My Thoughtful Spot

wallet vs. environment

For the last couple of weeks, I've been hearing a lot about LED lights. At first I didn't really pay much attention; it was November and I just wasn't ready to think about decorating a tree yet. But this past weekend we got our tree and the issue dug it's way out of the back piles of my brain and stood right in front.

I did a little research on them:

1. They're much more expensive at the outset.
2. They last 4,000 more hours than incandescent bulbs (which theoretically means you'll have to replace fewer strands each year).
3. They don't get hot. 
4. They burn up to 75% (or more) less energy than incandescent bulbs. 

When we pull out the lights every year, about a quarter of them bite the dust and we have to replace them. But I can't justify throwing out perfectly functioning lights that are sufficient to cover 75% of a tree. Isn't that bad, too? Filling up a landfill? Wasting copper? (One third of the world's copper has yet to be mined, a third is in use, and a third is in landfills.)

Ok. Let's replace the ones that burn out every year with LED lights. I'll quiet my OCD need to have the lights look the same for... four years? That should do it. Ok, that's the plan.

Daniel always has to do the lights because I have a contact allergy to pine. It seems that every year, he puts more lights on. Just when I think he couldn't put more on, he does. And we ended up needing about 10 more strands. So I headed to Target to pick up 10 boxes of LED lights. Sticking to the plan.

60 LED lights = $11.99

100 incandescent lights = $1.99 (they were buy one get one free)

At that price, I'm sorry to say, but the environment loses. Maybe they'll get cheaper with each passing year like DVD players and we can go back to the original plan. But I'm not about to pay $120 to light a third of my tree. Nope. Not happening.

working and entertaining

Right. So it's pretty obvious that I haven't been posting or reading anyone else's blogs much recently. My excuse is two-fold. Please allow me to present my case.

1. I'm still trying to find my rhythm at my new job. It's great and I'm much more relaxed than I ever was in residency. But when I'm there, I have little to no down time. I have even less down time than when I was a resident. I mean, if you think about it, in a 24 hour on call shift, there will usually be at least a few hours when you can sleep. But often I would just screw around on the computer because if I fell asleep I was less able to make rapid decisions. Since I don't do anymore 24 hour in-house call (WOO HOO!!), less down-time.

2. I've been busy being a hostess. Which I totally love. First it was my dear friend Dawn for a week. If I wasn't busy freaking out about my first week of work, we were out doing something fun! The best was going out for sushi (where Dawn adeptly used chopsticks for the first time). Then a day to tidy up and go to a movie premiere (more on this later). Then Friday, an exhausting operating room schedule, and home to arrive before my mom's arrival for the weekend. We crammed so much stuff into 48 hours, even I was impressed. Me! The queen of time cramming! Go to the gym, have breakfast/snack, buy a new Macbook and iPod, wine tasting, Angels game, church, shop for my niece's birthday, wrap presents, go to range, eat dinner.

Yes, you read that right. New toys. Last week I also got my signing bonus. After putting 50% of that aside for taxes that will need to be paid next April (and getting over the nausea/vomiting induced by losing 50% of my bonus to the government), I went and bought my first ever laptop! And I also got an iPod touch! I really can't decide which I am more excited about. I love them both. I have a bit left, so I'm considering buying the Time Machine to go with my Macbook. The whole thing is marketed on the idea that it backs up all your files automatically, no thinking required. Sounds good to me. Does anyone have this? Yay or nay?

I really hope my new computer will allow me to update more regularly, since it's becoming clear that I can't do it from work like I have. Cuz I sure miss you all!

new toy!

I think most Americans will tell you that a cell phone is a necessity. And if they don't think that, as soon as they get one, they think it is. I can assure you that doctors see a cell phone as a necessity. As long as we have the damned electronic leash (pager), that can start screaming at any second of any day, we need a means to answer that scream.

On our drive up to see my family last weekend, my phone, which has served me faithfully for nearly two years, just stopped getting a signal. In a major city. I had been complaining about the buttons not working and the battery being all screwed up for months, so it was just time to get a new one.

I love my new phone. It's orange. It flips open to a full keyboard. It has a widescreen with stereo speakers. It has a 2MP camera with a cover so the lens doesn't get scratched. It has a flash for the camera. And, it has a strong signal. I even bought the fisher-price hard plastic shell because, like every three year old, I drop my phone on a pretty routine basis.

We're not a big electronics heavy household, so this is a major deal for me. It's so great!!!