America, you are very pretty. It’s raining leaves all day. Am I living in a book ? The sky is a bluer blue. The sparse red leaves next to the moon in the night is my current favorite form of art – waiting for me night after night to cheer me up when I am coldest and most tired –> when I walk Mina at 10pm before bed. The romantic in me sees it all with a cinematic lens and in slow motion. The leaves are returning to the soil in an attempt to nourish it for what comes next. The birds seem to have left us for warmer pastures and there is no more chirping. The silences are melodious because you get to listen to the leaves all day long. These sacred silences elongate time – and yes, I like the feeling of having plenty of it. The squirrels and rabbits are carb-loading for hibernation and are stocking up under their coats. I want to do the same. From what I hear and perceive, it’s going to be novel and brutal but I decided to love it anyways. Let me experience a true winter for the first time. The trees are preparing for it by changing colors and eventually dropping their leaves. I recently learnt why the deciduous trees shed their leaves :

  1. The roots absorb water from the soil in liquid form. Snow is not a usable way to hydrate. Trees with too much moisture in their system end up bursting once the water inside freezes. It disrupts the internal processes. The trees try to let go of the hydration for sustenance by embracing a more minimalist state of existence.
  2. Because they go into this conservative state, they need shut down some activity – namely photosynthesis. The green pigment is replaced with the yellows, oranges and reds we see as fall colors.
  3. The tree is vulnerable to pests that are trying to find refuge during the colder months. They try to scare the insects away by showing it’s health : the vibrancy in colors.
  4. The leaves fertilize the soil. Every twig, branch, leaf, fruit, flower that drops is meant to decompose and become food for the ecosystem. The humans should be wise to remember : an organism that takes more than it gives back, ends up destroying the conditions it needs to thrive.
  5. Native trees have evolved over thousands of years in a process of natural selection for the given environment. That means, even the rate at which the rain falls through the tree is modulated by the way the trees branch out. This applies to the snow fall too. We do not want our soil eroding. We need the trees. And we need our winters. The snow replenishes the aquifers.
  6. Survival of the fittest doesn’t just apply to individual organisms in the short term but to ideas in the long time. The ideas that lead to survival of the species live on. The bad ideas die taking some generations with them. Sustainable living preserves the conditions necessary for the survival of our species.
  7. “The one who plants trees knowing that he will never sit in their shade has started to understand the meaning of life.” This is my answer to why climate activists persist. This is why they shun burning fossil fuels and consumerism. You guys are my heroes.

What can I learn from the trees ? I want to shed the unnecessary to survive. Minimalism has become a fascination yet again. I want to give it a go and practice it more sincerely.

The seasonal resolution

“What you do at 8 pm defines who you become” , TechLead. Tend to your relationship and you become a better partner. Call your parents and you become a better daughter. Watch tv and it’s time gone. Read shopping blogs and you will shop. Study and you will get better at your craft. Work and you might end up with some upward mobility in the company. Create something everyday and you might end up with a product. Spend time cooking and you will learn to feed yourself. Spend time cooking elaborate food and you might end up being a better cook / growing a pot belly. What do I do at 8pm after dinner ? I want the answer to be ‘study’ but in reality, I am browsing the internet. I want to remedy this. What should I be doing at 8pm ?

  • Work on my book
  • Go to bed early and get some extra sleep.
  • Finish the books I start reading.
  • Work the extra hours.
  • Read one new AI paper everyday.
  • Go back and re-learn the basics of probability theory.
  • Call my parents/sister/aunts/uncles/grandparents/cousins/ …
  • Play with Mina, my puppy.

This season, I plan to get better at my 8pm tasks.

No bike, no season ?

Is it really a season if it only exists outside my window and I am predominately indoors for most of the day ?

I used to bike to work. Now, I carpool to work. Do I really need special seasonal clothes to walk from my apartment to the car + car to office door ? Do I need great quality coats to be worn for this short duration of time when what they will actually do is to live their life on a hanger for the most part ? I made a list of activities that could justify owning the closet I do own :

  1. Walk Mina twice a day.
  2. Walk to grocery store
  3. Eat lunch outdoors unless its raining
  4. Not use the air conditioning when indoors and layering a sweater at all times.
  5. Spend time on my balcony in the night.
  6. Low carbon travel and exploration.
  7. Socialize with fellow humans. Events. Museums. Dinners. Date nights.

A resolve to not complain.

“Its cold”, seems to have become the way I greet people in the morning. When I post my daily OOTD photo on instagram, I am tempted to write something lame about the weather. I am boring myself. Till the snow arrives, I wont complain. I will wear what ever is necessary, not turn on the air conditioning and be as joyful as my puppy about being alive. “An outdoors-woman is someone who spends more time braving the elements than hiding from it”, I read someplace on the internet. Challenge accepted. Exercise really helps. When I am physically stronger, the body seems more impervious. When I have put myself though the rigor of a work out routine, I seem to complain less about other aspects of my life. My routine :

  1. Take Mina to the dog park at 6pm. Do sprints with her in the HIIT format.
  2. Take Mina for a walk at 10 pm and walk for 15 min.
  3. Do 20 sun salutations every morning.
  4. At work, have a timer that goes off every 60 minutes. Get up, walk to the farthest coffee machine and get some hot water for tea.
  5. Take Mina on a hike every weekend.
  6. Take road trips with him along the East coast. So much to see for us.

How not to complain about the cold

It’s not enough to command myself to not fuss. I need a plan, a mindset – to get there.

Remind yourself that there is no point complaining about things you cant change.

Exercise ! Exercise ! Exercise ! It’s good for circulation. Having some muscle on the body helps. The discipline of building muscle toughens the mind.

A healthy weight. I used to be a size smaller and my body didn’t have what was needed. I am better equipped now.

Read about the climate crisis all day long. That will do it. We are trying so hard to protect our winters that it’s existence makes me thankful in spite of the inconvenience. Don’t complain about the weather. Complain all you want about the climate.

Read about the climate injustice all over the world. You wont complain about the first world problems anymore. To have a family, a job that you like, a home and stability is wonderful.

Embrace some Scandinavian wisdom. They are known to spend short amount time out in the cold, being cold, for better health. [1] [2] [3] [4] ( My Asian immigrant friends tell me similar tales. They say that it builds immunity to the cold. Being too cozy and comfortable at all times makes your body intolerant to anything but cozy and comfortable. Intuitively, it makes sense. )

This article helps.

Nikaela’s words help.

How to hygge.

Importance of community.

Some fashion.

Letter to myself : Embrace the newness of the (cyclic ) change. I can eat differently. I can think differently about the day. I can sleep more. I can drink differently. I see a different view of the nature everyday. It will also be gone soon. Having seasons is quite nice. It’s a first for me. Remember where you started and the journey that got you here. Celebrate the path you paved for yourself. This was your choice. Own it.

Current state of mind : I don’t know whats coming for me. But I think I swallowed up the summer and it’s inside me.

Layering :

Layer 1 : The crew-neck cashmere sweaters are good base layers. They keep me cozy at the office and at home.

Layer 2 : when outside

  1. Early morning/Evenings : Wool jacket + scarf
  2. Night time : Wool jacket + scarf + gloves
  3. Wear a coat if its over a tunic/dress.

Layer 2+ : When outdoors with Mina

  1. Vest under jacket. Rubber boots with camping socks.
  2. Gloves. Always.
  3. Beanie to protect the ears.

The idea is to build some tolerance from exposure and not break into the parka+thermals till the snow arrives.

Color palette

What are the seasonal colors ?

What are my seasonal colors ?

Uniform wearers don’t need to solve this problem over and over again. Folks with a personal style dont need to solve this question over and over again. They took the time to solve it once and the answer is valid for long time. My fall colors are the same as my year round colors. I am familiar with the concept of seasonal dressing. But I often argued “I am not a tree. Why should my color palette change by season?” It never made sense in Arizona or California. But East coast is different. I feel and perceive the seasonal changes. Every day, we walk through the woods. I get it now. I see how the reds look on women walking by the street and I cant help but take mental snapshots of the outfits. I see a poncho moving in the wind and I remember the English heroines in the classical literature I read as a child. I see fair of isle sweaters and dream of expeditions in the mountains in the Nordic regions. All the LL Bean products around me make sense. I now go out to dinner not because I crave the food but because I want to check out what other women are wearing. I love going grocery shopping for the same reason. The ladies out here are fabulous ! I have never been this sartorially inspired by a change, since I first moved to America. I have been answering back – by wearing more red. As a scarf, as a blouse, as a cardigan, as a shoe, … Pink is a color that persists because of its friendship with blue. I will start wearing jewelry “soon”. Subtle sparkle goes well with the gloomy weather and dark backgrounds. Also, hoarding jewellry and other objects is uncool.

New In

This second hand jacket. Did I need it ? Maybe. I have blazer style jackets that don’t fully cover me. This one buttons up and has a funnel neck that helps keep me warm. But I could be wearing my winter coats already and not need this jacket. Finding it in a vintage shop on a road trip to Maine made me get it. The red inside lining made me get it.

This pink vintage sweater. Did I need it? Not really. Went on a date to a nice restaurant in a wealthy neighborhood and was enamored by the quality of sweaters on the women dining there. Went back the next Saturday to browse through all the local thrift stores and found this gem. It’s cashmere. Its an impulse buy that I don’t regret so far.

Speak the climate truth

I deleted my old blog because I didn’t think it was good enough on the sustainability scale. I started afresh this year. For a period of time, I was doing fine. I was meeting my goals. The move threw me off. New place. New climate. New requirement. New wants. New things. I want to stock up for winter. I want snow appropriate clothes and shoes. I don’t want to dread playing with Mina outdoors. I want to get a little more dressed up – detox some Bay Area style and bring in more of the East Coast vibe into my every day. The little blue dresses need to be let go and be replaced by midi/maxi dresses that can be worn to work. It’s been an exciting time, personally. This is travel for me. I don’t want to fly to places for a weekend and see them live. I want to move and live in various places. It’s energizing. Amidst this process, I think I have let go of some of my sustainability goals. I am buying garments that I don’t need. In the spirit of not green washing, here is my statement :

“I am currently consuming outside my ecological budget. I hope to settle in and taper off my consumption as quickly as possible.”

The boots

One brown. One black. Rotate every day without fail.

( I have another pair of black boots with a block heel for special ocassions. If I had it my way, I would have pink and red boots too.)

This is what I will wear till the snow arrives. Once it does, I plan to get this pair for everyday use. And this pair for walking the dog.

Self Sufficiency without central heating

18% of the electric in my state comes from renewables. Only 18%. And burning fossil fuels is my least favorite activity. I want to see if I can make it through the rest of the year without the air conditioner. My puppy, my partner and I wear cozy sweaters all day long. Socks help. If I am home, a pot of tea sits on my desk. I break this rule early in the morning when I do yoga. I have a small room heater that I use to warm up the surroundings before I go on the mat. I cant do yoga in socks and sweater. If I don’t work out, I don’t feel good. And the downfall begins.

The books

This season, I want to read more technical books. No fashion and no sustainable living related ones pls. This is my list :

The Computer Science of Human Decisions. ( LOVE !! )

Tools for Grass Root Activists. ( A must read. Strategize and then use the right tactics. Don’t make it an ad hock campaign. Have a plan. Coz the other side is using the marketing gurus to tell you that consumerism is the answer to all the problems. They want us hooked on the high carbon lifestyles. We need the tricks and human psychology too, if we got to win. )

Never split the difference. ( A book on how to negotiate. More ticks and human psychology. A must read for anyone who interacts with humans on a regular basis. )

Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. ( To learn how to think better. )

Money Matters

Mina has thrown me off my balance. I go to a pet store and want to get her all the toys + bones in the store. I have a stance against red meat but have been buying her beef bones. We have disposable pee pads for emergencies. I am working towards outgrowing this phase. Most of my monthly “me budget” is going to her. It’s been two months. I hope to phase out of it and stabilize. My priorities : stock up on skincare for the next year, buy replacement underwear, get books as presents and buy snow gear.

Fall fashion that I am protesting

Sheer/thin cashmere sweaters. They give the real sweaters a bad name. Demote them ! Let them not call themselves sweaters. Lets call them “pay the company, consume resources and be cold after all of it”.

Loosely woven sweaters. They let the air through. Why waste wool this way ?

Xmas sweater. Why need one that cant be worn on a regular basis and will come out of the closet once a year ?

Ugly sweater. Why waste acrylic or wool for something that you think is ugly and you know that it won’t get worn ? This much irresponsible opulence during a climate crisis …..

Single use store bought Halloween costumes made with polyester and plastic. Or even with natural fabrics. What a waste !!

Subtractions

There are many sources of angst. Climate crisis. Relationships. Poor time management. Math that I don’t understand. Deadlines. Reproductive harassment. Flu. … Being tortured by pointed toe shoe is not in my acceptable reasons to go through this. They have to go. Never again am I buying shoes with toes in this shape. I wore them to work a few times and came home with skin peeled off. I cant put up with this sort of thing anymore. Never again. This is a promise to myself.

( They are gorgeous though. Let these photos serve as a memory for the rest of my life. )

Style Resolutions

  1. Learn to style my existing clothes. Look for inspirations in old runway shows. Hermes, Armani, Jil Sander, … are right up my ally. Find some ugly combinations and wear them. Find pretty combinations and wear them.
  2. Formulate a closet usage related sustainability problem statement : “what is excess ?” Solve it using OOTD data from my Instagram postings. I want to write a thesis on closet excess. I want to invent a sustainability quotient and write a paper on it. Hence I record my outfits every single day with due diligence.
  3. The snow gear that I have on my wish list is going to deplete my budget. A shopping fast should follow to stabilize my spending. Prepare for it.
  4. Don’t be lazy. Wear the thermals, socks and gloves. There is no reason to suffer when I walk the dog.
  5. Wear jewellry you own. Wear a scarf everyday.
  6. A vintage wool cape is always a good idea.
  7. Bundle up. Play hide and seek with the winter.