Blog Posts Across ViroPOP - community - ViroPOP

Locking-in green behavior

Ten observations related to how people are adjusting to high fuel prices, and maybe we can have a discussion. 1. "Peak oil" is on the digital lips of many progressive bloggers. This event, assuming it has happened, signals the start of a fundamental restructuring. The economy will have to respond by replacing oil with another energy input. 2. Progressive opinion leaders are observing, however, that the problem is not supply, and speculation is responsible for higher pump prices.… Continue

Posted by Mr_Grant on July 3, 2008 at 10:30am — No Comments

how to be more green?

I found that being green isnt as simple as just thinking I needed to do something, I mean small changes are still hard to get used to, and after a while they can be just down right exhasting. I mean dont get me wrong, I do what I can. I am not saying that I am a vegitarian or anything, but I dont peronally buy meat. I would rather things that dont have it, but sometimes you have to eat what is placed before you. and besides, I think that vegitarianism just kinda falls under the heading of "cruel… Continue

Posted by Ashley on July 1, 2008 at 8:52pm — 1 Comment

hippy-pop

It has come to my attention that in recent years the publicity and the overall popularity of "going green" has become something quite extraordinary. We see it everywhere, from our grocers to our career choices, everyone is going green. I also see that in alot of ways, going green has been placed out into the consumers market in a way that excites each individual in a different way. My main focus is that all this popularity and all of the hype that green is getting should be put towards those who… Continue

Posted by Kevin on July 1, 2008 at 9:43am — 3 Comments

To Go or Not To Go Green... that is the question.

Should we go green? Or should we sit idle and watch others do their part to help the environment? I know this sounds a bit bias because I am a person who tries to make a positive environmental difference in my own life. I do promote this life style to my friends and family but what about the people who see me being green on a daily basis? Could I encourage them to go green by the very act of going green? All sorts of these questions came to mind when I was standing in line at Safeway. As I stood… Continue

Posted by Jennifer Morrison on June 30, 2008 at 6:08pm — 3 Comments

In which humans muck it up again

Borrowed this form my main blog because it seems like a topic that fits in with enviromental topics: Here is one of those stories where I’m not quite sure what I learned from it about humanity until maybe I’m done writing it. The other day I took my friend’s kids and mine to the park. We met two other homeschooling families there and lazed around on our blankets, knitting, eating, talking, watching the kids run around. There was a little man-made stream going through the park and a large group… Continue

Posted by Kimbac on June 30, 2008 at 2:30pm — 1 Comment

Poetry Reading Tonight at The Smell

Tonight I am going to givce a reading with other famous poets at the Smell in LA at 6:30. I know it's late notice, but maybe some of you would like to go. I usually don't post my poetry and writing stuff on this blog because it's for the green/vegan stuff I want to talk about (compartmentalization). Here is the info. Please join us Sunday June 29, at 6:30 pm for the Smell Last Sunday of the Month reading. This month's poets: Aaron Kunin Stan Apps Sara Mumolo Jack Morgan Aaron Kunin is a poet,… Continue

Posted by Jack Morgan on June 29, 2008 at 1:21pm — 1 Comment

Oxfam says biofuels pushing 30 million into poverty.

This is actually very sad. We need change but, is making "our world "better while causing "the world" others know, to crumble really a better life choice.....no. Here is the link to this full story: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL2432915720080625 It is worth a read. In a time where we hear so many cry about gas prices yet at the same time witness them buying a $5 cup of coffee, one can ask if we are losing sight of what really needs to change; before we are all blinded by w… Continue

Posted by Jami on June 26, 2008 at 12:40am — No Comments

What I did so far

I planted a tree in my backyard and it is growing slowly but, it making a difference. I use CFL light bulbs about 50% of my house and working on 100% by end of the summer. I always try to do my best to stay on the green path. I recycle about almost everything and walk or take public transporting, I rarely drive or hop in a car. I am just doing my part as best I can. Continue

Posted by Bryan Tompkins on June 25, 2008 at 6:00am — 1 Comment

Longing for a bike and a fight in the car-conflicting environmental info

Today I was doing schloads for the environment. Mainly, I was arguing with people about ways to better it. For example, I dragged my daughter and friend out thrifting, because we're essentially cheapskates and we also like to recycle clothes. We would have ridden our bikes, except mine is broken and I am searching for a replacement that will hold up since the replacement part on my old bike would cost more than the old bike itself and would break the rest of the tinfoily bike during installation… Continue

Posted by Kimbac on June 21, 2008 at 11:00pm — 3 Comments

I Want One!

VIA: EcoGeek Now, we’ve seen plans for tiny fuel efficient cars, and even tiny electric cars, but this is a car I’d LOVE to try out as soon as it is a reality. I doubt it’d have a snowball’s chance here in America where,… Continue

Posted by Damien Somerset on June 21, 2008 at 2:00pm — 5 Comments

Water Powered Bull Sh**!

VIA: EcoGeek EcoGeek went live more than two years ago with no fanfare and no traffic. We had a readership of about five people. Three days later, I received the first notice of a breakthrough water-powered car that would sol… Continue

Posted by Damien Somerset on June 20, 2008 at 2:00pm — 1 Comment

Whole Foods has green bags!

When I was at Whole Foods, in Los Altos, I noticed a sign saying "10 plastic bags for one green bag." I thought this was a joke or there was a catch so I ignored it for the time being. I thought who would give away "free" canvas green bags, especially for 10 plastic bags that are one of the most frowned upon plastic items for environmentalist. Yesterday I was telling one my friends about the sign that I saw in Whole Foods. She immediately told me that the exchange was true. Whole Foods is giving… Continue

Posted by Jennifer Morrison on June 19, 2008 at 1:00pm — 1 Comment

Sustainability is People

Seattle experienced a passing this week: Edith Macefield, 86, a longtime Ballard resident who loved animals and the opera, and may have been a spy in World War II. But she is best known as the person who dug in her heels and made a developer build around her little house:

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Posted by Mr_Grant on June 19, 2008 at 11:30am — 5 Comments

Drought

I grew up in LA during its worst drought. Water conservation is something we all just did. There were police making sure we were conserving, so there wasn't much choice, but we made it through. I live in Berkeley now. It's nice here. Something surprising recently happened, though: we were mandated to lower our water consumption. My landlord stuck a note under my door saying basically "conserve or else."… Continue

Posted by Jack Morgan on June 19, 2008 at 6:58am — 3 Comments

Atheists and Agnostics of a Cause

Using the term to say one who definitely does not believe in a premise as compared to one who is not sure if the premise can be qualified for a decision. Atheists: cannot believe otherwise and have no room for internal decension. Very rigid. Agnostic: unsure of how to believe. Always in question and doubt. Just thoughts. Anyone reading? I am just an old soul enjoying the thoughts that rumble through my experience. Continue

Posted by Raymond on June 17, 2008 at 8:17pm — 2 Comments

Survey for thought.

Survey 1. Would you ever eat bugs as a meal? If no, What if they were harvested in a clean environment, perhaps cleaner than most chicken coops? 2. If there was another major storm like Katrina, and your city was chosen to house over one million refugees, how would you respond? 3. How would you react if human waste water, like that which comes from toilets and showers, was cleaned and then pumped directly back into the drinking water supply? 4. Would you ever like to live u… Continue

Posted by Kyle Saunders on June 17, 2008 at 7:30pm — 1 Comment

can urban get green?

ola, so ive been walking by abandoned houses left and right, and wondering where all the trees went, living in the motor city doesnt offer to much of green anything. so heres my idea. to take all these empty houses/parking lots and have urban gardens/parks. the problem is getting help, nobody is using these crap spaces and the younger generations probably forgot what a tree even looks like, let alone a garden. so if anyone can help me with this idea, or who to contact i would greatly appreciate… Continue

Posted by Angel Proffitt on June 17, 2008 at 6:40pm — 2 Comments

Library can save knowledge, trees, and the planet!

I love visiting my local library. Regardless of where I have traveled and lived in my lifetime be assured that I was in the library at least four times a week. I love to read about a variety of places, experiences, and ideas in addition to giving my own . However, regardless of how much I learned I could not stop thinking about the amount of paper used to make books, magazines, newspapers, etc. In this blog I will outline why I think everyone should begin or continue to utilize their library to… Continue

Posted by Jennifer Morrison on June 17, 2008 at 9:00am — 4 Comments

What is going to happen???

I am hearing all of this stuff about: environmental problems and how gas prices are rising. How Global Warming is going to cook us like a turkey. How everyone says they want to go green but don't. How Chevron and other major gas companies are the root of all evil. And how we can fix everything and make it all better. Well i don't know about you but i am seeing nothing fix our problems currently and everyone is just him-huming about the world. Well, WHAT THE F**K IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO US?!? Continue

Posted by Richard Jarrell on June 16, 2008 at 6:03pm — 4 Comments

Not enough space age

There are a lot of people. And there are more and more coming each day. For all of these new people we need new homes, and more food coming out of the farms.

We need to build up high, not across, when dealing with where to house a large number of people.

It’s already known that to house a large number of people it is much wiser to build up…

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Posted by Kyle Saunders on June 16, 2008 at 1:28pm — 4 Comments

Wind energy

Well I see that the future of the world is getting a little darker from the rising energy costs. I believe in slightly more efficient ways to prduce by means of not using fossil fuels. Ways such as wind, solar, and water. I look eagerly forward to lighter more efficient means of travel to be able to go back and forth to work, where I have the opportunity to work with products that will better our futures and hopefully save us time, money, and lots of stress not only on us but the planet we live… Continue

Posted by Bruce on June 16, 2008 at 6:00am — 2 Comments

The World Needs To Smarten Up!

we all like have to come together as one and fix global warming and change like im 14 and my parents dont belive in recycling im like F That so i make sure every thing gets where it belongs and i make them save our energy because its needed SO WORLD SMARTEN UP!!!! Continue

Posted by Eric Winterhalt on June 15, 2008 at 8:13pm — 1 Comment

Punk Goes Green

The Family Values Tour is set to be a green tour. Korn members want to state their care for environmental issues and participate in their resolution. Hence the idea of using bio-diesel to power the 16 vehicles they’ll use during the tour. Doing so, Korn will reduce its emissions from 50 tons for the whole tour. At a second stage, Korn plans on branding their domestic produced bio-diesel and sell it, in order to raise people’s awareness of alternatives fuels. The product is to be called Korntas… Continue

Posted by adam williamson on June 15, 2008 at 6:19pm — No Comments

The Electric Chariot (Green Beer Buggy)

The company does not recommend you do any of this with there Electric Chariots. These chariots were made for smooth flat surfaces like in warehouses and convention centers. NOT FOR ROAD USE. Like we pay attention to the rules. It was the summer of 2006 when I picked these Electric Chariots up from a friends house. There were 5 of them and they did not use them any more. So i went and picked them up and brought them to there new home. Once we got them home we charged them up and the next day w… Continue

Posted by jeephustler on June 14, 2008 at 4:49pm — 1 Comment

Klean Kanteen

A little while ago, I won the blog of the week prize from buygreen.com. My prize was a 27 oz. Klean Kanteen. Before that I was using a plastic Voss bottle that I refilled with Brita when I remembered to fill the Brita, but I usually just drink tap water. The East SF Bay has r… Continue

Posted by Jack Morgan on June 12, 2008 at 3:19pm — 4 Comments

Optimists unite!

I just heard about this organization called Optimists International. Here's a little bit about them. For more info check them out here. Mission Statement By providing hope and positive vision, Optimists bring out the best in kids. Vision Statement Optimist International will be recognized worldwide as the premier volunteer organization that values all childre… Continue

Posted by Hannah Crum on June 12, 2008 at 10:29am — 3 Comments

Planet Green?

Do any of you have Direct Tv? Well, I do and I noticed that I have a new channel! It's called Planet Green, an interesting idea. A whole channel devoted to living green! So I began to watch the first show called Alter Eco, with a guy named Adrian and a bunch of his friends living in LA. You might know him as Alex from The Devil Wears Prada. It had a few good things, he is building a an entirely green house and hanging out with people in the neighborhood by drinking ecodynamic wine and going to… Continue

Posted by Alicia on June 11, 2008 at 6:01pm — 1 Comment

Junk mail needs to go green!

Everyday, I am bombarded by ten to twelve envelopes of junk mail. Such things as credit card applications, make money quick schemes and various advertisements for products fill my mail box and my garbage can. I personally don't mind the junk mail in my mail box but I am starting to worry about the junk mail in my garbage and the overflowing landfills in my area. For a long time I was worried about the amount of waste that is being created by these unwanted fillers in our mailboxes. However, the… Continue

Posted by Jennifer Morrison on June 11, 2008 at 6:00pm — 2 Comments

Planet Green

I am not sure what to make of Planet Green. With all the celebrities in their ads on every other page in this week's "New Yorker," I get kind of creeped out. I am not sure who all the celebrities are, and I think that the green pop movement is strong enough to create its own celebs without borrowing from other networks and organizations.… Continue

Posted by Jack Morgan on June 11, 2008 at 6:00pm — 12 Comments

WHATS GOING ON [ACTIVIST]

So I just tried writing with awesome blog but it got erase well that's not going to stop me, I think. Starting over. so I went online and I saw a video were a reported asked the president about what the average American should do about the rising gas prices at a current $4.11 a gallon the president said "what? I didn't hear about this" ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME YOUR RUNNING THIS COUNTRY, AND YOU DONT EVEN KNOW WHATS GOING ON IN YOUR OWN BACK YARD? Mr. president, you may not be everyone's fav… Continue

Posted by SOphia on June 11, 2008 at 8:00am — 2 Comments

A little extra effort, please

I bet there are a lot of stark, unfriendly pedestrian routes in your town. One of my least favorite is the corner of Pine & Boren (satellite view) in downtown Seattle.

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Posted by Mr_Grant on June 10, 2008 at 9:00am — 4 Comments

Climate Change roundtable for Seattle readers

A last-minute invitation came my way this morning -- let's find out what the technocrats are planning. =====================

YOUR HOUSE, YOUR CAR, OUR CLIMATE: STATE DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION DEPUTY SECRETARY TO DISCUSS HOW LAND USE IN WASHINGTON AFFECTS CLIMATE CHANGE WHAT: At this evening discussion roundtable, two influential state and community leaders will discuss the core issues that are key t…

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Posted by Mr_Grant on June 9, 2008 at 10:13am — No Comments

My Effort to Go-Green

While I've always been somewhat eco-conservative...in the past 6 mos I have * bought cloth grocery bags and don't use paper or plastic anymore * installed a filter on our tap so we use filtered water from home instead of store bought spring water in plastic bottles * hang laundry on the line instead of using the dryer (weather permitting) * Dont purchase any product with excess packaging * Changed ALL our light bulbs to the energy saving bulbs * made a rain barrel and catch rain from our downspo… Continue

Posted by CheriePie on June 5, 2008 at 12:40pm — 7 Comments

A Day, Hard at Green

In the month of May, or was it April, well in one of those months a few teachers from my school had decided to build a garden and re-invent some extra space belonging to the school. The day before we began working on the area it had rained so we weren't sure if we could still work the next day. That morning my grandmother kept asking me whether or not I wanted to go because she just "knew" it was going to rain, but I was persistant and really wanted to do something with my Sunday, rain or no rai… Continue

Posted by Jermaine on June 5, 2008 at 11:19am — 1 Comment

Thought for the week

Thought for the week: If we think of defeat, that's what we get. If we are undecided, then nothing will happen for us. We must pick something great to do, and do it. Never think of failure at all, for as we think now, that is what we get. Continue

Posted by Hannah Crum on June 5, 2008 at 10:40am — No Comments

Are machines the CO2 answer?

An Arizona company, GRT, is the subject of a Guardian piece about using a machine to extract CO2 from the air. According to GRT it can build scrubber units each able to collect a ton of CO2 per day. The article -- using a cliche I particularly hate -- stresses the concept is "not a magic bullet," as it would take millions of the machines to handle all of our carbon emissions. But while it doesn't solve… Continue

Posted by Mr_Grant on June 4, 2008 at 8:30am — 2 Comments

The HYmini -Personal Wind Charger or as I call it, "The coolest thing I have seen in a long time".

I have been given the gift of gab, or the curse heh. While surfing the net I came across ViroPOP and instantly felt I had found common virtual ground, being able to voice my ideas and feelings here is a great feeling. When I first started to write a blog I was a little leery, not sure how it would go over among regulars, as I have found sometimes cliques develop on some sites. Not on ViroPOP, people here are so friendly and open to what you have to say. You can imagine then how I felt when I w… Continue

Posted by Jami on June 2, 2008 at 5:00pm — 2 Comments

I just adore a penthouse view

Blurring the line between city and Green Acres, Seattle architecture firm Mithun has come up with this concept for a high-rise urban farm:

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Posted by Mr_Grant on June 2, 2008 at 11:00am — 6 Comments

Poem in Hoboeye

I have a chapbook-length poem in Hoboeye called Kayd. I hope you like it. If you don't, you should tell someone. Continue

Posted by Jack Morgan on May 31, 2008 at 11:27am — 1 Comment

Life and Movies. (hopin for some free stuff.)

If life is a movie most people would consider themselves the star of their own feature. Guys might imagine they're living some action adventure epic. Chicks maybe are in a rose-colored fantasy romance. And homosexuals are living la vida loca in a fabulous musical. Still others may take the indie approach and think of themselves as an anti-hero in a coming of age flick. Or a retro badass in an exploitation B movie. Or the cable man in a very steamy adult picture. Some people's lives… Continue

Posted by Bekkie Zero on May 30, 2008 at 2:41pm — No Comments

Video - new pudu deer in Seattle

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Posted by Mr_Grant on May 30, 2008 at 2:00pm — 1 Comment

Indonesian Welfare Minister Linked to the Mud Flow in Java is Richest Man

Yepp, the most recent edition of Globe Asia, June 2008 focuses on 150 richest people in Indonesia. Our very own Co-ordinating Minister of People's Welfare, Aburizal Bakrie, has expanded his wealth from USD 1.05 billion recorded last year, to a staggering USD 9.2 million. And yet his company fails to meet Presidential Regulation regarding compensation for victims of… Continue

Posted by Adeline on May 30, 2008 at 9:15am — No Comments

Carbon Offsets - A Booming Business

The demand for carbon offsets -- the theory that you can buy carbon credits to offset your carbon footprint -- is being driven by regulatory changes (the "we're so not green" camp), green marketing ("hey, look at us, we're green"), and eco-guilt ("we want to be more green"). There are even exchanges, such as the Chicago Climate Exchange, for organizations to trade carbon credits. Carbon offsets is big business. The market price of carbon credits has tripled in the past 4 months to all ti… Continue

Posted by Anthon Pang on May 29, 2008 at 5:23am — 1 Comment

Say goodbye to plastic bags!!!

(is this part 2 of the "say goodbye to..." series? LOL)

Thanks to Hannah for the info! A 16 yr old Canadian teenage boy has isolated 2 different bacteria that particularly like eating plastic bags =) they are Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas bacte… Continue

Posted by Adeline on May 28, 2008 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Accidental Environmentalist

Our gas dryer broke and my landlord hasn't replaced it. He's kind of lazy and who knows when he will get around to it. He wants to buy another cheapo, piece of crap dryer for $100 - I guess in a way its kind of like recycling, but I'd love it if he went out and bought an energystar gas dryer that would last for years and save money on resources. Plus he could get a rebate back from the State of California for purchasing energystar. However, that is not his style... So I have been tricked into b… Continue

Posted by Hannah Crum on May 28, 2008 at 3:53pm — 1 Comment

Say Goodbye to Plastic Bags!

A 16 yr old Canadian boy wins top prize in Science Fair for isolating microbes that decompose plastic bags!! http://news.therecord.com/article/354044 Continue

Posted by Hannah Crum on May 28, 2008 at 3:14pm — 1 Comment

YA Big Beluga

This blog post is about beer and wine and other sacred things. I know this guy on the fish and game commission. He is part of a small team who investigates and apprehends sturgeon poachers. The sturgeon is an ugly fish who is very big and has lots of big eggs that people like to eat. Russians come to America, poach sturgeon in the bays on both coasts, send their catches back to Russ… Continue

Posted by Jack Morgan on May 28, 2008 at 12:00pm — 3 Comments

Say goodbye to polystyrene waste!

A good day for Indonesians all over the world - we are not so bad after all!! Two young scientists (and when I say young, I mean high school age!) were awarded with the silver medal at the 2nd International Environmental Project Olympiad (INEPO Euroasia) held from April 1-6 in Baku, Azerbaijan, beating out 35 other entries, for their breakthrough finding of converting polystyrene into a biodeg… Continue

Posted by Adeline on May 27, 2008 at 1:00am — 2 Comments

vLog Chicken Dipped Dog Treats- recipe included

1 3/4 C… Continue

Posted by iSandra on May 26, 2008 at 1:30pm — 2 Comments

tag # ty76953Ghhy

Has anyone else noticed that it seems that the people are using the world as an accessory? As is if its some bracelet around the wrist. Whether it be a child's wrist with a bracelet that they found on the floor of a book store Or a solid gold one that was passed down from one grandmother to her child's child. We use it. But never give back. Like we think we own the planet. But we don't. Even though you dished out a billfold full of cash for that sweet little piece of land. Just to eventually cut… Continue

Posted by katie lunsford on May 25, 2008 at 7:11pm — 1 Comment

Talk, talk, talking about talk radio

Yesterday I was riding in the car with my father, listening to a radio talk show. The men on the show were discussing the oil crisis, the rise in price and the effect it is having on the working class and the poor. They came to the portion of the show were listeners call in and voice their ideas and their anger, in most cases, about the amount of money it talkes to fill up their tanks. Now my father and I have a very good relationship and now that I'm an "adult", we have developed a friendship… Continue

Posted by Alicia on May 23, 2008 at 7:33pm — 4 Comments

green festival

hey everyone if you've got some time to kill check out my video montage/ picture walk through of hte chicago green festival. i even added some tunes you might like. but here they are part 1 ...

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Posted by alberto on May 23, 2008 at 12:01pm — 1 Comment

GMO CROPS RESPONSIBLE FOR BEE DEATHS

IN the news here in Canada bees are talked about but the one subject they refused to discuss is this GMO CROPS RESPONSIBLE FOR BEE DEATHS, the point of (genetically modified organism) crops is to cross the plant dna/rna with insect or other organism to make a hi breed that has defenses to bugs and so on. well remarkably since GMO food have been on the market bee deaths and colon cancer in people have been on the rise and they just don't talk about it! wtf! http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php… Continue

Posted by Ben on May 23, 2008 at 12:00am — 3 Comments

James Howard Kunstler doesn't get it

I'm in agreement with James Howard Kunstler's overall messages about planning, sprawl and walkable communities. But his conclusions about Personal Rapid Transit are based only upon his encounters with PRT advocates at conferences and his own snap judgments. Kunstler's remarks are on his podcast, 13th edition, starting around :01:30. His perception of PRT (like a railroad with one person per carriage) is so superficial, it shows he hasn't taken the tim… Continue

Posted by Mr_Grant on May 22, 2008 at 10:00am — No Comments

Repurposing/recycling flip flops or make your own!

actually this is a cross post- but had to share here okay I saw this article on my daily rss feeds and thought I would post the highlights out the 2 articles. If you're a crafty type, you can create toys from flip flops - Shred them for use as stuffing in cushions - Shredded thongs can also be used as packing mater… Continue

Posted by iSandra on May 22, 2008 at 5:42am — No Comments

Thought for the week

"We are born to bless, not to punish. This we should never forget. We are not in the position to criticize anyone. Instead, we should always look for the good in others. The existence of enemies means for us that our friendliness has not been sufficient. We are aware of darkness, but for our community we want to have Enlightenment." Wow - this is an important reminder to myself - darn that old low self-esteem that drives me to want to be morally… Continue

Posted by Hannah Crum on May 21, 2008 at 11:20pm — 1 Comment

The Price We Pay.

At times I find myself unarmed when it comes to discussions with people, we may not have all the answers but, taking a step in the right direction is always a good start. Today, I had two conversations that bothered me, and frankly left me feeling drained of my energy. So how do you deal with negative people who only see "the problems"? I'd love to know how you'd handle it. My first conversation was this morning, I was sitting waiting for the school bus, we live in a rural area where people hav… Continue

Posted by Jami on May 21, 2008 at 11:00pm — 1 Comment