Boots

I got chastised earlier this week for not posting lately, so Gram, this one's for you. Pardon my absence..

The few times that I have posted this fall/winter, I believe I made a couple of mentions about my boots succumbing to the elements. I have, however, continued to wear them despite this fact. Mostly because I hate shopping. I don't want to have to spend the time hunting for ones I like, trying them on, finding out they don't fit, hunting again, choosing a pair, trying them on at home, realizing I don't like them as much as I thought I did in the store, etc, etc. I just want to find a pair that fit, are comfortable, and look decent. (This applies to many other areas of my life as well, namely dating.)

So to avoid the inevitable, I've employed the universal balm for the soul... duct tape. See exhibit A. Due to duct tape's light reflective properties, my solution is a little tacky, but functional. Well semi-functional. If nothing else, it's a good conversation starter..

Considering it's now March and temps have been above freezing for a week straight, I may be in the clear. I might have a whole 7 months before I'll have to shod my feet in winter boots again (knock on wood, feverishly). 7 months is plenty of time to find a new pair of boots. But more than likely I'll spend the first few weeks of next winter with wet feeting scolding myself for not taking care of business sooner. Then I'll have to decide whether new boots are imperative or whether the duct tape can withstand another winter...

PS- I know right at this very moment, Mom is reading this, utterly flabbergasted, and maybe even saying out loud, "Caity! Just buy new boots!" And Dad is reading this and chuckling because he's probably done the exact same thing.

Space Helmets

Does this look familiar? The kids made space helmets to go to the moon just like Little Bear.

 

Terremoto

Terremoto is how to say "earthquake" in Spanish. I have finally heard from all of my friends in Chile, and I'm glad to report that they are ok. Thank you to everyone who has been asking after them. The majority of my friends in the Santiago area had minor damages to their homes, and some were without water or electricity for several days. The water and electricity have since returned and most have gone back to work.

That said, the aftershocks continue. STILL. Most are registering a 5 and even 6 on the Richter scale. After seeing the CNN guy point to the Galapagos Islands and call them Hawaii, I felt like I needed better information. I'm getting updates everyday from at least someone. Here is what my friends in Chile are saying:

Diego: "In the Coastal Region, Caitlyn, it's terrible, the sea washed away everything. The good thing is that today the government aid began to arrive. Things begin to improve little by little. In Concepcion, the military arrived the day before yesterday to restore order to the city. Yesterday I talked to my friend who told me that the government began to distribute food and supplies to people in this region--this is good becuase this is where all the chaos is. The other good news is that today I finally could speak to my grandmother in Concepcion!! SHE IS ALIVE! Scared, but well. We are still having aftershocks."

Angela: "Everything is in chaos, my friend. My parents are here in Santiago with me because the coast is very dangerous right now. We are all well, but still feeling the aftershocks. They scare me!"

Luis: "Little by little things are returning to "normal" here in Santiago. I'm already getting my feet back on the ground again.. but many friends in Concepcion and all the most affected region are not. Caitlyn, they practically lost everything. It's so sad. Just remembering the moment of the earthquake makes me feel sick.. but thank God we are ok."

Melania: "My family, thank God is fine. Where my mom lives was the worst affected because one of her walls crashed to the floor, but the material doesn't matter. It can be fixed."

Arturo and Mary (my host parents): "We are all fine. Aunt Pepa and Uncle Horacio in Concepcion are fine too, although Pepa suffered an epileptic seizure from the shock. Do you remember when we took you to the beach and the restaurant in Concepcion? It disappeared with the tsunami after the earthquake. Such is life, I suppose.."

Here is a link with some photos.

I made a donation to UMCOR today, but I believe the Red Cross, World Vision, and Habitat for Humanity are all accepting donations for Chile. Please give what you can.

They have a long road to recovery. I understand there's a national campaign going on this weekend to provide opportunity for Chileans in lesser-affected regions to help in various ways. Please keep my friends and their families in your prayers as they work to rebuild their country.

New Zealand Hooker Valley

We squeezed a lot of adventure into this trip from hiking, jet boating, flying along the coast, cruising in Milford Sound, and finally my chance to go paragliding. I had noticed a paragliding operation in Queenstown high up on a bluff overlooking the lake and town, at the top of a Gondola. We took the gondola up for a hike to a local peak called Ben Lomond, but on the way back I decided to sign up for the paragliding. This was a tandem ride with a sail that could take two, parachutes for the pilot and passenger, and much to my surprise, a camera extended out on an arm that could be controlled through a cable. We rigged up, waited for the right breeze, and then walked over the edge of the bluff. We quickly rose up and could have played with thermals to go even higher, but instead flew out over Queenstown proper. We sailed over the beach, casting our shadow along the shoreline so, according to my pilot, some of the bathing beauties might roll over. We did some maneuvers and then swooped in, flared, and made a perfect standing, four-leg landing.

On our way back from Milford Sound, we visited Hooker Valley, which runs up against the south side of the highest mountain in New Zealand, Mt Cook. I believe it's in the 14,000 ft range with a perennial snow cap. We hiked up to the glacier along the Hooker River, a raging torrent of freezing cold water, even in the relatively low rainfall condition we experienced during our trip. The face of the glacier was very massive and impressive, the surface covered with fallen rocks, and the layering from past sequences of snow and rock avalanches very evident. It makes one feel very small and insignificant. We ate lunch just below the face of the glacier but began to beat a hasty retreat as an afternoon rain began and cold gusts of wind began to blow down the valley. We worried we'd have a repeat of an earlier group that had to cross the cabled hanging bridge with 60 mph gusts blasting down the valley. They could only get over one at a time...on their hands and knees. We were lucky and had an easy crossing.

The Hollyford Track

We were met by a new set of guides for this segment of our trip at Te Anau, and drove many miles up into the mountains to begin our trek. The guides were entertaining and very knowledgeable, Bart Crawford having lived with the indigenous Maori people for some time and learning their language and history, and Peter Crawford being a published and well esteemed Botonist who could also talk about wildlife and geology. We walked from inland beech forests into coastal rainforest, with a density of foliage and ferns and epiphytes (symbiotic plants growing high up in trees) unlike anything I've seen before. The Rata tree is highly versatile in that it can begin growing as an epiphyte on the side of a tree, send down roots and stringers like a vine, and then thicken to either completely wrap around it's host or form a stand alone tree on its own. The vines can be an inch in diameter and flexible like stiff wire, but harder than bamboo. Fern trees bring to mind Jurassic park with their palm-like trunks rising to an expansive umbrella of large fern branches spreading out from the top. There are 129 fern varieties in NZ out a total 180 or so known in the world, of every size shape and description. The color montage is amazing.

We crossed numerous "swinging bridges", suspended by cables, and saw much evidence of heavy duty trail maintenance along the way. Two weeks before our arrival, heavy rains caused flooding that wiped out some segments of the trail and buried trail sign under ten feet of gravel and river rock. This is a very active place with respect to weather and erosion. The Alpine Fault crosses our trail, and while there has been 400 KM of lateral displacement along the fault, there has also been 20 KM of vertical dissplacement over the last 50 million years. Maximum height of the mountains is about 3 KM, so erosion is almost keeping pace with the currently active mountain building (about the speed that fingernails grow!).

Though we hiked long and hard each day and fought off the "sand flies", we were met each evening with the pleasant sight of a Lodge equipped with screens, bunks, and most importantly gourmet food and cold drinks. Part of the trek involved jet boating down the river over rapids and some distance along the lake near the coast. Jet boats were apparently invented in NZ to navigate the rivers. We worked our buns off but had a reward at the end! Following hikes on the coast to explore early Maori and British settlements, we flew south along the coats to spectacular Milford Sound at the northern part of fjordland.

Christchurch to West Coast

Once we turned in our rental car there was an audible sigh of relief across the North Coast, South Island, but then our second round of fun began with our Active New Zealand Group. We headed west by bus from Christchurch through Castle Rock, where battle scenes from "the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" were filmed. Soft limestone formations are exposed and eroded in fantastic shapes that we stopped to climb on for lunch. By evening we had reached the West Coast and headed north from Greymouth to Paparoa National Park to see the gravel beaches, hike up some rivers, and see the famous "pancake rocks" with blow holes. These limestone rocks, though layered, are believed formed by chemical and pressure effects of deep burial, but now raised up by the active tectonism of the area. We explored the beach as well, but were vary wary of the surf and likely strong undertow. The weather was unusualy calm and still there were rogue waves occasionally chasing us up toward the cliffs bounding the beach.

Here we also discovered the "sand flies" which actually don't care much about sand, since they'll come after you anywheere near the coast. There are no mosquitoes, or snakes, or other dangerous animals or insects, but these sand flies are tenacious and leave itchy welts for 7-10 days, and make you a believer in insect repellant. The West Coast of South Island is similar to the west coast of North America, with a prevailing wind coming onshore and rocky cliffs bounding the beaches. The further south you go, the more you find temerate rain forest and lush vegetation, similar to going north from California up to the Olympic Pennisula in Washington State. The highest mountains are in south central South Island around Mt Cook, and we gradually wended our way south along the west coast and hiked up to Franz Josef Glacier - very impressive.

There were some opportunities to go up on the glacier, which some of our group chose to do, but it was enough for us to hike up to the face and see the signs of tremendous erosive power demonstrated along the way. The river bed up to the glacier was mostly trap rock and boulders, subject to massive reorganization every time there's a rainstorm. Since the west coast averages 30 feet of rain per year, washouts and flood are frequent, and prudent hikers keep a close eye on weather up in the valleys above them! We had mostly sunshine so our main concern was avoiding sun burn from the extra bright sun - we were under the ozone hole inthe upper atmosphere. The sun seemed brighter and "whiter" as opposed to the yellow color we see around North America - the ozone hole lets in more blue, violet, and UV frequencies! We were on our way south to Queenstown, where we would stay a few days before heading again to the upper Hollyford River valley to begin "The Hollyford Track", a trek down the river to the coast.

Adventures in New Zealand

Now that we've sorted through our pictures from our 3 week trek in New Zealand we can make some posts. We traveled with our friends from Houston, Marci and Mike Barnes, and were delighted with sunshine for all but one day of our trip, even along the temperate rain forest of the West Coast. Attached is a map of New Zealand showing our general route, starting first on our own driving up to Nelson from Christchurch. We stayed several days in Nelson at a great bungalow (The Crow's Nest) up on a NW facing bluff over looking Tasman Bay. The views across the Bay toward Abel Tasman National Park where we did some hiking were glorious, especially as we had a full moon while there and crimson sunsets. The Bay is funnel shaped and experiences huge 15 foot tidal effects. Every 12 hours we watched the cycle from high tide to mud flats back to high tide, with fishing boats and freighters timing their coming and going accordingly. The area around Nelson is burgeoning with wineries, having particularly good soils and climate for pinot noir and sauvignon blanc. We could taste the distinctive soil minerals in the wine amidst the various oak and fruit flavors - quite nice.

We rode a boat up into Able Tasman park to hike, since there are no roads into the park, and then hiked back along the coast for about 6 miles to a boat pick up point. There were beautful views of the Bay and we got our first exposure to the diverse ferns and plants of New Zealand, including exotic fern trees. The area in Nelson reminded me of Berkley California (a la the San Andreas Fault) in terms of the steep hills made up of unconsolidated soils - earthquake country. Yes, Nelson, and probably the steep slope on which our bungalow was perched, lie right along a splay fault branching off of the great Apline Fault running through South Island. The Alpine Fault marks the tectonic boundary between the Pacific and Austro-Asian plates. We didn't experience any earthquakes in Nelson, but we thoroughly enjoyed the area and got our hiking legs in shape and our wine tasting palates refined!

A Week in Review

What a week!

After a decadent fondue Valentine dinner with my good friend Awatif, I decided a good workout the next morning would be necessary. My decision to (finally--it had been a week. I was hoping the snow would melt) shovel my car out of the snow directly after my workout, was not one of my best. Let's just say, I was feeling it the next day.

Later that day I took my car into the shop for some overdue maintenance and waited for the diagnostic (read: the cost) with fear and trembling. I was delighted to find out that all of the issues were minor, and I was only set back a few hundred bucks. Easy. I planned to pick up the car the next day.

Not so easy. The next day I spotted fraudulent charges on my only credit card, and had to promptly cancel it. Life was further complicated by the appearance of a bird-sized cockroach in my work area. It is safe to say that productivity was disrupted. 7 of the 8 of us in my area are women who wanted nothing to do with a cockroach of unusual size, and the one man took off as soon as someone said "cockroach." He came back 15 minutes later when all was said and done saying, "What?! Can't a guy go to the bathroom?" The President finally walked by and asked what was going on. When we explained, she rolled her eyes, got down on her hands and knees and took care of business. And that's why they pay her the big bucks.

Over the next few days I managed to withdraw enough cash to pay for and pick up my car. I had another kick-butt (and I mean that literally) work-out, that has got me aching in places I may never have thought about before. I joined the church choir, cleaned the bathroom, and learned a new tango move. And if that wasn't enough excitement, tonight calls for dinner at my fave cafe and the theatre (pronounce that the British way while lifting your nose in the air).

I hope I don't fall asleep in the middle of the play from all the exertion.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Have an Open Mind

I made another dish in my "have an open mind" series. Basically this series of dishes consists of combing through the pantry and fridge to see what's there, coming up with a general idea of something to make, and then doing a second comb-through to see what I have for the details. All are experiments. Some turn out disastrous. Some don't.

My most recent experiment was chicken salad, and I think it turned out really good! It's probably hard to go wrong with chicken salad, though. I shredded leftover baked chicken that I had crusted with herbs before baking, and added leftover roasted carrots, chopped green onion, radishes, grapes, and walnuts. Mixed in some yogurt and a little mayo and added in a few spices. Voila!

Yesterday on my mid-day commute I stopped at the grocery for a croissant and some lettuce to make my sandwich. The croissant was soft, flakey, and best of all.. still warm.

I noticed a lot less chicken salad left in the fridge today than I remember leaving. Apparently my roommates thought it was pretty successful as well..

Olympic Snafu

I decided to participate in the Olympics game that some people at my office organized. In doing so, I had to contribute $2 and then draw a country from a bag. Each participant essentially adopts their chosen nationality for the course of the Olympic games, and we keep track of the number of medals won. At the end the winner get's to take half the pot and the other half goes to the Special Olympics. It's pretty fun, especially since I work for a study abroad company and people get pretty excited about all things international. People have decorated their desks and offices in patriotic paraphenalia, and at the awards ceremony we will have an international potluck.

When I went down to pay up and get my new citizenship, the organizer told us there were only 2 countries left in the first batch of countries he'd pulled. My friend drew first--Liechtenstein. When I stuck my hand in the bag and rooted around, I came up empty! Joe said the tag must have gotten lost, but he knew what it was -- Denmark! Yahoo! So I started making preparations to support my fellow Danes. I told Liechenstein she was going down!

The next day I got an email titled "Olympic Snafu." Apparently someone had come down and chosen a country while Joe was out of the office and had picked Denmark. Joe was sorry, but said he put a fresh batch of countries (second-tier) in the mix and I was welcome to choose again. On the second draw, I chose...

Uzbekistan.

With only 3 athletes, I'm pretty much out of contention. Sorry Uzbek, but we're going down. Crap. I'm trying to decide if I should still be patriotic, or if I should become an ex-pat. Oh well, in the meantime..

Go Uzbekistan.

Hurrah.

Aunt Caity Goes Sledding

 

I didn't know if Caity would post any pictures from the weekend, so I thought I'd post a few. Much fun was had by all. Sledding/surfing was very adventurous, led by Caity - the most daring of all, although we were all whipped by Elinore. Who knew.

 
Elinore loves coming down on her belly!

 
Absolutely love this photo of Caity with the kids. What genuine expressions. Elinore keeps saying, "I just can's stop thinking about Aunt Caity." So glad you could come for a weekend with us!

Although since you left Toby has come down with 103 degree fever and a horrible cough. Yuck.

SUCCESS AT LAST!

I finished the blanket...5 years in the making! It's entirely handstitched applique and it took quite a few hours of labor. All that's left are some finishing touches around the edges. YAY!

The bottom is my first sewing machine project. A shirt for Hawaii!

Lessons on Being Cool

Some of you might remember that I participated with Big Brothers Big Sisters in college. My little bro, Ryan and I were matched when he was 7, and even though we no longer live in the same state, we still keep in touch. Ryan is now a sophomore in highschool and way cooler than I will ever be. Here's an exerpt of today's Facebook conversation:


6:42pmRyan
So has it going

6:45pmCaitlyn
good you?

6:46pmRyan
Ok lolz

6:48pmCaitlyn
I'm sorry I'm not cool, but what does lolz mean?

6:48pmRyan
Haha its just Lol Laugh out loud

6:49pmCaitlyn
well why are you laughing out loud, weirdo
all I said was how are you?

6:49pmRyan
Cause u said ur not cool
Loser

6:49pmCaitlyn
you lolz'd me BEFORE I said that
rude

6:49pmRyan
haha

Oh, the next generation...

Healthy Discount

I just got a letter from my health insurance company saying that due to the rising cost of health care, on my 12-month anniversary date my premium will be increased by 47%. However, since I have filed NO CLAIMS during the past year, I might be eligible for a 10% good health discount.

Now that is a relief! Now my premium for an insurance policy I haven't even used is only going up by 37% per month. Good thing I'm so healthy!

The Truth

Even though I am a little embarrassed to admit it, it's time the truth be known. Despite the fad, health benefits, and superior social standing of dark chocolate, I really prefer milk chocolate!

Merry Christmas

Ring, ring!

Gram: Hello?

Caitlyn: (singing) "chestnuts roasting on an open fire.."

Gram: Hold on just a minute.

Caitlyn: oh, ok.

Gram: Hello?

C: (singing) "jackfrost nipping at your nose. Yuletide carols being sung by a choir.."

G: Who is this?

C: (laughing) It's Caitlyn.

G: Oh! Caity-bird! I'm right in the middle of making Christmas cookies!

C: Oooh, what kind?

G: Well they're sugar cookies shaped like Santa Clauses. I dip their feet in chocolate and their hats in white chocolate. I'm so far behind! I still have the banana bread to make, an apple pie to make, and the Christmas cake! And I still have to get the room cleaned out that Ed and Hope are staying in.

C: Oh, wow, you're a busy lady! Well I won't keep you, I just wanted to say hi.

G: I am up to my neck. (pause) Actually I'm over my head. Caity, just give me until Christmas Eve and then call me again.

(pause)

C: Uh, Gram? Today is Christmas Eve.

G: (gasp) What? It is? I can't believe it!

(fluster, fluster, commotion, commotion, laughter)

Merry Christmas to one and all, even if the holidays snuck up on you this year!

Winter

Yesterday.... all my troubles seemed so far away....
Now I realize they're here to stay....

On Monday, after waking up to a frosted Chicago I headed out to the studio in the afternoon to teach my full line-up of lessons. I arrived, dropped off my bags, and walked a few blocks to the neighborhood coffee shop for a latte 'to go.' It wasn't as cold as I thought, so I left my gloves in my pockets while I carried my coffee back and chatted on the phone with Mom. Back at the studio all my students were cheery and accounted for. At 8:30 my last student and I were closing up shop when I realized that I only had ONE GLOVE! I searched everywhere, but to no avail. I even walked back to the coffee shop. Nothing. No lonely glove sitting on the snowy sidewalk waiting to be picked up. I went home dejected with the advice that I should send a prayer up via St. Anthony, the patron saint of things lost.

Yesterday, I had to venture out to choir rehearsal amid a storm of golf ball-sized snowflakes (who am I kidding--there was no flakiness involved) that splat and drenched whatever they fell on. Skidding through 2 inches of slush on the way to the train, I felt cold water slowly seeping in through the seams of my boots. I scolded myself for not re-waterproofing them the weekend before, but was quickly distracted by the wind whipping my umbrella inside out (repeatedly). As I hurried on, I could have sworn I actually had snow inside of my left boot.

I made it to choir, late, with soaking feet and noticed that indeed, the leather on my boot was split at the seam giving the slushy snow direct access to my toes. After two hours of singing with wet feet, I jogged the return trip home from the train, splashing through more than one puddle that went clear up to my ankle. Finally up all the stairs to my apartment and wondering if I'd ever feel my feet again, I pulled off my boots, peeled off my socks, and wrung out at least 3 cups of water from each.

Winter has defeated me.
And we've only had two days of it.
I'm in trouble.

Uncle Rick and His Bluebirds

It is almost two weeks since Uncle Rick passed away. The suddenness of his passing certainly took us all off guard, but thankfully we were able to all be together in Northport, Long Island for the funeral ceremonies. During that time we had the opportunity to hold each other, cry together, remember Uncle Rick, and mourn the loss all of the moments he had planned to experience and we had planned to experience with him.

During the visitation someone shared a memory of Uncle Rick's bluebird project. Being the bird enthusiast that he was, Uncle Rick had at one point decided to single-handedly bring the eastern bluebird population back to Long Island. He researched, built special bluebird houses, and placed them all over the island. Religiously he went back to maintain and check up on them, but never in all that time did he ever see a bluebird on the island. Field mice and other critters took up residence in the bluebird houses, but no bluebird.

The funeral service was beautiful, but heartache was fresh. After James, Dave, Michael and Uncle Blue escorted his casket out of the church, it was draped with an American flag and placed in the hearse en route to the military cemetary where Aunt Barby chose to have him buried. At the cemetary we sat silently while two honor guards stood at attention on either side of the casket and Taps was played. The guards silently and formally folded the flag and presented it to Aunt Barby along with their condolences on behalf of the President and the US Navy. "It is an honor," they said.

The next day a few of us decided to take in some fresh air with a long walk on an old, public, wooded estate on the island. Not a half mile into the estate Karen cried out in surprise. Just off our path on the lowest limb of a huge tree stood a bluebird. "It's Dad," she said. "He's checking on us to make sure we're doing ok." We all stood amazed, laughing as not just the one, but four little bluebirds flitted around from branch to branch of the tree.

We miss you dearly, Uncle Rick, but we'll be looking for your bluebirds.

Mom and Dad

Just a couple photos of Mom and Dad with the kids from a few weeks ago. I am so glad that you guys are able to come as often as you are!

 
Grandma painting Elinore's fingernails. This expression is so quintessential her. And notice the wings...

 
Usually if I'm reading, it is for Elinore, so Toby is glad for some one on one reading time. He loves finding things on the pages!

The Pillow Problem

I've alluded to a pillow problem, but never gave the full story. It is due now, especially because my current situation is becoming dire.

A month ago I went rampant on a Fall Cleaning kick. Since I've, well, never laundered my sleeping pillows, I thought they could use a good scrub. My online research told me that it was fine to throw pillows in the washer/drier, and that optionally one could put clean tennis balls in with the pillows on the dry cycle to fluff them back up.

Since it was optional and I didn't have clean tennis balls, I omitted that step. Big mistake. When I pulled my freshly laundered pillows out of the drier they were hopeless. Lumps upon lumps throughout the whole thing. I tried to add some tennis balls retroactively, but to no avail.

After sleeping on a lumpy pillow for a few nights, I decided it simply would not do. I bought some nice replacement pillows on my TJMaxx excursion. The first night or two of sleeping on these new fluffy pillows, I woke up with a stiff/sore neck and upper back, but I hoped that I would get used to it.

I haven't.

I have had a stiff/aching neck and upper back for the past 3 weeks at least all thanks to my fluffy pillows. Every bit of research I can find about choosing the perfect pillow tells me to determine what my sleep style is. Do I sleep on my stomach, back, side, or all three? Then it proceeds to give recommendations for stomach, back, and side, but nothing for the "all three" option (which happens to be what I chose).

If I had to pick one, I'd go with side. However, the clincher here is that each article says something different! Ex. If you are a side-sleeper get a soft pillow. If you are a side-sleeper get a firm pillow.

I thought about boycotting pillows all together, but decided that would probably only make my problem worse.

Help.

Happy Halloween

Just thought I'd share my Halloween pumpkin, not the most elaborate I've ever done but I think it's a good for the occasion.

More Fall Colors

Fall colors

Martin

Given my habit of procrastination when it comes to clothing (as stated in my previous post), it won't come as a surprise that I've had a too-big pair of pants for several years. I probably shouldn't admit this, but during the time when I also didn't own a belt, I used to make it through the day by tying a piece of yarn through the belt loops around my waist. Deborah, my colleague, was rightfully shocked and teased me to no end, but I continued to live with what I thought was a perfectly functional solution.

About 8 months ago, an idea popped into my head--a tailor! I should take my pants to a tailor! But I had no idea how to go about doing that, and when I started asking around I kept hearing horror stories. I found a few viable options on Yelp and set the pants aside so I could take them in. Then the week would get busy, I would run out of things to wear, I'd pull out the same too-big pants (with a belt that I bought along the way), and then put them back aside at the end of the day so I could take them to the tailor. This has gone on for 8 months now.

Today, however, was a new day. Today I packed the pants in a bag and set off in search of Sew Special. I hoped the tailor would have pity on a girl with no tailoring experience. I expected to be greeted by either an Asian couple or a petite man with a lisp and an attitude when I pulled open the door, so I was surprised to find Bob Marley drifting out the door as I walked in. There at the sewing machine sat my new tailor--a loose, knitted cap in black and green sat on top of his dreadlocks, a salt and pepper beard, a black-yellow-green sweatshirt. "Hello there, how are you? What can I do for you?" he asked in a strong accent.

I showed him my pants. "I need these taken in."

"Yeah, mon. Why don't you just go put them on for me."

He was Jamaican. Very Jamaican. And while I went behind the curtain to change into my pants. He and his friend lilted away in the patois of which I could understand only every third or fourth word. While he measured my pants I told him about the two weeks I had spent in Jamaica while in college learning about the culture. I proudly told him the two words/phrases that I had learned in Jamaica: pickney: child; and nyam de food: eat the food, and he nearly split his side he was laughing so hard.

"I never thought I would meet an American who could speak Jamaican!"

I quickly reminded him that those were the only two words that knew. But never the less, he asked me what my name was (in Jamaican patois), to which I replied, "Twenty-one?" And then he proceeded to tell me about how he is also a DJ at a Jamaican club down the street, and I should come by sometime!

We sang a folk song together (Mango Time), and he sent me on my way with homework. I have to buy a yard and a half of some "funky" fabric so he can make another pair of my pants into a skirt for me. (When I saw a photo someone had taken recently I realized that these pants were actually not very flattering at all.) Good thing I have Martin in my life now!

TJ Maxx

I have been let in on a secret. Lately, more and more, perhaps because of the recession, when I've spotted a particularly striking article of clothing on a friend and inquired after its origin, the response at the ready is "TJ Maxx." TJ Maxx has never really been on my radar, but yesterday, in need of some boots so I can finally wear some of the fall/winter skirts that hang in my closet I google-mapped and headed out.

Upon walking into the store, my eye immediately fell on a royal blue Asian cocktail dress. Curiously, however, it was marked at $200. Interesting, I thought, and passed it by. The next thing I gravitated toward was a beautiful gray wool, hip length coat. $1568.00. !!! What about all the super savings??

It turned out the Super Savings were crammed in the back half of the store on racks with aisles so narrow that when someone approached and murmured, "Excuse me," I practically had to crawl underneath the rack to let them pass. (Note: I think actually doing so is frowned upon.) But then I saw a rack of dresses for $15-20. Grabbed a handful of those. And oh! a few shirts too. Made 2-3 trips to the dressing room to try on my finds. Wait, what did I come here for again? Oh, boots! Over to the shoe aisle. Chaos. Actually it was kind of like the DMV. Some shoes were side by side with their mate exactly where they were supposed to be, waiting for would-be buyers. Some shoes were standing with their mate in the wrong aisle, not understanding why their number never popped up on the screen. Then there were the unlucky few that were sitting there all alone. Their mates having gotten lost in the confusion. Luckily I found the one pair of boots that seem to fit around my enormous calf muscles (tango-or at least that's what I like to think). The only reason they were still waiting around was because they were sitting on the size 5 shelf. (I am not a size 5.)

I think it should be noted that I do not have a healthy relationship with shopping. Some people shop regularly, buying 1-2 items each time or sometimes coming away empty-handed if there weren't inspiring clothes or good bargains. My shopping habits can really only be described as a combination of anorexia and bingeing. I find shopping somewhat inconvenient, so I tend to go for really long periods of accumulating things I need but not doing anything about it. Then one day I'll finally get around to it and try to find everything I need at a one-stop-shop. Inevitably the sticker shock factor is much higher this way.

My TJ Maxx experience fell into line with my stated habits, and I ended up lugging a pair of boots, a sweater, an AMAZING dress, 2 pieces of wall art, and a set of pillows up the 3 flights of stairs to my apartment. The boots and the dress hit the bulls-eye (minus the neon green size 8 sticker that is stuck on the sole of each boot, which a friend graciously pointed out to me at last night's cocktail party. Classy.). The jury is still out on the pillows. Some of you might have heard about the unfortunate incident my pillows recently had with the washing machine.

Will I go back? Yes. Now I need a set of sconces to go with the new metallic wall art. However, I will try to avoid having my return visit fall on a Saturday.

Note to my sisters and parents: Thanksgiving this year is going to be a black tie function, because I need another occasion to wear my dress. Plan accordingly.

Fall 09

I just wanted to put some pictures up from the arboretum today. I think this might be the prettiest fall since our first year in Illinois. The trees were gorgeous! Unfortunately my camera died so I wasn't able to take as many pictures as I would've liked. Guess I'll have to go back tomorrow for more! There were so many people out enjoying the colors, I don't think I've ever encountered so many people on the roads in the arboretum.

Food for Thought

I have been hearing a lot of pieces on NPR related to healthcare reform lately. (Then again, where is healthcare reform NOT a hot topic?) One I found particularly poignant compared our current healthcare structure to a grocery store.

Imagine that our employers collaborated with grocers to provide food for us each week. We could go into the grocery store, pick out whatever we wanted, head to the checkout counter and pay our "co-pay," be it $10, $15, $20 or what have you. We could have lobster tail and caviar every night if we wanted for no more than the cost of our co-pay! With no direct link to the cost of our food, we would have no incentive to balance high- and low-priced items.

Grocers, on the other hand, could hike up prices of their products exponentially because we, the consumers subsidized by our employers, would still happily buy them. Before long, however, we would be entrenched in a system where grocers had pushed prices up so high that those without the benefit of employer-related subsidies would no longer be able to afford to eat.

And then where would we be? Hmm.. precisely where we are right now...

Cause and Effect

My spring and summer were filled with the discovery that I could incorporate the European lifestyle into my own life right here in Chicago. 10:00 or 10:30 am several days a week would find me at a downtown cafe sipping an espresso with a friend/coworker before heading back to the office.

I rarely drank coffee before, let alone espresso, but it really helps one get in the mood..

Now that fall is here, I'm realizing how long it's been since I've taken care of certain things, such as visiting the dentist. Since I lost my dental insurance a few years ago, I haven't been in a while. Yesterday I went in and had my general cleaning and x-rays, and Dr. Born broke the news that I have two cavities! I was very surprised given that I have had a clean record until now. When I expressed this, Dr. Born informed me that the principal causes of cavities are diet changes and sugary beverages like soda. "But I NEVER drink soda!" I exclaimed.

"How about coffee with sugar?" he asked.

GASP! The sugar is what makes the espresso palatable! And so, my friends, the moral of the story is that even the lovely langour of the European life is not without pitfalls.

Today I ordered a latte to wean myself off the sugar. No sugar, but a lot more milk. It wasn't bad. But it's not the same.