Curiouser

The Avid Traveler Essentials Set

I don't know about the rest of you, but I love mini-travel versions of my favorite products.

This makes sense because I used to travel very often and am quite particular about what 'personal care' items I'm willing to use. Also, I'm a bit of a germaphobe and so am constantly armed with sanitizer, anti-bacterial wipes, etc. Alex doesn't really do a very good job of THOROUGHLY wiping his hands with the sanitizer I squeeze on to them, so I've gotten into the habit of forcing him to hold out his fingers for me to examine.... (prompting my mother and his mother, who have both seen me do this, to remind me that he is my boyfriend, not child, but WHATEVER! i don't need him touching me with his possibly infected fingers!).

Back to my love of travel-sized items: I'm one of those people who does a lot of things on a whim, but i don't like to feel unprepared. This is why all of my 'purses' are enormous caves with vast collections of items that i could possibly need at some point throughout the day. You know, in the rain forest, and/or desert, that I have to cross on my walk to the office (in Manhattan).

So, OF COURSE i was going to love this gift set from Minimus, a company that has travel size versions of practically everything that comes in a travel size version:

This set is just about perfect! It contains everything from a single use thermometer to a generic poncho. Not to mention travel toilet seat covers! I'm not sure if the $49.99 price tag is a bit much, but I will deffinitely be buying one for my Eastern European Hopscotch.

Will one set be enough or should I get Alex his own?

Fay Ku in NYC - Yey!

I am VERY excited!

Fay Ku is showing three of her new works in a group exhibition entitled "Four Artists: Works by Recent Pratt Alumni".

Fay Ku - Bridge, 2007

The show is curated by Eugenie Tsai, Director of Cultural Affairs at P.S. 1 Contemporary Arts Center.

The three other artists featured are Rosanna Martinez, Swoon and Jean Shin.

Swoon is a very interesting street artist. She uses intricate paper cut-outs and wheatpaste prints of figures that she then attaches to walls around NYC and other cities. There is an interesting article about her and other street artists in The New York Times New York section.

Swoon

Check out the Wooster Collective blog for more street art.

The Pratt Alumi show is located at 144 West 14th street (Bet 6th & 7th) on the second floor.

Show will be running from June 15 - July 28 and then again from Sept 4 - 15.

This Thursday, June 14th, there is an opening reception from 6:30PM - 8:30PM.

Birthday moment of assessment

June 2 was my 25th birthday.

Being an adored and teensy bit spoiled 'child', I got to have an entire weekend of celebrations for me me me!!!!

Ah yes, I'm so loved!

It's either that or everyone fears what may happen if my birthday (which I take very seriously) isn't properly noticed... although I'm not prone to grudge holding, for THAT kind of an offense, I will. I WILL.

My favorite part of every birthday is the Moment-of-Assessment that is a tradition in our family.  somewhere between the many toasts (to me, to mom, to dad, to grandparents, to sister, to boyfriend, to loved ones no longer with us, and all others potentially affected by me, or having had some sort of input into my current existence) that are a staple of Russian celebrations, I am asked to take stock of what I have accomplished over the past year and what I plan to do in the new one.

It's really a great tradition, a sort pulse check on life. we also do this on new year's eve, so it's like a semi-annual evaluation to make sure I'm headed in a, generally, good direction.

This is no simple pat on the back mind you. If my family or anyone else present feels that I have been under-performing and/or ignoring crucial components (such as health) to focus on others (such as work), they will let me know about it. They will readily propose action plans for immediate correction of said 'issues'.

This year's Moment-of-Assessment was really pretty awesome for me. We run around so much every day that it's easy to miss when our lives have taken a gradual shift, no matter how significant.

A year ago, I was in a job that made me desperately unhappy. I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong. Objectively speaking, it paid very well, it provided a clear career path, it was in the field I had majored in at school and I was very good at it. But boy did I HATE it, everything about it, every moment, ever detail.

My mom, who's into 'that kind of stuff', kept urging me to read Finding Your North Star by Marth Beck. I refused over and over because I'm NOT into 'that kind of stuff' and couldn't imagine a book with such a cheesy name having anything to do with my situation. Furthermore, I didn't even realize that I was in any sort of particular situation. I just thought that I was very tired from work, that I was constantly sick due to faulty genes and that all people my age hate their jobs, but keep at it for future benefit.

Meanwhile, without realizing it, in about a year and half, I had become this boring, sleepy person who trudged to work in the morning, sat nearly brain-dead at my desk and then ate dinner in front of the TV before bed. Actually, one time I fell asleep at my desk. And, since we didn't have cable, i sometimes resorted to watching Wheel of Fortune. Yes, this is true.

I found myself just floating along, disregarding all of the exciting plans I had made, forgetting the things I loved and was passionate about because they somehow didn't seem 'adult' or 'realistic' anymore.

Anyway, to cut this story of pain and sadness short, this is what happened: I finally got that book, I don't know what made me do it, but I'm glad I did!

When I read about generally energetic people who fall asleep all day and generally healthy people who get sick all the time... I realized that I WAS, in fact, in a 'situation' that needed to be corrected immediately. I felt like I had finally woken up after walking around in a daze for a year. And then I got to work.

After busting my butt in the search, I found a new job that I love, one that's in line with where I want to be in a few years. I'm also applying to NYU's Gallatin school for my masters. The topic I've chosen to study is a bit removed from my career, but it's a passion and I'm confident that I'll make good use of it.

So, my Moment-of-Assessment was great this year. I'm in a completely different place than just one year ago.

My two main resolutions for this year are to (1) whip my health back into shape and (2) get into Gallatin!

Woohoo!

(did this sound like some sort of product testimonial? it's not!... but since we're on the topic, i feel obligated to say this: do what you love! if you love it, you'll be good at it. if you're good at it, you'll be compensated well. this is what i've learned.... )

And ok, one more thing. if you're struggling to actually find what it is that you like and/or are good at, this is also a very good book:

Now, Discover Your Strengths

and you might want to find out what personality type you are on the Personality Pathways website, which i found through Polly Poppins awesome blog.

Travel Planning - the pain begins

Well well WELL!

As usual, Alex and I have waited until the last possible days to plan our trip and book our tickets.

Lucky for Alex, he's away with his family in Tunisia right now (he has a lot more vacation days that I do), so the entire pain of planning has fallen to me.

All I have to say about that is as follows: Since he's not here to help out, he's just going to have to love what i come up with. And I mean LOVE IT. And praise me endlessly for my resourcefulness and other spectacular qualities.

The original plan, as mentioned in a prior post, was to:

• Fly to Moscow (spend 3 days)
• Train to St. Petersburg (3 days)
• Boat to Tallinn (1 day)
• Train to Riga (1 day)
• Fly to Budapest (1 day)
• Train to Prague (3 days)
• Fly home to NYC...

But now... I can't find an easy way to get to Tallinn from St. Petersburg. It's also proving difficult to find an affordable way to get from Riga to Budapest. And from Budapest to Prague... Damn you EasyJet for not (really) servicing Eastern Europe!!!!

Maybe I should consider scrapping Budapest from the route all together?... i don't know!

In the meantime, here are some great websites for planning a trip around Eastern Europe:

Real Russia.Com - British website, has a lot of information and will help you get a visa

Bravofly - great way to search for cheap flights within Europe across many airline companies at the same time

EasyJet - this is an obvious one... great cheap flights all over Europe (Western Europe, primarily)

Lonely Planet - a great overall tool. A lot of train information...

Maps of Europe

Frank Gehry invites you to "Fuck Frank Gehry"

I read this funny bit on Gothamist, who got it from a New Yorker article by Lauren Collins.

The short version of the story goes like this:

Some people in Spain were very angry with Gehry's design for the Bilbao Guggenheim. So they started wearing "Fuck Frank Gehry" t-shirts. The shirts were designed in brown and orange by Barnaby Harris who had long been looking for a follow up to his big hit - the "Fuck Yoga" t-shirt.

Then Gehry's driver saw the shirt at a super-bowl party and got one for THE GEHRY himself. THE GEHRY turned out to have a good sense of humor and started wearing the shirt around - at work and to the gym.

Then the shirt really caught on. Barnaby Harris says:

“First, someone from his office called and wanted me to deliver one to a friend of Frank’s who was giving a lecture at Baruch College called ‘Starchitecture,’ ” Harris recalled. “A week later, he called again: ‘Would you please send some shirts to Bruce Ratner?’ A couple of weeks ago, I got a third call: ‘Frank needs two in every color and every size.’”

NEAT-O - i say.

If i were Gehry, i would take this is as a big 'ol compliment. You have to be 'kind of a big deal' (in the words of the wonderful Ron Burgundy) to inspire such strong feelings! 

Anyway, Gehry is used to inspiring people to great shows of contempt:

"You know, when Bilbao was presented publicly, there was a candlelight vigil against me.And then there was a thing in a Spanish paper saying, ‘Kill the American Architect.’ That was scary. So I stood beside the President every time there was an event. I figured, if they’re gonna kill me . . . Anyway" - said Gehry.

People have pretty much hated everything he has built - at first glance. And then somehow, all of his buildings acquire a huge following and love and respect of many.

Personally, I am a huge fan, even though I generally prefer classics.

How can you not love these flowing lines that make his buildings look as though they are constantly in motion? Catching the light and playing with the surrounding world. Wonderful! - say I.

Bilbao Guggenheim

Bilbao Guggenheim at Nights

 

The Dancing House in Prague

For those not yet in love with Gehry's work, Wikipedia has a good general article.

If you want the shirt (for only $33!) you can buy it at fuckyoga.com.

A lovely morning surprise

Well, I had quite the lovely morning surprise yesterday.

I woke up around 11AM, thrilled to have slept in on a Monday (the worst day of the week, as is well known).

I pulled on some jeans (of medium cleanliness) and began what I THOUGHT would be a leisurely stroll down to Dunkin' Donuts for an Ice-Hazelnut-With-Skim-Mile-And-Three-Splendas.

I walked into the park across the street from my building and what do you think I saw?

No Guesses?

This is what I saw:

An old man sitting on a bench with NO PANTS ON!

Mind you, I'm lucky enough to live in a very nice part of Manhattan, not the type of area that one expects to see such sights.... not that 'one' should expect that anywhere, but you get the point. There were plenty of mothers and babysitters with their little kiddies running around, but no one had thought to do anything about the man presenting his business for all to see.

So, of course, I took it upon myself.

I called 911 and told the dispactcher that there was a man exposing himself in the park. She asked me what he was wearing. I told her that I honestly can't recall what he was wearing because I was more focused on what he was NOT wearing - HIS PANTS! Geez.

Being the exemplary semaritan that I am, I then stood at the corner and warned all unsuspecting parents about to make their way into the park about the menace awaiting within until our friendly men in blue arrived.

(By the way - WHAT is Wrong with people? Why did none of the mothers running around the park with their children do anything? The man and his valuables were pretty hard to miss! Did they think it was alright for their children to learn the facts of life in such a special way?)

Anyway, when I finally made it to Dunkin' Donuts, I found the young Lebonese proprietor standing in the doorway, hollaring at a man on a bicycle in a sweet sweet mixture of English curses and miscellanious words from at least two other languages.

I politely waited for a lull in the commotion and asked if I could please have my usual order at which point she turned to me and yelled: "Can't you see I'm busy?!" and continued her tirade.

Ergo, my friends, my Memorial Day, I-Slept-In-On-A-Monday bliss was ruined and I was forced to run (RUN) to Starbucks, which I have been trying to quit, and gulp down a triple-grande-skim-mocha-with-whip to calm my nerves.

Russian Farm Workers

Below are some photographs of Russian farm workers from the 1980's. Isn't it difficult to imagine that they were taken barely 20 years ago in an 'industrialized nation'? Even more interesting, or unimaginable, is that in most of Russia, people still live this way today. The life of the average farmer has absolutely nothing to do with that of a Muscovite zipping around the city and blabbing on his cell phone.

Much of Soviet-era photography is amazing in the ways it obfuscated reality with happy, smiling agrarian faces. Never mind that roughly 10 million people died of hunger during Stalin's Five-Year-Plans.

Woman picking cabbage in front of old church

A farmer shows off her bedroom

A cowboy with a cigarette

I found the above photos on Marxists.org, a somewhat strange website that non-the-less has some very interesting photographs.

Now - compare these Soviet farm photos with this:

One of Moscow's new buildings

 

Granted it's a skewed comparison - over 20 years and the fall of communism separate these images, but the larger point still holds.

Here are two photographs of Russian farmers taken in 2002 and 2006, respectively.

 

Some methodology may have changed and the quality of the film used sure has improved! - But life hasn't. Not all too much, anyway.

More Oded Bality

Here are some more photographs by Oded Bality - winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for news photography.

An Israeli man holds a holy book and an automatic weapon - 2004

   

Two Priests in the Snow - this image is for sale on Art.com

Burning the Israeli flag

 

Much of Oded's photography seems to center around the basic contradictions of war and religion. He captures moments in which one particular element somehow just doesn't fit with the rest. These incongruous combinations make his photographs particularly arresting.

First Pass Route

Although Alex hasn't yet agreed to everything, here is the route I would like to take on our

Eastern European Hopscotch:

Note: I made this gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous 'drawing' all by myself and am VERY proud. 

We will leave NYC on Saturday June 30th and arrive in Moscow on July 1. Spend three days on my family dacha,  read books, swin, walk in the woods and get fed by my amazing grandmother.

From Moscow we will take the train to St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga, Budapest and finally, Prague. Yey!

Travel Planning

Much to my general ire, I only get 10 days of vacation per year. This is very upsetting under any circumstances, but especially so when you take into account the facts that I love to travel, grew up traveling, AND work some pretty crazy hours.

ANYWAY, from now until Jan 1, 2008, i only have 4 official vacation days left. However, I am determined to somehow stretch this into two weeks with careful planning around the 4th of July weekend and some pathetic pleas of exhaustion (both physical and mental!) to my boss.

My very preliminary plans are as follows:

Hopscotch through Eastern Europe

1. Arrive in Moscow - my motherland, beloved place of birth and location of idyllic dacha.

Alex and I will (this time) ignore Moscow's many attractions and spend three days walking around the woods, buying fresh milk, saying hello to old ladies and their pet goats. And enjoying the banya, of course.

2. St. Petersburg - as I write my application for NYU's Gallatin school (due in September), I will need this visit... seeing as how my planned thesis centers around Russian literature, which was primarily born in Peter's capital.

3. Prague!! (more details to come)

4. Budapest or Copenhagen, or both!... we're not sure yet.

Ah! I'm so excited and will begin planning tomorrow. Alex, being the nerd that he is, will then buy at least 4 guide books to every city we plan on visiting and compile detailed itineraries.