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Climate Change Doesn't Go Away At Christmastime

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Are you there, internet? It’s me, Demery! What’s it been…40…50 years? I can understand why you didn’t recognize me. I cut off a chunk of my hair, so maybe it’s that. I got a new job, and then quickly moved to another new job, so maybe my business casual vibe threw ya off. Maybe it’s just the “employed” look in general. Do I seem more sophisticated and less desperate than my grunge, begging-for-a-job style of early 2019? I can tell ya I certainly don’t always   feel   more sophisticated. Well, internet it is good as heck to see ya. Sorry for the morbid blog title but I wanted to chat with you about a few important things, excluding Justin Timberlake this time (sorry). In no particular order of importance, those things are: Christmas, Christmas shopping, avoiding capitalistic/unsustainable tendencies while also buying some sick gifts for those loved ones (or obligatory ones) on your list, and taking another shot at pitching my personal Christmas playlist.   Charli...
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I Have Failed as a Vegetarian So You Don't Have To

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"Oh, I would totes break vegetarianism for that." -Demery Gijsbers, too often. It's the 30 day trials that really get ya hooked. Take Spotify Premium for example. A 30 day free trial shows you what life could be like without the same annoying commercials, being able to download your music, and so much more (#NotSponsored). After thirty days of having this huge life advantage over all the commercial-listening peasants, there's no going back. In the same way that joining Spotify Premium was an important and life-altering lifestyle change for me, trying out vegetarianism was just as important (and way easier than paying a whopping $4.99 a month for premium!). I gave it a shot for thirty days. But when you add a few grueling vegetarian documentaries, late night research, and an apartment full of vegetarians, a month long trial run of not eating meat turns into that big lifestyle change. Now I'm one of those annoying hippies that I used to make fun of as I bit into a...
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Siri is Constantly Searching "Coffee Shops Near Me"

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"'I need coffee in an I.V.' -Lorelai Gilmore" -Demery Gijsbers I consider my life to be measured along the timeline of 'Pre- and Post-Coffee Discovery.' The first time I ever drank coffee was on a camping trip with some friends. Many of these friends were big coffee fiens (see also: coffee snobs) but I had never enjoyed the taste. I didn't sleep well one night because: 1. V cold 2. No sleeping bag or pillow 3. Extreme claustrophobe in a tiny one-person tent too small to roll over in 4. Back pain 5. Frozen Toes 6. 4am wake up not by choice! Now, I don't consider myself to be a complainer OR dramatic, but it was the  worst night of my whole entire existence . I was a disaster human the next morning, praying for a natural pick-me-up or a days-long nap to recover. "Cold Brew," my friends said "is smooth and delicious. Try this cup," they told me. "It'll help wake you up," they said. So I trusted them and tried it. What t...
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I Need You To Come To the Farmer’s Market With Me

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"BUY LOCAL!!!!" - Demery Gijsbers I am more passionate about this than caps lock and any number of exclamation marks can convey. There are so many important reasons why you should get comfortable and well-acquainted with your local farmer's market, and more specifically, the farmers themselves. They are absolutely incredible people doing incredible things and no amount of love for Kroger and Whole Foods and other grocery stores (which I have a lot of love for) can change how important buying local is. I'm also not about to sit here and pretend to be an expert on this topic, because this is something I've only learned about within the last couple years. My knowledge is changing and growing daily and gosh, is it exciting!! And as an aspiring user experience designer and urban planner wrapped up into one person, I can't help but see the Farmer's Market as an incredibly designed community user experience. My adorable mother supporting her local farmers i...
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I Got Sh*t on by a Bird Today (and other reasons I'm in bed by 8pm)

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"I think a bird just pooped on my head." -Demery Gijsbers A draft from finals season exactly four months ago: Today I spent nine hours in one booth at Beanster's Cafe. During those nine hours, I completely re-coded my web application final project, saw the same error message on that web application at least forty times, ate cereal mixed with almond butter out of plastic bag for dinner, sent a desperate and pathetic email to my Graduate Student Instructor for help on my project, and watched a mouse run back and forth across the cafe. The Michigan Difference!! Go Blue Forever!! I have a hard time sitting still for an hour long class discussion, so nine hours in Beanster's (RIP in peace to Beansters btw) was borderline self-sabotage. Finals season in and of itself is just a collection of recipes for self-sabotage. Closing time is 6pm and we are freed from the grips of the Michigan League and released out onto snowy North University. It tastes like liberty as I...
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We're Not Hanging Out if You Didn't Send a GCal Invite

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"What color do you want our lunch to be?" - Demery Gijsbers I am everything that being a "Type B" personality has to offer, which used to include having a poor sense of a time schedule. This is something I learned about myself when I came to college and it was up to me to maintain everything that comes with being a human (which honestly is not a lot in college). You have to get to class which is, like, the main unspoken agreement when a college accepts you to do your school stuff there. You have to get to all of the meetings for the clubs you eagerly join first semester of freshman year. You have to eat and nourish your body at some point. Probs do some sleeping if you're into that sort of thing. So I tried to do a lot, got some things mixed up, and would sometimes miss meetings, sleep through class because I thought it was Thursday when really it was Monday, or end up eating dinner at 11:30pm because intramural sports are offered at any dang time of the nig...
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I Can't Just NOT Dedicate a Post to Justin Timberlake

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"I once had a dream that I was a professional chef in Justin Timberlake's home and I don't think any dream could ever top that." -Demery Gijsbers If you haven't heard his new album, Man of the Woods, you must have just gotten out of a coma this morning, or had a really important physics exam all day, or you are just wrong about many things. If you have heard it, you're in the right place. We may have been discouraged from the amount of silence since "The 20/20 Experience", but he has held us close. With excitement like tracks from The Trolls, and his wife, Jessica Biehl's movie, "The Book of Love" we haven't been left completely high and dry. But today, February 2nd, 2018, he has come through in an incredible way. Man of the Woods is his most authentic, most Justin work (because I know him personally...? I am not a crazy person this is just fun). It is musical gold. Are any of us surprised, though? (If you are surprised, plea...
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