Lightboxes and other SAD-busting magic

Hi, everyone,

I haven't posted anything really substantial in a long time, but now that the election season is over, I thought I'd update my blog with a little post-Daylight Savings Time health advice.

Living in New England has made me fairly aware of how my mood is affected by sunlight.  Even when I lived in New York, the slightly increased degree of sunlight was better for me personally than it has been the last four and a half years I've spent living in Rhode Island.  Winters here are brutal--darker, but also with colder rain and winter mix, along with a harsh wind that slices through thinner clothing.  I've had to spend a significant amount of money on thicker winter clothes since moving here, because my cheaper cottons weren't cutting it.

While I haven't been officially diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which has been publicized over the last few years as a psychological, debilitating reaction to longer periods of darkness, I definitely feel the gloom that days hiding under wool and indoors creates.  Because I have been here so long, and know how I react to the wintertime (during finals period and the stressful holiday season, no less!), I have spent a great deal of time researching how to prepare for this time of year.

Drink Water.
I have always held that staying hydrated is the most important thing that a person can do to maintain their health.  The adult human body consists of 55-60% water.  This should be constantly replenished with fresh water, which we don't always think about because we are not sweating it out as much in winter.  It's really important to pay attention to what your body wants; it is very common to conflate thirst with hunger, and often when people think that they need to consume more caffeine, they actually are just slightly dehydrated.  Drinking coffee (or Red Bull, or Four Loko--well, that's a whole other can of worms) will not help this.  When I drink coffee, I try to make sure to drink more than the equivalent amount of water, so that I will not further dehydrate myself. 

Moisturizing is also really important.  My skin never cracked and dried in New York as it does here, because it is humid all year-round as opposed to very humid in the summer and dry in the winter.  I never had as many sinus infections as I do here.  Keeping hydrated and moisturized is another way to combat wintertime illnesses in addition to DST blues.


Exercise.
This one is a challenge for me, as I am not a naturally athletic or physically active person.  This semester, I made sure to keep myself on a rigid exercise schedule by taking a modern dance class as one of my courses.  This was a great move for helping my mood overall throughout the semester.  Dancing has made me aware of what's going on in my body for a set period of time each day.  The deep stretches that we perform in the class incorporate aspects of yoga, which increases GABA levels in the brain significantly higher than simply taking a walk does.  While yoga has turned off some people that I know  because it seems too spiritually-based and does not function as aerobic exercise, I would argue that stretching muscles that are not commonly used in everyday life builds up lactic acid, which activates your metabolism.  Yoga specifically allows for both stretching, building up lactic acid, and deep, controlled breathing, which supplies oxygen to the body so that "warming down" is not as necessary as in other types of exercise. 

But if you don't want to be all touchy-feely and do yoga, at least stretch in the morning.  Stretch further every day.  Learn to touch your toes if you can't (it's taken me about two months to learn that one).  Stretch places you didn't know existed.  If you don't exercise regularly, then take 10 minutes out of your day to stretch.  Even if it's during your lunch break.  And you have to hide in the bathroom stall to do it.  Just do it.  And then take another 10 minutes during your day, another "extended bathroom break" if you will, to do jumping jacks, or run in place, and you will feel awesome about yourself, about taking care of yourself, and your body will thank you.

Take Vitamins.
Sunlight goes away, and along with it goes Vitamin D.  Recently, a paper came out talking about a Vitamin D deficiency pandemic and how little sun people now receive.  There is much research pointing toward the inefficacy of orally taking Vitamin D (though I'm trying it out, anyway), because it needs to be processed by UV light in the skin and then activated in the kidney.  Research points toward those chocolate women's calcium supplements with Vitamin D as being the only effective oral way of absorbing these nutrients.

If you don't want to do this, then I recommend eating fish!  Iceland, even though it is a very cold and dark place, has a significant lack of SAD, theoretically due to the ingestion of fish in the region.  Eating veggies is also great, although fresh veggies are harder to find in winter months.  Frozen veggies used in homemade soup can be a great way to resolve this problem, in addition to eating fresh "winter" vegetables like squash and hardy or indoor greens.

Lightboxes
I'll admit--the first thing I did when I realized Daylight Savings was upon us was research lightboxes.  These are super expensive, though Jason Fitzpatrick from Lifehacker managed to find a $40 Dawn Simulator (they aren't shipping until January, unfortunately).

Luckily for me, my university's Psychological Services rents out light boxes to students!  I just rented the large one today for a $25 deposit, and I can keep it for two weeks.  The sun is going down now, so I'm going to hang out with it after work for a while.  I highly encourage people who have therapists to ask if they could borrow a light box to see if it works for them--there is no use investing $150+ in something that might not help their problems.

Good luck and take care.

2010 Election Results

Click here to check out the RI NOW PAC Endorsement results. 

Thanks to everyone who voted in the general election; I'm really excited to see what will happen in Rhode Island politics during the legislative session.

Quick Update + National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior Survey launched!

I am alive; Angel won the primary about 2 weeks ago; I have been actively volunteering with the CSPH; I had almost forgotten how much work being a full-time student is; I am not retaking the LSAT; I am going to take at least a year in-between undergrad and law school; I think having real law experience is far more valuable than having a high GPA.

Also!  Today, the Center for Sexual Health Promotion published the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior Survey.  This is a big deal, as the last time we've had a solid count of sexuality in America was in 1990, with the National Health and Social Life Survey.  The book "Sex in America" resulted from this study, and some problematic conclusions did as well, including extensions of already-existing social constructions of gender. 

BUT ANYWAY.  Read the summary of the report, it's exciting.  Condom use has increased, especially among Hispanic and black Americans, though it still has a ways to go.  Also, way to go, people, for acting outside of the normative categorizations of sexual orientations and skewing the results of what this means in a social context.  America can be pretty cool sometimes.

2010 RI NOW PAC Endorsements

Here are the Rhode Island National Organization for Women PAC endorsements.

(Please note that all the candidates in this post are 100% on RI NOW's issues in addition to the highlights I'm covering here.)

Campaigns I've been volunteering for :

Betsy Dennigan (National NOW endorsement):
Betsy Dennigan is an emergency nurse and attorney who is running for national office in District 2.  She is an able and worthy candidate and is focusing on healthcare, education, and stimulating the fishing industry and green industries in Rhode Island.  I've written several posts about her on this blog already.

Angel Taveras
 A strong progressive candidate for Providence, Angel is focusing his mayoral platform on housing, which the city certainly needs, and environmental issues, including municipal composting, which  I worked on back in 2008 (cut to terribly-kept old blog) with David Mittelman in congruence with Andy Posner of the Capital Good Fund.  I am sure that Andy will be invested in helping guide Angel through the process of finding sufficient land, finding staff, dealing with the NIMBY'd nature of gentrification within Providence, etc. He also wants to fix zoning laws, which, after having worked for the Census, I can see is a huge problem in the city.  The difference between commercial and residential zoning has really affected cost of living, making rent far too high downtown and turning Providence into a ghost town after business hours.  Providence needs a mayor who will actually help uncover and remove deep-seated problems, and I think Angel's capable of doing so.

Therese Caron
A criminal defense lawyer, Therese is a fighter for justice.  She is an advocate and self-identifies as a feminist.  She is the lesser-known Progressive face in the race for the District 2 Representative seat vacated by David Segal, but she will make up for it by working twice as hard in office.   While I would support either Therese or Chris in office, as I know them both personally, Therese's story especially appealed to me.  She was been a public defender for twelve years, and now works with helping low-income people in difficult situations.  She decided to run for Segal's seat when she found out it was vacated--after he announced it--on the basis that her daughter was in high school and therefore old enough to handle the time commitment that Therese would invest in the Representative position.  Therese is a true Rhode Islander, and I think she would serve her district well in office if elected.

Politicians I've met with or otherwise support:
Chris Blazejewski
Gina Raimondo
Theresa Tanzi

Ch-Ch-Changes

Hi, all!  This is a super-quick update.

First, I just thought I'd let you know that the layout of my blog is less ugly.

Second, thought I'd let you know I changed my major, from Literary Arts, which was somewhat unrelated to the work I've been doing, to American Civilization with a focus in Gender and Healthcare.  I think this will be far more helpful in achieving my law school goals.

Third, the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health is moving--two doors away.  It will still be in the Grant building at 250 Main Street in Pawtucket, but it will be relocated to a larger space, which it desperately needs.  We start painting in a few days!

Fourth, the RI NOW PAC's endorsements will be rolling out soon, so stay tuned.

Fifth, I have continued to study for the LSAT, and I now recommend the ExamKrackers book for logical reasoning questions.  Way cheaper than PowerScore and way less dense/dull/time-consuming.  Oh, I am continuously on the search for an LSAT buddy in the Providence area, so if you know anyone, please let me know!

Take care.

Under Construction

I'm working on the layout of this blog, so please excuse its appearance over the next week or so.

Thanks, and take care!

Today was a big day in terms of meeting important women for me. I met Nancy Rafi and Gina Raimondo within the last four hours.

Nancy came into the Center today to speak with the interns as a personal favor to Megan about the important work she does in trying to end violence against women. Nancy is not only close friends with Megan (she helped fight the city of Pawtucket when they almost didn't let the Center open), she is also close friends with Eve Ensler, the creator of The Vagina Monologues. Nancy has also started her own nonprofit, the Rhode Island Crisis Assistance Center. It does amazing, immediate work for women to help deal with details in crisis situations, like providing clothing to women after going to the hospital for a rape kit, because the hospital will take clothing away as evidence and leave women to go back home in a hospital gown. Its next fundraiser will be in September, and it is an awesome concept. Called "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes," it is a walk in which men raise money to help prevent and raise awareness of domestic violence by walking a mile in bright red high heels. I fully intend to get the guys in my fraternity, including my boyfriend, involved. The interns at the Center will also have a team, and it's going to be a lot of fun.

After being thoroughly impressed with Nancy and the wonderful efforts she's made to help direct attention to relationship abuse, I attended Gina Raimondo's first "Money School" lecture in Cranston. Gina is running for Treasurer of Rhode Island, but is taking the position to the people by offering financial resources and lessons to Rhode Islanders for free. She covered basic information about savings, credit, and debt that, judging from the reactions of the people around me, were really helpful. I picked up a few tips, also, which is great, but mostly I learned about different resources for college funding that I hadn't known about. There are a lot of small organizations within the government that loan and help very specific circumstances, but are never used or known about and therefore aren't helping people. Rhode Island's unemployment rate is still ridiculously high and the cost of living is constantly increasing. Gina is trying to bring the Treasurer's office to the forefront of helping people directly, which is what the state desperately needs. She will hold banks accountable for taking advantage of their customers by holding control over the state's available bank fund, negotiating distributions of money among banks by requiring service to RI in return. I think her plans are great, and I sure as hell hope she wins the election.

This past week has also been full of candidate interviews and deciding endorsements for the upcoming primary. I think that I will talk more about that after the RI NOW PAC has come to a decision about all of its endorsements, but they are pretty exciting. We received over 30 returned questionnaires and have been choosing our candidates quite carefully. Once we announce our decisions, I will talk about meetings that I have had with specific candidates, and how lucky I am to have the opportunity to speak directly with the people who will be shaping the future of RI's policies. Also, the other women in NOW are amazing, and I'm super lucky to get to work with them so closely.

That's all for now. Take care.

Metta, Megan, Much-Needed Meditation

Hello, hello.

Now that I've had the chance to catch my breath (read: crash on my bed after work), let me tell you more about what's going on in my world.

First, I wanted to give you some more mindfulness practice by showing you some information on Metta, also known as lovingkindness.  I am currently reading the book LovingKindness by Sharon Salzberg, which my friend Josh, a practicing Zen Buddhist and Contemplative Psychology major, lent to me after we went to a meditation retreat/Q&A session with Salzberg herself.  What is lovingkindness?  It is an attitude, an approach to life that entails wishing peace and happiness toward everyone you encounter.  Simply through thinking positively about other people, it improves your own mood and perspective on life.  I think it is a very useful philosophy to keep in mind when interacting with people so as to keep tempers in check and smiles on faces. 

I also wanted to talk more about the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health, as that is the internship I am most actively involved in on a personal level as well as a time-commitment basis.  I am working on a lot of the PR aspects of the CSPH, which is great because it's what I do best, and because it is an unpaid and small internship, I have the freedom to do what I want with it, which is awesome.  I am also learning a lot more about how many legal loopholes there are when it comes to sexual education, and how poorly sex ed is taught in high schools.  I find it upsetting that people are supposed to know everything they need to know about sex once they leave high school, but usually that process is an awkward and confusing one, at best, and a dangerous and painful one at worst.  Yesterday, I witnessed a health educator from Planned Parenthood and the New England Institute for Sexual Health answer high school students' questions about sex.  The range of questions was insane, with everything from "how are babies made?" to fairly specific questions about certain acts.  This woman was very competent, answered questions straightforwardly, and did not bat an eye.  She told the truth, which is a refreshing change from awkwardly working around questions to try to direct high schoolers toward abstinence, which is what happened in my health class a lot of the time.  The problem with abstinence-only education is that kids will never eventually learn about how actually to deal with sexual issues if they aren't taught explicitly or learn lessons through practice.  This is bad when there are scenarios like relationship abuse, which can be an isolating, confusing, and almost impossible to navigate experience for a young person.  When someone's index card was pulled out that asked, "What if he just won't take no for an answer?", my stomach did somersaults.  No teenager should have to deal with that situation, and this health educator said so outright, saying leaving was a far better option, because this person obviously didn't really care about you.  This is an obvious answer to an outsider, but once someone is consumed with a harmful relationship, it is much harder for them to understand that they are being mistreated and often very difficult to leave and seek help.

I'm glad about the work that I've been doing at the Center.  I think Megan can use as much help as she can get, considering she doesn't make any money from having the Center open and she gets so much flack for doing what she does every day.  She is pretty inspiring, and I hope to have even half the impact that she has had on the landscape of sexuality in Rhode Island.

On a completely different note, working three steady internships and a few random jobs all summer is starting to wear me out, but I've luckily begun my workout routine again, so I've been getting a bit more energy.  These days, my day starts around 8 AM and ends at between 1 and 2 AM.  I'm waiting to get the platform questionnaires back from the candidates for RI NOW, so that we can decide who we are endorsing.  Once those start coming in, my life will get slightly crazier, because I will have to make spreadsheets for every candidate and every question and compare them to RI NOW's values to see if we will be making any additional endorsements in the state primaries, which are coming up in September.  I will probably be doing more campaign work for Betsy Dennigan, as well.  I also have to start worrying about studying for the LSAT again, which I'll be retaking in October.  I started an LSAT study group that will have its first meeting tomorrow.  Also, in September, I will be running a 5K.  It's going to be insane, and I haven't even thought about that whole "school" thing, yet.

Now I need to take a nap.  It has been a long, long week.

Take care.

Good News and Bad News

The good news is, I went to the intern breakfast for the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health yesterday, and it was awesome.  I met three of the other interns, and they seem great.  I'm really excited to be working with them, and I think our skills complement each others' in a great way.  Also, Megan, as usual, is fantastic, and I'm glad I'll be working with someone who is as passionate about sex ed and helping people as I am.  She also knows Carolyn from RI NOW!  No one out of state understands how small a world Rhode Island is, particularly the world of women's issues and sexuality studies.  My good friends Abigail and Sara are also working in the area at Planned Parenthood and Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, respectively, and we run in the same circles constantly, because everyone here overlaps in other organizations.

Speaking of overlap in organizations, one of my jobs for both CSPH and RI NOW are to organize student groups at Brown so that they can all receive the same information.  I definitely want an umbrella organization system to happen so that everyone involved in female-positive, sex-positive, queer-positive groups can at least be on the same listserv.  It is absurd how many events one can miss just because they're on the listserv of one group instead of another.  I think increasing communication between the groups is crucial, and I'm more than happy to make this my project for the summer. 

Then there's the bad news.  The bad news is, I didn't do so great on the LSAT.  I'm not super-shocked that I didn't do as well as I'd wanted, but I did nearly 10 points below what I was averaging in practice exams.  I think I need to work on my stamina, and hopefully in September I'll be able to do better.  I need to figure out how to work in 4-hour chunks, though, because the only thing I did "poorly" in my studying was that I'd complete half a test at a time because that's as much time as I had to work with in one block.  I'm a busy chica, and I'd fit my studying around the rest of my schedule.  I guess I'm going to have to sacrifice more weekend time and possibly not sleep as often during the next few months.  It'll be worth it, though, if I can increase my score and get into a decent law program.

I'm bummed, but I meditated a bit and realized that it's not the end of the world (and my score wasn't even that horrific, just wasn't up to my desired par), and that I do have the chance to try again before application season hits.  Maybe I'll just apply to the University of Hawaii and learn the law in beautiful weather.

Take care.

No More LSAT, Harry Potter, BPW, Sexual Pleasure, and Picnics

Hello, hello, hello.

First of all, I swear I'm not dead.

I took the LSAT on June 7th (yay, it's over!) and I'm expecting to hear back relatively soon.  Scary, wish me luck.

The past two weeks, I've been home in New York and then in Florida with my family for the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios.  It was great for refocusing my energy--I love sunshine, even if it's accompanied by 97-degree humidity.  I met my mom's best friend growing up, Cynthia Thomason, who told me about her work with Business and Professional Women in Florida.  I was excited and encouraged to hear about lobbying opportunities with them, and I'm definitely going to check out the Rhode Island chapter.

On Friday, I start orientation with Megan Andelloux's Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health in Pawtucket.  On Sunday, the RI NOW Political Action Committee will be having its PAC-a-Picnic, and since I am their intern, I am seriously involved with planning it and getting questionnaires out by Friday.  I will probably update again after these two events.

That's all for now.  Take care.

Brief Check-In

Hi hi,

Just wanted to punch in and let people know that I'm alive, studying for LSATs, and interning with RI NOW's Political Action Committee.  I also start escorting at Planned Parenthood on Tuesday!  I'm really excited, but it's late at the moment and I have work tomorrow morning.  Take care.

End of April Update

So my life has been fairly insane lately, but I thought I'd update in this brief period when I should be paying attention to my co-ed literary fraternity's poetry meter workshop (they're analyzing the meter of Lady GaGa's Bad Romance, it's pretty epic).

THINGS I HAVE DONE/AM DOING:
- Continue to volunteer for Betsy Dennigan, going to be assigned press releases to write closer to the primary in September.  Tomorrow I'll be representing Betsy at a peace conference in Roger Williams Park's Botanical Gardens (Click on the brochure in the top portion of the page to see details.)  She can't go because she has a different event to attend, but she is a sponsor of the event, so I've been appointed to go in her place.
- Attended escort training for Planned Parenthood, where I will help women pass through crouwds of protesters on scheduled abortion days to get from the parking lot to the building across the street.
- I'm meeting with Carolyn Mark, president of RI NOW, to discuss my being their Political Action Committee intern.  This will involve a lot of lobbying, researching laws, and testifying at bill hearings.
- Been completely inspired by James Forman Jr., who spoke at a Careers in the Common Good informal info session about Public Interest Law at Brown earlier this week.  Hearing his story made me feel far better about my decision to pursue law school, that I won't lose my entire soul or my reasons for attending, and that I can really make a difference one day.  I just need to remind myself why I'm there and avoid the herd.  Basically, I need to find awesome friends at a good school so we can keep each other's morale up against the suits that dominate the field.  I can do that.  I'm doing it at Brown, I did it in high school, and I have faith that I can continue to do so in the future.  I'm going to see if I'll be able to volunteer a few hours a week at the Public Defenders office.  I think that's the best way to get real experience with the law and, as I always strive to do, with ground myself to understand the people that laws not only affect, but should be built around.
- Trying to get back into Brown following my leave.  I'm getting some of my friends to edit the letter I've written, and I already have the letters of recommendation I need done.  I'm pretty excited to go back--leave has been a priceless experience, but I need to graduate.

That's all for now.  Take care.

Educational Rant of the Day

Did you know that getting a child into an elementary school in Providence is a complete crap shoot?  Whether it's getting into an awesome Charter school or the worst of the public schools, it's done based on lottery and not by location or merit.  I really don't understand how education came to be cultivated in this way, but it's pretty broken.  Not that all students shouldn't be given a chance to achieve, but the way the current system is, without required pre-K or full-day kindergarten, students are thrown together in first grade, a large portion not understanding the basics of reading or mathematics, even speaking English, let alone social skills.

I found this out from talking with my boss about trying to get her 3-year-old into kindergarten soon, and how much of a challenge finding a decent public school in Providence is.  I knew this about the high schools, in particular Hope High School, which has some of the lowest test scores and passing rates in the state and is ironically down the block from the Brown University campus.  I did not realize how poorly the elementary schools are organized, which should have occurred to me, as education is cumulative.  Being surrounded by professors that live on the East Side and send their children to expensive private prep schools, however, has shifted my understanding of elementary school learning in the area.  I think it is important that at the very least, we fund full-day kindergarten, and understand why the state is spending so much money per student on a failing education system.

Yes.

YES to Healthcare, YES to killing the Stupak amendment, Boo for the Nelson Amendment restricting money on abortion coverage.  But in general, I am overwhelmed by how effective the constituents of the people in Congress have been in making plain to their representatives that health care IS a priority.  And I am so impressed that so many representatives listened.

Updates and a local mindfulness program!

So, I have been doing a LOT of things lately.

I've started volunteering for Betsy Dennigan's campaign.  I've now spoken with her twice, and I feel as though she definitely needs to represent the state of Rhode Island in Congress.  She has really comprehensive plans concerning healthcare, education, stimulating the economy with new jobs and rejuvenating a dying fishing industry.  She is pro-choice, she is an emergency nurse, she has been doing policy for 12 years, and now it is time to send her to Washington, where she can actually effectively implement change and fix this tiny state with high illiteracy and unemployment rates.  The best part about working so closely with her campaign is that I can discuss real policy issues that affect the lives of myself and my friends and have them be addressed one-on-one and can even push them to a place of importance within her campaign on college campuses.  It's also pretty fun to get to march in St. Patrick's Day parades.

Yesterday (Tuesday), I went to the State House with other members of RI NOW to testify in favor of 3 bills that were being heard and against another bill under the House Judiciary Committee.  I couldn't stay the whole time, unfortunately, because they started the hearing far later than I had expected, but it was very interesting to actually sit in on one.  Mostly, I got to speak with some important people on the pro-choice side, including a representative from Planned Parenthood and Susan Sweet.

Other than that, the LSAT studying is still in the works.  Did you know that it costs $136 to register for the LSAT?  And that LSAC asks you not only for your ethnicity and whether you are left- or right-handed, but also for your sexual orientation?  Granted, this is asked through LSAC for the Candidate Referral Service, which finds law schools to recruit you based on your preferences, but I hardly feel that sexual orientation is necessary to inquire of applicants.  Also, they lump all "other" sexualities (read: non-heteronormative; yes, I am a Brown student at heart) in one category.  There is a check box in front of the statement that reads, "Check to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender."  I don't think that who a person loves should determine their ability to be a lawyer, but I suppose my beliefs are relatively progressive compared to the vast majority of the law school admissions population.  When I tried to find more complaints about this requirement online, I could only find this document, "The ABA 2009 Presidential Diversity Summit's State of Diversity in the Legal Profession Selected Survey Summaries."  On page 14, there's a really poignant quote from a female lawyer:

"Diversity is important to the legal profession. In order for laws, statutes, rules, and regulations, to be created and applied, without bias for the rule of law to have proper meaning, our profession must be charged with fully including the vast variety of backgrounds so that bias, prejudice, and
bigotry are minimized, or, at best, eliminated...

... In my professional life, I have seen local bar associations that discriminated based on religion, race, sex, and sexual orientation and gender identity. Some of that has abated through education. Some has abated by those that discriminated knowing someone in the class or status of the discriminated. My local bar still discriminates based on gender identity and sexual orientation (we have the most "liberal" bench and bar in the state, yet the bench of over 30 judges and masters does not have a single representative from that group, though the citizens they judge comprise about 20%.)"

So, all you law schools that claim not to discriminate based on these criteria, I hope you keep your word.  It'll be a heck of a lot easier for qualified candidates to get into these discriminatory bar associations if they can at least get into law school.

 For a complete change of topic, I found a great local mindfulness resource!  The Providence Library is holding a mindfulness program series until May.  This is awesome for the greater Providence area, because it is a really cheap or free way to learn Yoga and about meditation, sleep, even Reiki.  While some Brown students take for granted free meditation and yoga sessions here, if the general public were made aware that Yoga is $5 per person per session, they would be less intimidated by committing to expensive per month or per year yoga programs.  I am going to ask about it the next time I go there (which will hopefully be soon, I definitely need to find a new LSAT study spot) and if they have fliers, I'll take a bunch and distribute around my job on Fed Hill and around Betsy's campaign headquarters on Broad Street.  Using the library as a public resource and center for interaction is a really key part of Betsy's campaign, and I completely agree with that concept.

So, to recap:

• Betsy Dennigan is an awesome Congressional candidate
• LSAT and CRS registration can lead to some upsetting discriminatory practices
• Learn about mindfulness at the Providence Public Library!

Take care.

Comparisons

Compare this

to this.

Update

Here's a quick update on what I'm doing:

• Hard-core LSAT studying has begun.  I'm studying with the PowerScore Logic Games and Logical Reasoning Bibles.  They're pretty comprehensive, but make no mistake, the questions can be really difficult.
• On Friday, I'm meeting with Betsy Dennigan's Volunteer Coordinator so that I can start working on the organization and research for her college outreach initiative.  Basically I need to wrangle all the contact information for every RI college Democratic Club by Friday evening, when I get to meet some important people in her campaign at Headquarters.  I'm pretty excited.
• Sometime this or next week, I'll be meeting with Megan Andelloux, an important Rhode Island Sex Educator, to discuss volunteering at her Sexual Health Resource Center.  She says she knows some lawyers with ideals similar to mine, and if I need a mentor, I can be introduced.  I am super excited about this, and can't wait to be involved hands-on in adult sex ed.
• Tomorrow, I'll be attending the NERCOMP Conference for my job.  If I haven't talked about my job yet, I will in the near future (when it's not 1:30 am), because what my company does is actually really essential to the evolution of education as a whole.
• I also took the exam to work for the census, so I'll be able to supplement my income somewhat with that (thank goodness).

All things considered, self-soothing is still a high priority on my list, because I know how important it is in order to get all of these things accomplished.  Eventually, I hope everyone will have access to these techniques so that calm amidst the storm can be achieved.

Good night, and take care.

Hobbying Lobbying

I went to RI NOW's annual lobbyist training session tonight.  Its purpose was to prepare us, as a Political Action Committee, to approach representatives at the State House and speak with them about bills that need to be acknowledged, supported, or shot down.  Here is a brief, bulleted list of what I thought of it.


Things that were cool:

• Awesome lobbyist Susan Sweet, of Sweet and Associates, was really up front and honest about the lobbying process.  She also assuaged my fears that professional lobbyists are generally evil.  She is really awesome, truly believes in what she advocates, and is a seasoned, down-to-earth veteran of what it means to wheel and deal with state representatives.

• Awesome awesome Betsy Dennigan, nurse/attorney running for Congress to replace James Langevin, spoke to us about the power of lobbying, the ability of anyone to run for office, and was generally inspiring with her views.  She told us a great story about a debate that was happening on the floor over abortion.  The room was filled with mostly men, arguing about partial abortion.  Betsy whipped out her OB/GYN textbook and started going over the technical definitions of what they were actually talking about.  It is wonderful that someone who has experience treating people is going to support not only women's reproductive rights, but also effective healthcare bills that can actually work with existing hospital management and financial structures.

• Then we participated in a roleplaying game to put us in the situation of meeting with legislators of varying opinions on passing a marriage equality bill.  My group was placed with a republican representative who was co-sponsoring a bill that proposed to limit marriage to be defined as between a man and a woman.  This man, Representative Savage (that is his real name!), actually exists, and is the representative of East Providence and the Deputy Minority Leader in the House.  Needless to say, the game was fun.

Things that were not so cool:
It makes sense for them to give this advice, but both Susan and Betsy said to just stay away from opponents when lobbying.  But this means that the opposition won't hear the actual, shifting opinion of their constituents. There's no dialogue there, so how can ideas be exchanged?  This then, emphasizes the importance of stressing to legislators with similar political beliefs to stick to their guns, to push for certain bills, to understand that [X] issue is what is important to you, a constituent, or a concerned citizen, or as someone who was touched by this issue for one reason or another.

Here are the most important lessons I've learned tonight:

You do not need to be a professional lobbyist to lobby.  You do not need to be a professional lobbyist to get your ideas across to your representatives.  And you do not need to be perfect to run for office.  Anyone with concern for a certain bill can arrange a meeting with the people who represent you in your state government.  You just need to be prepared, with the number of the bill in question and what the bill is addressing.  No one in state office has read every single line of every single bill, but if their constituents come up to them with compelling cases, requesting support for a certain bill, they will be sure to show up for that bill's hearing and vote.

One of the notes on which Betsy left us was that only 15% of Congressional seats are held by women.  Whenever she gives speeches at colleges or schools, she calls up a random male and female to the front, and asks them both if they had ever considered running for office.  She says on the first try, the female will always say "no," and with further prompting will say, "well, maybe if I did a lot of research, and educated myself on all the issues and became more familiar with the law, then maybe I'd consider myself ready to run."  The guys, she said, generally reply, "yeah, sure, I can do that."  Betsy wanted us to understand that literally anyone under the age of 18, as long as they haven't committed a felony, can run for any office, and if you think you can do a better job than the person who is currently in office, you should run.  It was so inspiring; tonight was the first time since I was in 10th grade that I've considered running for office at some point in the future.  For right now, though, I'll stick to getting through LSAT studying.

Here is Betsy Dennigan's website.  I am definitely volunteering with her campaign.

http://betsydenniganforcongress.com/

That's all for now.

Take care.

An easy first step in addressing health care

Today, I want to take a brief look at the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as Food Stamps, otherwise known as an Electronic Benefits Transfer Card (EBT), and see the simple ways of making this system better without spending ridiculous amounts of taxpayers' dollars.

The first thing you should know about the application, at least in Rhode Island, is that it is long.  It is a seventeen page PDF file.  It is also only available in English.  It is also only searchable if you can read, though if you go to the Food Stamp office in person, you can get assistance there.  But for the people who are desperately working as many hours as possible to feed their family, being able to get to DHS is difficult.  You can request a telephone interview, which is helpful for those who cannot read or speak English, but still, if you do not know where to turn to, this can be incredibly difficult.

There are a few problems with the system in terms of accessibility and organization.  It is, compared to other government systems, rather quick once you are in the process of getting stamps.  There is little problem with this.  However, gaining access to the right to food stamps is for more privileged citizens.  I will not complain here about the fact that legal immigrants have more stringent rules for application (i.e. having had to live in the U.S. for 5 years before being able to apply for an EBT card), because that delves into politics that people will have more trouble agreeing upon and sorting out.  Instead, I will note that some citizens cannot read; some citizens do not speak English; and some citizens, overwhelmed with problems of poverty and malnutrition, simply cannot find the energy or time to fill out a 17-page application in their own time.


Here are some changes to the system that I propose, then.  A simpler application, found at any grocery store, available in both English and Spanish, if not Portuguese, Cambodian, and other languages that are prominent in Rhode Island in particular.  I do not know how the Food Stamp programs work in other states, but I do know that Rhode Island is a state in particular need of assistance to its large unemployed population. 

I just spoke with a friend who works for Farm Fresh Rhode Island, the local farmers market, and learned more about how important EBT is to supporting local farms.  For every dollar you spend at these Rhode Island farmers markets, Farm Fresh will match you up to $10 in Fresh Bucks tokens used for debit or EBT.  So, if you want to spend $20 in food stamps, you will receive $30 in tokens to be used at any of the booths that sell groceries.  Farm Fresh received funding for this program thanks to Wholesome Wave and The Rhode Island Foundation. It is pretty wonderful, and I am looking forward to receiving contact information from this friend about helping the URI Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program.

This semester, I believe I am going to apply for a grant with my co-educational literary fraternity, St. Anthony Hall, asking for money to print out applications, sit in front of grocery stores, and ask people if they need help filling out an application, if they need a Spanish translator, and will inform them of the programs at the farmers markets.  I know that a significant amount of people avoid farmers markets because they believe they are akin to Whole Foods in terms of expense; however, a farmers market is just what Whole Foods aspires to be--fresh, nutritious produce that, when purchased, helps the local economy.  When one takes the matching program into account, one can find affordable groceries that are more fresh, nutritious, and delicious than bargain carrots at the bottom of a Price Rite bin that have sat there for too long.  The purpose of the SNAP program is two-fold: to help low-income individuals with their nutrition, and to help the food industry.  Since the recession began, families have spent less on food, and therefore put less money into local farms and grocery stores alike.  By helping push the Food Stamp program, money will circulate further and help out the economy, which is something that Rhode Island in particular desperately needs.

I will post the main pages of SNAP and Farm Fresh, so these websites are more easily found:

• SNAP: http://www.eatbettertoday.com/en/
• Food Stamps Application: https://www.foodstamps.ri.gov/admin/login.cfm
• Farm Fresh RI: http://www.farmfreshri.org/

Take care.

Skimming the Surface of the State of the Union

I'm pretty sure that despite Obama's lofty goals with health care, there will continue to be problems that plague the way our system works, and the way the American people react to it.
For instance, this article about co-payments with health insurance.  It makes complete sense that people will reduce the number of trips that they make to the doctor if their copay is too large, causing their well-being to snowball into more serious conditions and leading to large and unmanageable hospital bills.

I do not understand why people cannot comprehend the importance of education's impact upon healthcare.  The two are inherently intertwined.  Too much of self-care has been left to families, and only the most severe medical threats are taught in schools.  Drugs, AIDS, and sexual consequences are usually stressed in health education, if a school is well-funded enough to have such a program, but there is an overwhelming negligence toward health maintenance and truly caring for oneself.  This, my friends, is a problem.  It is all related.  By depreciating the value of health to the benefit of "more important" school subjects (read: subjects that will be present in state tests), health and education about illnesses, up to and including mental illnesses, become forgotten or forsaken.  There is so much of an emphasis upon rushing, upon competition, in American society, that health falls to the wayside, and Americans then pay for it, in volumes and multitudes.

Here is an article about an educational radio show in Spanish that is currently broadcast in Rhode Island on Wednesday mornings at 9.  This is the sort of program that I think would be effective-- it reaches not only those who can read, and can read in English, but it also allows for interaction between patients and doctors on important topics that can be embarrasing to raise with one's physician in person.  I hope that this program fosters others that can become even more successful and use media that are easily accessible to a large number of uninformed, hard-working, and treasured citizens of the United States.

Take care.