Where an Adult Can be a Kid

As a awaited the refund from my latest round of student loans for the semester I still wanted to be able to have fun on my last weekend before classes started again. As I was brainstorming on cheap or free things one can do in New York City that also doesn't involve being outside, since it was like 12 degrees outside. One option that came to mind was FAO Schwartz. I've always wanted to check it out, especially since whenever I think of it that giant piano scene from Big comes to mind. For lack of better ideas that's how I ended up spending part of my last Saturday of freedom for the next couple months. Also I convinced Brian to come with me, even though I'm not sure he was as excited as I was.

As we walked into this wonderland of children's toys an actor dressed as a Nutcracker welcomed us and instructed us to 'feel free to act like kids'. This is something I need no instructing to do. The store greeted me with giant dino stuffed animals and bright colors everywhere. There were rows and rows of stuffed animals stacked neatly on shelves. Two foot tall Ugly Dolls were on sale for $10 a piece! I really wanted to buy one, but couldn't figure out what I would do with a two foot tall Ugly Doll. Looking at the stacks of stuffed toys was almost mesmerizing. Here is a group of harp seals dressed up for Christmas.


My favorite part of the description introducing the customer to the harp seals is that it specifically listed it's favorite hobby as sleeping. But aren't they adorable?

One thing that FAO Schwartz does to add to the atmosphere of the store is that every brand or type of toy has it's own little section. Some of these sections are extra special and get actors or some sort of toy specialists to either demonstrate the toys or create a special world within which the toys exist. Here I am watching an Ugly Doll play soccer with some little kids:



One of the 'worlds' I was anxious to see was the Leigh Middleton Doll Collection. One of the actresses who had played a nurse in the orphanage was recently featured on This American Life sharing a story about the latent racism shown through a bunch of Upper East Side moms buying over-priced dolls for their children. I won't recount the story here, but if you're interested in knowing what I'm talking about just go to thisamericanlife.org and listen to Act 3 of episode 347: Matchmakers, aired on 1/9/2009. After hearing the show and then seeing the place where it all went down, I felt a kind of awkwardness. Like I'd been let in on some secret of the world that the average person looking at these actresses in costume and babies in incubators wouldn't pick up on. The story added a kind of sinister edge to something that would otherwise seem completely innocuous. That's why I don't have any pictures of the Leigh Middleton Doll Collection; I felt too awkward.

When I got to the giant piano, I had almost forgotten that was one of the main things I was there to see since there were so many other wondrous, colorful things on the way to the piano tucked in a corner on the second floor. I refrained from dancing on the piano myself since it was occupied by toddlers with their parents and I didn't want to be the big mean kid taking up all the space. The toddlers seemed to be enjoying it though. The piano was in the same area as the Legos, so I entertained myself by meeting Lego Batman.



He had a firm butt.

After all this I was feeling a little over-stimulated and started to make my way back out. My sentiments were echoed in a kid I overhead asking their parent 'Can we just go?' in a tired overwhelmed tone. On the way out I got to see the rubix cube guy solve a cube in under a minute and discovered that a German toy company still makes Smurfs.




Overall, I enjoyed my time at FAO Schwartz and my brief regression into childhood. I was also happy to head next to the MoMA store, where I could look at grown-up toys and pretend to be an adult for awhile.

What I'm Thankful for This Year

Tofurkey.

My recent stab at veganism prevented me this year from having my traditional Thanksgiving salmon. When my mom asked me what I wanted instead, I started thinking about recipes involving things like seitan and whole wheat panko and other things that are probably a lot harder to find in Lacrosse, WI than they are in Brooklyn. Then I remembered the Tofurkey. Tofurkey is something I've often made fun of in my mind and thought I would never be feasting on one myself. I mean, come on, does the word Tofurkey sound like something you really want to eat? Also, I'd never actually seen one and kind of assumed it was tofu pressed into the shape of a small turkey. I should definitely know better considering I eat Gardenburger "ribs" on a regular basis and know that those are good among most other meat substitutes I've tried. I think I was just stuck on the name. I thought since I came to accept and enjoy Tofurkey this Thanksgiving, I would share my Tofurkey with you all too.

Here's what it looks like out of the box:



Ok, I admit it may not look tasty at this point. However, as I learned, an integral part of the Tofurkey preparation is a kind of baste made of oil and sage and other yummy spices.










Here's my Tofurkey all snug in it's casserole dish ready to go in the oven.










All done! Now doesn't that look yummy?! Check out the stuffing in the middle!







Here you'll notice how the Tofurkey, now covered in mushroom gravy, compliments the traditional (and vegan) Thanksgiving meal. Mmmm....








All gone! It really did taste good. AND the mushroom gravy recipe I used came printed on the side of the box and was most excellent. I hope you all have gained a new appreciation for the Tofurkey as I have. Really, it's all about understanding.

Things I've Learned from the City

1) If you're wearing stilettos DO NOT walk across subway grates.
2) Always have a book to read on the subway.
3) It's best not to get attached to certain stores or restaurants, but better to appreciate the constant change that makes the city alive.
4) Always buy tickets to shows early. You're competing with way more people here.
5) It's completely possible to feel completely alone in the middle of a crowd.
6) Never stop in the middle of the sidewalk or on the subway stairs.
7) The longer you're here the more annoying it is when someone stops in the middle of the sidewalk or on the subway stairs.
8) Don't take the rudeness seriously. Plus, if you don't it's hilarious.
9) Just because it's an express train, it doesn't mean you're going to get to your destination quicker.
10) Never feel self conscious because you're in New York and these people have seen plenty of weird stuff.

Keeping Kosher

As most of you may know, my internship this year is at a medical center. A Jewish medical center to be exact. These days East Flatbush, Brooklyn is certainly not a Jewish neighborhood anymore, but the Jewish origins of the hospital can still be felt. There is a Rabbi's office, and kosher options in the cafeteria. My favorite though, is a kosher vending machine I just noticed a few days ago. Upon noticing it, I immediately became fascinated by this vending machine that was like no vending machine I've ever seen. (And I've been to Japan!)

What makes this vending machine special is not just the fact that it's kosher, it's the selection! What do you do when you're craving potato knishes? The kosher vending machine! Cheese pizza? Kosher vending machine! Onion rings? Kosher vending machine!

Ok, you're probably getting the idea. But I mean, the food is not only kosher, but completely junk food! I mean, what would you really expect from a vending machine, but it just seems extra special gross that the food will somehow be heated up by the machine before it's dispensed into your waiting hands. I just really like imagining though that there's some kind of system that will dispense and microwave your food for you. Food that's been sitting for who knows how long in a vending machine.

So yeah, anyone wanna split some onion rings or mozerella sticks? I hear it's kosher!

Picking up Strays

First of all, I promised I tried to update again from time to time now that I've left you all for the city that never sleeps. So, I'm doing my best. See, look! I'm posting!

Wandering around my neighborhood I often see things left on the curb calling out 'Hey! Take me home with you! I'm free.... and you're a starving grad student... you know you want to.' These things range from clothes, to books, to furniture, and even mini-Christmas trees. Generally, though, I resist the temptation. Anyone who helped me move knows that I already have plenty of material possessions to fill my apartment so there's really no need to add to the clutter. This past Sunday, I finally gave in. On my way to go meet friends for dinner (and eat AMAZING asparagus tempura sushi) I noticed this sad little wooden blue chair with a woven seat. I know the description doesn't sound impressive, but I said to myself 'If that's still there on my way home, I'm picking it up.'

So an hour or two later, filled with sushi and sake I make sure to take the same street home, and there it is. My little stray blue chair. I veer over to it's side of the sidewalk and snatch it up without even slowing my pace. It may have looked strange to the guy passing by on his bicycle, but in New York City you don't have to worry too much about looking strange. I got my new pet safely up to the fourth floor, and here it is sitting proudly in my room:


Ok, yeah I see that the seat is kinda busted. But! I have a plan. Just picture a new seat woven out of neckties. Yeah, you like that, huh? I really think it will look great when I get done with it, and then you'll all want to come visit if only to see the finished chair. Plus, stray furniture is easier to care for than stray pets and it can give me a creative outlet. I'll just have to start putting my other stuff on the curb to make room for my finds :-)

P.S. Nicole- I finished putting the mirror in the window frame. yay!

Wear Old Clothes and Bring a Towel

I'm thoroughly convinced that the most exciting things happen without planning. Last Friday afternoon I wasn't sure what I was going to do to celebrate the start of the weekend. Then right before the end of my work day I get a wonderful call from Nicole. "My friend Peter is planning something. He said to wear old clothes and you should probably bring a towel. Do you wanna come?" Of course I wanted to come. What was going to happen exactly was a secret, but fun was promised. I met up with Nicole and we drove to a house in Cary. We were met by the organizers who said that something exciting was going to happen once more people arrived. We waited anxiously as more cars showed up, and then a drum starting beating in the distance. Peter and his friends came from behind the building ready to anoint our faces with war paint. Here's what Nicole, Sandra, and I looked like post war paint ceremony:


Then it was time to follow the guys down to 'the site'. We got in the car and parked at a library surrounded by new development. Wtf? We crossed the street and walked over to a hill to discover what the guys had been planning for the evening. On the hill was the longest strip of plastic I've ever seen with a kiddie pool at the bottom filled with water, flour, and krispy kream donuts. The plastic was greased down with cooking oil to aid the adult slip and slide and we were provided garbage bags to protect us, somewhat. They had dubbed the event 'sleuging'. The hill was incredibly muddy from the rain that day, and the slip and slide didn't actually work particularly well, but Nicole and I discovered that rolling worked just fine :-) Also, at one point a donut fight ensued. Basically, it was a night of muddy muddy chaos and fun. Here's some after shots:




So the moral of the story is, if some one calls you and invites you to a secret event that requires wearing old clothes, you should probably do it.

Because my parents made me...

...I'm finally posting pictures from Yosemite.

The guide book said this is one of the most photogenic points in the park.



I'm bonding with the Sequoias.



Raven!



Sunset!



My awesome rental bike.



Biking through the meadow.



My Bro.



Across the valley from Half Dome.

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Japan!

Finally the video is complete!

You can see Justin's version of events here. You probably shouldn't listen to him though.

It's like being Justin Timberlake and Brittany Spears!

I first arrived in Japan, and headed to Kyoto with Justin as my guide. We started out our first full day with sightseeing at the Nijo castle. Everything was going along normally. We viewed the castle among throngs of school children and then headed out to see the surrounding gardens. Then we were approached by a group of school children asking 'Shall we take a photo with you?' Which, we did, and then they asked for our signatures.

Then we went on to see the Golden Pavilion. Again it was crowded with school children. Everything was going along normally, when two girls approached me with some kind of assignment they had to ask some one some questions in english and get a signature. So I answered their questions, and then the rest of their classmates realized that some native english speakers had been found and came over to get our signatures as well. We were signing papers left and right! Since the Japanese don't have signatures, apparently having one is really cool. Eventually we were able to get away from the group, after taking the obligatory group photo. Our sightseeing continued on to the Silver Pavilion. They Silver Pavilion was less crowded, so we had a little breathing room. We wandered around the gardens, and down a path to a little shrine. It was a dead end, so we turned to make our way to the main path but our way was blocked by a group of school children holding a camera. 'Shall we take a photo with you?' 'Sure!'. This was the last with our brush with Japanese fame, but we got a photo of our own this time!

Second Job

I mean come on, just 40 hours a week of work is totally easy and lame. Why not take a second job?! Yeah, I'd basically whore myself out to any clinical psyc lab if I thought it would increase my chances of getting into grad school next year. So I'll be adding another 10 hours to my work week doing some stuff for the Child and Family Policy Lab at Duke. I feel a little dirty that I'll be going over to Duke campus, but I think I can handle it. I may just be a little less social for the next few weeks.

Palm Trees and Blizzards

So I survived my first grad school interview. After spending an entire day traveling I was picked up from the Phoenix airport by my grad student host and driven directly to a party being held for all the interviewees. The party was a barbeque set up at one of the grad students apartment complexes. When we arrived, my host pointed me towards the food, and either she didn't know what was going either, or I misunderstood, but I promptly walked over to the party taking place next to ours and introduced myself to some random person, while also taking some of their food. They then explained to my that they were a separate party, and were very nice about the whole thing. They also had good spinach dip.

I think the rest of my time in AZ went pretty well. I'm anxiously awaiting the decision of the admissions committee, which could come at any time. The campus has a 'palm walk' lined with over a hundred palm trees. I think I could live in a place like that.

Tuesday morning I packed up my things and got on a plane to go home. I just had to change planes in Cleveland, with a two hour layover. So, when we landed in Cleveland, the snow had begun to fall, but it didn't seem to affect our landing and my flight to Raleigh was still listed as on time. Unconcerned, I proceeded to use most of my remaining cell phone battery on calling my parents to entertain me through the layover period. As I chatted away, the snow got worse, and while my flight still said on time, we still weren't boarding. Eventually the flight said it would be delayed 15 minutes. Then it just said delayed. As the hours started to wear on, I started to get more worried. I knew nothing about Cleveland, and had nowhere to stay if necessary. Would I have to sleep in the airport?! I finally admitted to myself that I wasn't getting out of Ohio any time soon, and got myself a seat on a plane leaving the next day at 7pm.

While in line to make the flight reservation change I met a woman named Cassie, about the same age as me and also trying to get to Raleigh. Me and Cassie became disaster friends. Since we were both poor we decided to get a hotel room together. We made a reservation at the Ramada and waited for the airport shuttle. The first time around the shuttle filled up before we got a seat. After waiting in the cold for about an hour another Ramada van showed up but it wasn't our Ramada, it was another Ramada. We estabished this with the van driver and stood outside for another 15minutes while this van just sat there. Then the van driver waived us over. We thought he'd taken pity on us and was going to take us to our Ramada, but no. When we ended up at the wrong hotel we had the guy take us back to the airport. During this time the correct shuttle came and went, so we were stuck waiting for about another hour. Of course when we got to the hotel they only had single rooms left and we could only get a cot if we paid extra. Awkward...

I did make it back 24 hours later than scheduled. At that point I was just happy to be home. And that $7 beer at the airport was totally worth it.

My Blog Voice

So now that I'm back in the States, I'm not sure what to do with this blog space of mine. The spokesman of Possum Hollar says I need to find my 'blog voice' I'm not sure if my blog voice will come out as a squeak or a roar. Or maybe a Kramer impression.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Also I have an interview at Arizona State. Score!

Traditions

In my family, Christmas Eve is the liquor holiday. It's always good to have traditions you can look forward to together. What's your family Christmas traditions?

Christmas Time in Germany and My Journey Home

First of all, the Christmas season in Germany manages to mantain a bit of Christmas magic that I feel has been lost to me in recent years. Of course, shopping crowds on the weekends are just as bed as American ones, but the thing that brought it back for me were the Christmas (Weihnachts) Markets. The started being build late November, and then in that first week of December all the Christmas cheer was released! Wooden stands, with mossy roofs selling everything from ornaments and candles, to fish sandwhiches. On the lake, there is an ice bar (complete with a bar actually made from ice), and a skating rink. Next to the Rathaus, there is a giant Christmas tree made of lights. Of course I realize this is all just Christmas shopping, but it manages to be much more quaint and there are many handmade good available, which I always appreciate. The availability of Gluehwein helps too.

I'm not blogging from my computer, so I can't provide you with photos. I suppose how I got to this computer is perhaps interesting as well.

My last weeks in Germany were filled with hanging out with my friends, and eating at all the cheap Turkish eateries I knew I would miss once I was in the US again. I went to my first Hamburg University party, and I managed to stay out until 6am at the China Lounge, said to be one of the best discos in Europe. I also managed to find time to pack my things, clean my apartment and say goodbye. I'm never the best at goodbyes. Not because I'm sad, but because I always feel like its more of a 'Auf Weidersehen' than a 'Tschuess'. I suppose it doesn't have to be goodbye forever anyway.

So, I loaded my things into the taxi 5:45 Tuesday morning, and arrived 8:15 Tuesday evening at the Sacramento airport. Although I was silly with jet lag, I was coherent enough to have a bit of culture shock. For one, five dollar bills look huge. They just do. Also, you guys changed them while I was gone. I hadn't heard English spoken with a southern accent for quite some time, and I'd forgetten how attached Americans are to their cell phones. I'd also forgotten how much more Americans smile at people they don't know.

On the 18th I'll be returning to NC and I hope to see all your happy smiling faces soon. :-)

The Hamburg Fischmarkt: An Instructional Guide

One thing Hamburg is known for is the Sunday morning Fischmarkt. Every Sunday at 5am. The thing to do is to stay out all night on the Reeperbahn and then get breakfast there in the morning. It's one of those things I had to do before I left. So here's your guide to a successful Hamburg Fischmarkt visit.

Let me introduce you to my associates.

Lilianna, 25, Mexico

Sylvia, 18, Catalonia

10PM- Begin the night with a falafel or doener.


11pm- Arrive on the Reeperbahn. Enjoy your freedom to drink on the streets.

12am- Go to a disco. Dance.

2am- Up your alcohol content at Lucky Star. A bar offering shots for less than a euro each.

From left to right: A Mexicaner (Lili), Jaegermeister (Me), Tequilla (Sylvia)

3am- Get pissed at drunken German for not separating American politics from the rest of America.

3:30am- Take drunken pictures of yourself in the street.

3:35am- Go back to Disco. Dance.


4:45am- Take nap in disco.

5:00am- Refuel at a Turkish run restaurant.


5:45am- Walk to the Fischmarkt. Shop at the wide variety of stands outside, including a stand for giant stars. Don't worry, there's fish too.


6:30am- Go inside the Fischmarkt building and enjoy your last drink of the night/morning...


...or fall asleep at the table.


8:30am- Get home. Sleep.


I hope you've found this instructional and useful and that this guide will guide you in all your life endeavors.

Passing Wisdom Through Generations

A small look into my life as an au pair:

Germany will be the death of me

Since being in Germany, my clutziness has skyrocketed. I've fallen down stairs at least 5 times, once hard enough to give myself whiplash. I fell off my bike twice, giving myself a new scar on the palm of my hand. And once, tripped over unevenness in the sidewalk and fell down. This last trip down the stairs finally sent me to the doctor. I managed to land directly on my foot, which twisted and my ankle made a disgusting series of pops. I tried to pretend I could just walk it off, but the next day it was swollen enough to look like I didn't really have an ankle. So after procrastinating a few more days, and looking in my German-English dictionary for the words 'ankle' and 'sprained', I finally went to the doctor. The x-rays said it wasn't broken, and I was kind of disappointed since I've never had a cast before. I did get this nifty red bandage though.


Anyone wanna sign my bandage?

Eine Kleine Hexe

So... Halloween in Hamburg. I won't say that it sucked. But well, look at how excited that I was about Halloween this year.


Since Trick-or-Treating is apparently somewhat new in Germany, they don't know much about costumes. I just ended up being a witch (hexe). Kristina told me its not even normal to be a cat. Whatever.

Kristina was also a witch. In costume and demeanor. I agreed to go Trick-or-Treating with Kristina and her friends for my Halloween celebration. The main disagreement of the night was over what they wanted to do to people without candy. Apparently they find it appropriate to put toothpaste on people's doors, and if they saw a light on they would pound on the doors and windows and yell rude things, thinking this would make people want to come to the door. So I spent most of the night feeling embarrassed and wanted not to be associated with their hooliganism. These are the people that make Halloween everywhere un-fun.

I did think it was interesting though, that we some one came to the door, they normally genuinely tried to give us something. We were going around a little bit later than the younger kids so some of the people were already out of candy. When they were out of the normal Halloween candy, people would give us whatever sweet they had in the house. One guy gave us some ice cream cones out of his freezer. Another guy gave us a big bag of gummy bears and a packet of cashews. Also the rule about not taking unwrapped candy doesn't apply here. As long as its sweet, we'll take it.

I'm so having a Halloween party when I get back to make up for this.

The Wilda Family Reunion

Two weeks ago my parents and my brother made the flight from NC and California to have a small bit of my Germany experience. It was like American Blitzkreig x 4! Only not really. So we all hung out in Hamburg for a few days, while they recovered from jet lag. Plus Arun was there. Yay Arun! Then we headed off to my favorite city in Germany, Berlin, just in time for my birthday. I nearly killed my family with all the walking, and then they nearly killed me. My birthday wasn't much of an occasion. I did get a piece of fancy chocolate cake at Lafeyette's.










Also for dinner, I bought myself falafel by everyone's favorite artist colony on Oranienburgerstrasse. I <3 Berlin.




After Berlin we took the night train to Salzburg. There we were surrounded by everything Mozart. I think Salzburg was my favorite, partly because there wasn't alot to do there so we could just wander around. And there's enough city to wander around in.

Then it was back to Germany, in Munich. There I got to drink a beer as big as my face. Also, the waitress at the other Beer Garden we went to gets cool points for speaking to me in German and the rest of my family in English. Near Munich is the Dachau concentration camp. I can't really describe what it's like to visit a concentration camp. Although I'm sure you can imagine it's not a happy day.I'll tell the rest of my story through the animals I met. Here's the cat I met in the Black Forrest.



And here's a snail I met in a castle in the Rhein Valley. I didn't pet the snail though.




Ok, I realize this has been an inadequate post. But I can't bore you with all the details and photos of every single place we went. And there are funny stories, but they're stories they stay better within the family. Like peeing the in English Garden in Munich. So you guys are stuck with the snail.

I'll be back in a month and 3 weeks anyway.