You better believe I'm looking for an oasis.

Some days, I am disgusted by people's obsession with convenience. Driving home from work, I notice the wind has picked up and scattered trash throughout the neighborhood. Before turning into my own neighborhood, I see a young tree in the median has captured a plastic white Walmart bag. This reminds me of the same kind of bag that has been hanging in the tree of our neighbor's yard for the past couple months. It is there to greet me everyday as I come home. It has been able to withstand wind and rain and perhaps even the ice storm we had last month, although I'm unsure of the exact time that it's been there.

How lazy are we? Trash in our trees. Wall- e may not be too far off. Plastic bags should be banned. They are ugly. By ugly, I mean hazardous and distrubing. They hate the environment and only serve to placate the desire of convenience. I mean really, could you imagine bringing your own bags to the grocery store to carry your purchases?? Sure, I believe in recycling (big fan actually), but let's be real. There is a big pile of trash floating in our ocean. Think about this the next time you see the wind capturing the mini-parachute of your plastic bag and taking it towards the trees. Here's a link about it on the Popular Science Blog: http://popsci.typepad.com/popsci/2007/10/giant-island-of.html


It's ugly. And I am concerned about how the earth's problems stem from the selfishness of humans. Recently, my company has taken a measure to reduce it's own waste by not handing out beverage sleeves on most hot drinks- with some exceptions. I support this 100%, but you would not believe the looks from some customers that we get. I secretly laugh inside at them.

On the same note, I'll admit to my love-hate relationship with technology. The advances and improvements that it has given us are outstanding. Some much as been accomplished with it, and I'll definitely say that I have several of these items and enjoy them completely. But, I'm saddened when I see it interfere in people's personal lives.

Here's a brief list: teenagers with iPhones (really? so they can watch youTube in English class?), people who mySpace and Facebook more than they call old friends (hello!! don't be shy!), people who haven't picked up a pen or pencil in months because the computer is their only source of communication (handwritting and cursive are becoming ancient!), cellphone users who talk more to the device in their hand than a human face (sorry, you have eyes?! umm... call me.), people who forget manners because texting is easier (g2g, TTYL- :) , and basically all users who are unable to function without their phone or computer for one day- and admit it.

Resorts on remote islands must be becoming a big industry. Getaways to faraway places and spa days have to be popular. Is our society conditioning itself for total technicalogical reliance that we have to leave the country and escape the rings and beeps to get any sort of relaxation?

I like letters in the mail. I like handwritten notes. I like your face talking to my face.

Maybe it's my overly analytical mind that warns me of the loss of personal connection that comes with technology- or maybe it's the threat of robots- or maybe it's my lack of faith in human inventions- or just maybe, it's my love of pure simplicity.