Used gifts?

Generally I don't like shopping. Given the pressure to pick something that someone else will like, shopping for gifts is especially stressful. And, if you are trying to avoid buying new things (a la the Compact) as I am, gift giving is especially tough. Two of my co-workers are expecting a baby soon and the shower is this week. Since I work quite closely with both Mom and Dad (one of them reports to me) I wanted to get them something nice. I surfed the web and found several children's consignment stores in San Francisco and selected one of them. Chloe's Closet in Bernal Heights is walking distance from the 24th St. BART station. It's an easy place to shop (well-organized and not too big). I selected 3 items (a shirt, a one-piece and a sweater). They are so little and cute.

I also stopped by a used bookstore near by and bought a book for the big sister-to-be. This is a nice little business district. Besides these stores, I found a grocery store with lots of organic produce and a small shop with local artisanal food.

I'm happy with my purchases, but the dilemma remains. Are used clothes an appropriate gift? I hope so. Do gifts need to be new? I'd like to think that the answer is no. The parents will get more clothes then if I had paid for new ones, and some clothes in apparently like-new condition will get a new home other than a landfill. I think its win-win, but I have this nagging thought that I've committed some grave social sin. In front of me at the cash register was a woman buying consigned clothes as a gift. My thought: oh good, I'm not the only one. Behind me was a woman returning the consigned clothes she had bought because the Mom-to-be to whom they were given didn't want her child wearing "used clothes". My thought: eek, I hope my colleagues don't feel that way.

The farmer's market by bike

I rode my bike to the South San Francisco farmer's market today. Most of the farmers don't have signs so it can take a bit of looking to figure out what's what. Here's what I bought.

from Calderon Farms in Hollister:

• 3 ears of corn
• 2 zucchini (~18 oz)
• 2 broccoli stalks (~19 oz)

from Berry Licious in Gilroy:

• one small box of raspberries

Both of these farms are certified organic.

Here's a quadruple bottom-line.

• Money - $5.50 total ($3.50 for the vegetables, $2 for the raspberries)
• Food miles - ~85 miles for the vegetables, ~70 miles for the raspberries
• Time - ~35 mins (about ~10min bike ride each way, about ~15min at the market
• Taste - excellent (esp. the raspberries which are one of my favorite foods)

One (or the other) every day

There are two daily habits that I would like to get into. One is riding my bike to and from the train station on my way to work. This involves 9 miles of riding between morning and evening and isn't too difficult, except for the last segment in the evening (about 1.5 miles) which is uphill and always against the wind (sometimes a very strong one). The other is bringing a lunch to work rather than eating at the cafeteria. The cafeteria is fairly healthy since I usually have a salad with only balsamic vinegar as dressing, but still. Bringing food from home would be better since I would have more control over it. If I choose to, I can bring in some (hopefully in the future all or mostly) local and organic food. This is what I would like to be eating. Who knows how far the veggies in the salad bar have traveled in pollution spewing trucks and/or airplanes. Either of these changes would also save me money since the cafeteria food is expensive and the alternative to riding my bike is a trip on the local subway system (BART), and they don't have monthly passes.

Since these are new (at least for this year) and require some extra time, I'm going to do one or the other each work day depending on which is more convenient or desirable that day. For tomorrow, packing a lunch is the obvious choice since I have meetings from 11AM-2:30PM with no lunch break. Tonight I cooked some lentils and spices. Since I couldn't find a matching Tupperware top and bottom, I'm going to transport it in a old pickle jar. We have more used glass jars than we can possibly use as canisters, so why not? My co-workers will probably think I'm weird, sort of like their reaction upon learning that I don't own a car.

I'll let you know how it goes.