renewing

my passport expires on sunday. i'm a little sad about giving it up, both for the dozens of stories it indexes and for the one that it's missing. (australia, you elusive beast, i vow to make you the first stamp in the new book.) within the well-worn pages are stamps from egypt, libya, and japan. three places very much in the news these days and, though the visa dates might indicate otherwise, still very vivid in my memory.

on the flip side, i was elated to learn that nowadays you can submit your own passport photo; you're not at the mercy of the drugstore photographer, nor out ten bucks. but oh, the pressure! smile, no smile? hair up, down? too light? too dark? does my head fit within the prescribed 1" to 1 3/8" frame?

freedom can be paralyzing.

2001 (i still have that sweater)

2011

restoration

gearing up to revive this here corner of the world wide web, to catch up and move forward on all things i love about travel, when i came across this:

travel writing: why it sucks.

i hereby vow never to use the words/phrases "oasis", "beaten path", or "land of contrasts".*
and not to suck.




* n.b. purposely following british style of interior quotes because, well, it just looks better.

Next Stop

españa!

barcelona, to be precise.

last spring break ever.

ole! ole!

DC Wrap Up

Before it completely escapes my memory!

My last Sunday in DC was low key... until I went to see Eddie Vedder at the Warner Theatre. (If you don’t know me, you don’t know my love for the Pearl Jam, and how pumped I was for this.) First off, what a lovely venue. Felt so regal. Eddie’s on a solo tour, just him and his guitar(s) playing his own tunes. Lots from Into the Wild, which I have yet to see, though the Netflix envelope is sitting on my dining room table. He also snuck in one PJ song — Porch — and, to my supreme delight, three Dylan songs. Girl From North Country, Forever Young, and All Along The Watchtower, his second to last song where he was joined by the drummer from Fugazi! Bad. Ass. In typical Vedder fashion, his between-song banter was thoughtful, hilarious, stammered, and potent. His story about ‘surfing’ in the Potomac had it all. Guess you had to be there…

Monday, Monday... Lazy bones. Packed. Walked to and around Dupont Circle, ate the worst Thai food of my life, and got harassed by a homeless man. Two of my classmates from last year had just moved to DC (with many more on the way), so I met up with them for some drinks. My bike broke on the ride home. Some how the chain became lodged between the chainring and the outer casing of the chainring (don't know the term), there by bending the whole thing. Can't believe I didn't take a photo. RIP, Schwinny.

Tuesday, last full-day in town... Met up with my ol' pal Jim from high school for lunch, thereby bringing my DC excursion full circle as he was the very first soul I saw when I arrived. From there, it was a whirlwind museum tour. I had a very disciplined agenda, though.



First stop: Jim Henson's Fantastic World. What an amazing man. I believe the show is down now, but trust me it was fabulous. Not 'dumbed down' in any way, as a Crayola-hued exhibit space featuring fuzzy puppets might lead you to believe. The curators did an admirable job of presenting JH's vision, mission, and worldview in a most accessible, engaging, and fun way without being over pedantic or elementary. I most appreciated the inclusion of his early, pre-Muppet work, from comically un-PC commercials starring a primordial Kermit to Time Piece, one of his many more 'experimental' films.





Next: Permanent collection at Hirshhorn. I'd seen The Cinema Effect twice, but the museum closed before I ever made it to the top floor. Eh.



Next: Afghanistan at the National Gallery. Also been here twice without making it through the special exhibits. Nice exhibit, great story, gorgeous artifacts.

That evening, my housemates (minus one) and I went out to West End Bistro, Eric Ripert's DC restaurant. Of the mind that I would eat pretty much anything prepared under the hand of that man, I had the halibut. Yes, Maria the vegetarian of 13 years ate a fish. And it was delicious. Apres ça, we met up with our fourth housemate for dessert at Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe. I had the apple pie with cinnamon ice cream. Also amazing.

And that, as they say, was that.

Back in Chicago

Arrived home yesterday, with 146 pounds of luggage in tow. (The Southwest folks were kind enough to fake the weight so i was charged $50 instead of $100 for the overage.) Now I'm re-adjusting to the size of my apartment, which seems so contained compared to the whole house I just inhabited. Also, my cat forgot me.

My last days in DC were some of the best, solidifying even more that I will be back, if only to visit. Several of my grad school classmates just moved there, with more on the way, and we hung out a few days before I left. Nice to see familiar faces. (The ride home from the bar is when my bicycle met its unfortunate fate.)

I ticked through my checklist of sites to see before I leave with a shocking degree of efficiency. Last Saturday (16th), I hit a matinee at the E St Cinema — Man On Wire, which was fabulous, and not just because it was French (though, that always helps...). From there, it was off to explore Penn Quarter and Chinatown. My housemate (err... former housemate. sniff.) raved about the National Building Museum, so I had to check it out. Plus, there's an Eero Saarinen exhibit up. The museum is nice, the shop is fantastic, but the building is really the thing to see. Definitely one of the more photogenic structures in DC.








They used to hold all the State dinners here

Post-NBM, I walked around Chinatown. All two blocks of it. Every Chinatown must be marked with a gate, and DC is no different, except for the Gallery Place shopping plaza encroaching directly upon it. Very commercial, very touristy, very blah.

Nestled in the madness is the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum, two museums housed in one space. Not knowing much about the collections of either, I was expecting room after room of presidential paintings and second-rate American art that didn't make it into the National Gallery. I was very pleasantly proved wrong. The Portrait Gallery had some fun exhibits -- Recognize! (hip hop and portraiture) and Bally Hoo (poster as portrait) -- in addition to the presidents.




Harry Bertoia's daughter contacted me about using this photo!

Next: Sunday.

bad news

my bicycle is no more.

riding home from foggy bottom tonight, somehow the chain became lodged between the two front chainrings, so tightly that it bent the metal cover over the chainring. it's now shaped like an egg, and locked to a pole at 14th & K. (fitting that i should 'break down' near my old office.)

i suppose no better time than now, 36 hours before i'm scheduled to leave town. makes a sad scene that much sadder.

note to self

remind me to tell you about:

1. fallingwater / the castle / my birthday
2. last day(s) at internship
3. museuming
4. eddie vedder

August Eve

Here we are on August eve, and I've less than three weeks until I return home to Chicago. This is madness to me. Where, oh where has the time gone? I've barely scratched the surface on museum visits; woefully under-explored the culinary scene (also due to budget constraints...); not lost those ten pounds I packed on over the winter (although biking almost everyday makes me feel OK about that); and, shamefully, not finished my thesis.

Tonight my housemates interviewed some people to take my place, and it brought home the reality that my pretend world is coming to an end, rapidly. My stay has always had an expiration date, but I never expected it to be bittersweet. Attachments have been made; habits formed.

Still, the thing about DC that gets me, that makes me hesitant about any long-term prospects here, is its transience. Very few people are from DC; most come to town, put in a few years time and then pack up that experience and take it where they really want to be. Based on several conversations, this is not a unique observation by any means. But I suppose when you're one of the folks who stays, it's interesting to see all the new faces coming to town, all the new possibilities for new pals to fill in the gaps left the ones who've moved on. I've always been that person, standing by while good friends — best friends — came and went through Chicago, frustrated at my own static existence. Now, I can't say that I know if it's any better on the flip side.

Today I Met My Senator

No, not that one. The other one.

This morning I rose bright and early to experience the DC commute I feared most: the 8AM Metro ride to Capitol Hill. A parade of Blackberrys and brown-nosed interns. Shudder.

For me, no Congressional hearings today; instead, I went to the Illinois Coffee, coffee and donuts with my members of Congress. Senator Dick Durbin holds this little town hall meeting for visiting constituents every week while Congress is in session. Rep. Jerry Costello joined him.



They talked about all of the expected issues: gas prices, energy costs, employment, infrastructure, youth and violence. I was decently impressed with both of their responses to crowd questions. Dick Durbin has this warm, trusted grandpa demeanor; you just want to believe everything he says, that the world really can be a better place, and the government can help.

After the meeting -- completely packed with at least 100 people -- we had the chance to meet our civil servants and have our picture taken with them. Of course, everyone else was there with their family or school group, and then there's li'l ole me, hanging with the politicos all by myself. They email the photos; should have mine in 6 to 8 weeks.


Also: Wednesdays are for flat tires, I'm learning. Second flat in a week -- although far less spectacular than the first, simply a slow deflate overnight. This time I had the good folks at City Bikes supply the labor as well as the materials, and wouldn't you know, there's a ton wrong with it. I was cajoled into replacing the rear tire, which was more or less stripped bald and the likely source of my leak. $38.05 later, back on the road.

Week in Review

Mon: Congressional research, failed webinar
Tue: Bill Ivey, sunburn
Wed: flat tire, Kennedy Center
Thu: NEA, cake @ work, mediocre pizza
Fri: deadlines, homesick, not seeing Dark Knight
Sat: Pilates, new tire, thesis research
Sun: thesis research, microwave Thai, 1h43m phone call with long-lost friend

Sunday Morning Bike Ride

Before it got unbearably hot, I set off on a li'l bicycling excursion around town. DC has a wealth of bike paths looping in and around the city, from downtown to Virginia to Maryland and back again. I headed for the Mount Vernon trail, which leads all the way to -- you guessed it -- Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. I only went as far as Reagan National Airport before heading back to the city. All in all, about a 13-mile ride from start to finish. The path moves really quickly, wasn't crowded or steep, and passes by all the sights from across the Potomac, as well as skirting Roosevelt Island, a future adventure. My Schwinn graciously modeled for me...


approaching the start of the path, near the Key Bridge crossing from Georgetown to Arlington


under the bridge






watching airplanes land is oddly soothing


train debris under the 14th street bridge

Yesterday I went to the Eastern Market.



All in all, a good weekend. Now, the magnitude of work that looms before me has hit like a landing airplane.

One Month Downs

But of course, nothing is shiny happy people all the time. Here are a few of my not-so-favorite things:

6. The humidity lives up to the hype.
5. The bus has vinyl seats. Humidity + sweat + vinyl = swamp ass.
4. Metro cars have vinyl seats AND carpet. Yuck.
3. Metro stops running around midnight on weekdays.
2. Dearth of good spicy food.
1. The three little incessantly barking jerks next door. They should not be allowed to be called dogs.

One Month Ups

Today marks my one-month anniversary with Washington, DC. I celebrated by going to my first Nationals baseball game. Completely astonished, once again, at the utter ease and quickness of getting around, I made a list of DC highlights so far. Here are a few of my favorite things:

10. Walking. The most walkable city I have ever lived in.
9. DC Metro, for when I don't feel like walking.
8. Juice Joint.
7. Sweets: at home, at work, on the streets.
6. My porch, and all it looks out on.
5. Street signals all have timers for the crosswalk.
4. Having a regular routine.
3. Reconnecting with my old pal from high school.
2. An internship with actual, impactful work that will live on once I'm gone.
1. Biking to work takes less time than the bus.

The Best Thing I've Seen All Day

Danse! Danse! Danse!

Cultural diplomacy at its finest... And a pretty sweet way to see the world.

NYC Weekend

July 4th has never ranked high on my goodtimesfun list. Yes, BBQs are fantastic, hanging out is great, and who doesn't love a day off? It's the fireworks that get me. In Chicago, amateur explosions commence at least a week in advance, very often directly in front my house, behind my house, above my house, and continue until the Indiana contraband runs out. How about securing that border??

Nevertheless, I decided to make a 'holiday' of it this year. Equally inspired by the desire to visit friends and to avoid being friendless in DC, I hopped a bus to New York City — my first experience aboard those fabled East Coast buses. There's the Chinatown bus, the so-called "Jewish" bus, Bolt Bus, Megabus, and the one I ultimately settled on because they pick up a block from work, Washington Deluxe. And I gotta say, I am a happy convert. Traffic blew, but what do you expect on holiday eve? The bus was clean, with comfy seats and foot rests, air-con, and free wi-fi. Even the bathroom surpassed expectation.

After noodling around Brooklyn for a bit, we watched the fireworks from the roof of my friend's friend's place, a guy who also happened to go to my high school.





While I pride myself on blending in with the 'locals' when I travel, I am not above being a straight-up tourist. I wholeheartedly embraced the role on Saturday. First stop was a jaunt over to the Brooklyn Museum to check out the Murakami exhibit, although the rain and longer-than-anticipated bus ride killed my motivation to actually go in. Just as well: that is one gift shop I did not need to browse. I poked around the piece in the lobby atrium, then left to meet a friend at the farmer's market in Grand Army Plaza.


this is how i looked when i got off the bus

After some delicious bread, cheese, and fresh apple cider, it was off to lower Manhattan to hop a ferry to Governors Island.





What a fun little side trip! We packed a picnic and snacked amongst the creepy little bald-headed man-baby sculptures. The officer's living quarters felt eerily like The Others compound from LOST, an open park of quaint two-story yellow houses with sprawling porches. You can enter the Admiral's house, empty save for some artwork of the island, but the other doors are locked up. More outdoor sculptures, an empty chapel, theatre, YMCA.





Currently on view right as you approach the island is one of Olafer Eliasson's NYC Waterfalls installations.



The island is open Wednesday thru Sunday and it is free, as is the five-minute ferry ride to get there. Last ferry leaves for the island at 3PM.

Post-island adventuring, a little stroll around Wall Street and the financial district grew into a six-hour walk around all of lower Manhattan. I love long walks, as you may have noticed, and I'd never really spent much time around this side of town. This is the NYC of my mind, not the Disneyland of Union Square. Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, Greenwich Village... hit it all, with stops for snacking, of course. Green tea waffles are my new street food obsession, that I will crave until the next time we meet. Got my requisite slice, which, while not amazing, was scores better than any pie in DC. Our weary feet wound up in Times Square, closing out the evening with Wall•E. (A movie I was completely skeptical about, but I was delightfully proven wrong.)

A little locked-out misadventure at 1AM nearly spoiled the day, but delectable brunch at Counter cured any lingering grumpiness. I'm a sucker for flavored butter.

The bus ride home was completely seamless, and so fast. Barely four hours, compared to seven on the way up. I know I'm completely late to the game, but for the five people who HAVEN'T taken a weekend bus ride, it's highly recommended. I'm thinking of going to Philly next weekend.

So, while the fourth is still not my favorite, it's certainly got its redeeming features and is a pretty perfect recipe for fun, if you've got the right ingredients.

And now.... back to work!

This Week's Assignment

Researching and preparing a report on federal legislation and advocacy efforts for the arts in healthcare. Still loving my job.

Monday Night

My DC social calendar is determined by who is on tour. After all the weekend hubbub, pals Oxford Collapse were in town at the Black Cat. And they'll be back in August!

Around Town

Hanging with the cuz.

Cure for Homesickness

Busy busy busy busiest weekend yet. An incomplete sentence recap will have to suffice for now. I'm tired. Photos to come.

Family and the boy in town, plus my cousin who lives a couple of hours away.
Red Rocks Pizza.
Learned the hard way that absolutely nothing is open downtown on weekends. Not even Saturdays.
94 degrees.
NASA @ Folklife Festival. Held a shuttle tile. Signed a shuttle wheel that will be in the Smithsonian.

Water.
Monuments.

Gatorade.
Martin Puryear exhibition at National Gallery. Formalism is refreshing. More time next time.
Hot.
Chinatown.
Hotel rest stop.
Dinner @ Jaleo. Delicious. I ate a mussel. Everything tastes good in butter. Didn't care so much for the scallop. (Not in butter.)
Early night. See "Hot".
Second trip to zoo in the AM. Pandas still asleep.
Lions and tigers eat lunch.
Hot.
Hot dog vending machine. Are we in Japan?
>
Race to brunch at Tabard Inn. Also delicious. Mmmmm, donuts.
Walked around Georgetown.
Hot. Crowded. Blisters.
Family go home. (Aww.)
Nap.
Boy and I go meet friends for eats and drinks.
Mmmmmojito.
Slowest food service ever.
Drinks @ Wonderland Ballroom.
Sleep.
Early Monday.
Boy go home. (Aww.)

"Dumber than this, our country shall not get."

Today I attended the 164th Meeting of the National Council on the Arts, the NEA's advisory council. The tri-annual meetings are open to the public, and if I lived in DC year-round, I would go to all of them. The Council is composed of artists, arts execs, and general patrons of the arts. The NEA sometimes seems like this nebulous, remote agency, but the meeting put a face on the federal body that brings art to the people. It's chaired by the chairman of the NEA, Dana Gioia.

After talking shop, a presentation on the NEA's latest and largest project, The Big Read, began. Putting aside the somewhat ironic fact that the National Endowment for the Arts is sponsoring a literacy program, while the National Endowment for the Humanities is concurrently sponsoring a visual arts program, it was an inspiring presentation about the potential of this country to better itself — precisely what both of these agencies exist for.

(I suppose this makes me an elitist. I think we should all aspire to read more, do more, be more. We can always find ways to improve ourselves. I want a president who thinks so, too.)

The talk started out on an abysmal note: Less than 50% of Americans read for 'fun'. This isn't all that surprising, since I'm one of those folks who should actually read more. Don't get me wrong — I love books, but I'm a painfully slow reader, which often discourages me. Add the mountain of reading for grad school, and the last thing I want to do is read more on my 'free time'. But, I'm trying. I've read half a collection of short stories since I've arrived, and just started a novel. Commuting is great for reading.

Anyway, I digress.

The Big Read aims to make sure that that percentage does not get any lower. As Mr. Gioia stated, with The Big Read, we can draw a line and say [the title of this post].

I won't regurgitate the whole presentation here, but I'll share what I found most interesting. Assuming you all followed that convenient link, you know what the Big Read project is all about. One of the communities participating is Norman, Oklahoma. Over the course of two years of Big Read-ing, public library patronage (the # of adults checking out books) has increased by 23% overall. The citizens of Norman voted to voluntarily raise their taxes to increase library funding by 50%. Their program also featured the most hilarious promotional tie-in for Bless Me, Ultima.

Another element of the project which instantly caught my eye, cultural diplomat that I am, was the international component: Big Read Russia, Big Read Mexico, and the most extensive, Big Read Egypt/US. One criticism leveraged against the program was its emphasis on American authors to the exclusion of many many fantastic non-American authors. In this program, participating organizations in the US read Naguib Mahfouz's The Thief and the Dogs, while the Egyptian orgs read Fahrenheit 451, To Kill a Mockingbird, or The Grapes of Wrath. While book selection is always going to be debated, I think this is a really interesting approach since literature is such an excellent entry into gaining some perspective about another culture.

I also must say that the NEA employs the nicest people on the planet. I was talking with one of my new colleagues, and an NEA rep came over to introduce himself because he'd never seen us at any other NEA events. Then I met their director for research, also amazingly friendly and chill (and he gave me his card). Then yet another lady came over to introduce herself, and to complement my shoes. NEA is good people.

So, this overly drawn out post is just another way of saying, I'm really loving my internship because I get to do things like this.