Oakland Locally: Help Me Get Away From Big Business!

I hate big business.

I say this as I wear a shirt that was designed and manufactured for Target, typing on a lap top produced by Acer, on a website owned by Google.

Sigh.

And that's my point. We can try to get away from big business, but it is increasingly difficult. Some might even question why we should do such a thing. Let me suggest something to you, gentle reader. While some businesses have great labor practices and choose to employ people in the geographies they serve, this is not the norm. Some businesses may choose to be socially conscious by recycling, sourcing locally, and only building the best products that make the world a better place. This, again, is hardly the norm.

As I draw nearer to bringing a new life into this world, I can't help but consider the current state of the world. Sure, I see my work teaching art in East Oakland as a counter to all the pressures low income urban children face, but this is hard to measure. I do not know how much I impact these children's lives. I will never know. While I accepted that (and did so when I initially accepted the position) my contract is coming to an end. My attention begins to wander to other ways of making the world a better place, even to the point of examining the most mundane of daily choices.

This leads me to the question of local versus global. Some products are incredibly difficult (or downright impossible) to produce locally. I accept that. I understand the logistics involved for sourcing certain materials as well as infrastructure. That doesn't mean I can't try to support those businesses and products that ARE made and sourced locally.

I have a long way to go on this front. This is where I need your help gentle reader. Do you know Oakland locally sourced businesses? Locally manufactured products? Just locally owned? The more of these I can round up the better, but I'm only one woman and there are limits to my researching ability (I sleep and some times get distracted by other topics and interests...ahem.).

Leave your suggestions in the comments or mention me on Twitter (@alexisdonkin).

Thanks a ton! Your Earth thanks you too (probably my unborn kid would as well, we'll give the kid the benefit of the doubt).

To The Basil Thief

Dear Basil Thief,

I'm not sure who you are. Maybe you were hungry and decided that someone who lived in a Jingletown loft apartment could spare an entire young basil plant. Maybe you were someone who just feels entitled and thought it was easy to steal a plant from its pot.

If it was the first case, I can forgive you. After all, you were hungry and the plant was there and completely edible.

However, I'm pretty sure it was the second.

You rat bastard!

I hate your stinkin' guts for stealing my basil plant! I have nearly a black thumb which barely was able to grow the tomato plants in their current homes. As it is, my pepper plant only has a single GREEN pepper to its measly name. I was proud of my basil plant. You stole it right from under me, while I was at home writing (a very lucrative profession).

So, I hope you enjoyed your basil pesto or your caprese salad at the expense of a poor writer's gardening pride.

Seriously - who steals a frickin' basil plant that's barely 5 inches tall?!

Sincerely,

Your Unwilling Patron Gardener
Alexis

Otown - the Good and the Annoying

Doing whatever you want has pluses and minuses. For example, at Oakland Art Murmur this past Friday, walking down the street we became included in a stranger's conversation about emotions and decisions. This was cool. We also made a friend at a bar, who took us to another bar where we heard a cool local band (Kapowski). These are pluses. Unfortunately, someone in our neighborhood didn't pick up after their dog who shat all over Christian's motorcycle cable. A stationwagon consistently parks exactly where Christian's cable is, preventing him from parking on the street (his bike is currently on the sidewalk). These are negatives. But, this is Oakland, and people clearly do what they want.

I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it. Life, after all, is really about the day to day. Sure, big things are influential, but life is the summation of those little moments. It's why laundry is imortant, and taking out the garbage. It's why holding hands is important. So, those little negatives...repeating...do impact quality of life. I haven't decided how much, however.

Maybe if I put a note on that person's car they'd get the hint? Or would it make them angry? Or ashamed? Should I leave a note on the tree in front of my stoop asking people nicely to pick up their dog's poop? Do I need to sit outside every morning typing away on my laptop to make sure people don't let their dogs poop on our things? You'd think this was common courtesy...but apparently I need to enforce it.

It is Oakland, however. People do what they want.

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Loki Says "Hi!" - Zen Lessons in Attachment

I'm not Job. I'm not. I haven't lost everything. I'm not lying in a ditch somewhere. I'm not disfigured or dismembered. But... it feels like I keep getting kicked while I'm down. Sometimes it feels as though I haven't gotten up at all. Last night was one of those times.

This is the third time in 4 years that my car has been broken into. It was the only time my car wasn't at my residence. Still, this was the worst and the best.

You see, the other 2 times, the thieves were experts. Minimal damages and they took specific things in good condition - relatively speaking. This time I was robbed by morons.

These people went through my entire car leaving tissues and paper napkins everywhere. They broke the radio bezel off. They broke the stereo they took (I know this because they left behind a crucial piece of the radio). They took the manual for the stereo but not the remote. The radio requires a code, but the wrong code is written in the manual.

Yeah. Morons.

This comes right after moving quickly and all the associated expenses (need I mention we're eating too much pasta?). And of course there are our student loans and all our other monthly bills on top of it.

I'm not Job, but still...

Many say the universe doesn't give you anything you can't handle. I know from experience however, we are cocreators of reality. I make choices. External factors change the situation, I make new choices. So the universe might not give me something I can't handle, but I might.

This sabotage feels like a Trickster - like Loki or Anansi. Perhaps it's the handicap required for someone who might move too far too fast. Perhaps it's a honing process - forcing me to become the perfect tool or weapon. I'd like to think this.

It's particularly poignant now because I'm exploring zen. You see, this time I wasn't as angry. Yes there was the initial reaction, but I slept it off and woke up relatively calm. I know I'm not attached to objects. Objects come and go. They do not matter. I will miss music for a while, but I can listen to the sounds of the city instead. It is a small snag in the vast fabric of life. I will be fine.

This new perspective is something I have begun developing in an effort to master my fate and captain my soul. Loki may be out there trying to rub my face in it, but it doesn't matter. This too shall pass away.

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From Oakland, With Love

Well, I'm barely in Oakland. Really, the only reason I'm in Oakland is because water separates Alameda from O-town. That said, I love this little loft. It's perfect for the moment. I don't think I'd want to live here forever, but it's a good place for Christian and I to be a couple.

I love it because it is tucked away between the freeway and the water in a reclaimed industrial area. Just so we're clear, I really do mean reclaimed. Some residential buildings here are new (wusses!), but for the most part, the living areas are also zoned for work. Outside are beautiful herb and flower gardens with the infrequent succulent for sculptural flair. People walk their dogs daily, and stop to chat often. Everyone walking down the street gets a smile. It's an awesome and creative community.

It also doesn't hurt that Alameda is right across the bridge. Literally, I can walk to everything I could possibly need, from hardware to groceries, to restaurants, bars, and coffeeshops. Everything is within a mile.

I truly love this little corner of the Bay. It is one of those sweet secrets few really explore. It doesn't have the wild nightlife of Castro or the shopping of Market Street. It's not infamous for riots like downtown Oakland. However, if you're looking to spend an afternoon in a quiet, friendly, very walkable borough - this is the one. No, it's not quite as hipster as Temescal, but it's definitely worth checking out for the boats and restaurants. And if you're looking for urban lofts, you should definitely try to find one here. It's a great place to live.

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