Month: February 2022

Febuary 9, 2022

by drplasticpicker

I am always reminded that I am only Dr. Plastic Picker, if I am continuing to pick up plastic! This month has been a pretty good month since I’ve decided to clear out Dr. Dear Friend’s office and giving myself bags of credit when I recycle or clear out a big box. It really frees my mental real estate to have her office clean, and all that paper is getting shredded and hopefully making recycled toilet paper for us all. Half of the bags are definitely from the beach as well.

I’m trying to care for myself. Yesterday was absolutely overwhelming. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to finish all the things I needed to finish. But I did. We had our first official AAP California State Government Affairs Expert Committee on Climate Change https://aap-ca.org/. Within our HMO I would have a practice manager organize all of this. But in the outside volunteer world, it’s just me. But most everyone showed up and we had a very efficient quick meeting and talked climate and state-wide projects.

And then I gave another talk for the HMO. I’ve been talking a lot around the HMO, doing the work work that I get paid to do. But I’m going to have a breather soon after Monday’s talk about HPV vaccine advocacy with a respected colleague at the Women’s Health Champion meeting. And then I need to remember that having Saturday’s big climate project completed was a huge thing. Saturday and playing our part of the Rewild Mission Bay Coalition https://rewildmissionbay.org/ was a big milestone for us. It was such an important thing to be there.

But yes I was tired. I felt overwhelmed at the end of yesterday. Plus I’m doing one last loan application for a rental property. This rental property is such a good buy, and it’s going to be an even better buy when we solve the Tijuana Sewage issue.

But reporting out to you, our dear blog readership, how many bags I am at really keeps me focused. If you want to see my lifetime totals since adopting this eco-avatar then click here! https://drplasticpicker.com/plastic-picking-round-up/ Yes I’m at 630 bags of plastic pollution collected and 1853 salvaged items.

I’m usually happy these days, but I think recently I’ve been neglecting myself. It’s so important dear earth friends to take care of yourself. I’m going to try to get to the beach today and do a bag. Those bags are the most restorative. But I was tired yesterday and a bit frustrated. I told Mr. Plastic Picker – I may just finish my 1000 bags and disappear into the night. But that was the darkness speaking, and now it’s 542 AM and the sun is about to rise and Dr. Plastic Picker is reborn. I’m even helping sell Girl Scout cookies for my daughter this morning.

So here is January 2022 totals and proof that Dr. Plastic Picker picks up plastic! Sending green hugs to all my plant-based friends, those that eat lots of plants and those that are plants.

January 2022 Plastic Picking Totals! 22 bags and 27 items!

Click here to see how many bags I picked in the subsequent month! https://drplasticpicker.com/february-2022-plastic-picking-totals-643-lifetime-total/

February 8, 2022

by drplasticpicker

I don’t feel guilty much these days. Mothers and doctors, we tend to blame ourselves for everything. Our own child gets a B+ in a class, our fault. Our child has plagiocephaly from the back to sleep campaign, our fault for not recommended strongly enough tummy time. The climate crisis, our fault for not having enough money to buy a Tesla. But after you realize the true villains that caused the climate crisis – you will stop feeling guilty. Vaping company CEOs – villains. Fossil fuel companies who knowingly still push pro-fossil fuel policies – villains. People who litter knowingly and with darkness in their heart when they do that act of littering – villains. Me? Not a villain!

But I do somewhat feel villainous when I blatantly made the best Instapot chicken soup out there. It’s hard not to feel guilty when you are an environmentalist and hang out with vegans all day. But we are plant-based, not vegan, and I made chicken soup with a game hen and it was so delicious. I now realize after putting in an Ecosia search that a game hame is essentially a chicken that is a toddler, and I feel even more guilty.

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February 3, 2022

by drplasticpicker

I’m not an easy person. I realize that. I’ve calmed down now in my still youthful early-mid forties. I thought it was being a Crimson University graduate, but Dr. Dear Friend summed it up well. She said I can intimidate people. I honestly can’t help it. It’s not where I went to school, but who I am. I tend to like to get things done. Despite my being more centered and holistic, I am ultimately a goal-driven and project-oriented person. It may be an artificial sense of completion, but I like to tick things off my check list. Number of bags of trash. Number of vaccine quality projects done. Another super interesting place to give a presentation.

Realizing my need to complete tasks is part of my own internal make-up, I have now created earth-tasks that I am hyperfocused on. My current earth-projects are the Rewild Mission Bay work and getting the AAP California State Government Affairs Expert Committee on Environmental Health and Climate Change off and running. Oh and helping our premed advocacy interns onto their journey to medical school.

It makes me not such a popular person at times. That’s okay. It’s never been important to me, popularity. I’d rather be impactful and effective.

But I’m here on the blog today to remind all our readers (and thank you for your continued presence) that it’s okay and actually necessary for all of us do-gooders out there to also take care of your financial house and parent your children. And honestly the last few weeks that has been my focus. I am in the middle of two large real estate transactions, and one came in pretty close to deadline. If I had not gotten that done, it would have cost me thousands in capital gains taxes. We are also in the process of doing a property exchange on a rental condo in Imperial Beach. It’s really nice. My mother called me and asked me why I hadn’t called her, and I told you – I was busy with loan applications! The interest rates are going up mommy! She understood.

Last night, I also had to do something that needed to be done. I can only be Dr. Plastic Picker if my teenage children are on the straight and narrow. They are definitely on the straight and narrow, and generally very good children. But there was a minor issue with one of them and it needed to be dealt with at dinner as a family. In our family if you vere on a questionable path, it’s not just you that is affected – it’s our entire family. That includes your father Mr. Plastic Picker, your mother Dr. Plastic Picker, your grandparents, your sibling, your puppy and your two bunnies. The entire family weighed in and said “that is not acceptable behavior.” Well actually it was mostly me Dr. Plastic Picker that said in a very calm and measured voice “I received an email from school, and we have discussed it. You will email your teacher and apologize for yourself and on behalf of your entire family.” In the end it was such a minor minor infraction, and honestly the teacher dropped the ball as well for not dealing with this in class. And society has become so permissive that for a majority of people it would not seem like a big deal. But again, for my children and for me – I expect more from my children. It’s hard to be my child. All that parenting and that concern 100% comes with strings. It comes with ancestral strings and expectations, that how you act reflects upon me and your entire family. With that, I was a super strict parent yesterday.

But that was how my father was with me. He was happy go-lucky with other people’s children, but very strict with us at home. And that is how I am in general with our children regarding public behavior. So take care of your financial house and make sure your children are doing okay. You are the only one who will take care of those two things. And then if there is extra time, yes – please help us avert the climate crisis!