tigger825's Xanga

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:53:19 GMT

the colours of kenya
(and uganda!)

i've been living in the village for more than a month now and i'm filled to the brim with new sights, sounds, stories.. my brain is constantly at a loss to find the words to describe these adventures of mine. it's been working overtime, penning stories in my head, trying hard to put experience into words. given that i'm in a place where my most constant, often only (fluent English-speaking) companion is.. well, myself, this internal narrative is pretty much non-stop. think zach braff on scrubs with less of the crazy dance sequences/costumes.

there is so much to tell...

i guess i'll begin my story with colour. one of the things i love most about kenya is the palette that colours life here. the rich, red-rust-orange earth, the vivid green-green-green of maize, tea leaves, banana trees, and the light, baby-soft blue sky above. i also can't get enough of kenya's soft, rolling hills and valleys.. in every direction you look, it seems like these tree-topped hills go on forever, each one becoming a duller purple-green as it recedes in the distance.

suffice it to say, kenya is beautiful. not beautiful in the way that cape town is beautiful - the stunning, almost-too-perfect, i-know-i'm-beautiful beauty that is made up of this award-winning combo of mountain ranges, unbelievable beaches, deeply-saturated blue skies, colour-tastic flora and fauna.. i would say that kenya is girl-next-door beautiful, a gentle beauty that i think loses itself on the people who have lived here forever (i am always the only one stretching my neck, looking up at the sky, the only one stopping to stare at the fields of green, squinting to see how far i can see the rolling hills go.. searching always for the magic in what everyone else thinks is the ordinary)

because i have an inkling that my words don't have colours bright enough..

the red-orange-brown of african earth.. narrow strips of red-orange cutting through swaths of green // githeri (a mixture of maize and beans), what we eat at school for lunch // manuel, our resident 4 year old, walking home from school // the white flowers that line my little home here, i love them.. they are so joyful and so white! (not much stays white around here, what with the red-orange-brown dust leeching the life out of anything white)

un-believably-green.. green of the rehema school uniform, the twins rebecca and rachael being their silly selves // green of our garden // green of maize crops // glimpses of green caught through earthen windows // more flowers around our home // green green grass // and my favourite, the green of fields of tea leaves.. their tops look as if they've gotten intoxicated on sunshine and turned a sort of radiant-neon-green that completely lights up on a sunny day

when it's not cloudy and rainy (and i won't try to sugar-coat the weather here.. its rainy season in kenya and it rains quite a bit. thankfully, mostly at night - i get to fall asleep to the skies opening up and pouring down on my corrugated tin roof.. but when it doesn't rain, and the skies aren't teen-angsty cloudy..) the sky here steps to center stage and takes a chance to show off.. skies over the school // skies over our home // blue sky setting the perfect background for this tiny patch of sunflowers i pass on the way to school (they make my 40-min morning walk so much better) // wildly free banana leaves reaching for the sky, waving to us passerby

all sorts of colours come out to parade for sunset.. pink-yellow-orange gives way to purpley-pink-blue and then all the colours make way for the deep, ink-black night sky. i have no pictures of this, so my words will have to suffice. but let me tell you, the night sky takes my breath away. i have never seen so many stars before. and then there's the milky way, painting a graceful, purple-cloud, star-studded band across the darkness.. it is unbelievable.

and of course, when the red-green-blues and pink-yellow-oranges aren't enough, the cloudy skies open up and give way to rainbows. this was one of the most incredible rainbows i've seen. (it was actually a double at one point!) the entirety of it pretty much stretched right across our farmland.. i could see where both ends of it touched the earth! (sadly, no leprechauns or pots of gold) i, much to the amusement of the neighborhood kids, who never get tired of watching the mzungu (white person) (they often stand at our front gate watching me read/eat/comb my hair on the porch.. giggling the entire time..) i, completely unabashed by their look-at-the-funny-animal-in-the-cage staring, ran into the house to get my camera, then slip-n-slided across the recently-rained on muddy path (made even more slippery by a constant, dedicated re-application of cow-donkey-goat dung) to get this picture.

my most recent adventure was a trip to uganda to visit a good friend, nat "ting bu dong" ogborn, who has been living in kampala for the last 8 months or so. kampala was my first "big city" since cape town.. it's a booming metropolis compared to our little village. i feel like i drunk so deeply of life during my time in kampala. boda-boda (motorized bikes that act as a form of public transport) rides, weaving in and out of crazy, noisy, diesel-perfumed kampala traffic along the swiss-cheese, pot-holed roads at night were something else. i loved it. i ate my first ice cream in a long while. i witnessed this incredible crossing of lives and paths within the ex-pat community in kampala.. i got to meet so many incredible people and hear stories from all different places and walks of life. i BAKED. (ooohh boy, did i bake.) banana bread, yellow cake with chocolate frosting (or as emily lapointe calls it "poo from heaven"), chocolate chip smarties cookies and apple crisp pie! (cecil road, i promise, i was thinking of you all.) what other life-giving activities did i participate in? i worshipped in an open-air sanctuary, gazing the entire time at the green-blues of uganda. i (together with nat) stumbled upon a PHOTOBOOTH on an majorly-under-construction (or demolition, from the looks of it) sidewalk in drizzly kampala. i toasted my first pimms o'clock!

oh, i drunk deep from that sugar-brimmed cup that contains bubbly, life-giving goodness. it was delicious.

then i left the big city for jinja, a small town in eastern uganda, about 3 hrs from the kenyan border. this little town boasts the home of the (much-debated) source of the nile river, a big nile brewery, some crocodiles, monkeys, and so many, so many bird.. i got to go white water rafting on the nile river, i witnessed an incredible fire-red sun set over the nile river, lighting it aflame with deep orangey-pinks. it was a good time.

the town itself was more charming than most of the other african developing-country towns i've been in. it was somehow brighter, whereas most other towns (like our big town of kitale) are coated with a layer of dust and are polluted with so much honking and shouting and diesel that it's difficult to think/breathe. i loved the hand-painted signs of jinja, the old-styled storefronts that would appear between rows of tiny, one-room craft stores, the brightly-painted homes, i loved shopping the market for bright scarves and african dolls..

i am delighting in finding the magic in the seemingly-ordinary. i can't believe i only have a month left here. (so cliche, but seriously, the last six months have flown by) there continually grows in me an overwhelming feeling of how blessed i am. many days, walking home from school, i'll look at the children walking alongside of me, at the blue sky above, breathe deep of fresh farm air and think "this is a good day in the life of me" .. i have to say, this happens more often than at home (home in new york, that is .. i've grown attached to quite a couple of homes elsewhere in the world) maybe simplifying things makes you more acutely aware of how much life has to give? of the joys apart from consumerism/tv/internet/media..

the children of rehema greatly expedite this process of finding joy and magic. these kids.. where do i even begin? there's samson, with his funny little mannerisms, raphael's incredible always-ready-to-be-flashed-at-you smile, diana who can't stop singing, isaac who is a bit of a smarty pants, daniel who is the world's biggest teacher's pet.. there's also meshack-kogei, who's only meal of the day is lunch at school - so whenever there are leftovers or someone can't finish, the extra food goes to him. diana, the same girl who can't stop singing, she's an HIV+ orphan - her parents died of AIDS and she lives with her grandparents. caro's mother is HIV+ and when she's not feeling well, caro needs to miss school to stay at home and take care of her younger brother. these kids do their school work with inch-long, barely-there pencil stubs, they do their homework by lamp light. and, above all, their joy is incredible. and contagious.

i don't know if i'm really ready to leave. being here has made me more and more sure of the fact that i really could do this one day.. (and whats more, that i would really love doing it) ..live among a people, learn from them, work with them and teach them.. in a vastly different part of the world. it's going to be bittersweet, leaving kesogon and kenya. i'm not ready to leave, but i do (i really, really do) want to come home. the thought of homecoming is sweet indeed, lined with thoughts of green-tea ice cream (or anything.. frozen/cold/refrigerated for that matter), adequately paved roads, washing machines, a long, hot shower.. and of course, seeing all of your beautiful faces

until then, i have about two weeks left at rehema school (the school term goes until the end of july). my last couple of weeks will be spent with the piccici's. (visit them at: http://www.instepfoundation.com/news.php) jeff and carla moved to kesogon four years ago and have since taken in 14 children, raising them in their house-converted-childrens-home. the stories of where these children have been found is heart-wrenching. the poverty and despair of kenyan mothers will lead you to find abandoned babies outside hospital doors, in maize fields, on the streets of kitale.. but by grace, they now live in a house that is filled with love and laughter and much joy. i'll just be volunteering as an extra hand to hold/feed/change these little ones.

my brain will continue to search for adequate words. words that will paint vivid, colour-saturated pictures and transport you to this place. words that will begin to describe what life is like here.

wishing you all colour-filled, magical journeys, wherever in the world you are.

salama! (peace!)

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Wed, 16 May 2007 23:26:36 GMT

that is why we need to travel.
if we don't offer ourselves to the unknown, our senses dull. our world becomes small and we lose our sense of wonder. our eyes don't lift to the horizon; our ears don't hear the sounds around us. the edge is off our experience, and we pass our days in a routine that is both comfortable and limiting. we wake up one day and find that we have lost our dreams in order to protect our days. don't let yourself become one of those people
kent nerburn, letters to my son

these last six months (can you believe it's gone by so quickly?!) have been marked by a lot of traveling, exploring, adventure-seeking. my journey's taken me to five countries (france, south africa, botswana, zambia, zimbabwe).. soon to be seven (swaziland and kenya). the theme of my travels? as my african literature lecturer spoke about recently, "magical realism". i am learning to breathe deeply, to shed some layers of this new-york-cynic pachydermata as i seek out the magic in life. (an art which has been graciously passed down to me..)

here's a taste (photo recap) of the magic:

1February (back to week one) table mountain group hike: 1-2 hiking through the clouds // 3 drinking fresh mountain spring water // 4 team north face // 5 reservoir at the top // 6 mountain goat-ing // 7 interstudy crossing table mountain // 8 on top of the world! // 9-12 the view on the (exceedingly bumpy) way down

24-25February UCT mountain & ski club! ceres valley hiking trip: 1-2 sunrise/sunset // 3 swimming hole at the peak // 4, 8, 12: dam-diving (30+ ft!) // 5 early morning sunlight // 6 & 10 pretty flowers // 7 graham, me, erin wining & dining (dried fruit & crackers) // 9 fire-scorched protea // 11 redrock

24March interstudy stellenbosch trip (nothing like 60 college kids and a ton of wine): 1-4 playing in the grass at spier wine estate // 5 the magars honeymoon in stellenbosch // 6 .. i ended up wine-soaking everyone in a 5ft radius in an attempt to "aerate the wine" // 7 tom & noah honeymoon in stellenbosch // 8 & 12 hi noah! // 9 vino love // 10-11 bijul, julia, me.. it took a couple tries to get this right

31March-10April semester break 2007, overland african adventure

lots of time spent on the overland truck: 1 passed by lots of fields // 2-4 with incredible open skies overhead // 5 elephant on the side of the road! // 6-7 surreal landscapes // 8 sunrise // 9 field of sunflowers // 10-11 sunsets // 12 overland truck at campsite

2April, camping in the okavango delta: 1 makoros at the campsite // 2-3 welcome to africa // 4 un-real sunsets // 5 me & amelia after an intense game of water-lilly // 6 aaand this is why i am so tan // 7 with our makoro polers/guides // 8 little earth & me // 9 blue skies outside our tent // 10 family portrait // 11-12 more makoros

3April, cruising the delta in a dug-out canoe: 1 & 5, 4, 10, 12 more un-real sunsets // 2 makoros // 3 botswanan poler // 6 carrying straw to bed the makoros // 7 & 11 water lillies // 8 hippo-view of the delta // 9 windows desktop picture?

3April, early morning and late afternoon game walks to stalk animals: 1-2 sunrise // 3 storks and african fish eagle // 4-5 baobabs.. upside-down tuber trees // 6 & 10 our awesome guide kapinga // 7 elephant! // 8 walking single file through the delta // 9 us and kapinga // 11 lion print! // 12 TIA

5April, sunset cruise in chobe national park: 1 african fish eagle // 2 view of the river // 3 elephants! // 4 & 8 more unbelievable sunsets (recurring theme on our trip) // 5 kudu? // 6-7, 9-10, 12 elephant herd drinking at the river // 11 the view

6April, game drive in chobe national park, just before i got hit by a serious case of the plague (dysentery? food poisoning?): 1 vultures waiting... // 2 elephant crossing // 3 look at the colours of that bird! // 4 & 8 sunrise on the river // 5 water buffalo // 6 hippo! // 7 buck/bok // 9 more river // 10-11 safari vehicle // 12 another bokie

7April, made the world's quickest recovery in time to go to zim! 1 zim flag at vic falls hotel // 2, 5, 7 victoria falls // 3 & 6 a lot of border crossing // 4 & 8 zimbabwe market, where bartering became a new sport // 9 me & amelia // 10 heading to the falls // 11 getting soaked off of the spray // 12 making friends at the market

8April and this is how i celebrated easter.. 1-2 bridge between zambia and zimbabwe // 3, 7, 11 craziest thing i've ever done // 4 view of the gorge // 5-6, 9-10 getting tied up (we didnt see out bungee cord until we were on our way up) // 8 free-falling // 12 getting pulled back up after a forever-long wait

8April zambezi sunset cruise 1-2 welcome aboard the african queen // 3 date for the evening // 4 open bar // 5 earth & me // 6 lindsay, my tent-buddy! // 7 sunset on the zambezi // 8 nick & me // 9 me with a 225lb grown-ass man // 10-12 amazing

21April UCT habitat for humanity, muizenberg cobb house build (an earth-friendly house built with all environmentally-friendly materials): 1 tossing mud balls // 2 sweet views // 3 & 7 mixing sand and mud with our feet // 4 group shot // 5 amelia & me // 6 mud ball hoard - ammunition! // 8-11 cobb house being built // 12 earthy kids of the home-owners playing in the dirt

21April eek es stormer! try! stomers vs new zealand rugby game: 1 amelia, me, noah // 2 this is why those rugby shorts are so heavy-duty // 3-4 stadium lights // 5 cecil love // 6-8, 12 stormers fans // 9-11 scrum!

28April xcape art bus tour - city centre, stellenbosch, khayelitsha: 1-3 castle of good hope // 4 & 9 outside SA art museum // 5-8 view from lookout point, khayelitsha // 10-12 being artsy fartsy

12May UCT habitat for humanity, mfuleni township foundation build: 1-2 group picture // 3 the house next door to our build site // 4 & 8 babies just chillin // 5 the colors of mfuleni // 6 me & gail // 7 bundled up // 9 gail & bijul // 10 a king on his throne // 11-12 mixing cement by hand, in the street

thankfully, the magic has not only been limited to the outings and trips, it's also shown up in the everyday and is a cherished feature of our much-frequented spots...

always a favorite, camps bay beach: 1 amelia & julia // 2-4 twelve apostles and victoria road // 5 whiffen! // 6 summer love // 7 "IT'S MY SWIMSUIT!" -emily lapointe // 8 nicolas! // 9 em and laura taking on the waves in the ice-cold atlantic // 10 jump laura! // 11-12 beauty

oh, the midnight magic of long street: 1 lion's head at night, on the way to city centre // 2 & 4 me and b // 3 me & erin // 5 earth & magar // 6 earth, me, noah, bijul // 7-8 cape town festival: dancing in the rain in the middle of long st // 9 hug it out // 10-11 can't end the night without a falafel w/ my favorite fatty // 12 peace be da journey!

lion's head hike (5 times over!), my favorite thing to do in cape town: 1-4 view of the city, devils peak, table mountain, 12 apostles.. amaaazing // 5-6 on the way up // 7-8 at the top! 20March w/ cameroonies and georgy and 13April cecil wollmunster love // 9-10 sunset from the peak // 11-12 city (of almost-blinding) lights

uct campus is SO MUCH prettier than you! 1-4 views of jammie hall and our ivy-covered buildings w/ devil's peak looming overhead // 5-8 the reward of climbing uphill to campus // 9 & 11 cecil rhodes memorial, overlooking the city // 10 walking home // 12 jammie hall at night

surfing at muizenberg (wetsuit love): 1 me & nick // 2 noah, me, andrew, tom // 3 andrew & harry // 4 tom, me, andrew // 5 em & amelia heading into the waves // 6 me & amelia // 7-8 muizenberg beach // 9 boys and boards // 10 superheroes // 11 i'll take a 7'6" // 12 tomas!

end-of-summer days at sea point: 1 i like these colours // 2 wind-blown 90degree trees! (or, em is scarily strong) // 3 em & me // 4 seaside // 5 by the sea point pool // 6 & 10 off the high dive! // 7-8 pool fun // 9 noah, me, em, andrew // 11 cool kids // 12 prettiest public pool ever?

didn't realize how much baking i'd be doing in africa, but with eight hungry, baked-good-loving housemates, i churn out cookies/cupcakes quite regularly: 1 & 5 happy birthday harry! // 2-3 mmm chocolate frosting (poo from heaven) // 4 smarties segregated for smarties cookies! // 6 caramel-y cake // 7 cupcake CONE! so freaking cute! // 8 & 12 tom's WILD 21st! // 9-10 100's and 1000's // 11 pink for a princess

magic in the everyday: 1-4 rooftops on my walk home // 5 soccer pitch near our house // 6 palm tree love // 7-9, 11-12 the bio-diversity is out of control (anthro/eco parallels in cape town?) // 10 lover's walk on the way to rondebosch

devil's peak backed by blue, cloudy, sunset, sun-ray, fire-explosion and cotton candy skies - still in awe of devil's peak magic, every time. i won't ever get sick of this view.

traveling for me has not been limited to the physical act of "going from one place to another" (thank you dictionary.com) really long plane/bus rides, almost-as-equally-long waits for the university jammie (shuttle) and lazy days at the beach have whetted my voracious appetite for books. books, as we all know, are (or, have a huge potential to be) pure magic. worlds and worlds at your fingertips. i've noticed that my reading selection has very much reflected the nature of the ever-changing landscape of my last few months.

so, if you're stuck somewhere and itching to travel, live vicariously and stumble into some magical worlds.
read with me, i'd love a traveling buddy.

books read:
spilling open by sabrina ward harrison; collector of treasures by bessie head; maps by nuruddin farah; you can't get lost in cape town by zoe wicomb; disgrace by j.m. coetzee; to every birth its blood by mongane serote; ways of dying by zakes mda; the end of poverty by jeffrey sachs; purple hibiscus by chimamanda ngozi adichie; beasts of no nation by uzodinma iweala; letters on life by rainer maria rilke; down 2nd avenue by es'kia mphahlele; things fall apart by chinua achebe; no longer at ease by chinua achebe; so long a letter by mariama ba; whiteman by tony d'souza; the restless supermarket by ivan vladislavic

and for the next couple months i have:
what is the what by dave eggers; what's so amazing about grace by philip yancey; the power of one by bryce courtenay; traveling mercies by anne lamott

exactly one more month of cape town countdowns
[including a special-guest appearance by mommy&daddy shieh and miss jessica lee (!!!!!!!!!!), a trip to the eastern cape and swaziland (to visit sibusiso!), lion's head (for the sixth time?) and cape town shenanigans with joseph arseface kim.. throw in a couple more beach days, more long st ridiculousness, a few hikes, maybe a couple more habitat builds, a few finals and papers here and there and that'll be a wrap!]

and then off to another adventure! (see: www.stephshieh.com/kenya)

until kenya!

keep searching for the magic.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Wed, 02 May 2007 18:31:30 GMT

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:11:38 GMT

cape town lovin'
[alt title: howzit brew?]

this post has been a long time coming
here goes a photo dump from norman's week-long, action-packed visit
(if there were a contest for best vacation ever, gold medal winner.. hands down)

...try to keep up :]

11march2007

1 train to city centre // 2 v&a waterfront clock tower // 3-6 boat ride to robben island // 7-8 robben island // 9 quarry where prisoners (including mandela) worked // 10 SA flag // 11 pile of rocks started by mandela // 12 view from robben island

1 kirstenbosch botanical garden // 2 me & hoho // 3 columbia in south africa // 4-5 cape town philharmonic orchestra // 6 me & hoho // 7 cape town sky // 8 inter-racial couple // 9 us again // 10 sunset // 11 our picnic spread // 12 sunset cloudyness

12march2007

1 amazing views driving through the mountains // 2 on the safari vehicle! // 3 driving through the game reserve // 4 the whole group // 5 white rhino // 6 stuart navigating (notice how our horizon line isn't quite straight.. it was a bumpy ride!) // 7 ostrich // 8 zebra (zeh-bra) // 9 elephants // 10 lions // 11 stuart standing on a termite hill (i ate a termite!) // 12 nelson the giraffe

13march2007

1 welcome to stellenbosch // 2-3 fruits at the vineyards // 4 goats do roam wine estate // 5-10 dieu donne wine estate (the most amazing view) // 11 wine spread // 12 happy happy

14march2007

1-2 twelve apostles from camps bay // 3-4, 6 us // 5, 7-8 lion's head // 9 jumping! // 10-11 smoothies (and peri-peri wedges) at nando's

1 beginning the hike up lion's head // 2 going to the top! // 3 sweaty but happy // 4-8 view from lion's head (the best 360 view of cape town) // 9 the top! // 10 us again // 11 sunset on lion's head // 12 beaaauty

15march2007

1-2 table mountain cable car // 3-4 hanging out at the top of the woooorld // 5-8 jump for joy // 9 all smiles // 10-12 the incredible view

1 sunset at camps bay // 2-4, 7 me & hoho // 5-6, 8 jump jump // 9 shadows // 10-11 dinner at blues restaurant // 12 sunset view

16march2007

[not pictured: stephanie shieh attending her tutorials.. A for effort! i'm a good student, i promise..]
1 hike from campus to rhodes memorial // 2-8 cecil rhodes memorial // 9 kids in mannenberg // 10 norman played djembe with the students // 11 view of/from mannenberg township // 12 doing visual arts with the kids - they were both drawing portraits of me

1-2 getting ready for a good game dinner // 3-5 hussar grill // 6-7 our dinner of zebra and wildebees! (with chips, rice, baby potatoes, creamed spinach and butternut squash) sooo good // 8-9 long street // 10 ashley, me, noah // 11 kate on spring break from cameroon! // 12 can't end a night at long street without a falafel (and broustwoers!)

a little less than three months left here (time flies)
then...
off to kenya for the summer?

will keep you all posted

cheers!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 22:05:38 GMT

public service announcement!

study abroad spring 2007
cape town, south africa
(university of cape town)

my itinerary looks something like this:

                                                                            january 19: new york to london
                                                                          january 20: london to paris
                                                                        january 27: paris to london
                                                                        january 28: london to capetown
                                                                        january 28 - june 16: fall semester at UCT
                                                                        june 16 - august 16?: volunteer/intern work
                                                                                [cape town? johannesburg? uganda?]
                                                                        august 16?: capetown to london
                                                                        august 16-30?: various cities/countries in europe
                                                                            end of august: london to new york

my flight from JFK is jan 19 at 8:30 pm
i will (as you can gather from above) be away for a long time
so before i leave, make sure to
come play with me!

(and if you want to meet me in europe, mid-to-late august, let me know!)

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 03:00:18 GMT

summertime!

my new york city summer was incredible.

(be prepared. 3 months of photos can produce quite the lenghty post.)

6.23 joseph, norman and i wake up way too early (6:30am?) to catch keane live at borders. norm and i end up with the same numbers we had when waiting in line for u2! we see keane sing and sign..

6.24 again, early wake up (4:30am?) to catch the train out of the city to drive with uncle ven to visit my best friend at camp.

then, back to the city to catch the last day of the world vision AIDs exhibit at grand central. again, i am brought back to uganda. and again, there is the tug of something greater...

then, back to long island to hang out with the old gang one last time before eric moves to PA. old people vs young'ns bowling. these are some of the people who have been in my life the longest..

6.25 vision dinner and chloe gets passed round the table..

6.28 columbia hosts this massive party for its employees and joekim and i take an extended lunch break

after work it's a romantic walk in the park with titty wong, tasti-d and the baking of some banana bread

6.30 beaching - the usual silliness in the sun

7.01 potluck at tiff's place - this is us playing in the park..

and joyce & josh come back to the city to stay over. joyce and i have a hilarious time trying to find her pajamas to wear

7.03 an early morning ikea date with hoho - we get there before they even open.. an empty ikea is BLISS. then a trip to our favorite place.

then off to a rooftop barbeque to apartment-warm dave-henry-joe-courtney's place

7.04 fourth of july madness. drive from city to upstate for a barbeque at the yung's, then drive to long island for another barbeque at deedee kim's (with a stop in queens on the way) .. if you've been counting, that's three barbeques in two days. pretty freaking amazing.

7.07 nat ogborn is in the states! which is cause for a long overdue isec reunion.. we show nat the city - walk round central park, ending on the uws, doing our usual isec thing (drinks, anyone?) and catching up on the past year

7.08 day 2 of reunion started with soccer (culturally sensitive: football) in sheep's meadow (an apparant 'quiet zone') and ended with a walk across brooklyn bridge & some brooklyn ice cream factory

7.11 joekim needs to buy maternity shorts, so we venture off to queens center. its a long ride (especially when joe kim takes us on the wrong train) so we entertain ourselves on the subway with some creative photography. ask if you want to see our works of art :]

7.12 a double date for the circle line cruise turned into a night of couple pictionary battles at a cafe in the west village. who can guess what dave drew? (last pic)

7.15 to celebrate zak's 20th birthday, i decide to spend a week in new hampshire with him, being his co-counselor at wanakee (a 'christian adventure camp') pre-departure preparations include making a memory book and putting together a package for the birthday boy

i take the bus to boston, where zak, his parents and david from wales pick me up. we walk around the north end & harbor, eat an incredible italian dinner and finish it off with gelato at mike's

7.16 we quickly go through some new hampshire summer staples (the last time i visited zak was the middle of winter) which include picking fruit from daddy ringelstein's garden and getting ice cream.. which, of course, makes us a half hour late for check-in at wanakee

7.17-19 our first camp is 7-9 yr olds. our site was mammal mania! we take care of the animals on the campsite, visit the science center and do other typical camp activities. that white sheep, his name is norman.

7.20-22 second camp is called happy feet - 6&7 yr olds. they are adorable. we had campfires every night and listening to the kidlets pray around the fire was incredible

7.23 my last day at wanakee, saying goodbyes to an incredibly supportive group of people. i really love the wanakee staff.

then a bunch of us pile into a car to send me back to boston to catch the bus. we drive through end-of-the-world type weather, which eventually clears up. zak makes me eat my first fig newton (it was gross), we sing at the top of our lungs and jessi stares at passerbys

7.24 bertha is back from the land of scots and kilts! we dinner at the heights and she comes over to experiment with me for theresa's birthday cake

7.25 an after-work trip to coney island. the long Q-ride there resulted in a doodle-association game. we mini-golfed, ate nathan's and cotton candy (thank you, $19.71) and rode the cyclone. it was an incredibly fun time.

7.26 cake baking! three-layer white chocolate raspberry cake with white chocolate buttercream frosting

7.27 t's birthday! joseph instructs me to leave her gift in plain sight. we laugh as she tries to find her gifts :] cake-cutting with the family

7.28 off to visit denny shin in boston! we squeeze in the car and 10 minutes later.. we're there!

... not really. somewheres in CT, we start to hear a noise. drivers are veering away from us, into the far lanes.. someone drives up to us and motions for us to pull over. when we do, we see the state of frank's amazing muffler. dave "the manly" wei pulls it off with his bare hands and we continue driving to boston.. with earplugs. (note: playing GHOST with earplugs on in a car with an un-muffled muffler can be tough.)

denny's apartment. in the last picture: can you find the frank?

7.29 touristing in boston commons, eating at the pourhouse (or a something-else house) and wiffleballing (or napping) at BC

dinner at vinny t's, me and my HUGE batch of sweet potato fries (thank you eugene! :] :] :] :] :]) sangria toast to old friends, new friends and a good time in boston.. bowling at boston bowl

late night fun with long exposure

8.01 beaching on one of the hottest days of the year. balina got blisters on her toes from walking on the sand! the usual pictures.. :P

then back to the city for a cocktail party at the new school.. freestuff galore! i luck out with a little miss sunshine t-shirt (in my size!)
then an ethiopian dinner (w/ south african wine) with my best girls from 'set. always good times. :]

8.02 i venture up to washington heights on my 3-hr lunch break to do the taste&tour with beth. 3 receipts from 3 restaurants on the list = 2 tickets to beauty and the beast (to surprise hoho with!)

after work, the much-anticipated second rooftop barbeque to celebrate dave's completion (near-completion?) of med school apps

8.03 last vision thursday fellowship. steve lau puts my cellphone in between his toes and says it's ok because we're like family. it is not okay.

8.04 i cook dinner for zak, who is on break from wanakee, and jon walton, two of my favorite 08ers. trinidad sean and jon's friend from virginia (vuh-gin-yuh) stop by.. we have fun hanging out on the roof deck

8.05 up bright and early to go home to fish with the boys. too bad some people had a rough night & couldn't wake up on time. dan & i went sailing instead. beaaautiful day

then back out to the city to volunteer with amelia at the one campaign at the randall's island dmb concert

8.06 sunday morning brunch with the girls at essex on the LES.. and a stop at bubby's on the way there for more photobooth action

8.10 thursday special, taking it back to the heights with the girls and a stop at the yale club afterwards. we rock them blurry photos.

8.11 the titty turns the big 2-0. fondant-making fiesta & the classic summer bbq at the wong's. good times with my biffs (aeaeaeae :P)

8.12 softball tourny at cunningham park. fun with the vision family.

8.13 jenny lew's birthday. we cut cake & go for a sunday morning swim at the yacht club.. the four of us together again!

8.17 its a thursday and we're back at the heights. 4 hrs of "the person most likely to..." :] i love these girls

8.18 surprise sweet 16 for mun upstate.. "I HATE YOU!!!!"

8.19-22 roadtrip to maryland to visit frank.. car games (GHOST, listing US capitals/presidents, guessing guiness records), eating (ikea 99c bfast! and learning about scrapple), and ridiculousness galore. fun times :]

8.24 our last rainy thursday at the heights.. we love this place. we also walked down to cafe lalo & had some fun in random jewelry shops along the way. and the girls humored me by agreeing to a photobooth session to end the night :]

8.25 a low-key, very new york city 20th birthday. my surrogate parents wait on line at 6am and i switch with t around 9.. wait around in rainy weather for shakespeare in the park tickets. then lunch with t&joseph at 'home'. see jd up at campus, meet with my hoho for sushi dinner & a walk around my favorite city. then a shakespeare double-date. couldn't ask for a better birthday :]

8.26 birthday dinner with the family. mommy, dad, sausage&broccoli, my ugly-face brother lawrence.

and then the girls came over with ralph's to do more bday celebrating and also to watch me un-pack and re-pack all my stuff for school. needless to say, we get a bit distracted at times. we find interesting stuff along the way, like old paintings and my spraypaint stash

8.27 crazyhecticrainy move-in. but sooo nice to be back on campus, back in the suite. housed a load of people and was IV headquarters for the week. people sleeping in hallways, in my bed, on floors, on couches, in closets..

8.30 the longest birthday ever continues with dinner & broadway with the ho.. italianfood & our favorite disney, beauty & the beast

8.31 my crazy buddy zak decides for my birthday that we will have an adventure and try to get into the VMAs. we usually manage the ridiculous together, but i think he's shooting a bit too high. i agree to come along for the fun. we somehow make it past every security check point, somehow end up with someones tickets, with mtv wristbands... and inside of radio city music hall at the MTV video music awards. then, being so excited to get in, we let our guard down.. and get nearly escorted out. who does this happen to? only us. :]

but good thing we got kicked out, because we make it down to chinatown just in time to pick up david the whale (he's welsch) .. and we have a late night birthday dinner in little italy

9.01 i finally get to hang out with intervarsity & the frosh at game night. people discover that i'm a scrabble nazi :P

9.02 the boys and i drive an hour and a half to attend revelation generation (relient k/mxpx/newsboys/theafters) too bad ernesto totally destroys the festival. mud, mud, everywhere! we didn't see anyone perform, but saw brian litrell (bsb!) and met the afters and i got to talk to various tshirt designers in the merch tent

9.03 zak's cross-country race in van cortlandt park.. 4 miles in 22 min, he's craazy

9.04 catching the sunset over our city on top of the rock.. quality family time. check out our chinese ancestor photo.

summer, you've been so good to me.
thank you, Lord, for the fullness of your spirit.

my summer was full: full of life, friends, fun, roadtrips, sleepovers, adventures..
ups&downs but it's generally been a really relaxing time for me.
i've had enough detox from school-type stuff that i feel prepared to take on classes again
(more specifically, an 8 classes and 22 credits worth ..crazy)

so here i am, back in ec1806
come and visit! stay over in our 'guest room'! (angie's room)

classes start tomorrow..

ready, set, go!

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 17:18:25 GMT

the office!

during our breaks at work, suz and i play this rubber-band shooting game where the first shooter calls out a target and tries to shoot it. if someone makes the shot, the person who doesn't gets a strike. three strikes and you get a stamp on the face from our stamp drawer, which includes such stamps as DRAFT, WITHDRAWN, MASTER OF SCIENCE GRADUATE .. (some of you may recognize a variation on this game.. involving a couple to-be graduates, water balloons, a 3rd floor window and some left-over 8-year :P)

franklin has been coming over to hang out at our office since he gets out early..
so we intro-ed him to what we do over here at the school of social work
needless to say, frank is not a great rubber-band marksman. he's going to stick with the mariokart.

yesterday, suz had the willy wonka dvd with her and she wanted to finish it at work so she could return it later..
one of the items on the dvd menu was learn to dance with the oopma loompas.. her and frank had a BLAST.

come visit us at work!

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 01:00:47 GMT

happy summer solstice!

summer (or pre-summer) actually started for me may 12th at 5pm when i handed in my 10pg african american lit final paper..
i promptly celebrated with a frozen drinkydrink of sorts and with a dinner with my best buddy zak

here's how pre-summer's gone down since then..

5.13 titty comes home in time for t&joseph's housewarming.. we take a break from the warm house for naptime in central park

5.14 i assist brandon on his final project by stenciling his head. check out those rubberband marks!

5.15 tunneling under columbia & roofing on SIPA with some soon-to-be-graduates

5.16 SEAS class day & conan o brien

5.17 columbia commencement

5.19 conan (again!)

5.20 being a groupie at a coffehouse w/ the yung bros (and a minnow)

5.22 my good buddy jordan comes to visit - we take a walk 'round central park reservoir, cook a big family dinner & head to the top of the rock

5.23 more adventures with jordan in DUMBO

5.24 tecbc t-shirt factory at 838, joey peeing & a mouse hunt

5.28 mini-roadtrip to visit tecbc with balina & josh

5.31 beach with norman, then IV dinner at carmine's (and a sleepover with big bertha!)

6.03 hanging out with the girls at home.. lovin' the cockeye-edness, amelia

6.05 crumpler beer for bags!

6.07 i sub-ed at an afterschool program in the west village for a couple of days. i drew dinosaurs and played four square.. awesome!

6.09 a day trip to the met with ryan, lunch at cosi's and a night of dongle-ness

6.11 simon's birthday bbq upstate

6.13 museum mile festival

6.14 restaurant reviewing at bubby's w/ lauren as my guest.. we had a little bit of fun in the photobooth

6.16 six flags with some of my favorites

6.17 renegade craft fair, dinner with courtney and reflections at ocm

6.18 beachiness

6.19 mountain creek park of water (waterpark)

all this while i've been enjoying my new home (& adopted parents)
life is sweet, livin (4 dys/wk) in a (safe/grace-filled) mansion
my spongebob room, the duck bathroom, and sweet, water-tower-dappled sunsets

summer thoughts
i have to say, it was really weird at first (exciting in a way, but strange) knowing i'd be in the city this summer after being away all last summer.
thought i'd be phased by the old "summer working in the city" routine and miss adventures abroad with different faces & new places to explore
[in particular, wishing i could be at ISEC beijing with jordan baehr, and being totally jealous of evadne cokeh's he-fei adventures]
then people & adventures & life in fast forward here reminded me of how much i miss this place when i'm away.
and if africa07 happens, then i'll be away from my beloved city for 4+ months..
so i'm learning to make the best of these summer days & nights in the greatest city in the world

and what would a post about summer be without addressing thoughts/questions/concerns about my skin color
YES. i am tan. i like sun. sun likes me. and since we've only been in pre-summer, be prepared. i only get darker from here on in.

random people: steph! you're so dark!
laurence tom: man, she's always dark! she's like soy sauce!

frank.ma: you're the most native american who's not a native american person i've met

betty (my supervisor): the toast got burnt..
betty: it's as dark as you!
::betty holds blackened toast to my arm::
betty: look!!

woman who works on my floor: look at you! you're so tan!
woman who works on my floor: girl, i'm jealous!
[note: woman who works on my floor is african american]

to close,

i love summer!
have a spectacular one!

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Thu, 25 May 2006 19:02:52 GMT

joey pees, a mouse dies
(alt title: a day in the life at bot-sam-bot)

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Sat, 06 May 2006 02:56:27 GMT

           may 1st - 3rd

          1 rug bought
          1 not lamp picked up & assembled
          1 futon picked up & assembled
          2.5 gallons of paint bought/used
          3 visits to bed bath & beyond
          4 visits to home depot
          4 curtain panels bought
          4 bags of garbage thrown out
          21.4 hours spent cleaning & painting

(i forgot to take a before picture, so the "befores" here are really mid-cleaning phase..)

surprise hoho!