Urban Planner seeks organization...

Hi all,

Just a quick plug for your's truly. I am in job seeking mode. If you know of any jobs available for Urban Planners and Food Systems professionals (ahem, that's me!), I would be grateful to hear from you. Below is a short blurb about my experience and here's my LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top

thank you!

Heidi

Heidi Exline holds a Masters in Urban Planning with a concentration in Sustainable Community Food Systems.  Currently she is a Fulbright scholar in India, where she has designed and implemented a research project on the impact of rising food prices on rural and urban households. Previously she was a Policy Associate at the New York City Council where she worked on FoodWorks, New York City's first comprehensive plan for the City's food system. Prior to that, she was Project Manager at City Harvest for four years where she managed a project that connected surplus local farm product with a network of over 500 emergency food programs. In addition, through funding received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, she helped create an industrial purchasing pilot project where daycare facilities could purchase local produce direct from farmers.

She is looking for a position where she can use her knowledge of urban planning and food systems as well as her community building and project management skills to create livable communities and sustainable built environments.

Baba Ramdev wusses out

Every day the Hindustan Times lands at my doorstep. With one eye barely open, I hear the thwack and then usually go back to sleep. When I do finally wake up, I try daily to read it, but occasionally my kitten-who-is-better-than-anything-Staples-could-make-paper-shredder gets to it before I do. This is ok, because while I try to stay on top of Indian happenings, sometimes I am a little dismayed at what makes front page news.

Lately, it's this guy Baba Ramdev. The yoga guru/million was on a nine day fast until yesterday. Why was he fasting? This was his attempt to end graft and corruption in the government. What an original idea!  No, not at all, considering Anna Hazare just pulled the same stunt about two months ago.

Baba, who is anywhere between 35 and 46 years old, depending who you ask, left his schooling at a young age to study yoga and Sanskrit with a guru. Fast forward to age 17, when he began to embark on his own journey of teachings. With what sounds like a lot of luck coupled with a charismatic personality, he soon became the head of a large yoga institute. Eventually, requests for his appearance went from 50 a year to 50 a day. An expert at marketing, you can now you can see his million-dollar face on t.v. in about half a dozen countries and as many languages.

Last week when he began his fast he flew into Delhi in his private jet and demanded an end to corruption. Among his most ridiculous demands were the death penalty for any government official found guilty of corruption and an end to Rs 1000 ($22) and Rs 500 ($11) bank notes. None of these were met, and after demonstrations from his supporters and his subsequent extradition from Delhi, he dressed in woman's clothing and fled to nearby Uttarakhand. Now apparently he has given up his fast in view of "people's concern for his life." Wuss!

This whole circus show makes me wonder...what would happen if someone did the same in the U.S.?  Would he be given a meeting with some of the senior most people in the administration or would he be laughed at? I am pretty sure he wouldn't be meeting with Biden (Btw, where the heck is that guy?? I know I haven't been following US news that closely, but still, I haven't heard a peep about him for some time.) or any other close advisers. Both Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev got face time with Congress. Anna's fast ended in new legislation. Baba's ended in a glass of juice.

I think there are better ways to approach a failing government. It's true that I haven't lived in India for a very long time and I'm still struggling with the culture of protest here. So I can't say exactly what would be effective in this country. But I wholeheartedly disagree with the death penalty, so anyone who shouts for punishment by death is not worth a Rs 500 note, whether it's still in circulation or not. 

Oh, what a difference 30 degrees makes

The other night, after going to sleep around midnight, I woke up a half hour later to gusty winds ghoulishly blowing my doors open and shut. The last time this had happened, I welcomed in the breeze only to find my countertops covered in black spots and my eye tearing up because one of the dust monsters had attacked me.

However, I could not resist, because with it the wind brought cooler temperatures, feathery but ominous clouds and a lot of lightening. Earlier in the day it was about 41 degrees so the drop to 23 was making me giddy, like a kid licking his first taste of cotton candy, or like me when I, with a little shame, hit the bodega around midnight after a night out with friends for my favorite flavor of Ben and Jerry's. After turning off my a/c and flinging open every door in my apartment, I went back to bed and slept like never before. So much so that I missed my Skype date because we had lost power and my phone died and so my alarm did not go off, so I didn't wake up till after 9.

Again today it is still a bit cooler. It's not going to last - tomorrow will be back in the 40's. But I'm enjoying it while it does. I have energy again! I want to do things again!  I am drinking hot coffee again!

.....

On the topic of sleep, some of you may know about this, if you have traveled before to India or other developing countries. But if not, you may be surprised to learn that many times employees will sleep at their work places. Usually they're surviving with just a blanket. The boys that work at the canteen next to my apartment begin their day around 7 AM and finish around 11 PM. They have a few breaks - mostly after lunch. When I go to the canteen around 4, I find them sleeping in one of the back rooms. But at night, because it is so hot, they sleep outside, as in this picture: