying Fair Trade coffee last year, after The Professor showed me some information about the treatment of the farmers and workers who harvest coffee. This effectively doubled the price we pay for coffee. It's also not so easy to find, but lo and behold, when I was in Costco this week, I picked up this:


The thing to look for (which I never would have notice before) is the little Fair Trade symbol:


Luckily for those of us who are unable to remember things from one minute to the next, this symbol is used for all products that have been certified Fair Trade. This certification basically means that the company adheres to the standards set up by the organization (fair prices for workers, sustainability, no slave labor practices, etc.). For more specifics, Wikipedia has a comprehensive article here.

Now I see that my bills will be going up again, because I've been reading this:


It's an interesting (but painful) read which chronicles the history of chocolate and chocolate production. I am now in the section on the labor practices, and they are horrific. Who knew that such a tasty luxury item in this country is made with a raw product produced in part by slave labor, including children. Unfortunately, it's much easier to find fair trade coffee than fair trade chocolate, as I've discovered from hunting online for the last hour, but I'll keep at it.

They say ignorance is bliss, but unfortunately the bliss only applies to those who are ignorant, not to those on the other side of the coin.

Who Knew?

I really like books about saving money, but as I also like actually saving money, I check them out of the library and rarely purchase them. The one exception to this is The Tightwad Gazette series by Amy Dacyczyn. These books are a compilation of a newsletter that she wrote out of her home as well as letters from readers. Most of the articles and letters are interesting and useful, and some are downright off the wall, like making children's toys out of bread tabs and melting the tiny bit of deodorant left in the dispenser in the microwave so that it can be melded with other remnants to make a new deodorant.

Years ago I read about how she replaces an egg in baking with a heaping tablespoon of soy flour and a tablespoon of water. I wasn't terribly interested in this fact, as eggs were dirt cheap at the time, and I didn't have children eating at a rather astonishing rate. I've been reading more and more (I think I really need to just stop reading!) about the treatment of chickens on egg farms, so I've been trying to buy organic and cage-free eggs. This is excruciatingly painful for me, as it makes my eggs now cost about 33 cents apiece.

So, in the spirit of experimentation I toddled on over to my local health food store and purchased some organic soy flour. I used it in place of the egg in the muffins I made this morning, and lo and behold it worked beautifully! Everyone scarfed them down, and as the soy flour only cost 3 cents, I think it was a success. Now I have to figure out how to invest that 30 cents.....

Oh My

Nora Ephron has a really funny book of essays about aging called I Feel Bad About My Neck. I read it last summer, and found it quite amusing, especially since it made me feel young and relatively non-saggy. And then The Professor downloaded this picture onto the computer:


I've been trying to only look straight ahead from now on to avoid further chin/neck furrows, but it's not going well. I don't think I'll re-read that book; I have a feeling I might find it slightly less witty the second time around.