The Silver Lining on a Cloudy City

A Tourist’s Review of Seattle 

This weekend I took my first trip to Seattle. Not knowing much about the city I went to almost every touristy attraction available. I saw how much I weighed on Mars at the science museum, hung out with some sea otters at the aquarium, jammed out to Seattle’s own Nirvana at the pop culture museum, and looked out on top of the city at the Space Needle. Although the iconic touristy sites were great to see it was really Seattle’s unique culture and the food the made the trip for me.

The City

Overall I would say the vibe of Seattle is a mix between San Francisco and Brooklyn. Seattle is a pretty bustling city especially around the Pike Place Market area where you can find tourists, locals and street performers all in one spot. There’s a very distinct crowd that can only be described as artisan coffee loving hipsters that is most prominent in the area I was staying known as Capitol Hill. Coffee shops seem to be the typical hang out spot and Patagonia the clothing of choice from head to toe. Despite the frequent drizzle, resulting what some may call a depressing atmosphere, people seemed to be overall very happy. On Saturday it was sunny for most of the day and it seemed as though the entire city was out enjoying each other’s company. Perhaps the Seattleites just appreciate the rare sunshine more than us spoiled Californians. 

The Food

The highlight of the trip was definitely the amazing food. Here are some must try spots if you’re ever in the neighborhood:

•        Baked Goods—Le Panier at Pike Place Market is a great place to stop by to enjoy a          freshly baked croissant and cup of coffee

•      Brunch— Portage Bay where you can drown your pancakes with fruit, nuts, whipped cream and syrup at the toppings bar 
•         Lunch—Collections Café right next to Space Needle offers a little bit of art while you eat with different collectors’ items displayed inside each table
•      Dinner—Shiro’s Sushi for fresh traditional Japanese cuisine that’s worth the price

•      Dessert—Molly Moon’s Ice Cream just for the Earl Grey flavor that is just mind blowing and well worth the wait

I definitely recommend taking a trip to Seattle if you have the chance! It’s a very unique city with welcoming people and a relaxing vibe. I do hear that Seattle can be a totally different experience in the summer so I will definitely be back to hit up Lake Washington soon for more Pacific Northwest fun.

Courage of a Mediocre Farmer

After finishing the second half of the book I felt that the “Butchering” and “The Slaughter” chapters were a little off in structure. There was a lot of repetition in Kurt describing the butchering process mentioned preciously in the book. His thoughts seemed less cohesive and harder to follow in comparison to the rest of the book. It was a little difficult to follow his thoughts and feelings during this new chapter of farming life, I suppose this is a result of the act of killing a living thing being so emotionally charged and difficult to explain. Sure the animals can’t talk and let you know how their day is going but there is still life there. Even Kurt stated that looking into the eyes of pigs is most difficult, as they seem to be the most human-like.

As Kurt reflected on all that he had accomplished towards the end of the book I realized how much I enjoyed being a part of the writer’s journey in defining himself as a farmer. The journey wasn’t perfect and it definitely wasn’t easy.  The journey was a humbling yet rewarding experience that seems to have brought him true happiness driven by the sense self-sufficiency and pride that his farm provides. But the journey is not over, a 50-year plan for the farm is now in the works. This may not be something that Kurt expected to have to do but it is what will keep him motivated and constantly improving. I never realized how much problem solving and creative thinking were required in the farming world. The nature of nature is unpredictable. You have to learn to react and adapt to nature as it will definitely not adapt to your wants and needs. Golden raspberries out beat blackberries and red raspberries on the Kurtwood Farm. Kurt may like red raspberry pancakes or blackberry pies but in the end nature made his decision of what to grow, golden raspberries. In a sense nature acts as a boss for Kurt, keeping him in check and constantly challenging him. By the end of the book I think Kurt has definitely accepted that he is no longer in charge of himself as he was with his own bakery/ restaurant.

To reflect on the book as a whole it definitely opened my eyes to another world that I knew very little about. I hope that one day I get as inspired by somethingas Kurt has and have the courage to put all I have into it (even if that does mean quitting my job). I admire what Kurt has done and would really like to take a trip to Kurtwood Farms if I ever get the chance and maybe even grab a meal at “The Table.”

            

How to be the Best by Preparing for the Worst

A Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse 

As students we’re all so caught up in our busy schedule that sometimes its hard to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. You’re prepared for your finance exam at 2pm, an interview with EY tomorrow, and a strategy presentation next week but what about a potential disaster? 

Here in California the chances of something like a devastating earthquake occurring are really not all that slim. Even though we are a culture that feeds off negative media, most of us choose to believe that these tragic events will never happen to us. That’s why I’m here to give you some tips on why and how you should prepare for a possible disaster.

Why Are We Preparing?

I too was living in this world of oblivion even after hurricane Sandy devastated my hometown. I thought, we went through this hard time so surely it won’t happen to us again. My father on the other hand started to take preparation plans for a future disaster to a whole new level. I don’t know if it was Sandy, his new addiction to the “Walking Dead”, or the book he read on the 1859 solar flare that inspired him, but it was quite interesting to see his new passion play out. For Christmas my father asked for freeze dried food, empty canisters for water, and flash lights. My first thought was wow he has really gone insane, and then I remembered what it was like during the time after Sandy struck. People began to raid grocery stores as there was no electricity or security stopping them. A majority of people had evacuated their homes, leaving robbers and pirates (yes pirates) to invade homes as they pleased. Gas station lines were 3 hours long. Someone even stole a small gasoline tank outside of our home that we were using to keep our small generator going. Long story short, in the event of a serious disaster it is amazing how quickly people will revert to primitive-like acts of survival. Because we can’t always predict when these events are going to occur it is best to always be prepared.

I’m not saying that a zombie apocalypse is happening anytime soon but there is still a lot to prepare for. A little preparation could go a long way and despite you probably thinking that I’m insane by now there are even government-sponsored websites to give you some tips on how. “Ready.gov” has lots of resources on how to prepare for earthquakes, snowstorms, as well as space weather (solar flares have the potential to temporarily shut down electrical grids). I bet you didn’t know there is even an official National Preparedness Month.

These days we rely on technology for everything: getting to work in the morning, managing our bank accounts, even deciding what to cook for dinner. This leaves us more susceptible when disaster strikes as everything we do relies on the technology that can become temporarily unavailable. During the 1859 solar flare the telegraph systems worldwide shutdown, there has yet to be a solar flare as strong as that but the possibility for it to occur again is still there. A solar flare, much smaller is scale, happened in 2005 only disrupting GPS signals for about 5 minutes. This may not seem like much but in certain situations it could still have a drastic effect, like a plane landing that is relying on those GPS signals (Bell).

What Are We Preparing For? 

Not all events to be prepared for have to do with natural disasters, although they are the most probable. Here is a short list of what apocalypses the media has portrayed, not all of them are too realistic but hey we are preparing for the worst:

•       Plagues
•       Natural Disasters
•       Technology Failures
•       Zombie Attacks
•       Robot Uprising
•       Nuclear Wars

(Anders) 

How Do We Prepare?

Although every disaster scenario is different there are some simple things you can do to be generally prepared for these events:

1.  Have enough food and water stored to last each individual for at least one week— Surprisingly at least one gallon of water per person per day is required. I recommend this website for more information and access to emergency supplies.
2.  Always keep your car tank at least half full—This will ensure that you have enough gas to evacuate if necessary and help disperse enough gas to the community, as gas at each station will be limited.
3. Have extra battery—This is especially important for your phone via a car charger or a portable battery source.
4. Have a first aid kit—The kit should include a backup of any necessary personal medication.
5. Make backup copies of important digital data/ information—After the storm it was a huge hassle for us to get new forms of official documents that were damaged.
6. Have an out-of-area emergency contact—If you need to leave an area it will be nice to know that you have resources and a place to stay.  
7. Get a generator—If you’re willing to make a big investment it can be a game-changer. All of our neighbors instantly became our best friends after we were the sole family on the block with one.       

(Breslin)

The good news is that we are not alone in our preparations. The scientific world is conducting lots of research to prepare us for possible disaster. Physicists, philosophers, biologists, economists, computer scientists, and mathematicians are now studying all things apocalypse at The Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University founded in 2005. These experts recognize that with the rapid development of technology such as nuclear weapons and even artificial intelligence, the 21^st century brings new threats (McBain).

When my father started all of these apocalyptic preparations I felt as though he wanted it to happen so that he could be the hero and prove all of the skeptics wrong. This brings back the idea that as humans we tend to assume that bad things won’t happen to us. The reality is that the world is widely unpredictable. This uncertainty is why I believe, along with many other experts, that these simple preparations are worth the investment towards your future. After all, as business students we know high-risk investments can lead to high returns.

Courtesy of Extremely-sharp.com

Work Cited

Anders, Charlie Jane. "10 Types of Apocalypses and What They Mean." Web log post. Http://io9.gizmodo.com/. N.p., 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Feb. 2016.

Bell, Trudy E., and Tony Phillips, Dr. "A Super Solar Flare." NASA Science. N.p., 6 May 2008. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. <http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/06may_carringtonflare/>.

Breslin, Sean. "10 Disaster Preps." Weather.com. International Education, 15 Jan. 2016. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <https://weather.com/safety/news/10-disaster-preps#/11>.

McBain, Sophie. "Apocalypse Soon: Meet The Scientists Preparing For the End Times." New Republic. N.p., 3 Oct. 2014. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <https://newrepublic.com/article/119697/scientists-preparing-apocalypse>.

"Mylar Food Storage Bags." USA Emergency Supply. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2016. <https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/>.

"Ready.gov." Ready.gov. Department of Homeland Security, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ready.gov/>.

Farm to Fork

The cover of this book displaying the two different types of forks immediately intrigued me.  The first fork is what typically comes to mind, a dinner utensil. The other fork, a farming tool frequently used to lift hay. These forks symbolize the connection of two worlds that normally have very limited interaction with one another other than the farm providing food for us to eat. Food is such a huge part of our lives, yet so many of us know very little about where it comes from. I admire Kurt Timmermeister as a chef for venturing out to build a bridge between food as nature and food as a product. Just like a shiny new Barbie doll, you can grab a shiny new apple right off the shelf without a thought about where it comes from or all the effort that went into growing it.  Although I knew there was a lot more to the story I did not realize how many hoops Kurt would have to jump through to run such a small farm.

I found the Raw Milk chapter to be the most intriguing. Who knew that you could take part in illegal activities just by milking your own cows? The chapter also led me to realize how much responsibility a farmer can hold. The days of hunting and gathering guessing which berry was going to kill you or help you survive are long gone. People nowadays take it for granted that when we purchase food, it’s going to be safe 99% of the time. The farmer is now responsible for the product it gives to its buyers. If your raw milk gets a child deathly ill, that’s a big cloud over your conscience. This is a pretty powerful concept that I never thought about before, and one that I think Kurt didn’t really consider either when he first decided to start this small farm. Kurt’s hopes and expectations for this book are pretty simple—that the reader will simply stop and think about where the product came from the next time they grab a carton of milk from their local grocery store. Next time I put a few drops of honey in my tea I will definitely reflect on how thankful I am that people like Kurt are willing to be swarmed by bees to make that little moment of happiness possible.