Whiny Wednesday
Today I composted lettuce for three hours. I met up with some of my students at Moisson Montreal, the hub of food baskets on the island. They receive massive donations of food from various suppliers and then distribute to the needy. I snapped a few pictures which you can check out on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/kleggitt
We were sent to the compost spot in the warehouse. Our job was to remove rotten Iceberg lettuce from its plastic packaging and throw it in the huge metallic compost container. It would then be dumped into a bigger metallic compost container, which will eventually be sent off to a professional composting center.
Each box had 30 heads of lettuce, and there must have been about 60 boxes per palette, or maybe I'm exaggerating. Either way there was a TON of lettuce. This was clearly a lot of waste, but Moisson will take donations from any source. Unfortunately many times they receive produce that has passed its prime, which left us to deal with its ew-ee gooey leftovers today. They equipped us with vinyl gloves and plastic aprons, so that helped deflect the fear of salmonella and overall nasty factor effects. We managed to empty the whole palette and keep smiling, but they gave us spinach next.
The spinach was worse because it stank. Many of the bags that were on the bottom were pretty much liquid. Imagine the worst state you've left produce to rot in your fridge times 800. It was impressive. And smelly.
There were definitely a few moments that I cringed and made a face, regretted wearing a pretty cardigan, but I tried to stay positive dealing with this disgusting mess, and figured I was doing some good for the world. That's the thing about volunteer work. You might not enjoy what you get stuck doing, but knowing you're giving back should be payment enough.
They fed us snacks and even had chocolate at break time.
Later I told a grade 5 class what I'd done this morning and the topic of Karma came up. Do good to others and good things come back your way. The same applies to the opposite.
When I arrived home a woman ignored my presence, pretended as if she didn't see my reflection in the glass door, and let it slam in my face as I followed two steps behind her. I wanted to freak out. I wanted to yell at her, defame this stranger, and whine and complain to the world! Then I remembered that it won't do me any good. I did some groceries later on this evening. A man in his 50s was about to butt in front of me at the checkout, and after the long and tiring day I had, all I wanted to do was tell him off. Instead, I smiled at him. A big smile. It made me feel good as I paid that I didn't Jerry Maguire and flip out like I was tempted to.
Patience goes a long way. So does Karma. It motivates me to do good in the world. It reminds me that I like to be treated the same way. And like the compost gives back to the Earth, I too want to accomplish the same thing. Kindness.
Kanye West,
Katie
PS - I think I may sign the post with the name of the band or music playing occasionally. That's what I did just there. Yeah. Kanye West; Late Registration, makes me bop in my seat.
We were sent to the compost spot in the warehouse. Our job was to remove rotten Iceberg lettuce from its plastic packaging and throw it in the huge metallic compost container. It would then be dumped into a bigger metallic compost container, which will eventually be sent off to a professional composting center.
Each box had 30 heads of lettuce, and there must have been about 60 boxes per palette, or maybe I'm exaggerating. Either way there was a TON of lettuce. This was clearly a lot of waste, but Moisson will take donations from any source. Unfortunately many times they receive produce that has passed its prime, which left us to deal with its ew-ee gooey leftovers today. They equipped us with vinyl gloves and plastic aprons, so that helped deflect the fear of salmonella and overall nasty factor effects. We managed to empty the whole palette and keep smiling, but they gave us spinach next.
The spinach was worse because it stank. Many of the bags that were on the bottom were pretty much liquid. Imagine the worst state you've left produce to rot in your fridge times 800. It was impressive. And smelly.
There were definitely a few moments that I cringed and made a face, regretted wearing a pretty cardigan, but I tried to stay positive dealing with this disgusting mess, and figured I was doing some good for the world. That's the thing about volunteer work. You might not enjoy what you get stuck doing, but knowing you're giving back should be payment enough.
They fed us snacks and even had chocolate at break time.
Later I told a grade 5 class what I'd done this morning and the topic of Karma came up. Do good to others and good things come back your way. The same applies to the opposite.
When I arrived home a woman ignored my presence, pretended as if she didn't see my reflection in the glass door, and let it slam in my face as I followed two steps behind her. I wanted to freak out. I wanted to yell at her, defame this stranger, and whine and complain to the world! Then I remembered that it won't do me any good. I did some groceries later on this evening. A man in his 50s was about to butt in front of me at the checkout, and after the long and tiring day I had, all I wanted to do was tell him off. Instead, I smiled at him. A big smile. It made me feel good as I paid that I didn't Jerry Maguire and flip out like I was tempted to.
Patience goes a long way. So does Karma. It motivates me to do good in the world. It reminds me that I like to be treated the same way. And like the compost gives back to the Earth, I too want to accomplish the same thing. Kindness.
Kanye West,
Katie
PS - I think I may sign the post with the name of the band or music playing occasionally. That's what I did just there. Yeah. Kanye West; Late Registration, makes me bop in my seat.
You make me want to be a better person =) Way to go!
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