I [Heart] My Life

TDI Nerd Heaven

So, yesterday I went to Los Gatos with Michelle for dinner. I picked her up in the Passat, of course. We get into Los Gatos, and I park in front of the Wells Fargo. We sit in the car for a minute, talking. When we get out, there is a man standing behind my car at the trunk. A totally normal-looking guy. Here's what happened next:

Man: "You got the TDI!"
Me: "Yep! I did."
Man: "Do you like it? I've been looking for the Passat TDI; they're kind of hard to come by."
Me: "I love it!
Man: "Have you had any problems with it?"
Me: "Well, I just got it. I've only had it 5 days, but no, no problems!"
Man: "So, are you running it on soybean oil?"
Me: "YES! It's my first tank of fuel right now. No problems so far."
Man: "That's great. I'm gonna do that, too!"

Ahhh, TDI nerds. I feel like I'm part of a new club. Oh, wait till I show you a picture of my new Pacific Biofuel Membership Card & decoder ring!

Dino-Diesel v. BioDiesel... ?

From a bio-diesel FAQ page, in case you were asking yourself this very question:

Biodiesel costs more than regular diesel fuel.  Why use Biodiesel?

"One reason is that Biodiesel use purports to lengthen the life of an engine. One interesting study summary about this from the University of Saskatchewan is available here. Buying Biodiesel supports the farmer who grew whatever your Biodiesel is made from (beans, seeds, pigs, cows, etc.). Another reason is that Biodiesel, which contains no sulfur, burns cleaner than dino-diesel fuel, thus no sulphuric soot which contributes to acid rain, lung problems, etc. Biodiesel usually has higher cetane content than dino-diesel. Of course, dependence on Middle Eastern oil is somewhat reduced by Biodiesel usage. Biodiesel sales have dramatically climbed every year since records have been kept."

Source.

Steps Toward Going Green

Since July I've made a couple changes in my life in an effort to be more "green," to reduce my carbon footprint. I was really inspired by all the bike-riding that took place in Copenhagen, so when Joe and I returned home I decided to purchase a bike that I could use to commute to work. I ended up with this awesome ride (and, yeah, I can do sweet jumps on it!):

My goal is to bike to work (about 6 mi one way from the cottage) at least once a week. For the last 5 weeks or so, I've met that goal. The Bianchi Milano (aka "Cafe Racer") is a great bike for getting around our hilly beach town. It's a cruiser with some muscle! I really recommend it to anyone in the market for a beach cruiser with gears. It is fast, too, which makes it a great commuter bike. Since taking the above picture, I've added a basket to the back which is essential for grocery shopping, visits to the farmer's market, taking my laptop downtown to the coffee shop, and other errands that are now possible without driving. It feels really good to use a car less.

Speaking of car, though, the second change just occurred this week: I finally followed through on a dream I'd had for some time. I bought a diesel Volkswagon, which I'll run on bio-diesel. I couldn't be more happy with my new-to-me car, a 2005 Passat. I haven't filled the tank with soy oil yet, but I'll let you know how it goes when I do!

Two of my friends are really committed to green living: Megan is making changes to live a more sustainable life, while also starting her own green events company. Check her out at Savvy Girl Events (Megan was huge in helping us plan our wedding last year).  And Julie is in the business of eco-friendly landscape design. But when she isn't doing that, we're coworkers & she's busy finding ways to make our office in Capitola more Earth-friendly (increased recycling, biodegradable kitchen-ware that is made from corn and sugar, etc). Watch for Julie at Julie Orr Designs. (She's helping us design a beautiful drought-resistant front yard with many native plants.)