I often feel on the corner of Colonial and California.Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Newport
I almost forgot - here's a few photos of my first time at Newport Folk Fest last weekend.
saying hi to secret sisters who I also saw at Red Rocks in July, opening for Ray LaMontagne
obligatory photo op - apparently some people have a huge head?
Amos Lee with Secret Sisters
EmmyLou
Pete Seeger
saying hi to secret sisters who I also saw at Red Rocks in July, opening for Ray LaMontagne
obligatory photo op - apparently some people have a huge head?
Amos Lee with Secret Sisters
EmmyLou
Pete Seeger
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
whoa is me.
So, I know I've been noticably blogging less, and that my last post was pathetically short. Like the rest of the world, I've resigned to "status updates" as a way of keeping in touch with friends and family. Not that there's anything wrong with Facebook and twitter, it certainly has put so many of my friends in touch more frequently, and narrowed the distance gap. But I think we all need to consciously make an effort to do more than tweet, or we will lose our depth in relationships. Texting is not the same as talking.
I read a quote from John Mayer the other day (who I usually can't stand) where he said he stopped using twitter because it was "making his mind smaller". By always thinking in 140-character counts, he couldn't compose an entire song anymore, probably not even a complete thought. That pretty much says it for me. I need to return to a healthy mix of tweets and longer sentences, paragraphs, blogs, emails, letters. And while I'm at it, I also need to get back to using my Nikon instead of my lazy little digital camera, which admittedly takes great photos on a whim, but it's not what I think of as photography. I really wish the rest of the world would return to at least pocket digital cameras instead of camera phones. Gah! I know, I know, iPhones are different but mobile phone cameras are awful. We can't let photography go extinct.
Looking through my little photos, I realize that I have done a lot and not shared much on this blog in the last 6 months, so I'm going to do that now.
It's hard to talk about, but Chris' relocation to the East Coast has not been as swift as we had hoped; there's been job interviews, but nothing quite right. I am racking up Southwest Airlines rewards visiting Colorado every 2 months and Chris'll be here next month. I try to keep busy, see new things in New England, listen to my Good Mood music, and "carry on" (cheerful Tim Gunn voice).
In carrying on, I am blessed with good friends, Chris' family, and also a job that is enlightening and encouraging. In fact, Facing History allowed me to take my week-long July seminar with teachers at the Denver office instead of here in Boston, so I could spend a more time with Chris. I had an incredible time experiencing how we teach teachers, and engage students and I learned so much about the United States' horrifying history with discrimination (specifically around Eugenics and immigration exclusion policies). It made me want to be a high school history and civics teacher, actually.
I lucked out that I missed the horrid heat wave in Boston that same week I was in Denver. My RAV-4 is doing quite well, which may sound funny to some of you. but I really, really miss that car! Lately I'm constantly monitoring the news about an electric (EV) RAV-4 that Toyota's begun manufacturing for 2012, because I think it's my only consolation; it's the only way I can come to terms with admitting the old '97 RAV-4 will have to retire someday. But not yet!
When I moved out here, a stream of good luck was following me, and I knew before long, that life would balance itself out with some bad luck. Well bad luck caught up to me last month - I lost my wallet, then had my car towed, and seemed to be getting hit with bills, fees, parking tickets, insurance letters, what have you. I almost melted down last week, but my great boss, Karen told me to go home, and chillax, so I did, and had an Abita on the porch, and then a nap.
Thankfully the bad luck had no influence on my moving to JP. I love the apartment, I love my landlord, Mary, I love the neighborhood, I love the espresso bar next door! The house I'm renting constantly reminds me (without even having to say it) that I own way too much stuff. Mary keeps clutter to a minimum and every drawer half-empty. There's no freaking pen drawer in the kitchen overflowing with 100's of pens, post-it notes, and office supplies, unlike every place I've ever lived. I hope her good habits rub off on me.
A lot of people asked about my recent knee surgery. I have had what is called "theater knee" since the trip to Europe in 2006 where your knees feel crunched in a seated position, even when they're not crunched at all. But a specific pain had been growing in one spot on the kneecap since I got to Boston, and driving more than an hour in the mini was almost becoming impossible. I had tried a lot of things, but finally had an MRI and the doctor noticed a small tumor in the spot where my knee was aggravated most. So they did a quick, no-drama outpatient surgery, also found a "plica" (tissue fold that you're born with, and can hurt) and removed that. I was walking normally after 24 hours and the only recovery involved was icing it for about a week.
Having seen many doctors and specialists leading up to the surgery, though, I've realized the (sort of hard) truth that the general knee pain is really a result of too much weight on my knees as well as lazy postures like hyperextending the knees when I stand, or walking uneven on the edges of my feet when going up stairs. One of the times that the P.A. was reviewing my MRI, the radiologist's report described my issue as "globular fat" which was extremely funny, and made for a great punchline all that day. But let's face it, I've been spending my years in Colorado not biking, not hiking, hating running, and walking the dog in my flip-flops. I do a little yoga and pilates, but it's time to get serious now.
Conveniently! - my new apartment is up 3 flights of stairs! - so it's a behavioral adjustment for both my quads and my brain (trying to remember everything you need before you leave the 3rd floor is now more important). And living 2 miles from work, I have started biking to work, since there's a beautiful green park (thank you, Fredrick Law Olmstead) between here and there, which is very good rehab for the knee. I constantly feel like I don't fit in with my clumsy bike riding, since I don't wear a messenger bag (seriously, everyone) or walk my half-pit bull mutt (the SPCA is around the corner) but otherwise I feel very settled and comfortable in JP. I'm getting the hang of it.
Yesterday I went to a little Art Fair in Providence and explored that city for the day. Today it's pouring rain out, so I'm spending some long overdue time updating iTunes, my photos and other stuff on my laptop. Here's some photos I should have blogged along the way:
East Coast friends who have moved West - drool now
My first bike since 5th grade! courtesy of Bikes Not Bombs
This is me in disbelief that I could be ever wear such a dorky thing as a bike helmet. nutcase is right.
pretty summer porch on my new rented house in JP
My room
most of the rooms in Mary's house look like they belong in a magazine (unlike the next house you're about to see)
The above wall stripes were in my childhood home circa 1975-85 (to be fair, it was my sister and my playroom, but still), and it still survives as evidence of the Brady Bunch Era today. We visited in July and were BLOWN away how everyting remained the same on the bottom floor of the house. And it was hard to express our awe and laughter to the new owner without offending!
Curtains in my dad's 70's office, in tact and still hung up!
our zig zag rug from the 70's... just AS I remember it
My Uncle Bill and I at the Patriots' Day Parade
beautiful guitar shop, the Music Emporium in Lexington
From the deCordova sculpture park in Lincoln... you might think these hearts are cute and romantic, but up close, there are body parts and faces poking out of the cement like people were buried alive in them. That's contemporary art, for ya!
Soma-vull likes the Goonies
in Pittsfield
colorful taps at Harpoon Brewery
Chris' niece and nephew and I at (an old favorite of mine), the Children's Museum's Hood milk bottle. I often think to myself, it's nice to finally live somewhere were a preppy rainbow bag with crabs or whales on it doesn't seem square.
I read a quote from John Mayer the other day (who I usually can't stand) where he said he stopped using twitter because it was "making his mind smaller". By always thinking in 140-character counts, he couldn't compose an entire song anymore, probably not even a complete thought. That pretty much says it for me. I need to return to a healthy mix of tweets and longer sentences, paragraphs, blogs, emails, letters. And while I'm at it, I also need to get back to using my Nikon instead of my lazy little digital camera, which admittedly takes great photos on a whim, but it's not what I think of as photography. I really wish the rest of the world would return to at least pocket digital cameras instead of camera phones. Gah! I know, I know, iPhones are different but mobile phone cameras are awful. We can't let photography go extinct.
Looking through my little photos, I realize that I have done a lot and not shared much on this blog in the last 6 months, so I'm going to do that now.
It's hard to talk about, but Chris' relocation to the East Coast has not been as swift as we had hoped; there's been job interviews, but nothing quite right. I am racking up Southwest Airlines rewards visiting Colorado every 2 months and Chris'll be here next month. I try to keep busy, see new things in New England, listen to my Good Mood music, and "carry on" (cheerful Tim Gunn voice).
In carrying on, I am blessed with good friends, Chris' family, and also a job that is enlightening and encouraging. In fact, Facing History allowed me to take my week-long July seminar with teachers at the Denver office instead of here in Boston, so I could spend a more time with Chris. I had an incredible time experiencing how we teach teachers, and engage students and I learned so much about the United States' horrifying history with discrimination (specifically around Eugenics and immigration exclusion policies). It made me want to be a high school history and civics teacher, actually.
I lucked out that I missed the horrid heat wave in Boston that same week I was in Denver. My RAV-4 is doing quite well, which may sound funny to some of you. but I really, really miss that car! Lately I'm constantly monitoring the news about an electric (EV) RAV-4 that Toyota's begun manufacturing for 2012, because I think it's my only consolation; it's the only way I can come to terms with admitting the old '97 RAV-4 will have to retire someday. But not yet!
When I moved out here, a stream of good luck was following me, and I knew before long, that life would balance itself out with some bad luck. Well bad luck caught up to me last month - I lost my wallet, then had my car towed, and seemed to be getting hit with bills, fees, parking tickets, insurance letters, what have you. I almost melted down last week, but my great boss, Karen told me to go home, and chillax, so I did, and had an Abita on the porch, and then a nap.
Thankfully the bad luck had no influence on my moving to JP. I love the apartment, I love my landlord, Mary, I love the neighborhood, I love the espresso bar next door! The house I'm renting constantly reminds me (without even having to say it) that I own way too much stuff. Mary keeps clutter to a minimum and every drawer half-empty. There's no freaking pen drawer in the kitchen overflowing with 100's of pens, post-it notes, and office supplies, unlike every place I've ever lived. I hope her good habits rub off on me.
A lot of people asked about my recent knee surgery. I have had what is called "theater knee" since the trip to Europe in 2006 where your knees feel crunched in a seated position, even when they're not crunched at all. But a specific pain had been growing in one spot on the kneecap since I got to Boston, and driving more than an hour in the mini was almost becoming impossible. I had tried a lot of things, but finally had an MRI and the doctor noticed a small tumor in the spot where my knee was aggravated most. So they did a quick, no-drama outpatient surgery, also found a "plica" (tissue fold that you're born with, and can hurt) and removed that. I was walking normally after 24 hours and the only recovery involved was icing it for about a week.
Having seen many doctors and specialists leading up to the surgery, though, I've realized the (sort of hard) truth that the general knee pain is really a result of too much weight on my knees as well as lazy postures like hyperextending the knees when I stand, or walking uneven on the edges of my feet when going up stairs. One of the times that the P.A. was reviewing my MRI, the radiologist's report described my issue as "globular fat" which was extremely funny, and made for a great punchline all that day. But let's face it, I've been spending my years in Colorado not biking, not hiking, hating running, and walking the dog in my flip-flops. I do a little yoga and pilates, but it's time to get serious now.
Conveniently! - my new apartment is up 3 flights of stairs! - so it's a behavioral adjustment for both my quads and my brain (trying to remember everything you need before you leave the 3rd floor is now more important). And living 2 miles from work, I have started biking to work, since there's a beautiful green park (thank you, Fredrick Law Olmstead) between here and there, which is very good rehab for the knee. I constantly feel like I don't fit in with my clumsy bike riding, since I don't wear a messenger bag (seriously, everyone) or walk my half-pit bull mutt (the SPCA is around the corner) but otherwise I feel very settled and comfortable in JP. I'm getting the hang of it.
Yesterday I went to a little Art Fair in Providence and explored that city for the day. Today it's pouring rain out, so I'm spending some long overdue time updating iTunes, my photos and other stuff on my laptop. Here's some photos I should have blogged along the way:
I think this bank just got themselves a new customer.
Crazy bignazo puppets in Providence, who were there to harass... er... entertain customers
Spin Art!!!
Every time I go back to Colorado, the on-air "talent" on the news there is getting more plastic and um, sexier. Who in the HECK approved this wardrobe choice?!
East Coast friends who have moved West - drool now
My first bike since 5th grade! courtesy of Bikes Not Bombs
This is me in disbelief that I could be ever wear such a dorky thing as a bike helmet. nutcase is right.
pretty summer porch on my new rented house in JP
My room
most of the rooms in Mary's house look like they belong in a magazine (unlike the next house you're about to see)
The above wall stripes were in my childhood home circa 1975-85 (to be fair, it was my sister and my playroom, but still), and it still survives as evidence of the Brady Bunch Era today. We visited in July and were BLOWN away how everyting remained the same on the bottom floor of the house. And it was hard to express our awe and laughter to the new owner without offending!
Curtains in my dad's 70's office, in tact and still hung up!
our zig zag rug from the 70's... just AS I remember it
My Uncle Bill and I at the Patriots' Day Parade
beautiful guitar shop, the Music Emporium in Lexington
From the deCordova sculpture park in Lincoln... you might think these hearts are cute and romantic, but up close, there are body parts and faces poking out of the cement like people were buried alive in them. That's contemporary art, for ya!
Soma-vull likes the Goonies
in Pittsfield
colorful taps at Harpoon Brewery
Chris' niece and nephew and I at (an old favorite of mine), the Children's Museum's Hood milk bottle. I often think to myself, it's nice to finally live somewhere were a preppy rainbow bag with crabs or whales on it doesn't seem square.
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