Live and Let Die

I woke up this morning with so much on my mind, that this post may be a cluster of things.

I have been doing some homework and want to encourage everyone to know where their products are coming from... Human slavery is everywhere, not just in third world countries. You will also find it in your coffee and chocolate.The article below, found at http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/ gives great insight for the aspiring abolitionist.

For a detailed list of where you can find slave-free chocolate, please check out http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/main.html. Notice that Hershey's, Mars, Nestle (also produces the Deer Park brand of bottled water), and many other popular, grocery store brands are not on this list. I encourage you to take action against human slave trade. Fair trade is the way to go. Great coffees that are found locally are Larry's Beans (sold at New World and is produced right in Raleigh).

Creative Abolitionist: Jail Me, I Ate Slave-Produced Chocolate

A Dutch journalist asked an Amsterdam court on Friday to convict him for eating chocolate, saying by doing so he was benefiting from child slavery on cocoa farms in Ivory Coast.

Teun van de Keuken, 35, is seeking a jail sentence to raise consumer awareness and force the cocoa and chocolate industry to take tougher measures to stamp out child labour.“If I am found guilty of this crime, any chocolate consumer can be prosecuted after that. I hope that people would stop buying chocolate and thus hurt the sales of big corporations and make them do something about the problem,” van de Keuken said.

Ivory Coast, the world’s No. 1 cocoa producer which has been racked by instability since a brief 2002 civil war, is the target of allegations by international rights groups that children are working as slaves on its cocoa plantations.

I feel like I'm not taking enough time to relax. I realized this yesterday afternoon while I was trying to get home from work, walk the dog, change my clothes, go vote in the Primary before the polls closed, go back home because I forgot something and then heading over to Lil's house to go with her to her gig early to find parking and set her stuff up. All of this was done in a little less than an hour and a half. I can't remember the last time that I just sat down to knit. I kind of miss it, but not enough to cancel things that get me out of the house.

I realized yesterday afternoon that I have not yet watched last weeks episode of "LOST". This really upset me for some reason. I am making a conscious effort tonight to do that for myself. I am never home anymore. I like this, but am realizing from the huge pile of laundry and crap all over the carpet that my apartment is not going to clean itself. Plus, my dog is feeling neglected and looks at me with sad eyes everytime I leave... then when I get home, she is carrying around her sad little toy since I haven't had time to play with her. I need to make a conscious effort to be home for at least one full night a week.

I have been having so much fun, but at the same time I know that I have been shoving things that need to be done to the side. I have more research to do regarding my future travels abroad. I am trying to narrow down my options, but am kind of struggling with this. This is hard for me to do, and I will definately be leaning on the "Deal With Your Stuff" club for support in this.

I no longer want to work. I am beginning to realize all of the other things that I want to do, and work just isn't convenient for me anymore. I can think of 30 things that I would rather be doing right now than sitting at work. And since I usually blog at work, we will make that #1. Maybe I should just make a list of stuff that I want to do and if anyone wants to join me, or motivate me to do these things, they are welcome to come along.

2. see my niece.
3. road trip to the mountains again.
4. road trip to the beach again.
5. not road trip from the mountains to the beach again in the same day, unless we are having a completely ridiculous spontaneous moment with amazing music and good company.
6. learn to play a stringed instrument of some kind.
7. find vegan tirimisu, but it will probably taste like crap.
8. produce shop with Lil' and LankEB.
9. go people watching at Duke Gardens and feed the ducks.
10. go back to Jubilee Church in Asheville.
11. go for a soy, hazelnut latte.
12. make some hummus.
13. learn to ride a motorcycle or one of those little scooter things that are not a moped.
14. get contacts so that I can buy some cool sunglasses.
15. learn a new language that I can actually use for something that is preferably not in this country.
16. check out http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/
17. go to Canada, I have never been there.
18. hear Damien Rice play live, I want to have his babies!!
19. go see more live music, I have been having so much fun doing this.
20. take a really long, really good nap and find someone to snuggle with me.
21. eat dark chocolate.
22. go for a walk in the woods.
23. go camping.
24. travel to the Grand Canyon again during meteor shower season.
25. kiss a really cute boy... perhaps Damien Rice. this will make it easier to have his babies.
26. run away from home for a few days with no destination in mind.
27. discover a new yummy beer.
28. visit my super awesome friends in Zhytomyr.
29. learn to make vegan bread.
30. see another Missy Higgins concert with Lil'.