Highway 9 on Vinyl

New Blog Site

2009-03-10T19:43:00.001-04:00

Check out www.catherineewilliams.wordpress.com for updates. Thanks!

Rainbows and Meatballs

2009-02-03T19:55:00.002-05:00

Photo by longwayround. Some rights reserved.

Right now there is about three inches of snow on my porch. It's the first decent sticking snow we've had all winter, and it's beautiful. It kinda makes me want to go to bed and wish for Christmas.

The new experience of the day today was my attendance at the local Rotary Club. I went as a guest of my coworker, who attends regularly on behalf of our organization. The first thing that struck me was the homogeneity of the group. The overwhelming majority was of one race, one gender, and on generation. It really makes me wonder what is going to happen to groups like Rotary and to all the good work they do when this generation ages out -- maybe something to worry about sooner rather than later. Nevertheless the food was delicious (Swedish meatballs are one of my favorites), the student-of-the-month presentation was heartwarming and the program was interesting. One of the Rotarians had recently spent some time in Tanzania, visiting churches and a brand new hospital.

What I liked most about his presentation was the photo slideshow. After many study abroad and mission trip spiels, it never fails to amaze me how colorful and bright and clean these people's clothes are. First off it makes me think that if we all still used the sun instead of dryers, that products like Clorox2 would not be necessary. Second, it makes me kinda jealous of this whole form of expression that they have that we do not. I know that people in the Global North use fashion to express themselves, often to a fault, but it doesn't match the colors and the symbolism and the importance that cloth and pattern has for people in poorer parts of the world.

Of course this isn't the only message I got from Rotary today, but it was the part that stuck with me. In other news, my friend Anoop Desai made it to the next round of American Idol. Normally I am not a fan, but it's pretty exciting when you're watching every montage for a familiar face. Rock on, Anoop Dog. Peace.

Canvas Bagging It

2009-02-02T21:04:00.005-05:00

Painting by Lisa Orgler of The Lunchbox Project. Please go to her blog and check out her work!

Just an intro note to start with: Normally I get my images from the Creative Commons search on Flickr, and I post the username of the photog and a link to the CCLicense. I generally post these very small. But this time I really wanted to point out the image and the great project behind it. So click on the link about and then click back through all the previous posts. I thing it's a wonderful idea, and her little playing card paintings are so adorable!

Other than the Lunchbox Project, what I really wanted to highlight is the concept of the waste-free lunch. I know it's definitely not a new idea (I have vivid memories of an American Girl accessory set that involved a red gingham napkin in a lunch pail... but after a short search I'm either crazy or they've stopped making it). But for some reason I'm taken in by it anyway.

All our ziploc bags seem ridiculous. Even the paper sacks seem ridiculous. Even the most irresponsible youngster manages to bring his lunchbox home more often than not (I would think), but for some reason we still pack in containers that we easily can toss afterwards.

The two companies I have seen do this well (and the things I really want to buy and use every week) are these: Laptop Lunches makes a sort of Americanized version of the bento box. They include the outer box and four smaller inside containers, plus a tiny little container for salad dressing, etc. The whole kit comes with some silverware and a book about packing healthy lunches. Unfortunately all the lunchbox books out there are for parents trying to pack lunches for their picky children. This is frustrating as I am neither a child nor a picky eater, at all. But the Laptop Lunch book also has some good grocery-buying tips, etc.

The second thing I think is awesome are these fabric alternatives to ziplocs. I came across some in a store downtown this weekend that carried some with a water-resistant lining and a snapping flap, but I kinda like these velcro ones from Plum Creek Mercantile. Plum Creek also carries these cool bulk bags that you can take with you to the store. I'm really trying to buy certain foods in bulk this time. Between the wasted packaging and all the wasted or simply stale food and spices, it just doesn't make sense to buy conventionally packaged foods. Lucky for me we have a great natural foods store that has an excellent bulk section. I even got my soy sauce in bulk, and I think I paid like 97 cents for it.

So just a bit of an eye-opener/cool trend that I wanted to share. Developing my wish list and my shopping list. Healthy food, healthy planet. Peace.

Renewal of Curiosity

2009-01-29T19:06:00.008-05:00

Photo by adulau. Some rights reserved.

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism-- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths."— Obama

The strange looking animals pictured above are Highland Cattle, also know as Hairy Coos. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. But they're kinda cute. I don't know how they see where they're going.

I wanted to write something after the inauguration. Something about how real it felt to me and how good. And about how I love Michelle's comfortable glamor and Barack's humble wait in the hallway. I'm excited to see what will happen and hopeful because I might actually have the chance/inclination to become involved this time around.

My parents gave me a subscription to Newsweek for Christmas, and this week I've read the issue nearly cover-to-cover, which has been a real treat. I'm for staying connected and informed without being pulled down into international pessimism. I'm hoping that reading well-written news will do better for this than too much TV or even radio.

Which all kinda leads me (in a very weird, indirect way) to what I am considering to be my New Years Resolution. Yea, yea… I know it's been a month already so I'm a little late, but these things need to be considered. And in my defense I did come up with this at the beginning of the month. I'm just getting to posting it now, which you will come to see is the slightest bit ironic.

The word of the year is "intentional." I want to live with my with more intention. Do what I say I am going to do, in a way that encourages curiosity and productivity. It's not that I want to get more done, I want to do more with the full awareness of what and how I am doing.

So there. That is the big picture for 2009. A little late, maybe a little hairy. But hopefully a lot curious.

Shine On

2009-01-02T15:56:00.002-05:00

Photo by rustman. Some rights reserved.

Into a new year, a new job, and a new home. Quite the quiet NYE this year, but maybe that's best. It was a crazy holiday, with everyone together and things changing and such. But maybe that's all for the best too, in the long run.

What I have realized more than anything else in the coming weeks is the importance of my friends. Not just how great it is to know people, but how much those special few really mean, and how much I am like them. Even when they are far away, real friends are always able to make you feel at home, to make you feel like one of them, to make you feel loved.

Of course it's wonderful to feel loved by your family and those people who are closest to you, and I would never want to give that up for anything. But that special call after midnight on New Year's Eve, or the strange similarities between hopes and dreams and life discussion, I would give that up either.

The bulk of my NY Resolutions appeared in a post a while ago. But for now I just want to say how thankful I am for my friends.

Happy New Year, and more about the new life later. Peace.

Peace and Warmth

2008-12-17T09:45:00.003-05:00

[Photo by lapidim. Some rights reserved.]

I didn't have a title in mind for this post, until I found the photo. The title is taken from it. And I think it best describes what I'm looking for right now, and what the waiting of Advent is about.

Life is crazy, with good news and bad news, with frustrations and new adventures. But it's somehow always crazier at this time of the year. I just got a job, a real-life, grown-up job, at Montreat. And I'm thrilled, and so excited to be learning new things and going out there and getting things done. It brings up its own set of questions and stresses, but it's still good. (I apologize for being vague here... sometimes typing "out loud" even in vague terms can be useful.)

On a more concrete note, I was watching Mary Poppins last night on ABC Family (their 25 Days of Christmas ranks high on my marathon list, up there with the Bond one that Spike usually runs around New Years), and it occurred to me how much of that movie was stamped into my memory. The songs, the words, the tone of voice, the images especially. (Which also makes me a little frightened to wonder what we are stamping into children's minds these days.) But I remembered all of it, and also recognized that I had never fully understood much of it before. Even though I am no longer a child, this story holds a certain magical quality, and was a perfect thing to watch before bedtime.

A few of my friends are carrying on quite wonderful blogs these days, and I am inspired by their insight. Check out Kara's blog and Bruce's blog (he's not a real friend yet, but he is the moderator of the PCUSA and quite an awesome presence on the Web).

Peace. And warmth. And please send some my way, too, if you will.

Smoked Out

2008-12-08T09:52:00.002-05:00

Photo by Cayusa. Some rights reserved.

Have you ever had a smoke alarm go off in the middle of the night for no apparent reason? If you have, you'll know about the adrenaline rush, the terror of the noise and the unknown of the cause behind it. It's awful. And that's how my night went last night. I did, however, manage to complete Monday's USA Today crossword in less than 15 minutes, at 3:00 a.m. Fun? Not so much.

So it was pretty easy to convince myself that I deserved to sleep in this morning, making Operation Rise and Shine a no-go.

In other news, my morning job will be serving lunch for the next two weeks, taking a lot of stress off of me, and tonight is the second installation of our Young Adult Intentional Community Advent Dinner. I'm bringing lentil soup, which I'm pretty excited about. Yay hearty winter bowl food. Peace.

Holly Jolly It Up

2008-12-06T13:14:00.003-05:00

Photo by lija. Some rights reserved.

The early riser failed miserably this morning, but the sleeping in was nice. No use punishing myself this early in the game. But I guess for it to work well, I will have to hit 7 on weekends too.

First alarm: 7:04 a.m.
Got up: 9:30 a.m.
Extra activity: n/a
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs on toast

Last night was an evening of new experiences. I went to the Rankin Vault after work to send off a coworker who has found a real job and will be moving away this weekend. Then a bunch of us wandered over to the Asheville Arts Council opening of Jonas Gerard paintings (very bright, very expensive, but great).

The town of Black Mountain was having their Holly Jolly event, where all the shops stay open until 9 p.m., and the whole town comes out to mill about and "shop." The sidewalks were teeming with high schoolers: Think American Graffiti in winter, without the cars or any of the coolness. We also checked out the new White Horse venue in town. It has great potential, I think, especially since it's nonsmoking and serves hotdogs.

This afternoon is the Black Mountain Christmas parade, in which Montreat Conference Center will be making it's debut appearance. I think it will be a whole lot of fun, I only wish it were warmer out.

Grateful for a non-traveling, non-busy weekend. With basketball. Peace.

On the Sunny Side

2008-12-05T09:51:00.003-05:00

Photo by monkeycat! Some rights reserved.

This morning was better still. Day 3 of Operation Rise and Shine, and I have decided there is really no harm to the snooze button. Getting up the moment the alarm goes off is great and admirable, but if I find comfort in snoozing, then why shouldn't I allow myself 5 or 10 minutes of it? The important thing is to break the hold it has held on me for the past few years. This morning I succeeded in getting up after two snoozes. Good number.

First alarm: 7:04 a.m.
Got up: 7:15 a.m.
Extra activity: Cooking
Breakfast: Omelet of mushroom, green onion and feta, with skim milk and a multivitamin

For tomorrow: Make coffee. Beginning on Monday I will set the alarm a little earlier so I can still hit 7ish, accounting for my two-snooze time.

I also remembered that I hadn't posted my slideshow of engagement photos. They're pretty awesome, and Regina did a great job. Peace.

Paper Eccentricities

2008-12-04T09:38:00.003-05:00

Why are blank journals so much more appealing to me than filled ones, or even the potential of a filled one?

I love lists, and I love my own handwriting, but I hate making these lists or writing down notes on the go. If I'm going to write something down to keep for perpetuity, I like to take the time to sit down at a clean desk, stretch out with plenty of elbow room and write slowly and intentionally. Writing like this is one of the most intentional actions I perform, I think, and yet I hold such high expectations of it that I rarely actually do it.

I'm still looking for a good way to keep track of things, like books I want to read or crafts I want to make or movies I want to see. And it seems like there exists a fairly good mechanism for each of these things (GoodReads, Ravelry, Netflix) but that as soon as I start listing, I get bogged down in the generics, when I really wanted to list only the special. I know I need to read To Kill a Mockingbird (I know, I'm weird), but that book is not the reason I want the list.

I want to make scrapbooks of ephemera, which I feel might express my experiences even better than photogrpahs. Peace.

Another Morning

2008-12-04T08:47:00.004-05:00

Day 2 of Operation Rise-and-Shine was somewhat more successful...

First alarm: 7:04 a.m.
Got up: 7:20 a.m.
Extra activity: Dishwashing (there were many)
Breakfast: Yogurt & granola with a few pages of the new Esquire (not eaten)

I don't know if I'll ever get to the point where I can get up the moment my alarm goes off, but I'll keep trying. I did notice yesterday that I felt a little more productive overall, even getting extra things done in the evening before dinner, so I hope that continues.

Oh, and the photo is nicely displaying our everyday china, which we registered for at Belk. I don't think either of us will ever use it for chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce, but the photo does illustrate one of the many varieties of bowls in the pattern. Peace.

Best & The Brightest

2008-12-03T18:29:00.003-05:00

A wise Scottish publisher, whom I still feel very honored to have met during my time abroad, was shocked to learn I had not read David Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest, and I'm sorry to say I still haven't gotten around to it. But I feel that what I learned at that beautiful kitchen table in Islington, and what I know in an anecdotal way about the book, is that we reflect those who surround us.

Would Kennedy have been so revered without his star-studded Cabinet? Does it really take a village to raise a child? or a teenager? or anyone?

I know that when I spend time around people with negative attitudes, I find myself pulled down to that negativity, and life seems less enjoyable. My bubblier friends make me feel happy, and those acquaintances whom I suspect have deep faith lives, or meaningful friendships, make me wish to pursue those happinesses that much more.

I want to surround myself with more creativity. I feel this can be done without snobbery or arrogance of any sort. I just need the words and images and music of creative people. I want to surround myself with more books, more art, more music, more food. It doesn't have to be my physical surroundings, but I want it to be my intellectual surroundings.

I feel I already do this a lot, except that I wish I read more and knitted more. I'm already surrounded by so much: NPR, Design*Sponge, Malaprops...

More of a wandering post I know. Maybe an update later. Peace.

Old Years Resolutions

2008-12-03T10:01:00.004-05:00

So I guess it would be safe to say I have a sizeable designers-crush on Julia Rothman. Evidence: The wallpaper below and the prints above. If anyone reading this were also trying to come up with a Christmas gift for me. This would be a hint. (Kidding. But not.)

Anyway, Julia is not the point of this post. The point is kinda a way-early New Year's Resolution. I think we pile too many expectations on ourselves come January 1, so I'm going to start now.

Goal #1: Get up early EVERY DAY. Day 1 of Get-up-at-7 was about a 98% failure. But we're going to keep at it anyway. I did manage to make a hot breakfast before coming into work.

Goal #2 (more long-term): Get better stuff, not more stuff. I think that's pretty self-explanatory. I like nice things, so I want to remember this when looking at less-nice things that I don't really need. And the things I get should be useful. I'm going to start reading the Unclutterer blog I think.

Goal #3: Cook more real food, eat less food out of a box. I made chicken-noodle-lima bean soup last night that happened to be delicious. And easy. If only I had a light over my sink and if only the faucet didn't have explosive air bubbles in it.

We'll start with three for now. Peace, love and Wednesday.

Bright Mornings

2008-11-24T11:04:00.003-05:00

The heat was out (again) when I woke up this morning. This picture of Julia Rothman's new wallpaper was on a Design*Sponge post this morning and it warmed me right up, on the inside. I love the colors, though I have no idea where I would put this wall paper. Maybe in a bathroom?

Getting in the Holiday Mood

2008-11-22T17:36:00.003-05:00

One of my good friends, with whom I had the great pleasure of catching up this week, told me that she checks my blog often and that I don't update very much. So this is for her.

Things are getting chillier here in the mountains, and we had the first school snow day this week. It's all very cozy as long as my heat is working (which isn't always).

Had a nice visit from the parents today, with a tasty lunch at Veranda and a fun trip up to the Grove Park Inn. The whole place is decorated for the holidays and they had the winners of their gingerbread house contest displayed in the lobbies. All very festive.

Tonight looking forward to a night in with some How I Met Your Mother, and Tuesday we leave for Tallahassee.

Also got back our engagement photos this week. Check out the beautiful slideshow that our photographer, Regina, put together here.

Don't rush into those holidays too quickly, but enjoy them while they're here. Peace.

Peace, Juicy Salads

2008-10-21T15:03:00.002-04:00

The title today came to me from the closing of a blog post by David Lamotte. I think in Spanish it's supposed to say "Peace, Justice and Health" (or something) but when I saw it my immediate translation was a little different.

Today I wish to say "peace" to my grandfather who passed on last night. And for that I would like to share a poem I wrote about three years ago. After she read it, my mom remarked that she didn't realize I had picked up on so much, which just goes to show for the memory and perception of children. And for the general amazing quality of life.

Moore County, NC
by Catherine Williams

I am from the dust,
built up from time and bees and cobwebs,
in the garage where the tractor and the old RV go to rust.
I am from the bare ground around the blue porch
and the round sycamore pods that fall there to unleash their furry futures.
I am from the tadpoles in the mason jar that shattered on the porch
and sliced my little thumb.
I am from dog lots and wandering canines
and the far-off bursts of shotguns on holidays.
I am from ‘Bless her heart’ and coconut cake, cut sideways so you can see all the layers.
I am from brown-and-serve rolls in a silver serving bowl
and the frog on the edge of the sink holding a dish scrubber.
I am from counters packed with too much food and kitchens packed with the consequences.
I am from the burnt orange chair in the corner that spins ‘round
and the State Fair dolphin, blind, worn, and battered, in the closet.
I am from blue boys’ bathrooms and uncle-carved bed posts,
butterfly bathtub slip guards and a glass Christmas tree with lights.
I am from four generations of Christmas cactus, late-blooming on the back porch.
I am from years of sand piled up around hills where tobacco once grew.
I am from the tobacco and every worm my Daddy pulled off it
and every blister he got working it.

His blood, my blood, runs in the veins
of half of the men and women rooted in the sandy hills.
I am from a house whining with leaky plumbing
and the tinny sounds of Wheel of Fortune,
slipcovered with dust and monotony; but I know
that once it was alive with dancing and the music
brought home from the roller rinks.

Two Scoops of Peaches, and Other Blessings

2008-10-16T15:22:00.002-04:00

One of my best friends in the whole world is serving in a church in Mobile, Ala. I think sometimes she gets kinda discouraged because she's not sure what she wants to do next and because she misses being around people her own age. But her ministry is so amazing it's impossible not to see it and to see the doors that have been opened to her. I wanted to share her experience here because it has inspired me for today, so read on here…

A Brand New Party Barn

2008-10-07T21:23:00.003-04:00

Grace from Design*Sponge (only the best blog in the world) mentioned this story from House Beautiful in a post earlier today. Gotta love the 18-foot kitchen table and the pure simplicity: kitchen, dining area, fireplace, bedroom, bathroom. Check. Maybe I need to add this to my "million dollars" list too. Don't forget to look at the slideshow.

If I had a million dollars...

2008-10-07T19:40:00.002-04:00

(resisting singing the song)

I was thinking on this post for a while earlier today. When you're out of college and job-hunting in an economy that makes for a better Steinbeck novel than a meal ticket, that whole winning-the-lottery thing allows for some pretty good dreaming.

But after work I wandered into my favorite indy bookstore in Asheville (and also the place with the best coffee in all of downtown), and I picked up Inspiration Sandwich by a woman who goes by the name SARK (her initials turned into a clever pen name). She writes inspirational, creative, hand-lettered-and-illustrated books such as Eat Mangoes Naked and Fabulous Friendship Festival, and if my sweatshirt hadn't been making me uncomfortably toasty I probably would hav taken a closer look. Her writing/illuminating style makes it look like Lynda Barry and Mollie Katzen got in an illustrating mind warp. Somehow I think her handwriting would be distracting, but further research will be required.

Anyway, as I was flipping (seriously flipping, not even reading a page here or there) I flipped past something that made me go back. It was a segment were SARK was explaining one of her favorite games to play with her journal. The game was simply, "I want." This is an iteration of that:

If I had a million dollars...

- I would freelance to do what I want on my schedule
- I would call my Mom to tell her she can stop worrying about me
- I would make the most beautiful books, like the kind people would want me to initial and hand-number
- I would get a couple of dogs and a rabbit
- I would buy the most beautiful letterpressed wedding invitations
- I would get myself a set of these reindeer café au lait bowls
- I would learn how to roast coffee and pull and excellent shot of espresso
- I would do all my Christmas shopping at the Renegade Craft Fair
- I would rent a cute loft apartment and make it look like something out of Ready Made
- I would sew "for a living"
- I would blog "for a living"
- I would invest in microloans to women in underdeveloped countries
- I would invest in green plants and unadulterated land
- I would support local business
- I would become a local business
- I would learn how to screen print
- I would buy my fiance a studio/cafe/venue of sorts
- I would knit all my socks
- I would buy an old diesel car so I could use local biodiesel
- I would buy from independent designers
- I would listen to independent thinkers
- I would live to make Eve proud
- I would love forever

An interesting experiment. I may have started out with things that need money. But I certainly didn't end that way. And so it is. Peace.

Tweets of the Day

2008-10-05T22:05:00.001-04:00

00:54 Girls night at the 'Shed. Good times.

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Tweets of the Day

2008-10-02T22:40:00.000-04:00

10:24 Not sure about this whole radiator thing. When the heat comes on I feel like I'm inside one of those rainsticks at the nature store.

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Tweets of the Day

2008-10-01T22:04:00.001-04:00

13:28 Montreat actually smells like Montreat this week.

19:28 Mmm... Indian Food.

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-30T22:05:00.001-04:00

11:17 I wish I was a morning person; I really do. I think I need snooze alarm rehab.

17:03 @rachaeloehring, go to 35 for me!

18:55 Great Target run... And a very nice day out. AND it was pay day, which i had forgotten about! WOo hoo!

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-29T22:01:00.001-04:00

08:41 No movie out (did watch The Sting in honor of Mr. Newman), but still a good weekend. We have dishes!

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-25T22:02:00.001-04:00

23:08 Missing New York, a little bit.

09:36 Feeling like I need to go to a movie this weekend...

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-24T22:05:00.001-04:00

09:36 Going on the Christmas list: yoga. I've forgotten how much of a difference it makes.

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-23T22:05:00.001-04:00

08:51 In case anyone was doubting, Aaron Sorkin is still magic.

10:27 For some reason, I've got "Lost in a Supermarket" stuck in my head. You've got it now too, right? At least it's a quality band.

10:30 @chris_coletta, that article totally made my Sunday morning. Then I watched American President yesterday and it completed the missing.

13:15 I love 70s music, and I'm OK with 70s fashion and home decor coming back, but couldn't we have left the gas lines in the past?

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-22T22:02:00.001-04:00

09:15 Just another... Monday. But I do have cute shoes. From Target.

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-21T22:03:00.001-04:00

15:34 Someone needs to invent the paperless sitcky note. And I don't mean the kind on your desktop. Until then, the office will never be paperless

16:21 Lusting after yarn and new knitting projects. Must. Not. Buy. Yarn. Until. After. Christmas. ::whimper::

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-20T22:05:00.001-04:00

09:38 @josephrschwartz, Congratulations! that's super exciting!

21:32 Why can't I go to bed at 9:30?

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-19T22:04:00.001-04:00

08:44 I like half-day Fridays with a paycheck. :).

11:16 Happy 21st Birthday Waldo!.... wherever you are...

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-18T22:08:00.001-04:00

11:42 A month and a half in and I'm finally official enough to be listed on the door.

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-17T22:02:00.001-04:00

13:55 Found out what happens when you're the last intern to the office on Wednesday... you end up sitting at the media kit table on your laptop.

13:56 @saragregory, Looking for a photo from the DHT archives... who ya gonna call?

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Tweets of the Day

2008-09-16T23:08:00.001-04:00

08:02 Signed up for LoudTwitter. We'll see if it works. Trying to increase my presence in the blogosphere, blah blah blah... #
08:35 Just a rainy Tuesday. But there's staff lunch to look forward to. #
20:56 Fringe is a weird show. But kinda refreshing. #

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Innocent Little Hats

2008-09-14T10:41:00.002-04:00

Sometimes a good blog post just kinda falls into your lap (figuratively speaking) over a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and a good cup of half-caf Starbucks coffee (that last part is much less figurative).

Anyway about a week and a half ago I joined Ravelry.com, an awesome online networking site dedicated to knitters and crocheters and otherwise fiber-crazed people. It's a great site, and as well as connecting its users to one another, it's also a great tool for keeping track of what, for many of us, is a quite complex web of yarn and patterns and needles and projects. Everything is connected to wikis, and the site makes it really easy to, say, look at a pattern and see what yarn other users have used for the same project. Then you can see pictures of how that project turned out in the alternative yarn. This is particularly helpful to me.

The search function is also great, because you can say, "I remember seeing these awesome knitted cupcakes in XYZ store. I wonder if I can make them." Then you just search for "cupcake" and you get this. (I realize that you might not be able to see these links if you're not a Ravelry user, but just trust me, it's cool.)

Anyway, I was reading the user-created Ravelrly weekly newsletter this morning and found out about the Big Knit campaign by Innocent Drinks, who make the best bottles juices and smoothies in all of England. I miss them like crazy, and I miss their labels which said things in the ingredients list like the number of cranberries used and that there was a big woolly jumper (think: sweater) in the juice bottle. Ha.

So every year Innocent sponsors a hat drive, and everyone knits tiny little hats that fit on the smoothie bottles. Innocent sells the bottles in Sainsbury's and donates 50p for each hatted smoothie to a charity, this year it's Age Concern.

It's a funny little idea, but totally cute. So check it out:

thebigknit2008

In other news, I went to a Cookout for Change yesterday, sponsored by the Obama campaign. It was crazy hot outside (for September in the mountains, what gives?) but there was free food and free beer and general coolness.

We also booked our wedding photographer, which was a really exciting step. You can see her photo blog here. She was referred to us by one of our friends who used to work for her, and I'm so psyched about our coming engagement shoot and having her shoot our wedding. Her work is gorgeous and so are the albums she puts together and sells.

Last weekend we went to Charlotte to take care of some wedding plans, and we got SO much done: wedding dress picked out; bridesmaid dress picked out; invitation design initiated; dishes chosen; guest list discussed; centerpieces rehearsed and approved; and photographers narrowed down (and then chosen on Wednesday). As much as I really want to show you pictures of the things we chose, that would be cheating and I want everyone to be surprised at the event. I'm getting more excited every day.

GoodReads: Slam by Nick Hornby

2008-08-31T10:59:00.002-04:00

Slam by Nick Hornby

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Nick Hornby continues to be brilliant. He writes in the way that people actually talk without making the dialogue feel dumbed down or vulgar. Reading Slam made me feel like I was in England again, which drew me in immediately. It's unusual for me to find engaging books written from the perspective of young men, but I became an immediate fam of High Fidelity, and Slam did not disappoint.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to see Nick Hornby on campus. In a Q&A session with a handful of students he said one thing that has always stuck with me, and I think it's deeply reflected in his work. He said: In order to be any sort of artist, you have to maintain a certain amount of immaturity. You have to be immature enough to believe that the world actually wants—or really, needs—to read/see/hear what it is you have to say. The protagonist of Slam maintains this immaturity through the nature of his youth and through his candor, and it happens seamlessly and beautifully.

Even the slightly magical aspects of the book—the time travel and the talking poster—fit into the framework without showing any work.

A great YA novel that expands on the mind of the young father, Slam is great for Nick Hornby fans and general YA readers alike. Bottom line: Nick Hornby could do more to fix sex education in American than our government ever will.

View all my reviews.

Here Now, and...

2008-08-21T21:32:00.002-04:00

I don't have to miss the mountains anymore, because I live here now. I have a job and a little apartment, and I'm about to have a part-time internship at an amazing magazine. And now I'm only 25 miles away from that guy I really love, you know, the one I'm going to marry.

Between my new job and my freelance Web site project and trying to get this internship, I've been pretty busy. About five times in the past two weeks I've thought to myself: "Hey, that's really interesting, you should blog about it." But the moment passes and then I can't remember any of the subjects that were so great. I'm sure there was something about books, or food, or design, or the mountains. Or maybe the Olympics.

Sometimes its hard to remember this is here, but really I've always had this problem with journals -- so wonderful when I use them, but often forgotten in the busiest of times. As my very busy friend once reminded me: the more there is to write about, the less time there is to write it. I'm sure I've used that before too.

So here's to the coming Labor Day resolutions, and to whoever out there is willing to help me stick to them. Peace.

New York Minutes

2008-06-25T21:19:00.002-04:00

More than two weeks have passed, and so much more. I love this city, but I miss the mountains. I wonder if I'm just being a little bit of a coward, choosing to go back to what I know, to a life that will certainly be less interesting in some ways but may well be richer in others. Every time I seem to be sure, my certainty slips away like the cool surf on Rockaway Beach, or maybe it jerks away like the swinging motion of the A train driving south from Harlem. I don't always want to wonder what might have happened if I had gotten the big job at the big company, working with big writers on big titles, slaving away in that famous building on a street that's a household name. If a seven-state commute was a possibility, I'd be there (or here) in a heartbeat. I hoped this would be one of those decisions that I could just tick off after I made it. It decided instead to take the trick candle path.

In the past two+ weeks I've eaten much good food at everywhere from Cosmic Cantina (right across the street) to Fiamma, a très chic establishment in Soho. I've seen the Brooklyn Pride parade in a total downpour (fortunately I was inside with some fantastic sangria and even better empanadas), and I've been to a wonderful craft show at the McCarren Park Pool, also in Brooklyn. I've done some shopping, alone and with my maid of honor, and I've gone to the beach. I've been to Sunday afternoon "parlor entertainment" off of 160th Street, and spent evenings in the cheapest (and certainly not the trashiest) bar on 3rd Avenue. I've HopStopped more times than I ever thought I would, and I've joined Shelfari.com.

The best news is that my magazine launch group (the one with the food) won "best launch of the afternoon session," which—according to those people who saw it all—actually means something pretty significant. I've watched a lot of movies and read a lot of magazines. Now that the book segment of the program has begun, I'm getting a lot of free books too. Comments will be posted later.

All this going and doing and living calls for much sleeping. It's difficult to move forward when I always feel like I'm catching up. The beginnings of wrinkles (two of them) are on my forehead,
and I'm too old to sleep when I'm dead.

Rack and Soul

2008-06-08T22:18:00.003-04:00

The name of one of the booths at the Barbecue Festival at Madison Square Park today, which is where I had lunch. I met a good friend from school and we had a good time just sitting in the sun and breeze and discussing work and life and the city. It was so windy (a good thing, given the heat) that from time to time a napkin would wrap itself around my ankle and I would have to take a moment or two to shake it free.

It wasn't quite as hot today as yesterday, but it was still pretty toasty as I wandered down 6th Ave., in and out of well-air-conditioned stores, all of which were packed with people. I had a nice wander, and at least one successful shopping venture before I made it back to my now-chilly dorm room.

At first I felt a bit guilty about sleeping in this morning, missing any opportunity to see the city. But I think it was a good day after all.

Accomplishment of the Day:

2008-06-08T01:08:00.005-04:00

I figured out how to turn on the air conditioning in my suite. Today it got up to about 94, and with the thermal properties of a city comprising who-knows-how-many square miles of concrete, I'm sure it felt much hotter. I spent much of the afternoon in my room, much too hot to walk anywhere and definitely too hot to go down to the subway platform. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remember thinking that these rooms were supposed to have AC, but I probably dismissed it in part because I've lived in non-ACed houses for the past three summers, and I just feel like the sticky hotness is the way summer living is.

Not anymore, thanks to my finding a really grimy switch in the "off" position, on the equally grimy AC unit hidden behind something once used as a whiteboard, as evidenced through the unerasable beer pong tallies on the front, left courtesy of the previous (male) tenants.

Anyway, the past couple of days have been good ones, and full ones. Highlights include an absolutely enthralling (no sarcasm, it really was amazing) presentation by David Granger, the editor of Esquire magazine, one by the creative director at Gourmet and another by the ad sales director at Condé Nast's Portfolio. I also got to tour the Good Housekeeping Research Institute and pitch a magazine idea (along with a group) for a publication that I truly would love to see get made. The roomie and I have been continuing our evening strolls around the neighborhood, and last night some new friends and I went to the Rodeo restaurant and bar, where there was great food and drink and an excellent band.

Twice this week I've gone to a little pan-Asian restaurant on 8th St. called Cafetasia. I found out about it in the Time Out New York student issue, and it's perfect because it has a great trendy, fancy ambience, but the prices are incredibly reasonable. The food was great both times, and it made me feel like I was having a really upscale restaurant experience without the price tag.

Tonight, after the second visit to Cafetasia, I went to go see War, Inc., the new film starring John Cusack (and Joan Cusack by default) as well as Marisa Tomei and Hillary Duff, with some smaller appearances by Dan Ackroyd and Sir Ben Kingsley. It was playing at a little place in Soho called the Angelika Film Center, which has a full coffee shop with ice cream upstairs, and six theaters and a concession stand downstairs. The theaters were tiny, but it meant they could show lots of independent films at a time. Of course the price was high ($12 a ticket), but it was overall a good experience.

The movie got kinda lukewarm reviews, and although I really liked it, I can kinda see why. John Cusack plays an assassin (again) who is hired by a Halliburton-like company to kill an oil magnate in Turaqistan, with the premise that the war at hand there has been entirely financed and planned by big business. The over-the-top nature of the metaphor earns some laughs as tanks fitted with Financial Times billboards roll past piles of rubble and Cusack has a therapy-session conversation with his personal navigation system, GodStar. But the film probably could have earned some points with subtlety or depth, but its in-your-face tactics will probably draw some attention. Duff and Tomei both have good performances, and overall I think it was a good film.

John Cusack is a great actor because of the films he chooses, but I have to say I feel that he hasn't chosen the best ones lately. Martian Child was good, but it was no High Fidelity (my favorite movie ever, pretty much) or Say Anything. Must Love Dogs had the perfect part for him, and the perfect part for Diane Lane, but the two together just did not make a believable couple. It would have been two good separate movies. "Is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins, is it better to burn out or fade away?"

"Sex, it sells in the single copies…"

2008-06-02T23:09:00.004-04:00

That would be in reference to Cosmopolitan. Today was crazy. We got up early and I had a chance to make coffee before we hopped on the subway to be at class at 8:30. There was a bit of an intro and we would put into the groups will will be in for our simulated magazine launch, which will be fantastic and a ton of work. I think we have a good group.

Next came a panel discussion with top editors from Essence, People Stylewatch, the Magazine Publishers of America and Meredith Corporation, which is one of the big magazine companies. That was pretty interesting, and after that we had a nice lunch break when we found cute salad/wrap/sandwich place to eat.

The afternoon was a little rough, but incredibly informative. First a woman from consumer marketing at Time, Inc. talked to us about marketing, and then the managing editor from In Style came to talk to us about the financial side of the magazine. It was two and a half hours of numbers and economics, but the speaker was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging, so we survived. After a brief freeforall at the sign-up table (about which more later) we met back with our magazine groups, and spent two grueling hours hammering out a concept, mission statement, market position and reader audience. How long does it take 10 college graduates to come up with a two-sentence statement? Too long.

I won't disclose the nature of our magazine right now, but it is pretty awesome. At this point everyone was exhausted, so JS and I came home and then went back out for Chinese food, softserve, and a wonderful walk around the neighborhood. It was warm and nice out, even with the sun down, and there were a ton of people around Union Square.

In other news I have a dinner invite, a magazine tour, and a design class coming up this week. The excitement begins. Cheers.

Highway 9

2008-06-01T21:20:00.002-04:00

It occurred to me yesterday, as I was packing and listening to Springsteen's "Born to Run," that there was a reference in that song to a Highway 9. This is not the Highway 9 of my blog title... unless Springsteen has spent an untold amount of time between Black Mountain and Bat Cave, NC.

If I can make it here

2008-06-01T20:39:00.004-04:00

Welcome to New York. More specifically, welcome to the small desk in the small bedroom of the decidedly dorm-scented apartment that I will call home for the next six weeks. It's getting a little homey already, now that we've put us maps on the wall in place of any sort of real poster that costs money.

I arrived in New York this morning after an altogether uneventful trip, which is the good kind, there's just not much to say about it. The most interesting thing that happened is that I had to call my car service to ask where they were and I couldn't understand my driver over the phone at all. Once in the car, though, there were no problems and I safely arrived at the Palladium Residence Hall, home to almost 1,000 student-aged persons, some of whom are taking classes and some of whom are doing other things. (It's also right on top/next to a Trader Joe's.)

My apartment is made up of two double bedrooms, each about the size of a rear South Campus room, but plus the luxury of a small walk-in closet. Furnishings are what one would expect: extra-long twin bed, desk (with shelves), desk chair and a dresser (with inexplicably shallow drawers). In between the two bedrooms is a small sitting room with one of those ridiculously uncomfortable wood-framed couches with weird stains and a matching chair. There is a small dining table and four more desk-type chairs, again with the weird stains. On one side of the main door is our bathroom, which is fairly spacious given the size of the bedroom, and our small kitchen, complete with sink, gas stove and a smallish fridge/freezer combo. No microwave, which means we might actually need to invest in some cookware before this is all over.

Given nine months or so, one could make this space pretty nice, with some carpet and posters and nice lamps, but for six weeks it will be mostly white and fluorescent-lit with good ol' tile floor (nice and dusty) and stained upholstery. It's really not bad, though.

After I arrived this morning and retrieved my student ID (with the classy photo I took using my laptop) I dropped my things upstairs and met my roommate, JS, who is from outside Philly and is really great. We seem to have a lot in common. Just before I left to run some errands, I met LR, one of the girls in the other bedroom, who is from Dallas. The final suitemate showed up after shopping, JK, who is from Eugene, OR.

If I leave my building and turn left, I am walking toward Union Square, and within two blocks or so, I pretty much pass any store I could need or want, including Walgreen's, Whole Foods, Circuit City, Starbucks (of course), Virgin music, Staples, you name it. I'm set. I went to Filene's Basement this afternoon to find linens that I wasn't able to pack, and it was a decent experience, though partly ruined by the awkwardness of carrying home a huge fluffy bed pillow. The giant windows in the front of Filene's look out over Union Square, which was full of people lounging on towels in the grass and vendors selling all sorts of things. It was really quite beautiful.

This afternoon we took a walking tour of the neighborhood and the main NYU campus, most of which is down in the Washington Square area, but it really just made me more confused. There's really now way to give a tour to 25 people in a crowded city. It just doesn't work. When we arrived at the Woolworth Building, where all of my class sessions will be, we recieved the obligatory nametage, a messenger bag with a BIG (can't say huge, because I've experienced the Eats binder) binder of magazine section info, and a bag lunch, which was really quite delicious. (A plus: I get to walk past the Brooklyn Bridge every day, and there are TWO Starbucks between the subway stop and the class building.)

The course is 92 people = 87 gals and five guys, and it will be intense. There are five UNC grads
here, none of whom I expected to be here (apart from myself, of course), and two of whom I actually know. Weird. Anyway, tonight was a general introduction to everything, including a personal introduction from almost all the students. There are people here from some 26 states and four or five foreign countries, and it seems like a good group.

After orientation my suite found our way back on the subway (thanks to the express trains it's only one stop away), and we did a little minor grocery shopping at the Whole Foods. It's amazing how congested the store was, made even worse by the fact that it was three stories in a fairly narrow space. But hopefully now I won't starve, or stuff my face with pretzels from street carts.

So far New York is really beautiful in the summer. I'm sure it will get hot—thankfully the subway is air conditioned—and I'm sure I will be even more tired and overwhelmed than I am now. But all the program directors are very encouraging, and I feel like it's an excellent opportunity to hone my networking skills and actually make some great connections.

For now I will take my swiveling fluorescent desk lamp around to my bed, complete with a brand new Wamsutta Egyptian cotton blanket and jumbo Ralph Lauren synthetic-stuffed pillow, both a bargain from the place the brings you the running of the brides. Peace.

Alumna

2008-05-13T19:49:00.002-04:00

I am officially finished with my undergraduate education. And it's a strange feeling. I don't feel any different in particular, but it's beginning to sink in that I won't be going back to Chapel Hill, at least not for anything longer than a football weekend visit. That makes me a little sad because I love that town, and I love the area and the ambience and the people there. But I suppose that just means it's time for me to find a new niche, a new locale to call home.

I head to the Big Apple in a couple of weeks, just for a short time, so we'll see how that goes. The time I spent there should give me plenty of opportunities to explore the area and my own head. It's the beginning of a new part of my life, one I'm looking forward to very much.

My heart will go back to these mountains...

2008-04-20T11:30:00.002-04:00

Last night I had the good fortune to see David Lamotte perform on my campus. I'm graduating
in three weeks, and he's retiring in seven months, so it was a bit of a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. And it was fantastic, as it always is. The difference was that this show I cried during almost every song, beginning with "Shadows" and ending with a late-night "Song for You."

The first time I ever heard of David Lamotte I was in the living room of Sylvan Heights lodge in Montreat. I don't remember if I was on one of the ancient couches or sitting on the floor that still is slanted enough that spilled drinks run to one of the walls, but I know it was 1998 and I was on my first-ever youth retreat. The song was "New Lullaby," and although it was probably eight years before I heard the story behind the song, it was immediately obvious to me that there was a giddy joy hanging from the line, "If the Lord should come see me before I awake, we'll run up to heaven and eat chocolate cake."

I saw David perform for the first time less than a year later in a church in Charlotte, and I think it was quite a long time after that before I saw him again. You can't not love David Lamotte, and about three summers ago I went to four or five shows in a span of two weeks. Over the years I have accumulated CDs, a DVD and a fantastic T-shirt, but it's been more than that. Listening to his stories and attending a "World Changing 101" seminar, he has touched something real. Real enough to bring tears to my eyes multiple times in one evening, just by sending out songs from a "real idealist," as he calls himself on his blog.

This label makes sense to me. Not only is he actually changing the world through his PEG projects and his shows, but he is also very real. I've met the people he talks about in his stories, and I've spent endless evenings at the Velvet Moose where he lived for a summer. I've seen David at the Morning Glory Cafe on a Sunday morning and I've grinned so big when he greeted one of my best friends as "Hey beautiful" at Lake Tomahawk park.

David's retiring in November to study peacemaking in Australia, and I couldn't be happier for him and his wife. It seems to be the right next step, but I would be lying if I said I won't be mourning a bit for the hole he'll be leaving on all those stages. Although it won't be an empty hole; it will be filled with the memories of people like me and with all those rich, guitar-spanking chords he sent out to wash over the people he loves.

I hope I won't have to leave these mountains for at least a couple more years, but when my heart does go back there, as it certainly will, they will remember David. Thanks David, for all of it.

First Note: I decided during the show last night that "Song of Peace" will have to play a part in my wedding.

Second Note: David had a lot of fun with his layering machine last night, and I found this YouTube video of another time he had similar fun. Enjoy.

A new look, a new life

2008-04-19T13:54:00.005-04:00

I got engaged about a month ago… to be exact it was 41 days ago, minus about 5 hours. And it was fantastic. So needless to say I'm looking at some pretty big changes in my life, with graduating and finding a real job and getting married. I'm hoping for a geographical change too, even though right now I'm not sure if that will be toward NYC for publishing, toward Asheville for a hippe-esque life of mountainous bliss, or toward the West Coast for a lifestyle transformation I can't possibly imagine. Who knows?

This Lent season I gave up television, which I realize now was a fantastic decision. I read a lot during those six and a half weeks, and since Easter I've spent much too much time watching CSI and the like. I enjoy them because they're interesting and yet not too engaging. So I turn them on for background noise and end up watching for several hours. I'm hoping this will stop now that my roommate has taken the futon out of my room. I've also discovered that when I feel like watching TV I would really much rather listen to NPR. Yep, I've become one of those people that begins every sentence with, "So I heard this thing on NPR…" Instant plus in the dorkdom department.

I've also been watching a lot of movies this semester. I've been taking a class about identity in European cinema and have watched I-don't-even-know-how-many films for that. Plus I've been writing film reviews for The Daily Tar Heel, so that adds another one or two films each week. You learn a lot, watching so many films and reading so many books — not that that's any sort of profound statement, I have just come to appreciate my rediscovery of it all.

This week I discovered (without the 're,' because I'm being honest) the music of Joe Strummer and The Clash with the film Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten. For a full review you'll have to wait until Thursday's issue of the DTH. But I will say that the film was fantastic and quite eye opening, and I just bought the whole soundtrack. Like the film, the soundtrack is arranged in a sort of radio-show style, using recordings from Strummer's New Hour show.

This month has been about learning to appreciate what's out there, and learning how much there is left to discover.

A Welcome Feast

2007-08-20T00:21:00.000-04:00

The class that I referred to in my last post began tonight, even though classes have not officially started and today is Sunday. The class is about food--almost literally everything about food--and the same professor has been teaching this course for 10 years. He wanted to have an anniversary dinner, but even so I thought it would just be him and the 15 of us students ordering off the menu at 411 West, which is a great restaurant on Franklin Street.

Instead it was about 35 people of all ages and walks of life, and we had a fantastic five-course meal with some wonderful conversation. I'm even more excited about the class now, and I'm hoping I can use this space to chronicle some of it throughout the semester. As it is already late tonight, I will just give the menu with a little bit of description:

I was the first student to arrive, but people began coming in fairly steadily soon after I got there. Not only were there current students, but there were past students, TAs, faculty members and local farmers, all of whom are or were involved in the course in some way. We all stood around and chatted for a while before we made our way over to the food. The first course, eaten while still mingling, was a selection of cheeses from Chapel Hill Creamery, all deliciously flavorful and served with fruit spreads. With that course was served nice flutes of Veuve Clicquot Brut Rose NV, a champagne that I have gathered runs at $50+ a bottle. I always thought that I didn't like champagne before, but this was quite amazing, especially with the various flavors of the cheese.

After this Jim, our professor, got our attention and said a few words about the history of EATS 101, as the class is called. During that talk I learned a little more about the format of the class, about how 411 often buys as much local food as possible, and some things about the farmer's market I love so much. As we sat at our assigned tables, we were served a chilled cantaloupe soup (I think it had mint in it) and a viognier/marsanne white wine from Treana Mer Soleil in California. After that there was a salad of local mixed greens. There were supposed to be sungold tomatoes on the salad, but we're not sure what happened to that.

I was sitting next to Jim's wife and an office administrator and across from two growers who sell at the market. We had some great conversation about meals and farms and food and life in general, which was refreshing. For our main course we had pan-seared Scottish organic salmon, served with gazpacho, local potatoes, okra and mushrooms, and lemon aioli. With this the servers poured a 2005 Castle Rock Pinot Noir Reserve, which was good. (Keep in mind I didn't polish off all these glasses -- I did have to drive home.)

And then for dessert (or "desert" as Elly's students often wrote) there was a peach sorbet (not so local) with a cookie, and Bugay Cerdon Sparkling Rose NV, which was sweet and perfect for the peach flavor. I think what was so remarkable about this dinner was the planning, not to mention the flavors and the bringing together of so many different people. I had much in common with the people I was sitting with, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing them again for a class or for dinner every Tuesday. Most things about this class are still a mystery to me, but I'm eager for the next installment.

Down to Earth and Down From the Mountain

2007-08-18T15:08:00.003-04:00

After an excellent summer in Montreat, N.C., I'm now back to the good ol' rolling Piedmont, and the good ol' brainy Triangle. Before the mountains there were the islands, the ones on the other side of the ocean and just west of Scandinavia. If you want to learn any about that adventure you should check here.

But now it's another year (my last at this place), and one more attempt to get this blogging thing underway. As with any other summer in the mountains, I've had much time to read and at least a little bit of time to contemplate. And I've been reading more non-fiction than is customary for me. So like last year, I think I will start with a review of some "Things I've Read, Listened To, or Enjoyed."

At the top of the summer's reading list is Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which was read soon after the also-amazing Prodigal Summer. AVM (my acronym) is part memoir, part journalistic reflection about Kingsolver's family in their quest to spend one whole year eating only local food. The writing is funny and beautifully descriptive, the stories are equally funny and beautiful, and the informational and investigative parts are eye-opening. Reading this during the summer -- already six months removed from my favorite farmers market -- got me really excited about getting back to school and getting into the food scene here.

This book, along with The Omnnivore's Dilemma, which I'm readying for a class, have heightened my food senses, and particually my sense of ethical, healthy, environmental food. And this morning I got my first shot at a local food year at the Carborro Farmer's Market and Weaver Street Market. Just to mention a few of the more flavorful things I picked up, I got:
- sungold tomatoes -- Amazing! These are cherry-sized and bright orange, and they have more sweet tomato flavor than I've tasted in a long time.
- rayan melon -- Very sweet, white melon. Not as melony as cantalope, which is think is a good thing.
- Larry's Beans Mightier Mocha Java -- I finally got a smaller single-serving French press, so I got some great chocolaty coffee to go with it. No, there's not real chocolate in it, but it still tastes like it.

In case I haven't mentioned it before, you should definitely check out Air Traffic. They're from Bournemouth, England, and if they ever start over here I'm sure they would do very well. They're doing great things in England, and I had the good fortune to see them in concert twice when I was in London. They played at South by Southwest in the spring, so there is a foot in the door. I'm just waiting for them to show up at Cat's Cradle. Any time now would be great...

My friend Andy Black, pianist extraordinaire and member of the band Supermarket Radio, tried to give me directions to this great restaurant about two years ago. He kinda forgot about the part where you have to get off the interstate, and so my friend and I ended up most of the way to Tennessee instead of where we wanted to be. We finally got to Rosetta's Kitchen just this past week, and I really wish I had made it sooner. The menu has a symbol for those dishes that are not vegan, and there is no meat served at all. It's open late, painted in bright colors, has a diverse clientele, and the food is absolutely amazing. I got the Buddha Bowl with rice, gravy, tofu, seaweed, and salad, and it was wonderful. I highly recommend it.

I think that's enough for now... I can't run out all at one time. Cheers.

Back in the Saddle

2006-08-22T22:29:00.000-04:00

To accompany the wholly cliche title of this post, I should begin with the also cliche apology for a long gap in posts. But all I really want to say is that I don't know what to say or where to begin. Here's a new school year with new classes and a new roommate (same room). There are new jobs and new friends (keeping all the old ones). There are new projects and new aspirations that will doubtless be trod down beneath all of my schoolwork and my general lack of self-discipline and motivation.
However, sitting here with a steaming bowl of ramen noodles (oh, the cliches keep rolling in), amid newly purchased posters and kitchen supplies (which I obviously didn't break out for the ramen), surfing newly discovered Web sites and surrounded by newly loved publications, I feel like a new college student all over again. I'm sure all of these things that are new and beloved to me have been new beloved and then old and discarded for many people for a long time now, but now it's my turn. I really feel that I dropped the ball (cliche!) on my freshman year pretty much entirely, and although last year was much improved, I think I could have done better. So viva junior year! And here I go into nothing I know well enough to be comfortable with. Maybe this time I can succeed at something new instead of retreating into the safety of my dorm room.
Anyway, here are some of my new beloveds:

Threadless T-shirts: The Web site lets anyone submit their own t-shirt designs and then all the users score them. Every few weeks the head honchos pick the top "pre-sellers" and print them into amazing American Apparel shirts. With my psychic powers I foresee the death of my paychecks to such a site. (P.S.: If you use the above link to purchase something, I get referral points for it which = free stuff. Thanks!)

Utne Reader: The magazine's slogan is "Understanding the next revolution," and from the issue-and-a-smidge that I've read so far I think they're doing a pretty good job. Utne keeps its readers abreast of all those important social/economic/environmental responsibility issues out there and brings up a lot of the cool new stuff, too. The first one of these I got my hands on I seriously read cover-to-cover... something I can't say I've ever done with a magazine before. The Sept/Oct issue features articles about the porn industry and what it's doing to America, addressing issues in relationships, censorship, etc. But I think my favorite regular feature of the Utne is the Street Librarian, which reviews multiple other publications. This issue reviews all publications that begin with the letter 'Z.'

The Revolution: A Field Manual for Changing Your World: So I have this friend who is a year younger than I am and has decided to drop out of college and go work at an orphanage in Haiti for the coming year. While that's not something that I hear often (or ever) from people I know well, this news was not at all a surprise for me. Of all the people I know she is the one I would most expect to do such a thing. At the same time I was learning this, I noticed my friend was reading this book. The Revolution addresses 12 of what the publisher calls the "most pressing social justice issues on local and international levels." The 12 essay authors come from varied Christian backgrounds, and the books appendices include multiple ways to get involved and many organizations to check out. It's refreshing because it doesn't feel in-your-face or unrealistically idealistic, if that makes sense.

EuroCuisine Yogurt Maker: For my birthday I got a gift card to my favorite kitchen store (which you will discover if you choose to click the link), and I decided to use it all for one rather unconventional appliance. Yes, I bought a yogurt maker. And yes, I am well aware the yogurt is sold at a rather reasonable price at pretty much any market establishment in the free world. But it's a lot of fun to make your own. It takes a little work because you have to boil and strain the milk and mix it with already-made yogurt in order to transfer the proper bacteria, but it tastes really good and gives a very accomplished feeling. The maker also comes with other recipes, and since my purchase I have come across numerous Web resources as well.

BookSense.com: This Web site joins the ease of Internet shopping with the local appeal of shopping at independent booksellers. Before shopping, just enter your zip code and BookSense will hook you up with the most local indie store if can find. Then when you shop online, BookSense will order the book from your indie store and mail it right to you. In fact, this is how I ordered The Revolution.

Pleasant: (I apologize if the link doesn't work; the site seems to be having some issues.) When I finally get away from home, the first thing I like to do to assert my independence is to spend money on something. So about a week ago I went into the record store near campus and I did something I had never done before. I bought an album I had never heard of. No one recommended it to me; no on told me about it. And it's great. Half of the great probably comes from the purchase itself, but I love the music, too.

Getting Back to It

2006-04-01T16:24:00.000-05:00

I'd like to begin by apologizing for the long space in posts here. I can guarantee it won't be the last one, but we'll just see how it goes. It's been a busy spring so far, and I can't believe it's already April 1. By the way, did anyone catch the April Fools' episode of the Martha show yesterday? So weird.

In the past few months I've been able to do some traveling -- some short-distance and some much farther. I've come to appreciate airports and the fact that someone really needs to go in there and install many more seats per gate. I cannot remember now how many times I've had to stand around or sit on the floor waiting for a plane. Of course the people who install those seats assums that waiting passengers will sit side-by-side, but that is sadly not the case. Hardly anyone will sit directly next to a stranger, especially during flu season, and especially if that stranger has a lot of carry-on luggage or is a member of the opposite sex. But anyway, I've seen new parts of the state, and I've been to Madison, WI and to Florida, and overall had a great time.
I'm still keeping a list of possible blog posts, and I'm also keeping a small notebook that works well for writing things down right when they pop into my head. There's little stuff like things I need to do and groceries I need to buy, and also bigger stuff. And there's a list of my knitting projects -- present and future. And the list keeps growing. I've become addicted to www.knitty.com and at this point have looked at every single pattern on the site. I learned how to knit a sock, but haven't actually done so for lack of sock yarn or really tiny double pointed needles. I'm working on my first sweater right now and also this huge shrug/wrap thing that's red and soft and a whole lot of fun. And I have so many more ideas, and I'm slowly starting to come up with ideas on my own instead of just constantly borrowing other people's genious all the time.
I think the past few weeks in particular have been a little about renourishing my creative side. It gets lonely when the schoolwork piles up and the cumulative sleep hours plummet. But I've tried to take time to read things I want to read, like Haven Kimmel's Something Rising (Light and Swift). If you've never read Haven, I strongly suggest it. Something Rising is the second book in a trilogy of novels about life in small-town Indiana. She writes in a way that is intellectual yet very real, a way that notices everything and everyone, a way very similar to the way I often think about things, which I think is why I like her work so much. She's also written a couple of memoirs about her own small-town life in Indiana, and I've only read the first. But I hear the newer one is pretty good too. I can't wait till next year when the third book of the trilogy comes out, and I'm kinda thinking I want to read the first two all over again before then.
I've been trying to integrate creativity into my life a little piece at a time, although it hasn't been as intentional as it probably sounds. I spent one afternoon painting pottery and one at an author reading, and I've been trying to read parts of the New Yorker or literary magazines or whatever. I've extended my creativity to cultural awareness and went to the farmer's market last weekend and bought organic shampoo this week. And like I said, this isn't all as intentional as it sounds -- mostly reflections on what the past few weeks have been like for me.
And it's all enjoyable, taking control of parts of my life one little piece at a time -- taking it back from school and work and everything else. It's good stress relief. And sometimes I figure I need focus like this to keep me from getting lost in my own stress and to keep some of my self-discipline in order.
So with that update I must go prepare to dance. Perhaps I will have something more focused later this week.

Were you raised in a barn?!

2006-01-23T00:07:00.000-05:00

First of all I want to say that the headline of this artcle is particularly interesting in that it implies that living in a barn would not be a unique experience for other people.

BlackMountainNews.com - Living in a barn is unique experience for local couple

Anyway, this column, which is part of this week's Black Mountain News from Black Mountain, N.C., details the lifestyle of a Swannanoa valley couple who -- you guessed it -- live in a barn. It is a charming little place, and it is quite unique. Part of me would love to do something that unusual and fun, especially because it involves raising horses (and buffalo). The detail I like the most is how the stall doors for the horses are topped with wrought iron fencing from Lake Susan in Montreat, N.C., my home away from home. But this is not really the focus of my post, and if I say any more you won't read the article.

During the past week and a half I have been compiling a list of possible blog posts. I keep it in a simple text file on my desktop where I keep quite a number of lists, both important and igsignificant. And there's so much to say about all of the topics I've jotted (read: typed frantically) into this text file. I suppose the fact that there is so much to say and that I cannot decide which to write about is just an indication of the fact that I should post more often. Unfortunately, the second week of classes proved to be more difficult than I expected.

For example (talking about the list, not the difficulty), I came home one particularly restless night after a concert I went to. The concert featured Raplh Stanley and a local bluegrass band, and when I came home I composed four lines of that list. They read : "bluegrass; cultured; america (capitalized as such in my list forms) and; people watching." These mean that I wanted to talk about bluegrass music and why so many people are so adverse toward it. People view it as uncivilized, old-timey twang. Well, maybe that's what it is to a point, but for me, and for many people, I see it as a welcome respite in the face of increasing urbanization and globalization. I'm not saying I am against these two ideals, because I am in no way in opposition to them. Of course I take issue with a few of their facets, but that's another issue for another night. What I'm saying is that amid all this up-and-out stuff there's nothing wrong with remembering a past. A past that probably describes more of America than we care to think. The "cultured" part comes from the fact that I often feel more cultured by attending such events. Perhaps this sounds elitist, and perhaps it is. But that's what I wrote down and I can't remember my exact thought process at the time.

The people watching comes from me going to these events often alone -- and enjoy it that way. I love watching these older couples meeting all their friends at these functions. Some of the friends they haven't seen in months. Others they played bridge with last night and met at the Biscuitville this morning. They're just all so happy to simply be in one place with people they love. It's almost magical, and these events are the only place I can find it consistently.

The other things on the list involve certain recent discussions and events and will not be discussed further tonight. Suffice it to say that God puts people in your life for a reason, all of them. They make you see things you wouldn't have seen otherwise, and they let you be you all over again. And for that tonight, I am truly thankful.

Trends et la Mode dans la Media

2006-01-11T11:31:00.000-05:00

First day of class -- always exciting. I'm taking Business French this semester, which I think will be fairly interesting. It's going to be a lot of vocabulary, but I think it will be helpful in the longrun -- especially if the whole point of me having the French major is to make the language useful to me once I get out into the real world. I also had enough time to eat an omelet this morning.
So I don't think I had really noticed how big this blog trend has gotten. I know we often discuss it at the newspaper I work for, and I know I've seen it on some new Web sites and everything, but it seems to be even more than that. I remember reading an article recently, I think it was for my international history class in high school, about how the different interfaces appearing in the media have shaped the way events are discussed and information is spread. I think it was from Foreign Affairs magazine, and it specifically mentioned the war in Iraq and a few other conflicts abroad. It talked about how the Web log has entirely transformed the idea of foreign reporting and had an example of this guy in Russia who was taken hostage in a movie theatre and set up a blog to let people know what was going on. No reporter could have gotten in there; no news company of any sort could have had that story.
I was messing around in the Washington Post website today (by the way, how about that British kid that made himself a millionaire by selling adds $1 per pixel on www.milliondollarhomepage.com???) and I noticed that next to each article they have this little billboard box that says "Who's Blogging." It has links to all these random people all over the world who have linked their blog to this article. For example, the article about the British ad entrepreneur has 14 blogs linked to it. I think it's impressive that publications like the Post want to connect their readers that much that they make and effort to say "Want to read more? Come over there and see what Joe Schmo has to say about it." It's like in "Miracle on 34th Street" when Macy's makes the books to tell their customers where to go to find what they want.
I think the Post, like any self-respecting publication, is really doing it for self-preservation. As much as I don't like to think about it, the print media is becoming somewhat of an endangered species. Those of us who depend on it for work also tend to depend on it for other things like entertainment and the perfect mate to a hot cup of coffee. However, I have to make the point that a bunch of tired journalists aren't going to be able to hold up the entirety of the print media industry on the paycheck that they give us. It's a bit of a vicious cycle -- but we do what we can.
Nevertheless, publications seem to think now that the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" strategy is what is going to work best here, and I happen to agree. While the blog phenomenon does provide a bit of a threat to traditional news, it also provides a bit of a supplement. Ignoring technological advances in this industry is professional suicide, especially because when it all goes down and the paper copy of the Times is only good enough for an elite few, the newsroom will not be big enough for all of us. Of course blogging does open the world of journalism to nonprofessionals. And while those of us on the inside might have mixed feelings about this, there is little question that having more reporters in the world is going to make us more informed.

Just a Living Legacy

2006-01-10T01:03:00.000-05:00

Since there's not a whole lot happening on campus before the start of classes, and since I spent much of today at work and the remainder fighting with my computer, I must confess that I do not have a topic in mind for this evening. So in place of something someone might actually want to read, I think I will introduce myself a little. My favorite color is green and my favorite shape is the five-pointed star (though not the pentagram). My favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 40:26, and I can quote pretty much any part of Groundhog Day. I like vanilla ice cream and coffee and tea in really wide mugs. I buy more books than I can read and enjoy smelling them as much as reading the words on the page. I like birch trees and Yeats and IBC root beer in brown bottles. I'm addicted to Vickie's jalapeno potato chips and red Swedish fish. I want to own a store, write for a foreign publication, raise good kids, design my own house, and fall in love for all of eternity. I have faith in God and Jesus Christ and in real beauty, the kind that kills part of your heart every time it's broken. I'm a geek in every sense of the word -- less the horn-rimmed glasses. Although if I had glasses I think I would pick those. I like libraries and informational films and grammar. I once wrote a poem about having lunch with T.S. Eliot in Paris, and it's mostly poetry references and half in French. I'm taking Biblical Hebrew because I think it's fun. I am disgustingly/delightingly domestic. I knit and crochet and have recently learned how to make pottery -- though it's not one of my hidden talents by any means. My most recent obsession is cooking -- everything food and food preparation. I drool in kitchen stores and cute boutique stores with a vintage twist. I love New York and London and would die to wake up every morning and eat a croissant in the subway on my way to work. I'm studying journalism but have no plans for the immediate future. I dance and know how to twirl and toss a flag. I will spend money faster on books and concert tickets than anything else. I love tea and pride myself on knowing a little too much about it. I love a little more than I should, and my favorite kind of weather is when it rains. I like classic rock and new folk. I take other people's opinions too seriously too often, and every cool lifestyle I see I want to try. I have choices to make, but I have supportive people to make them with. And that has made all the difference.

Welcome 2006

2006-01-09T00:36:00.000-05:00

I've had a LiveJournal since high school, and I haven't had a whole lot of luck keeping it up since I got to college. It's a new year and there are a lot of new things going on, and so I decided it was time for a change. I would like this space to be dedicated to creativity and to some level of academia. Politics, religion, love, life, food -- they all have a place here because they have a place in me. I'd like to try out some of my writing, some of the theories, and (of course) some of my rants. Part of my life is ending today, and that leaves the rest open for new beginnings or developments. So have at it. Amen.