ah ha!

american's spend 90% of their lives indoors. since there are over 300 million americans, thats a shit ton of constructed spaces. with that information in mind, chew on this for a second:

"The construction and operation of buildings generate half of all the greenhouse-gas emissions in the country...Residential buildings alone account for 21% of national energy consumption -- nearly as much as transportation (27%)." (fastcompany)*

ive known (due to assigned coursework over the past 3 years) that building construction and residential design has contributed significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, but WOW. developers, architects and designers have so much impact on the health of this planet its almost scary. so now we have more responsibility, but even more opportunity. lets take advantage of it. 

*this article is fantastic and gives an informative, well-rounded perspective on the eco-housing revolution, along with accounts from some of the most revolutionary architects. it also talks about the opportunity the housing crisis gives to the revolution, a "phoenix from the ashes"-esque school of thought that makes me tingle. 

everything's a'changin

david leaves for college tomorrow where he will experience that unavoidable "first day of freedom" awkwardness and simultaneous delight that makes you blind to people's faults and want to give your cell number to every person you exchange words with that day. 

wow. my baby bro is tattooed, pierced, and almost educated. i feel old. 

limbo.

im feeling really unsettled and lost. thats an obvious statement coming from a 22 year old college graduate who just moved back home for 3 weeks, the longest she's been home in 2 years. unfortunately this feeling of lost is much more potent than usual because im chilling somewhere between familiar past and "no fucking idea" future. i feel distanced from my friends from college, from aiesec, from ecuador, and i only have one friend from high school who is still living in my hometown. in other words, ive been feeling really alone. not lonely, but alone. the economic situation in the usa has really hit my family hard, leaving my parents both stressed and miserable and ill-equipped to deal with themselves AND my pending "no fucking idea" future. this makes me feel even more alone and unsettled. god i hate limbo...

but now shit needs to start settling. scratch that...i need to start settling shit within myself so that the external shit doesnt get to me anymore.

its time.

i leave ithaca in 7 days. ithaca, the place i have grown to love and appreciate over the past 4 years. the place where i made and unmade countless friendships and decisions. the place where i learned to open up and let people in and love, even if it can all turn to shit in the end. the place where i first tasted indian food and vietnamese veggie cakes and kale and hard cider (thanks arthur). the place where i finally let myself be me without paying attention to the white noise of others' expectations. 

to ithaca.

maybe i wont lose my mind...

"People who tend to overthink things might be protecting themselves against Alzheimer's, according to research presented on Wednesday by the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease" (usa today)

it may protect you from dementia, but your head will explode before you reach that stage. trust me, i can feel years coming off my life every time i need to make a decision.