GraceGoesAbroad

Reading the Detectives

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:09:00 +0000

I am a big fan of the detective fiction genre. I could always tell when I was stressed as a youth, because I'd wander to the library and head back with armfuls of Agatha Christie and various other detective writers. I love a great many and, recently, in Claire De Witt and the City of the Dead have read one of my favourite new voices in years; I am genuinely excited about the prospect of future books in this series. I'm also about to read another new voice (well, new to me) in Jussi Adler-Olsen. Am hopeful this is not yet another male detective with a drinking problem, a cool record collection and problems with his spouse/ladies yet absolutely irresistible to the ladies. Not that I didn't love the early Rebus/Wallander, but there is something a little tiring about those, which is why Claire De Witt struck me as a nice alternative (although **SPOILER ALERT** there are substance abuse issues. sigh). I also very much enjoyed the Tana French novels for their effed up but at least different narrators.

Anyway, I digress. The spur for this post is the death of my all time favourite detective fiction writer, Reginald Hill. His books I have loved more than any others. They span an extraordinary number of books, subjects, ingenious plots - animal rights activism, flooded villages, Passchendaele, rugby clubs, amateur dramatics, South American guerrillas.

They also feature functional human beings. One of the best things about the Dalziel & Pascoe books is the marriage between Ellie and Peter; the reader follows them falling in love and growing into a marriage that has its issues but, basically works. It has the normal stresses and strains (in a way that portraits of idealized "happy marriages" often don't work - yes, Ian McEwan, I'm looking at you, and am not the only one, apparently - because they're portrayed as "perfect" rather than happy - a different thing).

The relationship between Dalziel and Pascoe is funny, affectionate, tense; everything a yin and yang, two-member team should be. Pascoe underestimates Dalziel's ability to read people, situations, his intelligence; Dalziel underestimates Pascoe's grit and determination. It works beautifully. I'm tempted to re-read them - I had them all in one place, in sequential order, before we moved to the US. Maybe it's now time to regather them and start again. Once I've got rid of the mountain of library books and Christmas books that are piled around the house.

Apropos of Nothing

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:51:00 +0000

Top Ten Blur Songs That Were Not Singles:

This Is a Low
He Thought of Cars
Death of a Party
Miss America
Sing
Badhead
Trimm Trabb
Blue Jeans
You're So Great
Bank Holiday

What I Liked in 2011: Musically

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:03:00 +0000

Albums of the Year (bearing this in mind - apparently I am a dude who really likes Jodeci)

House of Balloons - The Weeknd. I have just KILLED this album on my ipod. I absolutely fricking love it. The follow ups are also pretty stellar, particularly Echoes of Silence, but this was spectacular. Depressing, nasty, dark, anguished - it somehow expresses how you feel when somewhat ashamed of your behaviour, when you want to lock yourself in, hungover, and speak to no one. That I listen to this a lot at work is clearly a coincidence. Ahem.
Space Is Only Noise - Nicolas Jaar. Again, something I listened to a lot. I'm frankly annoyed that the person who made this album is a mere child (21!), but I think its shifts of mood wash over you beautifully and, having seen him perform some of this stuff live in December, it really is much heavier than it appears on the first few listens.
Stone Rollin’ - Raphael Saadiq. This was the perfect rock & roll/soul/funk album. Unbelievable. Could have been made 40-50 years ago, frankly, but feels completely present.
Let England Shake - PJ Harvey. I was umming and ahing about putting this on - is it really that good? And then I listened to it again. A lot. And, frankly, it is. I listened to a great guardianmusic review of the year that pointed out not just the incredible discussion of war, but how rooted it is in the land of England. It's about the cliffs, the soil, as well as the fight to protect that.
The English Riviera - Metronomy. I was really unsure about this at first, but I should have realised that this was a good sign. The initial problem for me that I struggled to get over was how different and, as I thought then, inferior it was to the previous Metronomy album, Nights Out. Now, I maintain that that album is one of my favourite albums of the last ten years, but my love for it crept up on me. Similar persistence with The English Riviera has paid off. I love the new vocalist; I love the quaint, sometimes gentle, melodic Englishness that lures you in, but the bite and darkness are there all the time. It's clever, cool and stylish, yet with none of the coldness or aloofness that those adjectives can convey. But then, I love Blur, who have been accused of all those things, repeatedly (too clever! not enough soul!). So gauge your judgment based on that.
Civilian - Wye Oak. This was a (for shame!) NPR-based discovery. All Songs Considered did a mid-year review, and I picked up some of their recommendations. This was my favourite, by miles. I love her voice over the guitars, the almost hazy, reverberating quality of it all.

Note: I would probably have included one of, if not both, the Andy Stott albums (We Stay Together and Passed Me By) if I'd had them before Christmas. Am absolutely loving them right now.

Compilation of the Year:

I have been loving the DJ Kicks by Wolf & Lamb. Most enjoyable, a really great mix of things.

Podcast of the Year:

This is actually a false category, as I seem to have been pointed to several really great dance podcasts that are now a regular part of my listening routine - Little White Earbuds, Clubberia, and, most recently, Kev Beadle. All good!

Songs of the Year

Mattie Safer - Is That Your Girl? I love this despite the crap rap in the middle. That's how awesome it is.
Azealia Banks - 212. This is absolutely filthy. The video is absolutely fantastic. I want to dance like them at 0:35. All the time.
Joe Goddard - Gabriel. Seriously disco. Joe Goddard is by such a mile the best Hot Chippian, and with this, he's had songs on my best of list two years in a row (thanks to the 2 Bears making it with Church last year).
Eleanor Friedberger - My Mistakes. I've never been a big Fiery Furnaces fan, but I absolutely love love love this song, this video, and particularly the cheesy saxophone riff at the end, which brings back a nostalgic pang for Aztec Camera and what I think is one of the greatest songs of the 80s.
Duran Duran - Girl Panic! They're back, baby! I love Duran Duran. Love his voice, love John Taylor's pout under ridiculous hair, love them.
Lianne La Havas & Willy Mason - No Room for Doubt. I think part of my enchantment with this song is because I can't quite believe that such a soft, wistful song could come from someone who grew up in Thornton Heath, frankly. But it's just utterly delightful.
Junior Boys - Banana Ripple. I adore the Junior Boys and although this album was not as great as the glorious So This Is Goodbye, this song was many minutes of just joy and exuberance. And far more disco-y than previous efforts, methinks.

Gigs of the Year

LCD Soundsystem - last ever gig, Madison Square Gardens. How can a gig ever compete with this? (Hint: it can't.) Atmosphere, music, raw emotion, and the sheer delight at attending, having thought I wouldn't be able to make it. Bliss.
Darkside - MHoW. I was utterly exhausted, had a six hour meeting that ended at 10.15pm, and somehow pulled myself together to go and see this - the world premiere of Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington. I was really late, and arrived at what seemed quite noodly atmospheric stuff that I was not into. Then TOH gave me a whisky & ginger and suddenly the base came in, and it was one of the best gigs I've been to. Made even better by the phenomenal encore with some tracks off Space Is Only Noise. I really can't bear how talented Nicolas Jaar is. It's annoying.
Portishead - Hammerstein Ballroom. I wasn't going, then I was - a friend got me a ticket for my birthday. Beth Gibbons' voice is genuinely a wonder of the modern world. The visuals were stunning, the music sounded phenomenal (the acoustics were brilliant), and all of a sudden, a teenage ambition was finally fulfilled. Glorious.
Friendly Fires - Bowery. Right down the front, dancing away with Ed McFarlane and his sexy dancing. I love that you can take someone who's never heard FF before, and they will have one of the best concerts of their life because FF are so good live.
Soulwax - Webster Hall. We went in very very late, just to say we'd gone, thought we would be too tired to wait for Soulwax, and on they came just as we arrived. Brilliant dance party when we'd sort of given up on going to and enjoying the gig.
Sleigh Bells/CSS - Bowery. Live, Sleigh Bells kick arse. It was a friend's 30th, we danced away, and what a double bill - CSS were a lot of fun, too. Made even better by TOH suddenly appearing, having been stuck in an airport not too long beforehand and not being expected to make it. It was brilliant.

MERRY NEW YEAR!

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:05:00 +0000

What to expect from me in 2012: More of the same blathering, I expect, but with the following modest behavioural modifications:

Something green every day. Yep, there are days when, dear reader, I fail to intake anything green whatsoever. And that's not because I'm eating a shedload of tomatoes on those days, either. My level of healthy eating is indicated by whether I'm eating the green stuff, so I'm aiming for something green every single day. Not at all meals, not necessarily salad, but something green.
A Movie a Month. That should be easy enough. Ahem. But we almost never go to the movies and, even if it's old/repertory, I'd like to go more. I always feel so pathetic when it comes to Oscars time and I've not seen anything. We only just saw the Harry Potter final movie on the plane yesterday. Pathetic.
NDOW+1: No Drinking on Wednesdays (plus one). Wednesdays are my downfall, it seems, and it's time for it to be over. And in an effort to reduce my intake and to appease my doctor, I'm going for one extra day without booze per week. I think it's because it's an automatic reward for me after a long day at work - I just want to have a drink, but I don't assess whether I really want it or not. So this is the way to change that, I hope.*
The Long Walk Home. I'd like to walk home once a month. It's only 7.1 miles. Google maps reckons that will take me 2 hours, 24 minutes, but that's surely for people who walk quite a bit slower than me. Even if I only walk at 3.5mph, that's 2 hours, 2 minutes. Yes, it's a long time, but I love walking through New York. And if I do that in the snow - hella workout!

Those are the concrete resolutions. Otherwise it's the general wanting to read more books, trying to read more, take exercise, yada yada yada. This list by an amazing woman I met travelling is far more inspiring. Hmm. But it did make me want to do a retrospective of 2011. A little too late? Surely not.

* Note: I have broken this already. But a couple of dear friends got engaged. It was a glorious celebration and I only had two glasses of wine. Ahem. But I think NEXT week is the week to start.

Who I Listened to in 2011

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:55:00 +0000

Courtesy of Last.fm

Friendly Fires
LCD Soundsystem
Air
Lewis Taylor
Richard Hawley
PJ Harvey
DJ Shadow
Nicolas Jaar
DJ Jazzy Jeff & Mick Boogie
Radiohead
Metronomy
A-Trak
SBTRKT
Thievery Corporation
Blur
The Weeknd
Underworld
Lykke Li
Sea of Bees
Massive Attack

Finally

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:05:00 +0000

They'll appeal, but the men tried for the murder of Stephen Lawrence have been found guilty. As I described here, this means a lot in ways in which I find it hard to express. Not closure, but some vague sense of justice. Vague being the operative word here, not justice, unfortunately.

A Rural View

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:45:00 +0000

I am very, very, very much a city dweller. Don't worry, some of my best friends are country-loving folk. But I love people, bustling around; buildings. When friends and I discuss the places we most want to visit, mine are generally cities - Istanbul, Rio, Buenos Aires, Cracow, St. Petersburg - and theirs are often expanses, landscapes, without people.

Nonetheless, I adore riding trains, particularly the route from London to Sheffield, where I am visiting Dr. TOH's family, because England is so bloody pretty. Not awesome, not spectacular - no giant deserts or mountains or things on an American scale - but spectacularly pretty. It is breathtaking - rolling green hills, with hedgerows and farming equipment scattered around; chocolate box houses, sometimes clustered in small hamlets; horses idling grazing, cows loitering; barges along canals; kestrels hovering overhead. Perhaps because of the milder temperatures here - although it's still ludicrously warm in New York - I think winter is more becoming to the English landscape than that of the northeastern seaboard in the United States. That becomes very brown and scrubby, where here it seems more suitable, somehow, with the smaller, closed skies.

My brother will be heading northward to the north west of Scotland, where he now lives, and I am extremely envious of that journey. The light and the greens and soft greys and blues of Scottish landscape are yet another thing I've not seen enough of, but I have wonderful memories of from the few times I've been to Scotland.

Wired Out

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:21:00 +0000

Finally, finally, TOH and I finished The Wire last night. I searched my old blogging history to work out just how long we've been watching it. Definitely since before February, 2008, when I posted this - we'd already finished Season 1 at that stage. Ulp. So I think about four years. In Netflix DVD fees, I'm pretty certain that we could have bought it for less, seeing as it's available for under $150 on Amazon right now. Although we borrowed the series from people, so we weren't renting it that whole time. But still - a tad embarrassing to go through it so slowly.

There's not much to say, really - an extraordinary tv programme that rarely descended into sentiment or schmaltz, and treated its viewers with the intelligence they deserved. Other than the final episode, which I guess could be forgiven some self-indulgence, there were not meaningful cityscape shots, sunsets; no black bag American Beauty-style moments. The show allowed you, the viewer, to work out ambiguities and unfairness and beauty. Although many have slated the final season - Gus really was too good to be true; his "failings" of loyalty and stubbornness were, in fact, virtues - I loved the unraveling and the sense of continuity. The way that you could feel affection for a cold blooded murderer, but loathe a weaselly political staffer who did no physical violence to anyone.

It has to be said that I am now extremely excited about the prospect of other tv shows and using our netflix dvd for movies, not heavy hitting drama series. Bring on The Killing!

Rider to the Rescue

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:07:00 +0000

So, I'm not a massive fan (i.e. at all) of Adele's music, but I get why people like it; it just does nothing for me. And she doesn't like tomatoes in sandwiches - what's wrong with her? Crazy fool. But I loved reading her tour rider and working out what I'd put on mine. So here goes:

Satsumas
Terra Blue potato crisps (seriously, these things are like crack)
Kettle for boiling water (she got that right!), Yorkshire tea, and non-homogenized milk
Toast & marmite making material (with non-US butter)
Crudites - cucumber, carrot, celery - & hummus
iPad with Worms Armageddon and Angry Birds HD (all three forms) on it
Fizzy water
Playing cards & poker chips
Pen & paper
Variety of wine: Spanish rose; Alto Adige or Albariño for white; and a Nero D'avola/Barbera Asti
Hendricks gin & dry vermouth; cucumber (for garnish)
Peep Show/Psych/Scrubs/Veronica Mars/Father Ted on dvd.

Sorted

Balling

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:47:00 +0000

Today was the second of my attempts to re-train my gait to see if midfoot striking (outside ball of the foot) helps me run. Today definitely went better than last time. Maybe it was because I knew a bit more about what my foot form was supposed to be (mucho googling when I should have been working this morning revealed foot pointing forward in dorsiflexed form, ball striking lightly under the weight of the body, heel striking little, if any), maybe it was because I wore my knee brace, or maybe it was because my calves were a little stronger and muscle memory knew what to expect. Who knows. I'm not 100% sure about it - and not even 75% sure I'm doing it right - but it does seem to be going a bit better. Tuesday will be the next attempt. I'll keep you posted; do try to concentrate on your own lives until then.

MYB Challenge: 3/3 and 3/4?

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:46:00 +0000

Well, yesterday something rare and beautiful happened: I went to the gym. No, really. Admittedly, it was a brief visit as I managed to get there about 25 mins before closing, although going to that gym adds an extra 15 minute walk to my day, thanks to location of trains home. Of course, I only went to pick up my stuff from my locker, seeing as my rental had expired. But in a money saving kick I decided I didn't need laundry/locker seeing as I only go to that gym once in a blue moon, having migrated downtown to try to take advantage of a buddy effect which was, over the summer at least, seeming to work.

That was definitely 3/3.

Well, it may have been 3/4. But I don't think so. I did a long haul to buy groceries on Sunday so that I could purchase free-range beef (the lack of free range meat in almost any shop in New York unless it's uber fancy is yet another thing to complain about re supermarkets in NYC (see: Cheese) and something I'd like to post about another time), so does that count? It gave me an extra 45 minute walk instead of a local place, as well as placing me higher on the list in cow heaven. So that might have been 3/3. Right?

Anyway, I think I might try to go for a run tonight. Might. It's rainy and grim, but I always liked that weather for running.

MYB 4 for 4 challenge: 3/2 complete!

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:04:00 +0000

On the recommendation of Charlie Brooker, no less, I downloaded an app that helps you build up to 5k of running in 6 weeks. I thought that as my knee is still very much crocked, this might be the smart way to do things. Unfortunately, I also decided today was the day to try out running on the balls of my feet, and I'm not sure it works. Definitely weird going downhill, my knee feels twingey and unhappy. But then, it did before I went out, so I'm not sure it made any difference. I will persevere.

Still, exercise for today done!

MYB 4for4 challenge: postponed (but 3/1 complete!)

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:49:00 +0000

The past week has seen a pathetic lack of activity from me, even for me. I managed to go for a piddly little walk in Rhode Island, made longer because a friend lost her camera cover and we retraced our steps, but otherwise it's been work, home, sleep, and little else. Rubbish. So I decided to give myself a hiatus of a week, and have just restarted Week 3.

Week 3 started with a whimper, but got up and running with my first ever game of American Football - playing, that is, seeing as I've spent a hideous number of hours watching it. Turns out it's quite hard, this whole running wind sprints, bashing into other people (next time I'm wearing a mouthguard, I swear), turning and catching and spinning round. I was, frankly, quite hopeless - I can't catch, can't throw, and can't block very well either. It was absolutely brilliant.

It was also an excellent way to rev up some hunger for the wonder that is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving provides the opportunity to celebrate a Christmas-like feast with friends, drink fabulous cocktails like this Tippecanoe Sparkler and Tasting Table's awesome Autumn Whiskey Sours (from this grand collection of autumnal recipes). I also made this fabulous cranberry salsa - it was definitely on the spicier side, but really tasty, and I bet is heaven with turkey leftovers, as the fabulous Kalyn suggests (seriously, I've not had a dud recipe from her yet - everything has been glorious, but I particularly recommend this chickpea, sumac, red pepper & mint recipe - absolutely amazing). And then the pros took over and produced a gorgeous turkey feast. It's just such a lovely way to spend a day. And then you fall asleep early from all the tryptophan and booze, and get some solid sleeping done. Or you come home and watch a lot of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Ahem.

Stephen Lawrence

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:22:00 +0000

It's hard to express what I experienced as I just read about Duwayne Brooks' testimony in the trial of two men for the murder of Stephen Lawrence. It's hard to express just how much Stephen Lawrence dying meant, how profoundly it affected me growing up in southeast London, a few miles from where he was beaten to death.

The first time I saw the flowers around the tree where he died, was when it hit me how close to home that was. We were in the car, an old blue Ford Cavalier whose number plate I still remember and which got nicked in Middlesbrough not long after this, and we were going swimming. I saw the flowers, and it hit me that this was where he'd bled to death. Just like that, on a road I travelled along probably once a month or so. Right there, within a bus ride. And I was not just angry for him, and his family's loss; I was terrified. That who I lived near, walked around, mingled with, could think such vile, racist things and could do that to someone. It was one of the first times my brain managed to comprehend fully that I did not share the values of people I lived with and near. I was scared, disappointed, and alienated. Typical teenage emotions as one grows up and away from home, but I think I had lived in this happy bubble and while knowing there were issues with racism, that wasn't what we were mostly like. And then this happened, and all most people knew about this pocket of southeast London was a disgusting murder; we all scrambled to distinguish and disassociate our neighbourhoods - be they Lewisham, Catford, 9r Hither Green - from Eltham.

I was terrified, angry, upset; I also lost some of my naivety about where I lived. My hometown, as it were, was always a bit rough around the edges, but this was something vicious, unexpected, an evil underbelly about which I'd been clueless; the lessening of my view of it and its people hurt a lot. But none of that compares to what Brooks went through, or that he would testify today after the loss of his father last night.

MYB 4 for 4 - 2/3 & 2/4 Complete

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:18:00 +0000

Sunday was a mixture of loveliness and, for want of a better term, bleurgh. The bleurgh being the work and, alas, losing a rather bad-tempered second football match against a very annoying team, annoying particularly because they definitely were not better than we were. Ugh. But we won the first with some fabulous (for us) football, and TOH and I got to the Botanic Garden to see the Japanese Garden and the bonsai trees in their autumnal glory. They were remarkable - beautiful shades of red and yellow, including one bonsai with two trunks that had one half red, the other yellow. I'm not sure how I feel about bonsai, given that they appear to suffer the equivalent of footbinding for trees. Additionally, despite having no psychological or psychiatric training, they do seem to be quite a transparent (and futile) attempt to control nature completely. Nonetheless, these are beautiful things, and the bonsai, both in blossom and in their foliage change, have provided extreme beauty this year. We're thinking of redoing our photo positions for next year's BBG membership, and the bonsai may well be included in the new lot.

Monday saw me desperately trying to wonder how I was to complete week two of the MYB 4 for 4 challenge - morning was not possible (chores before work) and the evening saw a send off for a dear friend at work. So I decided to get let out of the cab early with a colleague and walk the 20 minutes back to the apartment, instead of getting the cab home. Not exactly going for a run or sweating much, but better than I would have done without the challenge. Which is the point, I think.

Move Your Body! 2/2 Complete

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:46:00 +0000

We've had a couple of great Saturdays of late. Last weekend we bought some lovely pork and fixings at the Farmers' Market at Grand Army Plaza, scoffed a fantastic peppermint hot chocolate from Blue Marble, and I did some gardening and snipped and froze a ton of sage, thyme and rosemary from the garden, per these instructions, so that we will hopefully have fresh and tasty herbs for the winter. Today we went for a walk around Prospect Park, full of yellows and reds and people playing flag football, ate a fantastic pumpkin ice cream pie and another peppermint hot chocolate from the fabulous Blue Marble, and then stuffed our faces with a lovely Saturday brunch - not often we get to do that.

The walk is what I'm counting as my MYB 4/4 challenge today - it was so nice to be out and about. I also took a longer walk up to Union Square after brunch, rather than the closest subway. I'm trying to be more active, honestly.

MOVE IT! 1/4 and 2/1 Complete

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:37:00 +0000

So, Week 1 of the MYB 4 for 4 challenge finally forced me to use a voucher I'd bought, due to expire on Thursday night, for bikram at a place near work. Five classes for $45, a pretty sweet deal. Except I was all out of sorts - exhausted (for various reasons), I'd played footie the day before and my hip was giving me some trouble, I'd slept funny and so I had an aching left shoulder and neck muscles. I didn't drink enough water during the day, either. Plus, as much as I am not a morning person, each previous trip to Bikram in the evening had been pretty rough, indicating that for exercise, at least, 7am is better for me than 8.30pm. When I ran a lot, the best time was about 6.45pm, straight after work, for some reason, but I can't often take a class at that time these days.

This is a long-winded, self-justifying way of saying I complete sucked at it. Absolutely awful. I managed maybe half the standing series and, pathetically enough, the mat series, too. I ache a little today, to show that there was some stretching. This was, in fact, the frustrating thing - my half moon pose was pretty good, still, hand to feet ok, and my triangle - when I could do it - was awesome, for me, at least. And the second set of fixed firm had my shoulders almost back on the floor, already. But I just could not keep up. It was rubbish, frankly.

This morning I completed the first piece of exercise for week 2. I had to rush out and zoom in a highly aerobic walk to the co-op because, as per usual, I was sluggish this morning and too late to make it on time without sweating. The walk back to the subway was accompanied by listening to the author of Born to Run on the slate sport podcast. Most people take him as a proponent of barefoot running but, from his discussion on that podcast, his main focus appears to be on recalibrating running styles so that the ball of your foot is the major place that strikes the ground, not the heel. It's intriguing. Given that I've tried various other things - physio, orthotics, support shoes - it's certainly beguiling to think there's this fix out there... Hmm...

MOVE IT! 1/3 Complete

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:36:00 +0000

Today was the New York marathon, and TOH and I ambled up to Clinton Hill, between the mile 8 and mile 9 markers, to see if we could spot our friend, Al, who was running. Despite frantically checking his progress on the handy website tracker, we somehow missed him; we had failed to tell him where we'd be or check what he'd be wearing. Suddenly, having gone through a sparse patch of runners, there were hundreds of them, everywhere, and we failed to find him. But he finished in a fantastic 3:43:57, and I am immensely proud of that achievement. I still don't want to run a marathon, but am absolutely awed by everyone who does. It's rare that we get to cheer on an everyday person - someone with a day job, and maybe not that much natural athletic ability - doing something absolutely physically remarkable. Which is, I think, one of the reasons why I love the marathon.

The place to watch it is definitely Fort Greene/Clinton Hill. As we wandered west toward the Q train for our football match, we went through that neighbourhood and heard funk bands, drummers, an awesome school band, and an amazing gospel choir outside a church. All there to entertain the runners and everyone there, and it was a fantastic New York day. It didn't hurt that the sun was shining, the sky was blue and clear, the leaves on the trees were yellow and red and orange, and it was fun to be wandering around.

Then came our game. Hard work, today. I got winded after a giant collision with a dude who while not large, is a lot bigger than me; there is also a guy on the team we played today who plays rough and I do not like, but I tried not to get too enraged. Well, not too often. My hip twinged a lot, but I don't tend to mind that as it takes my mind off my aching knee. We drew, 2-2; not a great result, but a hard fought, tough game. And three pieces of exercise complete. Which means I absolutely have to work out tomorrow, and that conveniently means I might finally use my groupon which expires this week...

MOVE IT! 1/2 Complete?

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:24:00 +0000

The problem with New York is that it is full of mid-week temptation. In fact, going out mid-week in New York is far, far more interesting and fun, what with the bars not being overrun by idiots. Or even just other people. Not so keen on other people.

Anyway, Wednesdays are a particular weak spot for me, and last night was no exception. A lovely dinner and drinks at The Smith had us weakening and thinking of going home. Which, in all sanity, we should have done. But we didn't; we had (expensive!) tickets for Soulwax and so in an impulsive moment, decided to head on into Webster Hall to see what was going on. As luck would have it, Soulwax came on within seconds of us entering the main hall, and a lively hour or so ensued with much enthusiastic (if rubbish) dancing from me. I think that counts, right?

ps Soulwax - excellent.

MOVE IT! 1/1 Complete

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:50:00 +0000

The recent massive upsurge in my work has meant that physical exercise has decidedly gone on the back burner. So, I've decided to sign up for the MYB (Move Your Booty - yep, that's the name!) challenge - The 4 for 4. The idea is that in November, you commit to four pieces of exercise each week for the four weeks. It's doable, I swear. I swear. Ulp. So out I trotted for a run yesterday - slow, creaky, my knee killing me by the end (I'm using it as a motivation tool to start stretching and strengthening again), but out I went. And, unsurprisingly, I felt gloriously better for it. The sun had set and there was a warm, orangey-yellow glow under the cool blue sky. I ran weaving in and out of blocks, and exploring my neighbourhood in a way that only happens when I go running; I went down streets I'd never gone down before, despite living here for over two years. It was great, and reminded me how much more peaceful I feel when I run. I need to fix my knee. Dr. TOH, it's a round of medical appointments again, I guess.

All Carved Up

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 15:44:00 +0000

Hallowe'en here should be fun - dressing up, excessive excitement - but I find the obsession with "sexy" costumes utterly boring, and having been stuck on a train coming in from Long Island with youth pounding bud lights and vomiting in the toilets - at 7.30pm - it's just all a bit disappointing. Maybe it's a hangover from my youth in which I thought it was fun, but nowhere near as much fun as the fireworks, bonfires and sparklers that come with Guy Fawkes' Night a week later, pyromaniac that I am. Or maybe it's partly because I don't really like American "candy" that much - if I were likely to have a basket full of tasty chocolate, as opposed to Hershey's style chocolate, it might help.

Nonetheless, there are definitely Hallowe'en things I do enjoy, and pumpkins are one of them. Last night Dr. TOH and I partook of a traditional Rhode Island event that was remarkable in many ways. It's unseasonably cold - bloody well snowing in NYC today, for goodness' sake - and maybe that put off the crowds, but there were not the rumoured massive queues and problems reaching the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo. I'm not sure what I expected, but although I think I was a little disappointed at the painted pumpkins that were then carved, it was a remarkable experience. Not least for the choices of what represented a nation's identity, the theme being a Journey Round the World. The British bit started ok, what with James Bond and the Beatles' All You Need Is Love playing. We then hit Churchill and the Italian Job, but as the Beatles faded into the Benny Hill theme tune and I saw the Mr. Bean one, I began to despair, and that was confirmed with TOH's triumphant shrieks that there was, as he predicted, a Wills & Kate one. Ye gods.

But the best bit was at the end, where there was just pumpkin upon pumpkin, some absolutely bloody enormous (so big they had whole other pumpkins tucked inside). They looked spectacular, a strange dance track with cackling looped over and over, and it was beautiful. Hence the photos galore. So see below Frida Kahlo, the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Jack Sparrow & Fidel Castro (I'm sure placing them next to each other was not a coincidence), and some amazing pumpkins.

Status Anxiety

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:16:00 +0000

To change or not to change, that is the question. Yes, the modern dilemma that confronts a person's life: Do I change my Facebook status to state "Married"? A friend of mine just changed hers, out of the blue (I had no real idea she'd got married) and so I had a mind grape or two about it.

The reasons against:

I don't really think it's any of anyone's business
I don't think it should be of relevance to people or be upfront as something about me - for example, I'm a Ms., and a Ms. I will remain - I don't think my marital status should be so on display.

The reasons why my arguments are not quite perhaps as effective as they should be:

My status is "in a relationship."

So for all my protesting (although, admittedly, two bullet points don't seem like much protesting but they are vehement), I do put the fact that I'm in a relationship out there. I like to think that "in a relationship" is ambiguous - the way I thought using "partner" would be in the United States when I first arrived here* - but it's not, really, only in my head. But I now justify keeping it because it's important that the relationship I am in is the same: the questions you receive once married tend to be all about the length of the marriage, and the wedding itself, or the proposal, rings and so on; the twelve years beforehand - just plucking a number out of a hat - are relegated to secondary status. We didn't stop being in that relationship because we're married. But, really, maybe this would be more effective (although a moot conversation) if I didn't have the status at all.

The status applies to men and women

So my "Ms." argument is not quite apposite, really and, as discussed in the previous answer, I already place an importance on my relationship that places it as the third most important thing about me - according to Facebook, at least.

My overall feeling, however, is that I just don't want to change it. As we come up to six months of marriage I have enjoyed every bit of it, with one or two notable exceptions aside, and it hasn't suddenly changed me as a person in some of the ways that I worried previously. But my fundamental unease at the centrality and import society and, of course, many of my acquaintance place on being married, along with the expectations of me as a married person, hasn't altered at all. So it stays the same. For now.

* Strangely, in the past few years I have noticed an increased acceptance of the term "partner" for hetero couples. Of course, this is snatching the term from gay couples, but I think it so nicely describes a relationship that I'm pleased that there is something that isn't just boyfriend/girlfriend, dating and marriage. There's now room in the straight couple catalogue for that option.

Fatalistic

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:41:00 +0000

Last night, TOH and I actually managed a date. Despite my best attempts to ruin it by taking the wrong train, and then waiting 20 minutes on the platform for a train back the other way. We've not been in the same city for more than about 12 hours since before the Kefalonia trip, and despite various work and social obligations this weekend, we decided to make the most of it. So a movie and dinner, the traditional American date.

The dinner was pretty awesome - the place where we had our wedding party which, conveniently is just round the corner, and I love.

The movie was glorious but not exactly romance-inducing. We watched Senna. I'd heard Mark Kermode rave about it, which is always a recommendation. Additionally, despite my general lack of interest in Formula 1, I loved Senna - dashing, handsome, and charming in a world of Nigel Mansells. So we watched it; and - let's it get it out there without spoilers - it was emotionally wrenching. Wrenching. But brilliant. What an extraordinary man.

But probably not the best of date movies, although I suppose if you want your date vulnerable and sobbing on your shoulder, as I was, then it is definitely worth $14.

This Cursing Isle

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:05:00 +0000

According to all round action hero Patrick Leigh Fermor, Kefalonians are renowned for their foul language. Sadly, my Greek does not extend to that level of familiarity with their swearing vocabulary, and despite my attempts to persuade various friendly, lovely people we met to teach me some, I didn't manage to learn any. So count that as the only failure of what was a glorious stay on the island.*

We were staying in what was supposed to be a small, remote town, and although I understand why someone would describe it thus, it wasn't what we were expecting - I think TOH and I both assumed that this would mean not very touristy, which is definitely not the case, but it was certainly quiet, too. More importantly, the hotel in which we stayed, Olivemare, was absolutely wonderful. Beautifully designed and decorated - all calm whites and whitewash, with a clear, turquoise pool and glowing candles full of camellia blossoms and olive leaves, made by the owner's cousin - it was relaxing, quiet and the perfect place to get some serious sleep. The food was wonderful, lots of fresh, local tomatoes, cheese, olive oil and homemade breads.

Almost better than the haven of the hotel, however, were the recommendations from the hotel owner, Marilena, who provided us with a new favourite bar - and this is a global assessment - and links to some of the most glorious swimming spots. I had forgotten just how much I love sea swimming, and the Aegean is the clearest water I think I've ever seen - turquoisey but absolutely like crystal, sharp and coolly refreshing but warm enough to bask in it.

The sea at Myrtos, however, is a different beast altogether. Sadly, my lack of poetic and wordsmith ability handicaps me here; the best description I have is that it was the closest I'll ever get to swimming in copper sulphate solution, the blue stuff that brought both TOH and me much joy in our chemistry in action sets as children (clearly our love was destined). The water at Myrtos was impossibly blue, the sort of shade that one hears of in travelogues, but never expect to actually see for oneself. And there it was, in front of me. A glorious afternoon was spent bathing and revelling in its blueness.

We walked along mountain tops; at sunset, overlooking the cliffs and with the isle of Zante in the distance, drank beers and ate Greek salad (χωριάτικη, khoriatiki - which means rustic, apparently - my one solidly learnt Greek word) souvlaki, fighting off the fiercely carnivorous wasps and watching the reds and pinks light up the sky while in the distance the cities lit up for nighttime; we dipped our feet in the pool while reading and raced individual medleys (flooding the pool area during the butterfly leg); and played Bezique in the evenings with a glass of Metaxa.

I know Greece is in turmoil, facing a transition in its way of life and the choices the government has made about productivity, work-life balance and so forth. Faced with such glorious natural riches - geography, climate, food and drink - one can see why people might think there is more to life than making money and hitting the rat race, yet, currently, it seems the lifestyle is unsustainable in the current format. But I hope that doesn't completely eradicate the warmth and joy of the people we met, and the sense that while one needs a roof over ones head, working isn't the be all and end all of life. It's one of the things I love most about the south of Europe; I think some people here in the US are genuinely puzzled by it, and misdiagnose it as laziness, rather than perspective. There's surely a happy medium to be reached.

* While on a flight to Istanbul home (it's boring and complicated as to why, but Turkish Airlines gets a big thumbs up, including the appalling Man Utd flight safety videos) I did, however, remember a very rude word in Turkish that a girl from secondary school taught me (thanks, Tezay. I wonder what she's doing now). I refrained from using it.

Go Away

noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 01:29:00 +0000

It's been raining continuously for at least nineteen hours now. Yesterday morning was gloriously sunny, yesterday afternoon it clouded over but with a nice breeze, and it stayed warm. But it was thunderously pouring at around two this morning, and although the intensity has waxed and waned, it has rained non-stop since then. It woke me up in the middle of the night several times; one growl of thunder lasted longer than any individual clap I've ever heard. It's been a remarkable sustained effort from the raingods today.

I don't quite understand New York summer storms. While in other places the release of thunder heralds some sort of break in humidity and heat, those things seem to intensify with summer rain here. Thus for the first time in ages I'm going to have to put on the dehumidifier* on. Usually I'd empty the full tank onto the garden but, obviously, that's a little pointless right now. I think it's probably doing the garden a world of good, helping our tomatoes to grow - the tomatoes that are going to end up ripening right while I'm away. I can feel it.

* Every time I use it I think of The Onion point-counterpoint article that sadly is not online but is absolute genius:

Point-Counterpoint: Humidity
"What We Need Is More Humidity" - Duracraft Natural Warm Moisture Humidifier, Model DH-901
"Humidity Must Be Destroyed" - Edison 25 pt. Dehumidifier, Model DHE25W