Lacunar

make believe you're home

2012-01-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

There was a snowstorm today. But firstly, some New York notes:

Scaffolding is the bane of my existence! Or at least my New York City experience. While it provides some meager protection from the elements, most of the time it is just ugly. It hides storefronts, making hidden treasures much harder to find. Once it goes up, it seems to never come down. And now, the charming shops on my block (Schatze's Butcher, the popover cafe, Barney Greengrass the sturgeon king, and the brick Romanesque church) are obscured. It's not like construction is going to happen anytime soon. The walk home was half as charming. But at least the brownstones are still there, and the foliage will be back before I know it.

Speaking of my neighborhood, it turns out that there is a delightful cafe a mere half block from my apartment building. Apparently the Momofuku Milk Bar (look it up! delightful baking-asian fusion. The corn cookie is my favourite) opened there in September and I somehow didn't see it this entire time. When I moved in, it was an empty street corner. So every time I walked by, I sort of still saw an empty store. The Moth aired a story last August, around the time I moved here, about how the city changes so fast and seems so cold but somehow gets preserved exactly as it was in the minds of everyone. The story set up discovering the city as an act of freezing time so that forever after, that shop on the corner would be, to the new New Yorker, the donut shop even though it closed and reopened several times as first a cafe and then a launderette. And now it is still The Donut Shop. I'm not so sure I see the city, or the Milk Bar, this way and I am sure I won't be here long enough to test it out. The storefront may have been empty when I first saw it, but surely I should have noticed a cafe go in. Anyway, I am making up for it and have been 3 times this week already.

I think the economy is slowly starting to turn around here. People are still pretty pessimistic. But the Momofuku story isn't the only empty storefront that has now been successfully leased and filled. I can think of three other new spots within two blocks of my apartment building. Gentrification (or whatever you want to call filling a place with trendy cafes and bars aimed at a younger market) is proceeding in the Upper West Side like it hasn't since 2008.

On another note, the other big new thing for me is allergies. Ok not new, it started last April. But it's not hay fever. I am now basically allergic to life. Dust, perfume, smoke... things which never bothered me or anyone else much are my triggers now. I have got it mostly under control after a few months of sneezing my way through classes, and am slowly learning how to not just be a relatively neat person but a genuinely clean person.

I'm happy in New York. But it was nice having such a long break with a whopping 5 days at home. Enjoyed two days in Victoria too, which were very comfortable and pleasant. As was the normal sort of Christmas at home. Flew out to Singapore after boxing day, everything went smoothly. Singapore customs & immigration was the simplest I have ever had. I suppose they aren't overly worried about people overstaying their visas. Offenders will be caught in other ways...

Between the humid heat and the time difference and Henry's heavenly company, I was a bit out of it for a few days. Explored Little India, Geylong, Orchard Rd & downtown a bit, while inspecting the interiors of quite a few Hawker markets on the way. Phenomenal food doesn't quite sum that aspect up. Hawker centers feel like a food court community center mash up, to me. And I love how everyone enjoys the competition over who knows the best stall in the most unexpected market for each Singapore specialty dish. The variety of noodle dishes and soups boggled my mind. Being not vegetarian was very easy, I wanted to try everything that looked good! But even there, I am still a breakfast and desert lover. Popiah is my new favourite food and I miss it already. Also miss Passionfruit soda.

I don't think I'm doing Singapore justice, but it is sort of hard to describe. I could never ever live there. But I like the... careful planning, the constant improvements, the idea that the city is aiming for. I like that Singapore dares to dream it could be educational, professional, sustainable garden city... instead of an ultimately unsustainable highly Corporate and controlled island city-state. It is interesting to think about how planning could get them partway there. Henry calls it Asia-lite, and it was a good transition before heading to Cambodia. My favourite place, almost the most human aspect for me, in Singapore wasn't until the other side of my trip in January. My last day, we went for a walk around the big MacRitchie reservoir. It had all those carefully planned programmatic elements, but they didn't sit empty. The elegant exercise pavilion there better suited the climate more than any other building I'd seen in Singapore. It housed the beginnings of a food center, and a lot of gentle advertising of the kind of garden city they (city planning? government? am somewhat unclear on this...) imagine that Singapore could become. And the reservoir, a colonial legacy rebuilt and expanded, is a delightful and simple park that clearly gets a lot of use. Our picnic was spent observing a big workout group perform their stretches, more intensely enthusiastic than anything else. And the trail around the lake had excellent sight lines of kayak-ers racing and capsizing with surprising speed. Seriously, one boat went down every couple minutes. But mostly, I liked walking back through the jungle til the concrete towers started appearing again. The hum was a roar and the leaves were huge. And it felt good to walk there with Henry.

29 days of action-packed travel in just one succinct update!

2012-01-16T22:08:00.000-08:00

Me: how far is the post office?
Kim: its where i get off at the bus stop
Me: oh perfect for you!
Me: so perfect
Kim: im reasonably close to the main post office too
Kim: but i havent explored yet
Kim: too damn cold
Me: yeah the whole snot freezing thing sounds uncomfortable
Kim: very
Kim: eyeballs feel funny too
Me: eww
Kim: yes, its a very squinty, snotty business being a northerner

yes, Kim (soon to be followed by my brother -in-law) has moved to Prince George as project archivist at UNBC. Looking forward to visiting northern BC for the first time!

There are many reasons why I have had difficulty with writing here recently. Crappy free verse was an excellent stop gap, so it may be because I have stopped writing poetry. I have had to revise all former expectations otherwise and conclude that only years 7-14 of my life were uneventful. I doubt things will settle down again soon, if ever. Today I wrote an outline of things I would actually want to share.

The biggest change in my life is probably that I stopped biting my nails and now spend an inordinate amount of time paying attention to them. I tell myself it is very relaxing. There have been some other, less important changes. I particularly like getting to spend more time on Vancouver Island.

I have now proceeded to complete an entire post without following my outline at all.

hurricane take 2

2011-09-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

A number of people warned me to expect various things in New York that I haven't really seen come to pass yet. A Bostonian on my flight from Kelowna told me in great detail about proper subway etiquette and how to handle street people. Many people warned me it was an expensive place to live. The media prepared me with graphic description for bed bugs. Henry cautioned me that the city would be noisy. And everyone warned me there would be far too many things to do. But no one warned me New York City had mosquitoes!

I know a mosquito bite when I get one. Especially since I have now killed two mosquitoes, unfortunately after they had already bitten me. I've had fleas and bed bugs before. But mosquitoes I can do nothing about but accept that I will look a bit lumpier than normal. I think... living in Berkeley was far better preparation for living in New York than I expected.

First day of grad school went well, and I think learning mandarin will be fascinating. Now if only I could have one of these...

Easy Vanilla Buttermilk Wedding Cupcakes - makes 14

Just a warning: I don't believe in precision baking.

blend the following dry ingredients together til well-combined, I think it looks a bit like snow:
1 1/2 cups unsifted cake flour
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 generous t baking powder
1/2 t salt

using a handheld mixer or magic wand immersion blender if that is all you have... cut in:
1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter (this is one thing worth being precise about, let it sit on the counter for two hours please... you still may need to stir with a wooden spoon a bit so it clumps together better, but the goal is merely evenness of texture so don't work it too much yet)

Measure out 3/4 cup full-fat buttermilk and pour half of it into the batter, reserving the rest. Now you can blend that batter so it comes together and then becomes even and fluffy.

Crack two eggs in with the rest of the buttermilk, and mix them together until the liquids is totally combined and no eggy streaks remain. Ok now cleaner your mixer/blender. Using a spatula, fold in half the egg mixture into the batter. Then add a teaspoon or more of vanilla, and fold in the remaining egg mixture. The batter should be silky and smooth.

Divide the batter into cupcake papers so each is a hair less than 2/3 full, or a hair more than halfway full. Bake for 22 minutes minimum, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a crumb or two. Better to overbake than underbake. Let cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tray, and then for at least a half hour on a wire rack.

Modified with gusto from Smitten Kitchen and I have resigned myself to the fact that buttercream frosting will take a good few more years to perfect. With pleasure!

hitching post

2011-09-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

finally get to experience ~~humility~~ humidity

first things:

Kim Stathers and David Pettitt are now husband and wife! Lots of puns were made, but it was a beautiful wedding and a really meaningful family gathering for me. All the hard work was worth it. Unfortunately, I was running around so much I forgot to take pictures. But it was amazing. And I baked 200+ cupcakes and an incredible butternut squash lasagna. I would include the recipes... but I'm baked out for a while.

Now, I have found myself in New York on almost a weeks holiday before classes begin. Unexpectedly. I'm reluctant to carry my camera around New York, so no pictures yet. But I'm doing my trademark big city exploring riding public transit to the end of the line. I'm not sure how I feel about New York yet. Went to the Beach 98th St station which was, sure enough, a beach. Where I very much enjoyed myself this afternoon in the heat. Way warmer than the Pacific. Having fun figuring things out and finding out I know a few people here and there... and I'm looking forward to making a nice batch of beans tomorrow. My place couldn't be working out better, too. But moving is moving.

the joys of being my sister's wedding planner

2011-07-25T18:46:00.001-07:00

First test cupcake-bake last Friday. Very successful. Moist, elegant and summery peach cupcakes. Next batch tonight: Martha's salted caramel cupcakes.

Purchased polka-dot cupcake papers in 6 color schemes. This means I will have to limit myself to only 6 different types of cake! Need to get scheming with my co-contributer on the fondant/frosting possibilities. But simple, I hope.

Have decided that I'm not so much wedding planner but wedding buffer.
Also, thanks Kim!

bellevue

2011-07-21T22:39:00.001-07:00

this has happened a couple times now
walking anywhere takes an hour
and it wouldn't be unusual except that it is
a now old dilemma

there are raspberries at home (by the quart)
blueberries on the way
and strawberries at the library

oh and here is the lavender we are drying for the wedding. the hall we are renting prohibits live flowers, in a nice turn of phrase.

also...

2011-07-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

I forgot I made a fourth of july firework pie.
strawberry and rhubarb again
and I was really enthusiastic with the egg wash!

2011-07-10T10:36:00.001-07:00

it's amazing how many cute things are out there.
how many interesting blogs by interesting women...
how many wedding blogs!
new social/media sites and beautiful pictures

looking hard for button silicone fondant molds. Surprisingly difficult.
and you guessed it... the wedding "theme" is buttons
and the colors are shades of lavender, with lots of accent colors.
but mostly I'm just having fun!

family summer

2011-07-09T08:05:00.000-07:00

ended up with around 60 bites, it really was a wet spring.
am now the kind of person that must take a claritin immediately upon waking. I never imagined!

made it back from all the wedding planning to help my aunt and uncle move. saw the hall, the kitchen, the dishes. Finally have colors and flower girl dresses and the beginnings of a decorating scheme. Oh, and no live flowers allowed.
everything is going to be very cute.
as it should be.

planning a sweater pattern as I work away on this project. Way more fun than mindless pattern following.

feeling crafty

2011-06-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

very much enjoying all tasks that go along with being wedding planner/unemployed younger sister!

sewing and mending today before heading up to Lillooet for the long weekend.
Next task: cupcake recipes and bridesmaids dresses.
Any recommendations?

fun at home

2011-06-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

perry como plays in the background, and my dad hums along

'You see, this is the kind of good music I listen to! But I like Led Zeppelin and all that modern stuff too...'

this week

2011-06-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

goal: learn to use a drop spindle eventually
in progress: biking up hills

baking: butter cake
knitting: father's day... and a felted toiletries' case
gaming: carcasonne + expansions
playing: just ramping up practicing and remembering
reading: Fifty Years in Farming 1940-1990 by Meir Weiss
also: Game of Thrones...

Definitely glad I stayed in Mill Valley this long.
taken three trips to see the chickens and other friends.
went to Stinson beach twice, as it is finally summery.
now off to the tourist club with Bella for some hiking and German beer!

graduated!!

2011-06-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

baking linzer cookies and vanilla sugar cookies for dinner with Henry's Opa tomorrow.

I shipped everything north with greyhound, saying good bye to the bay area. Can already feel myself moving on. Loved it. Inspiration. Maid-of-honor duties to look forward to for the summer and then to new york city in the fall.

finishing the last of 7 pairs of simple spring socks
mastering the art of chapati
now that I'm out of Berkeley, can I stop leading the life unexamined?

i'm getting closer

2011-01-29T02:16:00.000-08:00

maybe... further

mostly right now I want to finish.
But I can't even decide
what tack to take talking

the truth is in the sources
put aside your point of view
but doesn't context matter?
aren't those prejudices true?
to some extent
it always does come together in the end.

but why is it so hard
to know what you need
really?

modern medieval

2010-11-29T00:40:00.000-08:00

I'm unsure but confident
that somehow this will all resolve
when simple-minded simplifications
mark an end of ideology

lots on my list this month- papers, exams, knitting, GRE
not sure I'm happy with what's planned
not sure I want to plan anything at all
when nothing goes as planned anyway.

but it has been beautiful clear sunny and cold
and I bike up more hills than EVER.

peace

2010-11-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month...

why isn't it raining yet?

2010-10-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

Knitting List:

1. Warm Woolly socks for Dandy (2/3 the way there!)
2. Plain slouchy beret for Sasha (wool purchased+pattern found)
3. Complicated socks for Dan (wool purchased+pattern found)
4. Entrelac socks for Henry (hmm... pattern photocopied)
5. Christmas: socks for Dad, mum's other sock, a surprise for David...
6. Yet Another Cardigan (for Henry, maybe this time it will fit?)

sunol's sycamore leaves

2010-10-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

my new little room here at school
isn't the same sort of place for melancholic composition
as the bubble I was in last year

But I get the sunrise.
and I've filled it with my found-metal mobile
and a secretary and orchids
(there isn't sunlight enough for anything else)

and this is fine.
the piles of leaves on my way home mark
that it is again that time of year

this year I've got titles
(House Manager, Co-Lead, Nicola, okay not that many)
and a pile of books.
surprise!

Vancouver, post 2

2010-07-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

Finally got back to work on the project, which was especially difficult after taking an enjoyable week off in Lillooet. I recall that an important part of my project is traveling, pushing myself to understand what I call my “home” a little better. Well, I’m just at a turning point.

The research so far in Vancouver has uncovered slim pickings for BC. It makes sense- BC developed later, much later, than the rest of the West Coast. Excepting the (smaller) Gold Rush up here, there was less immigration. And even now, the population is drastically smaller, and in some ways more homogenous. But I don’t believe at all that there really was a lack of immigrant groups in need of community services, benevolent associations, and socio-cultural adjustment. But in these directories, I can hardly even find Church listings to get a sense of the community groups around. From Consuls in Vancouver, there were certainly connections Ecuador, Chile, Japan, China, Belgium, France, Germany (Imperial), Sweden, Norway, Spain… And in my Classified searches, I find listings for Spanish, Chinese, Japanese interpreters.

Primarily, this frustration stems from the fact that I’m looking into these very small communities in 1900. There just wasn’t much there, and not much reason to record- say, a Finnish hall- for the small population there. The introductions to many of these directories say how difficult collecting the information was- the cities are just so small and the populations growing and moving so quickly. I think I might have to go by Churches, just to get a sense of the communities. But I despair of finding any Halls from so long ago.

I’m taking today to finally finish sorting through my notes and journal entries. And to call family and plan the next phase of my trip. And furthermore, I’m sick of run down downtowns. That’s probably a big factor in my reluctance to hop back into the hall hunting. It was just so nice being in Lillooet, I just don’t want to go back to hanging out on street corners and avoiding the eyes of homeless or the commentary by street people. I’m sick of how I have to inure myself to that. And I don’t think Vancouver will be any different than downtown Sacramento or Los Angeles in that regard.

VPL has made digitized editions of many BC directories from 1860-1915 available online. Which is brilliant. But the main directory, Henderson’s, does not seem to have collected the information on social groups that I need. What clubs he does list- in Vancouver 1900 for example, BC Forest and Stream, BC Sugar Refinery, Seaman’s Institute, Terminal City, The Vancouver, The Owl, St. George’s- seem more like Clubs in the exclusive sense. Only St. George’s has any sort of ethnic (English) connection. I think a Club here is defined in a different sense, but it seems the only sort of listing. And if it isn’t in the Old English Gentleman’s Club definition, it is very selective, a potentially biased collection of clubs meeting in Vancouver.

But perhaps this definition of club, which overlaps with mine, makes sense in the context of BC. BC has a very English/Scots-Irish settlement pattern. Victoria, the capitol, was a mainstay of the British Empire. The Gentleman’s club definition, and the later Athletic/Sporting Club listing, certainly make more sense than other ideas about what a club is, in that context.

But how have I been defining club? I’ve been thinking of my research in these directories merely as to clues to find Halls. I have been very loose in my club/association/society requirements. I decided early on to avoid labor, unions, commercial, and religious leanings in society names. Unless, of course, I thought it was likely to be an important umbrella organization, particularly for Japanese and Chinese Communities. I have had a very open mind for Society names implying a loose, or close, connection with a particular ethnic group. In many cases, particularly with Italian and Jewish organizations, I thought it important to take note of Parish Halls and Jewish Community Centers despite the religious affiliations.

Maybe it is because I have taken such a loose approach to Ethnic Hall clues that I am so disturbed by their absence in the Vancouver and Victoria records so far. Sure, there are one or two hints, but it just seems like a dead zone in comparison to California. I should check the populations, in comparison. Just to give myself a better idea.

I saw the new Twilight movie with Kim, Amy, and Anna on Saturday. Which reminds me that I have never been to the Olympic Peninsula. I would love to see Forks. I would love to explore Washington State more. And when will I do that if I no longer even have a home base to draw me there? I could always travel there. But accepting that I likely will not be living near my family means I probably will spend many vacations visiting them…

The sun feels the same up and down the coast. I know that now. The differences are slight. Dappled light and lawns, an affectation for English garden blossoms. Small wooden homes from the 20’s. Rocky coastlines and street car lines. The differences are subtler. The drinking water, certainly. The attitude towards taxes. The growing Latino influence as you head south. But hole in the wall ethnic joints are just as common here. The same lawn weeds from here to LA. Although, I think it does take less work to have a green lawn here. The moss and crabgrass seem to vary with no real correlation- but everyone seems to want to have those same problems.

Sometimes the air feels different. Vancouver grey is very different from Los Angeles and San Diego ocean fog. And Berkeley fog. And the mountains change so slowly, I noticed that a lot on the drive up. How the valleys began to narrow, the mountains to widen and the peaks to climb on the drive through Oregon. And by the Puget Sound, the horizontality seems to come back, but in an expanse of water rather than the Valley.

And I really do feel at home here, as at home as everywhere else on my trip. I think Los Angeles felt most different, but because of it’s sheer scale rather than actual differences. Because it’s the size of a real city. But it’s a part of California, and that old California feeling is there.

Made dinner and cherry pie.

Vancouver

2010-07-08T23:20:00.000-07:00

Planning to resume the hunt tomorrow afternoon at the VPL.

Having a negative thought cycle this morning. It’s a pity, as it’s a beautiful summer morning at Seton. I can see the patches of bright blue sky and the reflections of pine trees even on my computer screen. Just another reason why I should get over it.

Really, Nicola, now is not the time. To which I said, well, if I don’t know at all what I really want to do, how is it going to happen? magic.

Okay. I’m not worrying. I just want to do something fulfilling and interesting. I don’t even know if I want to go away. I have this feeling I want to go to the East Coast. I wouldn’t mind living in Ireland again, but it might be pretty lonely. And If I went, I’d want to try to take a class at Ballymaloe. But I could be perfectly happy staying in the Bay Area. I think that teach for America has a place in Oakland, which could be interesting. Or even just a good job. But it’s probably pretty hard finding one right now…

I also feel badly that I have no savings right now. But unless I plan to keep doing something, I don’t have anything to support myself in the meantime. Sure, I’ve been a co-op manager, but that’s just for rent. I should check in with Steve @ CED if he still needs help in August, and with Kim Long in SF in the fall. And I should check more job postings. I think IDEO internships are only for graduate students, but that is something I’ve been interested in for a long time.

Okay. Going out to enjoy the sun and calm. Already have sunscreen on my nose, as my funny butt-burn yesterday is not to be repeated!

Probably going to head into the store soon, as Kim has errands and we need dinner fixings. But I plan to be back quickly for another tubey float and day in the lake.

My butt is sunburnt. I still have 15 fleabites from Grampa’s dogs. And then I have on mosquito bite from here on my elbow. I think I could have another on my butt, but I’m just going to tell myself it is the sunburn! I HATE THAT I ALWAYS HAVE BUG BITES. I have 5 tubes of itch-relief on my bedside table. …
But I am resigned.

Sad about leaving tomorrow. I still really want to spend all summer here. Maybe if I find something that starts in the fall next year, I can come spend all summer up here. That would be lovely, especially if I would be going away. …

Barbara Walker, knitter, is a genius. Must check out her books mosaic knitting and crone.

Almost done compiling LA notes. Will work on that today and tonite. Plan to be done before I head down to Vancouver. Reading Simon Fraser, BC explorer. It is a lovely way to get into BC history, into being here. Prose is somewhat florid, and I would prefer a meticulously footnoted history. But his story is better, canoeing along Simon Fraser’s own route.

But back to the book. I didn’t know anything about Simon Fraser, and that’s the author’s point. I am probably within a mile of the Fraser River, a massive scary exciting thing, and yet I don’t even know if Simon Fraser paddled down it, or survived. Still not there yet in the plot. But I might need another BC book, more modern history. I was talking to Grampa about community organizations he knows, about immigrant groups to BC. He’s such a top dog, he rattled off a few. He has connections (Billy Tenaka) to the Japanese and Chinese communities in Vancouver. Their origins are really quite early, once again railway labor and farm labor. But also the later globalization style hong kong immigration, interesting to see how the two meet. Apparently there is also an Italian community in Vancouver, more working class. Grampa himself is part of the Ukrainian immigration to Canada, but I think it is smaller out here, with more migrants settling the Prairies to farm. I’m betting on an extraordinarily large English/Irish influence, and a usual sized German/Scandinavian/Danish group. Can’t wait to find out!

Will go into the library tomorrow afternoon, hopefully after Kim and I drive down. Will probably be tired, but I want to push myself to go and find out sooner than later.

Driving North

2010-07-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

It’s been almost exactly a month since I started my project. That means a month of notes I have yet to process. Maybe this week I’ll finally get around to it.

I appreciate this trip even more now, halfway through. With expectations changing, trips abroad, plenty of work ahead, graduation encroaching, and the state of mind that being twenty brings, I needed this summer for myself.

Glad I took the day off before driving up from California and had the car tuned up- the rear brakes were shot. Also, finally had that shuddering repaired. It had gotten worse with all the wear the car was getting. Warped brake shoes. Probably a hair late on timing the transmission fluid, but hey $800 and a decent repair shop in Berkeley. Owner a Seattle native from Queen Anne.

Saw Sasha before I left. Hadn’t seen her since last summer in London, so just under a year. She is a true kindred spirit. I’m excited for her, heading off to Hampshire College. Hopefully I will be able to make a trip out east before too long.

I ended up staying ten nights in Berkeley, more than intended. Some were at short notice. Happened mostly because Mum unexpectedly had to be out of town and I didn’t really want to stay longer in San Jose. I had a lot to visit in the Central Valley.

So the drive up from California was lovely. I thought of it as a marathon, except a bit longer than 26.2 miles. It went as smoothly as chocolate silk tofu vegan pie. I kept having these mental pictures, framed moments during rest stops, but I never did manage to take out my camera. I suppose I should have. But I get greedy sometimes, and those perfect images are forever in my head now, instead of perfectly framed and forgotten. Best was waking up from my nap to a patient jay and the shiny bare branches of a pine tree underside.

Ended up planning to drive straight through, because of my rest day, I didn’t have time to stop in Eugene or Klamath Falls and still make my doctors appointments. Which I needed to just get done. So I stopped in Weed for groceries at the “Food Place” and supper at a pizza joint, which was unexciting but had the nutritional facts posted which was interesting. 190 cal and 9gr protein in a slice of cheese pizza. Not bad.

Spent the night in the Rogue River State Park campground. It wasn’t quiet, but it was a nice place to stay.

The Rogue River is very picturesque. Actually took pictures. With my retainers in after the last bathroom trip, I passed a couple my parents age getting out a fiddle and guitar. Turns out they played trad and I went to get my pipes. Their names were Chuck and Merry and we had plenty in common. Played together for an hour, they sounded lovely together. They both had a very smooth style and played closely to the tunes. Not bad overlap, considering my repertoire. Anyway, fun to chat about the sessions they’d been to and were planning to head to next. And then when I got home to facebook, I’d already been requested as a new friend via our mutual friend. I love the world of traditional music.

The second half of the drive was a bit more interminable. But the drive up I-5 through Oregon was actually prettier than I remembered than my most recent trip in May. But I sure as heck don’t want to drive it again. So all alternate routes next time, if possible.

Being home was nice. Once again, nowhere near enough time. I need a month at home or something before I’d begin to be satisfied. Got all my health appointments out of the way. Might as well make use of health insurance while I have it. We’ll see what the extension to age 26 really ends up doing.

Dad left the day before I did, so I had some time home alone. The house had actually been broken into the night before I arrived. Only some spare change was stolen.

The drive up was easy. At the border crossing, I showed my Canadian and American proofs of citizenship. The guard didn’t seem to have a problem with my line … visiting family for a few weeks is little vague, but exactly what my plan is! The only difference I across the border is that Canadians drive very slowly. MUCH slower. 60mph/100kph was a big deal. But I definitely didn’t need directions, as I’ve done the drive into Vancouver a thousand times. But never on my own. Crossed the Nickelmeckel, and got stuck in the Deas Island tunnel traffic…

Realized at Kim’s what I really should be surveying this summer is urban drinking water quality. So far: 1. Vancouver, 2. Seattle, 3. Berkeley

4. San Diego, 5. Los Angeles, 6. San Jose

(Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno unknown)

That different feeling keeps appearing. Especially being up here in Lillooet. Lots of differences. Thinking about Christmas. Mostly thinking about nothing. Lots of visiting- so nice to hang out with Aunty Rainy and the cousins. Planning to stay at Seton for few days, just Kim and I. Only Aunt Cath in town. I think it will be really nice and I’ve got my books all ready!

Rogue River

2010-06-29T23:13:00.000-07:00

Sitting at a picnic table in the fading light at the Rogue River Campground. A7. Oregon. Near the freeway, but at least there are no RV’s here. Gone is that California feeling. Not because it’s Oregon, but the hills are looking different. Took the 99 byway several times, so although I’m ‘blastin’ thru’ even driving alone, at least that’s another old route to see. On the way down I want to take the Interior route, 97, I believe. I’ve driven the coast before, and I can jog through the Siskiyou’s? to Eureka. Enjoyed a walk by the River. Wrote a mental letter to future me.

Boy, I am looking forward to a swim. It’s not a very California thing, I guess. I didn’t even make it to the “W” tree this spring like I wanted. Then I have to next year. I think I’m still adjusting to my new reality. And I expected that, but it’s still hard. The whole home is everywhere notion is barely working.

I loved Lodi, for some reason. And Sacramento and San Jose. Stockton was cute, but too big and hot and abandoned and no good food. I feel similarly ‘meh’ about Fresno. Maybe I like those Central California cities for their authenticity. And I can imagine Fremont (my hometown) like that, but smaller. 3 weeks at home last summer was the best thing I could have done. I need to stay for at least a week.

I’m ready to shave my head. Ready, Ready, Ready.

Central Valley

2010-06-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

Too exhausted to go back to Sacramento today, so I finished up the Oakland research. Really enjoyed Lodi, even the trip itself. Despite the frustrations of my Worst Lunch Ever in Stockton (faux strawberry cream cheese and the saltiest pretzyl bagel in the world) and parking meter fiasco in Sacramento. Getting an early start tomorrow.

I love having my ears pierced!

When in Sacramento, visit:

La Bonne Soupe Café 920 8^th 10:30-2:30.

Bay Area & Central Valley

2010-06-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

It’s funny how easy it is to get anxious, except that I do it too much. And I’m always thinking… ‘Am I anxious? No, I’m not, I’m hungry! Well, you shouldn’t be anxious. I’m not anxious!’ I’m anxious about being anxious, clearly. So I should just get over it. Accept the anxiety. Except I don’t even want to believe I’m that anxious!

Enjoying the hammock in Mum’s backyard and the sounds of Niles. Pleasant day after driving all over the state. Here where I grew up feels most ‘California’ to me. And Peaceful. All the elements of my trip are here:

· Dopey highway bushes (sketch) with pink and white flowers

· Palm blowing in the wind (sketch)

· Fruit trees (fig, avocado, citrus, meyer lemon and tangerine)

· Farm buildings

· Crusty dry earth that you would never expect to be an excellent growing medium if only you could irrigate…

· And rolling golden hills (that I can feel in my bones will be dry and going grey very soon.)

Some of these cities are already falling off my list for the summer. I expected this, and my trip really is about being able to say I'm from the West Coast with conviction.

It’s hard to keep a journal every day. And I have to catch up still. I keep thinking back to when I was driving north from San Diego and listening to a This American Life about Road Trips. How they are expectantly too self-reflective, and that made mine worse. And that’s what they always inescapably are and I like it like that. Especially when I put my summer in the light of “endlessly traveling home’ and therefore never traveling at all. Certainly much of California is becoming more familiar, I have probably explored it as much as Ireland now. I like that.

I am also realizing that I like disorienting myself. I take it as a personal challenge to be homeless. I have so many homes and yet I am attached to none. I like living in my car, out of a car, my life fitting in my car. It’s easy for me now. I am spending every other night somewhere else, yet I still have to clean my car like I would my room. It’s been my car for 5 years now. So it seems natural, having all these usuals and weirds.

Professor Groth’s class covered the generality of it all, the settlement patterns and immigrant- chain connections. Ananya Roy discusses the urban renewal and creative destruction in a real, tangible way. And yet I need to see it for myself. That’s what this project is, it will be a series of photographs saying- this is what was here. And rarely, this is what is still here. And I think that matters to people. There is a building type, but I think it arose mostly because it was cheap and common in the twenties, at the height of organized social groups. Sure it continues, but mostly to be recycled into other low-rent or community uses. If it made it that far into the now… Groups that continued grew, it seems, coming with notions of what their spaces, what traditions it needed to house. But I’m curious: did these groups feed each other in their efforts? Like, oh, I met an Italian guy at the IOOF hall the other day and they have four Sons of Italy meetings a week now, they’re talking about building a hall, man. They’re really into it, then they can have dinners and dances! Then their children will keep coming, remember, it will be like a little bit of home… We need a new hall.

The interplay between groups really interests me. I can’t wait to delve into the specifics of a single hall or two more. How normal it is to share spaces, that melting pot experience. How other ethnicities come in, how stereotypes continue. And how American is this? Or is it just modern, and thus happened in the home country too? Especially secular social groups…

I don’t think I understand these stories, these places yet. It’s more than urban renewal, or than erasure. Maybe when I type up my notes… But Towers of Gold and Imperial SF are a very good accompaniment. Ok- reading Highway 99 as the time is ripe.

Fresno

2010-06-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

Sitting at the picnic table in Millerton campground trying to write in the dark. For some reason all the beautiful and wise things fell out of my head again. I thought that I forgot because I had told someone. Now I think I just forget.

California was beautiful today. Drove 152 E, enjoyed Fresno and then up to here. All the oaks, the golden grasses- even the impossible blue canals and reservoirs. Henry has joined me for this trip; we found Chicago style pizza for dinner in this miscellaneous shopping mall. It was a hunt to find it. Yelp helped me find it. The restaurant was family owned- they said they picked up their pizza joint in Chicago and moved it out here.

The hall hunting wasn’t very good today. I needed to find 1920 data and I tried in the Fresno Public library. Went through the 1918 to 1924 city directories on Microfilm; none had any civic information I could find. And all the pages scrolling by made me feel nauseous. A lot of the halls I need were along the major redevelopment strip. The key office buildings (including a meticulously decorated Bank of America tower) used to rent meeting rooms. But I found nothing else, really, standing.

Fresno is very interesting. Dozens of high-style banks, huge public buildings and extremely wide streets. So much more than expected is redeveloped downtown. Eckbo was on the Fulton street team in 1963! Explains all the (see sketch) great shapes. I love it though. Still feels very alive and pleasant. The suburbs were just a lot of the same, but vibrant with business in comparison to the smattering of Latinos and homeless downtown.

To accompany my trip, I am reading Highway 99, a literary collection of the Central Valley. The weather here is beautiful. June in California is perfect. Crickets are chirping almost louder than the noisy teenagers camping nearby. Almost. Forgot my wise commentary, so goodnight. I think I’m less productive when traveling with others, but it is fun in other ways.

Tomorrow I'm meeting a friend at the Forestiere Underground Gardens, dug by a Sicilian Immigrant to Fresno between 1900 and 1940. His underground home was to eventually be a resort- in the meantime, it provided completely sustainable highly energy efficient housing...

Southern California

2010-06-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Staying at the hostel was interesting. I met people from Atlanta (in LA for “the life”), Florida (for amazing Hip Hop dance teacher), also a Muslim girl (for school), and some white guys and Latinos for a cheap place to stay. I would stay there again, but it’s going to be a long time before I have another latte. It’s just better to take a nap. Cost: $33, but I needed the time alone between being all friendly and social with my hospitable hosts.

Saturday was supposed to be a really intense day, but it went really really easily. Driving around the USC and Boyle Heights areas were no problem. Boyle Heights was really interesting. I actually felt most uncomfortable in the neighborhood I stayed in, and down south San Pedro. I skipped 3-ish sites down there because I was extremely hungry at that point, and I felt like I was so clearly an unwanted stranger in the neighborhood. Also, I wanted to leave before traffic. But I had a couple successful finds. It’s hard to write about the specifics here… I will compile my field notes when I’m home this week and highlight the (few) ones I actually found.

Made it to San Diego easy. Took a nap in a parking lot in San Juan Capistrano on the way, but that was just really pleasant! Missed the traffic that way.

I like San Diego a bit better than LA. It too has the whole fog thing going. Why has no one ever mentioned that about Southern California? It’s foggy until 10, and again after 5. Great breezes, but very grey. So it really doesn’t have that much, weather-wise, over northern California…

Spent Saturday and Sunday nights with Sophie and her family. She’s been very sweet and her family very welcoming. San Diego has a different vibe. Her family is a liberal newspaper-reading bastion here. But I get a sense that San Diego has more of a military/conservative undertone. While I always considered SoCal more conservative, I didn’t get that from LA. Weird, but not conservative. Liberal, but in a different way. Oh, I ran into more of the revolutionary radicals from the Art Walk while in Boyle Heights on Saturday.

So on Sunday Sophie accompanied me around to my sites, 10 in all. I think I prefer being on my own for these things. Every one I bring along has a different attitude towards these places. San Diego has a bunch of cute neighborhoods, and a less obviously isolated Latino working class. By chance, I took a wrong turn and found a Polish American Association having their Sunday dinner. I stopped in and had a short chat with a friendly woman, and took down their number. She said they’ve been active for 70 years, so I could have just missed them (1940+70= 2010?) or they just weren’t listed. Unless they were, somewhere else. There were tons of polish people there too, and not just the elderly. She said they’re waiting for a guy to come back from Poland because he offered to make them a website for free. It was a cute little place, mostly just a hall room, in a residential neighborhood. Next to the “Alano Club” and likely the street (30^th) was a streetcar line. Only other active sites were a Jewish synagogue and a Catholic church with accompanying halls. I’m starting to recognize the hall types, which seem to be among a standard ‘20’s two-story office building/rental hall (expected), a bigger hall attached to a religious building, and a fancy fraternal order building that rents its meeting rooms.

Anyway, I think I’m just heading straight north. Invited Hen to accompany me to Fresno, I think it would be fun to camp a ways out of town and go to the Forestiere underground gardens. Hopefully next weekend. Driving up the coast, via my retainers. Thank god.

Los Angeles, post 6

2010-06-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

I feel like I’m documenting the slow departure of white communities from Los Angeles. White flight in action! (Almost all are "white")

I went to nearly twenty hall sites today. There were two gems. I have twenty seven to visit tomorrow, but by car. I think that will be easier, hopefully parking won’t be a problem.

I managed to get a few hours of sleep last night, after staying up until 4:30am. I feel normal, which is odd after my night. I also feel like today is going to be a MARATHON and I really really want to get my retainers even though it means driving an hour totally out of my way. I’m a little worried about photographing in some of these neighborhoods, as my itinerary sends me into South Central and Boyle Heights. So I’m giving myself license to not take any if I feel like I’m sticking out too much.

Still don’t know why I came to stay at this hostel. Likely to try out an American hostel. To that, it was pretty different. I met more people, but most were residents rather than travelers. I enjoyed shopping at the Food4Less again, but it wasn’t the kind of neighborhood for evening walks. It was nice to have some time on my own, between staying with friends. I just wish I hadn’t forgotten my retainers!

Los Angeles, post 5

2010-06-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

I just stayed up for the past couple hours and read Anders loves Maria from beginning to end. It was gripping and enjoyable. What a teary end. I’d like to write the artist an email. I obviously haven’t been reading enough lately.

I’m thinking about staying longer- I need at least one, maybe two more full days in LA. I only have 11 addresses to visit in San Diego. Several repeat a fair amount, even up to 1940. It might be worth a visit. And I’ve always wanted to see the zoo.

Today I processed a good bit of my notes and loaded my first batch of pictures. I still need to figure out how I to deal with the photos- Probably flickr, so that I can keep notes and photos together... Must get more organized.

Today I visited the four far-flung halls from the 1940’s. Only one still has a continuing community. The Olympic Jewish Hall seems to have continued as a Massive JCC for Temple Beth Am. It’s nearly a whole block now, and on the edge of a huge Jewish neighborhood here. There’s a neat story there.

Then Eve and I went back into downtown for the Artwalk. (I've convinced her to be a Metro regular now!) And with Artwalk, downtown came ALIVE! It was such a different place from yesterday. Spring and Broadway and Main were lined with food trucks. I tried the infamous Bull Kogi, shared a delicious veggie dosa, and generally enjoyed myself. My favourite gallery was the Continental. In particular there, a sculpture of a woman whose voluptuous hips and rear were more substantial than the rest of her combined. A bit of modern feminist commentary?

LA feels more and more like a world city today. It was fascinating driving on all those boulevards to get between those disparate hall sites. I drove to the first (the temple) with Eve’s brother, who needed a ride to his friend’s house. We listened to klezmer music, another first for me. The four hall sites were from the forties, a byproduct suburban expansion. The Boulevards managed to feel similar, from Beverly through Hollywood. Sure, a few distinctive intersections and a few hills. Easy driving but not especially charming. Really, the houses here are the nicest part of the city. The neighborhoods get the most attention. Maybe the dogs come second.

Los Angeles, post 4

2010-06-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

Convinced Eve to take the train too, today. She seemed surprised by its convenience. Missed having time completely alone, though. I guess that will have to really wait until I am home. Thinking about staying a few days longer, one in LA and one in San Diego. And then taking two days to drive up the coast. Must call potential hosts... I want to go to San Diego and the beach, for the sun bathing.

Project: today was day 1 of head (hall) hunting. I compiled about half of my notes from yesterday in the morning, but I definitely didn’t do enough prep work before heading into downtown. Luckily though, I found no ethnic halls today. And only 3 or 4 of the buildings were even standing. I tried horizontal and vertical photos, and I think I prefer horizontal. I need to learn a lot more about my camera. I think I will need to do some research in the SF PL before I head out to the rest of California, it might make the small towns easier.

The hall hunting was fun, I cannot wait to actually find one!! I think I am going too far back- 1900, 1920, 1940. But it does reveals continuity between the different eras, as a lot of groups continued meeting throughout the decades. There definitely are some interesting things to say already about multiple groups sharing meeting spaces, and the erasure of all the streets that Chinese and Japanese community halls were even built on. I’m learning a lot about California history and certainly seeing history everywhere.

I want to keep taking public transit here. It’s so clean and cheap (2.50 return to downtown today) and feels like a real vibrant city. I have to keep trying to not judge Los Angeles, as there is no need! Cities are built all the time everywhere in places they “shouldn’t be”. That line is just so annoyingly entrenched in my mind. It’s just different, and it’s as natural as any city. But it does feel very divided, very class conscious.

Los Angeles, post 3

2010-06-08T22:37:00.001-07:00

Went to Venice Beach today with Eve, to walk the strip. Bought a lovely patterned robe with a wide collar. Looks inspired by some Jane Austen movie circa 1970.

Got my thoughts out in an email instead of writing here. Ended up going straight to downtown from Venice, without my computer and hardly a pencil for my notepad. Eve drove my car from the library home, and I worked from 3-7:30 down in the history room. The microfilm made me dizzy after awhile. I worked through Riverside (almost no halls) and San Diego (a few, but still worth it as I’ve a friend to stay with and I’ve never been). Also one each of Sacramento, Eureka, Fresno, and Stockton. Productive and enjoyable.

And then, I made my way back to Eve’s house via public transit with no cell phone. It was easy, but I felt daring and exhilarating. And on the red line train, Los Angeles felt like a real city!

Los Angeles, post 2

2010-06-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

I think I’ve figured it out. Los Angeles has diffused light. It makes everything up close seem extra sharp and everything far away extra blurry. Dust, haze, smog, fog- everything that seems to account for weather here produces this effect. Also metaphorically accurate. But will it make for difficult picture taking?

I can really see the appeal of LA, if I don’t think about it too closely. Drive everywhere. Everything’s free, but parking is expensive. Everything seems… like it’s been done before, yet people are doing new things everywhere. I can definitely see a little bit of that old crazy edge, you know, LA as the place of phenomenological fanatics. Just a hint, here and there. A lot more people from the south, a lot more tourists in general. I think that’s because, big shocker, Los Angeles is a major world city. And it never really has seemed like a real city to me, stuck in some Northern Californian dystopian mindset.

Went to a beautiful yoga class at Rising Lotus this morning, hard work but not wearing. And I’m sore, but I was never exhausted. Didn’t sleep too well last night, but it sure felt good to get into the LAPL and get to work! And!! I got another library card. Proud card-holding member here. My (Pleasanton, AClibrary, Berkeley, UC Berkeley, Bellevue, Seattle… LAPL) seventh library card. Heh heh… Parking was really expensive, but in 2.5 hours, I managed to figure things out okay. I knew I just had to get started!

So, I went through LA 1920 first, as it was in hard copy. Which I much prefer. I was going through with my laptop, retyping the relevant things. I guess I found 50 halls, with repeats. So adding in 1900 and 1940 shouldn’t make it too bad- maybe I can even try to photograph them all! I would like to. Ran into the usual unexpected problems. Do I include what they list as “Chinese Free Masons”? I am erring yes to everything questionable, at this point anyway. And I am having to think very broadly about “ethnic” names… It’s neat. I can’t wait to see how many are still standing!

The ones on the microfilm were a lot more boring. As most of the years are listed in the catalogue are there in hard copy, I’ve got my fingers crossed for tomorrow. I’m trying to go back and get as far as I can for most of California. I’m also mostly through LA 1900 and 1940, but I have some compiling and double checking to do. I should get pretty far tomorrow, which will feel really good. I had fun today.

Oh, I wish Joey and/or Sasha were here! I would so enjoy seeing them. Got a list of funky sightseeing places going. I will be here about as long as I was in Lisbon, an urban trip I often think of. It would be fun to take the bus here like I did there, if it wasn’t 90 degrees out.

Speaking of 90, the sunshine is very warm here. It’s impressive. Otherwise, things are very pleasant. Apparently the norm is a fog/haze till noon, then bright hot afternoon sun. Then evening sea breezes… And Nicola snoozes.

Los Angeles, post 1

2010-06-06T22:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I would remember all those thoughts I had today. Somehow, with good food and company, they have slipped out of my head.

The most surprising thing is that Los Angeles really is a normal place. There’s a fireplace 6 feet away from me and the AC is on. For some reason that feels weirder here than it should. Drove abount 400 miles today, 6 hours straight. Hard boiled eggs worked well to keep me going. I really enjoyed the drive. It’s the first week of June, and it’s been a wet year, so all the rolling hills are still gold. I think the grass is at its peak, a rich deep golden shaft waving in the wind. And the gullies/arroyos- they’re even better. The folds just bristle and glisten. Only John Steinbeck has done it justice.

As I’m trying to make this trip a broadening and deepening experience with my home, California, the West Coast, let me point out some nice coincidences. When I left this morning, Prairie Home Companion was playing on NPR- the sound of my childhood. I drove familiar roads out of Niles through Sunol, a place I thought I had moved away from. Now, I am only finding myself more and more connected to it. I had never made the connection, but the road from Fremont to Stockton actually is the freeway adjacent to the Peoplesoft buildings, my Dad’s workplace for a decade. Which also happened to be a stop in Paul Groth’s urban field study…

I’m driving a 1999 Ford Taurus, the car I helped my dad pick out because, at age 12, I liked its’ smooth curves. It is now ‘The Courgette,’ as it is long and green and fat. I passed the 111,111 miles mark today and I didn’t even notice! I have been driving this car for the past 12,000 miles. Where have I been going?

Struck by how California-y the California I saw from I-5 was. The ranchy feedlot didn’t smell at all (although everyone told me it would and really I tried by rolling my windows down and taking huge sniffs). And the Central Valley was so clear I could see the snow-capped Sierras on the other side!

I was really excited to hit The Grapevine. Eve said I would know when the road got twisty, but there was actually an exit called the Grapevine. I am trying not to use maps, as I figure I can probably get everywhere I need to go using signage. Tomorrow I am heading to the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL). Surely there will be signs for that. I might even recognize it from the movies. (Surely it has been in a movie?) The problem is, I like maps. I want to pore over them. But it’s so easy to get places, I have to try. The freeways here, a maze I have been warned about, are actually called things like “The Hollywood Highway” or “The San Diego Freeway” so it’s not like remembering numbers, they make sense.

So I figured once I hit the Grapevine I was finally entering Los Angeles, passing through the Tehachapi into the unknown. I knew that the Central Valley passed from lush fields into irrigated desert into… Something. I thought that something, that Southern California, would look different. Nope, it’s still California. The Tehachapi started out pretty. (The mountains probably go grey like the hills later in the summer, too. ) A good few bends in, the hillsides became coarse with bushes like the fur on a hyena’s hindquarters. The chaparral, I assume. A leopard print landscape.

The view, when it arrived, was not especially awesome. And then there was Magic Mountain. I must have woken up at that exact spot the time we drove down to Disneyland when I was 10. Or was that Knott’s Berry Farm? Well, driving into the Valley was anti-climatic. When LA opened up before me, it looked like San Jose and I think I can deal with that. Or maybe San Jose looks a little like it. And then I came down the Hollywood Highway and it started to look like something else, like a dense suburb with good taste but too much sparkle.

I think I’m going to have a great time here. I want to tell people I’m from Ohio. I'm staying with a friend's family in West Hollywood, apparently the poor side and practically ‘the Valley.’ I assumed the Hollywood sign was on the other side of her hill, but Eve tells me I can see it from her backyard. Her house is modest, but nicely remodeled and detailed by her architect father. Space is definitely a commodity here. On my walk I saw lots of English gardens and picturesque manors, they feel a little out of place. I’m thinking a lot about gender and the kinds of people that can hold up a community.

I’m nervous and excited to start at the LAPL tomorrow. I’d like to get deep into the directories. I’ve already searched online and I know the LAPL is the place to be, I think I can access every city directory from 1900, 1920, and 1940 for each California city I’m going to from here. It’s just a matter of finding the halls within those... I tried some searches within a digitized directory, and I think it’s going to be an uphill battle. There will likely be a broad variety of titles and organizations to look under. Fingers crossed.

Happy. Taking this trip for myself, and using the research as a way to structure and motivate it. It will be useful for the thesis (hopefully) but it is not the sole point. I am glad to be here now, and not just reaching here after graduation.

post posting

2010-06-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

Retroactively posting excerpts from a journal I kept this summer for the JLS travel scholarship. This summer I got lucky- I was granted enough money to travel the West Coast and research Ethnic Halls. I proposed to road trip through California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia to major urban centers at the turn of the century, looking for purpose-built ethnic meeting halls. And that's what I did.

"Ethnic Halls" ? : Any purpose-built meeting space for a secular, ethnically defined social group. Early on, I included religious and labor-related groups in my study. Throughout the summer, I also visited addresses (usually rental IOOF or Masonic Halls) where multiple ethnic meeting groups met on different days of the week.

"major urban centers": Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno, San Jose, Stockton, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle, Spokane, Portland, Eureka

what will I do with my "research": I'm posting my pictures and notes very slowly to Flickr. But likely, they will become a very long appendix to my thesis, which will be written this fall as (likely) a comparative study between two or three Bay Area Ethnic Halls.

broken glasses

2010-03-30T00:42:00.001-07:00

sitting listening to the rain with my productivity candle
getting better posture and wearing that bracelet
my first batch of kombucha!
thinking on the future and accepting that I could be happy
weeding garlic beds for a while
or not.
all I do is read.
Kim's sweater is almost done!

For No One

2010-01-23T03:14:00.001-08:00

a brown bird sat on my windowsill this morning
and I thought I saw a banana slug on my walk home tonite.
it was a stick.

but the puddles are real, and it's been raining like 1998 here.
never has the bicycling been so epic, or my pants so wet.

my new little room is perched at the edge of my house
like the smallest ship's prow
and I am proud to live in 7'x10' and like it.
I can see the trees dancing while I read the Republic.

these sorts of things are good for me.

how do you spell that?

2009-11-09T23:30:00.000-08:00

had a wonderful blip of a break
quelled the rumbles
slipped away for an afternoon and a day
watched the sun slice through trees
casting a barcode upon my path
why can't I sleep outside every night?

put on some extra layers
turned a hundred pages
two, three!
making time for essentials like
listening to crickets and writing papers.

baked intermezzo-style bread (9 loaves)
gaining an hour on sundays
catching sunset in studio is the highlight of those nights.
borrowing a working bike
now will I sail through space on the winds of starlight?

implications

2009-10-31T01:25:00.000-07:00

reports of incredible variation possible within "happiness"

dreaming of next weekend, dreaming of cake. decisions, results, possibility. sitting in studio, trying to get all my procrastination out of the way before work begins in earnest. I present first at the mid-review on Monday. Lots of work to go...

This semester has been all-encompassing. Studio is incredibly demanding and time-consuming. Escaping from it is an impossible thought! It is so hard to get out of the mindset, and things like letters and postcards are only a dream.

New Discoveries:
-Ever had a favourite pair of pants with a lazy zipper that likes to drift down, leaving your fly constantly open? A small rubber band, threaded through the zipper and wrapped over the button, will solve that in a jiffy!
-Ever wear a warm woolly scarf under your coat, only to be left with a small cold gap at the vee of your throat? Take a binder clip and secure your scarf at the appropriate height! (Also eliminates the third boob when tucking a knotted scarf under your coat...)
-I am capable of taking apart the Iron Steed and putting it back together so it actually works. It's so good to have the power back!

Friends, fall, and thoughts of home are pleasantly sustaining. My bed here is perfectly positioned next to the window- the sun climbs in with me by 9am most days, rendering an alarm clock obsolete. My walk home passes strawberry-kiwi trees and a trumpet flower bush, dropping their leaves and displaying its fragrant flowers.

It always used to rain on Halloween- California's Revenge. At least I will be safely ensconced in studio working away! (I think I'll have to be Pippi again this year, for lack of making anything else...)

Sorry for being so out of touch.

sitting here

2009-09-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

reading the new season's knitty, a much anticipated pleasure.
listening to "Time of No Reply" now the heat has died down.
reading the New York Times for as long as I like.
listening to the hum, rattle, and shake of studio.

I'm somewhat sick, stressed, bug-bitten, and so forth. I suppose that means the semester has really begun- can't go on being perfectly content forever!

ready to eat

2009-09-16T14:26:00.001-07:00

made soup again (unintentionally) for dinner this week, and I think it was my favourite yet.

tomatoes
coconut milk
parsley (add early)
chinese 5 spice
thyme
s&p
celery
onion
garlic

Nearly finished with a small case using the most complicated knitting stitch ever. It is called woven basket stitch. You knit into the back of the 2nd stitch on your left needle before knitting the 1st. Then once you pull your two new stitches through, in a sort of on-the-needle cable, you slip the two old ones off your left needle. The purl and knit sides need to be offset by one stitch. The edges turn out very nicely. I can't believe me how long this stitch took me to figure out and execute.
sitting at the CED peer advising table. helped three students, sat for two hours, and pointed directions to the bathroom once. I somehow ended up taking 18 units this semester, 6 of which are studio. 6 fully deserved units- given the amount of time I'm working there!

seen as

2009-09-12T20:12:00.001-07:00

One of the highlights of my summer was meeting up with Sasha for an evening in London. It's too bad these goofy pictures are from a month and a half ago!

Back in Berkeley and nearly settled in. I'm taking studio this fall, which means I've already had two reviews and two all-nighters. Let's hope updating becomes a good, brief, procrastination technique.

Picture Postcard

2009-07-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

An evening walk through Clare College last week after the nightly three-course dinner at Gonville and Caius.

What a day! There were at least three major thunderstorms. I also had the joy of lying cosily in bed between plenaries, listening to the peals of thunder. In an hour, there were at least 10 sets of resounding thunders! I also had the joy of walking to class in the rain that soon came lashing down. Wondrous lightening and thunder ringed the grey sky.

Learning a lot about History. Learning a lot from international students. Learning a number of new tunes. Also learning that I prefer to feed myself.