Sneeze Fest 2010 (Am I Allergic to Western Mass?)

Posted on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 by n.

They attacked out of the blue on Saturday morning, starting as I finished re-packing my car outside Grace’s apartment. She’d brought down Stumptown coffee in my refillable mug. (Have I ever mentioned what a good friend she is? No? Well, she is.)

Though the initial ambush was slow, the sneezes came in a quick succession — 6 in a row — once I switched on the car’s ignition. I didn’t think much of it then. I have a tendency to sneeze in multiples.

In fact, it wasn’t until this morning, pre-dawn, that I attributed this continuing sneeze fest as an allergic reaction to western Massachusetts, or perhaps to ‘coming home’ so to speak. I’ve already had a tough time with this part of the world and I’ve only returned a few days ago. I’ve begun planning my next trip (Montreal, QC; October 2010). Also, I haven’t stopped sneezing since Saturday morning. Granted, I do get a few words out here and there and even accomplish tasks like trading in a Mississippi license for a Massachusetts one (that costs $100).

In others news, I’ve consumed a Trader Joe’s raspberry lemon strawberry popsicle as 600+ photographs download themselves to my laptop. Verdict on the popsicle: mostly good (lemon part too tart in comparison to berry sweetness). Verdict on photographs: you decide. That is if I ever get around to posting them. I’m still queried on when my Pakistan photos will appear. That trip ended in mid-January. Hold on to your hats, folks! (There is a new batch on Flickr though.)

My summer galavanting has been successful. At least in the sense that I took many photographs, I read good books (and some not so good ones), I spent time with people I love dearly, and I even found time to ride bikes despite loaning mine out for the summer.

Events worth recapping include:

  • Dominican Republic, May 2010
  • Tour de Brooklyn, June 2010
  • Visiting family in Arkansas and Mississippi, June 2010
  • San Francisco, June and July 2010
  • Cross Country Rail Trip, August 2010
  • Maine (including J and N’s wedding, Acadia National Park, Portland, Lobster!, and Facedowns), August 2010

Until next time! In the meanwhile, enjoy this trio of photos of me and one of my favourites:

In our splendid glory


pontificating on something worthwhile


oh, look, picture time!

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Living in the Time of New York

Posted on Wednesday, 16 June 2010 by n.
Adam and Tyler on the Brooklyn Bridge (2007)

it was a limitless source of inspiration, beauty and wonder that — despite everything that makes living in this city difficult if not impossible — was almost holy in its ability to inspire.

I encourage you to click through to read the full post and listen to the song. Both are beautiful.

Posted in musicology, photographs, this modern life | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Saving the Earth: Deep South Edition

Posted on Sunday, 13 June 2010 by n.

I walk up to register 2 and lay down my goods: an Aveeno oatmeal bath and hydrocortisone for me, Miracle Gro and a card for my mom.

I say to the cashier, “I won’t need a bag.”
“Huh?” comes her response.
Me: I don’t need a bag for this stuff.
Cashier: Now, you really don’t want to do that. Do you?
Me: Actually, I do. (said with a smile of course)

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Dreaming of South Africa

Posted on Tuesday, 11 May 2010 by n.

Is it possible to love a place to which you have not yet traveled?

If so, South Africa and I are in the midst of an intense affair.

Please check out original photographs by clicking on the above image, which will re-direct you to individual links for these photographs. None are by me, obviously.

Posted in best thing ever!, photographs, this modern life | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Travel Bucket List: Trans Asya Ekspresi

Posted on Thursday, 29 April 2010 by n.

My latest addition to the travel bucket list? the Trans Asya Eskpresi.

The inspiration comes partly from my desire for long distance train travel (I’m going cross country from California to Massachusetts this August). Istanbul is already in the cards for my mom’s 50th birthday celebration. The countdown is on; the little darling turned 49 on Wednesday.

I want to travel in a way that’s meaningful to me, that allows me to connect with the people and culture of the countries I visit. Curbing my carbon footprint doesn’t hurt either. Maybe it’s that overland travel can be cheaper; maybe it’s all the press Seth Stevenson’s book Grounded has been getting.

All I know is I have a new goal. Any one itching to be my partner in crime? I’m thinking it should happen in one of the upcoming summers, either 2011 or 2012.

Because my obsessive behaviour precedes me, here are some people who have already taken the journey:
Crazy Guy on a Bike
News from Above: the Trans-Asya Expressi

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Bay Area, Baby

Posted on Monday, 12 April 2010 by n.

Media Credit: The Heads of State

The Sunscreen Song recommends

to live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

I’m taking that advice to heart by spending five weeks in San Francisco this summer. It won’t be my first time there. I’ve visited for four days in 2005 and another trip in 2007; both were with some of my favourite people. And, I’ll be returning to work with the person who not only is one of my greatest friend but arguably the best co-worker I’ve had. Poor guy even tried to teach me how to play the guitar. Our first lesson was, of course, in San Francisco.

Media Credit: Cat Kirifides

Then, there’s the question of travelling to the left coast of this great expanse of a nation. It’s not like I don’t enjoy flying and one of my beloved airlines has several flights a day. But to heed another bit of advice from the Sunscreen Song, I want to travel. I’ve played the get to the airport several hours before, take off your shoes, get pat down, oh throw out that toothpaste because it’s more than 3 oz, sorry we lost your bag game plenty of times. Then there’s the issue of luxury of time. When again will I have the opportunity to go cross country? Who knows? Never, maybe.

Thus, inspired by Jeffrey, I’ll be making Amtrak my carrier of choice for at least one direction. You can read about his experiences here and here, documenting his journey from New York to New Orleans via Chicago.

The real question is which direction should I travel by train? West or East? Which route should I take? Which stops merit a disembarkment on the way?

While I’m asking all these questions, feel free to dispense advice on being a caretaker for 13-17 year old students dedicated to a perfecting their craft. Oh, I’ll certainly accept recommendations on what to do/see/eat in the Bay Area, too.

Posted in best thing ever!, photographs, this modern life | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

A Public Service Announcement from Top Searches

Posted on Friday, 9 April 2010 by n.

I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, if this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.

It’s not often that top searches for this blog yield anything interesting. Mostly, it’s my name or one of my friends (Laura Senkevitch, Nicole Brinson, people have come here looking for you).

I’m glad to have found this little nugget among those names. And, of course, when I put it into Google, lo and behold, it’s from one of my favourite authors: Kurt Vonnegut. I’ll take any suggestion to revisit some of his thoughts.

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Eye on the Prize

Posted on Tuesday, 30 March 2010 by n.

It’s been a tough Tuesday, y’all. The whole bit about April showers bringing May flowers never worked for me. Hell, maybe, it’s because it’s not April yet but March practically vanished before my very eyes.

I’m sitting, waiting, wishing (to borrow a line from Jack Johnson) on hearing back from San Francisco Ballet about a summer chaperone position (outlook positive) and the UMass-Amherst Writing Program about a TO-ship (outlook positive*). Other than that, I’m wrapping up a semester of Literary and Visual Catastrophe; Transnational Fiction; and Late 19th Century Imperialism in Africa. Heavy semester. (*It was positive since my program director said, “I’m fairly confident that you’ll get a position.” However, they started notifying today, on a rolling basis, and I did not hear from them. Here’s hoping my name is further down on that list.)

Fear not, it hasn’t been all blood, sweat, and tears. There was some excellent skiing. I got a solid five days in and am ready to buy a season pass for next year. But that’s oh so very far. Besides I’ve got sunshine in my future. I’m headed to the Dominican Republic for an 8-day vacation!

Eye on the prize.

The Dominican Republic might not be part of 44 x 44. I’ve even lived there in the past. But, it’s got a couple of things I desperately need at the end of this semester: natural beauty and time for relaxation. Thanks, JetBlue for hooking me up with some reasonable airfare $69 each way. No thanks to the FAA for tacking on $133 in fees, nearly matching the cost of the tickets and doubling the price of total airfare. It’s all right though because I’m going on a vacation.

I’ve been telling myself all through this rainy day: eye on the prize. It’s a mantra I’m likely to repeat throughout T.S. Eliot’s cruellest month — April.

If you have any advice for the Dominican Republic, I’m all ears. The plan is to spend 4-5 days on the North Coast — Puerto Plata, Sosua regions — before moving to Santo Domingo for a couple of days.

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The Millennials Generation

Posted on Thursday, 25 March 2010 by n.

How Millennial Are You? Not Quite Millennial

According to the Pew Research Center’s calculation metrics, I fall short of my millennial cred because I don’t have a tattoo and did not play video games in the last 24 hours. I come close because I have a social networking profile.

Their full reports are an interesting commentary on the several generations spanning the 20th Century.

What’s your millennial score?

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From Inside the Ivory Tower

Posted on Monday, 22 March 2010 by n.

UMass Reminder: File for Graduation

I’m deeply honoured that UMass considers me capable of completing an MA-Ph.D. program in just under nine months. However, I don’t think I’ll be filing for graduation just yet. Managing graduate school is going to be a long and complicated process, I’m sure.

There’s space for that conversation here at All Is Optional, but academia and I need some space to grow. So, I’ve embarked on a new project. As I continue to find my place within academia, I think it’ll be useful to have a separate space for those thoughts. This new blog will cover several topics, including research, professionalization, and networking.

Some posts will be password protected as they’ll contain commentary on current course work. I’m happy to share the password with interested parties; for all related posts to a specific course I’m taking, the password will remain the same. Think of it as an E-Reserves password. The rationale behind this privacy is to protect intellectual property, of course, but also so I have room for unfiltered writing on texts as I’m reading them.

Without further ado, check it out: Welcome to the Big Show. Add it your feed readers, your bookmarks, or however you organise your regular reading. And, please comment! I’m looking forward to discussion and recommendations throughout this journey.

Posted in decoding academia, this modern life | Tagged , , | 1 Comment