2010 January | Kelsey Timmerman

Stand with Haiti or get bodyslammed! #ten4tues

By Kelsey

There are saints, then there is Paul Farmer, the co-founder of Partners in Health.

He values all life equally. I’d like to think I do too, but I don’t. Not like Farmer.

The New Yorker did a feature on him and asked how he would set the ratio of the love for his own children and his love for unknown children.

“I don’t know where I’d set it,” Farmer answered, “but I would not let many children die so my kids could live. I don’t think that two kids should die so that one of my kids has comfort, and I don’t know that two children should die so that one of my kids lives.”

Farmer and Partners in Health seem to be everywhere I look these days. A buddy sent me a copy of Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder (highly recommended). Degoratias, the Burundian refugee the book follows from a doctor in training in Central Africa to homeless in Central Park eventually bumps into Paul Farmer and begins to work for Partners in Health in Haiti.

I read Farmer’s quote from the New Yorker in The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer which I talked about last week.

And now with the earthquake in Haiti, I can’t flip the channel or read a newspaper without some mention of the work of Partners in Health. PIH has been in the country since 1987.

That’s why I’ve decided they are this week’s #ten4tues selection. If you join me in donating $10 to Partners in Health, you should feel really good about it because they are one of Give Well’s highest ranked charities.

Still not convinced, know this…

Farmer’s brother, Jeff, was a professional wrestler was Sting, the professional wrestler. Donate or get bodyslammed by Sting!

To participate in #ten4tues donate $10 to PIH and report back to me in this post, on Facebook, or on twitter. This week I’ll be giving away an audiobook of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (his books are great to listen to).

My brother, Kyle and his wife Jenn, are chipping in the prize this week. If you have something (books, knick-knacks, or whatever) you would like to donate to the #ten4tues project drop me an email Kelsey@kelseytimmerman.com.

Giving Back, ten4tues

#ten4tues winner…

By Kelsey

I started the #ten4tues project on Tuesday and I was thrilled to have a number of participants via Twitter, Facebook, and this blog.

This week I’m giving away a copy of The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer. I assigned all the participants a number and then used this random number generator to make the final selection. And the winner is…

Rob Reed! Rob gave to the Clinton-Bush Haiti initiative.

I’m in the process of selecting next week’s organization to donate my $10 to. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

Also, I’m actively seeking folks who would be interested in donating something to the giveaway. I’m donating $10 every week and can’t afford to buy and ship a prize each time. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. It could be a used or new book, a trinket of some type, something you made, a gift card, or whatever. Anyone interested should email me kelsey@kelseytimmerman.com.

Giving Back, ten4tues

Zombies Stop Healthcare Reform

By Kelsey

I couldn’t have written “Where Am I Wearing?” today.

First, lenders aren’t exactly handing out second mortgages any more and I used mine to partly fund my global quest.

Second, our health care costs have skyrocketed.

In 2009 we were on four different health insurance plans the first four months of the year. Starting January 1^st, 2009, Annie’s coverage at work became way too expensive. Still we had to bare the expense until Harper was born because…

Health Insurance is Killing us Reason #1: You can’t get coverage if you’re pregnant.

Health Insurance is Killing us Reason #2: Small businesses can’t afford to offer insurance because of the high cost. Yet employees can’t afford to have a job that doesn’t offer them health insurance. And if you aren’t employed…well…you’re just screwed.

Anyone know of any insurance carriers that are hiring?

I’ve been on my own plan for a few years. After Harper was born Annie and Harper joined me. We had a decent deductible and a low premium, but there was one problem. My Anthem insurance was in the state of Ohio and we lived in Indiana. It would’ve been nice if our insurance salesman had noted this at the time…

Health Insurance is Killing us Reason #3: (Apparently) It’s much more dangerous to live in Indiana than in Ohio. Why? Maybe it’s the zombies. That makes as much sense as any other reason, doesn’t it?

The exact same coverage through the exact same company was going to cost twice as much in Indiana. Indiana’s state motto: “the crossroads of America (and centrally located for zombie conventions).” Perhaps another reason for the proliferation of zombies in Indiana is that health insurance is more expensive and that means more dead people and, of course, that means more zombies.

We couldn’t afford the same coverage in Indiana so we bought into lower coverage with a premium that was still more than we were paying for the better plan in Ohio.

Now a good chunk of our income goes to health insurance, and yet when we’re sick we’re less likely to go to the doctor because we have to pay 100% of the cost. Our deductible is set at the Struck-by-Lightning level. By this I mean that the only way we’ll meet our deductible is if we are struck by lightning or incur some other major health problem.

It almost makes a fella wish he was struck by lightning so he could lay in bed all smoking and charred and for once be thankful that he shelled out so much for insurance.

Something needs done. If we continue to do nothing, the costs will continue to rise, more and more employers won’t offer insurance, and those of us who pay for our own will see our healthcare costs top/topple our mortgages. Is the Senate plan the answer? I don’t know, but trying to step out of the way of a freight train is a lot smarter than standing there and taking it in the kisser.

Yes, I think it’s stupid that whether or not health insurance reform is passed comes down to a runoff for a Senate seat in Massachusetts, and that the hopes of the reform were shattered by a candidate that couldn’t spell the name of the state she sought to represent, and that one of the major reasons she wasn’t elected is because she thought that Curt “bloody Red sock” Schilling was a Yankees fan, and that anyone with a bloody sock in Massachusetts doesn’t have to fret much because they have universal health coverage, and yet these universal-healthcare-havers are denying the rest of the country the same privilege.

I don’t care about the politics of the situation. I care that mothers and fathers can afford to take their kids to the doctor. I care that sons and daughters have healthy mothers and fathers that live long enough to become great-grandparents.

And what I’m really getting at is that the zombie lobby needs to be stopped before there isn’t a politician left with even half a brain. Of course the Congress’ insurance probably covers zombie attacks.

UPDATE: Apparently some zombies are for reform…

Mad World

A year of giving: My #ten4tues project

By Kelsey

Sometimes my travel recollections are less memories and more hauntings. I’m haunted by a legless beggar in Nepal who chased me around a stupa swinging wildly at my legs with a stick. I’m haunted by the smile of an orphan in Guatemala. I’m haunted by the smell of a dump in Cambodia.

I never know what will trigger a travel haunting. The other day I was speaking at a high school in San Francisco and another one surfaced.

I was in the village of Matlab in Bangladesh. My translator, Dalton, was giving me a tour of the village when a serious looking man approached us. He grabbed me by the arm and led us through the worn dirt paths around rice paddies and ponds until we stood in a home next to a dying old man, the serious man’s father.

The man thought I was a doctor. The man thought I could save his father’s life.

And, you know what? Maybe I could have.

I’m not a wealthy man, but in Bangladesh I am. At the time I didn’t have thousands of dollars at my disposal, but for a few hundred I’m sure I could’ve transported the dying man to the best hospital in Bangladesh. Maybe he still would have died. Maybe he would have died more comfortably. Maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference whatsoever.

I did nothing. I apologized and told the man I wasn’t a doctor and that I could do nothing for his father. It was awkward. I was ashamed.

How much does it cost to save a life? And what lengths would you go to or how much would you give to do it?

These are questions I’ve been pondering a lot lately. Between my new travel haunting, the earthquake in Haiti, and my reading of Peter Singer’s “The Life You Can Save,” I’ve been thinking about what I can and should do to make a difference. Singer argues that living an ethical life involves a mix of personal philanthropy, local activism, and political awareness. He dispels the whole “for the price of one cup of coffee per day you can save a child’s life” myth and takes a realistic look at how and why we should give.

I’m somewhat politically active, and in 2009 I tried to become more active locally. I joined Big Brothers and Big Sisters (my little brother is a cool kid and we have a lot of fun – Hey Alex!) and Teamwork for Quality Living, which is a great organization that engages the community to overcome poverty together. But my giving hasn’t been the best.

I might have donated $200-$300 last year, which Peter Singer would definitely say is not enough. I could tell Singer that we incurred the cost of having a child, starting her savings plan, and health insurance costs that skyrocketed, and we weren’t in a position to give much, but he still wouldn’t be satisfied.

I’m not a good giver. That’s what I’m beginning to see. That’s what Singer has helped me to see. I can’t afford to give a lot, but I can afford to give more than I do and I’m ethically obligated to do so.

It’s not tough to punch in my credit card number online and click “donate.” I can do that as well as the next fella. But there are so many great organizations out there how do I choose which one to support? Where will my money have the biggest impact?

Allow me to introduce my project to answer these questions: ten4tues. That’s $10 for Tuesday.

Each Tuesday I plan to share to which organization I am donating $10 to and tell why I chose them. I’ll search out charity organizations like Charity Navigator and GiveWell to aid my decision.

By the end of the year, I’ll have donated $520, which still probably isn’t enough. But writing and 2010 comes with its own uncertainties and I don’t want to commit myself to something beyond my means. At the end of the year if I can give more, maybe I’ll choose my favorite charity of the year and do so.

I hope to not only educate myself, but others too. In fact, if so inspired by that week’s organization, I hope you’ll join me in donating to them. Once you do, leave a comment that you donated on this blog or on my Facebook wall or send me a reply on Twitter (use the hashtag #ten4tues) and I’ll enter you to win that week’s prize.

Since I just brainstormed this idea and I’m a couple of weeks behind my $520 goal already, I’ll simplify things this week.

I will be donating $30 to CARE’s Haiti efforts. If you’ve donated a cent to assist any organization’s Haiti efforts, let me know and I’ll enter you to win this week’s prize…

Giving Back, ten4tues

Tires into shoes in Ethiopia

By Kelsey

From the Guardian:

Old truck tyres never die, they just turn into sandals. For decades that has been the tradition in Ethiopia, where everyone from farmers to guerrilla fighters has fashioned worn-out road rubber into cheap, long-lasting footwear.

But now, thanks to a young woman entrepreneur who has combined the internet’s selling power with nimble business practices more often associated with Asian countries, the idea has been turned into an unlikely international hit. By adding funky cotton and leather uppers to recycled tyre soles, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu has sold many thousands of pairs of handmade flip-flops, boat shoes, loafers and Converse-style trainers to foreign customers.

Checkout the soleRebels site.

Engaged Consumer

A Thousand Words: Harper is 1!

By Kelsey

A Thousand Words

I’m a Hero in Sweden

By Kelsey

Annie’s cousin Steph sent me this with the title “Marketing for your next book.” I have no idea what this is, but I’m considering paying Swedish broadcasting fees anyhow.

This Writer’s Life

I’m Big in Korea

By Kelsey

It’s strange not being able to read a book that you’ve written or even your name. But such is the case when I received the Korean translation of “Where Am I Wearing?” in the mail.

A lot of folks have worked on the book, but few have spent as much time with it as this translator. I would love to sit down and have a chat with them to see how they went about translating “fella” and “undercover underwear buyer.”

I suspect Korea was interested in the topic because they had a thriving garment industry in the 1960s which is anything but thriving today. Need proof? Inventory the clothing labels in your closet.

This is my first translation so it’s definitely worth geeking-out over. However it’s not the only foreign country where the book can be found. One of the cool things about Wiley & Sons is that they are a global publishing company. They have offices in Singapore, Tokyo, India, Australia, England, and elsewhere. The offices are staffed with actual Wiley employees.

I’ve received emails from readers in Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan to name a few places. It’s an honor to be able to introduce readers around the world to Arifa, Nari, Ai, Dewan, and Zhu Chun.

A lot of times when a book sells to a publisher the author will retain foreign rights. This means that the author’s agent can pitch foreign publishers. If the foreign publisher wants it, then another contract is entered complete with advance and royalties. Since Wiley is a global publisher they almost always buy “World Rights” as opposed to “North American Rights.”

That means I don’t get a check when my book is published in another country and/or language. Instead I just receive translations and emails out of the blue, which is a nice consolation.

This Writer’s Life

And the winners are…

By Kelsey

I had nothing to do with selecting the winners. I just handed you the clues on a silver platter, especially that last video where I say Honduras several times.

The good folks at Wiley, my publisher, just emailed me the names of the randomly selected winners.

The grandprize winner of the HD flipcam and Frommer’s guides is Melissa Markofski, a longtime follower of my blogging exploits. Congrats Melissa!

The runner-up winners of Frommer’s guides are Phillip Bohning and Simon Tatum. Yes, the Simon Tatum of film-making fame.

Thanks everyone for entering. There were nearly 400 entries. Special thanks go out to Diana Bernardo and Larry Olson of Wiley for scheming up this idea and providing the goodies, and to all the awesome folks at Rule29, the best darn designers west of the Fox River!

Where is Kelsey Contest

Where in the World I was…

By Kelsey

After 8 weeks of clues and guesses it’s time to reveal where in the World I was….

Honduras

I visited Honduras in 2005 on what was to become the first leg of my “Where Am I Wearing?” adventure. I spent a lot of my time on the Mosquito Coast trying not to be killed by crazy biologists and deadly venomous snakes, playing soccer on a sandbar, and teaching an island village the game of baseball. In general, other than my brother coming down with malaria I had a lovely time in Honduras and met some great people.

But since then a lot has happened to me and Honduras. My book was published, I got married, and a daughter followed. Honduras was hit by extreme flooding and a coup that left their president standing on a runway in his skivvies in Costa Rica.

I’ve fared much better than Honduras the last few years, so I thought I would give the country some love. It deserves it. You have one little coup and people start canceling trips. It takes a long time to win back tourists after such negative press. Ask Bosnia, which has amazing scenery and beautiful hikes. I just checked the State Department’s website and their aren’t any “don’t go” warnings. So go.

If you go, you’re going to need a guidebook. I know that they sponsored the contest and I’m somewhat obligated to say this, but go with Frommer’s Honduras guide by Nicholas Gill. I haven’t used it myself, but it’s new as of October 2009, I’ve used other Frommer’s guides and found them more than adequate and shiny, and I’m a big fan of the work of Nicholas Gill.

Go for the jungles (not the snakes or Malaria) along the unexplored Mosquito Coast. Go for the diving off the Bay Islands. Go for the Mayan temples.

I went because that’s where my favorite T-shirt was made and I had a blast.

I’ll announce the winners of the contest in the near future.

Where is Kelsey Contest