many birds, one stone

Went up to San Francisco today to get my eyes checked by the optometrist, a la mom’s health insurance fund that she contributed to in anticipation of my imminent uninsured return from China. What a beautiful day in the city. SF is having its usual October Indian Summer and man, its times like these that I sort of miss living in the city.

I don’t know. Maybe its how things have been going recently, but I’m starting to think that I love and thrive in cities. To a certain extent. My friends are rather split on whether I’m a city girl or a rural girl [the latter is funny because I’ve never actually lived in a rural area before, only the suburbia and urbia that is the San Francisco Bay Area] but after Beijing and mass-density-Chinese-towns I’ve come to realize how much I value a vibrant community with lots of potential for people watching and all those little bits of humanity that slip through [oops I lied, I lived in Beijing for a year too].

Of course I also love nature and wide open spaces and the beauty of wildlife, so … as usual, my life runs along dichotomies, constantly pulling me in several directions, the ever present tussle serving to keep life interesting and just slightly out of equilibrium, which is probably how I operate best anyways.

So on to crafting stuff … look what I found:

From Out of the Closet, a chain of thrift stores that support the Magic Johnson Clinics and AIDS Foundation, dedicated to AIDS research and supporting patients living with the disease.

And then at the local Goodwill that is a dangerous ten-minute walk from the apartment:

They’ve had a whole spate of sales recently. Mmm … ½ off housewares and linens … The green on the left is actually a set of two bed sheets. *is excited, has plans already*. And Goodwill supports a good cause as well, helping people gain skills for employment.

All of this … and the total bill didn’t even break double digits. *Sighs happily*.

I didn’t discover thrifting until recently, not really anyways, and thrifted linens? One of the most brilliant things ever.

So I was happy, thrifting away and knowing the money goes towards good causes. Of course, I know I know, but isn’t that slightly contradictory if I’m buying at sale prices, i.e. less money is going towards good causes?

OK but see, there’s more than one good cause. There’s easing the strain on my wallet. There’s the fact that thrifting is reusing and recycling, therefore easing the burden on the environment. There’s supporting small businesses [applies to other thrift stores as well]. There’s the knowledge that these will eventually be made into gifts for people, and in this crazy hectic overworked nation we could sure use a little more face time with friends and family, a little more deepening of the bonds of friendship, a few more gestures of how much these vital relationships in our life help us grow and develop and keep us healthy.

It’s just been a feel good juice kinda day*.

*feel good juice is otherwise known as endorphins, or those neurotransmitters in your brain that make you feel good.