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Diamonds Are America’s Best Friend…

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

“I see great things in baseball. It’s our game — the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us.”
-Walt Whitman

Mets vs. Cards

After a stressful, pimple-inducing week, a night watching the Cards play at the “old” Shea Stadium, is pretty much the perfect thing to relieve me from being the “nervous, dyspeptic” person I was becoming. Fourteen innings that stretched into the next day can mean quite a night. But walking away with a Cards win…totally worth it.

Man, I love baseball.

Posted in back home, sports | 2 Comments »

Is This Normal?

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

After many earlier complaints about the lack of a permanent bed, I’ve finally been whole-heartedly looking at apartments to rent.

Now on the cusp of actually signing a lease, I’m having a minor panic attack. A lease is a commitment I haven’t made since, oh, about August 2003. Seriously. My LA roomies and I all signed one when we moved into our C by the Sea apartment. After the first year, however, no new lease was needed and everything was month-to-month.

So, the prospect of committing myself to a room for a year or more is a little frightening. My normal commitment phobia (the last time I realized I was in a relationship, I had nightmares for weeks) has only been compounded by the lack of commitments I had to make over the past year. During my travels, everything was wonderfully temporary. My inability to say where I’d be, who I’d be spending time with, or where I’d be earning money from was not only accepted by those I came across, but kind of celebrated. People were actually jealous of my lack of commitments.

But not here.

Everyone wants a commitment from me. They want proof that I’m here to stay.

And here I am debating on how committed I am. Are my travels really over? Am I here in NY for good? Can I live with someone I just met for the next year? I’ve got about 12 hours to really decide.

I think this is the closest I’ve come to a bit of a breakdown since I got back.

Posted in American living, Uncategorized, back home, other Americans | 4 Comments »

A Dose of Nostalgia and “Bad Medicine”

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

Bon Jovi concert at Central Park

OK. So admittedly the NYPL card wasn’t the highlight of my weekend. I know…what could be better?

Well, how about a free Bon Jovi concert in Central Park? Yep…I got to see one of the hair-bangers from my childhood perform on the Great Lawn Saturday night.

Now…I’m a huge Bon Jovi fan. I dished out way more money than nothing to see the guys perform at the Staples Center in LA. Oddly enough, two of my fellow concert companions weren’t quite as big of fans of good 90s bands as I was (one admitted to wikipedia-ing the group before the concert).

Still…we all had our own BJ memories from childhood (and college…and adulthood). I mean, who doesn’t? Even an Eastern European dude I dated a few years ago used to rock out to them.

And who hasn’t windmilled a tennis racket or air guitar to “Blaze of Glory”?

And when one of the group’s ballads pumped across the sea of 60,000 concert-goers, I’m sure many other US-raised peeps my age were smacked with memories similar to mine — at the first middle school dance, doing the stiff two-armed sway as both kids quietly sing the song under their breath because they’re so nervous about being thisclose to someone of the opposite sex.

Yep…pretty crazy how a few songs can take you back so quickly.

waiting on the Great Lawn in Central Park

But just out of curiosity…

Posted in back home, celebrities, media | 1 Comment »

A Total L 7

Sunday, July 13th, 2008

So one of the most exciting things that has happened to me in the past week was my getting a New York Public Library card.

I am a dork. I know this.

But, seriously, since I’ve been back in the States, I’ve spent an obscene amount of time at libraries.

L 7. Right here.

Posted in back home, education | 3 Comments »

“How Does It Feel to Be Back?”

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

Downtown St. Louis

After a year away, it seems like a logical question. Yet, I’ve got no logical answer. Actually, not even really ANY answer.

I mean, it feels like nothing. I haven’t had reverse culture shock. I haven’t had a day or even an hour or even a minute where I’ve sat in the quiet of a room wishing I could just be traveling again. I haven’t had a mental breakdown brought on by my now (relatively) crazy work schedule.

It’s not like I feel as though nothing has changed. A lot has changed. But I guess, I’ve just gotten OK with change and knowing others are having fun or hard times without me.

And in all honesty, I haven’t had time to sit around reflecting on life. Less than 24 hours after I landed I was taking care of a new job and the next day interviewing for an additional one. I worked nearly every single weekday in Missouri. By the time I left there, I just had the weekend to get me to NY for the next job. So, yeah, I’m working two part-time jobs (which basically equals a full-time one) and doing freelance writing. The work amount is by no means unbearable. But I am busy enough…and doing what I wanted to be doing…that to even indulge myself in any post-trip reflection seems a little too silly.

And since I’ve gotten back, I’ve actually kept up a somewhat crazy travel schedule. I mean, in the month of May I was in South Africa, Egypt, New York, Missouri, and California. In June I was in Missouri, Tennessee, and New York. July is actually my month of relaxation away from constant packing and unpacking (as of now). But once August rolls around, it’ll be lots of travel again…going to Colorado and Minnesota for both the national conventions (yes…I’m sure there will be some FABULOUS blog posts to be had from there!). October I’ll be in Georgia. November and December will see trips back to Missouri. Although the passport is getting a temporary rest, I basically still feel like the traveler I’d been for the last year.

I guess that whole without-a-permanent-bed thing also helps keep that feeling going.

Brooklyn Bridge in New York City

Posted in Uncategorized, back home | 2 Comments »

Asians Are So Hot Right Now

Monday, July 7th, 2008

frozen yogurt

And, no, I’m not talking about the Asian fetish sweeping American men. Nor am I talking about this Asian and the insanely hot/humid New York summer days.

I’m talking about the food. A couple of years ago, a friend wrote about the growing trend of frozen yogurt shops in the States. (She’s also the one that convinced me to try Red Mango in it’s South Korean home last year…) Sitting here in 2008 and eating a fro-yo from the East Village I have to say, I think her prediction is coming true.

It’s crazy. Really. Ten storefronts away from Pinkberry (also called Crack Berry because of it’s addictiveness) I found Very Berry. It literally took me 30 seconds to walk from Pinkberry to Very Berry (also Asian-American owned). Both were serving up plenty of Styrofoam cups of fro-yo and fresh fruit. And right across the street from them is Bamn!, a staffed place that serves food through vending machines. Basically about as Asian of an idea as there comes.

And as gentrification makes even deeper roots in the East Village, in just the last few years, there have been a plethora of Asian types of restaurants popping up. Want rice and something else? You name it. They’ve got it.

Yes. We’re taking over the world, people. This is world domination through frozen yogurt and kimchi.

Posted in *South Korea, back home, food/beverage | 4 Comments »

A Definitely Happy Holiday

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

NYC fireworks behind the Brooklyn Bridge

For my first real holiday back in the states, I had a bit of a decision to make. I knew I’d have to be in NYC for the 4th of July, but what to do??? Unlike when my friends and I were younger — and planned out the holiday weeks in advance — this year, come the last week of June, there were still no concrete plans.

Eventually a rooftop party surfaced. Could have been fun. Sure. But in my head, I couldn’t get over the question of why having a party WAY out in Brooklyn made sense…you could do that ANY day of the year. Fireworks only come once.

SO…a smallish group of 13 of us (mostly Peace Corps and grad school friends of another friend) gathered for a picnic at a park and set up shop for a great view of the pyrotechnics to come. Although we had a little rain come down right before the show, it was still a fabulous time watching the bursts of light popping behind the Brooklyn Bridge (the first time I’d seen it!), which had a couple of American flags waving from the top.

Definitely a great way to spend my first holiday back home (And WAY better than the 4th of July last year). It’s good to be back, America…

fireworks in NYC

Posted in back home, holidays | No Comments »

Mediatrotter

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

How good can a movie be that when you leave its premiere, nobody in your four-person group even talks about it? Even when one of those in the group was sort of involved in it? Not so good.

Wednesday I went with some old MU sports geeks to see the premiere of Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it’s a documentary about high school basketball stars on the verge of NBA stardom. Directed by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, the film centers around one of their games at Rucker Park in Harlem.

Sounds like a winner for a sports nerd like me…so why no love? Well, for starters, musician Yauch clearly considers himself more of a music man than a filmmaker, which makes for a pretty awful movie. I mean the end of the movie spent yards of film on music credits…detailing every mix in there, but does little to acknowledge the majority of the film clips used in it. Speaking of those clips…most were grainy Internet cut-and-paste jobs that not only make it nauseating to watch on the big screen but also — even before the credits started — left me with little faith that their makers got the same credit (or pay) that the musicians did for the film.

And the actual story? Well, I like documentaries. OK. I REALLY like documentaries. I love how they take the audience on a journey, and we get to see, hear, and feel what another person (or animal) sees, hears, and feels. But this movie doesn’t do that. This movie has no journey. And the whole thing was shot with just a week of following the guys (according to an AP article)…hardly the time it takes to really get to know a subject. Instead, we just get to hear that a court is famous, see some kids playing a game, and hear others talking about how hard they think their life must be (um, hello…”show don’t tell” is a pretty good rule of thumb when it comes to laying out a good story…why didn’t Yauch just SHOW us how hard their life must be?)

It got a lot of hype at the film festivals, and even the premiere drew its fair share of coverage (of course it probably helped that a few of the guys in it were going to be starring in the draft the next night and were in attendance for the big showing). But still, I have to say, it just wasn’t good enough. Fun to watch in the way that I’m sure it was fun to see Jordan play pro baseball…but all the time knowing that someone should just stick to his day job.

Posted in back home, media, sports | No Comments »

Love Me(mphis), Tender

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

the Rust family at Graceland

What did you do for pop’s day? My sister and I somehow convinced ourselves that a family trip to Memphis would be a great idea (as I was moving to NYC the next week, and she to Atlanta the following month) and gifted that to the rest of the fam.

I have to say…it’s only my second time to Memphis, but I’m still blown away by the people there. I really think it could be the friendliest city in the U.S. It’s definitely the friendliest I’ve been to. Love, love, love that place.

pink cadillac

Posted in back home | 3 Comments »

Boy Meets Korean

Sunday, June 22nd, 2008

OK…I know I’m definitely back in the US again. How? Well, my day started at 6:45 this morning, as I drug myself off my sister’s couch in preparation for my flight to NYC. After a long day of layovers, delays, and cancellations, I finally made it to LGA 12 hours later.

So, when I hungrily strolled around my (temporary) East Village neighborhood, I was eager to try one of the many Korean places around here. I go into the one that looks the most veg friendly, and I plop down and plow into the food without a thought in the world.

There’s all of three other tables there with customers, but as I’m gnawing away on my kimchi — the first I’ve had since I was in Korea a year ago — I see someone that looks familiar. Could it be? No. It can’t be. This guy’s got a lot of facial hair. And I don’t remember Shawn Hunter having facial hair.

But a few minutes more of stalker staring later, and it was confirmed. I’ve had my first celebrity sighting since returning to the US. Yep. I saw Rider Strong, the heartthrob of my teen years (I think I may have even had a BOP poster or two of him back in the day) again. Yep. Again. I actually saw him on the other coast about two years ago. But that was at a party for a friend of a friend who was releasing a book on memoirs of the sex industry.

Welcome back to land of the movie people, Jayna…

Posted in back home, media | 3 Comments »

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