Still Medium

SwMich!

2009-09-11T15:50:00.009-04:00

Dear friends,

I took a job in bHarbs and will be moving there in approx. 2 weeks. I don't know anyone within an approximate 30-mile radius, which is a bummer, so I've made some plans to keep things awesome on the glistening beaches of SW Michigan. One involves compiling a list of 52ish week-long goals/tasks/occupations that will keep me busy through October 2010. So far I have 3/52 = (1) finish painting/reassembling my bike, (2) watch all of The West Wing, and (3) travel to either Shanghai or Buenos for a couple weeks once I've accrued some vacation time. I've also got some more long-term plans, i.e. (1) take guitar lessons, and (2) join a beach volleyball team. Any additions to either of these lists will be wildly appreciated. Pls contribute. Cheers.

Blavatar, Vlavatar

2009-08-31T18:56:00.002-04:00

Lately I've been vlogging, but I decided to remove the link. Try to find it if you cannnnnn.

Hamilton Beach!

2009-07-28T13:12:00.002-04:00

Things I have blended in my new blender:

(1) smoothie upon smoothie
(2) iced coffee
(3) garlicky hummus

Rejection, Muskrats wearing Cat Masks

2009-07-09T11:24:00.003-04:00

A set of friends (Nathan, Caitlin, Patrick) and I have started documenting our respective/collective job searches on our homemade whiteboard. Called "The [ ]hiteboard" or "Wall of Rejection", it displays lists of places we've applied; documents interviews, fade-outs/no-responses/empty sets; and acts as a gallery for tangbile rejection letters (so far we have only two--email seems to be the rejection m.o. in these economic times). So far I feel good about it. Maybe we'll have a party when we hit a big figure, i.e. 30 rejections (so far we're at 16) or 75 applications (currently at 45). So far I've applied to the fewest jobs, but have the highest interview:application ratio (3:8), so I'm feeling good(ish) about things. There are planning jobs out there, I swear it--we'll all be gainfully employed, or at least close to it, by the end of August.

I took Mao to the groomer's for a Lion Cut on Monday (see it here!). He's so far garnered at least four new nicknames: Muskrat, Brook Trout, Tiny Lion, Possum. I expect more to develop.

Manifest Destiny, Etc.

2009-06-22T08:56:00.006-04:00

Once, in early June of '09, I junketed to the west coast. With Sacramento as a home base, Nathan, Patrick, sundry others (we kept trading off respective sets of friends), and I blitzed up to Portland, back down to San Fran through Davis, up to Berkeley, over to Oakland, and then finally through Santa Cruz before returning to Sac and ending our travels. Each city was unique, but I think I got a decent sense of a general west-coast ethos/lifestyle/whatnot: (somewhat) relaxed, chosen, and relatively independent of the other 49 estados. Some superlatives: I most liked meeting Portlanders, watching San Franciscans, enjoying the arid sunny climes of Sacramento, admiring the gardens in Berkeley, and feeling the morning haze burn off into a glorious, mild afternoon in Santa Cruz. Take me back!

Lasers!

2009-03-19T12:08:00.003-04:00

The pickled beets (last post) were delicious, but too sweet.

Lately, the architecture/urban planning listserv has been peppered with emails about the program's newly acquired laser cutters. I can't imagine having to use one myself, but due to frequent stream of emails I now feel pretty knowledgeable about their quirks (overheating, shorting out, etc.). A word cloud and some facts:

* total emails about laser cutters (past 30 days): 8
* email frequency rate (average days between emails): 3.75
* total instances of 'laser(s)': 21
* average 'laser(s)' per email: 2.63
* total instances of 'tutorial(s)': 13
* total instances of 'sign-up/out': 13
* total instances of 'fablab' (administrative entity sending emails): 8

beety & delicious

2009-02-08T18:57:00.004-05:00

In an attempt to get rid of a head of red cabbage I [accidentally?] purchased last week, I've been eating a lot of ad hoc stir fries lately. Tonight's was especially delicious: onion, garlic, pickled ginger, cabbage, carrots, beets, tomatoes, tofu & rice. Victorious (the cabbage is almost gond!), I've found myself with about five lbs of beets to dispose of; no idearrrr how that's gonna happen. Maybe I'll pickle some of 'em (I didn't realize it was so easy!).

I've been reading HTWFAIP for a policy class, and it's a pretty entertaining go-round: lots of common sense instructions, advice on how to treat my wife, and quaint anecdotes. Bonus: my book was published in 1936, weighs about 0.0037 oz, and every page tears immediately upon use.

Strange Overtones

2009-01-23T12:55:00.000-05:00

I can't stop:

Hello Blog

2009-01-20T00:38:00.004-05:00

It's been awhile, but my muse is gone. Gone gone gone. [update: with the new Animal Collective album and a little help from Byrne & Eno, it's back on some level.] Blam. Pow. A lot has happened since October '08's glorious Nica trip. Some snippets, in no particular order:

(a) My roommates and I created a whiteboard and painted one dining room wall a glorious orange (15 years of pumpkin pleasure). Quote from the Scio township Lowe's paint mixer as he opened the freshly mixed can for the first time: "and a roar goes up from the crowd as the pleasure pumpkin is revealed." It was a beautiful moment.

(b) I spent a glorious Thanksgiving in NYC (blitz round two), and then a month later enjoyed a kinda bizarre New Year's and winter break on the east coast: Dave, Chris and I drove from TC to NYC, I bussed to DC for New Year's celebrations, was chauffeured up to Baltimore a few days later, and then flew back to the Detroit area. I enjoyed my red hot second in NYC, saw more of DC than ever before, and was taken with parts of Baltimore. Some hitches: (1) all of my clothing minus that on my back was stolen on the way to DC. Fortunately Jess was kind enough to outfit me for the rest of my travels, with some supplemental intimates from Macy's; (2) my Baltimorean host, known to some as "Bunny", became violently ill on day 2 of my visit and I spent most of the day watching a (kind of boring) Ravens victory and lounging with borrowed parents.

(c) School's back in session. I'm excited about all my classes and capstone project, and am set to graduate in May. Future plans TBD, but be assured that they will include planning the pants off of some urbans, somewhere.

(d) We have a new prez. I keep forgetting!

(e) A set of friends and housemates traveled to Chicago this past weekend to visit a handful of Chicago residents. Parts of the weekend were chill, and parts were less so. A summary of locations and scenarios: delicious Thai Pastry, an amazing breakfast at Leen's corner diner, Special Export, stretching on air mattresses, hot water bottles, a round of Celebrity, the Green Mill at 2:30 a.m., Sabertooth (the band), boiling in the Phoenix Lounge, and some Obama-approved soul food. It was a relatively awesome trip, and a great way to kick off the semester.

Enough for now. It's good to be back, intermittently.

Best Taxi Ride Ever?

2008-10-23T01:38:00.005-04:00

The picture above documents a taxi ride my Nicaragua travel fellows and I shared from Rivas to Bahia Majagual (more or less) in the SW of Nica. Beginning at 6:30/7:00 a.m. and lasting through close to 9:00, the ride provided nonstop entertainment including but not limited to some brazenly blasted "Take My Breath Away", a necessary nescafe/coca-light stop, some Foreigner, a demi-size steering wheel built for the racetrack, a tinted windshield, accusations of 7:00 a.m. rum drinking, a satisfying banana/lime/rum/gallo pinto stop, many a perilous road crossing (resulting once in complete rutting-out, which required at least 6 Nicaraguan caballeros to push 'er through the slick mud) and a river drop-off. Nicaragua: bless.

respite, escuela, detroit, nica, etc

2008-10-09T16:38:00.003-04:00

Last night, instead of doing some pre-Nicaragua* studying, I blitzed to see ze Baltimore Round Robin's "eyes night" at the MOCAD. The concept sounded a little wacky and certainly interesting, both of which it was. It was also nice on the eyes and, at times, really quite good. Post-dusk trips to Detroit have underpinned the semester's regular goings-on --> Greektown, a trip on the people mover, and sigur rós at the State/Fillmore were all amazing a few weeks back.

*I'm heading so Nica with some dear friends from the 16th through the 22nd of this month. Un nuevo traje de swimmin' just arrived in the mail and I'm ready to go; bring it Manags,.

Things About Chicago

2008-08-14T22:50:00.004-04:00

Sometimes, in Chicago, I really miss things like O2-saturated air and hills. On the flip side, there are certain peerless joys here, like the portion of my commute (if I choose to do it on bike) that takes me past Blommer's, which is consistently and tantalizingly aromatic.

Australly Inclined

2008-08-07T00:20:00.003-04:00

The south side is really growing on me, friends. A number of work- and frisbee-related ventures have brought me down as far as 103rd (the 103rd street bus garage: exempt from my affections) this summer, though the usual destination is Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and 55th (Washington Park) for summertime ultimate.Blitzing down Michigan from 33rd is rapidly turning into one of my favorite bicycle stretches in the city; the traffic is sparse, the old growth is luscious, the loitering is plentiful, some of the houses are incredibly beautiful; in general, the vibe is cool. Blitzing back up north to Danielle's, where I'm staying now and for the next 2 weeks, is less enjoyable, especially when the trip comes with a coupling of (1) serious tornado-like activity in the vicinity & (2) torrential downpours. This sound along with some other eerie noises cut my ride tragically short on Monday, and I was forced to cower in a corner under the freeway on 26th until I felt safe enough to dart to the nearest bus. Bless the summer fun pass and quick-drying orange shorts!

I'm So Thirsty

2008-07-24T00:56:00.001-04:00

Urban Detox, anybody? Yes, please.

Travels Down 94

2008-07-15T09:45:00.002-04:00

This past weekend was a confusing one in Ann Arbor; ah, the highs and lows of returning to the motherland. Mainly, a pulled muscle in my neck (Source: Epic bike ride #1 to Schiller Park with backward seat post on Monday? Sleeping in the fetal position on the floor that evening? epic bike ride #2 down potholey MLKJr Boulevard to the site of the future Olympic Stadium on Wednesday?) became increasingly more painful over the course of the weekend, and kept me from fulfilling my packing intentions as I'd hoped. That unhappy progression aside, it was simply glorious to blitz through a jungley Arboretum at dusk on Saturday, sit on the porch reading Murakami for the better part of Sunday morning, attend hipster house parties with a nalgene of g&t in hand, see fellow planners, stock up on By The Pound goods, recieve musculoskeletal advice from enCat's visiting dad and sister, and declump/brush/nuzzle large-and-in-charge Maotse (bringing back the hipster spelling for Summer '08) for hours on end.

Finally refreshed after nine hours of bolstered-neck sleeping (yesterday's shockingly early morning car ride, despite layers of Ben Gay, ice, and Patrick Watson blaring through the speakers, paved the way for a pretty uncomfortable day), I am back in Chicags and ready to add to last week's fun., which included hobnobbing with the Mayoral Fellows at the Parthenon, playing wino on the Metra up to see Feist at Ravinia, and cycling to ultimate games all over the city. This week there are movies in the park, Murakami on the porch in lieu of ultimate, and -- this weekend --Sandblast, for which I'll hopefully be able to turn my neck. Holler.

blackbirds, buses: the yuuge

2008-07-08T09:49:00.004-04:00

Yesterday my commute to work was wholeheartedly frustrating. I left Leen's, a mere 3.2 miles away from work, at 7:05 a.m. and arrived in my cubicle over forty minutes later. The trip consisted of two loosely crammed bus rides. Chicago transit riders are consistently selfish about their morning travel space. There are often huge pockets o' room in the back of the bus while those in the passenger-loaded front artfully brace themselves to avoid being thrown through the windshield whenever the operator brakes. Sometimes the operator asks passengers to condense, sometimes not; the effect is usually the same: weak.

Now, at this time last year I would have simply hopped on a bike and ridden to work. But my current, shorter commute is just the length -- long enough to generate a copious sweat, but short enough to in no way constitute a morning's worth of physical activity -- where I'd rather take public transit and avoid a sweaty work arrival. Plus, I'm riding free on a CTA fun pass all summer. So this morning, I opted to bike the 1ish miles to the California green line station, from which it's an alleged six minute (two stop) ride to where I disembark. Perfect, right? I left at 7:30 and was in my chair by 8:01. On the way, however, an angry blackbird at the corner of Rockwell and Grand bombarded my head as I cycled through. While this experience was in no was as harrowing as last month's bat attack (unblogged, but certainly freaky), I am beginning to question what sort of allure it is that I exude toward black winged beasties.

Poncho, Bicycle, Aridity: Trifecta

2008-06-20T21:43:00.001-04:00

At seven a.m. on my way to the train station yesterday I found myself pocketing a CTA summer fun pass, beskirted, besandaled, beponchoed and with a bicycle under-haunch. It felt so right. Even more satisfying, however, was today's blitz past throngs of surprisingly sedate Cubs fans down (up?) Southport with a bag full of popsicles and peanuts after a full week of work. Yessssss.

DA2 Results

2008-06-03T16:04:00.007-04:00

Haaaaa. Apparently this is what I look like at mile 11 of a half marathon: grainy. Regardless, the Dexter-Ann Arbor run was about 3 times more enjoyable than I'd hoped: I had bib number 100, and all my cohorts and I finished solidly under 2 hours (1:56-something). Woo.

Cotton Baller

2008-06-02T10:27:00.004-04:00

The cottonwood tree across the street has been blowing fuzzy little orbs around Adams Ave all week. They manage to nose their way into all possible crannies, only to breeze off in short order. I am a fan.

Traveling Humidity

2008-05-26T10:22:00.002-04:00

After dropping Dave off at the airport this morning I decided I was in the mood for travel. The DTW smelled like what I remembered of Mexico City somehow, and flight seemed inevitable. Disappointingly, eerily empty I94 led me straight back to Ann Arbor. Next time I'm going to Canada instead. Wee.

1/2 Mar Ugh

2008-05-19T11:55:00.002-04:00

Anyone in Ann Arbor on June 1st should come witness the spectacle of at least three Urban Planning grad students, myself included, blitzing through the Dexter-Ann Arbor half marathon. After yesterday's trial 12ish mile run (the Huron was so pretty yesterday morning, but owch!) I'm predicting a stupendous outcome. Some committed spectators have revealed plans to drive alongside us with forties in hand, so perhaps you can join them.

Also, I am 2.5 seasons deep into The Wire, and Wallace (deceased) is probably sill my favorite character. But Pearlman and Daniels? I simply cannot support that relationship. The end.

Alone at 123?

2008-05-17T11:39:00.002-04:00

Living in a house of five this year has been interesting. Our kitchen got pretty filthy at times, the living room was an icebox for five straight months, and everyone (party-goers and visiting mothers especially) wreaked havoc on Maoxie's gender-confused emotions. Still, it has been a fairly comfortable living situation, seasoned with plenty of Happy's fried chicken runs, Top Chef marathons, gossip, and hard feline drugs. For today, though, I've got the pool to myself: the roommates are dispersed to northern michigan (2, temporarily), California (1, temporarily) and DC (1, foreverrrrr), and it's shockingly subdued and quiet around here. I guess that's the cue for me to bust out the power sander and cause a ruckus. I started disassembling/sanding my bike for painting about three weeks ago and it's high past time to finish the job.

Van Dyke, God Bless It!

2008-04-24T14:44:00.004-04:00

The semester is over. Hooah. To celebrate after our final final (6 pm on Tuesday) some classmates and I toasted each other with delicious Miller Lite at the Heidelberg, while I, alone, shed some tears regarding the lack of Warren-Michigan-Induced visual stimulation (example below -- Van Dyke Ave just north of Eight Mile) looming in the near future. Doesn't it look like it needs an urban greenway running alongside it? I think so.

Re: summer plans, I'll be in Ann Arbor for the next couple months before blitzing back to sweet Chicago for a coooool internship. Get ready, city.

ain't she a beaut question mark?

2008-04-14T19:59:00.007-04:00

This was the first time, and maybe the last, that I dabbled with Adobe InDesign. It's a black hole, it is. Click for full glory.

finalz timalz

2008-04-13T00:28:00.003-04:00

So Vic Thrill just got me through about an hour of data manipulation, and for that I am thankful.

The roommates and I threw a kick-a** end-of-the-semester party last night. Drifting off to sleep on waves of kegged beer as the hordes continued to dance to old soul faves above my head (my basement bedroom is directly below the dance floor) realllly drove it home in the best way possible. It was like living with Baby and Angel all over again!