Call Me AB

Thumbs Down!

2009-03-05T22:06:00.004-05:00

This past weekend I went out to the Canaan Valley (pronounced ka-nayne, for some inexplicable reason) for three days of telemarking and snowshoeing at the fabulous White Grass nordic resort. Or at least I hoped that's what it would involve. In reality the snow coverage was so minimal that we had to resort to making do with snowshoeing where any other sane person would have been perfectly fine with regular hiking boots, and cross-country skiing over ice, leaves, rocks, and whatever else lay before us in the spring-like temperatures that greeted us. To our credit ("our" being a reference to me and my friend Kevin, who similarly scoffed at alpine skiing in such conditions) we accepted these obstacles cheerily and did not let the less-than-ideal conditions keep us off the mountain.

The real reason I'm posting this account, though, is to relate the story of how I went home at the end of the second day with my hand in a splint and several hundred mgs of ibu in my stomach. On this day, Saturday, Kevin and I signed up for a two-hour tour of the upper ranges of White Grass with the owner/proprietor of the resort, a wild, zany, fun, and certifiably cookoo dude named Chip. Because we would start the trip with a chair-lift ride at the Canaan Valley alpine resort and finish with an alpine descent, we were outfitted with cross-country gear that included a steel edge along the length of the foot (normal nordic skis do not have such an edge - however, these were still not telemark skis, with complete edges to better assist with turns). After the two-hour tour through the trees -- which was its own sort of scary, exhausting challenge -- we returned to the top of the lift and began the laborious process of skiing down the alpine slope. To say Kevin and I struggled with this would be a gross understatement; quite simply, it was torture. I can't even begin to describe the level of frustration we felt as experienced alpine skiers, suddenly reduced to the very lowest level of ability by our equipment, so ill-suited for the environment. With the exception of a few times we attempted to telemark, we primarily stuck to scooting down the hill in a snow-plow. But without the edges provided by alpine or telemark skis, and with the warm temperatures turning the snow into slush, it was desperately difficult to remain in control. Like I said: a fall every minute. Perhaps you can see, then, how injury was just a matter of time. Indeed, one of my falls turned out to be slightly more violent than the others, and as I fell, my thumb jammed into the ice/hardpack at high velocity. The first minutes afterwards were excruciating. I was in hysterics until someone offered to get Ski Patrol to pick me up in a stretcher, at which point my pride forced me to dry my tears, pick myself off the ground, throw my skis over my shoulder with my good hand, and hike down the hill to the lodge (with Kevin accompanying me, like the gentleman he is). Eventually I found Ski Patrol, who conducted a bunch of tests to make sure it wasn't a bad break and then splinted me up and gave me a bag of dirty snow to keep the swelling down.

Fast-forwarding to the current day, I can happily report that the thumb is not fractured, but the interior tendon has torn. I did some research and was delighted to discover that this is commonly referred to as "skier's thumb," although how I got the injury is not typical (my pole was not a factor - it was just the speed involved in "jamming" the thumb into the ice). According to Ski Patrol, this is one of the longest-lasting injuries to the hand; it will take many months for the tendon to heal. Right now at least the splint is gone, but my thumb feels stiff and arthritic.

Otherwise a fun weekend, but man, what a pain!

Best Music of 2008

2008-12-20T17:27:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year again!

My favorite albums of 2008:

15) Dear Science, TV on the Radio
14) Partie Traumatic, Black Kids
13) Street Horrrsing, Fuck Buttons
12) For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver
11) Robyn, Robyn
10) Rook, Shearwater
9) Keep Color, The Republic Tigers
8) In Ghost Colors, Cut Copy
7) Parc Avenue, Plants & Animals
6) Alpinisms, School of Seven Bells
5) Santogold, Santogold
4) Carried to Dust, Calexico
3) Crystal Castles, Crystal Castles
2) Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
1) Furr, Blitzen Trapper

Why 15 instead of the usual 10? Because I was simply overwhelmed with awesome choices this year.

Other amazing albums that I just couldn't fit on the list: Saturdays=Youth, M83; Oracular Spectacular, MGMT; Third, Portishead; All Together, Pattern is Movement; Love is Dead, Lowry; The Seldom-Seen Kid, Elbow.

Fingerless Mits with Crochet Edging

2008-11-26T22:01:00.009-05:00

Not to brag, but I'm kind of enjoying the results of my latest knitting endeavor. It's a pair of fingerless mittens, knit mostly with a really fun yarn called Jellybean that I picked up in Anacortes on my trip last month (see post below). The challenge for this project - because there is always a challenge - was to try out some crochet edging. I'm not much for crochet, so this was an interesting task. The tops and the thumb holes are edged with a simple slip stitch, but the bottom is a very cool, beautiful picot edge that is my real coup. See details below.

BTW, this is an Xmas gift for a family member.

Adventuring in the "Other" Washington

2008-10-07T11:50:00.013-04:00

From Olympic NP and Guemes/Fidalgo/Whidbey, October 2008

Last week I decided I would make the most out of a meeting I had to attend in Redmond, WA, by bookending work time with vacation time. First stop: Olympic National Park. I flew into SeaTac airport on Saturday afternoon, picked up my thrilling Hyundai Sonata rental, and drove the roughly 2.5 hours out to Port Angeles. I made it just in time to pick out my site at the Heart O' the Hills campground and set up my tent. Heart O' the Hills is located just inside the park entrance and in an low-elevation rain forest. The place was beautiful:

...but there was one enormous problem that hadn't occurred to me: wood. I had been planning to gather wood from around the camp (which you can do in the off-season), but the thing about rain forests is that they, and everything in them, are wet. That was a bit of a set-back. The first evening, therefore, I spent about an hour wandering around trying to find the least wet sticks and branches there were laying around. I skipped a warm dinner and a fire that first night because I wasn't confident I had enough wood yet, plus it was already dark and I was tired.

The next morning I woke up (surprisingly late! My new sleeping pad was comfy) and drove up to the visitor's center at Hurricane Ridge. Wow, what a difference from the campground! All the way up the mountain it was warm, dry, and crystal clear (my dad says this is called an inversion). Not exactly what I had expected from the famously wet Washington. I found an interesting-looking trail that ran from the Hurricane Ridge Visitor's Center along the Klahhane Ridge for almost 4 miles and took off for a stroll. The four miles out took me almost two and a half hours, although for the most part it was not at all strenuous until I hit the switchbacks at the end. Beautiful views and terrain the entire way (see picture at the top, which was taken at the summit). The only downside was that it was rather a warm day (in the 70's) and the trail was a bit more popular than I would have liked. Nevertheless, super fun. The hike back took less than two hours, and I was happy to find on my drive down that I had sewing-machine legs. Must have been a half decent workout. When I got back to my campsite, I went straight to work collecting more half-rotten, half-soaked sticks from the surrounding woods. My paranoia levels were high. This was the moment of truth. If I went without dinner again, after 11 miles of hiking (including the three I took through the rain forest after the Klahhane Ridge hike), I would be unbelievably miserable. And pride would of course make going into Port Angeles for dinner a complete non-option. I pulled out the copy of the Express I had brought all the way from DC, arranged a few pieces of kindling, and strategically inserted a few choice firestarters that I suspected would make all the difference. After about 5-7 minutes of smoking, dying, adding more paper, smoking more, and just generally looking like a complete and utter failure, the fire finally took off. The firestarters must have managed to dry out a couple pieces of wood just enough to allow them to catch on fire. Score! I quickly poured some water into my pot and set it on the grill to boil. My proudest moment of the trip:

Dinner was mine, and it was good.

The next day, Monday, I took off for my hotel in Bellevue. In typical Alexandra let's-try-something-new fashion, I picked a route that would take me via ferry over to Seattle. I've been on ferries many times as a kid, but experiencing one as an adult was downright thrilling. Driving on, parking the car, walking all over the deck (it helped that the weather was amazing) - it was all a blast. I took the ferry from Kingston to Edmonds, then drove done to Bellevue without incident. Voila.

Work took up the rest of the week, but on Friday afternoon I was off for more adventuring; this time to the north. My first stop was Anacortes, where I grabbed a delicious salad at the fabulous Adrift restaurant, then picked up some yummy skeins of yarn at Ana-Cross Stitch. Eventually I made my way over to the Guemes Island ferry terminal and got in line. This was my second ferry ride of the trip, but it couldn't have been more different from the Kingston-Edmonds leg. The Guemes Island ferry is just a little platform for about 20 cars and a tiny cabin for the walk-on passengers. You couldn't even get out of your car. But on the other hand it was a very short trip - less than 5 minutes if you don't count the loading and unloading of the cars, which takes more like 15. The weather was drizzly, but I decided I needed to see a bit of Guemes before heading over to my lodging for the evening. I took off north, looped around to the west and then south, then went east. I think managed to pretty much hit every non-private road on the island.

Finally I made my way over to my home for the night: Deb and Dave's. Deb and Dave are a fabulous Guemes Island couple who have converted a horse arena and stable into a house. Needless to say it's enormous and a little bit strange. The garage, which used to be the arena, is gargantuan. The stables are now used for storage (and, in one case, a hot tub). A former tack room is now a bedroom, the old horse wash is now the laundry room, etc etc and the list goes on. It's a fascinating work in progress. Deb and Dave also make their own biodiesel from the local store's french-fry oil and have an incredibly impressive water reclamation system that takes water from their large roof and stores it in drums for their daily use (apparently much better than the insufferable well water they would otherwise use). Breathtaking, all of it.

The next morning Deb and Dave left early for a trip of their own, and I headed off for a day of slow meandering down the length of Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands. Connecting the two islands is a fabulous bridge over a narrow pass called Deception Pass.

Beautiful. And the weather was actually cooperating all that morning, go figure.

I had lunch in a wonderful cafe in Oak Harbor called Angelo's, then made my way as slowly as I could down to Clinton to catch the ferry to Mukilteo. I made stops at Fort Ebey State Park and the Whidbey Island Winery to smell the roses, as it were. And after one last ferry ride through cool grey drizzle and a quick jaunt down to my airport hotel, my great PNW journey came to an end.

Alaska!

2008-07-08T09:24:00.001-04:00

From Alaska Trip J...

Got back on Sunday from a wild and wonderful first-ever trip to Alaska. The wildlife was plentiful, the scenery breath-taking (literally, for me, when we got to Skilak Lake), and great fun was had by all. My tour group, lead by intrepid Alaskan Waldo, was pretty awesome. We hiked, camped, golfed under the midnight sun, and set off fireworks on the 4th of July (made somewhat lackluster by the absence of any contrast with the sky).

The picture above is from one of our more exciting experiences: a very close run-in with a bear sow and her two cubs. That's my tent in the picture. Click on the picture for a link to my photo album, which includes many other awesome shots (that still somehow don't convey exactly how awesome Alaska is).

Here's a brief itinerary of the trip to accompany the viewing of the photos:

Day 1 (Sunday, June 29): Drive from Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula. Stop at Portage Glacier in Chugach National Forest (which just now I learned is "Alaska's most visited tourist attraction"!). Set up camp on Hidden Lake.

Day 2: Two hikes in the morning, one to Kenai River and one to Skilak Lake (where we skipped rocks). Canoeing and bear run-in in the afternoon.

Day 3: Drive up to Seward, boat tour of the Kenai Fjords (glaciers! orcas! humpbacks!), dinner in Seward.

Day 4: Loooooooong drive up to Denali via Anchorage. Awe-inspiring views of the Alaska Range, including Mt. McKinley. Apparently it is extraordinarily rare to see them as clearly as we did - they are (especially Mt. McKinley) almost always covered with clouds.

Day 5: In Denali National Park on the bus system (the only way to access the park). Hopped on and off for two hikes at Polychrome Mountain and Toklat River. Game of midnight golf from 10 pm - 1:30 am.

Day 6: Fourth of July! Big hike up Mt. Healy at the edge of Denali NP. Fireworks show at 11:20 pm.

Day 7: Sad last day. Brief hike down to Horseshoe Lake (unfortunately no moose to be found) and then a drive back to Anchorage. Incredibly long wait at the Anchorage airport, but at least the Chili's served Alaskan.

Happy Holyoke Holly

2008-05-27T14:58:00.005-04:00

A big congrats to my friend Holly Norwick, who graduated magna cum laude from Mt. Holyoke this past weekend.

From Holly's Mt. H...

I spent three days with Holly, her Mt. Holyoke friends (including boyfriend Shaun, who was awesome enough to pick me up at the airport), and of course Jason, who flew out from Hawaii to be there. As you can tell in the above picture, Holly has spent enough time in Hawaii to justify an enormous collection of graduation leis.

What else happened? Eating and more eating, a tour of the Mt. Holyoke campus, a stroll around North Hampton, and karaoke. Holly works at the (in)famous Rex Lounge in Chicopee, so of course her graduation party was held there. I managed to overcome my I'm-not-in-Hawaii-anymore- why-bother-with-karaoke funk and sang a few songs myself, with various amounts of success.

Cherry Blossoms/The Hype

2008-04-04T19:32:00.005-04:00

Many things simply aren't worthy of the hype they've managed to accumulate for themselves. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, for instance, or Roombas, or ecinacea. I'm sure we all have our personal lists. Every so often, though, something thumbs its nose at the laws of too-high expectations and actually proves itself worthy. Two soaring examples of this in DC are Ben's Chili Bowl and the cherry blossoms. Sure, Ben's has ridiculously long lines at nearly all hours of the day, and the Tidal Basin in late March/early April is inconceivably crowded with the most disgusting hordes of tourists, but at the end of the day...it's hard to explain. It's as if missing out on these things would be missing out on life itself.

I didn't make my usual pre-dawn trip to the Tidal Basin this year, but I managed to sneak in a late-afternoon stroll through the blossoms. As always, they filled my eyes with sparkly joy and made my heart giddy with beauty. Consider this my official addition to the Cherry Blossom Hype, then, I guess. Click on the pix below for a floral explosion.

Maybe not in my life, though...

2008-03-26T22:15:00.004-04:00

This is silly, I know, but I just can't get over the first sentence.

Alexandra's diary entry for September 23, 1989 (I'm barely 11 years old):

Today just happend to be the worst day, maybe not in my life though. It was sunshine in the morning. We had our family picture taken at Grafflin. The picture included Max. The bad part was, it started pouring, while I was opening a refigerator door my finger got smashed, Nick wacked me in the eye, and last I got sooked and froze while running to the car. At night dad and mom went to a party, and Nick and me had pillow fights and watched T.V.

All misspellings sic.

A Heavenly Week

2008-01-23T22:05:00.000-05:00

I ask you, what could possibly beat this view?

From Tahoe 2008 an...

Now you know how Heavenly got it's name, eh?

As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed my week-long stay with family and friends at the Heavenly Valley Townhouses, a short walk from the California base of Heavenly. Mainstays Cherif, Kate, and Susan H joined me and my parents at the condos. I took my once-yearly ski lesson with Bob Haas early in the week and spent the rest of my time on the slopes working on improving - ok, maintaining - my modest ski form. I have to say that despite over two decades of skiing, it's only been over the past three years, joining the crew at Heavenly, that I've become a real enthusiast. It also helps that for once in my life I was skiing on my very own equipment. Speaking of which...

Countless hours of my precious vacation were spent dealing with my infamous "boot problem." You see, back in May I had thought I was so smart and competent and had gone out to buy cheap off-season boots at REI. After the first day of skiing, though, I knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. By the second day I was in so much pain I had to cut my day short. I then went in desperation to Powderhouse to see Jeff, a master boot fitter. We spent two hours together fitting a boot: taking measurements, cutting out a footbed, inserting heel lifts, and grinding down the padding on the tongue (the last three things solely because I have an incredibly tight plantar ligament in the arch of my foot - Jeff called it the symptom of a "very intense" person!). The next day I went in for another couple hours to have a custom footbed made. Finally on the day after that I went in for a heel wrap. Total cost of the new boots & custom footbed: $470. Cost of old shitty REI boots: $249. How much I would have paid for the new boots after having skied for two horrid days on the old boots: $1,000,000. What I learned about the experience (useful only for other skiers, but essential for them!):

When you first put on the boots, your toes should be squished against the end. When you buckle in, your toes should be just brushing the end. The boot should feel on your foot like a firm handshake feels on your hand.
Unless you're a super regular skier with lots of experience buying boots, use a boot fitter! Again, use a boot fitter. It's not just important, it's absolutely necessary.

More pictures from the week:

Me and the lake and me and Cherif

Newly engaged couple Kate and Tyronne with my 4 year-old cousin Audrey

Audrey plays animal charades. Any guess at what she is here? (Hint: it smells!) (we were laughing soooooo hard...)

Evan and Audrey give the "evil eye"

I can't help it - another gorgeous view.

Until next year, dear Tahoe!

Farewell 2007

2008-01-04T10:22:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness for my awesome friends. They really know how to have a good time. When it came time to consider plans for New Year's Eve, Jamie and Kevin were quick to appear with a most tantalizing offer: four days at the Mutton Top PATC cabin, far from civilization and cushy amenities like running water but stock full of natural beauty, peace and quiet, gourmet food, booze, and low-tech games. We spent the days chopping wood, cooking, eating, cleaning up after the cooking and eating, reading, hiking, and hanging out. For the New Year's celebration, Jon and I dressed up in ironic evening wear, champagne flowed, and Linny counted us down with the help of Jeff's GPS (our source of "real time"). 2008 was welcomed in with 16 pairs of very happy open arms (and several roman candles and bottle rockets).

Our glorious home-away-from-home:

Two substantial activities over the weekend: cutting and cooking.

A hike in the Shenandoah on New Year's Eve Day lead us past countless beautiful waterfalls:

Finally, it's New Year's Eve! After getting cosy by the fire:
Jon and I proceed to get fancier than any Mutton Top guest has ever gotten:

Time for the countdown! 5, 4, 3, 2...

1! A Hollywood-glamorous kiss starts the New Year off on the right foot.

But soon it's time for bed, foursome-style:

Farewell 2007! 2008 will beat the crap out of you fo sho.

A Green Christmas in Old St. Aug

2008-01-02T10:46:00.000-05:00


From Xmas Weekend in St. Augustine ...

Since I had a long weekend over Christmas, I decided to spend a couple days in the warmth of Florida, exploring the city of St. Augustine. While the weather was mild and the town lovely, the best part of the trip was hanging out with fellow travelers at the Pirate Haus Hostel (see picture of me with Dietmar and Staci above). We tooled around together during the day and then celebrated Christmas Eve with a giant, chaotic, schizo dinner buffet-feast followed by an outing to a local dive bar. Hostels are just great. I also got clued into Couch Surfing, which I may very well try out myself one of these days.

Best Music of 2007

2007-12-28T10:38:00.000-05:00

Screw Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and "holiday cheer" - I love December for all the delicious year-end lists. Best (and worst) movies, TV shows, and books all have their own special appeal, but for me nothing beats the best-of lists for music. Several websites compile their own lists, which provides an interesting opportunity to compare how different readerships (listenerships?) and critics weigh the relative merits of each album. Where do they overlap? Where do they diverge? Which albums are really the best??

See what the pros have to say:

Pitchfork (the l33t perspective)
Amazon (speaking for the common man)
The Onion's AV Club
NPR
Metacritic

And now I humbly provide my own Best Music of 2007 list, available here. That link provides my explanations, of a sort, but I'll reproduce the list here in the interest of completeness.

Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Caribou, Andorra
Radiohead, In Rainbows
Band of Horses, Cease to Begin
Lily Allen, Alright, Still
Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Iron & Wine, The Shepherd's Dog
The Hot Toddies, Smell the Mitten
Patrick Wolf, The Magic Position
Okkervil River, The Stage Names

Runners up: Andrew Bird, Armchair Apochrypha; St. Vincent, Marry Me; Arcade Fire, Neon Bible; The Shins, Wincing the Night Away; Battles, Mirrored; Rocknoceros, Dark Side of the Moon Bounce.

Until December 2008!

Bloody Antietam

2007-11-19T09:54:00.000-05:00

My fake siblings Jon, Darren, Sarah, Yvonne, and I belatedly honored Veteran's Day with a trip to the Antietam battlefield in Sharpsburg, MD. On the bloodiest day of the Civil War in September 1862, 23,000 soldiers were killed, missing, or wounded. See my powerful reenactment of a dead Confederate soldier below:

From Antietam

Click on the link for other tasty photographic treats, courtesy of Jon.

A Second Swipe with the Old Rag

2007-11-07T08:46:00.000-05:00

From Old Rag Hike ...

"What, another boring foliage shot, AB?"

Yes, dammit. I happen to be slightly obsessed with autumn. When I was living in California and Hawaii the turning of the leaves was easily the thing I missed most (just don't get me started on the things I now miss from those places).

Back to the event at hand: a wonderful hike of Old Rag at peak or close-to-peak foliage. Amazing weather and large crowds greeted us when we arrived at the trailhead at 9 AM. An hour later and we certainly would have had our patience tested on the trail. To clarify for those of you unfamiliar with the mountain: Old Rag's famous rock scramble to the summit is full of narrow and often difficult passages through the rock, which naturally creates bottlenecks when the crowds increase. Fortunately on the way up I had none of that, and hiking down again the same way (foolish foolish foolish, but Jon made me) we managed to wiggle our way down a weird alternate route through the worst of the bottlenecks. My thighs have been in pain ever since, but it was absolutely worth it. Perfect, perfect day.

PS - for another write-up of the same trip (one could even say a better write-up), see Jon's account.

Adventures in Paris (not THAT Paris)

2007-11-02T09:32:00.000-04:00

From Myron Glaser ...

Last weekend I managed to finagle a day off work (a holiday, even - not "personal leave"), which I planned to spend hiking in the George Washington National Forest before heading over to Paris, VA where friends Jamie and Kevin had rented a PATC cabin for the weekend. Well, long story short, the hike was a bit of a bust, and on top of that, the guy I was caravaning with, John, somehow got his car stuck in a ditch and we were compelled to spend the next 2+ hours driving to Front Royal (for cell service), calling AAA and waiting for the tow truck, driving back to the GWNF, and finally towing that sucker out.

Fortunately John's car was undamaged by the whole fiasco. And we were still able to get to Paris early enough so that it was still light out for our rainy 2-mile hike along the AT to the cabin. Saturday was spent sleeping in, eating pancakes (I was the flipper), and hiking a roughly 10-mile loop of the AT in the Sky Meadows area. The day was just gorgeous and sunny, and the foliage was beautiful (see also the picture of my "rainbow tree" at the top of this post).

Sadly I had to leave that evening to get back to DC for the New Pornographers show, but I felt like I managed to make the most of the trip. And now I've realized that these PATC cabin/hiking weekends are pretty much the most fun and wonderful thing I do.

Steeple chaser? I hardly know 'er!

2007-10-20T22:56:00.000-04:00

From International...

After having attended the Virginia Gold Cup (a spring event) for the past couple years, I finally had the chance to check out the International Gold Cup today. Fewer hats and sundresses, more corduroy and tweed, but otherwise the same sweet combination of tasty victuals, fashionable friends, and thrilling races prevailed. I spent my time almost exclusively in the role of bookie, taking $1 per bet and calculating payout by dividing the number of bets by the number of betters on the winning horse. (At the dire risk of boring, this creates some interesting wagering strategies. Most interesting was the case of my friend Morey, who placed a dollar bet on every horse in the race. Think about it...there are some interesting possibilities there). Anyway...

Did I mention how good everyone looked? Did I mention that we owe this all to the fabulous Jeff?

A Visit to the Decidedly Non-DC Northeast

2007-10-01T15:36:00.000-04:00

Lucky me! After several months (a year?) of pestering Jeff, I managed to score myself an invitation to visit the famous King Family Camp, a beautiful cabin tucked away in rural West Topsham, Vermont. For 48 hours, Jeff ran me and fellow traveler Ann ragged, first stuffing us with delicious Vermont food and then hustling us up the White Mountains. I think if he had been inclined to charge, Jeff could have made a pretty penny off of us for his awesome tour-guiding! Check it:

Trip Journal
Friday
Made our way to Jeff's cabin in Vermont via the Manchester, NH airport with relatively little drama (other than Jeff's thrilling attempt to drive down the wrong side of I Street). Jeff cleared out the two dead mouse bodies and dispatched a large spider, thus making the cabin about as critter-free as possible. Jeff couldn't get the gas stove working, but the futons and wool blankets provided us with as toasty a bed as we could wish. Ann and I were naturally delighted to discover there's no outhouse at the King Family Camp.

Saturday - Eating our way around Vermont
We indulged in a rather late sleep-in, then hit the Waits River General Store for breakfast. This was to be the first of SIX food stops over the course of the day. We made our way through the gorgeous countryside and eventually ended up at the Cabot Creamery, where we took a tour (they were making Habanero cheese) and tried absolutely everything on the sample table. Vermont cheddar is the BEST. Next we made a stop at the Morse Farm Sugar Works, where of course we learned all about sugarin' and got to sample all the different kinds of maple syrup. I was raised on the fake stuff, but how can you not fall in love with maple syrup, eh? The rest of the day included stops in adorable downtown Montpelier (for lunch), at Ben & Jerry's in Waterbury (for the free sample at the end of the not-so-exciting tour), at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill (for cider and the most delicious doughnuts ever), and finally in Burlington (for sunset, dinner, and the Red Sox game). Stunning scenery all around. Foliage to die for - even a covered bridge! Yes, I've seen this stuff before, even in VT, but the power of simple beauty never fails to amaze and awe. Also, Vermonters are so damn friendly! I definitely think I belong in a less populated area, at least personality-wise. Too bad I'm hooked on things like concerts, opera, public transportation, amenities, etc. etc.

Sunday - White Mountains hiking
After picking up breakfast at Dunkin' Doughnuts and lunch sandwiches at a deli in Woodstock, NH, we arrived at the trailhead for the Old Bridle Path at Franconia Notch. Over the course of two hours, we ascended 2,000 ft in three miles and ended our trek at the AMC's Greenleaf Hut. Needless to say, the views were breathtaking. So was the hike, actually, in a more literal sense. The ascent got my pulse racing and the descent made my knees ache, but I loved every second.
Our mountain adventure tired out even trail-blazer Jeff, so you can imagine our joy when we discovered our flight back to Baltimore was delayed nearly an hour. We killed the time by chatting with a fellow passenger who recognized us from the hike (small world!) and eventually boarded and took off. I didn't get to bed until 1 AM - and I was the first home (poor Jeff, stuck driving all day!). But, in the end, even if I hadn't gotten any sleep at all...it still would have been worth it. When are we going back already, guys??

Good Gauley, Miss AB!

2007-09-17T22:12:00.000-04:00

Back from a gnarly weekend taking on the wild waters of West Virginia. Radical!

<---Lower Gauley rafters

TMBG Builds a Birdhouse in My Soul

2007-09-13T11:05:00.000-04:00

Those of you who know me (and presumably that's everyone who reads this) are aware that I am a rabid music lunatic who attends more shows per month than I have fingers and toes to count them on. I rarely (if ever - can someone do a search on this for me?) post anything here about the shows I see because I don't usually have anything important to convey about them. Especially not when I compare what I would write with what my friend Dana does on her concert blog. Anyway, point being: the fact that I'm bothering to bother you with my thoughts and feelings on the They Might Be Giants show at Ram's Head Live yesterday should speak volumes about how amazing it was. How amazing they were.

My feeling with regard to concerts is that, on a scale from 1-10 in awesomeness, all bands start with a 5 and move up or down from there. Points are awarded not just for sounding good, but for the frills and sometimes thrills that differentiate seeing a live performance and listening to a studio recording on my Bose. The Giants get a 10 for their show yesterday. The songs were great and included classics like Particle Man and Birdhouse in Your Soul, as well as choice selections from their new record The Else. But what put them over the top was the theatricality and personalization of the show. During one skit involving a phone call from "beyond the grave," Edgar Allen Poe (Baltimore celeb) called in and read a poem (which turned out to be Metallica's Enter Sandman). The audience was asked to clap - with hands above their heads - for the entirety of Particle Man, and when enthusiasm flagged and hands began to drop, John Linnell improvised a verse about lame people who don't clap at concerts. John Flansburgh had lucky first-row audience members strum his guitar. Let me not forgot that they had not one but two encores, complete with an explosion of confetti.

Well, of course I haven't done a great job of putting you in the midst of the crowd, but take my word that it was an engaging, hilarious, fun show, and well worth the long drive up to Baltimore. It was the first night of a national tour, so try to make it out to see them if you can.

On a related note, Ram's Head Live is a terrific venue.

Ravens Run Hike

2007-09-03T22:34:00.000-04:00

On Sunday I went on a quick but satisfying hike on the Virginia - West Virginia border (see pic of me and Sarah at the sign). We found a turtle on the trail and beautiful views greeted us at the top - well worth getting up a little early on a Sunday. We later negated all our burned calories by stopping for Cold Stone on the way home. Also listened several times to all the Flight of the Conchords songs.

Assateague Camping 2007

2007-08-28T16:41:00.000-04:00

<---Jeff, Ann, Darren

This weekend I indulged once again in a camping expedition to the Eastern Shore, this time to the Maryland side of Assateague Island (see last year's trip here). My camera unfortunately reacted poorly to the excesses of sun, sand, and surf, and froze up shortly after Joel took about 100 pictures of a humorously-posed dog. So, lots of pictures of Reagan, not too many of the rest of the weekend. I'm sure you would have loved to see me all scarred up from the millions of mosquito bites I endured. Man, it was painful. But at least I got to hang out with great people (photos courtesy of Joel) and read a hell of a lot of Harry Potter.

<---Dana, AB, Jon, Yvonne

Reagan

Brian, me, and Brian's Artwork

2007-08-20T21:20:00.000-04:00

The Last Strokes

2007-08-18T16:12:00.000-04:00

MPP is over. Now, to move onto the hallway...

Artwork SCORE!

2007-08-15T18:13:00.000-04:00

Finally - real artwork in my new place! This is a significant first and my eyes verily well with the specialness of the moment. Best of all, the artist is world-renowned abstract painter (and dear friend) Brian Williams, genius extraordinaire. Brian took pity on my art-starved walls and graciously gifted me these masterpieces (titled Submarine). He didn't even know that my middle school colors were orange and blue. Go Bell!

Seriously, though, I think these add a lot to the space. Combined with my 46" LCD TV on the other wall, I've got plenty of eye candy!

On a related note, B-dub does actually sell paintings as well, so if you or any of your rich relatives are looking for an interesting piece, drop me a line. :)

Birthday Dinner at Etete

2007-08-08T08:03:00.000-04:00

Celebrated my birthday (which is today) with a dinner last night at the fabulous Ethiopian restaurant Etete. Our party of eleven strained their table resources but made me feel very popular. Thanks everyone. :)

Birthday-celebrating, food-eating revelers. Oops, I seem to have missed Patrick in this shot. Sorry babe.

Latest MPP Update

2007-08-07T18:12:00.000-04:00

I know, yawn, right? But for those of you interested, here's the result of some very, very hard work this weekend.

Adam's Wedding

2007-08-01T09:20:00.000-04:00

Congrats to Adam and Marina, who got married this last weekend at Mount Vernon. Pictured is yours truly with the groom in the middle and my smokin' hot date, Eric Huang, on the right. I think Eric might have been on his eighth cup of Martha's Rum Punch.

Below: Eric and I declare our allegiances.

Progress

2007-07-29T22:16:00.000-04:00

Quite a bit of progress this weekend on the MPP. Still less than halfway done.

Painting

2007-07-22T16:41:00.000-04:00

Back from Phoenix last night and dove right into the Massive Painting Project (MPP) today. Here's the latest progress. The edging on one whole wall is complete. The others will be considerably more challenging given the presence of furniture. Lesson learned: painting in underwear is really the best, as paint WILL get on EVERY limb.

Decemberists with the BSO

2007-07-15T13:40:00.001-04:00

Metallica's 1999 collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony on "S&M" was awesome due to its incongruity. The Decemberists' similar experiment with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra last night was awesome due to the two groups' essential compatibility. Listening to the Decemberists' music, one feels that certain songs just beg for orchestral treatment; for instance "The Infanta" and "We Both Go Down Together" (both of which they played last night, of course). It was really very thrilling to see it all come together so well. The orchestra didn't just take the easy route, either, but added satisfying layers of complexity to the music. On top of that the Decemberists were their usual campy, theatrical selves, complete with playing dead, rolling around with instruments on the ground, and crazy dance moves. Such a beautiful night...and such a fun show.

Chincoteague Weekend

2007-07-09T14:08:00.000-04:00

Left: Seaweed Necklace Right: JL, Dana, me, Jon, Ann, and Jeff enjoy the cool water

Gorgeous, hot day on the island of Chincoteague (the southern part of Assateague). No ponies as the Pony Drive has not yet taken place, but plenty of sun, sand, waves, and beach bums. Me and friends Dana, Diana, and Erin spent the night in a nearby campsite and enjoyed a ridiculously opulent meal of raw oysters and steamed crab followed by Island Creamery homemade ice cream (I had the "Pony Tracks" flavor).

Next week: Coolin' down in Phoenix.

A Tuberific Fourth

2007-07-05T11:45:00.000-04:00

Happy Fourth of July, peanuts!

Yesterday I took advantage of the whole no-work thing to join several friends (about 20 of them) for a tubing adventure on the Shenandoah River. We enjoyed PB&Js, Fig Newtons, and hard cider as we floated downriver for three miles. Occasional .1-class rapids made things interesting.

Thanks to Jon for organizing! More pix here.

(pic above is friend Seth Wikas, rolling through the "heavy" rapids)

Day of Fun in Locust Grove, VA

2007-07-02T16:47:00.000-04:00

On the top: Joanna, Pete, Darren, me, Jon, and Mary enjoy a spin around the big lake on Darren's family's pontoon boat.

On the bottom: My famous "breaching shark attack" descends upon an unsuspecting Jon.

On Sunday I drove down with several friends to Deep Dark Virginia - specifically Locust Grove, where friend Darren's parents have a gorgeous house on a beautiful man-made lake. First we visited a nearby winery (my first one in Virginia), then we went back for swimming, a ride on the pontoon boat, socializing, merriment, and food. Weather and company were perfect. The wine - eh.

Kayaking in Seneca Falls

2007-07-01T16:18:00.000-04:00

Me and Diana work our paddling muscles in Seneca Falls, MD. Wet exits rock!

Obama So Phat

2007-06-22T23:06:00.000-04:00

Everyone should check out my friend Eric's fantastic new project, ObamaSoPhat.com. See if you can come up with a submission - it's not as easy as you might think!

My First Boots

2007-06-16T22:40:00.000-04:00

After 22 years of skiing, I finally have my own boots. They're beautiful. Happy day!

Strawberry Picking Turns to Strawberry Pie

2007-06-09T22:48:00.000-04:00

Friend Lauren crouches in the field, me & strawberries, and the pie I labored over today

Memorial Day #2

2007-05-29T20:42:00.000-04:00

Hiking White Oak Canyon in the Shenandoah, the happy location of a fabulously fun natural water slide. In the picture, Yvonne descends while I watch in the foreground (I did it too, but no pictures). Awwwwweeeesooommme.

Memorial Day Weekend #1

2007-05-29T20:34:00.000-04:00

<=== Me, rock climbing!

I survived Old Rag

2007-05-21T22:02:00.000-04:00

What up. It's been a while since I posted because I've been busy, mostly with things that would make anyone not really, really into telecom standards cry with boredom. Exception: my hike this past Saturday up Old Rag Mt. in the Shenandoah. One of those "you get out of it what you put into it" hikes - i.e. tough but rewarding. It took me about 2 1/2 hours to summit, which is a decent if not record-breaking pace. Our timing ("our" because I was with ten other intrepid hikers) was perfect; the weather was warm but not hot, and the sky had nary a cloud. Rock!

Pictures available on my photo page. Word.

Morris Cabin

2007-04-29T18:48:00.000-04:00

Just got back from a great long weekend at PATC cabin Morris. I and eleven others enjoyed great camp food, a roaring fire, an adventurous hike in the woods, and much tomfoolery. More later, persnaps.

(5/21/07 - This just in! There won't be more. I am such a liar. You really should have seen that coming.)

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

2007-04-24T17:26:00.000-04:00

The long search has ended! I just accepted an offer today from ATIS to be their Committee Administrator for IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) Interoperability. The Committee is made up of four task forces, three of which I will have sole responsibility for. The salary is great, the benefits are good.......but most importantly I have a job!!!!!! Aaaahhhhhh! Finally!

Scavenger Hunt on the Mall

2007-04-22T21:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I and the rest of the illustrious Moose & Squirrel team (temporarily renamed Boris & Natasha) participated in the annual Trivia Scavenger on the National Mall. We ran from the Lincoln Memorial, around the Tidal Basin and along the Mall, to the Capitol, and then finally ended up at Gordon Biersch at 9th and G. We went into the African History Museum, the Sackler, the Freer, the Air & Space Museum, the NGA, and the American Indian Museum (we should have gone to the Botanical Gardens as well, but we were short on time). In total we walked about 8 miles in our crazy hunt for truly random pieces of trivia. Sample question: How many horsepower can the engines of the USS Enterprise generate? Answer: 280,000 (found at the Nat'l Air & Space Museum)

Pictured above are the B&N team members (in shots taken as part of the competition): me, Patty, Enrique, Mike, Jan Louis, and Dana. Go B&N!

Spanakopizza

2007-04-16T13:44:00.000-04:00

Last night I made the most amazing dinner. Wasn't quite a pizza, although that's probably the best description for it. It had ground turkey, spinach, onions, garlic, olives, feta cheese, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, parsley, and cucumbers. Plus, I made my own pizza dough!

Sakura Matsuri / Fun with Munchlax

2007-04-15T10:10:00.000-04:00

Even though the weather was cool and cloudy, I took my little friend Maya out to see the Japanese street festival (Sakura Matsuri) yesterday. There was delicious food - tako puffs, Pocky sticks - people dressed up as anime characters, music of both the traditional and pop/rock variety, and of course just a lot of overpriced shoppies. The best part for me and Maya, though, was the Go tent. We played three games after getting instruction from my friend Max, who happened to be there running the tent.

Maya prepares to get her butt kicked at Go.

Thrumming right along

2007-04-13T17:02:00.000-04:00

For my latest knitting project, I've decided to try a technique called thrumming. It's where you incorporate regularly-spaced bits of unspun wool in your pattern, which then create not only an interesting decorative effect on the outside, but a nice fleecy lining on the interior. I'm making a pair of mittens at the moment. You can see the exterior decoration in the first picture, and what will eventually (with wear) become the lining in the second.

This is a gift for a friend. Who? Maybe you!

Easter Peep S'mores

2007-04-08T23:18:00.000-04:00

Turns out toasted Peeps are even better than regular Peeps.

Cherry Blossoms + Been a While, Yes?

2007-04-04T10:26:00.000-04:00

I was recently inspired/cajoled to take up this blogging thing again by my old (oldest?) friend Juliet. Yesterday provided me with the perfect excuse, too: my annual sunrise photo excursion to the Tidal Basin on the cherry blossoms' peak day. I'm not a great photog but it's hard not to get at least an interesting shot when you're surrounded by so much beauty. I was there around 6 am - this picture was probably taken around 7. Gorgeous day.

In other news: bought a condo, looking for a job, singing away with the Maryland Chorus, knitting like a fiend, learning to cook, kicking my ass with yoga, and just generally trying to live life without too much stress/unhappiness/negativity while facing some tough times. Did I mention I'm looking for a job? ug

Tahoe 2007!

2007-01-12T20:58:00.000-05:00

Damn straight!
(Picture is of yours truly and Jimmy Wu at the Stagecoach lift at Heavenly)

Aloha Hawaii

2006-08-16T20:32:00.000-04:00

I've been in gorgeous, beautiful Hawaii for the past six days...having enough fun and adventures to write a book. Awesome visits to the sandbars, Waianae, town, Waikiki, and the North Shore. Even got in some diving and boogie boarding. Unfortunately I leave tonight - although I have enough to look forward to back in CA to keep my spirits up. Aloha!

(Pictures posted here)

Assateague Weekend

2006-07-16T13:02:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I spent camping on the lovely Assateague Island off the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Assateague is a National Park and wild horse sanctuary (check out the ponies that had the cajones to invade our camp in the accompanying picture). I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to kick back on the beach with my knitting and the entire series of "Y: The Last Man" graphic novels while drinking beer and stuffing myself with s'mores. Good times.

More pictures available here.

Mutton Top

2006-05-15T19:25:00.000-04:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of spending an amazing 48 hours at the glorious Mutton Top cabin in Lydia, VA (try to find that in Google Maps!). It was one of the most fun and relaxing weekends I've ever had. Check out my awesome photos for the trip here.

Abridged Trip Journal
Day 1: Dave Connolly and I load up the truck and finally get moving at about 6pm. We arrive at the campsite at about 8:30 but are forced to wait at the locked gate for Dave Michaels and George, who have the gate key and are running late. Finally they arrive and we drive, 4x4 style, up to Mutton Top cabin, where we meet the rest of the crowd. Hot dogs grilled over a fire are a tasty late dinner.

Day 2: Delicious egg scramble for breakfast, cooked on our wood-burning stove. At about 10:45 most of us head out for a hike/stroll through the woods. Many, many ticks make frantic attempts to land on us and feast on our blood (at the time of this writing, it appears none were successful). Upon returning two hours later, general relaxation and snacking ensue. Connolly, Michaels, George, Jeff, and Kevin (and me a little) burn many calories by hacking away at wood in an attempt to bulk up our supply for the evening. During one scavanging expedition, Connolly discovers a vine which then becomes the object of much Tarzan-inspired merriment until it breaks from all the abuse. Dinner of grilled corn, burgers, and hot dogs fills our tummy. Later, we stay up late around the campfire, making s'mores and tossing in beer cans to watch them melt in the fire's warm embrace. Nobody knows any good camp songs. It's a Flower Moon out (what's that?)

Day 3: Another delicious meal (surprise!) of banana-chocolate pancakes for breakfast. Everyone packs up and cleans up in a leisurely manner. We lock the door on ol' Mutton Top around 1, just in time to avoid the storm that rolls in shortly afterwards. Dave and I struggle mightily to stay awake for the ride home.

The Mutton Top Cabin Crew

Horsin' Around at the Virginia Gold Cup

2006-05-06T23:05:00.000-04:00

Me with Jan Louis (left) and Jeff

Bookielicious

2006-05-06T23:00:00.000-04:00

Me acting as bookie at the Gold Cup

2006-04-24T18:34:00.000-04:00

The Echoes get crazy at Fat Tuesday's

Purple Mountains Majesty

2006-01-16T20:10:00.000-05:00

I think it may have been a trick of my goggles, but the mountains across the valley were purple today. The lake, of course, was its usual state of shocking deep blue. The views here are unbelievable.

Observations from today:

I think I'm getting better! Or more likely it's all psychological, and I've been cheered by the compliment I received from a stranger this afternoon.
Little kids on skis: cute. Little kids on snowboards: even cuter. I could eat them alive.
Groucho Marx is hot.

I'm being beckoned to the hot tub. Adios.

Tahoe Observations

2006-01-15T22:43:00.000-05:00

It's now the end of my second day of mountain bliss in Tahoe, California. It poured snow all day yesterday, but I managed to clamber all over Heavenly in pursuit of my lost ski legs. Found 'em! Today was the storm's brilliant after-math: sunny skies and pure fluff on the slopes. My quads may never recover, but my heart is full to bursting. Oh, and did I mention that my mother, father, aunt, and best friend are here?

Observations from the past couple days:

For some reason I always figured I was a pretty decent skiier. Turns out I had a generous definition of "decent."
Tahoe snow plows are HUGE. And scary.
Genius award goes to the person who thought of popping up windshield whipers on cars. This prevents them from freezing on the windshield.
You can save yourself from a certain-death backward slide down a hill by yanking the emergency brake and flipping a 180, then gunning it downhill. Between that and an ample supply of dumb luck, you can survive even the most harrowing of winter driving experiences.
Sunscreen has an expiration date. Huh?? Of course I only realize this AFTER I'm burned into oblivion.
Heavenly is full of catwalks. Catwalks are hard as f%^$ing hell. In related news, they also suck.

I think I'll curl up with a hot tub and some single malt scotch now. White out.

Yes, I'm a Groupie

2005-12-23T13:59:00.000-05:00

Went to an amazing concert yesterday at Iota. And since this is my own personal space for making whatever ridiculous pronouncements I wish to, let me say this: The Echoes and Brainfang rock. I adore them, and I am fast on my way to being a groupie.

Now I realize there are only like three people that read this blog, but if by any chance you happen to stumble across this - especially if you live in the DC Metro region - you really must check them out.

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

2005-12-20T15:44:00.000-05:00

OK, I just have to say that I freakin' love the middle of December. Screw Chrismukah - I'm talking year-end lists! You know, when critics rank the best music releases of the year. I am basically wallowing in bliss. Today Pitchfork released their "Top 100 Albums of 2005," which I was pleased to note put my dear, dear friend Sufjan at #1, as did Amazon. I also dig the Onion AV Club's method of giving multiple reviewers a chance to publish their own lists instead of trying to compromise on one official ranking. Read, learn, and listen, kids!

Baltimore

2005-12-19T15:15:00.000-05:00

Had a great time Sunday spending the day in Baltimore. Thanks to my friend Jan Louis I was able to experience the pleasure of a visit to the Dime Museum, a truly bizarre, creepy, and thus utterly appropriate homage to the dime museum of the late 19th Century and the carnival sideshow of the early 20th. Exhibits ranged from a stuffed two-headed calf to an aligator-woman in a glass case (as our guide said, "Feel free to be skeptical"). Very whacky but fun place - too bad it will be closing at the end of the year.

After a delicious dinner courtesy of Faith's parents, I then went with buddies Faith, Jan Louis, and Ray to the "Miracle on 34th Street" display of shocking Christmas excess on 34th Street in Hampden. It was visual cacophony, but awesome. Back in Los Gatos we had (still have, I guess) a house we always drove past on our way home that was super, super decked out for Christmas - it sometimes included a BMW M3 covered with lights (yuppie Santa's modern sleigh) and a roof lined with lights and programed to do a rippling sequence from top to bottom. That was cool too, but it would have been just another face in the crowd on 34th Street.

Bonsai

2005-11-08T12:51:00.000-05:00

Made my first trip to the National Arboretum this past Sunday. My impression may have been slightly affected by the clear, sunny skies and unbelieveable, unseansonable 72º weather, but it is easily one of the most beautiful places I have seen in DC. The cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin are the closest competitor (although I haven't yet been to the Botanical Gardens, and I hear they're pretty nice). At any rate, the arboretum is enormous and certainly worthy of a full-day exploration; in an effort to keep from getting too overwhelmed, however, I limited myself to the Bonsai & Penjing Museum. They have a really terrific display of bonsai from all over the world. Some of them - as you can see from the picture above - even change color in the fall. Amazing.

Halloween Greetings

2005-10-26T13:38:00.000-04:00

Check out this cute little video to put you in the Halloween mood. Anyone who's ever been the victim of one of my scares knows how much this speaks to me. Plus it's given me some great ideas....

Boring blog?

2005-10-20T10:03:00.000-04:00

I was recently criticized for having "the boringest blog ever" (thanks, RA). OK, I admit I haven't been the most diligent with my posts. It's actually not because my life has been unremarkable in any way - in fact it is quite the opposite - but I don't have the DSL in my new apartment set up yet (it arrives on November 3) and I've been a wee bit busy between my new job, a car break-in, moving, and lots of other boring excuses. I'll be back sooner than you care.

Oh, and for the record, this is the boringest blog ever.

Cross-Country Fever

2005-08-31T19:19:00.000-04:00

I'm back! I'm back in DC. Feels like an age ago that I left...and yet here I am sitting at my old desk in my old apartment and suddenly it feels as though everything in between was just a dream. I went to China and adventured all over the country and the District...stayed the same. That's comforting. And plus I missed the DC summer - score.

I arrived today from Pittsburgh, where I had a fun time catching up with my dear, dear friend Dok. Let me start from the beginning, though, that's really more interesting. My dad and I left on the 21st and spent the night in Elko, NV, then went up to Idaho to see the Craters of the Moon National Monument. My dad correctly pointed out that it's nothing we haven't seen before on the Big Island in Hawaii, but I still thought the views of the desolate, volcanic landscape were fascinating. In Jackson Hole, WY we took a day off to explore the town and go whitewater rafting on the Snake River. Tons of fun, despite the fact my dad whacked me in the head with his paddle as we thundered our way through the "Big Kahuna" rapid. Driving up along the stunning, stunning Tetons (see picture), we then ventured into Yellowstone and spent the day admiring geysers and buffalo and the Yellowstone "Grand Canyon". Yellowstone was gorgeous, but I must admit that some of the most magnificent scenery I have ever set eyes on lay between the East entrance to Yellowstone (where we exited) and Cody, WY. Just amazing. I think I want to retire there, but probably the winters suck. From Cody we went up across Montana and into North Dakota, thereby (DRUMROLL) eliminating the last two U.S. lower 48 states I haven't been to! What with having lived in Hawaii, I have only Alaska left, baby.

On the border between North Dakota and Minnesota my father and I did a bunch of amateur geneology research into his mother's family, which lived in Glyndon, Minnesota for a generation. Glyndon is just a small farming town of 1,000 residents now, but it used to be the intersection point for two major rail lines and was a good-sized town when my grandmother lived there (she was born in 1904). My great-great-grandfather, Luther Osborn, was not only a Civil War vet but the editor/publisher of the local newspaper, the Red River Valley News. Honestly I didn't know this stuff until this trip. On a lucky excursion to Moorhead, Fargo's sister-city, we came upon the Clay County Historical Society and did a bunch of research into the family with their help. The woman there even brought out Luther's Civil War saber! Amazing. Now I see why my friend Teresa is so into this geneology stuff.

I dropped my father off in Minnesota, after taking a day off of driving to spend time with the Winslows in Wayzata, and proceeded on my own to see my BFF Marjorie in Indiana. Marjorie and her husband, Jimmy, were going cross-country the other way (moving to Mountain View, CA) and so by chance we got to meet up at her home in Indiana. That was terrific. I took a day off to visit her, then continued on through Ohio on my way to Pittsburgh. Unfortunately a relatively simply and boring drive was anything but: Katrina's deformed and demented devil-spawn children harassed me all along the way; several times the rain was coming down so fiercely I was more than a little afraid to be on the highway. Strangely enough I had a very similar experience in June of 2001, when I drove through the South on another cross-country trip and had to go through the remnants of hurricane (or maybe just "tropical storm") Allison. Psycho.

Anyway, I did make it safely and I am so excited to be home again.

The Carmel Tour d'Elegance

2005-08-20T02:19:00.000-04:00

Today my father and I went to Carmel to witness the fabulous annual phenomenon known as the Tour d'Elegance. Several (by which I mean about 40) cars showing in the world-famous Concours d'Elegance at Pebble Beach on Sunday opt to participate in the tour, which is something like a 60-mile loop around Carmel Valley (and including the 17-Mile Drive). It's quite impressive that so many of these 50, 60, 70+ years-old cars, most of them worth multiple millions, are able to complete the tour. But of course even better that we get to see them at it! Around lunchtime the cars pull into line along Ocean Avenue in Carmel. The owners get lunch while the magnificent cars sit on display for roughly two hours. It was a blast. We also roped our Carmel tenant, Eric Schlosser, into joining us for a while. Along with him, we got to meet his wife Shauna and daughter Mica (see below).

Pictured above are two great examples from the display on Ocean: a 1947 Talbot-Lago Franay Coupe and a 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Tourenwagen (extremely rare, and the most beautiful paint job I have ever seen).

Me with the Schlosser-Redfords

Photo album

2005-08-02T13:34:00.000-04:00

Link to online photo album.

Eating Beijing Duck

Return from the Orient

2005-08-02T13:33:00.000-04:00

Hooooo, I'm back. Got back last night after missing a connection in Vancouver, so at the end of the day my travel time from hotel to home was somewhere around 27 hours. Well, no matter - I'm safe and whole and but for a tragically broken bracelet, all my stuff made the journey intact. Now on to the post-trip breakdown. I'm hoping to have a link to an online photo album available soon, but first I have to upload and write captions for my 300+ photographic masterpieces, no small feat. I'll also have as extensive a description of my trip as I can manage (do not underestimate my laziness). In other words, this is just a placeholder...I'll return later with more. Zai jian!

Me at the "Long Wall"

China Trip: Hong Kong (last one!)

2005-08-01T17:03:00.000-04:00

Days 20-23: Hong Kong

An overnight train brought us from Guilin to Guangzhou, where we frantically charged to the dock to catch the hydrofoil that would take us to Hong Kong. Three hours later, docking in Hong Kong, it felt like another country. We had to go through Hong Kong immigration, change money, and start using the ubiquitous hand-sanitizer dispensers. But it was more than that. Gone was the China that we had known so well over the past three weeks, replaced by an oasis of the modern East. There is simply no way I can describe Hong Kong adequately: the crowds, the infrastructure, the vibe. Honestly I had been worried that I wouldn't like Hong Kong too much - my experience in Yangshuo had taught me to be wary of over-Westernized China - but I loved it virtually the moment my foot hit the soil.

Friday night was our final night together as a group, and Dylan led us out into the Temple Street markets for dinner. The restaurant we went to was classic Dylan: shabby, local, and very basic. Not what most Hong Kong tourists would gravitate to. I loved it, though, and especially enjoyed ordering the frog dish when Dylan announced that he would leave the menu selection entirely in our hands (my subsequent attempts to convince the others that I had ordered chicken unfortunately did not meet with much success).

Although Friday evening marked the official end of the tour, I decided to spend a couple extra days enjoying Hong Kong before my return to the States. The first day I joined up with several other stragglers - Jen, Craig, and Georgina - for some exploring around Kowloon and Hong Kong. Our first adventure (to find some famous Hong Kong dim sum) ended in disaster when not only could we not find the place, but it began to pour cats and dogs. (Actually, the rain wasn't too much of a surprise, since it rained pretty much constantly during my time in HK.) We quickly decided on the fabulous Museum of Art as our back-up plan, and managed to kill an hour or so admiring the lovely scroll paintings and carved jade there until the rain finally let up enough for us to venture outside again. Then, with the sun shining, we hopped aboard the Star Ferry and traveled over to Hong Kong Island, where we caught the Peak Tram to the summit of Victoria Peak. Our timing really was outstanding; it was a rare sunny hour that coincided with our trip from Kowloon and allowed us to fully admire the gorgeous view from the peak. Of course at this point I was resigned to the wet of rain, but a cloud really would have sucked.

After a delicious dinner and another stroll through the Temple Street markets (through the pounding rain, naturally), I took my leave of Georgina, who was flying out that night, and the Scots, who were departing early the next morning. That left me on my own for Sunday. Although it was raining once again, I set off on my exploratory adventures undeterred. The lovely Hong Kong Park was my first destination. My mother had recommended the walk-through aviary, which I liked so much I walked through it twice. I also took a detour through the park's lovely botanical garden (which, I was grateful to note, was indoors) on my way back to the MTR. The afternoon I filled with directionless wanderings through the Plant, Bird, and Ladies Markets in Kowloon. The Bird Market was an absolute marvel, with dense stalls packed floor-to-ceiling with trilling, howling, chattering birds of all kinds. Cacophony reigned. The birds were great, though - I've already begun to plan for when I can get my own. Seems like a very sensible pet for an apartment dweller. The Plant Market was also great, and featured everything from blue roses to bamboo (oh, and in fact I even ran into a few venus flytraps, the coolest plant ever).

With the close of the day, I had finally reached the end of my China Adventure. All that was left was to catch the shuttle over to the airport and fly the twelve hours over the Pacific Ocean into Vancouver (piece of cake, really). What an experience it's been! I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to make this trip, and I can't wait to return to China in the future. I'm sure I'll hardly recognize it.

China Trip: Yangshuo

2005-07-28T09:21:00.000-04:00

Days 16-19: Yangshuo

Another long day of travel. Took a bus from Yichang to Wuhan, where we caught an overnight train to Guilin. We were thrilled to be back in the hard sleepers - once again safe (well, relatively) from Tricky Ricky the Rat and all his relatives. On the short bus ride from Guilin to Yangshuo we began to get a taste for the scenery that makes this region so famous. The karsts grew steadily in number until finally we were right in the midst of them, signifying our arrival in Yangshuo. I can't describe a karst too well: it's a little like a very steep, tall limestone hill. Check out the picture for yourself. At any rate, we were right in among them in Yangshuo.

Now, I have to say this about Yangshuo: A beautiful place, but extremely Western. That is to say, you saw as many Westerners as Chinese there, and Chinese food was a struggle to locate amidst all the Western cafes selling pizza and baguettes. It was a bit of a shock coming from Xi'an, Chengdu, Emei Shan, etc. and I admit I wasn't a fan. Fortunately there were so many things to do I didn't have much time to get wound up about it. Our first day was filled first with a two-hour calligraphy class and then by a cooking class at a farmhouse in the countryside. The cooking was a real blast - I enjoyed getting to flip things around in the wok, and of course the food was ten times more delicious since I made it myself. The following day our entire group rode out on a bike ride through the countryside. It wasn't long before the smooth pavement gave way to rutted, stony dirt paths that were a challenge to navigate but took us through some amazingly stunning scenery. After lunch we broke off into "long ride" and "short ride" groups. I was one of the four long riders, and I thought the ride back was even better than the ride out. Our guide Sally picked fresh peanuts out of the ground for us to try and even led us to a weir, which we had to walk across with our bikes (before it got too slippery, at which point we took a bamboo raft). We got back at 4, tired and dirty but very happy with the experience.

China Trip: Yangtze River

2005-07-24T19:12:00.000-04:00

Days 13-15: The Yangtze River

Our first "Yangtze day" and very little actual Yangtze. From Emei Shan we caught a large public bus for the transfer to Chongqing, where we were to meet our boat. The roughly six-hour bus ride only grew longer when, with a cracking blast and a cloud of smoke at the back, one of the tires blew out on the highway. Fortunately a mere half hour away (driving at about 20 mph) we stopped at a little tire shop and switched out the old for a new. By 4 pm we had arrived in Chongqing and soon made the trip over to the harbor to catch our boat. Chongqing was a beehive of construction activity; comparatively the projects in Beijing looked like a tiny restoration job. Our local guide Harry said that Chongqing was preparing for a conference of Asian mayors in October, but I suspect that the Chinese just love development. After a quick trip to a fabulous supermarket, we boarded boat 12 and set off along the Yangtze.

Our first real day on the boat was unremarkable and consisted chiefly of an excursion to see the "City of Ghosts" at Fengdu (the town itself turned out to be much the tourist attrac more of a ghost town thantion, as it will be underwater when the Yangtze next rises in 2006) and playing many hours of mah-jong on a travel set Carwyn bought in Xi'an. The Westerners playing mah-jong seemed to be an endless source of fascination for many of the Chinese sharing the lounge with us, and we never played without at least one observer - whether in admiration or, more likely, scorn, I don't know.

The next day was our day through the Three Gorges - more accurately, actually, the nine gorges. After sailing past the first (big) gorge at 5:15 am, we left our big boat at 7 to board a smaller craft that would take us through the Three Little Gorges. At the end of the Little Gorges we again switched over to yet a smaller boat to take us through the Mini Gorges. The minis I could have skipped, but the Little Gorges were stunning, as were their bigger siblings on the Yangtze. We saw the Second Gorge that afternoon and passed through the Third in the evening, just before docking at Yichang. Yichang is the location of the enormous dam the Chinese have been building on the Yangtze for approximately the last decade; the boat continued on through the locks, which I thought would have been great, but instead we disembarked and proceeded to our hotel by bus.

China Trip: Emei Shan

2005-07-21T15:51:00.000-04:00

Days 10-12: Emei Shan

After the hustle and bustle of three huge Chinese cities, we were ready for some peaceful time in a more natural environment. And so from Chengdu our group hopped in a bus and headed out to Emei Shan, one of China's three holy mountains. There we would hike the mountain and spend three wonderful nights in Buddhist monasteries along the way.

Before reaching Emei Shan, however, we made a stop in Leshan to visit the famous "Dafo", an enormous buddah carved into the cliff at the meeting point of three rivers. Dafo is supposedly the largest outdoor seated buddah carved from stone - enough description there to hint that many other buddahs in the world could claim to be "the largest." No question that Dafo is huge, though. From head to toe he is 71 meters high. Marvelous to see, but with the huge crowds and long lines, I was glad when we continued on our way to the mountain.

Our first night was spent at the lovely Baoguo monastery at the foot of Emei Shan. The monasteries were definitely as "rustic" as we got on this trip, but the accomodations were by no means rough. It was just a brief stay at Baoguo, however, as we took off the next morning at 6 am to catch a bus up the mountain. From the parking lot at the top we hiked up to a cable car that took us straight to the Golden Summit. It had been raining all morning, and although it had stopped by the time we reached the summit, we were surrounded by a dense and unforgiving fog that allowed us only a hint of the magestic vistas that must be visible on a clear day. Returning to the car park, our group split into two factions: the "short walk" people, who would bus down the mountain and walk two hours to the monastery, and the "long walk" people, who would walk from where we were all the way down to the monastery, a distance of 23 km (14 miles). Now, anyone who knows me can probably already guess that I was the very first to volunteer for the long walk - I always prefer a challenge. However, with the awesome hindsight I have now, I think it was probably the wrong decision. The walk had some really stunning scenery and was fun in so many ways, but I wasn't prepared to be going down steep stairs for mile after mile after mile...and so, with 10 km still to go, my right knee gave out and I had to walk the rest of the way on one leg, using two "monkey sticks" (normally used to scare off the monkeys that are all over the place, but also functional as walking sticks) as makeshift crutches. Well, I wasn't too pleased, but I did finally make it to the monastery just in time to join the rest of the crew for dinner at the Hard Wok Cafe - the only "restaurant" near the monastery (which itself was fairly tucked away on Emei Shan). So we spent our second night right on the mountain, in the most beautiful, green leafy peace we had known since our arrival in China. The beds at this place even had mosquito netting, which made the bed look positively royal. A great experience, despite the bruises and the knee (oh, I forgot to mention that I had also fallen on the slippery, steep steps early in the hike, so I had massive bruises on my arms and my tailbone).

After our night on the mountain, some people walked the rest of the way down the mountain, and others, including a very gimpy me, walked down two hours to a car park and caught a bus to the bottom. I spent the rest of the day reading at the Baoguo monastery and stretching out my aching muscles. It was hysterical to watch all the other "long walkers" wince and whine any time they moved; I definitely wasn't the only one suffering from the walk the day before!

China Trip: Chengdu

2005-07-18T19:39:00.000-04:00

Days 8 & 9: Chengdu

Chengdu is the capital of the Sichuan province and has over 11 million inhabitants (China: the land of enormous cities). Our hotel, while not as central as the one in Xi'an, was right in the Tibetan quarter. It was also very close to a cute tourist shopping street - and by "tourist" I don't mean "Western tourist". Georgina and I explored it as soon as we arrived (screw showers) and enjoyed the faux-antique architecture, the artistic lollipop seller, and of course the finger-food vendors. At one place the cook would bounce rolled balls of rice paste off a taunt piece of vellum with mini cymbals attached into a vat of hot oil. The drum would crash merrily, and then for only 1 quai you could have three of the fried balls smothered in molasses. Delicious. Georgina and I also went on a very long exploratory walk into the center of the city, where in Renmin Park we found an amazing tea house. There's a saying that China has the best tea in the world, and Chengdu has the best tea in China. Thus the tea house tradition is a big one there. At our tea house in Renmin Park, I ordered the most wonderful jasmin tea that has ever existed, and paid an exorbiant $3 for it. Along with the tea came a big thermos of boiling water that lasted us through many, many cups. Sitting by the side of the lake and listening to the deafening waves of sound from the surrounding cicadas, we spent a very pleasant afternoon, only driven away eventually by our pressing need to find a toilet. In the evening our group gathered for an equally famous Sichuan tradition: hot pot. Think of it as a sort of (though not exactly) Chinese fondue, but with enough spices to render your entire face numb. I personally had to blend the hot and mild pots we ordered to reach my "Goldilocks" edible level of spice. Yes, I am a wuss, and I hang my head in shame to acknowledge it.

Despite the delicious tea and hot pot, the primary reason for coming to Chengdu was to visit the panda preserve there. We arrived around 8 am, feeding time and apparently the only time they are active all day. We strolled along the paths and admired at least ten from a very close distance. We were, at most, 30 feet away from them. Utterly adorable, and so on nature's chopping block. Sorry, guys, if you can't mate your species gets axed. That's reality for you.

Our last great taste of Sichuan came in the evening of the last day, when most of our group went out to catch a performance of Sichuan opera. The performance we saw featured short snippets of various types of opera, like a medley of styles, but it did, of course, include the most famous of them: face-changing. With a flick of a fan or cape, or perhaps just by turning away from the audience, the actors would change their elaborate masks in a flash. They did it so many times, and so quickly, I just can't imagine how they do it.

China Trip: Xi'an

2005-07-16T16:52:00.000-04:00

Days 5-7: Xi'an

We arrived in Xi'an at 7 am (having been woken by much shouting from the train attendants at about 5:30). After dropping our bags at the hotel, which was very conveniently located on the central square, we immediatly took off for a walk around. The most interesting part of Xi'an is the Muslim Quarter, home to a large population of Chinese Muslims. The area around the mosque was full of all sorts of souvenir shops, so I shopped around for a bit with Murray and Georgina. Bargaining there was tough as all get-out, and so after haggling for 20 minutes with a woman who wanted 1,500 quai ($180!) for three "jade" glass bracelets - I eventually got her down to 80 for the three, and she was pissed - I gave up on the shopping and visited the mosque instead. A beautiful, serene spot with a really interesting pagoda-style minaret. On the way back to the hotel I acted on Dylan's recommendation to try out whatever street vendor food looked interesting, and ended up with an absolutely delicious round philo-dough thing with beef and spring onion inside. Even better, only two quai (about a quarter). Later that afternoon I visited the Bell Tower in the center of the city, where the views were great and I caught a traditional Chinese-instrument performance (including a "sleeve dancer" like in House of Flying Daggers), and then went to get a hair wash at a local salon. I got a shampoo with scalp massage followed by a shoulder, neck, and arm massage for less than $2. Naturally I got one again the next day - too good to pass up!

We spent the morning of the following day at the famous Terracotta Warriors, I think the primary reason why Xi'an is on anyone's itinerary. We didn't have a great guide, which probably affected my impression, but overall I wasn't as impressed with the warriors as I expected to be. The problem with having expectations, no doubt. Honestly, though, the Muslim Quarter was much more interesting and fun than the warriors. Nevertheless, I do recognize their value and importance and was grateful we got to see them. Their age is astounding. For those of you who don't know, the emperor for whom the warriors were made was the same emperor who started the construction of the Great Wall, Qin Shihuang. His tomb, as yet unopened, is said to be the largest tomb in the world (yes, surpassing even the pyramids). Ah, to have been an emperor back in the good old days!

Our feasting highlight for Xi'an was a kebab place Dylan took us to in the Muslim Quarter. Very, very basic, loud, and cheap. Dylan, Murray, Craig, Jennifer, and I actually went back the second night, too, while the rest of the group was out having a fancy dumpling banquet elsewhere. One of our orders, "Crispy Fried Chicken" on the menu, came with the chicken's head on the plate, so I dug out and ate the brains. It was perfectly delicious.

On Saturday, July 16 - some of you probably already have this date memorized - the sixth Harry Potter book came out. I was blown away to hear from the Scots that they had found a place on Friday that was taking deposits and selling the book. English copies, even! In Xi'an! All together our group ended up with four copies. Crazy. It was also our last day in Xi'an and Murray's birthday, so we celebrated the latter with cake (a very Western cake, actually, which we ate with forks!) in one of our soft sleeper compartments on the train. Since the train journey (to Chengdu) was pretty long and we had boarded early in the day, Dylan brought out a game he had invented for us to pass the time. The game worked as follows: a team of two sat across from each other at one of the little tables in the compartments. Dylan then put five regular and five peanut M&M's on a tray on the table. Within the five-minute time limit, one of the team members had to pick up the M&M's with chopsticks and pass it to the other teammate, who would then eat it. Each team got one chance. At first no one could get all ten M&M's within the time limit, but eventually the team of Georgina and Jennifer got all of them in 4 minutes and 25 seconds. The pressure was on! The position I had drawn with my teammate Cliodna was second to last, a perfect place to be. We started up and quickly fell into the pattern of me picking up the M&M and passing it to Cliodna. In a whirlwind of chopsticks and M&Ms, we thus polished off the plate in a record-setting 2 minutes and 5 seconds. Champions!

Seems like enough excitement for one train journey, I know, but actually there was more. Around midnight, when we were all in bed, our compartment was awoken by a scream from Eileen. A rat had just run across her hair! We turned on the light and looked around, but no rat. Eileen traded bunks with Britta, who was in the upper bunk above her, and we tried to go back to sleep. Five minutes later I felt the rat scurrying along my pillow and shouted to scare it off, whereupon the whole process of turning on the lights and looking around commenced all over again. Finally Britta and I, being the two on the bottom bunks, turned around so that our heads were on the opposite ends of the bed and went back to sleep. Yet another one of those stories that just make your trip more memorable.

China Trip: Beijing

2005-07-13T19:51:00.000-04:00

Days 1-4: Beijing

Left on the morning of the 9th at 5:30 am and landed in Beijing at 2:50 pm on the 10th. The great thing about the international date line is it turns a simple 10-hour flight into an impressive 26-hour expedition. Fortunately made it through customs and immigration and baggage claim with no problem, and easily caught a taxi from the airport to the hotel. At 6 pm I went down to the lobby for our first group meeting. Our leader was revealed to be Dylan, a blond Australian who's been living for the past four years in Taiwan - I'm so relieved to hear he does speak Mandarin (it's not a requirement for Intrepid leaders, but as you might imagine it is incredibly helpful). The other members of the group seemed interesting enough: a Scottish couple, Craig and Jennifer; Murray, an Australian; my roommate Georgina, a Kiwi; Eileen, from Ireland; Britta, from Germany; and a family of husband, wife, two girls and a boy from England. Once again I'm the only American! In fact the only North American. What luck. After listening to Dylan's welcoming spiel and receiving his gift of chopsticks (from now on we will be fined if we use disposables), we proceeded to dinner at a place not far from the hotel. I was concerned when the food seemed to be quite Western, but Dylan assured me that it's only because he wants to be gentle on the first night. How considerate, I'm sure, but I want my snake-blood drink, dammit.

Woke up the next morning at 6:10 am rather reluctantly, so I must have gotten over the jetlag early. Our group made an excursion to the "Long Wall" (as it's known in Chinese) leaving Beijing at 7 and arriving at the Jinshanling entrance at 10. We hiked roughly 10 km (6 miles) to the Simatai entrance. It took us four hours of some of the most painful step-climbing I've ever experienced in brutally intense heat, but it was absolutely magnificent and a highlight of the entire trip. The Wall is one of those rare instances when seeing all the pictures and hearing all the stories beforehand somehow does not do it justice. The views are breathtaking. Several friendly farmers and farmer's wives accompanied us for abut half the way, hoping to sell us touristy goods in turn for assisting us with the climb. The man who had attached himself to me kept grabbing my hand to stabilize me as we navigated the steep and crumbling steps, and while I certainly didn't need it I assure you there was little alternative than to go along without protest. Finally we reached Simatai and descended from the Wall with much relief. As a reward I and a few others decided to opt for the "flying fox" (zip line) path from the Wall to the parking lot. Arriving back at the hotel in Beijing at about 6:15, I organized a group of us to go out for Beijing (not Peking!) duck at a restaurant near the hotel. I wolfed it down - my appetite having finally returned after all the hiking. It was amazing. And the best part was that our group of 11 got its own private room on the second floor of the restaurant.

The next day was a free day, so Murray, Georgina, and I decided to spend it at the Summer Palace. We felt adventurous, so we decided to take a public bus (the 808) that stopped around the corner from our hotel and arrived right outside the North Palace Gate an hour and a half later. We arrived around 9:15, got a special "through pass" with admission to all areas of the palace grounds, and promptly began our exploration. Unfortunately the whole hill that included the Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha - a visual focal point for the palace grounds - was fenced off for repairs. Damn Olympics ruined everything in Beijing. The pollution was also pretty horrible; most of the lake was obscured by a really unattractive murky brown haze. Otherwise, however, the palace grounds were lovely. The best part was when the three of us descended onto the cute little Suzhou Street, a nice array of touristy shops lined up along a canal with only a narrow walkway between the storefront and the water. We stopped at the first place we found and had tea (with fresh green leaves at the bottoms of the cups) overlooking the canal. Later that evening some of us went to see the acrobat performance, which was just jaw-dropping.

Our last day in Beijing was made up of the "Beijing highlights": Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City followed by a ride in a rickshaw past Beijing's famous hutongs (ancient neighborhoods with crooked narrow streets in the process of being bulldozed in the name of modernization - thank the Olympics again). Our guide naturally did not mention the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, which Dylan told me is one of the four forbidden "TTTF" topics in China: Tiananmen, Tibet, Taiwan, and Falun Gong. I heard later that Eileen actually had brought up the shootings in private with the guide, but that her (the guide's) response was simply that the media had made it into a bigger deal than it actually was. Good job, guide, for providing a fake-response to the meddlesome foreign tourist. Anyway, the Forbidden City was magnificent, although my chief impression was one of massive, annoying crowds. Thank goodness I had seen The Last Emperor before I came, so that I could better envision the grand plazas without the thousands of schoolchildren wearing identical shirts. After the Forbidden City tour we were treated to a delicious dumpling lunch at an Intrepid-sponsored charity for people with mental disabilities, where we also listened to a short performance by four young men there and got to try our hands (if only briefly) at Chinese calligraphy.

That's it for Beijing! That afternoon we boarded our first Chinese train for our overnight trip to Xi'an. This first trip was in a hard sleeper, which meant the train carriage was composed of bunks stacked three high. No doors. My train trips in Vietnam were all soft sleeper (four to a compartment with a door), so this was new to me. Dylan said he preferred the hard sleepers because they're more open and spacious, and I agree. They're also more social, so we had a great time chatting together until lights went out at 10 pm.

Adieu to AEI

2005-07-01T19:01:00.000-04:00

As I type this, I have a mere hour and a half before taking leave of the sweet entity that has put food on my table for a year and a half now: AEI. Ah, AEI, how I will miss your nuturing embrace. The gourmet meals, the intellectual stimulation, the confusing health care, the cubicle with a view of the Washington Monument, the right-wing nutjobs obsessed with Reagan...you can never be replaced.

I am truly sorry to be leaving AEI, which has been a fun place to work. But I really have to admit that this farwell process is a colossal pain in the ass. I've already been stuck in three drawn-out conversations that go on an on with things like "We'll miss you" and "Visit in September" and "Have a great summer." Ugh. Here's my idea of a good goodbye:

"Bye, Alice!"
"So long, Betty!"
*Alice and Betty wave to each other from across the room*

Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Why does it need to be more complicated?

That said, though, I was quite flattered to get a surprise party yesterday afternoon right after my last public event let out. April, my coworker, asked me to look over something in the kitchen, and when I turned the corner there was veritable crowd gathered in the dining room. We had wine and brownies too (which, I might add, although taste delicious separately, are not all that great in combination). How sweet! Sniff, sniff.

Adieu, AEI...

Shomei Tomatsu at the Corcoran

2005-06-17T01:44:00.000-04:00

Went to the Corcoran today (it's free on Thursdays). Saw a number of interesting things - including a strangely creepy/fascinating video art project by some guy...I'll have to figure out his name - but really the most noteworthy was the Shomei Tomatsu exhibit called "Skin of the Nation." Everyone I was with agreed it was a fabulous show. Tomatsu was a young child at the time of the second World War, and grew up in occupied Japan. His photographs cover the consequences of the defeat, the American occupation, the prosperous 60's, and more. Of course it's much easier to say that than to actually describe the images themselves, which I won't undertake to do. Suffice for now to say that the exhibit was incredibly interesting, and I recommend that you check out Tomatsu's work if you ever get a chance.

Shomei Tomatsu - I think called "Looking for work"

M.I.A, will you marry me?

2005-06-13T02:00:00.000-04:00

Just got back from the bitchin'est show at the 9:30 Club. Maya Arulpragasam, aka M.I.A, tore the house down. Not literally, of course, but seriously - almost. The crowd was totally into it, jumping around with arms waving, and M.I.A thrashed around the stage like a madwoman. Props to her and her singalong girl for a damn energetic set. "Bucky Done Gone" was amazing, as were others. I have videos to prove it.

The picture below sucks ass, but it's the best I could do with the lighting and whatnot being what it was. You'll notice that M.I.A, on the right, is standing on top of the speakers on the stage. Cool. Her backup singer is on the left, and the (cute) dude at the table was spinning the beats. Interesting set-up; the first time I've been to the 9:30 Club and seen something other than the traditional "band" arrangement.

Those of you unfamiliar with M.I.A should be ashamed of yourselves. And after you're finished being ashamed, go out and buy Arular.

MIA gettin' down

Buh-bye, Brookings!

2005-06-09T01:59:00.000-04:00

For those of you who didn't know it, I am a proud member of my office softball team, the AEI Nationalists. Today we whupped Brookings ass in a 6-2 game. Not, perhaps, as satisfactory as a win against our arch-rival Heritage, but still worthy of a tiny victory dance. {dance, dance} I wish I could say I made a meaningful contribution - or any contribution, for that matter - but my role was limited to one at-bat and a couple innings hanging out in the knee-high grass in left field. I scored a single but ended up out at third. I do manage to hit pretty well (consistent line-drives), but even I admit that usually the only reason I manage to get to first is because of the other team's incompetence. Yeah, we're not exactly MLB material, here. It's more about the beer. Oh, and I guess the camaraderie. Or whatever.

The victorious Nationalists

A great weekend

2005-06-05T21:51:00.000-04:00

Had a really wonderful weekend despite absurdly escalating temperatures. Saturday morning found me at Hillwood with my friend Jeffrey and others from MEETin. Formerly the estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post (and still owned privately by the family), Hillwood is made up of the main house, now a lovely museum of (mostly) Russian antiques, various outlying buildings with artistic displays, and gorgeous landscaped gardens. I guess Margie liked her flowers. The scent of roses in the air was almost enough to make one dizzy. The best part, though, I have to say, was my visit with the "Bug Lady" who had, among other things, a giant millipede, huge grasshoppers, silk moths, and enormous cockroaches. Thank goodness I didn't see any spiders in the collection, else I would have had to beat a hasty and doubtlessly ungraceful retreat from the entire neighborhood. As it was, well, you see the smile on my face.

AB and the freaky millipede from Africa

That night, despite running myself ragged trying to score tickets beforehand and ultimately collapsing in despair, some kind soul (thank you, Jada) offered me an extra ticket to the free Shakespeare performance at the Carter Barron ampitheater. They were putting on "A Midsummer Night's Dream." I'm not sure exactly what I expected - I just liked the idea of the words "free" and "Shakespeare" in the same sentence - but wow, what a great evening. It was amazingly funny and the costumes and sets were terrific for a show with only 10 performances. Best of all, the director had to play Puck - something I was aprehensive about (replace Puck with an amateur actor?), but I was delighted with his performance. Actually the experience was probably enhanced knowing that he was just thrown into the role at the last minute. I appreciated it more.

Sunday was the AEI annual picnic, and one of the hottest days of all time. Man, DC is getting too hot. Where did spring go? Oh, by the by I managed to worm my way onto the dessert-judging panel (mostly by telling Ruth I wanted to be on it), but the dessert I chose ended up coming in second. The chocophiles beat out the strawberry-rhubarb pie I liked with their silly votes for some brownie concoction (which was actually good, I admit, but still). I think chocolate-lovers are nuts. I mean, I like chocolate, but to let it rule your every decision in such a make-or-break fashion? It just seems far too controlling.

2005-06-04T16:20:00.000-04:00

May I introduce to you...AB