nerves - aalto - be green dammit

I'm getting kind of nervous for my next treatment. . . I'm trying to accomplish as much as possible before Friday but at the same time feel like I'm not accomplishing anything. Its a vicious circle! I did make it to Mt. Angel Abbey on Monday with Valerie to make up a field trip I had to miss. As much as I have learned about the place, I had never been there. Let me just say that Alvar Aalto is amazing. I already knew this and he is one of the most admirable architects to me but this place is timeless. It is still in style. We did some sketching, checked out the monks and then headed to lunch. Funny thing, whenever the monks walked by us they would start humming, singing or whistling... I think they were trying to distract themselves from how hot we are. Here are some pics I took:

Monday night I had a nice surprise. Some folks at SERA, got together and raised some coin to do something for me. What they came up with was a freezer. It the cutest thing at about 4'x4'. An odd gift you might think but I actually was thinking the other day about how we don't have any freezer space and had to store enchiladas that were made for me in Carrie's freezer. Its going to come in real handy. It is so touching that they did that for me.

Something else I have been wanting to post is a brief summary of a great article I read in WW recently. The title is Green with Envy and it talks about "seven things Portland should do if we're serious about being green". It has a great point about how we used to have the green crown and now we are slipping with other cities passing us in sustainability. I don't know if I would go that far. I think we are doing great especially when it comes to architecture but the article is really good. I will just list the seven things, if you want to read the full article (totally worth it) go here: http://wweek.com/editoral/3423/10806/

1. If Uganda can do it, why can't we? This is speaking of tax on disposable plastic AND paper bags. 16 U.S. cities, including Reno which has a Republican mayor, are working on banning or taxing bags.
2. Dear Canada: Invade us anytime. This talks about a carbon tax. Its brilliant, read the article for more info.
3. Big Brother's Green Side. In 2003, London drew a line around the city and started charging a toll of $16 to cross it during weekdays.
4. Accountants Meet Sun Worshippers. Starting in Berkeley this June, you can take out a loan for a solar energy system. The loan, however, is backed by the city not the homeowner so it has great terms and is tied into taxes.
5. $147 Million for this? Money going to more bus service instead of max or streetcar service.
6. Price Gouging you can Love. In March, Washington D.C. started marking up curbside parking rates that adjust continuously based on the time of day and location. For example, when there is a ballgame, spots outside the stadium are $18/hour.
7. Nobody says, "Brother, can you spark a nickel?" In 1971 Oregon passed the country's first bottle bill for 5 cents. Its still that amount and this talks about doubling it. Michigan has a 10 cent deposit and has a 98% return rate compared to our 84%.

I will try to write more on Friday after my treatment... I am just assuming it will be the same but who knows!