Ever since coming back from Maine my stomach has been feeling unsettled. After most meals I feel slightly nauseous and I vaguely recall feeling the same way when I came back from Rhode Island. I think after a week of gorging on seafood and barbecue my stomach must not be used to veggies anymore.
It was everyone's first time in Maine, so a lot of the week was spent planning things to do and trying to hit all the major towns and attractions. I think a second visit to Maine will be much more relaxing.
Jimmy and I brought along the camera, but we didn't use it even once. One of my resolutions was to take more pictures this year, but I've been slacking. I just wanted to enjoy Maine and relax in the environment.
I absolutely loved Acadia National Park. I definitely would like to visit Acadia again. Jimmy and I went biking on the carriage road, and even though it's a pretty easy trail, it was really fun. I've never had so much room to ride in, and the frequent inclines, declines, and turns made it more interesting. The only place I ride here is the bike path on the Belt, and it's pretty straight and level, so even with the nice view of the water, it gets quite boring.
Every day was pretty exhausting in Maine, what with all the planning and activities and what not. I fell asleep almost immediately every night, and the amazing view of the lake out of the bedroom window was really calming. Now that I'm back in New York, all I have to stare out of the bedroom window is the street. I find that the older I get the less attached I become to New York City. I still love this city to death, and it will always be home to me, but New York City isn't the world. There's more to life than this city. I think I could live anywhere really, as long as I had the right company.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
I had one of those days, where nothing seems to go your way. Or maybe I'm just tired today. It was so hot over the weekend that I stayed indoors for most of Memorial Day weekend. I think I cooped myself up too much and now I'm paying for it with this feeling of restlessness.
I woke up at 7:45 AM instead of 6:45 AM today, so I had to rush out of the apartment for work. The lights at work seemed dimmer and harsher. Is it possible for light to be dimmer and harsher at the same time? Well, they were today.
I went to Venus on my lunch hour and bought myself a replacement bead for my circular barbell. I haven't worn my septum piercing in months, maybe a year, so I'm glad it's still open. They had titanium beads readily available, which is exactly what I was looking for. When I got my septum pierced 5 years ago titanium jewelry wasn't in high demand and I had to order it through my piercer and wait 2 weeks for it to come in. I thought I would have to do that again this time around, but it seems that titanium jewelry is in now, and it is about time! Titanium is really durable, completely non-reactive, and super light. It may not have the same luster as gold or steel, but what it lacks in shininess it makes up for in functionality.
I bought 2 boxes of strawberries on Sunday, and one of them went bad! That was disappointing. I introduced Jimmy to strawberries and condensed milk and he loves it. When I used to visit my relatives in Peru, we dipped all kinds of fruits in condensed milk and I think it's so much more delicious than whipped cream. I need to find some yellow passionfruit so he can try it. Yellow passionfruit is absolutely amazing. Yellow passionfruit must be what ambrosia tastes like. Unfortunately, I've yet to see any in the States, although concord grapes give passionfruit a run for it's money.
I feel exceptionally tired today.
I woke up at 7:45 AM instead of 6:45 AM today, so I had to rush out of the apartment for work. The lights at work seemed dimmer and harsher. Is it possible for light to be dimmer and harsher at the same time? Well, they were today.
I went to Venus on my lunch hour and bought myself a replacement bead for my circular barbell. I haven't worn my septum piercing in months, maybe a year, so I'm glad it's still open. They had titanium beads readily available, which is exactly what I was looking for. When I got my septum pierced 5 years ago titanium jewelry wasn't in high demand and I had to order it through my piercer and wait 2 weeks for it to come in. I thought I would have to do that again this time around, but it seems that titanium jewelry is in now, and it is about time! Titanium is really durable, completely non-reactive, and super light. It may not have the same luster as gold or steel, but what it lacks in shininess it makes up for in functionality.
I bought 2 boxes of strawberries on Sunday, and one of them went bad! That was disappointing. I introduced Jimmy to strawberries and condensed milk and he loves it. When I used to visit my relatives in Peru, we dipped all kinds of fruits in condensed milk and I think it's so much more delicious than whipped cream. I need to find some yellow passionfruit so he can try it. Yellow passionfruit is absolutely amazing. Yellow passionfruit must be what ambrosia tastes like. Unfortunately, I've yet to see any in the States, although concord grapes give passionfruit a run for it's money.
I feel exceptionally tired today.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
driving home
"You don't like when I drive fast, do you?" he asked.
"I don't mind," I replied. "Ever since ------ died, when you drive really fast, I feel like I'm rising up, like I could almost fly. I feel like I can feel him. I feel like he's right behind the clouds, that he isn't really gone, but just hiding, just behind the clouds. Do you know what I mean?"
I used to be terrified when Jim drove fast. He loves to drive fast. To him, it's not fast. He loves to fly over a clear open highway, and I know he throttles it under 100 mph for me. I absolutely trust his driving. He's an excellent driver, and he knows how to handle a car. It was not his driving that terrified me. I was terrified of other drivers. I was terrified that for some reason, they would swerve into our lane, and I would be crushed to pulp. But ever since... I'm not terrified anymore. Death will find me, sooner or later, and that's OK, because maybe we just hide behind the clouds and wait to receive each other in our embrace again.
"I don't mind," I replied. "Ever since ------ died, when you drive really fast, I feel like I'm rising up, like I could almost fly. I feel like I can feel him. I feel like he's right behind the clouds, that he isn't really gone, but just hiding, just behind the clouds. Do you know what I mean?"
I used to be terrified when Jim drove fast. He loves to drive fast. To him, it's not fast. He loves to fly over a clear open highway, and I know he throttles it under 100 mph for me. I absolutely trust his driving. He's an excellent driver, and he knows how to handle a car. It was not his driving that terrified me. I was terrified of other drivers. I was terrified that for some reason, they would swerve into our lane, and I would be crushed to pulp. But ever since... I'm not terrified anymore. Death will find me, sooner or later, and that's OK, because maybe we just hide behind the clouds and wait to receive each other in our embrace again.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
business
" Old gypsy woman spoke to me
lips stained red from a bottle of wine.
The one that you are looking for
you're not gonna find her here. "
When ever I correspond with people via email, I can't help imagining what their environment looks like, what their life is like outside of these emails. I wonder what they see when they look out their window, and if it is cold like it is in NYC when they leave their office. I do a lot of correspondence with a color separator in Kentucky, so I imagine when she leaves the office, she probably has a bit of a drive home and she probably sees more grass and trees than what I get. Now I know it is much colder in Kentucky than it is in NYC, with temperatures sometimes in the single digits, and I wonder if there are any ponds on her drive home and whether they froze over and if she likes a sight like that. I would.
Lately, I've been corresponding a lot with a publisher in London, and I know she must leave the office late because she often replies to my emails as late as 3PM EST, which means it is 8PM in London. I know she comes in at least by 10AM, because I have received emails from her at 5AM EST. I wonder if she had any chance to have a bit of time for herself that day. I imagine when she leaves the office, the streets must be quiet without the hustle and bustle of the 5PM rush. I wonder if she will eat at home or if she will grab something on the way, and whether she has to take the tube back home. I wonder if she likes to walk through Hyde Park. I very much enjoyed Hyde Park.
When I used to work with overseas printers, particularly this one Chinese printer, I used to wonder what their work stations looked like and whether their offices smelled bad, because whenever they sent me proofs it would just smell like death. I would have to turn my head the other way for the initial opening, and then I would give it a few minutes to air out before I started unpacking it. I wondered a lot about what they ate for lunch. What do workers in China eat for lunch? I don't know a lot of people in China who like peanut butter sandwiches, wraps, bagels, or salads (which is the kind of stuff I generally eat for lunch). I only know what I like, but what do they like?
It's maddening that I can talk with these people for years and years over email, and I might never see their face or hear their voice. I might never know anything about them even though we spend so much time doing business together.
When one of the employees at the separator in Kentucky retired, he gave us his home address, home phone, and cell phone number. He told us if we were ever in the area, feel free to let him show us some southern hospitality. I told my friends in New York about this, and we all agreed it was a bit crazy that he gave out his personal information so freely. Maybe he's not crazy, maybe we're crazy. Maybe we're lacking something in this new era of email.
It's just business. Oh, I know it's just business, but we're all the same, you and I. You in China, you in London, you in Kentucky. We're just people, you and I, one and the same, in the same world, working for the same essential goal. We're still people, real people, more than just a signature at the bottom of an email.
lips stained red from a bottle of wine.
The one that you are looking for
you're not gonna find her here. "
When ever I correspond with people via email, I can't help imagining what their environment looks like, what their life is like outside of these emails. I wonder what they see when they look out their window, and if it is cold like it is in NYC when they leave their office. I do a lot of correspondence with a color separator in Kentucky, so I imagine when she leaves the office, she probably has a bit of a drive home and she probably sees more grass and trees than what I get. Now I know it is much colder in Kentucky than it is in NYC, with temperatures sometimes in the single digits, and I wonder if there are any ponds on her drive home and whether they froze over and if she likes a sight like that. I would.
Lately, I've been corresponding a lot with a publisher in London, and I know she must leave the office late because she often replies to my emails as late as 3PM EST, which means it is 8PM in London. I know she comes in at least by 10AM, because I have received emails from her at 5AM EST. I wonder if she had any chance to have a bit of time for herself that day. I imagine when she leaves the office, the streets must be quiet without the hustle and bustle of the 5PM rush. I wonder if she will eat at home or if she will grab something on the way, and whether she has to take the tube back home. I wonder if she likes to walk through Hyde Park. I very much enjoyed Hyde Park.
When I used to work with overseas printers, particularly this one Chinese printer, I used to wonder what their work stations looked like and whether their offices smelled bad, because whenever they sent me proofs it would just smell like death. I would have to turn my head the other way for the initial opening, and then I would give it a few minutes to air out before I started unpacking it. I wondered a lot about what they ate for lunch. What do workers in China eat for lunch? I don't know a lot of people in China who like peanut butter sandwiches, wraps, bagels, or salads (which is the kind of stuff I generally eat for lunch). I only know what I like, but what do they like?
It's maddening that I can talk with these people for years and years over email, and I might never see their face or hear their voice. I might never know anything about them even though we spend so much time doing business together.
When one of the employees at the separator in Kentucky retired, he gave us his home address, home phone, and cell phone number. He told us if we were ever in the area, feel free to let him show us some southern hospitality. I told my friends in New York about this, and we all agreed it was a bit crazy that he gave out his personal information so freely. Maybe he's not crazy, maybe we're crazy. Maybe we're lacking something in this new era of email.
It's just business. Oh, I know it's just business, but we're all the same, you and I. You in China, you in London, you in Kentucky. We're just people, you and I, one and the same, in the same world, working for the same essential goal. We're still people, real people, more than just a signature at the bottom of an email.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
beating heart
I had my first press OK today. For those of you who don't know what a press OK is, it is essentially a visit to the printer while your book is printing to ensure that it is printing correctly, which is useful if a book is high profile, or has tricky elements in it that a publisher wants to keep a close eye on. Working in office jobs my whole life, I forget that some jobs are more hands on. I forget that there is more than administration, litigation, emails, and phone calls. When I walked into the printer's facilities, the first thing I saw was 10-15 cubicles. Ordinary enough-- and then I am led into the pressroom, which seemed about 20 times more spacious than the area the cubicles were in.
A pressroom is an extraordinary place to be. You are surrounded by machines; by different kinds of printers, binders, trimmers, and other amazing pieces of machinery. When they are running, your ears fill with the sound of the machines humming and thrumming with life and motion. It's a wonderful noise. It is the sound of books coming into existence, of thousands of books being printed and bound. It's the sound of a strong beating heart. It really is something beautiful.
Printing is still very much a hands-on trade. Of course technology has changed it immensely, but it wasn't that long ago that everything was moved from film to digital files, and even if everything is done digitally today and less needs to be manually adjusted, a bad pressman can still ruin a book. This is what I love about books. Every title that is printed has this human element, it has someone behind it who took the time to color correct it, to edit it. It has a pressman who loaded the paper and ran the job, it has a shipper who wrapped it tight with cellophane to ensure safe transport. There are so many hands that a book needs to pass through to become a product that a person loves to read, to become something with neatly trimmed pages that are aligned properly and doesn't fall apart at the spine or rip with every flip of the page.
We're living in great times. This is what the president of a leading paper company said to a group of us on a plant tour. He's right. Look at all the things we can do. Look how far printing has come. Look how far technology has improved not just the print industry, but every industry. Yet, there is so much more to look forward to. See how far we have come, and how limitless it is. We are definitely living in great times.
A pressroom is an extraordinary place to be. You are surrounded by machines; by different kinds of printers, binders, trimmers, and other amazing pieces of machinery. When they are running, your ears fill with the sound of the machines humming and thrumming with life and motion. It's a wonderful noise. It is the sound of books coming into existence, of thousands of books being printed and bound. It's the sound of a strong beating heart. It really is something beautiful.
Printing is still very much a hands-on trade. Of course technology has changed it immensely, but it wasn't that long ago that everything was moved from film to digital files, and even if everything is done digitally today and less needs to be manually adjusted, a bad pressman can still ruin a book. This is what I love about books. Every title that is printed has this human element, it has someone behind it who took the time to color correct it, to edit it. It has a pressman who loaded the paper and ran the job, it has a shipper who wrapped it tight with cellophane to ensure safe transport. There are so many hands that a book needs to pass through to become a product that a person loves to read, to become something with neatly trimmed pages that are aligned properly and doesn't fall apart at the spine or rip with every flip of the page.
We're living in great times. This is what the president of a leading paper company said to a group of us on a plant tour. He's right. Look at all the things we can do. Look how far printing has come. Look how far technology has improved not just the print industry, but every industry. Yet, there is so much more to look forward to. See how far we have come, and how limitless it is. We are definitely living in great times.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
vittles
I've been feeling extra tired lately, and I'm not sure if it's lack of sleep, being preoccupied with apartment stuff, or just plain winter. I couldn't focus at work yesterday, so I went to Rite Aid and bought some adult gummy vitamins.
I'm pretty bad with taking vitamins. I don't actually take vitamins. The only time I took vitamins was for my tattoo and piercings because they were supposed to help me heal faster or something. I hated swallowing those damn pills and wasn't very consistent. They're so freaking huge. These gummy vitamins are so easy to take though, and they taste awesome! It's a shame the recommended amount is only 2 a day.
I've been falling asleep on the subway standing up. I feel like I'm becoming narcoleptic. My knees buckle and the vertigo wakes me up mid fall. It's quite disconcerting. Maybe these vittles will help. Or maybe it's the placebo effect, but the result is the same either way, so I haven't got anything to lose!
I'm pretty bad with taking vitamins. I don't actually take vitamins. The only time I took vitamins was for my tattoo and piercings because they were supposed to help me heal faster or something. I hated swallowing those damn pills and wasn't very consistent. They're so freaking huge. These gummy vitamins are so easy to take though, and they taste awesome! It's a shame the recommended amount is only 2 a day.
I've been falling asleep on the subway standing up. I feel like I'm becoming narcoleptic. My knees buckle and the vertigo wakes me up mid fall. It's quite disconcerting. Maybe these vittles will help. Or maybe it's the placebo effect, but the result is the same either way, so I haven't got anything to lose!
Sunday, January 02, 2011
metal rabbit
The start of 2011 was pretty anti-climatic for me, but since I'm not a believer that the way you bring in the new year is any indication of how the rest of the year will go, I am not disappointed. Beginnings are always exciting, because there's so much that's unknown, but also because there's so much to look forward to.
Here's what I'm looking forward to in 2011.
01. For this winter to be over! Winter is my least favorite season, and this blizzard sure kicked it off with a bang and I'm sick of cold and snow already.
02. Making soba noodles this summer. There is nothing like cold soba noodles on a hot summer day. It's filling, refreshing, and so yummy I could eat it all day every day for the whole summer.
03. Cooking more often. I was never big on cooking, but maybe that was because I never gave it a fair chance. It turns out I positively enjoy cooking, and although I'm no master chef, I am certainly getting better the more I cook. I love planning out meals and figuring out how to best use the groceries left in the fridge and cupboards. There's a bunch of random groceries left in the kitchen and I want to use them up so the fridge will be empty when I clean it. This is forcing me to learn new ways to use different ingredients and I am absolutely delighted when I make something that both I and my boyfriend think is delicious!
04. Learn more about photography and take more pictures. I've always been more into describing things with words than with pictures, but photography definitely has its merits. For starters, it is generally faster than writing down memories. Unfortunately, I broke my old digital point and shoot, but my boyfriend hasn't used his old Canon G9 in a while. Since he's not using it, I might as well make use of it. It's a good camera for me to start out with, too. My old point and shoot wasn't that bad, but it definitely had its limitations. This camera is much better than my old point and shoot, so I'll have much more to learn and I'll have to fiddle with it quite a bit in order to capture beautiful pictures.
05. Catching up on the Wheel of Time series. I only ever read up to book 10, and I read these books with so much time in between that when I moved on to the next one I had forgotten what happened in the previous one. The 14th and final book of this series is due to release early 2012, so I definitely need to reread the first 10 and catch up this year!
Here's to a wonderful 2011. Cheers!
Here's what I'm looking forward to in 2011.
01. For this winter to be over! Winter is my least favorite season, and this blizzard sure kicked it off with a bang and I'm sick of cold and snow already.
02. Making soba noodles this summer. There is nothing like cold soba noodles on a hot summer day. It's filling, refreshing, and so yummy I could eat it all day every day for the whole summer.
03. Cooking more often. I was never big on cooking, but maybe that was because I never gave it a fair chance. It turns out I positively enjoy cooking, and although I'm no master chef, I am certainly getting better the more I cook. I love planning out meals and figuring out how to best use the groceries left in the fridge and cupboards. There's a bunch of random groceries left in the kitchen and I want to use them up so the fridge will be empty when I clean it. This is forcing me to learn new ways to use different ingredients and I am absolutely delighted when I make something that both I and my boyfriend think is delicious!
04. Learn more about photography and take more pictures. I've always been more into describing things with words than with pictures, but photography definitely has its merits. For starters, it is generally faster than writing down memories. Unfortunately, I broke my old digital point and shoot, but my boyfriend hasn't used his old Canon G9 in a while. Since he's not using it, I might as well make use of it. It's a good camera for me to start out with, too. My old point and shoot wasn't that bad, but it definitely had its limitations. This camera is much better than my old point and shoot, so I'll have much more to learn and I'll have to fiddle with it quite a bit in order to capture beautiful pictures.
05. Catching up on the Wheel of Time series. I only ever read up to book 10, and I read these books with so much time in between that when I moved on to the next one I had forgotten what happened in the previous one. The 14th and final book of this series is due to release early 2012, so I definitely need to reread the first 10 and catch up this year!
Here's to a wonderful 2011. Cheers!
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