Bon Vwayaj

Port au Prince from above

It was around this time last year that I went to Haiti for the first time with Thread.  We hadn't officially been incorporated yet, we didn't have a business plan, and we all had day jobs. What a difference a year makes...

It was a nerve racking trip for me, because I was already very committed to the idea of Thread, but had not yet been to the country we were planning to start our business in.  What if I hate it there?! was the thought that kept me up at night leading up to that first trip.

At the end of our first day though, Ian, Thread's founder and CEO asked me what I thought so far.

"I love it! And I'm so happy about that!" I exclaimed.

He laughed and responded, "I knew you would."

I haven't talked much about my experience with Haiti in this space, largely because it's something I feel I am still processing, and because I want to be able to eloquently explain my feelings about the country. Working in Haiti has greatly shifted my perspective on a lot of things; infrastructure, healthcare,  and the role of government just to name a few.

When I get asked the question, "How is it down there?" I don't know quite how to respond.

Things aren't good.  Even though the media attention to Haiti has decreased tremendously since the earthquake in 2010, I think most people have the sense that things aren't good.

It's an easy country to fall in love with though.  And the potential and hope there is palpable.  I'm honored to spend time there.

On Friday I leave for a couple of weeks that will be spent largely in the Central Plateau region of the country.  I am going as a full time employee, of a functioning business, with an intern, to kick off a very exciting project we have been working on for months.

I'm nervous about this trip - but for a whole host of different reasons than last June.  I'm thrilled to be going back to Haiti.

All I Want is a Room Somewhere

I moved into my new room this weekend.  And while it will eventually be great, right now it looks like this...

...a storage space with a mattress on the floor.

Anyway, Thread has a press photo shoot tomorrow, and so today my boss told me to dress "nice" and then "cool" and was confused when I told him those were 2 very different things, and which one should it be?

I don't know what to wear, and all of my clothes are in garbage bags.  

Trash Talk

I think about trash a lot.

Where it goes, what it could become, what happens to it in landfills, how much of it am I responsible for, people's habits around it, etc.  When Precisely and I were traveling through Italy in March, he was taking pictures of the architecture, the art, the food, the people we saw.  Then we'd walk by a grouping of trash cans and recycling cans in a train station, and that's when I would stop and say, "Hey, can you get a picture of that?"

My job is making me so weird.

The thing that is becoming more and more evident to me though is how little we know about waste.  I am blessed to live in a country, where I empty my garbage cans once a week, take the bags to the curb, and then they are picked up and disposed of.

I don't know where those bags go.

I try to do my part as a good person and recycle, but I don't know where that goes either.

And its becoming more and more clear, the more involved I become in the recycling industry, that most of us don't.  In fact, this past weekend while at a conference, I began asking people if they knew where their trash went.  No one did.

This wouldn't be a problem if waste was treated like a resource, products were manufactured with a closed loop system in mind, and goods didn't come in packaging that requires implements of destruction to open.

But it's not, they don't, and they do.

And because we don't have to think about it, we have a fairly huge problem on our hands.  Our countries greatest export right now is trash.  We spend billions of dollars to deal with our waste. And if you don't have billions to spend on that management, things become ugly very quickly.

I get that trash isn't sexy.  But it's pretty cool when you start looking at what can be done with it.  Trash is a resource, we should treat it as such.  And I'm not just saying this from a green do-gooder soap box. It makes for viable business. I've seen the numbers. It works.

So, I think that trash is something we should talk about. It's way more interesting than the weather. And if we start talking about it, maybe we'll become a bit more aware of its potential, and maybe we'll be a bit more mindful of what we do with it beyond sending it to a landfill.

This weekend, the Three Rivers Arts Festival kicks off in Pittsburgh. I'm going on Sunday afternoon, but not for the art.  I'll be helping to sort through the trash collected, as part of a waste audit being conducted for the festival.  

My job is making me seriously weird.

Tall Order

“Everyday there die among us those who were doing us some good and knew it was never enough but hoped to improve a little by living.”

- W. H. Auden

But what else should be your life's goal than to improve a little by living?

A Change Will Do You Good

In the past 3 weeks, nearly every aspect of my life has changed, or will shortly.

To recap:

- I started working full time for Thread, LLC, a social venture I have been with since it was an idea.  In true start up fashion, this means I have been working harder than I ever have, but am essentially unemployed.  Funding is coming, but it takes time, and we want to be sure all the legalities are correct. This means that I have stepped back into a socio-economic status I have not been in since I was a student.

- Being broke, means a whole new lifestyle outside of work.  Luckily, I live in a city where 10 bucks means a night out, and I have adventurous friends who are happy to re-visit places we haven't frequented since being students.  The artist, her boyfriend, and I went out last week and had 3 beers and 30 pierogies for $7.50. God bless Polish Hill.  It also means I've spent a lot more time running, and cooking for myself. (I may start working on a book, which I will entitle "The Start-up Diet".)  Being poor is actually making me healthier.

- My and Chris's landlord raised our rent by 10% this year, despite having done nothing to improve the apartment.  This came after a similar hike last year.  We love the space, but cannot justify the price increase, especially since the place is so expensive to heat and cool. Also, our landlord is largely absent, hard to get a hold of, and takes forever to fix anything. Anyway, this coupled with the fact that Precisely is ready to take on the world of adulthood by living alone, means that I needed to find a new place to live.  It also made me realize, that I am not ready to live alone.  So, at the end of next month, I will be moving to Highland Park.  I'll be renting a room in a house owned by a couple, who have a puppy.  There is also another tenant, who is a pastry chef.  Just to reiterate, I am going to be living with a puppy I don't actually have to take care of and a pastry chef! It's just about the best temporary fix I can think of.

- I also celebrated my 25th birthday! woo! Which I guess means that I can rent cars more cheaply now, so who wants to go on a road trip?

Here's the thing though.  April has brought a lot of unexpected tumultuous change. And while it has certainly come with a TON of uncertainty and A LOT of feelings, I have also never felt more at peace; with myself, with what I am doing, and with the knowledge that things will sort themselves out.

Conversation with my Mother

As I was walking to meet potential new roommates for the first time, I was on the phone with my Mom.

Mom: "Don't like them, just because you want to like them. Be sure to look for anything that could be creepy!"

Me: "You mean, creepier than the girl who will be moving in with a bow and arrows?"

Mom: "Good point.  That is kind of creepy..."

They seemed cool though.  And I didn't mention the bow and arrows.  So in a month, I'll be moving to Highland Park.

Family Mottos

I grew up with 5 of them.

1. There's a place for everything, and everything in its place.

2. Take care of your equipment, and your equipment will take care of you.

3. Always dance when you've got the chance.

4. Measure twice, cut once.

5. Don't get mad, get even.

My Mom sent me an email with the following poem, saying This is why you should dance when you've got the chance!

The Dancers Inherit the Party by Ian Hamilton Finlay When I have talked for an hour I feel lousy— Not so when I have danced for an hour: The dancers inherit the party While the talkers wear themselves out and            sit in corners alone, and glower.

Here's to dancing this weekend!