No Impact...Day 7 & 8

Day 7 is a pretty short post.  The challenge was Giving Back.  I was supposed to be volunteering my time (or good manners) and give back to the community or open the door for people or walk old ladies across the street.  I had to work all day (read up at 4 a.m. and not home till 7:15 p.m. then to sleep to repeat the next day), so I didn't really do all those things.

I'm actually not very comfortable getting into great detail about how I do give back.  Oh sure, I have a blog that screams "Look At Me!" but when talking about charitable contributions I don't want to post "Look at what a good person I am.  I am great.  I am fantastic. Blah blah blah."  And maybe it's just silly.  I'm going to list the four things I do but that's it.  No further explanation.

I donate to my local Women's Shelter
I donate to my local Food Bank
I started a community Trade Day
I send money to Yosemite Conservancy


Day 8 EcoSabbath.  Today was supposed to be a day of reflection.  To reflect on the past week.  To enjoy family and friends.  I went to work.  I reflected on the past week, but it was more a sense of relief that I made it through the week.  Relief that I could go back to my "regular" way of life.  That I could be low/no impact on my own terms and not under pressure.

I'm making some permanent changes and I'll write about those in regular posts.  Something like how a bike rack tried to kill me. 

Here's something I know you've been waiting for.  A picture of my trash for the entire week. 

Just over 4 cups.  I could probably have recycled some of this down even further.  

Isn't this a cute picture?  This was the one and only thing I regret about doing this experiment.  Not the jello, not the picture.  What I regret is that I posted the picture.  I had mixed feelings about doing that because it opens the floodgates to strangers.  I posted the pic on the Yes! Magazine Facebook page for a chance to win a year's subscribtion. 

One person felt it was their duty to point out the evils of jello.

 "Cynthia Koons- Is this JELLO???? Do you know how they make the stuff??? They have animal bones/carcasses shipped from South America and then boil them off for the gelatin, the people who work in the factories are prone to getting anthrax on their skin!


January 6 at 6:09pm · LikeUnlike"
 
She really likes the "?" key.  You can also read my nice, yet polite way of saying, "Hey, I don't know you and thanks for being a jerk!" if you go to the Facebook page.
 
The truth is that it's boiled off for collagen, not gelatin, smarty pants.  Only the strictest vegetarians avoid gelatin and it's already in numerous foods that we all eat.  My family is not vegetarian. 
 
Basically, I could've done without that comment, as the experiment was hard enough as is.  I was hoping this would've been a completely positive experience, but as the saying goes, "there's one in every crowd."