Tenderfoot on the Old Sod

3 am

2011-02-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

I've taken some kava kava to help me sleep. When I wake, I realize the sounds have been going on for awhile. Voices and thumping. The upstairs neighbor watching television? His footfall always heavy. A particularly loud thump, then just the voices. Did he going to the window to see people talking on the street below? I get up, don pajama pants, crack the door to see if I can discern the nature of the sound and where it is coming from. I can. The neighbors downstairs are fighting what may be their last fight, though I have never heard them argue before. Her voice is just a sound, but his words are clearly audible. Go then. Just go. We're over. He says her name, which I have not known until this moment. I close and lock the door. Lying in bed, my heart pounds. I take deep breaths. And do not sleep.

**

We’ve reasons, we have reasons, so we say,
For giving love, and for withholding it.
I who would love must marvel at the way
I know aloneness when I’m holding it

from "Snow Melting" by Gjertrude Schnackenberg.
Read the rest of the poem here: http://teaandbooks.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/gjertrude-schnackenberg-snow-melting/

Departing, Arriving

2010-08-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

I am getting on a plane for the first time in 3 and a half years! Also leaving Washington State for the first time in the same.

Going to visit a friend from graduate school and her family in Grass Valley, CA.

View Larger Map

Listen

2010-03-28T21:40:00.000-07:00

Cuz I depend on me

2010-01-31T19:31:00.000-08:00

Lake Lahan, near Stevens Pass, WA

Where in the world went 2009?

2010-01-30T19:50:00.000-08:00

2009 went to graduate school and work and teaching and many walks, bike rides, outdoor and indoor parties, coffees, dinners, swims, dances, yogas and (I admit it) posting to Facebook.

As for any travel, I know there wasn't much. I will look at my calendar.

Port Townsend, WA (twice a year, for school, Feb and July)
Camano Island, WA (a tiny cabin with 7 ladies in Jan)
Marysville, WA (does that count?)
Tacoma, WA: Point Defiance zoo
Index, WA (nestled in the mountains by river and sky. performed at the art festival)
Edmonds, WA
Duvall, WA (poetry reading)
Rattlesnake Lake, WA (hike with a view)
Bellingham, WA

In December, I canceled a trip to Iceland.

I have been planning on traveling this summer as a graduation present to myself, but am not sure finances and circumstances will allow. If not this year, next year, I hope.

Cookie Monster Coat

2008-12-16T18:15:00.000-08:00

When I was little I had a Cookie Monster coat, with eyeballs on the top of the hood, and matching Cookie Monster mittens attached via a string that ran through the arm hole of my coat. See my profile pic on this site.

Walking to the bus stop yesterday morning - 17 degrees! - I put my hands in my pockets to find...only one glove. That's it. The next pair of gloves I buy I am attaching with a long string and running it through my coat.

Bitter wind blew through me as I waited for the bus. Twenty degrees is cold for the PNW. It is currently unfathomable to me that I lived in Ohio and survived 10 winters in the Midwest.

Demon Possession

2008-10-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

My cat has been possessed by the spirit of the printer. Day and night she tries to learn its secrets, dig them out of its interior.

Breviloquence

2008-10-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

From 10-4-08, a blustery Saturday...

Reality is a sound, you have to tune into it, not just keep yelling. -Anne Carson, Autobiography of Red

The bat is winking at me-you-me-you

2008-10-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

Fountain of Sorrow

2008-10-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

What I was seeing wasn't what was happening at all - Jackson Browne, Fountain of Sorrow.
Someone assumed the form of the great love of your life, only to reveal himself later as an alien who had to get on a spaceship and go back to his planet - Loorie Moore, Birds of America.

No, the other one

2008-09-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

When I first went away to college, Seattle was still a small (affordable) city.

Where are you from?

Seattle. (blank look) In Washington.

Oh! Washington DC?

No, the other Washington. Washington state.

Thank you Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Microsoft.

Here are some photos of Capitol Hill...no, the other one.

On Broadway (I'll let you figure out which one)--temporary art installations in (empty) storefronts at the location of the future Capitol Hill Sound Transit light rail station.

Squirrel Man is on Prowl

2008-09-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

He walks the streets outside my window, dressed in black, carrying a bag. Today he carries an umbrella. He is always dressed in black. The amount of time he spends varies, but today he keeps reappearing, summoning his disciples.

The first time I saw him wandering, looking back and forth, I called out the window to him:
Are you lost?
No, I'm looking for squirrels.

He feeds pigeons and crows, too. Sparrows are hangers-on. But I always think of him as Squirrel Man. I wonder what his life is like.

Once I saw him on the roof of a brick building a block away, surrounded by a spray of pigeons. Usually, though, I see him on the street outside my window.

Home

2008-09-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

I want to speak without words

2008-09-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

Sifting Sands

2008-09-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

Life changes, right out from underneath us (sometimes several times a day). So do our thoughts. I'm now working part-time at a great non-profit and studying to get an MFA in creative writing, a labor of love, a gift I am giving myself. I bike to work on the Burke Gilman trail three days a week, 14 miles a day (and up one of Seattle's formidable hills!). This week has been beautiful biking weather.

Today on the way home I stopped in Gasworks Park and sat on the hill overlooking Lake Union. I haven't been up there in years. Bright light on the water, sailboats, seaplanes, kayaks, motor boats, bikers and walkers and natives and tourists and couples and families and individuals and friends flopped in the grass in the sun, readers and sleepers and sunbathers. A crazy guy using the hill as his pulpit. And me, feeling the earth tremble; part of grass blown by wind; troubles not so troublesome for a moment; small and brief my concerns, my life, but it didn't feel like something to grieve.

I've been having fun taking my new toy, the camera I finally bought myself, with me on walks. Didn't have it with me today, but here are some pics from other walks.

Bum Failure

2008-05-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

No, I am not referring to gluteus maximus muscles giving out (although with each birthday I grow less surprised over what gives out. But I digress...)

I am referring to my general inability to do nothing in a vacuum of structure. I tend not to do well when unemployed. But, folks, I am coming into my own. Okay, okay, I admit I have many appointments and activities, I am a gym junkie, list-maker, and overachieving underachiever. But I am relaxing into the not-knowing a bit, practicing zen juggling in a material world. I do have to eat. And I like having a roof over my head. Obviously, I can't just give up. I cast my line out, but since I can't make the fish bite (wait a minute...what happened to the juggling metaphor?) I am enjoying myself, meeting friends for lunch, writing, napping, singing, allowing myself to be frivolous (obviously, since I'm blogging again).

Snowshoeing!

2008-01-28T13:26:00.000-08:00

Map of Snoqualmie Pass, WA US

We tried a new thing on Saturday--snowshoeing! T, A, C, and I bought waterproof pants from Valu Village (accent on second syllable), rented snowshoes from REI, and set out with a class from the Renton Parks Dept. We drove past Snoqualmie Pass to Kachess Lake, about an hour east of Seattle. It was an hour going out, but longer coming back in the accumulated snow!

The parking lot was slick as a salesman. We slipped around, bared ass to cold toilet seat before donning our gear, going from land lubbers to abominable snowmen. It came kind of natural, though, trudging through the snow on new feet (except it was easy to step on your own shoes). After a lesson in climbing uphill, we set out like ducklings on first solo journeys. I found my assertiveness helped much more than caution; I kicked the balls of my feet into the hollows, engaging the metal cleats on the shoes, then pulled myself up with poles and arms. Going downhill was counter-intuitive, crouching forward like Groucho Marx, putting poles in the snow ahead (like putting out a cigar?). Lean back like you would walking down the very steep James St in downtown Seattle and the cleats would disengage and you would slide down the hill. Much of the snow was packed and therefore loud to walk on. Walking in the woods was a little quieter, since the snow stayed in the shadows it hadn't melted and re-frozen.

Excruciating pain in my fingers after lunch!! So cold I thought I would take the glove off and the fingers would stay in the glove! Warming them up on my body, under my shirt, helped a bit but not enough. Finally my blood was pumping enough to pump the blood even to the tips of my fingers. My hair was crunchy and my arms surprisingly sore. The toe warmers really worked, though! My toes stayed really warm. I paid $1.80 for two packets of iron, carbon, and water--like magic, man. Stopping to gaze around us (after we were warmed up) was very peaceful, quiet, with snow falling all around, and on our faces.

It snowed the entire time we were out there. Our guide guessed we covered about 4.5 miles. I-90 was covered in snow as we headed back to town. I couldn't stay awake in the van...zzz....

See Flickr for more photos.

"The author" at Kachess Lake, posing on request

Olympic Peninsula Retreat

2007-12-21T15:11:00.000-08:00

My Olympic Peninsula retreat was lovely--the motel was sweet, simple--
just what I wanted. There was a cafe run by the family and some farm
animals in the back.

Locals stopped in to get their coffee and chat with the proprietors about the holiday, going into town ('PA' one called it; I've never heard Port Angeles referred to that way before), and how they were still clearing trees and chopping wood from the big storm. Apparently, the wind even knocked over a dumpster into the lake! They watched it float for awhile before it sank.

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the hot springs because the camera was charging. It was late afternoon and getting a bit dark, too. The hike to the hot springs was 2.5 miles and took about an hour going up the mountain. I had some vertigo on the climb, whether from elevation, exertion, anxiety, I don't know. I was scanning the rock faces for cougar faces (just-in-cases), and wondering what advice Ogden Nash would give on meeting a mountain lion (die tryin?). At one point I thought I heard a jingle and whipped my head around--did I think it would be wearing a big collar that said "Coug"? In defense of my cougar-paranoia, though, the sign at the trailhead on what to do if you meet a cougar said: avoid hiking or jogging alone. And yes, I volunteer at a wildlife center and know that wildlife does not usually attack unless provoked. I also know habitat is decreasing and there have been unprovoked attacks.

The path evidently used to be a road--it was paved, being reclaimed by the mountain. In places there were breaks between trees on the left and I could see the drop to the river below. More vertigo. Then there was a change in the trees with the appearance of a grove of leafless deciduous trees--some kind of birch? Tall, thin, white trunks. They were absolutely still and seemed to eradicate distance and perspective. The rushing of the river below contrasted with the eerie stillness of the birches, which seemed to exist near and far simultaneously. It was like looking at a still photo on television to which sound effects have been added.

I only passed a few people going the other direction. Afraid I would never reach the springs (there was a distinct lack of signs in that part of the Olympic National Forest), I asked a young couple if they've come from the springs.
"How are they?
"They smell terrible," says the boy. I expected that, the smell of sulfur.
"Are they warm?"
"Yeah. There's a group of hippies in the last one," the boy says.
"I can deal with hippies," I say (not bothering to explain I come from hippies).

The springs were a series of small, shallow pools. Most seemed to have water that spilled over the sides (water circulation being a good thing for the health of the water and the people soaking in it), leaving a pale, sulfur trickle across the path. I picked one that was a climb up from the path. It was only waist deep when sitting, with muddy floor and a stream trickling in that was hotter than the pool temperature. Getting in wasn't a problem, but getting out and back into clean, dry clothes proved to be tricky with the muddy slope. I had a plastic bag, but two--one to use as a mat--probably would have helped. I had a flashlight, though, and this came in very handy when heading down the mountain (and across a stream) in the gathering dark. I caught up to the hippies, who seemed to be unconcerned about night falling. I had a nice chat with one of them as we walked along in the dark. I didn't learn his name and just thought of him as "The Hippie". When I got back to my motel I was about to shower when I realized I could take a bath and not have to clean the tub. So I took a bath both nights I stayed there. I went to dinner in Port Angeles, came back to my motel room and plinked on the ukulele for awhile before I fell asleep.

Although I didn't spend much time in the springs, it was special to be soaking out there in the middle of the wilderness, surrounded by trees and fog. I would have liked it if the pool was deeper, though. I am curious to try other natural (undeveloped) hot springs. I will let you know when I do.

Other people's pictures of Olympic Hot Springs:
National Park site
http://www.idahohotsprings.com/destinations/olympic/index.htm
http://www.nwhotsprings.net/olympic.htm

Retreat

2007-11-13T16:09:00.000-08:00

I'm planning a two-day getaway to a natural hot springs in Western Washington. More on this later.

November 6, 2007 National Strike

2007-10-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

In Harpers, Garret Keizer suggests a national strike to *do* something to reclaim our country for its people, to show our government that we will not just go on with business as usual while a President claims more and more power for himself and acts against the Constitution, hurting us and not making us safer.

In a talk at Kane Hall in Seattle, Naomi Wolf suggested this strike be a sit-down, with music and banners, but not a march (which could be instigated into becoming violent).

I know very well how hard it is to overcome apathy and the sense of futility, but if we lose the sense that we can affect change then we give up our democracy and become victims. I am the first to admit that I am guilty of this. Keizer writes: "Of all the various depredations of the Bush regime, none has been so thorough as its plundering of hope."

This strike suggestion has been picked up by bloggers and indy-media, but there seems to be no one organizing anything. I am planning on writing my representatives to let them know I am striking and I am planning on voting.

What others are saying about the Nov 6 National Strike:
http://justmyideas.blogspot.com/2007/09/general-strike-november-6-2007-stop-war.html

http://whystrike.blogspot.com/2007/09/keizer-and-striking-on-blogs.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/23/141513/171

Green Party of Canada

http://youthinkwhat.com/we-think-its-time-for-a-general-strike.html

article by Jim Hightower

Famous Travel Photographer?

2007-09-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

No.

But two of my photos of are now part of online travel guides:

Prague http://www.schmap.com/prague/sights_malstrana/. Click on Golden Lane; there are about 20 photos that automatically scroll.

Budapest http://www.schmap.com/budapest/sights_districtii/. Click on Matthias Church- Ecclesiastical Art Collection.

Where Should I Go Next?

2007-08-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

A says Australia. She wants to live vicariously through me. I understand; I do the same. I was thinking maybe Hawaii. Right now I would just like to get out of town. A little trip to the coast would be lovely. But it is only lunch time and I will be happy just to get outside before I have to get back to work.

Turkey Plans to Invade Iraq

2007-06-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

I thought he already had...

May Day - International Workers Day

2007-05-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

May 1st, International Workers' Day, commemorates the historic struggle of working people throughout the world...
http://flag.blackened.net/daver/anarchism/mayday.html
http://www.forward.com/articles/may-day/
http://www.marxists.org/subject/mayday/index.htm
http://www.acpp.org/sevents/0501.html

Poetry Nights with Eeyore

2007-04-19T15:38:00.001-07:00

I realized it took me a couple weeks to adjust to being back home after my trip. It happened in stages, but I'm not sure why it took so long to feel completely adjusted. I struggled with fatigue, malaise, low concentration.

My friend Robin told me today, "It's good to hear you all fired up again. Although I must admit I also enjoyed my poetry nights with Eeyore."

Although you really haven't met Eeyore until you've met my dad, I appreciated the sentiment and was glad to hear he enjoys being with me even when I'm Eeyore (and not just when I'm Roo).

I had an amazing night of poetry, music, and community at Bai Pai, which I wrote about on my poetry blog.

Today's Thought

2007-04-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

This is either really simple or really hard and I can't figure out which.

Without the Vigorous Scrubbing of Youth

2007-04-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

From the beginning, I liked to eat. Mother’s milk, formula, baby food, blender food, sister’s food, dog food…well, I became more discerning as time went on. But before discernment, everything was fuel for my growing and learning. That is still true, but perhaps I have to sample the rotten, the stale, the not-to-my-taste less frequently now than I did so many years ago. How many years ago, I don’t choose to reveal.

What will I reveal? More than you might want to know. Hell, more than I might want to know. But I don’t choose the events; I merely relate them. Does my perception also shape them? As storyteller, am I also part author/creator, part chef? Yes; I am chef, waiter, and customer, epicure. I want to tantalize, feed, fill, and fortify.
When I was young, able to stand but not able to see over the kitchen counter, I began experimenting in the kitchen. Father made me a stool and Mother placed it in the kitchen. There, on rainy afternoons, I became acquainted with cumin, garlic, and saffron. No, not saffron. That came later in life, I think. There, in the warmth of kitchen and family, I became acquainted with comfort and nutrition, nurturing. I carry that knowledge with me today. Believe me, I do not wish to lead you astray. I do not wish to, but I might. I am only…a chef standing 4 feet, 0 inches at home, where critics are gentle and adventurous.

I went to school, as children do. My parents had taught me that I was smart and capable. School was supposed to sharpen me, but it ground me down. At least, that is how I see it now. But I see that it is lunchtime and my stomach tells me it is time for a little something.

. . .

Please excuse the crumbs and stains. But eating and reading—or eating and writing—is one of the simple pleasures in life. We have control over few things, and that includes stains. So I have stopped trying to stop the encroachment of stains. I still do the laundry and clean the counters, mind you, but without the vigorous scrubbing of youth. I have come to accept imperfection, and I am happier for it. I suggest you do the same.

I live with a dog now. Wolf is my best friend and constant, undemanding companion. I meet other dog-walkers in the city and we stop to chat and sniff the air (and other places we shan’t mention here). I like dogs, and I like people with dogs because I believe they tend to be looser than other people, say those young, urban professionals I see hurrying across the street. Dog people know that stains happen. No one likes them, but you deal with them and move on. No sense crying over spilt milk or dwelling over rotten, up-chucked woodchuck. In fact, it is especially best if you don’t dwell over the latter. Or so I hear from my friends who live in the country. We don’t get many woodchucks in the city. We do get rats and pigeons, though. Some people don’t choose to distinguish between the two, but I do.

The Night ran away with the Moon

2007-03-29T15:24:00.001-07:00

In this corner...Ding! I meant to go to bed early, but instead I went 4 rounds with my roommate's Epson printer and lost every round - ding! It wouldn't print without a color cartridge - even though it had a black ink cartridge, and was set to print in black ink. I checked every setting I could think of....9, 10! Epson wins! We finally decided it was a very clever - and very devious - marketing ploy by Epson to require consumers to buy color cartridges.

I went a second night of sleeping without sheets (hooray for being a bachelor.) On the productive end, though, I actually made myself dinner - stew with beans, carrots, potatoes, veggie sausage.

On the bus home I ran into an acquaintance who used to work at a bookstore with monthly poetry readings. She told me about moving to NY and looking for a job in fashion design. She wasn't worried about making it; she's got a good portfolio. I tried not to be the wet blanket on her parade, but I was thinking: ah, the early 20s.

2007-03-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

I was born in North Carolina, lived an unextraordinary life, much like yours, I imagine. I like to imagine the lives of others, their thoughts, secret hopes and public failures. I suppose you could call me a voyeur, but that is only part of the story. No matter how many fragments a story has, how many roundabouts and detours and dead-ends, somewhere there is a whole. But that whole is different for different people. You participate in the creation of the story, make it unique, unimagined by anyone else. You are important. You matter. No matter how much events, people, and television will seem to add up to you being a cog, a little person, joe schmoe, jane doe. Go home at night and, lying in bed, whisper to yourself that you matter. I only give this advice because I care, because I have been there myself. And I promised I would tell you about myself.

It was a grey afternoon when I was born; mother was napping. It was before Thanksgiving. The house was quiet, no preparations yet in progress. Cypress trees watched over her from the swamp. Brown leaves gathered to muffle sounds, to protect us. I was born and I was loved, like we all hope to be. But there is the way things should be, and the way things are. And it’s not always easy to tell which is which. So I am on guard, watchful for indications that things are not what they seem.

Too Tired to Post

2007-03-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

Do I contradict myself again? Alas. Don't want to be too predictable. We all hold inconsistencies, contradictions, and paradoxes within ourselves. There is more to write about my trip, but I have spent my energy doing other things. And my energy doesn't seem to last long, lately. So I leave you with this:

We were born on a November afternoon on a twin bed in North Carolina. Our story really begins, however, hundreds of miles away in a big city—about as different as you can get from the sleepy southern town where we were conceived. But what is a story, if not a journey from one place to another? And what, if not the journey? The end exists, but it is artificial, as we all know. Except for death, and whether that is an ending is still being debated. But I didn’t start telling you this to prosthelytize my point of view…or did I? I will leave that up to you to decide.

There is usually a moment when the course of our journey shifts. Or many such moments, really, but we often don’t recognize them at the time for what they are. Sometimes we do recognize them, feel the gathering force of their power, a giant cartoon snowball picking up everything in its path. I have mentioned some passer-bys, innocent bystanders, walk-ons, stand-ins, wallflowers, backgrounds, bit-parts, accompaniments, appetizers, condiments…we will come back to them. But for now, let’s start with me. No sense in false modesty; I would be lying if I said I didn’t like talking about myself; who doesn’t? Anyone who doesn’t like talking about themselves is hiding something. You can attribute it to whatever you like—being an only child, being the star of the school play, being a lonely person who lives alone, works in what, if not a dead-end job, is at least a detour, roundabout, one-way street or one of those subdivision streets where the houses all look the same. The point is, I will admit to things that many people think, feel, or do, but that they would never admit to. I don’t like lying and I usually don’t see the point. Remember that; it will be important later, when you start to doubt me, start to doubt my version of events.

Insubordinate Kneecap

2007-03-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

A coworker once told me what she learned in her presentations class: public speaking is people's #1 fear. Death is #3.

If you are dead, do you need fear public speaking? Do the angels require you to give a weekly update of your activities in heaven to justify your presence there? Does the devil torture you by making you regurgitate in a position other than one of the four home base positions? It must be he didn't like the holy implications of the steeple posititon (fingertips touching, hands at waist level).

When I'm dead, I hope people remember that my shoe color was two shades darker than my hem and that I never showed an insubordinate kneecap in the office.

March Birthdays

2007-03-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday, Erika, Jesse, and Hugh!

Nose to the smelling salt mines

2007-03-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

I liked my metaphors mixed, not shaken.

I was going to go in search of a poetry fix tonight, but I ended up staying home and adding to my travelogue. My notes I kept in my notebook are a bit sparse, but I added some recollections of Prague online. It is easier for me to update the entries and keep them somewhat chronological than just add things willy-nilly as I think of them.

It was difficult to go back to work today, but I think I feel more well-adjusted now (as well-adjusted as I get, anyway).

It rained today. The pink cherry blossoms were all the more stunning against the grey.

In a Station of the Metro

The apparition of these faces in the crowd:
Petals on a wet, black bough

Ezra Pound (1913)

Jet Drag

2007-03-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Why does going west seem so much harder than going east? I found this to be true when I came home from Ireland, too. I'm usually worn out after these vacations; that probably contributes. I try to drink water and only enough coffee to keep away the caffeine monster. And, although they offer free drinks on international flights, I abstain (which goes against the principal of free stuff). When I get to my destination, I don't sleep until the local time zone says sleep. Tomorrow I go back to work; I hope I remember how to work.

I uploaded more pictures to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/19255037@N00/sets/72157600005190124/. I am also going back and adding to previous posts. I've added some text to the Budapest entry, and will add more to other entries as time allows. I want to record it before it fades.

The night before I left for home, I dreamt that my cat died. Tamar and Alicia took her to the vet and the doctor told them that this cat had been neglected for a long time (Tamar laughed when I told her this; since I dote on my cat, the idea of her being neglected was funny). I awoke upset and anxious. When I called Tamar from Porland, almost the first thing I asked was, "how's Bird?". "She's fine; she's napping with Alicia."

But, in the area of animal news, there was a pet food recall on brands (that include the ones I feed my cat). Cats and dogs have died and they linked it to the pet food. For those of you with pets, find the FDA press release and links to lists of affected products: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01590.html. And sleep better ; )

Seattle/home

2007-03-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

It is good to be home. I arrived at Sea-Tac around 4:45; Tamar picked me up. I made 3 phone calls, showered, ordered Thai food, visited Alicia at work, ate, and crashed at 9 pm. Now it is Saturday and I have had kava/kave/kaffee/coffee and breakfast and I am ready to go back to bed! But I won't, yet. I have errands to do and a new time zone to adjust to. But I will definitely nap before the party (St. Paddy's day, a friend of Tamar's) tonight.

David, thanks again for meeting me in Prague and Vienna. It was really great to see you again...

Vienna/Wien

2007-03-14T02:29:00.000-07:00

Arg! Blogger is in German. Don't want to bother trying to figure out how to change it. Internet not cheap heir. Ich habe less time in Wein than I wanted. \nothing went as I had planned on Tuesday, so I left Budapest much later than I meant to. Got to see Statue Park, with a collection of communist statues no one wanted anymore after they got rid of the Soviet government. It was an adventure/ordeal getting there on public transportation.

Tommorow I take the train back to Prague and Friday morning I fly home. David is going to meet me in Vienna, we think. I don't have any pictures of Vienna yet, but I will upload some later. When I get home I will most likely upload all my pictures and go back and update my entries. Right now I am too busy! If you didn't notice, though, I have uploaded some more pictures to Flickr. Click on the logo in the sidebar to view them. Miss you guys, but I am having a good time! Man, do my feet hurt at the end of every day! Finally got caught up on sleep last night, though.

Nein, Mutter, I did not post at 2 am- that is what time it was Pacific Standard time.

American in Budapest

2007-03-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Me after the night train to Budapest. Notice the hair.

Budapest is romantic. It is also busy and grungy, like a big city. Many of the buildings were stark (but still looked European) and covered in stoot. The higher up on the building, the less sooty it was. I saw many canoodling couples (a lot of PDA).

As you can see, I went to the zoo (on Monday). It was an Art Nouveau zoo, but I was distracted by the animals!

I also went to the thermal baths! Spent several hours there, getting all pruny and relaxed. Men were playing chess in the baths. They had many pools of different temperatures. A Hungarian man told me I was very beautiful; I think he was practicing his English. It was another sunny day. I spent most of my time in the outdoor baths, alternating between the 38 degree Celcius and the 36 degree pools. That's where I was when the sun went down. I also spent some time indoors, in various mineral pools, the sauna briefly, and the very hot steam room.

Tuesday was my adventure/ordeal/meditation in public transportation so I could get to...Statue Park.

Oswiecim/Auschwitz

2007-03-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

Oswiecim is the Polish name of the town (pronounced, roughly, "os vee chem"). It was very confusing and frustrating trying to get the bus there. Ended up taking the train. Just getting the ticket took a long time, as I went back and forth between ticket windows, information windows, down corridors and back through them, up and down stairs and across platforms. Seeing and hearing the confusion of other English-speaking tourists made me feel better.

There were many people and tour groups at Auschwitz. Although I'm sure the guides give valuable information, it is still an intellectual experience, not that different from reading a history book. And people have the urge to talk amongst themselves, which also detracts from the experience. I think these things end up being distractions from really thinking about what happened--the most important part of actually visiting Auschwitz--and more, engaging our imaginations and emotions--the real triggers of empathy, and not just pity. To cruise through chatting about how bad it was is to miss the point.

Mostly, I tried to avoid the large tour groups and not be distracted by the talking of others. But it made me angry when a group a four people were talking loudly in the crematorium. I actually shushed them. One woman rolled her eyes. There was even a sign in three languages asking people to maintain silence and remember that thousands of people were murdered in this very place. Outside, another member of the party got more photos for her photo album.

I wasn't able to really grasp that thousands of people were gassed and burned right where I was standing. Where I did grasp the horror of the Holocaust in a way never before was at the exhibits of articles stolen from the prisoners--glasses, artificial limbs and crutches, shoes, pots and pans. I first saw the mound of glasses out of the corner of my eye, and I had to go to the window and take a few deep breaths before I could look at them--mound of mangled wire, glass lenses and gaps where lenses used to be--these once belonged to people who breathed, who ate and loved and lived their lives before their lives were stolen from them. The room of pots and pans made my throat close.

Everyone wants to know, "how could this have happened?" Can we all assume that we would never contribute, even passively, to this kind of thing? As I wandered on the grounds I wondered: why did it take three years to save the people of Auschwitz? why was it allowed to go on for three years?

Krakow

2007-03-09T00:34:00.000-08:00

The night train sleeping on "couchette" wasn't bad. Getting lost in the rain carrying my backpack all over town at 6:30 in the morning kinda was. But I found the main square and my hotel. Can't check in yet, though. I am the person you don't want to sit next to you in the bakery or internet cafe... I will check in and shower around 12, I think.

Showered, rested, and stretched. My room is beautiful!

I see why Rick Steves calls Krakow the next Prague...it is definitelz up and coming, compact with lovelz public spaces.

Had a fancy late lunch on Friday: the meal started with a complimentary tiny glass of hot honey mead (which went to my head), then delicious wild mushroom soup and (avert your eyes, you vegetarians, vegans, and hangers-on) duck entree with veggies. I think the meal was around $15. It would have been a lot more in the States! Internet was also very cheap here, and prices in general were low.

Went to an art museum of the Polish Art Nouveau movement. Museum was a little funky--some exhibits were kinda boring and I wasn't sure how they were related, and the English translations, when they existed, were a bit strange (like the translations in the Prague Museum of Communism).

Afternoon, I walked to Wawel Hill and wandered the grounds around the castle. Apparently, according to believers in chakra, there are 7 places on earth that have convergence of energy, like the 7 chakras of the body. Wawel Hill is one (although it doesn't market itself that way and the guides are, I guess, forbidden to talk about it). People in the know, though, flock here, according to my guidebook. The place were the energy is most concentrated is a wall--it is covered in smudges from the hugs of kooks/believers. Just in case, I touched the wall. I didn't see anyone hugging it, though.

Went to a couple churches--St. Mary's and St. Francis. Services were going on in both when I was there. Poland is, I understand, devoutly Catholic and boasts a high concentration of churches. At all times of the day, it seems, you can find kooks/believers going to church to pray.

Praha, Thursday

2007-03-09T00:28:00.000-08:00

I walked all around, getting lost, and taking much longer to find the places I was looking for. On the upside, though, I walked on some streets I hadn't seen before.

Finally found the Museum of Communism.

Met up with David for lunch. We had lunch at an inexpensive cafeteria, with the only English posted on a menu outside the door. We managed, though. I asked a man if we could share his table (and by this I mean I asked, "prosim?" and he nodded. "Please" comes in handy in many contexts). After a few minutes, I initiated conversation. The man turned out to be Russian, working for the Russian embassy in Prague. David and I enjoyed talking to him.

After a satisfying lunch, we went to the Mucha Museum...Alphonse Mucha was the guy for Art Nouveau in Prague.

Then we hit the Museum of Prague, but unfortunately, the model of Prague wasn't on exhibit!

Lastly came the adventures at the train station...the guy at the ticket window spoke some English and was very patient. I bought my ticket for a "couchette" on the night train to Krakow, Poland. It was confusing trying to figure out which car to board on, and the departure time was rapidly approaching, which made us nervous. This, and the hope that we would meet again in Vienna, kept the goodbye from being sentimental. We hammed it up, with me waving a tissue out the window and him running alongside the train.

---

General impressions...fantastic spring weather on Tues and Wed. Rained Wed night, but Thurs wasn't bad at all.

Women's high heels getting caught between cobblestones.

Surrounded by so many languages!

Even in March, Prague was crowded with manz large tour groups. I canät imagine what it will be like in the high season!

Prague has manz windy, narrow streets and hidden courtzards...verz European. So manz gorgeous buildings in the citz of a thousand spires. Unlike other European cities, it was not badlz bombed in WWII.

Service was often matter of fact more than friendlz, but people were nice.

It was fun and easy to be with David again, even after all these years.

Praha

2007-03-08T23:47:00.000-08:00

...is the Czech name for Prague.

View of Prague Castle from Charles Bridge.

Wednesday I went to the Czech Cubism Museum--very cool! Usually my response to art is based in emotion before intellect. Knowing little about art historz and technique, I usuallz onlz make basic observations. (This kezboard is funkz and I donät know how to fix it cause the menus are all in Polish! Bear with me.) But looking at the Czech cubism, I felt for mzself that it was another waz of perceiving realitz. At first, it seems fragmented, but the boundaries between things (say, a woman and a bowl of fruit) become interwoven, thus showing the interconnectedness of all things (as Buddists believe).

In the afternoon, David and I explored Prague Castle, the Old Royal Palace, Basilica of St. George, Golden Lane (where Kafka lived for awhile), and St. Vitus Cathedral. The gargoyles on St. Vitus Cathedral creeped me out!

There was much walking and I was very tired. A late afternoon sit and snack helped.

In the evening I saw Black Light Theater, which was fun, but went a bit long.

Prague!

2007-03-06T02:18:00.000-08:00

I'm here. Man, that was a long trip. David picked me up at the airport and led me via bus and subway and foot to my hostel, Hostel Tyn (which he says is pronounced "hostel teen", but he's sure they're very mature). We were both very tired and neither of us hungry, but we still talked for a couple hours before we shuffled off to slumber.

This morning I have been trying to orient myself my usual way, by walking and getting lost. Choosing the perfect breakfast place quickly became less of a priority than getting some food--and kava (coffee)--in me right away. I woke with a bad headache. So far, I have walked to the river, around and around, back to the hostel, and to this internet cafe. I think I just accidentally said "thank you" to someone who said "hello". I can tell that I am going to have to be patient with myself and accept that I may look like an idiot. At least I feel less paralyzed than last night! I feel buoyed by a few positive interactions. A few phrases are sticking with me, even if they aren't necessarily the right phrases at the right time! David told me his first day here he accidentally asked for the street instead of the bill.

Prague is beautiful, and I haven't seen much of it yet. I am staying very close to the Old Town Square. The streets and the buildings look very European. I wish I knew more about what I was looking at. The architecture is lovely. And it is sunny today! How nice is that? David and I are meeting at 12:00 at the statue of Jan Huss in the Old Town Square.

---

I spent Tuesday orienting myself, wandering, strolling to the river and back, sitting in the sun with David, exploring the Jewish Quarter, practicing my Czech, strolling the Charles Bridge at dusk. The Spanish Synagogue was just beautiful. (We weren't allowed to take pictures inside.)

Here is a pic of the Jewish Cemetary, where Rabbi Loew is buried (he is associated with the legend of the Golem).

Ate a late supper of potato pancakes with cheese in a smoky pub. Tried a shot of the Czech liquor becharovka. Chatted with the international law students overflowing the pub (that's international students, not international law).

Check out the link to Flickr for more photos...

A Night Off

2007-02-21T15:20:00.001-08:00

Ventured out into the windy, rainy night for open mic/salon at Bai Pai. Enjoyed music, poetry, friendship, food, drink, warmth and atmosphere.

At the end of the night, I gave my email address to someone. She said, "usually it's me pressing my information into someone else's hand. It's nice to have a night off."

I know what she means.

Approximate Itinerary

2007-02-20T08:56:00.000-08:00

Here is my rough itinerary:

Mon Mar 5 - arrive Prague . Sleep in Prague.
Tues Mar 6 - Prague. Sleep in Prague.
Wed Mar 7 - Prague. Sleep in Prague.
Thurs Mar 8 - Prague. Night train to Krakow.
Fri Mar 9 - Krakow. Sleep in Krakow.
Sat Mar 10 - Oswiecim. Night train to Budapest.
Sun Mar 11 - Budapest. Sleep in Budapest.
Mon Mar 12 - Budapest. Sleep in Budapest.
Tues Mar 13 - Budapest/Vienna. Sleep in Vienna.
Wed Mar 14 - Vienna. Sleep in Vienna.
Thurs Mar 15 - Vienna/Prague. Sleep in Prague.
Fri Mar 16 - leave Prague.

Travel Philosophy

2007-02-15T15:36:00.000-08:00

Over Sunday dinner I was mocked by another diner for my desire to plan my trips. She claimed that this kind of planning does not allow for spontaneity. I disagree. It is precisely the planning that allows me to be comfortable, informed, and open to serendipity.

Here is an excerpt from Rick Steves' website:

Traveler 'A' takes off to Europe as a free spirit, without much planning, no real itinerary...and returns home with a backpack full of complaints about how expensive and stressful it all was. Traveler 'B' prepares for weeks as though her trip were some kind of final exam, mapping out a detailed day-to-day plan...and returns home with rich stories of spontaneous European adventures. It's the classic paradox of good travel: structure rewards a traveler with freedom, and "winging it" becomes a ball-and-chain of too many decisions, too
little information...and precious little time to relax.

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/experience.htm

Gas Station conversation, 1 AM

2007-02-15T14:15:00.000-08:00

-How are you doing?
-Fine. Tired. How are you?
-Tired. Did you just get off work?
-No. But I have to work early in the morning.
-Couldn't let go of your boyfriend, huh? ...Sometimes it be like that...

How are you, my friends in Columbus, Ohio?

2007-02-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

Cat walking in the snow in Columbus, Ohio
http://www.fortunecity.com/millenium/sweetvalley/307/photogallery/17/P1010061.JPG

Currently in Seattle/Redmond it is 46 degrees and rainy.

Me, Myself and My Id

2007-01-28T19:30:00.000-08:00

me: This project makes me want to eat my own head, as my friend Amy would say. I want to reply, "aaaaahhhhhhh!" to this question.
coworker: That's why you can't let the id speak.

Winter Comfort

2007-01-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

Jane Kenyon's poems on despair
tom kha tofu, spicy and steaming
Mary Oliver's poems of joy
bare purple branches of a bush
afternoon naps
"Antilamentation" by Dorianne Laux
Motown music
one red cardinal
yes when no was expected
strange strains of lilting Finnish music
misty rain
Ani DiFranco
snuggling my cat
I'd be lying if I didn't say chocolate
and whiskey
dancing alone in an empty house
singing in the car
a Democratic Senate and House of Representatives
shocking drama of Northwestern light

Prague

2007-01-18T15:35:00.000-08:00

I did it! Bought a ticket to Prague for March 2007. I have around 10 days in Eastern Europe. My college friend David lives in Brno, Czech Republic. I haven't seen David in over 10 years (that sentence makes me feel old). We will probably spend a few days together and I will probably spend a few days venturing out on my own. David suggested Vienna. I am also considering Budapest and other possibilities. Suggestions are welcome!

Seattle Snow Nocturne

2007-01-11T22:40:00.000-08:00

2:00 invested in future adventures (Prague)
4:30 hail rattled the roof
5:00 snow accumulated; evening plans shifted
5:20 vanpoolers gathered in the lobby
5:40 parking lot traffic jam
left bags; walked toward dinner
listened to our feet; smiled and squinted at the sky
snowballs, laughter, breath
greetings, green tea, shed layers
conversation, companionship
tofu rolls in spicy tomato sauce
sharing, insults, awkwardness
bundled again
revisted adolesence, more snowball fights
put chains on van
hit the road
ah, heat
cement?
loud noise, vibration
arguments over how fast was safe in chains
backseat driving, laughter
I-5 south, Swift-Albro
deafening noise
van on shoulder
blown tire? no
foggy van windows; what's going on?
metal bent to almost touching tire
State Trooper!
removed chains
close to home; gunna make it?
horrible grinding noise
leeaanned to the left
made it to the van's spot
call if you need to, scraped cars, loaned scraper
traffic on Rainier South
Smoky Robinson sang in the car
cars blocking Renton Avenue
Honda Civic passed them in the left lane
called Mom: you can stop worrying, now
Home.

Obligatory New Year Ruminations

2007-01-07T18:17:00.000-08:00

It would seem it is time for ONYR. However, I haven't done much thinking on the new year, and I have ambivalent feelings about posting personal information. Poetry is personal, but somehow I have become comfortable with sharing it. I guess because I believe (on good days) it has value and its own little life that can be nurtured, apart from me, my fears and my ambitions. It's funny, I enjoy reading the "class notes" from my college classmates, but I have never written in. Although I enjoy reading them, I can't imagine anyone is interested in what I'm doing. And no one ever writes in when they're depressed or unemployed or breaking up with their partner. Although I have a few things to brag about, I'm not really comfortable writing the typical class note: Hi everyone! My husband, Joe Perfect (class of 95) and I are pleased to announce the birth of our first child: Angel Charmed-Life. Joe just received his PhD and has been nominated for the Nobel Prize. My second book was published to rave reviews. Next year we are moving overseas and will spend 2007 de-worming orphans in Somalia.

Oh, bless the Liberals and the liberal-arts majors. I may sound bitter, but it's that edge that gives me my je ne se quois (when you figure out what it is, let me know). Not that I feel pessimistic about 2007. I don't. I feel rather positive. 2006 was good to me. I guess I just need to put my ambivalence on the page...er, in the form.

ONYR: I enjoy my living situation. I have two wonderful roommates. It's not always easy to live together, but I often feel lucky to have them in my life. My car was stolen last January, but I got it back 4 days later, with relatively little damage, considering. I have a good job, with people who appreciate me, and work that challenges me. Both my parents are doing well and live within 20 miles from me. I have money saved and feel comfortable financially. I am learning to treat myself and treat myself better. I have community, groups of people I enjoy and who seem to enjoy me: poetry, chorus, vanpool, work. I am dating a nice man who makes me feel good. I've had some modest success with poetry. My cat is healthy, and so am I. I feel strong. I'm working out again (although not lately). I did something new and worked with a personal trainer, gained strength and energy. I have friends I don't get to see much anymore as they live in Ohio and other places; this is disappointing, but they are still a bright spot in my life. And (drumroll, please)...I went to Ireland for 3 weeks and had a fabulous time. I feel stronger and braver for the experience. And I have been inspired--I am going to the Czech Repulic in 2007! I am making it happen. So life is good.

I still feel lonely in groups of people sometimes, and content to be alone sometimes. I still have many unfulfilled desires, crabbiness, boredom, experience monotony, yearn for change, fear change, feel angry, can't let go, feel sad, make mistakes, forget to be kind, eventually get sick of the rain and fed up with winter (usually in January), complain (see above), give up, fall short of my expectations, hurt others, continue bad habits. I guess I am human.

Kitty Angst

2006-12-27T23:56:00.000-08:00

I want to write, but I don't know what. I want to be, but I don't know how. Kitty angst is my term for that restless wanting that seems to have no source or cure. Or, put another way, it's when the cat has been pet, fed, watered, let in, let out, let in, let out, and still the meowing continues. Sometimes I get kitty angst. I am going to try and not reflect too much on the purpose of this post (or, for that matter, this blog) and just write. I felt a definite urge to write today, not to create, but just write, document. I think that is a good thing. I haven't been writing much lately, and this urge was removed from a focus on product. I was watching the starlings in the bare tree top, against the backdrop of a dark grey cloud, listening to them chatter, and I wanted to pick up my pen and write longhand in my notebook with red cover. Dive for cover. Cover me. I am censoring a little, self-editing. I love the backspace key. I just realized I had a little (very little) present I forgot to give my mom. I was thinking I'd go into work tomorrow, catch the van at 7:30 and actually go into the office. But then I thought again and couldn't really think of a good reason to go into the office when I could work from home. Next week normality, or something like it, will resume. People will be back to work in the office, including my boss and my friend David, and I will go in and work from my desk instead of home from my bed. For now, I guess I will retire to bed, hopefully to sleep, to lose myself in dark sleep and maybe vivid dreams.

Wallowing isn't all bad...

2006-12-19T21:15:00.000-08:00

I'm in my bedroom with the heat on and the door closed. I'm listening to Natalie Merchant's Tigerlilly, an album I played over and over during a sad time, early 2002. I am still luxuriating in having heat after 36 hours of none. When our power goes out, we can't heat the house, shower, or cook. That made for an uncomfortable 36 hours, but many people around Puget Sound still don't have power 5 days after the big storm, so I feel lucky. The houses across the street still don't have power. I have survivor's guilt.

I slept restlessly Thursday night, listening to the wind try to tear its way into our house. Around 1 or 2 am, when we lost power, I looked out the livingroom window and saw the evergreen tree across the street undulating impossibly. I also saw shapes in the yard that looked as if they had once, very recently, been part of our roof. Holy crap. In the morning, Tamar came down the stairs saying, "Someone's roof is in our yard, and I'm hoping it's the neighbor's." "Umm...sorry." Alicia, though, slept through the entire storm; she was really tired.

I came home on Saturday afternoon after running errands (and charging my cell phone while I ate tom kah in a restaurant). Tamar was sitting on the front porch, bundled up and looking glum. I began talking to her and stopped, gasped, and pointed. "I can't look," she said. Then, "is it still on?" It--the porch light, was. I ran into the house to put my ear by the heater. What a lovely sound! Ran back outside to hoot n holler and hug Tamar, who was still afraid to believe. Once she accepted the good news, she saw it like this: I came home and power was restored. I was the reincarnation of Nikola Tesla.

Reduced to Googling Insomnia

2006-12-10T02:02:00.000-08:00

It's 2 am and I can't sleep. My back hurts, though I went to the gym yesterday, which usually helps with sleep and back pain. My roommate, A, got home from work awhile ago. She watches tv in the living room. T sleeps upstairs. She will be up early, as is her routine. I often lie in bed and try to get back to sleep. Conventional wisdom (or some kind of advice, anyway) says to get up for awhile. Two in the morning here, 5 am in Columbus, Ohio, 10 am in Ireland, 11 am in the Czech Republic. I am learning so many things related and unrelated to imsomnia! I started to erase the spelling mistake and fix it, but then I found it apt, so I left it. Let's see if we can quiet the internal editor. Caffeine is a stimulant (and a favorite drug of mine; everyone needs a couple vices) and can be related to insomnia. Alcohol, a depressant, can also be related to insomnia, due to disruption of REM sleep and polyuria. Insomnia can result from depression, and from anti-depressants (Wikipedia says they can "alter sleep architecture. "Sleep architecture" is a cool phrase. I want to use it in something.) Dehydration can cause aches and irritation, which can, in turn, lead to sleeplessness. Apparently, drinking 1-2 cups of water can cause sleepiness within an hour or two. It can also cause wakiness within an hour or two (probably just as one is dropping off) and "polyuria". Are you sensing a theme? Many things--and their opposites--can lead to insomnia.

Signs, Portents, and the Wall Street Journal

2006-11-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

Just as my dream of living in Ireland was fading, there was a news blurb in my inbox: Ireland looks to U.S. for skilled workers. Is it a sign? (Am I a skilled worker?)

People on the bus last night were smellier and crazier than usual. (That's unrelated to the above topic...or is it?)

On the ground & showered, part 2

2006-09-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

I'm home. It's good to be home, to see friends and family again, to sleep in my own bed, snuggle my cat. It's good not to be a woman in a suitcase anymore, and to use sinks with married faucets. But I had a grand time and was sad to leave. Hopefully, I will be back again soon.

Dingle

2006-09-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

A river flows through it...

Arrived in Dingle on Friday. I leave tomorrow, Monday, for Shannon. Tuesday, I fly home from Shannon airport.

Friday I walked along the harbor. The weather and views were lovely. Saw the little tour boats out looking for Fungie, the local celebrity (a friendly wild bottlenose dolphin). Then I saw Fungie, too! No high jumps, but definitely his fin.

Saturday I biked the Dingle Peninsula, on the Slea Head Drive. Approximately 47 km--that's 30 miles! I was actually hobbling when I got back to Dingle; a muscle in my right leg kept spasming. After stretching, a hot shower, and a nap, I felt much better.

I met some great people; I will write more and upload more pictures when I get home.

A river flowed over the road. See my bike parked on the side?

The cuteness of this picture is self-evident.

I took shelter in this beehive hut (clochan, in Irish) while it rained.
As I sat there, hunkered over my sandwich, I had time to contemplate what it would have been like to live in one. First thing I would do it get some small stones to plug up the holes in the roof. I'm sure these holes didn't exist when people lived there, though--they were obviously great builders. The stones were placed, without mortar, at an angle to funnel the rain off the building. The structure narrowed at the top (like a beehive), and across the top they placed large slabs to complete the roof. I found myself wondering, though, if they had fires inside the hut and how they dealt with the smoke.

Tralee, tra-la

2006-09-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

It has been pouring for days. I've reached my saturation point. I don't mind a little soft weather, but this is ridiculous! Oh well. As they say, it never rains in a pub (which is where I'm headed next).

Cahersiveen

2006-09-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

Today is 20 September and I am in Cahersiveen, Co. Kerry. It is raining. Pray for good weather tomorrow for me, as I really want to go to Skellig Michael. Too turbulent today.

Thanks for the birthday wishes. It is really good to read the comments from everyone. My birthday was uneventful...except for the fact that I'm in Ireland!!!!!!

I can't believe I only have 5 days or so left of my trip...

I guess there is a hurricane nearby, and this dreadful weather is the tail end of it. So no Skellig Micheal for me. People say I can go when I come back, but I'm afraid I will never be back! I think, though, after this trip I am more likely to return to Ireland and, hopefully, travel elsewhere as well.

On Wednesday I went to the Barracks, where the Royal Irish Constabulary used to be stationed. Now it is a funky museum of local and national history. Funky, but I enjoyed it. Met a man who said he was the cousin of Michael Collins! It seems kind of extraordinary, but I believe him. Later that day I walked to a stone fort. Really cool. Well preserved, too. There was another fort nearby, and a ruined castle, but I had reached my saturation point and decided to head back on the long walk to my B&B. A woman stopped and asked if I wanted a lift--Hallelujah!

There was a lovely sunset and I relaxed in the sunroom of the B&B, with their cat on my lap. Later I ventured out to a pub and had a long conversation with two old codgers.

Kinsale

2006-09-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

Ate Thai food--man, have I missed Thai food! Had a big plate of veggies, which I've been craving for days! Getting a little tired of pub grub.

Walked to Charles Fort on a road/path they call the Scilly Walk...well, you can imagine the joke I wanted to make, but kid at the TI (tourist information centre) had never seen Monty Python, so it would have been lost on him. No, I didn't do the Silly Walk on the Scilly Walk, as there would have been no one there to laugh but me (and I notice I am already prone to talking to myself on long walks on country roads), and, more importantly, I needed to conserve my energy for another long day on my feet. Silly Walks are not very energy-efficient.

As we say in the textbook industry...TK

Waterford

2006-09-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

Solid working-class town. Not especially pretty, but real. Much hillier here than Galway! Walked to and from the Waterford Crystal factory. Skeleton crew on Sunday, but it was still cool. Then there was the extensive "gallery" and gift shop--man, they must really rake it in!

Cashel (Temporarily in Tipperary)

2006-09-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

This is a placeholder for the wonderful comments and pics to come (ha ha)...

Toured the Rock of Cashel.

Unfortunately, I lost my notebook where I had been keeping all my notes about experiences, feelings, and people. You can imagine my distress. I still hope to recover it somehow, but I have started another one, anyway. Boo.

Dublin

2006-09-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

I will return to write notes on my travels later. Right now I am trying to upload (takes awhile) before I catch a bus to Cashel at 18:00.

Dublin is much more cosmopolitan than I remember it being 10 years ago. Really feels like a big city. I saw the Book of Kells! Woah. And Killmainham Gaol (jail), where many political prisoners were held. The Newgrange Tomb at Bru na Boinne (pics above) was amazing.

Belfast

2006-09-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

Belfast was a center of linen weaving--check out the old loom!

Botanic Gardens
The so-called "Peace Wall" (in the background) that separates the Catholic/Nationalist/Republican neighborhood from the Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist neighborhood where they are close together. The wall (basically a barricade) closed in the evening and re-opens in the morning. It also "closes" on weekends and bank holidays.

I think it's funny these pictures turned out so blue, as I was also feeling blue. Obviously, I'm far from an expert user of this camera...but I'm too busy to learn more than a little bit at a time. I'm grateful for its lend, and, overall, I think the pictures are turning out fine.

Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Whiskey Distillery

2006-09-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, I admit it--I toured the distillery before I went to the Causeway! In the pic, I am holding my "certificate" of official whiskey-taster qualifications (I was quick to volunteer to be one of two tasters; everyone got a complimentary drink, though).

Derry/Londonderry

2006-09-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Derry yesterday afternoon. I like Derry a lot. Very interesting town, with interesting history. Unfortunately, the Tower Museum is closed on Mondays after September. Some convenient bus services also stop running in August. Oh well. I am going to attempt to see the Giant's Causeway tomorrow and then travel to Belfast. After Belfast, Dublin. I don't seem to be able to upload photos here, so I will also do that later.

Letterkenny on Sunday

2006-09-10T04:24:00.000-07:00

Letterkenny has been kind of a bust, but it has been a chance for some down time. Some advice my guidebook gives is: assume you will return to the country. I think it is good advice. There are definitely some advantages and disadvantages to taking the bus. Considered hitching to Glenveagh (pron. Glenvee) National Park, but I am never eager to hitch and I think the timing is just off, anyway. So today I will catch the bus to Derry/Londonderry, in Northern Ireland. Will have to change my money to pounds.

I've been noticing some patterns as I travel. I think I tend to feel more unease upon arriving at a new place; after a few hours or a day I feel increased strength and independence. Not that I think independence is the only way to go--I've gotten very good at asking for directions. Have received help from many strangers. I've become quite gregarious (nothing from the peanut gallery, please). ; )

In stores and pubs everywhere people ask me, "Ya'lright?" At first I was slightly taken aback ("yes, I'm alright. Don't I look alright?), but then I quickly realized it was a way of asking "may I help you?" Now I notice it everwhere. People also say "thanks very much" and "grand." And they ask, "is that alright?" even when there is nothing to do if it isn't alright, i.e., in telling the open/closed hours of the establishment. Shopping in a grocery store is quite fun. I remember this being the case in London, too. There are strange combinations of food (chicken and sweetcorn sandwich) and funny names for things. Over an aisle in Dunne's hangs a sign reading "Nappies" (diapers)! And the candy bars are different. So, of course, I have been sampling so I can report back to you all. I do it for you. Sigh, the sacrifice.

Letterkenny, County Donegal

2006-09-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday, day 6

When Joan and Frank at the Galway B&B heard I was coming here, they remarked that it was very pretty but, "you won't understand a word they're saying up there!"

Arrived this afternoon, but many things are closed--including the tourist information office (the TI was very helpful in Ennis and Galway) and the post office. There seems to be nowhere to rent a bike or a car. No buses go to Glenveagh National Park, where I really wanted to go. I did have a good experience at the bus station, though, where a woman overheard me asking at the counter for help and spontaneously joined in. Then we went to the bus and I talked to the bus driver. Another young woman who was getting on the bus joined in the discussion about how I could get to the park and whether it was too late to try and do it today. Though disappointed, I decided the driver was right, it would be pushing it, so I thanked them and left.

Didn't get my laundry done, but did find this jewel of an internet "cafe" (it's a video store), where 1 hour is 1 euro--much cheaper than Galway! The lady at the hostel didn't think there would be trad (traditional music) tonight, since it apparently goes on during the week. Apparently, Sat is the night for clubbing. But I am too tired and not really interested. I will try a pub for dinner, and maybe music or conversation. Tomorrow, I will see about getting to Glenveagh again, then I will head to Derry, in Northern Ireland.

Connemara

2006-09-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

Though I didn't want to do a big-bus tour, it seemed to be the most reliable way to see Connemara, another area not well served by buses. And, as a woman from Portland and I had talked about in Ennis, I am glad now that I'm not driving. Maybe next time, if I travel with someone.
Kylemore Abbey and the adjacent neo-gothic church.

Talked to some Americans and Italians on the bus. Met Richie, from outside Dublin. Richie taught me a little Irish.

The bus passed a peat fire and many heaps of peat logs (called "turf" in Ireland). Connemara is an area of bogs, and so not much farming can be done on the land. There is livestock, though, and apparently, Connemara ponies are showed professionally and sold to other countries. Saw Irish nomads, formerly called tinkers.

The shadows of clouds on the mountains are like spots on a dairy cow.

Stopped at Killary Harbor, Ireland's only fjord, a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea created by a glacier.

Innismore, Aran Islands

2006-09-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

Took the bus to Rossaveal to catch the ferry to Innismore, the largest of the Aran Islands (pron. Innishmore). Upstairs on the double-decker bus, sat next to Maurizo, who had been one of my roommates at the Barnacles hostel in Galway. We ended up spending the day together, biking, learning English and Italian, and communicating in other ways: body language, facial expressions, humor, silence.

Biking up to Dun Duchathair, the Black Fort, was very rugged and difficult. I fell off the bike (but not to the ground) several times and wasn't sure I'd be able to get started again on the rocky path uphill!

Breathtaking view. So quiet, except for the wind and the pounding of the surf. Ancient fort, protected on 3 sides by cliffs. Hard to believe those stones could still be standing.

Gorgeous weather again--I got sunburned! Exhausted and sore, we took the boat back. We saw dolphins on the trip! They were swimming in the wake of the boat. When they leapt, so did my heart. Io sono contenta.

Galway

2006-09-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

I fell asleep on the bus to Galway. When I disembarked, it was pouring rain and dark. I managed to find the hostel without too much trouble, but I was cold and wet, teeth chattering. My boots, which had gotten soaked on the first day in Ennis and were on their way to drying, tied to the outside of my backpack, got soaked again. The hostel was hot, and I slept fitfully. But the next day, my towel and shoes were dry!

Had a very frustrating time trying to call my credit card company collect. Couldn't do it from a pay phone. Walked to the water to decompress. A black dog initiated a game of fetch with me, first with a rock, then with a bottle! Very funny. He made me laugh and I felt a lot better.

We were blessed with a beautiful day. I took the self-guided walking tour...otherwise known as wandering and getting lost! Walked along the bay, by the commercial/industrial area. There were several individuals fishing, too. Talked to the fishermen. Henry, originally from Dublin, and I talked a long time. When I remarked that he had no bucket, he said, "I've got a bag in me pocket." There were many little fish swimming near the surface, the water was teeming with them. Sometimes a big fish (mackerel) would appear, hunting, and scatter the little fish, who seemed to move with one mind.

River walk
St. Nicholas Cathedral. There was some kind of service going on in a side chapel. Layers of voices, murmuring. The priest changing from high to low notes--eerie. Then the parishoners repeating again and again, "Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now and in the hour of our death." Echoing, haunting cocophany.

St. Nicholas Collegiate Church. If memory serves, this church dates back to the 13th century. It smelled old, like cool stone. The accoustics were beautiful. Hummed a few bars of Gaudete. No picutes I could take of the interior could convey the grandeur. I'm not religious, but I see why they built the churches the way they did--they inspire reverence.
St. Nicholas Collegiate Church

I was ready to sleep in my own room, ready to splurge on a B&B. Checked into Petra's B&B on College Rd. Lovely oasis. After a brief rest and a nice chat with Joan, one of the proprieters of the B&B (she also loves animals and has a dog and a cat), I ventured out in search of music and craic (pron. "crack", means fun, good conversation). Ballad-type music playing in Monroe's. Had a pint of cider and wrote postcards at the bar. Met Sean, a fluent Irish speaker from Co. Mayo. He wrote (I didn't have to ask, he just offered) my surname in Irish. He is an organizer/campaigner for a political party related to (?) Sinn Fein.

More Burren

2006-09-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

The Burren means "rocky place"; it is a unique geological area, a lunar landscape. Arctic and Mediterranean flowers bloom side by side here.

You can click on the pictures to see a larger image...

These rock walls are made without mortar. You can hear the wind whistle through them...

After the tour, I made my way to the bus station and said a silent goodbye to Ennis. I felt strangely strong, adjusted to a temporary life of travel in 1 day.

Cliffs of Moher & the Burren

2006-09-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone, for your posts! It is so good to hear from you! My 2nd day I took a tour of the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. Thankfully, it was a minibus, not one of those behemoth buses. For safety reasons, they are now walling off the cliffs, so people can't go right up to the edge and look over. It was difficult to feel an intimate connection with the area, due to the construction and all the people, but it was surely grand. In the bathroom, woman exclaimed over their hair (it was very windy up there). Tourists in many languages. Many couples.

That evening, I took a bus to Galway.

Please stand by; we are experiencing technical difficulties

2006-09-06T04:48:00.000-07:00

This is my first time at an Internet cafe. It's taken me awhile to get even these pictures uploaded. Maybe I will figure out what's causing these problems later; in the meantime, I am going to log off. I can feel euros draining out of me by the minute!

More Ennis

2006-09-06T04:37:00.000-07:00

graffiti
view from my hostel window

St. Francis altar, Friary ruins

Old Drumcliff Cemetery

The next day, before my tour of the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, I walked around some more. Wandered into a chocolate shop. Had a long, delightful conversation with Marcia (Marci-a, not Marsha). She was passionate about chocolate and described cocoa beans from different plantations as having their own flavors, like grapes from different vineyards. She had lived in America, San Diego, for 9 years.

Less disoriented on Tuesday, my 2nd day. Around lunchtime, teenagers in school uniforms roam the street in packs.

Ennis

2006-09-06T04:09:00.000-07:00

Ennis is a cute town, but it also feels like real people live and work there; it's not just a tourist vehicle. Observations: narrow sidewalks, unclear crosswalks and traffic flow, blind corners; covered alleys and pedestrian-only streets. Street signs are hard to find and not always present (this was true in London, too). Crossing the street feels like taking my life into my hands!

The woman at the PO seemed to have trouble understanding me, which I found amusing and comforting. The Abbey Hostel seemed to be a microcosm of the town--labrynthine. It was also rustic, but charming. I walked a lot my first day and got drenched in the rain. By 19:20 I had a compendium of complaints, so I took the advice of two different locals and hitched a ride. 4-5 cars passed me before one stopped. A woman was driving, her daughter was in the back seat. The car smelled of fresh baked bread (they were transporting a loaf). I was so grateful to get a ride, I mean, lift. That evening I ate in Cruise's pub (Irish stew with clear, herby broth and an Irish whiskey) and talked for a couple hours with a local retired man. A session (traditional music where anyone can join in) started at "half-9" (9:30).

On the ground and showered

2006-09-04T03:26:00.000-07:00

view from the plane

There is a Van Morrison song for many places in Ireland and N. Ireland

2006-08-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

Reserved my first night (Monday, Sept 4--Labor Day) in the Ennis Abbey Hostel. Looks nice from the pictures. They have private rooms with several beds (and charge by the bed), but I will be staying in a dorm-type room with 5 beds. Maybe later I will stay in a private room or "splurge" on a B&B, but part of the point of staying in a hostel is to meet people.

I am flying into Shannon, in the west of Ireland. Ennis is just a short ways from there. I don't think I know any Van Morrison songs about Shannon or Ennis. I'm sure many songs will be floating through my head while I am there, though. When I was in California in July I could think of a song for many of the places we passed or visited. For my roommates, there is a movie quote for everything. For me, there is a song.

Miscellaneous Preparations

2006-08-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Photocopy itinerary and passport for roommates (the passport is in case I'm kidnapped by a cute Irish lad and they need to involve the U.S. Embassy)
Arrange rendezvous with friends and friends of friends
Snuggle cat to soothe guilt over leaving her
Memorize words of travel guru, Rick Steves
Browse web for information on Irish wildlife
Plan trip/reconcile self to the relationship between procrastination and spontaneity

My words, with mustard please

2006-08-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

It is possible, and even likely, that I said I would never "blog." Maybe there were no witnesses...but I doubt it. However, this seems as good a way as any to communicate to friends and family (and errant internet browsers) while I am on vacation.