1 post from July 2008

Wow, I can't believe it's 4th of July! That means the summer is really 1/2 over. It also means that I've been feeling really sentimental and a little bit sad because I'm used to traditions back home (hanging out with family, barbecues, and Frye Island) that I really miss and wish I could be doing. But I won't dwell on that. Instead, I'll talk about what exciting things I've done since I last wrote.

Last Friday we had a jam-packed day. I was doing research and going to meetings for over 7 hours! It was a really long and mentally draining day, but I had a great weekend to recharge. That night I had a great dinner with Callista, Rio, and Eric and then hung out with our neighbors next door: Austin, Kate, and Joey. That night we went to a party at Kate's friend's house, and then went out for some late night food at Neighborhood Cafe. It was really fun!

On Saturday I slept in, then went to a coffee shop and read for a few hours (and got through half of a book-- Ishmael, it's really great!) Then that night we went to another of Kate's friend's house for an amazingly delicious Indian food dinner party. It was reeeeally good!

On Sunday, we did some neighborhood flyering and dropped off letters and brochures to 250 houses in the neighborhood where we are doing our pilot project for Cooperative Energy Futures. The letters were from a neighbor asking if people are interested in being part of the community project to work on energy efficiency in their homes together.

This week was a pretty standard week of regularly scheduled meetings and work and research. On Tuesday night we had our first community meeting for Cooperative Energy Futures, where we got together with 10 homeowners interested in being a part of the pilot project and talked to them further about details, questions and concerns they have, what they'd like to see happen, and how they envision making this work in their communities. It was really positive and we got a lot of feedback about what people want to see happen with CEF. The challenging part about is that people are at all different levels and experiences with working on energy efficiency in their homes. Some people have already done the CFL bulbs, weatherizing, caulking, etc and are ready to make larger changes with insulation, while others aren't ready to put in the investment for insulation yet and want to see what savings they can make from just doing small things first. We're going to have to think creatively about how to find ways of bringing people of all kinds and interests together to help eachother. I don't think it will be too hard, and will be very rewarding for all.

We've also been having an on-going conversation at multiple meetings/discussions this week about our "messaging" here at Summer of Solutions and in all the work we do for this movement. Basically this means communicating about what we're working on in a way that people understand and also in a way that inspires people to feel like they can be a part of it, or help people realize that they are a part of it. We're not trying to think of a script or a motto in particular, but just trying to think out how to clearly communicate about the work we're doing and finding ways of empowering people to do more. It has led to a lot of great, and challenging, conversations about the bigger picture of what we're doing and also the potential to connect with more people and inspire hope about the future in other people. We're really excited about what we're doing and need to find great, creative ways to express that! It's strange to be writing about this because in a way I've been "messaging" since I got here when I tell everyone back home about what I'm up to. I guess just having these conversations has helped me realize that when someone asks me what I'm doing, I shouldn't just say "oh, some environmental stuff" or "you know, just saving the world," I should try to communicate clearly about what I'm really doing in a way that isn't alienating and actually makes the people I'm talking to understand and feel more connected to it. I am definitely going to strive to do that.

So I think that's all the excitement I have to report for this week.

Today has been a really relaxing day, I'm enjoying it because it is a holiday! A bunch of us rode into Minneapolis on the Greenway. I have to say, I really love the Greenway! We get to see all types of people out enjoying riding bikes and enjoying the beautiful weather. It makes me so happy to see old people, young people, people of all shapes and sizes, fast, serious, race-bikers, and slow, thoughtful, joy-riders. And we were really a Critical Mass of bikers today as we traveled in a pack of 9 to Minneapolis! So, we went out to lunch for our Environmental Justice discussion to a Mexican restaurant in Minneapolis and had some delicious food, but found it a little difficult to talk. So we postponed our talk about Food Justice to next week. Now I'm hanging out, getting ready to pit some cherries with Kate to make a cherry-strawberry pie, and in a bit I'll be heading off for a barbecue in Powderhorn Park, and then some fireworks! Yay! Hopefully it can make me feel a little bit like home, even though I know it won't be the same.
And here are some updated photos of what our apartment is looking like these days. Good news! We now have furniture (including chairs and a table, to all of you who were concerned). I have to say though, I miss the open space and lack of furniture. It was a nice change from the norm, and now I feel more normal.