[[PEARLS BEFORE SWINE_ Too Many People]
I took advantage of an opportunity to enjoy some drinks and a delicious veggie burger with like-minded people in the heart of Austin, while watching the State of the Union address last night. It was the first time I had watched since college, as I always feel as though I should be interested , but unsure of exactly what I’m interested in. Of course, I have always considered myself a sort of Lorax- here to speak for the trees and our environment that is so unspoken for in our world, but I wasn’t sure how to integrate my passions with politics, especially as I’m traveling around and don’t have local level to focus on.
I can’t brag about having a clear political focus these days, but it was clear to me from watching Obama’s speech last night that I definitely have some un-wavering opinions.
I remember talking to a friend while I was in my second year of college, and he was in the masters program in engineering. He was berating me a bit for not having solid opinions, but I thought of myself that time as a sponge, just soaking up all the opinions there are, to be determined what I cared about most later on. Well, this is later, and I think I can form my political priorities into a simple haiku.
Amend our mindset.
Reform education. Live
in communities.
With that stated, here were some of my thoughts from the state of the union address. (This if my first time, by the way, publicizing my political agenda…but I feel like if you read any of this blog, none of this will come as a surprise).
The frame of the SoTU-watching party was in the form of “climate bingo” where we were all given papers with Bingo sheets, and different climate-related words that Obama might say. I did get a bingo, but not first.
I was not surprised to check off investment, jobs, security, infrastructure, debt, or innovation. But I was surprised to hear him mention floods, drought, air, communities, and “world-class education,” the latter being what he hopes America can provide. Honestly, it’s going to take a lot more than any bill that congress can pass to bring our education system up to where it needs to be, let alone “world class,” but the fact that it’s becoming more of a priority is exciting. I liked what Obama said about the work ethic of America, and reducing our energy consumption, not just changing the resources we’re using to get energy (much easier said than done, though). Investing $100 billion in natural gas is kind of missing the point, for example, but it’s a step toward “investing in fuels of the future” which I guess will be the job of the next president (assuming our planet doesn’t collapse before then).
Regardless of the specific words and phrases that Obama uses, the speech revolved around a specific theme- a theme that makes me want to shun politics and news and American culture altogether. This ‘business as usual’ paradigm that American’s are entitled to a house, 2 kids, a white picket fence and the job of their dreams. As long as everyone in America believes that’s what they’re entitled to, the environmental victories that Obama promised, and even the idealist bills that he hopes to pass that affect people’s everyday lives are going to be impossible. Even as he talks about the environment, he’s speaking to a group of over a hundred people who are wearing expensive suits made from unsustainable, or man-made fibers like cotton or polyester, who probably drove there themselves. We need a complete paradigm shift toward communal living if any of his dreams are going to play out. But how?
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
Piles and Piles (warning: lots of “mis-use” of grammar ahead)
What have I been up to in the last two weeks? Other than a one week vacation in Port Aransas from my ‘vacation’ at my parents house, I have been continuing the process of ‘down-sizing’.
In addition to making decisions about what items I really need on my next life adventure, and those that I just want, I have been deciding what to give away to the homeless for my friend’s ingenious birthday party in which we gave coats (and blankets and gloves) to the homeless in Downtown Austin who are sent to the curb when the shelter shuts down at 10:00pm.
One of the piles that has cropped up in my inch by inch sort of my room is the ‘miscellaneous crap’ that isn’t of any value such as old key chains, shirts from old jobs that I once imagined I would quilt or sew into something, pieces of rope, blank notebooks, etc. These items have been fated to the lucky young man at the donation center in Goodwill. Amil read me an article that I haven’t been able to find myself about how Goodwill will take any condition of fabric, beyond the “gently-used” that they advertise. With worn clothing, they’ll send them to 3rd world countries (which sounds really sweet, but actually makes the economy for native clothes-sellers obsolete, thus making third world countries more dependent on hand-outs…). For scrappy things, they put them all together and sell them as such, and if that doesn’t sell, or if it’s not good, they supposedly send leftover textiles to a place where they make rags, or use it for stuffing pillows or insulation, or perhaps send it to a company that actually recycles cotton (recycled cotton feels really good, like an old t-shirt, but will last a little longer).
I had a little pile of all those weird, semi-technology things. VHS’s that have been taped over, an LED light keychain that had burned out, and the inside of a greeting card. After a little research on earth911.com, I found that Best Buy will take almost everything I had, including old CD’s, but they didn’t list old camera’s (unless they were digital), and some of my other misc. items. I was happy to find, however, after driving out of my way to another recycling center that did claim to take everything, but didn’t actually exist, that if you stand in a short line at Best Buy, the cheerful assistant will claim that they take EVERYTHING in the box, and bring it on back. What happens after that, I can only guess, but for now… I have done my work. (Maybe when I get sponsored to live A Year without Trash chronicling my life of avoiding waste, I’ll dig a little deeper).
I had a large pile of media- DVD’s, VHS, and books that I thought might be worth some money. I say large pile, but it probably only included about 30 things, compared to the 50 or so books I brought to Half Price Books a few years ago on my first stage of Operation Reduce. (I was a lot more connected to stuff then… thankfully, I’ve outgrown my pack-rat tendencies…). I brought my lot to ½ price, and made out with $15! Not bad, considering they probably couldn’t sell half of it. Like Goodwill, Half Price sends their unsellable merch overseas, though I’m not aware of the economic downfalls of sending literature to 3rd world countries. Since then, though, I’ve filled another crate with books, these I’m hopefully going to make more $ on.
I have two, er, three more piles (at least worth mentioning in this blog). A little pile of stuff that I’ve created that I don’t really want (like purses) that I’m either going to try to sell on Etsy, or give away (anyone want a purse?) A much larger pile of stuff is all the clothes that I don’t wear anymore that are actually kind of cute, trendy and don’t have holes (hence the reason I don’t wear them anymore, hehe). Buffalo Exchange will usually take some stuff, but they can be picky, so I have a back-up plan of another consignment shop. If none of that sells, I might try to list a few things on ebay, but the rest will be destined to that poor goodwill clerk.
Although there is one more, much bigger pile… I will end the blog here for today, and leave you in suspense, as am I, about what my crap is worth tomorrow. Oooh, we’ll see!
Part 2 I’m back after two half-day Austin adventures! And I have some news of progress in the way of my down-sizing.
My last pile is actually a whole room. I should have taken before and after pictures of my closet so you could be as amazed as my father at how much I could fit in there. It was literally wall to wall and floor to ceiling in some places, but remarkably, as of today, there is a floor, and an empty spot on the shelves. (Also remarkable is that the shelves are still standing after the 100 or so pounds of collectibles I’ve had on them). When I was young I was interested in a lot of things. I had an interest in nature that was nurtured to an extent, but I could tell there was a clear value given to things. In fact, I remember my mom or grandma saying once that I “HAVE to collect SOMETHING.” And so it began: Rings, posters, old alcohol bottles, incense, Barbies and dolls (though those were just given to me) snow globes and Elvis memorabilia. And those were just the collections that could be categorized. I also had a pretty good collection of just…stuff… birthday presents, gifts from other countries, misc. candy, notes from friends etc. When my parents moved while I was in college, all this crap got wrapped up and put in boxes in what was to become my room…and there it has stayed as I graduated, and held jobs all over the country, and moved in and out of the house with my fiancé.
It wasn’t until this opportunity, the ol’ “Between jobs” schtick, that I’ve had a chance to sort through it all. In the past I had vowed to keep it all until “some other time,” and if I imagine any other time than no, I picture myself chunking ALL of it in a box for Goodwill…so I am thankful that I have the time to sort through things, pause on the sentimentality of it, then try to sell it. I have listed a few things on ebay—my graphing calculator and signed Chevelle Cd made me the most so far (though nothing to make a living off of, for sure). I have a few Elvis items that don’t look too promising, and I’ve sold some boxing gloves and a coat.
In addition to making decisions about what items I really need on my next life adventure, and those that I just want, I have been deciding what to give away to the homeless for my friend’s ingenious birthday party in which we gave coats (and blankets and gloves) to the homeless in Downtown Austin who are sent to the curb when the shelter shuts down at 10:00pm.
One of the piles that has cropped up in my inch by inch sort of my room is the ‘miscellaneous crap’ that isn’t of any value such as old key chains, shirts from old jobs that I once imagined I would quilt or sew into something, pieces of rope, blank notebooks, etc. These items have been fated to the lucky young man at the donation center in Goodwill. Amil read me an article that I haven’t been able to find myself about how Goodwill will take any condition of fabric, beyond the “gently-used” that they advertise. With worn clothing, they’ll send them to 3rd world countries (which sounds really sweet, but actually makes the economy for native clothes-sellers obsolete, thus making third world countries more dependent on hand-outs…). For scrappy things, they put them all together and sell them as such, and if that doesn’t sell, or if it’s not good, they supposedly send leftover textiles to a place where they make rags, or use it for stuffing pillows or insulation, or perhaps send it to a company that actually recycles cotton (recycled cotton feels really good, like an old t-shirt, but will last a little longer).
I had a little pile of all those weird, semi-technology things. VHS’s that have been taped over, an LED light keychain that had burned out, and the inside of a greeting card. After a little research on earth911.com, I found that Best Buy will take almost everything I had, including old CD’s, but they didn’t list old camera’s (unless they were digital), and some of my other misc. items. I was happy to find, however, after driving out of my way to another recycling center that did claim to take everything, but didn’t actually exist, that if you stand in a short line at Best Buy, the cheerful assistant will claim that they take EVERYTHING in the box, and bring it on back. What happens after that, I can only guess, but for now… I have done my work. (Maybe when I get sponsored to live A Year without Trash chronicling my life of avoiding waste, I’ll dig a little deeper).
I had a large pile of media- DVD’s, VHS, and books that I thought might be worth some money. I say large pile, but it probably only included about 30 things, compared to the 50 or so books I brought to Half Price Books a few years ago on my first stage of Operation Reduce. (I was a lot more connected to stuff then… thankfully, I’ve outgrown my pack-rat tendencies…). I brought my lot to ½ price, and made out with $15! Not bad, considering they probably couldn’t sell half of it. Like Goodwill, Half Price sends their unsellable merch overseas, though I’m not aware of the economic downfalls of sending literature to 3rd world countries. Since then, though, I’ve filled another crate with books, these I’m hopefully going to make more $ on.
I have two, er, three more piles (at least worth mentioning in this blog). A little pile of stuff that I’ve created that I don’t really want (like purses) that I’m either going to try to sell on Etsy, or give away (anyone want a purse?) A much larger pile of stuff is all the clothes that I don’t wear anymore that are actually kind of cute, trendy and don’t have holes (hence the reason I don’t wear them anymore, hehe). Buffalo Exchange will usually take some stuff, but they can be picky, so I have a back-up plan of another consignment shop. If none of that sells, I might try to list a few things on ebay, but the rest will be destined to that poor goodwill clerk.
Although there is one more, much bigger pile… I will end the blog here for today, and leave you in suspense, as am I, about what my crap is worth tomorrow. Oooh, we’ll see!
Part 2 I’m back after two half-day Austin adventures! And I have some news of progress in the way of my down-sizing.
My last pile is actually a whole room. I should have taken before and after pictures of my closet so you could be as amazed as my father at how much I could fit in there. It was literally wall to wall and floor to ceiling in some places, but remarkably, as of today, there is a floor, and an empty spot on the shelves. (Also remarkable is that the shelves are still standing after the 100 or so pounds of collectibles I’ve had on them). When I was young I was interested in a lot of things. I had an interest in nature that was nurtured to an extent, but I could tell there was a clear value given to things. In fact, I remember my mom or grandma saying once that I “HAVE to collect SOMETHING.” And so it began: Rings, posters, old alcohol bottles, incense, Barbies and dolls (though those were just given to me) snow globes and Elvis memorabilia. And those were just the collections that could be categorized. I also had a pretty good collection of just…stuff… birthday presents, gifts from other countries, misc. candy, notes from friends etc. When my parents moved while I was in college, all this crap got wrapped up and put in boxes in what was to become my room…and there it has stayed as I graduated, and held jobs all over the country, and moved in and out of the house with my fiancé.
It wasn’t until this opportunity, the ol’ “Between jobs” schtick, that I’ve had a chance to sort through it all. In the past I had vowed to keep it all until “some other time,” and if I imagine any other time than no, I picture myself chunking ALL of it in a box for Goodwill…so I am thankful that I have the time to sort through things, pause on the sentimentality of it, then try to sell it. I have listed a few things on ebay—my graphing calculator and signed Chevelle Cd made me the most so far (though nothing to make a living off of, for sure). I have a few Elvis items that don’t look too promising, and I’ve sold some boxing gloves and a coat.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Torn
After four hours of digging through my stuff at my parents house, I feel as torn as my college freshman copy of Hamlet- which I debated keeping or finally removing from my shelf.
Four hours was spent doing very little other than sorting small amounts of crap into many piles. I’m talking every single bracelet, bead, and hair band that I’ve acquired in my pack-rat-esque adolescence, picked up, and placed into: sell, donate, or recycle pile…and very occasionally into the trash.
I’m trying to ween off the last option because one of my new year’s resolutions is to write a blog about not throwing anything away for an entire year. I hope to chronicle the annoyance of finding adequate recycling, the compulsion of trying to use little things in art projects or reinventing useless crap into something practical.
But even putting things into simple piles wasn’t easy. I have an inner conflict with almost everything I encounter. I’m battling a lifelong ”must-keep-for-later” mentality with a new realization of how happy I have been with so little. My fiancé has effectively paired down his belongings to fit into a couple of backpacks. He brags about this, rightfully so, but then comes to me whenever he needs glue, safety pins, or the perfect size container for something. I similarly pride myself that I have everything we need without us having to go buy something new. Years ago I resolved to not purchase anything new…with the exception of underwear or socks or things that you just…don’t buy used.
So, two weeks after arriving at my parents house, I’m still knee deep in my old stuff, I’ve finally got some listings on eBay, some stuff for a Craigslist pile, and I’ve taken 3 loads to be donated, plus have a bag to give to the homeless (with coats, socks, etc). Although it has been arduous and at times inefficient, I’m feeling much closer to my simple life ideal.
This is the week we hopefully find out for sure about the future job. Only then can I actually begin packing things up and gettin’ things ready.
Four hours was spent doing very little other than sorting small amounts of crap into many piles. I’m talking every single bracelet, bead, and hair band that I’ve acquired in my pack-rat-esque adolescence, picked up, and placed into: sell, donate, or recycle pile…and very occasionally into the trash.
I’m trying to ween off the last option because one of my new year’s resolutions is to write a blog about not throwing anything away for an entire year. I hope to chronicle the annoyance of finding adequate recycling, the compulsion of trying to use little things in art projects or reinventing useless crap into something practical.
But even putting things into simple piles wasn’t easy. I have an inner conflict with almost everything I encounter. I’m battling a lifelong ”must-keep-for-later” mentality with a new realization of how happy I have been with so little. My fiancé has effectively paired down his belongings to fit into a couple of backpacks. He brags about this, rightfully so, but then comes to me whenever he needs glue, safety pins, or the perfect size container for something. I similarly pride myself that I have everything we need without us having to go buy something new. Years ago I resolved to not purchase anything new…with the exception of underwear or socks or things that you just…don’t buy used.
So, two weeks after arriving at my parents house, I’m still knee deep in my old stuff, I’ve finally got some listings on eBay, some stuff for a Craigslist pile, and I’ve taken 3 loads to be donated, plus have a bag to give to the homeless (with coats, socks, etc). Although it has been arduous and at times inefficient, I’m feeling much closer to my simple life ideal.
This is the week we hopefully find out for sure about the future job. Only then can I actually begin packing things up and gettin’ things ready.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
2014!
My new year began with me laying on a mat in my sleeping bag in an old shoe store in a mall, surrounded by 15 little kids I had just met, and a few adults I’ve known for most of my life.
If this is any indicator of how the rest of my year will go, I can expect to spend time with people I love, doing new and surprising things simply for the reward of the action. With the vague notion I have of what’s to come, I can imagine that that’s what this year will bring.
The first 6th of the year is going to spent at my home of homes, in Texas. I plan to spend these months seeing family, experience some of my favorite places - like restaurants and hiking spots- in Austin, and going through every item in my room at my parents house to choose what gets packed and what gets axed (detailed on this process in a future blog). Other exciting experiences include: visiting family in Port Aransas, playing at Sky Candy circus gym in Austin, and going camping with my family at Enchanted Rock.
Alas, just after my favorite holiday and just before my 26th Birthday, we’ll be packing whatever I decide to take along into a space that’s probably too small for everything I want to bring along, and moving to Albuquerque.
Our new job will offer all sorts of freedoms such as: a home to share without roommates, time to work on extra projects, a community to get involved in, and a new space to explore.
I think the biggest focus for this year is time. Having time to focus on myself and my fiancé and finally reflect all the experiences I’ve had in the last few years into who I want to be.
More specifically, some of my ambitions for the year include:
-Taking a photo each day to document the changes in weather, environment, etc.
-Organizing all my crap into essentials and inspiring items
-Getting more fit and losing my ‘winter coat’
-Being more conscious about what I eat. I’ve been a flexible vegan for a while (with my main exception being eggs)…ideally I don’t eat corn syrup, anything I can’t pronounce, or anything with added sugars…but I’ve made exceptions since I haven’t been buying my own groceries. Being able to stock our own fridge opens up a world of freshness.
-Being more dedicated to my journal- writing and chronicling the weather, and life events.
We’re also hoping to get a dog, or at least foster one, and spend some time in the community. Basically it looks like an exciting year, with lots of projects and new adventures. Stay tuned to see how it goes!
If this is any indicator of how the rest of my year will go, I can expect to spend time with people I love, doing new and surprising things simply for the reward of the action. With the vague notion I have of what’s to come, I can imagine that that’s what this year will bring.
The first 6th of the year is going to spent at my home of homes, in Texas. I plan to spend these months seeing family, experience some of my favorite places - like restaurants and hiking spots- in Austin, and going through every item in my room at my parents house to choose what gets packed and what gets axed (detailed on this process in a future blog). Other exciting experiences include: visiting family in Port Aransas, playing at Sky Candy circus gym in Austin, and going camping with my family at Enchanted Rock.
Alas, just after my favorite holiday and just before my 26th Birthday, we’ll be packing whatever I decide to take along into a space that’s probably too small for everything I want to bring along, and moving to Albuquerque.
Our new job will offer all sorts of freedoms such as: a home to share without roommates, time to work on extra projects, a community to get involved in, and a new space to explore.
I think the biggest focus for this year is time. Having time to focus on myself and my fiancé and finally reflect all the experiences I’ve had in the last few years into who I want to be.
More specifically, some of my ambitions for the year include:
-Taking a photo each day to document the changes in weather, environment, etc.
-Organizing all my crap into essentials and inspiring items
-Getting more fit and losing my ‘winter coat’
-Being more conscious about what I eat. I’ve been a flexible vegan for a while (with my main exception being eggs)…ideally I don’t eat corn syrup, anything I can’t pronounce, or anything with added sugars…but I’ve made exceptions since I haven’t been buying my own groceries. Being able to stock our own fridge opens up a world of freshness.
-Being more dedicated to my journal- writing and chronicling the weather, and life events.
We’re also hoping to get a dog, or at least foster one, and spend some time in the community. Basically it looks like an exciting year, with lots of projects and new adventures. Stay tuned to see how it goes!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Two Thousand and Thirteen: A Year of Journeys, a Time of Transience
Where do I begin to list the immense adventures that we have begun? To illustrate the scope of our travels- a list of the states we have breathed the air of in this year.
California, Oregon, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, New York, Connecticut, North Carolina. Beaches of New York and of Santa Cruz- Atlantic and Pacific waters.
New locations we explored- Chicago, San Francisco, Oakland, Portland, Ridgefield, Berkeley, Joshua Tree, Estes Park, Tucson.
New locations we explored- Chicago, San Francisco, Oakland, Portland, Ridgefield, Berkeley, Joshua Tree, Estes Park, Tucson.
Parks and monuments we got into for free thanks to my pass: Joshua Tree, Muir Woods, Grand Canyon, Fish Lake National Forest, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, Death Valley, Petrified Forest national park, Rosevelt National Forest, Rocky Mountain National Park, Ash meadows national preserve
Mountain Peaks we’ve summited: Ryan Mountain (Joshua Tree), Augeberry Peak (death valley- via car), Wildrose Peak (Death Valley), Deer Mountain (Colorado), Mt. Taylor (New Mexico), San Gorgonio (Cass), Mt. Tukanikavatz (Amil).
Notable Career changes/updates: Amil is a professional artist after selling prints of his original pieces in North Carolina and California. as of December 20th, we have resigned from our positions as Outdoor Educators- with Amil as Kitchen Assistant and I as Support Coordinator, to accept positions as Caretakers and managers of an Environmental Education Center in Albuquerque.
Themes/Highlights: Travel, movement (more so than other years, Amil more than Cass.) Transience, impermanence.
Moral: Some places are more dense of beautiful things. In places where that beauty or joy is harder to find, it has to come from inward. If the beauty that comes from those very beneficial environments is not there, you have to be grateful of every place no matter how dissonant it might be.
This year we were able to see, touch, hear and smell an immense diversity of things. We breathed air of all different freshnesses. Amil got snowed on in North Carolina, tasted that snow…then ate some snow in California. He slept in deserts in NM, CA and AZ, and went river rafting in Utah, climbed a tree in Northern California, did a Navajo sweat, and listened to his voice echoling in Joshua Tree, Canyon Dechay, and Grand Canyon. This was a year of trying to find stability within- the most hectic year as far as moving around. We traveled the country but aslo traveled the spectrum of emotions to extremes. Extremes of joy and bland blankness. A year of establishing practicality and connecting the dots between things we’ve always done, and things that compliment behaviors, beliefs, traditions and rituals.
A year of accepting and appreciating. Accepting the way that I am in the place that I am while addressing that I need to change. Not being stagnant. Looking forward to growth. Establishing a continuous flow of joyful living.
A year of accepting and appreciating. Accepting the way that I am in the place that I am while addressing that I need to change. Not being stagnant. Looking forward to growth. Establishing a continuous flow of joyful living.
A year of emotional highs and lows, incredible opportunities, hopeful possibilities, vastly different landscapes and interactions with people from all walks of life… all contributing to an ideal of self and an ambition toward a great change…to come in 2014.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
The Bookstore
I woke up this morning with a craving to explore a book store. There aren’t any good bookstores in Big Bear, and it’s certainly not worth the traffic of LA just to rummage through some books.
Years ago, a friend and I had a laugh when I mentally went to my ‘happy place’ to find that I was imaginging being a fungus on a tree. I have discovered so much about myself since then and my need to be around trees, to feel the pulse of the earth around me, and to get and give equal nourishment from others…but my happy places have since evolved.
Right now, I feel that sitting in a bookstore is one of my happy places—and I’m happy to say that I have had many incredible book stores to explore.
Right now, I feel that sitting in a bookstore is one of my happy places—and I’m happy to say that I have had many incredible book stores to explore.
To me, what makes a perfect bookstore, is one made up predominately of used books. As soon as you walk in, it seems as if your nose is stuck in between the pages of a supple yellowed book. In my ideal bookstore there are no walls without shelves, and navigating through the inner shelves is like working through a maze, although everything is organized by some sort of category. There should be some sort of seating in little corners along the way, whether it’s pillows, old leather recliners that are scratched up and worn, or little wooden kitchen chairs with straw seats. And it’s a bonus if there’s a little local coffee shop attached where you can get a warm Chai tea and sit down with a pile of books to scan.
I have had the luck of exploring many such bookstores around the country, and after consulting (remembering from) Amil, I have organized them into my top 5.
Honerable mentions are some smaller store’s we have come across. In Baltimore, Red Emma’s, an anarchist bookstore, had a really good selection of political, gender studies, and natural history books at reasonable prices, along with anarchist-themed merchandise and a cute little coffee shop with some really good pastries. Another is a small, quaint bookstore in Brooklyn had nice white shelves inside, well organized literature and really good selections, and a dollar cart outside. They sold beer as well as coffee and had some tables inside to encourage sitting down with a brew and a book. And finally, the Shakespeare bookstore in Manhattan seemed like a good find. They had some great categories, a sliding ladder to reach the top of their bookshelves, and a basement that I didn’t get a chance to explore. When I return to NYC, I will definitely go there and maybe even skip the Strand. There was also a bookstore in Santa Cruz that I really appreciated for their magazine selection, but I don’t remember what it was called, and it seemed a little too sterile for me (reminding me a bit of a hastings).
5 – Powells (Portland) They had some of my top requirements, like a coffee bar, and some little nicknacks, but despite going to two different locations, I didn’t fall in love. I did like their new age selection, and a found the hard back of a book I had been searching for The Secret Life of Plants. If Powells was my neighborhood bookstore, I probably wouldn’t complain, but they can’t compare to the other 4 on the list.
4- The Strand (NYC) One thing that turned me onto the Strand was how much people who didn’t live in NY new about it. It’s a pretty famous, if not one of the most famous local bookstores. A great appeal about the strand is it’s extensiveness. You have to consult the maps on the walls to see what floor to go on, and from there, which bookshelves to navigate through. They have a large variety of used, as well and new, and older, rare books. They don’t have a foolproof system of what they have or don’t have, but it’s better than Half Price Books in Austin. It also has a very New York vibe in that you can’t just stand in an aisle and gawk, because there are people trying to squeeze around you. They certainly have the space filled with books, but there aren’t many, if any, places to just sit and read. I have had two experiences there that put it on the top 5, despite the unwelcomeness, concrete floors and high metal ceilings. They have a decent budget book section- that inspired Amil and I, separetly but in the same trip to purchase The Time Machine, for only $4.95. When he finally came out of the store to meet me, we showed each other our purchases, laughing that we didn’t consult before we checked out. Another time I was on the hunt for a book about paganism. I thought to myself before asking anyone that what I really wanted is an Idiots Guide for Paganism. I took a step toward the help desk, looked down to find the Idiots Guide shelves, and found it, right in front of me.
3) The kind of store that I’m craving right now is a Used Bookstore that we went too in Brattleboro. The smell when you entered the store was right on par with what I would expect, and the shopkeeper is in my mind as an old man with a wirey gray and white beard. The shelves ran from floor to ceiling, some of them leaning a little, and books poured off the shelves onto stacks from the floor. Despite the surrounding of books, there were plenty of different size and shaped shared in almost every little corner. We spent well over an hour there by going our separate ways, then finding something we wanted to share and trying to navigate the maze to our friend sitting in a corner. We would join them and then get up and repeat the scenario.
2) Tattered Cover (Denver) I have been to two (both?) of the Tattered Cover locations, and I have to say that this store mixes large, local chain store, with clean and cozy. Their audiobook selection was impressive, along with their budget books, and Amil probably spent as much time before she clearance book shelf as I did wandering the whole store. We had to run outside and feed the meter 4 times because originally thought we would just run in and check it out, but kept getting moved to stay. They have a good balance of used and new books, a helpful resource desk, some reading-related gadgets and a little coffee shop.
1) Recycled Books (Denton) –The star on my list and in my heart is in my College town of Denton, Texas. This big purple building used to be an old Opera house, but has been transformed into probably the biggest bookstore I’ve ever been in. It would be a tough contest to compare the Strand, but once you have wondered the main floor, the side wing, the back room, the floor adjacent to the main floor, and the literature loft…you discover there is a basement with a floor plan just as big as above. The literature is in a nice warm, carpeted loft that people don’t often meander to, so it can be an intimate space for you and the books. The theatre section is right by lots of windows, and constantly growing, shifting and improving, but to get to either of these, you have to pass through a huge corner of photography and art books, which you can’t help but stop and browse for a while. The natural history section is its own little wooden-floored room with very consise labels, and the hippy-dippy-environmental section, where I spend the most time, is tucked in a closet, with a chair. I usually stop at The Candy Store on the way and buy one or two huckleberry bonbons, then duck into this closet with a fascinating book about how our environment is doomed, and nibble on my chocolate.
I would love to hear what other stores meet my criteria so I can put them on my list. As you can see, I don’t favor one place more than others for their bookstores. I think it’s central to most towns and cities to have a bookstore with a big variety. I’m most pleased when that variety is of used books, and I’m happy to see that they don’t seem to be hurting despite all the electronic books available. What’s your favorite book store?
Monday, November 18, 2013
Convening Captured Clues from Across the Country…18 (Finale)
California(Jason’s Deli)
We woke up in Zion to see more blue sky than we had before, though there was still plenty of cloud cover. We hiked the Emerald Pools trail, taking longer than we expected, then came back and packed up, and head out.
Finally, the last stretch of our grand trip lay before us. My bet that we wouldn’t see the sun until California was foiled by sunny Nevada. We stopped at Jason’s Deli not far from Vegas, to use up a gift card from my bro. As we crunched on endless salad bar food, bowtie pasta and zucchini Panini’s and talking about all the delicious food we were going to create when we had our own space, we debated about the pros and cons of taking one more day. Environmentally, it would be best to go slower, camp somewhere along the way, and hit up the farmers markets on the way up the mountain. Personally, though, we were done with camping, pulling things out of and throwing things into our sad, stinky car, Stella.
So we decided to go for it, not knowing whether our trailer was ready or if anyone was around to let us in.
It was exciting turning on familiar roads as our car moved closer to the mountains. It had been almost 4 months since we left, and we had traveled thousands of miles since then, yet it all seemed so familiar. Although it was getting dark, the bends in the road were in our muscle memory, and our brains quietly traveled through the memories of this space.
We arrived at our trailer a little after dark, unloaded some necessities, and plopped down on our pleasantly hard bed, excited for what was to come.
Home sweet home? At last, I could unpack the car and organize many of the various items we’ve acquired. I could explore the ‘outdoor gym’ right outside our front step, and would soon meet all the new people moving in the cabins surrounding us.
This is the longest I have lived in one place since College, and at a year and a half, the longest job I have worked consistently…though even with the summer break, I find myself tiring of the monotony, or at maybe just the long, hard hours.
Habits are hard to break, but I’m thankful that my most prominent habit after spending 9 weeks in the desert uplands of New Mexico as a naturalist, is to observe. I observed some amazing things over the summer- Elks grazing in the early morning light, mountain ranges in hazy blue shadows with a frame of pink clouds at sunrise. I observed children making connections about the necessary skills of early humans in the New Mexico area by hunting a mammoth made of crude Baker tent cut-outs and some artistic touches of tempura paint. I saw spots of flowers emerge from quaint leaves to blooming beauties, and I became familiar with the patterns of a seemingly random sky. I saw children transform from shy and dependent to confident and leading conversations. I saw the land suck up every drop of gently falling water for five weeks, only to be unable to take in the consecutive downpours in my final week. After weeks of stopping to watch every desert beetle cross my path, taking note of any Sagebrush Lizard that scurried by or seeing tracks in the sand or holes in the duff and identifying what creature put them there, I was not going to be able to just shut down that sense.
In our weeks of travel, I tried to simply observe, but the idea of having a home to move into next year pushed those observations into ideas.
And now, here we are. I write this from my kitchen table in my 5th wheel trailer- home for 14 weeks. This may be our last time to live in a space for such a small amount of time. My family has lived in 3 different houses since I was born. I didn’t help with either moving process other than perhaps packing up some of my things. Since leaving my home for college, I have moved in and out of 16 different spaces. This is the first space that Amil and I will share completely, not having other rooms to retreat to or other roommates. Next year we will likely move again, into a bigger space of our own, livening the space with what we have learned from our friends and families and ourselves. I don’t feel defined by the stuff I own, but I am expressed by it, it inspires me. It shows the world and reminds myself who I am, where I fit in. However the most important aspect of where I have moved, is the space available outside, to explore, or discover or just be.
Our home is a studio space where I can write, color, explore, classify, and most importantly, Be. These are all the things that are important to me.
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