Cookies 2010

It seems I have been negligent posting about my end of year cookie baking, so I'm going to catch up.

In 2010, I baked cookies with my neighbor and her youngest daughter.

"cooking" by cooling in the fridge:


The results!


The taster...


"Good!"


****************************
Cookies of the Past

2005

2007, a catch-up retrospective

2008

2009

Social Experience

I got sick of making banal status updates on Facebook over the summer.

At the same time, I received a gift in the mail of the book "This is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life." This is a transcript of the commencement speech given to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College by David Foster Wallace.

I thought it was entertaining, it made me laugh, and it was printed as single-page quotes.
I also like the message.
To sum it up... you have the control to chose how you think, and thereby react, to the situations of your life.

So I entered the speech on my status one day at a time.

I was surprised by who commented on the words, and what they said. I really enjoyed seeing those responses and engaging with people in a way that was more considerate than like, "LOL", and "cute dress".

A couple weeks ago, I was talking to a friend of mine about the experience, and she told me that she figured out that the words weren't mine, so looked up one phrase to find the author. She told me that he suffered his whole life from severe depression, and after weaning himself off of his medication, hit a low that led to him to commit suicide.

When I think about how thoughtful his words are in the book, and how focused they are on the individual taking charge of the thought process, I realize that only someone very concerned with the condition of allowing your "default" consciousness to control you would have composed a speech like that.

Anyway, this was an interesting exercise to use the Facebook forum in a different way, that paid off FOR ME!
and since its MY Facebook page, y'all gonna live in my world if you come over!
:-)

for the record

I am not who you say I am, nor am I who you think I am.
I am who I want to be, in this moment only.

And the reverse

Drive
Walk
Up
Up
Walk
Train
Up
Up
Walk
Walk
Fly
Up
Walk
Walk
Down
Walk
Up
Down
Train
Walk
Down
Walk
Bus
Walk
Drive

First 3 hours of Monday

Drive
Park
Walk
Bus
Walk
Up
Up
Walk
Down
Down
Train
Up
Walk
Up
Walk
Fly
Walk
Down
Train
Down
Walk
Bus
Walk
Drive

Three days later, reverse.

Another World

Today we went for a bike ride on the W&OD Trail. This is one of those rails-to-trails routes and goes across Fairfax county.
We went with friends who have a young son and another on the way. The little man sat inside one of those bike trailers and was zoned out most of the time - man, we all wished we could go in there.
We started in Vienna. Such a cute town! There was a farmer's market going on, and the little downtown was all done-up with flowers.

The trail is just GREEN. Mostly flat, with some nice hills to get you going and give you momentum. We stopped on in the middle for a break at a huge pond/lake that was fully of amazing big white and pink water lilies. It was so peaceful and magnificent.

There were probably a hundred other people out there, walking, running, riding. There is a whole etiquette and you catch on pretty quickly.

A very fun day, and so glad I have a bike!

The Death of a Craft

It is a sad day for the crafter.

It is not possible to purchase supplies to create macrame.
It's based on demand, I'm told.
Evidence indicates that if you are not into scrapbooking, you may as well watch TV.

I will not be defeated! www.google.com, here I come! I know you will provide.

The Realities of Technology

I just realized that there are six telephone numbers associated with me, but really you can only reach me of you call two of them; and then its on the same piece of equipment.

Here's what I have:

- cell phone

- work extension in Phoenix

- work extension in Alexandria

- work extension in DC

- blackberry

- aircard

My work extension in Phoenix is forwarded to my cell phone, so you call either number, you make the same phone ring.

I am only at the desks in Alexandria and DC one to two days a week each.

My Blackberry does not have a phone plan, so call that number all you want, nothing is gonna happen (actually, I have no idea what happens, I should call it and see).

Obviously, the aircard does not receive calls.

That is a LOT of numbers to keep track of! I only know the first two to give to you because in my mind, the other four are irrelevant!

This all sounds like good justification for why I don't have a house phone.

I ran 10 miles

So, I did my first road race today (well, there was that 5k for big brothers/big sisters, but I just don't think that's the same kinda thing cause it wasn't a goal, I didn't train, and I sucked).
Anyway...
It was the Baltimore 10-mile run. Remember the challenge?

Some random thoughts about running a race:

- don't SMOKE next to a running route. Step back, away from the runners.
- My quads are not built for longer than 5 miles. If it comes up again that I will be running further than 5, I will need to engage the Tour de France training scheme.
- I don't do very well in the heat. Thank God I moved.
- The fire department had a hose going at about 7 miles. I ran right through it. THANK YOU FIRE FIGHTERS!
- At about mile 7.5 I passed a dead black cat... that was horrible.
- The finish line fell on my head. It was this big inflated plastic banner and as I was getting toward it, the side supports started deflating. Some cops pushed it up and motioned for me to run under. As I did, it fell on my head.

I haven't decided yet if I'll let any photos go public.

Fifa Feva

I had an interesting thought today, one of those that makes you go "huh".

I moved to the US in 1986 which was in the middle of the world awareness about apartheid. I had some experiences those early years, as a young adult, that made me just stop telling people where I was from. I would sometimes try to hide my accent on the phone, and (from some not so positive experiences) if I was with a group of African Americans, I would guide the conversation so that it never landed on "so where are you from?"

Well, it's FIFA and everything is South Africa.
People are wearing jerseys on the metro, the games are on EVERYWHERE. They are streaming them in the conference room at work. Every morning the IT guy sends out the schedule.

I went to get a new ID for the Federal building I work in today. Of course, they need my passport, and they look me up. There is a TV in the room... showing the afternoon match, and everyone is talking about South Africa. So when they see where I'm from, all of these African Americans got all excited when they found out that it was South Africa.

After our trip back in December, I realized that I should be proud to claim that I am from a country that had major political change without a civil war. But it didn't really sink in... today I realized, I don't need to have those conditioned responded of a cringe, but instead, should claim my country of origin with pride.

I am from South Africa.

Traffic Report for my commute today

Slow down on route caused by large fluffy obstacle. Patches of high temperatures caused by sun coming in the window. Avoid stepping on cat toys. Overall, a soft peaceful journey is expected.

Windows* Software Developers, Why do you do it?

At some point in the progression of the Windows operating system life-cycle, software developers started building their applications to come to the front, or some function to become the active function in your workspace when they reached a certain point in loading or carrying out a function.

Let me see if I can explain that a different way in case I'm too brief up top.

You set something to work (your HP Solution center scanning a document) and you go back to what you were doing - typing a document in MS Word. What happens is that the scanning software gets to a certain point where it is "processing" and has a function button that says "cancel".
The Developers program this screen to come to the front of your windows and be the active screen, and since you don't realize this is happening because you are typing a sentence, you hit the space bar in your progression of composing something, which activates the "cancel", and now your HP software thinks you canceled the scan. It stops, and you have to start all over again.

Let's do another example.
You are working on a document, you click on the Outlook button to get it going. All through its opening process - who KNOWS what it's doing at that moment - it forces itself to be your active workspace, and there is nothing that it's done that needs your attention... it just wants to be in front! and so you have to keep clicking back to MS Word (or your browser, or notepad, or whatever else you were doing).

I remember when this switch happened. I was in grad school when this shift in thinking happened.

Windows gives you the option to have multiple applications working/open/active at the same time.
thanks! I like that...
but
I know you are there, scanner, because I made you work! I am ok with you finishing your job and then waiting quietly in the background until I'm ready for your product.

So why, oh why do you think you need to come to the front and remind me that you exist?
Why do you do it?
...because you think I'm stupid and need you to make decisions for me?

STOP IT!






*edited to add "Windows" because this does not happen on my Mac.

On Falling

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

- Nelson Mandela


(I love Honest Tea)

Taking a Break

Just got back from two weeks in Australia with my family there. Had a couple nights at my Dad's farm outside of Sydney – very peaceful, very Folb. 

For the second week, we went up the coast to Byron Bay – the most easterly point on mainland Australia.

It’s a beautiful beach town with interesting shops, magnificent views, and enough to keep the five of us occupied for the week.

I went diving at these little islands... 

...saw couple kinds of shark (wobbegongs and leopard shark), and lots of fish.
Funny thing... there were two women in my group who were from South Africa, and two snorkelers on the boat who were also from South Africa. The seas were very choppy and the snorkelers got very seasick so spent their time puking.

Have you seen these “fotopols” before?

They are placed in strategic positions so that you can take photos like this:

(that's the view east of Australia)

My stepmother gave the trip a twist by asking that we try as many of the restaurants in The Good Food Guide as possible. This is a restaurant review list made by the Sydney Morning Herald, and there are a number of restaurants from the Central Gold Coast recommended.

We tried restaurants for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

But there is one that I would like to recommend above the others.

FatBelly Kat in Brunswick Head.

A stylized Greek restaurant run by a husband and wife team. I believe she is the chef, and he the manager. The service was impeccable, the wine the best, and the food absolutely amazing.

If you ever find yourself around these parts, give it a try.

We did.

Another restaurant I enjoyed was Harvest in Newrybar. We went here for breakfast and dinner. Even though it was not in The Good Food Guide, it was recommended by people my stepmother knows. The food was amazing and the ambiance was very well done.

The other interesting thing about the trip, was that I was the only non-Aussie Folb there. This hasn’t happened for over 20 years. Yes, I was disappointed that the rest of the gang couldn’t make it, and yes I missed them. But I tried to look on the bright side. I figured this would be a good opportunity for me to have some quality time with everyone…

And it was… I had great chats with my Dad and Stepmom, with my Dad solo, and with each of my brothers, together and one-on-one. It’s always been easy being with my brothers, even though they didn’t really grow up with me, and me them.

I feel like with this trip, I got to know who they are as men. And that made all the hours and hours of flying worth it.

I hate running...

I don’t like working out, either.

I’m a pragmatic/logical person, and with this whole MBA and all that, I understand the concept of ROI…

You can ride a bike for 2 hours

You can sit on the elliptical for 1 hour

Or you can run for 20 mins.

Since I want to be healthy and fit, with the lowest amount of time investment, running is the logical option.

I was talking to a friend of mine about this, and she challenged to me join her and her sister-in-law-to-be at a 10-mile run around the Baltimore zoo. I decided to start a training program to meet the goal well before the race because I was really worried about going from the 1 mile I was at, to the 10 miles I needed. That meant that I needed to come home from Australia at 4 miles.

I am proud to say, I made it!

I figured I’d share the runs I took ‘cause they were pretty unique – thanks to my new favorite website www.mapmyrun.com.

The first run was 2 miles at my Dad's "farm". My youngest brother did the run with me, and given that he's a super fantastic soccer player, and could have beat me running backwards, I appreciated his patience to take this run with me.

The next run was around my Dad's house, and it was beautiful!

Then we went up the coast to Byron Bay (more on that in another post), and I took another 2 mile run along the ocean road. 

I did that run a second time, and made it a little longer. 

Before we left, I took on my ambitious goal... 4 miles. 

and yikes, I picked a route with some HILLS!

you can see the profile at mapmyrun too.

Since I've been home, with my severe jetlag, I've managed a 2 and 3 miler... and this weekend, I'm taking on a 5!

Yikes!!!

Lunch

I just took a quick 2mi round-trip walk to have lunch at a unique restaurant - Sauca.

Its a sunny 65 degrees in DC, and everyone was out walking. 

I went past Banana Republic, the Navy Memorial, the old Post Office, the IRS, and stopped at the steps of the National Portrait Gallery to grab a European inspired sausage wrap here:

You find out where the Saucamobile by watching Twitter... or checking their website.

On my way back, I watched as a group of people closed off a block of street to setup the farmer's market that will be there this afternoon and evening.

I love living here.

Fact

Man, I am a lousy blogger.

Truth is, I've been spending the months figuring out what the routine of my life is... and it's getting pretty well defined.

I travel to the District most days of the week, and to my company's office once a week or so. Basically, I work in 3 places. This means I carry my "office" with me... and I don't have any filing.

I have been very good about the Pilates, and have really been enjoying the two instructors. Although one is moving to Budapest next month, so we'll see how instructor 3 is. I was thinking the other day about how many instructors I've had over the two years that I've been doing Pilates, I believe its eight so far.

A friend of mine talked me into running a 10 mile race through the Baltimore zoo in June... at the time, January, it seemed pretty do'able. I've been trying really hard to add distance to my runs, but oh my do I hate the running. It is so easy to find a reason not to. sigh. I am going to have to knuckle down now and work on it, or I will pass out from being at AT for too long!

Other than that, errands, home maintenance, pet attention, and personal experience all thrown in.

I am loving living in VA. I loved the fall, the winter, and now the spring. So many birds, so many colors. A cool breeze.

I'm taking a short break from regular life to visit my family in Australia. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and being in their world. I will miss my family at home.

We have big plans for the summer... redo parts of the garden, build some garden furniture, take some trips around the area, kayak/canoe on a river - the Potomac preferably, and see some of the sites of "The War of Northern Aggression".

Can't wait!

I will try to be better at having a presence here too.... promise.

"A Ghost Story" (my brother at 9, installment 6)

October 10, 1980

One day in October, my dad came up with an idea. “Let’s go to Scotland”, he said. We all agreed and so the next day, Whoosh! We were off on holiday. “I’m going to the clothes shop”! said my mother. “I’m going to buy some shoes”, my sister said. We all went to the hotel next day; we all went for a walk. We walked three miles and came to a stop. “Help” my mother said, she had seen something. “It’s a monster”! my sister said. We ran home and jumped in bed. The next day we went there again. We were three meters ferther and we saw it again. I big, long, white ghost. We ran as it came after us, but it stopped when it saw the city. The next night we went again. Suddenly we heard a noise, a howl. It was like this, “Whooooo"!!!! It suddenly started to rain. We all ran into a cave. There were bones in a truck by the wall and a crocodile tied to a stake on the ground. Suddenly a man came in and said, “I have a few prisoners,” he said. “What do we do with them”? “Give them to Brutus”! he pointed at the crocodile. “Or, should I eat you”! Suddenly he turned into a ghost. “Whoooooo!!!!!!!” he cried. We didn’t stay much longer. We all ran. The ghost ran after us. Right into the city, but he lost his way. All I know is that if you go to Scotland and meet up with a ghost, run.

THE END

"The Bashful Bed" (my brother at 9, installment 5)

27 October 1980

Assignment: Imagine that you are one of three children. Write a story about the first adventure you had when you twisted the bed knob and wished:

One September day, I found myself being woken up by a tickle. I woke up and found a piece of paper on my stomach. I read it and it said:

TO MARTIN: THERE IS A MAN OUTSIDE FIDDLING IN THE LITTLE BOX.
FROM,
YOUR BED.

“From your bed”! I screamed; “Yoooou”! “Help”! I jumped out of my bed and ran to my mother. “Help”! I jumped into her bed: “mom. There is a mo mo mo moving bed in my room”! “What” she cried “It’s your imagination son, you’re just thinking it”. She got out of bed and walked down the passage. I was tip-toeing behind. She suddenly heard a sound. It went like this: zzz snore zzzz grunt zzzz snore zzz etc. “Help” she cried and fainted. (Right on me)!!
I crawled to the door and came face to face with my bed. “But I didn’t turn your knob”, I said. “I know” my bed said. “But there is a man out-side I’m scared of”. “That’s only the postman, stupid”! “I know I am shy”, said the bed. “But I’m a nice bed, I promise”. “I know, I know”. I said.

I just don't get it.

Why does Tiger Woods need to apologize to anyone other than his wife?

He is not a public official, his notoriety does not come from service he does for the public.

He has a skill, in a sport.

Is the implication that he won't win if we don't forgive him?
Is the implication that you won't watch golf or support golf if he isn't sorry?

I just don't get it.

Nor do I understand why it is news.
Why is it the top story everywhere?
Why is it the most talked about thing to have happened last week?

AMERICANS ARE WINNING THE MOST MEDALS AT THE OLYMPICS!
That's news!
That is something to which we should give our attention.

Not gossip.

Posted on Centerville Elementary School sign

"Report Cards Go Home on Friday"

...you cannot pretend you didn't get one.

A Modern Woman

Sometimes I think through all the "services" a woman should have on hand... some are from my own experience, but then I'll hear something or read a blog where I realize there is another service that some women have on hand. To help those young ladies on their way, here's a list.

Hair stylist - cut and color

Aestheticism - wax, thread, facials

Nail tech - mani pedi, acrylics

Seamstress/tailor - everything should be custom fit for you

Dry cleaner

Nanny/mother's helper

Massage therapist

Ob/Gyn

Personal Trainer?

If you figure the schedule of how often you see all the personal hygene services, you can book up your life just with pampering.

How many of these do you have?
Did I miss any?

Another Dose of Family

So, as planned, I'm making time and taking effort to spend more time with my family.

My cousin K and her brother M have daughters that are very close in age (months apart), so this is the season of the Batmitzvah. Their parents (my dad's sister and her husband) are on an around-the-world United ticket to go to all these events. Since K lives in Toronto, I figured, what the hey, I will go! Its a 50min flight! K has twins, so its a double-header celebration.

I flew up on Thursday so that I could participate in all the weekend's events.

Every morning, I was up early with my aunt and uncle. We would make some coffee/tea and breakfast and sit around and chat. It was very nice to have given them this time to get to know me better. As I've said before here (I think), I've gotten to an age where I know who I am, and I know what I know; I know what I'm willing to change/work on; and I know what is intrinsically me. When you are young having conversations like this with your elders, it can be difficult because you feel like you are defending who you are, you feel like you have to claim your specific-ness. It was much more fun to have these conversations at this age, where I can really contribute something to the general trend. We talked about politics, family, work, life, everything.

In the afternoons, we would run errands with K, help her get ready for the 3 big events she had planned:
Shabbat dinner, Kiddush (lunch after service on Sat), celebration lunch with friends and family on Sunday.

I am so impressed with my cousin K. She spends her time running after her 3 kids, keeping her home running, working full time, and if you know here on Facebook, thinking, looking, enjoying the world. When you are with her you find that she does all of this with a serene calm, not flustered by any of the bumps that are inevitably in your way. Not once did she show any stress about these three huge events that she had organized for the weekend.

Friday night dinner was basically prepared by her friends. Throughout the day on Friday, people stopped by with the dishes they had prepared. The brisket and turkey came from a local caterer.


We set a table for 25 people... in a long row of three tables.


The guest list was all family, but 1. K's husband's brother and sister with all their sons, his parents, a cousin and her family, K's parents and me, and a friend. It was a warm, cozy, family evening thick with the traditions of a Shabbat dinner.


Saturday was a big day for the girls, they had prepared speeches to be delivered after the service. We were at Shul for most of the service saying hello to friends and family who came for the celebration. In the middle of the service, the Rabbi called up the Dad and gave him the blessing for the girls. Then the men started dancing, doing a hora right there to celebrate the girls. They were signing the mazeltov song... ok, not quite like that.

After the service, the ladies all moved to the front of the Shul and the girls went up on the bimah to give their speeches. The piece of the Torah that was read that day was about Moses and the plagues, so they talked about what that portion meant to them, and how that related to their recognition as adults. They did a fantastic job. K got up to give a speech too, and it was so special to be there celebrating with them.

We went to the Kiddush, and yikes! there were SO MANY people smooshed into the room, you had to fight your way in to the table, back out, over to the drinks... I just ate everything as quickly as possible so that noone would bump into me while they were fighting their way around.

We made our way back home, for some afternoon rests. K and the girls began the process of beautification for their big party that night with their friends. There was too much to do with two girls, so they asked me to help. We all crammed into K's bathroom with nailpolish, makeup, curling irons, nylons, and excitement. It was really fun to watch these two get ready for one of their first parties, all primped up in their special dresses for the occasion. It was moments like this throughout the weekend that allowed me to see who they were. Just like I had given time with my aunt and uncle, they gave time for me.

After the young'uns went off to whoop it up, my aunt, K, and I went over to the Sunday brunch venue to prep. The venue was the "party room" at K's parents-in-law's condo... so while we were setting tables, laying out plates, setting up sound systems, putting away drinks, K's mom-in-law was helping by running up and down to get those little things that personalize a space.

The Sunday brunch was the last of the big events. It was a mixture of friends and family. I left from the venue for the airport with the Chicago side of the family. Our flights left within an hour of each other.

It was a great weekend! Full of celebration, family, and community. I am very grateful to have finally realized that I can experience my extended family so close to where I live. I can't wait for all the forthcoming experiences we will all have together.

"Marsmen" (my brother at 9, installment 4)

4 JUNE 1990
MARSMEN
Marsmen Live in a space, well actually Marsmen live on Mars. One day Marsman 1 was working in his crater cruncher, he was making a moat around his house. It was dusty so he went to Marsman 2 for some tea. Marsman 3 walked past and came for tea too. We had talked for quite a while when Marsman 1 came up with an idea. “Why don’t we start a town?” He said. Good idea said Marsman 1 and Marsmanm 2 and Marsman 3. So that is why Mars is called “Marsmenmound”!

This is the east side of Mars where Marsmenmound is. See Marsmen 1, 2 and 3?
Here is the code:
1 is for Marsman 1
2 is for Marsman 2
3 is for Marsman 3
(Yellow dot) is for Marsman 1’s house
(Red dot) is for Marsman 2’s house
(Pink dot) is for Marsman 3’s house
And (11 dots) is for Mars.
The End.

The picture shows an orange fence surrounding Marsmound. Inside the fence are hundreds of brown circles. There are a yellow, a red, and a pink spaceship shaped house. In the front of each house is a Marsman (antenna and all) and a crate-cruncher.

"The Wonder Wagon" (my brother at 9, installment 3)

Aaah, the mind of a 9-year old boy!


August 1980
THE WONDER WAGON
My name is Jack.  I live in Iran.  Iran is like a big, big desert with a few trees and shrubs.  It is not like the USA with big buildings.  The biggest tent is 10 feet high.  Sitting in the meadow was my favorite thing.

"Whacking' the wagons go past and the clip-clop of the horses on the pebbles.  It was a sunny day and the Shah was passing by.  We all bowed and prayed to him.  He came by me and gave me a box.  I looked inside it and saw a mallet, a chisel, a block of wood, and a paper saying that said, "A toy wagon".  There were two horses inside made of plastic.

I ran home and began.  Shavings were on the floor and my baby brother was catching them.  After a week it was finished and was a work of art.  I took it outside to feed the camels. I put a bit of food in a little berry shell and put in the wagon.  Then I pushed the wagon over to the camels who tipped it over.  I fed the camels and turned around.  I saw the wagon move.  The little horses moved.  I ran into the city if Tabriz.  A man was sitting and eating apples.  I put down the wagon and it ran into the man.  The man had such a fright he fell into an oil well.  He came out black. I then went to the market where I saw a girl knitting.  I put down the wagon and it ran and bumped into her.  She lost all her stitches.  I had such fun.

I lived so happily from then on.

The end.

"The Captured Coral" (my brother at 9, installment 2)

Another story from my brother, at nine years old.
I remember bedtime stories about Pudge and Fish Fingers.

"THE CAPTURED CORAL"
9 September

One August day the captain, Mr Huges, of the Alexander the Great, was getting ready for the long voyage from Spain to Switzerland. At 12:00 the captain called his crew from the pub. They were very drunk. One by one the captain pushed them in the sea. As they came out they were as healthy as a doctor. Sam, Howard, Mr Pudge, Jofhy and their parrot, Fish-Fingers. It was now 1:30 and the harbour was open. The ship moved out to the blue sea like a paper boat. they hoped to make it to Switzerland in two weeks time. But now another day or two. Time past and the saw Rome. A bleek place with tall buildings, short buildings, and small houses. At the end of the point of the island, they saw a reef. A big beautiful place. The ship went past slowly. the crow's nest suddenly shouted. "Sir, the stern". the captain turned the ship but it was much too late. "Crunch" they heard. The ship broke in two. Water filled the hull. Down went the bow. "Help!" screamed Howard the cook. He drowned. The captain and Pudge, Sam and Fish-Fingers were saved. "Where is Jophy?" said Sam. They all looked about. They gave up and started to explor the reef. Howard was dead for three minutes now. The men suddenly saw a chest. Inside was a big piece of coral. "The Stolen Coral" screamed Sam who had just been reading the newspaper. The men were lucky enough to find the boat. They rowed back and were now big heroes.

Going back in time... "What a Shot" (my brother at 9, installment 1)

I have a lot of respect for my brother, the oldest of the three, the only full-brother, the one who is 18 months younger than me. It has always seemed that he had all the luck, all the talent, all the coordination, all the creativity.

He got through school without any studying, he skied downhill the first time he put on a pair. He taught me how to ride a bike, he taught me how to drive. He can play a guitar, a piano, drums, anything he tries is intuitive.

When we were kids, until I was 13, we shared a room (remember the photo of the house?).
Sometimes, when I couldn't go to sleep, he'd tell me stories. The theme/character I remember is the stretchy man, who could stretch to walk over cars and buildings.

Recently, my mom found a bunch of his writing assignments from when he was nine (Standard 2/Grade 4)... I don't know if he'll mind, and if he does I'll take them down, but I'm going to post them here on my "online journal". They make me remember those stories that he told me, and they remind me of those times that he and I were alone - my best friend.

"What a Shot"
August 1980

I was once in a circus. My part was the human cannonball. It was a dangerous act and every night I went on I took two aspirins, a Disprin and a teaspoon of medicine. It was the first night of our act and I was about to go on. "And now ladies and gentlemen, we have the Great Martino Palimino"
I went on. The feeling of fear hit me and I was petrified. You could see my mother in the audience with her hands on her eyes. I could hardly go up the ladder to the barrel. The Ringmaster said "Please ladies and gentlemen, babies, and youngsters, we now see a human cannonball risking his life, so please keep quiet"!!

The flame lit, I was ready. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, shoot!" Pow!! I went flying into the air, the wind rushed past me. I hit the net at a great speed, but I bounced right onto the canvas floor. Wham!

"Ouch", I screamed. The Ringmaster ran to me and asked me to stand up. I could not. I was rushed to the hospital. The next day my feet were amputated. My doctor said, "You did not break your bones on the floor, but from hitting a pole as you flew past it."

The End

Home

Sigh. What an amazing trip!

Our homecoming was equally amazing.

We read on the weather before leaving South Africa that huge snowstorms were predicted for the Washington DC area for the day of our return. We were worried about our flights getting cancelled, delayed, or diverted. We boarded on time, and flew to Dakar, arriving around midnight on Saturday. The pilot announced that we had been directed to take a three-hour departure delay and that there were too many people already in the airport, therefore we needed to stay on the plane. He actually said: we would rather take the delay than be diverted.
So instead of arriving at Dulles at 6am, we arrived at 9am.
The runway was in good shape, but we drove around the airport while they kept sending us from gate to gate, trying to find an open on. See, all the morning flights had been cancelled, and the airport was jam packed. Finally off the plane, after 23 hours of sitting in the same seats, we made our way through passport control pretty easily. We then went to baggage claim and waited, and waited, and waited. A woman came on the PA and announced that the baggage handlers we're being safe in getting our luggage off the plane and to the terminal. She actually said:

As I'm sure you noticed, it's icy out there, so they are being safe.

I was very tempted to find where she was hiding behind her microphone and ask how, then, was it safe for us to LAND?!

Anyway, two hours of waiting for bags, 30 mins waiting for a cab, a snowy drive to our neighborhood, we finally made it to our street, and the cabbie asked that he drop us off on the corner and not go down the snow-lined streets.

We were both laughing as we pulled all the bags through the snow, trumped through the two-feed deep yard, walkway, and porch to get to the front door.

Of course, we didn't have a snow shovel yet... and for some reason, nor did our Chicago neighbors (?!), but they had borrowed a shovel from the guy on their other side, and he was gracious enough to let us use it too.







The dogs couldn't make it up the pile!


This is the back porch. Look how high the snow is on the railing, and on top of the Weber.

That was an entertaining homecoming!
It took a week for us to get a shovel because the stores were sold out. It took 4 days before I could take my car out because they didn't ever plow our street, and I have these performance (not all-weather) tires, so there was no way I was going to risk it!

The weather was also a good excuse to build a big fire, get the house cozy, and slowly reenter our lives.

Family

One evening, we went to my Dad's sister for dinner, and she had invited all of the family who were available. We went a little early and had a couple hours to talk with her alone. This was a great moment. She has had an interesting life, with interesting decisions, and it was wonderful to sit there as adults and hear the stories. Her husband came home, and the conversation switched back and forth between our trip, and South African politics.
After visiting the museums, and driving around the more rural areas, it was very interesting to talk to my family about their first-hand experiences living through this monumental change.
We sat down to dinner after my Dad's brother, wife, and daughter arrived. The meal was as delicious as I expected.
You may remember me talking about my Dad's siblings before, because when I went to Toronto, it was to be with the oldest daughter of each sibling.
It was a wonderful evening, full of family, and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to share it with Eric. It was so good to see everyone.

Remember I talked about that bed & breakfast and how much we didn't like it?
Well, when I told my maternal aunt and her husband, they insisted we get out early and spend our last nights with them. So we moved back to the house in Oaklands.

When my family moved to Johannesburg, when I was in high school, we lived within walking distance of my aunt and uncle. This is about the time when things went bad in my parent's marriage, and so we spent a lot of time at my aunt and uncle's house. This is what my afternoon's used to look like when I was in high school.



Me, my mom, and aunt, all hanging out with tea in the living room. Usually the two small girls would be napping around this time (now one of them is married!). My aunt and uncle were like second parents to me. When my parents went on vacation, we would stay with my aunt and uncle. The longest of these stays was six weeks, and we actually changed schools for that period of time. My aunt is also a teacher, and there was no way she was going to be driving us to Aloe Ridge each day, so we went to her school for those six weeks.

My cousins were very young when I moved to America, and I don't think they have a consciousness of me in their lives as solidly as they are in mine. Its strange to be in this house, which is the closest remnant to "home" for me, and realize that they have a whole growing-up with a different consciousness of this house as home.
I feel at ease with my aunt and uncle as you do with your parents. I know they are there for me as my parents would be - whether we talk every week or not.

Its reassuring to know that you have these types of real relationships or connections with your family. Keep in mind, that for me there is a great amount of actual land distance between me and most of my family (actually all of my family, my brother in Brooklyn is the closest), so its not easy to "feel" that connection. You have to just know that its there.
Going on this trip was a reminder, a renewal, that I'm not alone. That there are these people all over the world who I care about, and who care about me.
I feel a lot of regret that my life has not been in a space that would free me to be more present in their lives. It's another reason that I am grateful for where I am now, because I don't feel that heavy pinned-down feeling anymore. I have promised myself that I will do whatever I can to not let that huge lapse happen again.

In fact, the daughters of my cousin in Toronto have their batmitzvah this month. Her parents (my paternal aunt and uncle) are going to fly in for the occasion. Toronto is 1.5 hrs away from DC. I took time off work, I used some miles, and I'm going to be there!

I miss my family a lot. It is a sadness for me that I cannot stop over for Friday dinner, or go to tea, or have them over to my home. That my Dad can't come over and help build some furniture, and my Mom give us advise in the garden. Even if I wanted to make a move to be closer, someone would always not be - Sydney, Green Valley, Johannesburg, Brooklyn, Toronto, Cape Town - they are too far apart!

On the bright side. My new home is very close to a LARGE international airport (IAD), I have a wonderful guest room (hint, hint), I have SO MANY frickin airline miles, and a job that allows me to save up money and time to be able to make a plan to be with my family more.

...and I plan to do it!

Some South African cultural experiences

We did a couple cultural things around Johannesburg. We went to the Apartheid Museum and the Cradle of Humankind. Both were very well worth the time.

The Apartheid Museum is a museum and a memorial to the memory of the apartheid years in South Africa. There as a very interesting special exhibit on the life of Nelson Mandela, and then the resident experience of the history of this political construct. It was interesting to me because they created a chronology that helped put things into perspective, and it was interesting to Eric because he wasn't aware of the specifics of South African history in that way.
It is a very modern exhibit that allows you to learn while experiencing as they move you through the spaces in the exhibits. There are photos, stories, and artifacts. I would recommend that everyone go check it out when they are Johannesburg.

The Cradle of Humankind is on the complete opposite side of Johannesburg and encompasses a large piece of land were the majority of evidence for early hominid development has been found. We toured the Sterkfontein caves and walked through the exhibits at Maropeng. If you have a strong opposition position to evolution, you would have a serious issue with this facility. They have very good timelines showing the development of our planet and how it has evolved to support life. They talk about each period of mass destruction, what was lost and what was gained. They have experiential exhibits that demonstrate the uniqueness of humans, interspersed with skulls and figurines that show the differences and similarities between us and the other hominids. It was also a very interesting museum, well worth the trip.

We talked about these museums between ourselves and with my family. We imagined that neither of these locations would have existed during Apartheid. Obviously not the apartheid museum, but Maropeng celebrates the inhabitants of Africa, and focuses on them as the first people to live on the earth (we also didn't think that a museum like this would ever be built in America... or if it was, it would say "the Theory of Evolution this..." and "the Theory of Evolution that...".

Plot 136, Walkerville

Before leaving South Africa, we had a couple days in Johannesburg. I wanted to take Eric to see where I had grown up, and have a little more time with my family.
We had planned to stay in a bed & breakfast in Melville. This is a pretty hip area with a lot of restaurants and art galleries. We arrived late in the afternoon, and the security guard showed us to our room and gave us a key. There was no information in the room about the area, or the facility. Things just felt strange. Perhaps after all the attention we'd gotten at the other hotels we were used to people being more inviting. Since we couldn't really pin-point what was making us uncomfortable, we figured we'd stay and see how things went.

The next day we went to Walkerville.





This is where I grew up. My parents bought this house a couple months after I was born. Over the years they added the second floor, and redid the thatch on the roof.



They built a small cottage next door for my maternal grandparents, put in a pool and tennis court, and my mom landscaped the full five acres. It was a great place to grow up.
There were no walls, wires, or major fences when we lived here. We just had a barbed-wire fence.

This house is not very large. The upstairs has two bedroom - one for my parents and the other I shared with my brother. There is only one bathroom downstairs. It is made out of brick, and has no ceiling blocking your view of the underside of the thatch.
We moved out when I was 13 because there was (and still is) no high school in the area and my parents didn't want to send me to boarding school. So, we moved to Johannesburg.

We took a drive to my primary school - Aloe Ridge



We spent a lot of time at this school outside of regular school hours. Since my mom was a teacher at the school, my brother and I would be here before school started, after school ended, and on those days that only teachers were there to prepare for the start of the next term. My parents would play tennis here on the weekends with a group of other families.



Since the area I grew up in is mostly rural, the school was the gathering point for the kids, so this is where I have most of my memories of interaction with other children.

For example:
One weekend, we took our bikes to the school (we couldn't ride bikes at home, because all the roads were dirt... ie there was no-where to ride them). My brother was going to teach me how to ride. I remember him setting me up at the top of the driveway facing towards the school. In my memory this was a steep downhill that went on forever! At the bottom were the steps that went into the administration building. As I approached those steps I realized I didn't really know what to do. I didn't know where the brakes were, nor how to steer... so I hit them. Yip, over the handlebars.
Looking at that drive in 2009 was one of those feelings where I just couldn't believe how short and not steep it was!



The urban sprawl and development of Johannesburg seems to have not reached Walkerville yet.
The shopping center is still the same (well, there was another one across the street that wasn't there in the 1970's).





This part of the shopping center used to be the post office and switchboard. When I was a kid, we didn't have our own telephone lines out here in the country. Instead, you would have to ring up the switchboard on one of these and ask to be patched through to Johannesburg.

I'm glad we made this trip to Walkerville. It's good to go back to your roots and make sure you know where you come from. It was also really nice to show all of this to someone who knows me in America.

...in the meantime.

I owe you one more post to finish up our trip to South Africa, in the meantime, it snowed again last night. Here are some images that I enjoyed this morning.

The footsteps of the dogs walking a path on the deck looking for a place to pee.

The snow on top of the ornaments still hanging from the neighbor's tree.















The view from my office window as the sun comes up.

LISTS

So, I'm a planner... you probably know that...
but I did not do a good job planning for the walking in the bushveld.
In case you are on your way, here are some things I had and was grateful for, and some things I didn't have and wished I had thought to take on my trip.

Walking Safari Packing List

HAD:

● Sunblock
● Lip protection
● SmartWool socks
● Tank tops
● Trail-runner sneakers
- these were fine, and I can't say that I would have preferred hiking boots. It was very wet in the morning from dew, and maybe gore.tex would have been better. The water was not an issue thanks to the SmartWool, and the sneakers dried out in the afternoon so were ready for the next day.


WISHED I'D HAD:

● WOMAN's long-sleeve khaki shirt
- Apparently brown attracts the flies, and I completely did not think about what I'd be wearing, so ended up borrowing this shirt from Eric.

● GATORS.
- Boy, I feel stupid for forgetting these


● Camelbak
- I had my bottle, but the pack would have been easier

● NUUN
- WISHED I'd had some of these!

● Brim hat
- I got a suede-breezy Rogue on the way home, but wished I'd had it during the hiking. I used a baseball cap, and they are not the best sunprotection for ears.

(nice hat)

And since this is a post about LISTS, here is all the other stuff (besides the basics, like, underwear and toothbrushes) for the two weeks, and four different environments: Wedding, Diving, Safari, and general summer.

This is my suitcase/bag (well, I have an older version).

CLOTHES
Baseball hat
Board shorts
Fleece
Flip flops
Jeans (wore only on plane)
Sarong
Shorts
Skirts
Sneakers (wore on plane)
Sun dresses
Swimsuits
T-shirts
Tank tops

MEDICATION
Ibuprofen
Immodium
Peptobismal
Tylenol

General antibiotics

TOILETRIES
Aloe gel for sunburn (needed more)
Deet (life saver)
Dr Bronners
Hand Sanitizer
Sunblock
Wipes

OTHER
20hrs of entertainment (flight planning)
Books (barely read)
Car charger (USB car adapter to charge both iPhones and Blackberry)
Daypack (flight carry-on)
Flashlight
Headphones (didn’t use)
Kipling pouch
Maps
PADI and DAN cards
Passports (scanned and emailed the picture page to myself before leaving)
Pen
Presents for hosts and wedding couple
Printed directions to all locations
Power converter (used two of these. I love them because you can’t lose the adapters)
Sunglasses
Suunto D6 dive computer
Travel candle (didn’t use)
Travel tide (didn’t use)
Tweezers (didn’t use)

DIVE GEAR
Packed in this Akona bag:
7mil wetsuits
Booties
Snorkels
Masks
Fins

A Surprising Lunch Date

I got a text message from my cousin, the bride, the last night of our stay in Swaziland checking in and asking how we were... we went back and forth a bit and figured that there was a chance we would be in the game reserve at the same time.

I drove that day, and... yes... I pushed it a little!!

They were on their Honeymoon headed east to Mozambique for a month of exploring!

They started their trip with two nights in Kruger, and out of chance, their travel through the game reserve coincided with our travel in.

So we met at Skukuza and had lunch together.

It was really nice to have some quiet time with her and her Husband. We talked about the wedding, South Africa, their trip, our trip...

For me, it was one of the highlights of our trip.

Moving Pictures

Here are some of the videos we took of our animal experiences.

Day 1 of walking, headed back to the camp in drizzle, Rangers were tracking a buffalo... and they came up right on him.
He was not happy! and became a aggressive.
Right when we arrived at Plains Camp, Bernard made it clear:
When the animals start running, head behind a tree!
...so we did.
Bernard and James worked on scaring off the buffalo, and it took some effort. They were concerned that he wasn't responding. They got him to move around so that he was downwind of us, and then he realized he should just run away.




Here is a bit of video of a Rhino who was not too happy about the big unrecognizable thing (our truck) in the road.




On the first day at Kruger, we set out early to a dead hippo in the trees, just off the road. By this time it was a vulture and hyena feast. We noticed some interesting activity going on with the hyenas, and spent some time trying to figure it out. At first we thought it was some mating aggression, but then we realized it was dominance of one clan over the intruding member of another clan. Marieka is explaining to us how hyena work.




This is the fighting tortoises!! It was the highlight of the day, and we told all the other rangers from the Rhino Post about it. Bernard and James couldn't believe that we were so lucky to catch this... they said that in their 30+ years of experience, they had never seen two tortoises fighting! It was very funny and we spent a long time watching!




Just a personal record of the tent at Plains Camp. The architecture was amazing! The basin and shower were very creative, and the whole look really completed that Imperialist Colonial Explorer look and feel!

The Bushveld

The last stop on our road trip was the Kruger National Park.
We stayed at the Rhino Post Lodge for one night, and at the Plains Camp for three.
The Rhino Post (B) is a concession northeast of Skukuza (A). And again, we were the only people staying for the first 3 nights.


(Link to Google Maps)

It's really difficult to write something concise about this experience because every moment was so amazing; from the lightning and thunder one night on the plain to the architecture of the accommodations, everything is worthy of description.

(Gabion for the walls at Rhino Post - such a harsh construction style that is turned into something straight and soft by tying it into the raw wood and canvas of the other walls.)


(The detail of the wall hanging above, for my Mom and Aunt.)


(The lounge.)


(The wine room.)


(The view from the Rhino Post deck that overlooks the river.)

The way Rhino Post and Plains Camp organize your day, is that you are up at sunrise for a drive (if you're staying in the lodge) or a walk (if you're staying at the camp). You come back at around 10:30 am for brunch, and then you take a rest until 3:00pm. After some high tea, you head out for a drive that includes "sundowners" somewhere interesting at sunset, and then you get a taste of the night at the game reserve as you drive back to camp.


(One-eye staring us down.)

This schedule really works to give you the most of the experience.



During our drives, we saw pretty much everything that you would want to see.
There had been a lot of rain, and the bushveld was green. There were lots of babies everywhere...


Impala


Elephants


Baboons


Giraffe


Rhino


I have never walked in the game reserve before, and it was on my "life list." We went with a lead ranger, Bernard, and a "backup rifle," James.


(James was ALWAYS right behind Bernard.)


(Bernard)

Each day on our walk we learned something about how the animals live. This really added a depth to what you look at when you are in the bush. Instead of seeing trees and growth as obstacles, you realize that there are trails and tracks and clues. We learned about how male white rhinos "toilet", stomp around in it, and then walk the perimeter of their territory. I would never have given these "mud piles" a second thought before.



Something else I realized was that I started feeling like I'd seen much more than we had because seeing the EVIDENCE had given me the impression of actually seeing. This must be my training as an archaeologist. You don't ever see the people you study, you just see their evidence. With that said, we saw porcupine (the dug-up half eaten bulb of a lily), and the rare and elusive black rhino (their dung has sticks because they are browsers, and they use the same "toilet" as the white rhinos, who are grazers).
:-)

Our daily walks were mostly peaceful with snack breaks at picturesque spots.

But each day, our rangers tracked one of The Big Five. On day 1 we had a fun interaction with a buffalo (more on that tomorrow).


On day 2 we spent a long time following a rhino mom and her baby. When we finally came upon them, we were SO close!


On day 3, the last day, we saw two elephants.

(can you see it in the back?)

I was nervous the first day out walking, but after about an hour of seeing nothing but trees, bushes, and bugs, I realized that Bernard was in control of what we were doing, and my fear went away. By the time we did see some animals, I knew that we had approached them from the angle he wanted, and he knew exactly what he was doing.



In the afternoons it was luxurious to nap in the tents, sit under a tree and look at the baboons and wildebeest cross the plain, and just enjoy the serene sounds of the bush in the heat of the day.

(After the "African Safari" theme of the Lodge, the "Imperialist Colonial Explorer Camp" theme of Plains Camp was a little shocking at first. I couldn't help but laugh every time I walked into this lounge.)

Since we were the only guests for two of the nights, Bernard joined us for dinner. It was great listening to his stories about growing up and living in the area, and the work it takes to become a lead ranger. We felt so far away from work, TV, computers, and the complicated technology of our Phones. We really enjoyed this experience and would highly recommend.



There are obviously, a LOT more pictures, so let me know if you want to see more.
Next post will be some videos.

one last thing...
Here's a photo of the skin, belt and knife of Harry Wolhuter. One of the resonating stories of life in early Africa.