I have no “report” to make on my 2 Day Diet—this is the
first time since I started in the beginning of November that I haven’t done a
weekly weigh in, but though I suppose I could have weighed myself at Todd and
Jamie’s house, it might not have been the same as our scale at home, and
besides, I’m on vacation. We’ll find out if I’m capable of going 10 days on the
road and in a beach area doing more eating out than usual (we’ll probably do a
fair amount of cooking—the condo we’re renting has a small kitchen). If you’re
new to my blog, suffice to say that I’ve lost about 30 pounds by eating low
carb 2 days/week, and Meditteranean Diet the rest of the week: more green
veges, fewer carbs and proteins, more fish than red meats, moderate amount of
low-fat dairy. In so doing, my appetite has greatly receded, allowing me to do
without snacks between meals if I choose and generally to feel more in control.
You can go back in this blog and read plenty about what that felt like for me
from week to week.
I’m looking forward to walks on the beach, bike rides, a
little touring in the other Charleston, reading, playing music with Rita, and
somewhat warmer weather than we’ve enjoyed in this long winter and cool spring,
an anomaly one supposes in this era of climate change (cue Fox News: “Another
colder than average day in the Eastern U.S.—so much for Global Warming….”).
Speaking of climate change, I’ve become somewhat involved in
helping with the start up of a West Virginia chapter of Citizen’s Climate
Lobby, a national effort to get a “revenue neutral carbon fee” passed. Google
it to read the details, but it’s basically a carbon tax that the promotor’s believe
is passable because it doesn’t increase revenues, so if Republicans
Congressional representatives ever feel safe enough to publically acknowledge
the fact that carbon based fuels are causing climate change they will choose
this as the best way to cut down their usage because it’s a “market based
strategy” that proposes not to let the government “keep” the fees, instead returning
them to taxpayers.
Somewhat involved. But as I mentioned last week, highly
involved in AWARE: Artists Working in Alliance to Restore the Environment.
Basically, it seems I’ve created a full time job for myself. I’m now a
non-profit entrepreneur. You see, I’m founder and CEO (high falutin’ term for
the only person working, and as a volunteer to boot—got to get something in
return, and titles are cheap) of what is basically an effort to raise funds for
environmental organizations, starting with those in WV. I don’t know why I
don’t just limit it to West Virginia—it’s just that, who knows, if the model
I’m creating, and it is, as far as I know a unique model, is successful, maybe
it will expand to the region or spin off other groups. Who knows? For now,
though I was not looking for the famed late life career you hear so much about
these days, it seems that’s what I’ve taken on.
This Tuesday, April 22, is Earth Day, and that’s when I’m
going to officially launch the web site and an Indiegogo crowd sourced
fundraiser. I’ve been working feverishly for weeks on the website, preparing
the fundraising campaign, writing pitches to enviro groups asking for support,
and on and on—basically starting a business from scratch, which in this day an
age is, one can’t say exactly easy, but probably ten times easier than it was
before the Internet. So, for my dozens of loyal blog readers, if you haven’t
gotten my Facebook event invitation to “attend” the launch on Earth Day (I
created that this morning), here’s your invitation: On Tuesday (or, if your
busy sometime later), visit the AWARE website at www.awarewv.org, read about what I’m trying
to do, think about how you might help by either endorsing (saying—yes I agree
it’s a great idea, but can’t help in any other way right now), supporting
(getting involved in some way), or contributing (giving money). There’s a brief
questionnaire you’ll be able to link to let me know which, if any, it will be,
and you have the option of letting me use your name or not.
As I’ve been signing my e-mails about AWARE recently,
With Awareness
Paul
P.S. – We’re having an awesome time in our one bedroom condo
on this picturesque island biking, cooking fresh seafood, reading, relaxing,
and yes, Launching AWARE. Seems I was too busy to post this (or too laid back)
until now (after midnight, Tuesday), so I’ll report that we got 94 Facebook
likes, 5 environmental orgs endorsing, and 4 contributions totaling $140. Not a
bad start, but there’s a lot of work to do!
No comments:
Post a Comment