Quasilaur’s Blog

My hair is brittle.

Why? I have a few ideas. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and like many of these northern dwellers, I’m deficient in Vitamin D - I’ve started supplementing, and even got a sunburn last week, so hopefully I’ll start life towards the solstice a little less deficient than last year. Additionally, I’ve been diving, in the cold waters of Puget Sound, which means that along with ravaging my hair with salt water, I’ve been wearing a hood to keep the heat in, and have a nice thick wetsuit to birth my head through before every dive. This, as you can imagine, tortures my hair.

And then there was my ill-thought out decision to try flat-ironing my hair a few months ago. So this, plus chemical processing, has left my hair in a less than enviable position. Pantene wasn’t quite helping, and frankly, I’ve been wanting to get back to my “less chemicals is better” trend I fell into when working at Whole Foods.

This enters my trial of Aubrey shampoo, which claims to be 100% natural, and sure enough, the label doesn’t seem to cite anything chemically funny. The shampoo feels astringent, but the conditioner feels super-moisturizing, so much so that I’ve had to decrease the amount I thought I’d need for my hair. I’m a few weeks in, and I’m liking the smell as well as the texture of my hair. I also feel a little better about the suds washing down the drain.

I’m not sure how long I’ll love it, but I’m definitely a fan now. Who knew? I’d been passing up this stuff for years!

Babeland, I used to think you were so cool.

For those of you just joining this realm of sex-positive reality, let me give you a bit of history. Toys in Babeland, a feminist sex toy store that opened in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle in the early 1990’s, grew to a catalog an then online business. It inspired many feminist sex toy stores around the nation, offering sex-positive resources and information, along with classes. I worked briefly as a sex educator here at the Seattle store, but the times were starting to change, and so Toys in Babeland became Babeland, and their funky, black and red color scheme changed to the retro ’80’s CMYK. The funky, locally designed window displays (which were hugely popular, and neighborhood-y) were replaced with corporate slick design. Then came the Babeland branded crap — t-shirts, over-priced grocery sack, water, massage oil and bath products. The friendly faces I worked with have all but disappeared in the 2 yrs since I walked through the doors. Even more upsetting, I am no longer greeted when I enter the door.

What’s upsetting about this is that they used to greet EVERYONE. Welcome, mingle, ask if you needed help, and offer assistance and advice, usually with care and enthusiasm towards education. No one barely gets eye contact, and sometimes help is impossible to find. I noticed during the last time I breezed in that the stock of books was significantly decreased, the amount of Babeland brand merchandise was increased, the “SM forest” which used to have a formidable stock was dwindled to near useless, and added (much to my sex-positive and feminist dismay) was PLASTIC PENIS COVERED STRAWS. That’s right, the kind you’d find in Spencer’s.

I asked the girl at the counter, “what’s up? What happened?” She explained they had moved some stock to the back because they were replacing the carpet. I then asked what was up with the stock, I noted the change, and she immediately got on the defensive: she, it turns out, was the new buyer. She stated they were moving some things out. I asked if this was a corporate decision, and all she could say was something to the effect that this had nothing to do with the change in buyers.

I did not feel that I or my dollars were welcomed in the store. I found it hard to distinguish Babeland from the flourescent lighted adult store “Castle” that is located across the street from my house. Sure, it had that bit of alternative-sexuality-as-a-brand going on, but I felt like I had walked into the Martha Stewart or Oprah of sexuality — if there’s a story in a magazine on the Rabbit Habit, there’s a name-check of Babeland, and Babeland is the brand name for the lifestyle they’re selling.

I’m disappointed and rather disgusted. I wasn’t happy when I parted w/ Babeland. It was largely a choice of a new job in my field that severed my relationship with them, but I’d also witnessed 3 managers in 3 months, a disgruntled staff (some who had been around for a number of years) and a rather ridiculous money-handling and sales-person training and standards (which was very different than my corporate experience of 9 or so years.) There was a lack of support in fostering long term employee happiness, cultivating skills and thereby, influencing low-turnover (and shrink). After my brief time there, I can safely say that if I had to work in retail again, for whatever reason, I’d choose Starbucks or Whole Foods Market, with all their problems and ethical issues combined. Maybe that’s why those companies are on the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work.

Despite getting a discount at Babeland (I’m eligible at least for my KEXP membership), I think I will take my business elsewhere. I’m not buying a brand, a lifestyle or an image. Sometimes, I’m just looking for a feminist book that I can’t find on the shelves of another book store. Sometimes I’m looking for a bit more.

It’s kind of sad. Actually, it kind of makes me angry — but poor customer service will do that to a person.

Yesterday, Jon and I returned from Washington, DC back to Seattle, WA. He had been there most of the week without me for business. I joined late last week, just in time to experience high humidity and temperatures exceeding 100 F. To say I was uncomfortable would be an understatement. I will also swear up and down that it was never that horrible in Chicago, though that might be a lie. At least in Chicago, I said, there are tall buildings and a lake offering a cool breeze.

I returned to Seattle by way of Phoenix, AZ. Although I did not actually step out in the Phoenix heat, I can tell you it had to be damn hot, as that we sat on the plane with no air conditioning for at least 30 min waiting to taxi onto the runway. The tin-can became like an oven, and thankfully they turned on the fans. Seattle greeted Jon and I with a midday breeze, cloudless sky, and a comfortable temp in the mid-70’s. This is a standard, summer day in Seattle. The night was so cool that I when I got up this morning I had to shut the windows for awhile because the breeze was too cool for my tastes.

My day-off had me hiking to the local co-op, Madison Market to get our weekly groceries. The total cost came in at just under $55. Our meal plan is as follows:

(Note: Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home = M@H, Moosewood Cookbook = MC)
Tonight - carrot and celery pasta (local, farmer’s market) with meat (local beef) sauce (homemade, canned tomatos) and garlic bread (homemade bread, farmer’s market garlic, co-op butter)
Tuesday - M@H, Ginger Tofu (local) and Greens (local kale) over Coconut Basmati Rice
Wednesday - MC, Potato Leek Soup (local)
Thurday - M@H, Avocado Corn (local, frozen) Salad over lettuce with tomato (local heirloom), olive and egg (local)

I would estimate that over 90% of the purchased materials were organic. Very little cans or packaging for ingredients, and my own bags and legs toted these items home.

It’s taken me about 5 years to transition to the food/shopping style I have acquired. Just a year ago it was hard for us to conceive of shopping at Madison Market - mostly because the selection is so limited compared to giants like Whole Foods Market. However, they do specialize in local stuff, and by being a co-op member, I feel like we have more of a direct line to their practices. Today’s shopping was mostly what was available and in-season. I almost feel like I’ve won something - even if I can’t put my finger on it.

I’m further fueled to decrease food-miles and over-consumption of resources by reading Barbara Kingsolver’s newest book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It details her family’s journey from living in the resource-draining state of Arizona to the lush agricultural land of Virginia, raising their food and learning to live in harmony with the seasons. I’m enjoying her narrative style, and the composition of the book, which includes seasonal recipes and annotations for further information on sustainability issues.

And with all that, my tummy’s rumbling for lunch.

Shopping was an ordeal tonight, and frankly, I wasn’t in the mood. Here’s what I learned:

1. Macy’s is now carrying Made In USA tagged clothing, in hip styles (did I just write “hip”?), in their Women’s department. Cool.
2. Do not go shopping during possibly hormonal times-o’-the-month.
3. Today is not the day to finally give in and realize that yes, indeed, according the the measurements I have, that I’ve known for awhile now, I do actually need to pick a size larger in pants. Yes, I actually have lost weight and have gone down a size, but that just means I was wearing 2 sizes too small. This also doesn’t mean that some things in a smaller size don’t fit, it just means that it really, truly is just a number. I need to go w/ what looks good, and forget that number stuff.
4. Numbers?! Lane Bryant has started a proprietary sizing for their jeans. They require a sales person’s measuring of you, and the numbers don’t correspond to any of the traditional sizing methods. Even better, the styles of jeans can have a different number size for you. And of course, this means, hypothetically, that a size 18 person will wear their size 4. Now, I understand the 1, 2, 3 standing for XL, XXL and XXXL respectively. It doesn’t even correspond to that. I’d really like to understand this at some point.
5. Thanks to a $50 coupon, I bought a bunch of accesory crap. No doubt, Made in China. See #2 for the possible reason for this silly splurge.

Unrelated to today’s shopping, but related to last week’s browsing in neighborhood, I was delighted to find out that Trendy Wendy in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle sells plus size clothing made in America.

And now, to sort stuff and hope to get rid of my tension headache.

This blog is becoming all consumption, all the time, huh? I’m running with a theme, so I hope that my two (maybe three) readers will bear with me.

It’s hot in Seattle today. It’s NYC hot. It’s Chicago hot. It’s so-not-the-Pacific-Northwest hot. My wardrobe is not equipped for this hot. Neither is our apartment. Or our willingness to cook at home. Or even toss a salad at home, at this point.

Before Jon and I leave the house to consume foods made in some nice, air conditioned restaurant, and before I go look for accessories that will make this weather more bearable, I’ll leave you with my clever thoughts on shopping as I was driving home.

The common advice to going grocery shopping is to make a list, and never go grocery shopping hungry. This will avoid buying crap food, and make sure you stick to a budget, and stick to those things you really need, and are really healthy for you. My old grocery shopping style was “go in, see what looks good.” That ended with me consuming a lot of horrible prep-foods, spending lots of cash, and eating poorly. I’ve gotten better at that, and life is pretty good now.

My clothes/accesories/stuff shopping style is very much the “go in, see what looks good.” I’ve gotten better at not impulse buying, but my decision making process could use some fine tuning. It occured to me today that maybe I should make a shopping list for all this other stuff I consume.

Example:

eyeshadow (two colors, pink and purple, not to shiney)
lip color (medium tone, brown base)
skirt (black, A line or similar, conservative style, medium length)
shampoo (color conserving, no horrific scent)
3 work shirts (short sleeved, buttons optional, easy laundering ,fun colors)
cropped pants (black and khaki, business wear)
sunscreen

Budget for all these things: $175

Now that’s not a real list, but it’s what I’m proposing to myself for my next round of shop-o-rama. Instead of hoping that I can get what I want for a low price, and accepting the price I pay for whatever I choose, going in with a budget and a mission, and not buying what’s not on the list.

And NOT going shopping when I’m trying to just satiate an emotional need.

So with that, as I sweat through my clothing … I’m going to eat and shop.

Keep cool out there!

My friend Kalki, who lives in the NYC area, was giving away some beauty products and offering them to whoever wanted them. Having some of my own half-used beauty products laying around the house, I offered a swap instead of a one way send. What I ended up getting was Bed Head Brunette Goddess shampoo and conditioner (smelling strongly of fake brown sugar) and Kiehl’s Herbal Toner with Mixed Berries and Extracts and Ultra Facial Moisturizer (she also sent me a grab bag of other things). In return, I plan on sending her some left over Aveda Tourmaline Charged cleanser and face cream - both seem to be too heavy for my skin.

Trading left-over products seems a lot more eco-friendly than sending them to the trash pile. However, I should likely underline the word seems.

From a recent New York Times article Buying into the Green Movement:

It’s as though the millions of people whom environmentalists have successfully prodded to be concerned about climate change are experiencing a SnackWell’s moment: confronted with a box of fat-free devil’s food chocolate cookies, which seem deliciously guilt-free, they consume the entire box, avoiding any fats but loading up on calories.

My “Thinking Green” makes me feel good — as does many other forms of consumption. I can feel guilty about one thing, and then consume another, and feel like I’ve done something good. I think that the analogy to SnackWell’s is a particularly great one, and it reminds me of Michael Pollan’s essay,
Unhappy Meals:

Consider what happened immediately after the 1977 “Dietary Goals” — McGovern’s masterpiece of politico-nutritionist compromise. In the wake of the panel’s recommendation that we cut down on saturated fat, a recommendation seconded by the 1982 National Academy report on cancer, Americans did indeed change their diets, endeavoring for a quarter-century to do what they had been told. Well, kind of. The industrial food supply was promptly reformulated to reflect the official advice, giving us low-fat pork, low-fat Snackwell’s and all the low-fat pasta and high-fructose (yet low-fat!) corn syrup we could consume. Which turned out to be quite a lot. Oddly, America got really fat on its new low-fat diet — indeed, many date the current obesity and diabetes epidemic to the late 1970s, when Americans began binging on carbohydrates, ostensibly as a way to avoid the evils of fat.

I love that SnackWells is name-checked in these two articles published 6 months apart. Even better, it’s used to illustrate our misguided consumption of stuff. The 20th Century brought us a larger food supply, and cheaper crap for us to fill our houses and spend our hard earned dollars on. All of it is fueled by this ridiculous belief that we have a limitless supply of energy - in whatever form it takes, from energy as fuel for our cars and machines, to keep this stuff easily within our grasp and energy as food, making us and our children wonderfully fat. We can’t STOP consuming and no group making money today really wants us to STOP consuming as much as we do. Of course, I’m happy to be proven wrong on that declaration.

I can’t help but think about a family trip to Disney World a few years ago, when we sat in an air conditioned theatre and engaged in some thought-provoking edu-tainment Ellen’s Energy Adventure in Epcot. Ellen Degeneres and Bill Nye (the Science Guy) bring up important points about our waning energy supply. Never fear, though, because in the end, we still have an inexhaustable amount of brain power to think of a solution to the energy crisis.

That is, except when you and everyone else with the brain power to figure a solution haven’t eaten in days, and are away from any clean source of drinking water. (The brain seems to work better when well rested, fed and watered.)

I could go on with regards to this weeks thoughts on consumption, but currently, I have an aching belly from nibbling while baking Lavender Shortbread Cookies and making German Potato Salad for the Fourth. I have, indeed, over-consumed, and the day isn’t even done yet.

Have a happy and safe Independence Day. Make a point to exercise a civil liberty today.

A couple of weeks after I swore off purchasing toner, and a week after I ran out of my trusty Aveda toner, my skin broke out. Was it the cause of no-toning? I highly doubt this, and instead attribute it to a hormonal flux. However, my skin felt greasy and unhappy, and going for the emotional need vs. physical need, I bought Earth Science Clarifying Herbal Astringent. I chose this toner after looking at a whole host of options, with price being a concern, and recognition of ingredients being the other. Drug store options were right out (aside from the standard Witch Hazel, which is available not in the cosmetic section, but in first aid.) I ended up going into PCC (a local food coop) and looking at the familiar bottles of “natural” potions. I wanted to avoid alcohol in my toner/astringent, so that put some of the more natural of the natural right out. I remembered liking Earth Science in the past, and I found it included vinegar, which a previous commenter had recommended. I was sold with these ingredients:

Purified Water, Witch Hazel Extract, Glycerin (vegetable), Apple Cider Vinegar, Sage Extract, Rosemary Extract, Horsetail Extract, Cucumber Extract, Sea Kelp Extract, Peppermint Extract, Panthenol, Sulfur, Camphor, Sodium PCA, Zinc Sulfate. Sorbic Acid, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Allantoin, Hyaluronic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Fragrance, Cellulose Gum, Annatto Extract.

I find the toner to be refreshing - which is just NICE sometimes. Also, it doesn’t seem to have done my skin any harm, which is also a plus.

In my brief Google searches, I haven’t found where Earth Sciences (or it’s parent, Earth Essentials, Inc) come from, other than perhaps California. Perhaps it is in the same category as Kiss My Face — relatively harmless face and body care, small company, American based, etc. I’ll continue to look.

In a few hours, I am heading to the Amtrak station to meet some friends and get on a train to Portland for the weekend for a wedding. This is not just any wedding, though, this wedding includes a costume party, where participants are requested to dress as their favorite mythical animal. For ease, I chose to dress as a fairy, figuring I could just add wings. However, not being able to leave well-enough alone, I bought some additional items as well.

I found that in a costume store, “Made in China” could practically be stamped on the entire store. My wings, lovely, sheer black and sparkly, cost under $10 and came from China. The spinning, “Sailor Moon” style wand that I wanted to purchase, turned out to be broken, but had I purchased it, it would also be from China. The only item that was not made in China, was a mask, which was made in Italy.

Being out the necessary blinky, I went on a quest to find a wand with an LED spinner. I checked out Claires in the mall, which was horrifying, then Toys R Us, which was similarly horrifying — the smell of latex and plastics was nearly overwhelming, and it was desolate, not the overbrimming aisles of my youth. I went up to a woman who was likely in her 50’s, but looked like she was attempting 34. I asked her about the wand, and she didn’t much understand the word “wand,” and I was having even less luck with “Sailor Moon.” Finally, I get up to the register and look for someone helpful, and just as I think, “If only there was a geek around here…” a guy at the register pops into view. I caught myself — I don’t want to be making snap generalizations about people based on their physical appearance. I picked up a recent find while I was at the registers, a very masculine-looking glowy, spinny wand with polygonal casing. I showed it to the gentleman, and asked my question again, and said the magic words, “Sailor Moon” and then aside, “Do you know what I mean?”
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The Alantic Monthly has a special issue on China for July/August. Unfortunately, the article China Makes, The World Takes is only available for subscribers — but if you have an interest in the issue of American and European companies that have their products made in China, I recommend reading it.

Of course, I have Jon to blame for bringing it to my attention. And how could I not be interested, when I see the cover featuring all of those containers ready for shipping? I see them every day on trucks going up and down I-5 from the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma. The photo on the lead article comes from Shenzhen, but I see so many of those same containers here on the roads, and stacked up in the ports. (btw and slightly off-topic, the second Season of The Wire, which is filmed in Baltimore, feature some of these same containers and the yards.)

The gist of the article, as far as I can tell, is that American companies making goods in China isn’t all bad. Well, crap. That stalls my continuing trek to the polar end of consumerism. This is inevitably what happens to me whenever I start trying to define a position that I’ve shown an interest in taking. I get introduced new data that rounds out my view point, and makes it harder for me to rally on one side of the issue. Maybe it’s my diplomatic nature - or even a Buddha-nature of finding the Middle Way. All choices have their positives and negatives, and when it comes to consuming products the only answer is what to consume, as opposed to not consuming at all.

And then choosing who and what you value the most.
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About two years ago I started buying toner to round out my face-washing regimen. I was working in Whole Body at Whole Foods and I got a freebie of Zia toner, and figured it was a good idea. Afterall, it’s supposed to prime your face for moisturizer.

In my recent mood for scaling down consumption (and waste), I started pondering my use of toner. I’ve been using Aveda toner for the past two years, and I like the smell, and it’s a refreshing spritz. However, the ingredients make me wonder just why I bother. Alcohol, essential oils, water, some unpronouncable chemicals that I’m sure are to make me more youthful. Why bother?

Ashes, a human I was acquainted with years ago, had the most lovely hair I could imagine. It was red, curly and long. Ashes told me that s/he didn’t use shampoo and conditioner. Afterall, shampoo just strips your hair of natural oils, and conditioner just replaces them. What a racket! Jon posited that toner sets the stage for moisturizer by further drying your face. Huh, it just kind of makes sense, especially with the alcohol content.

A spritz of toner is refreshing, but is it worth the wasted packaging and the shipping costs of a product that is mostly water?

I’ve decided for now to give up my toner. It’s $20 I save, along with packaging.

In other related news — I’ve found a local mineral make-up company, Terra Firma Cosmetics. I haven’t tried it on my face yet, but it’s something to look into — if I don’t give up make-up altogether. I’m also ecstatic to find B & Lu, a plus-sized clothing retailer that lists many clothes, if not all, as being made in the USA. I dig that. I’m also learning to love the hunt for good clothing in thrift stores.