I. A Start Off to My Day


I started out the day very tired, very stressed, and in a very fowl mood. Last night, I was up, studying for today’s French test, till 3:30 am in the morning. Before that I have been cleaning and fixing up the house like a mad-woman and have been working on everyone’s tax returns and still have one remaining left to complete. I woke up at 9:30am, met with Joe, my real estate agent, by 10:00am to sign disclosure papers for a showing this Sunday. Today is Friday. French test started 12 noon, till 1:45pm and despite all that studying, I still managed to mix up the French words for ‘meat’ and ‘fish’! It took me 15 minutes to get to the museum internship which starts at 2:00 till 5:00pm. I fought rush hour home for about an hour (a usual 20 min drive) and have plans to visit a gallery opening later tonight. My husband has also come back from Rolla to visit me over the weekend, because according to him, he “missed me too much”. That in itself is quite stressful to me, due to the fact that he and an Australian Tasmanian devil have a lot in common. Not only does the man clean out my frig leaving me nothing for the rest of the week but condiments, but everything he touches he destroys. One common tragic site is the laundry room. I have lost a good deal of clothing to blue and pink discolorations and shrinkage, despite the countless times I have told him, “separate the whites from colors” and “don’t put sweaters in the dryer”. Being a consummate engineer, he tries to get me with the technicalities which would, often times, complicate and complex him, resulting in such blunders.
“This is technically not white.” he said as he held up my favorite shirt, “It’s off-white. Does that make it in the ‘color’ or ‘no color’ category? You know, light beige is considered a color.”
I finally reached home by 5:15pm and my husband showed me my toothbrush…in two pieces.
“Your toothbrush suddenly broke on its own.”

Not only that, my husband also informed me that he had just received a call from a real estate agent asking to see our home from 6-8pm. So for the next 45 minutes we again cleaned like mad-people. My frustration build as I kept an eye on the clock and the other making sure that Rana has not started a new task without finishing the previous one. I must say, I am be the last person on earth to ever describe myself as a perfect individual, at this point, I blew my top. Let’s just say, my husband likes to set his own work pace. I asked him if he had watered the plants in the morning. “No, I forgot”, he said. Then I asked him why are the cups and dishes (which he used) still sitting in the sink when we have a perfectly working dishwasher. “No, I was going to do that later”, he said. I asked him did you pay the car tax. “No, I don’t know where the bill is”, he said. Then I asked him did you throw away the junk mail. “No, I forgot” he said once again. I, then, expressed in a vociferously and discourteous manner which could all be summed up in one sentence…What the “gosh-darn-heck” have you been doing?

*Let me also take a moment aside to recognize the fact that my husband did, once-in-a-blue-moon, contribute some (yet snippet in comparison) effort throughout the preparation stage in placing our home on the market. All the statements I have made above are, in fact, true; however the omission of my husband’s contributions for today is to aid in the understanding of my feeling and perception throughout this entire process in the past two months. Therefore, I will take this time to recognize what my husband did to help out today: swept the floors and un-caulked the edges of the bathtub. I hope you’re happy now, honey. :D*

After having my first meal of the day, a slice of baloney with slices of bread on either side, we left the house by 6:00pm and passed the time at the gallery opening and McDonalds whilst we attempt, as civilized beings, not to pull each other to the dark side. In failed effort, as I was driving, I vented the fact that I have felt the home was both of our responsibilities and I had felt he had not worked up to his share of the responsibilities. Rana justified his lack of assistance as a consequence of his responsibilities to his higher education. So I did the ‘girl-thing’ and said, “Oh, are you saying that your degree is more important that my degree?” Then Rana did the ‘guy-thing’ and sang loudly with his fingers in his ears. I felt I was either going to burst from pent up frustrations or have a melt down from the heat of anger. I still have to prepare to lead a discussion in the coming up class, study for another French test for the coming week, and choose a paper topic for my courses, which I will be writing during the spring break. I also have to narrow down on my research topic for my thesis which will begin at the end of the spring semester. I pressured myself to do well in school. If I didn’t work hard, I won’t get good grades. If didn’t get good grades, I won’t get a good job. If I don’t get a good job, and I will be stuck…forever! AH and I still have tax returns to complete! And on top of that, I have a house to sell! As often times before, our conversations would end with me saying, “Honey, did you hear a word that I’ve said?”


II. An Inconvenient Truth


By the end of the day hubby and I called it truce and decided to relax with a movie, “The Inconvenient Truth” http://www.climatecrisis.net. It is an environmental documentary presented by should-be-president, Al Gore. It was recently rumored that Al Gore was considered for nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize and I truly believe he deserved it. Kudos Mr. Gore! Rana and I have always been environmentally aware and we have been slowly making steps towards the ‘Green’ way of life. We currently have two Priuses ( pl. Priora, Prii, Prius). We’ll come back to that topic later. Anyways, I never had given much thought about global effects other than a warmer earth. Perhaps like many others, I didn’t understand the magnitude of having a warmer planet. An image that has replayed itself over and over in my head since I saw the movie was of an animated polar bear swimming in the artic ocean. The polar bear swims toward a floating sheet of ice to get some rest. As the bear makes his initial attempts onto it, the sheet of ice would break into smaller pieces from the weight of its paws and the bear is forced to continue swimming in search for the next ice-landing. According to Gore, biologists have found polar bears drown in the ocean from fatigue. I realized that global warming didn’t just effect how often we would wear our winter coats, but also how delicate the natural ecosystem was. The change in seasonal weather effected Mother Earth’s plans from when plants and flowers bloom to when insects and birds hatched. During normal seasonal temperatures, the peak number of caterpillars hatching from cocoons coincided with the time of when chicks begin to hatch from their eggs. The caterpillars become a food supply for the new generations of birds. Due to the early occurrence of warmer weather in the year, the population of caterpillars peaked two weeks earlier and the cycle of chick hatchings have not been able to adapt to their change of food supply. In the past few years we have seen strong storms devastating countries all over the world. Records of hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, snow fall, and heat have been broken in the past decade. Here’s global warming in a snap: Iceburgs act as reflectors to the sun’s heat. As the planet temperature rise, the ice begins to melt. The absence of heat reflectors will concentrate heat into the ocean waters. The ocean water naturally absorbs the heat. Natural ocean current systems cycle the heated waters into other regions of the earth, causing a general increase in planetary temperatures. As temperature continues to rise, rates of evaporation increases. Increases in evaporation not only affect bodies of water but also on land causing massive droughts. Animals, including humans, will lose their water sources, in affect lose other natural resources, therefore lose the ability to sustain themselves, and ultimately lose their homes. Increase of evaporation from land and water, as many of us have witnessed, leads to stronger winds, rainfall, snowfall, tornados, and hurricanes. The relocation of water, snow, and rainfall in one part of the world will cause extreme heat waves in other parts. Humans continue to sustain themselves and protect themselves from natural disasters and harsh weather with the use of earth-unfriendly products and leading earth-unfriendly lifestyles, therefore contributing to the thickening of the ozone layer. The thickening of the ozone layer consequently retains more heat coming from the sun! So as you can see, it’s a devastating cycle!!! Diseases are reintroduced into the population when it was once retained by the natural freezing temperatures that would kill certain animals and insects responsible for spreading diseases such as the Avian Flu, SARS, and the West Nile Virus. For example, small towns and villages have been built on the mountains where temperatures most of the year have been too cold for mosquitoes. Post global warming, temperatures in these towns and villages have allowed the mosquitoes to migrate further up the mountains.

Vice Pres. Gore has also addressed the issues of politics playing in the role of the environment. Popular myth projects politicians required to choose between the good of the earth and the good of the economy. I agree with Vice Pres. Gore when he said, that the statement need not to be true. There are many benefits of choosing ‘green’ and still be successful with it. Architects are building consulting firms specializing in ‘green’ design. Universities, such as University Missouri Rolla, receive funding for ‘green’ projects - http://sunhome.umr.edu/. ‘Green’ structures often results in lower costs and frequencies of maintenance. Toyota, a Japanese auto company, perfected the hybrid engine which for a few years could not keep its cars on the showroom floors long enough for anyone to see. As consumers of ‘green’ products, we will benefit socially, by reducing wasteful use of materials and costs, and financially, from current government program and tax incentives. Besides that, when we live the ‘green’ way, we will find joy in knowing that we have, in a small way, made a contribution towards a cause which will benefit future generations, thus creating a positive cycle in motivating us to do more when we can. In short, I would like to respond to former pres. George Bush Sr.’s response to environmentalists in the government during the Clinton-Gore administration, when he said “[the administration] would have us up to our neck in owls and put Americans out of work.” That is simply not true. During the Clinton-Gore administration, the economy was booming with record budget surpluses, 22 million new jobs, and a 30-year-low unemployment rate (1). My instinctive response is: (and I must emphasize this is strictly an opinion of a single individual, with no party or political influence what-so-ever, exercising an inherent constitutional right) “George Bush(es) you’re a jack @$$.”


III. What we can do


My husband and I have always wanted to build a “green” friendly home and I have been doing some reading on being ‘green’ and building ‘green’. I could list down of things we can do to the environment but I feel there are better resources on the net that can give a better response towards the ‘green’ goal. These are two of my favorite ‘green’ resources.



Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy- http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/


Not So Big House - http://www.notsobighouse.com/


I will also tell you about the benefits of owning a hybrid vehicle (particularly the Prius) come tax season. This is the part where tax nerds and Prius fanatics should listen up. I’m going to tell you the benefits I have discovered in owning an earth friendly vehicle.


For Federal Tax credits for hybrids - http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/tax_hybrid.shtml

The federal government has allowed tax payers to claim tax credits for purchasing a hybrid car. The requirements are that the vehicle must be a new purchase. A used hybrid car would not apply because the previous owner had already taken the credit for the vehicle. Also to qualify for the hybrid tax credit, you must purchases the hybrid at a certain period of time specified in the tax form instruction. The amount of credit is determined when the vehicle was purchased. The make and model also affects the amount of credit you’ll receive depending on the model’s efficiency. For example, prii, or priuses, purchased within the year 2006 before Sept. 30, 2006 will qualify for credit amount of $3,150. Purchase periods begin to fade out there after into March 2007 from 50% to 20% of the full credit amount. The credit fadeout was implemented by the government to prevent favored treatment towards a particular motor company. To claim the credit, fill out and attach with your federal return, a Form 8910 Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit. Consult your financial advisor for more details.

Some states have also implemented their own hybrid tax credits. Bad news Missourians, I have not found one. Great news Kansasians, you have one. What’s even better, the credit applies to all vehicles placed in service dating back to 1996! For Prii, fill out form K-62 (http://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/forms/k-62.pdf ) and worksheet 2. If you have another make and model hybrid car, you will have to read in the form instructions to find out if your car qualifies under the Kansas definition of alternative-fueled vehicle. I simply called the Kansas Corporation Commission at (785) 271-3170 and asked if my car qualified for the credit. I was told not all hybrids on the market would qualify. The Prius did qualify under the category of ‘Factory-equipped alternative-fueled vehicle’ fill out Section 2. In section 2, fill out columns (A),(B),(C), (D). Fill out the following for the remainder columns: (E) “B” for bi-fuel, (F) “E” for electric, (G1) “0”, (G2) “0”, (H) “0”, and (I) “$2,400” the amount is determined from the schedule in the form instructions, according to weight of the vehicle. Any unused credits can be rolled forward into future years till it’s used up. Again, consult your financial advisor for details.


IV. The Convenient Truth


Truth became inconvenient when it became an obstacle in the plans of the rich and powerful. That is the reality. We, as inhabitants, have the moral responsibility to take care of our home. Earth is a gift not a right. The movie displayed a picture of earth amongst neighboring planets and stars. Earth compared to the galaxy is miniscule. Then it hit me, we as man kind are relatively small. Questions arise, why are we here, what is our purpose in life? Although I don’t have the answers to them…I have come to a postulation that the daily routines, social status, accumulation of wealth and fame are insignificant to our existence. How many people have spent and wasted a lifetime in the pursuance of happiness? Could the answer be in front of us all this time? Nature, earth, peace, beauty could be our answer, but we will never know once it is destroyed. Thinking back to my life, tests, reports, interviews and everything else that comes with the city race, suddenly don’t stress me out. Al Gore’s inconvenient truth as become a convenient truth for me. It is sad that that it takes a global crisis to make me put things in my life in perspective. If the earth is small compared to everything else that exists with it, then my problems and perceived stresses is even smaller. I asked myself, why stress over it? I went back to school not because I wanted to be rich (in fact accounting and finance often times make more money than many art related occupations). No, I went back to school to study what I’m interested in…Art. I enjoyed the beauty of music and visual arts and I wanted to take a step further with it. I should not stress out over school but should enjoy the topics we discuss in classes. The degree is just a pleasant by-product of an education. As for the sale of the home, I am very grateful for having a home to sell in the first place. If something as big as the earth can be fragile, what other things are fragile around me? My health, my relationships, my time on earth? Degrees, money, houses, are all aid to accomplish a common goal, happiness. Next time when I’m faced with the decision to either spend time with my husband or working late into the night, this time around the decision won’t take me long to make.



I turned to my husband and asked him, “What did you think of my revelation?”

He looked back at me, “That just means we have to be persistent as mosquitoes.”

“Honey, did you hear a word that I’ve said?”








(1) Learsy, Raymond J.“A Perfect Storm Is Developing Around Energy Policy: Friedman on TV, Gore in Our Gut.” The Huffington Post (Mar 3, 2007). HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. viewed 3/3/07