On travels and tribulations

I just came back from a three-week trek to the US. And what a wonderfully varied trip it was!

First stop, Minneapolis for the 2011 NASSS Conference. I was giving two presentations, though that's against the rules, in theory. But, I wasn't breaking the rules, in theory. My first presentation was actually for a co-authored paper, as part of my summer research assistanceship. You can re-watch Avery-one Has An Opinion: Twitter, Same-Sex Marriage, and the NHL here. My second presentation was based on a paper I wrote last year. Watch Tweeting the Game: Is live-tweeting reshaping the NHL fandom experience here.

But this trip wasn't all business. I did some shopping at Target. Several times. Including at the original store location. I rode a rollercoaster at the Mall of America. And I got to see the local area through the eyes of a co-conference attendee and friend who is from the area. Plus, I got to meet Celebration Generation!!

Next stop, Phoenix, where I stayed with a friend and explored the area for a few days before attending my cousin's amazing wedding. I visited the Heard Museum, an experience that made me smile at all the beautiful symbolism but also deeply angered me. There was so much "othering" in the exhibits, as well as by the tour guide, that I left more frustrated than anything.

I also drove up to Meteor Crater (on Historic Route 66!!), the largest and most well-preserved meteorite landing site on Earth. What an amazing and jaw-dropping experience! It's one of those things that photos just can't do justice, so I won't even bother posting one here. You have to see it in person to understand. The vastness makes for a truly spiritual experience that cannot be replicated. Nature is simply... ungraspable.

The wedding events were absolutely spectacular too. As a part of the family, I was able to attend basically everything, and, as a wedding lover, I was in heaven. On one of the days, between the civil ceremony and the mendhi night, I also got out for a hike! I chose Pietsewa Peak rather than Camelback or Echo Mountain because it was supposed to be less steep. This was the case... in theory. The terrain was very rocky and there were several ups and downs along the way. My knee was very unhappy. But just imagine if I'd gone with a steep trail! After 2.5 miles of my 4ish, I started feeling stabs of pain that made it very tough to walk. It didn't help that the trail indications were a bit confusing. But with some rest and inspiration from a Ms Tracy Lee I met on my last leg, I made it 'til the end!

Tracy told me about her connective tissue disorder, and how her doctors say she should be in a wheelchair. Instead, she hikes Phoenix mountains almost daily despite her torn ligaments and dislocations. And the best part is, she was inspired by me in return! She was glad I took the time to appreciate the mountain when so many locals don't, and despite my recurring knee pain. And all of this started with my simple question about how her Vibram Five Fingers were holding up on the rocky terrain.

After a day of rest, it was time to test my knee on the dance floor... but sadly, I could not bear to even stand in heels. I did dance most of the night away in my flats though, and the fun and cousin time was absolutely worth it!

The one downside of this leg of the trip was our hotel woes. We stayed at the Homewood Hilton in Biltmore-Phoenix. The room was fine... until the card reader decided to stop working on wedding day, leaving us stranded without our outfits and running hours late. After 3.5 hours, two technicians, and two failed attempts to get us in (using a card reader resetting machine and attempting to jack the door), the manager finally decided to take us up on our many many suggestions to try to get in through the window. Within 10 minutes, she was in, having shimmied the locked window "just enough". At ceremony start time. My brother was therefore 2.5 hours late, and I, 1 hour late.

Needless to say, we were very unhappy. We refused to pay for the rooms, and requested a new room. How can I feel safe knowing that, 1. I can get locked out at any time, and 2. Someone can come in through my window in the middle of the day or night and steal my stuff, or worse? But that's all water under the bridge now. The wedding - the part I got to see - was wonderful

Next up, a family roadtrip to the Grand Canyon. Absolutely spectacular. Sunrise, sunset, a few hikes (mini for me, short to average length for everyone else), and amazing once-in-a-lifetime sights. The first day started off on a sour note, though. After all my careful planning, we ran late and missed the very beginning of sunrise. Then, in the afternoon, when my memory card was full, I tried to delete the first batch of pictures, which I had already transferred. For some reason, despite the confirmation message, my camera deleted that morning's batch instead. I was heartbroken. I only discovered this on our very last stop of the day. I lost so many unique shots that the rest of my family didn't get to capture, including shots of them. Thankfully, my SLR captured the landscape, but it's the people shots and the things I wanted to share with all of you that I (still) miss the most. Oh, and to cap off the day, I lost my new thermal hat.

Good news though! Day 2 was better! We found my hat in a parking lot we'd frequented, got to sunrise in plenty of time, and had another wonderful, jaw-dropping Grand Canyon day. And after sunset in Sedona, we hit the road for...

The final stop: Los Angeles for some time with our family there. So much fun! We got to hang out as cousins, I relived my childhood at Disneyland (best part: Aladdin the Musical), shopped at some outlets (and another Target), got an amazing $30 full body massage (Super Relax Massage in Chatsworth. Look it up!), finally saw Santa Monica and biked to Venice Beach from the pier (at sunset!), and had some wonderful food (Mmm... Rock Sugar). Oh, and I discovered my new favourite store ever: Cost Plus World Market. WOW. Walking through that store is like taking a stroll in my brain. But... my camera's acting up again, refusing to focus. I guess it's time for a new toy!

After a quick stop in Montreal, I'm back in Kingston trying to sort out my life. If history is any indication, it'll take me three days to unpack. And then a week to do laundry. But hey, that's what happens when you get back to real life, right?

Just a few bites...

What are you doing this weekend?

It's been a while since I've updated, and because you're all dying to know what I've been up to (and assuming you don't follow me on Twitter), I figured I might as well type up a new post. Especially since I get to start with something tasty!!

• Cupcake Camp Montreal! You've probably heard of the concept: it's a fundraiser organized entirely by volunteers who use Twitter to get the local community involved in the cause through a fun activity. In this case, cupcakes! Who doesn't like yummy cupcakes? It's too late to sign up to be a baker at this weekend's event (I'm sorry, I procrastinated!), but you can still show up and support this first annual (?) Montreal event. This year's charity is Kids Help Phone, and if you can't show up, you can donate online. The event takes place Nov 22, from 2pm to 4pm at Restaurant Bitoque and $10 gets you through the door with 3 cupcakes and a coffee. And if you need more convincing, check out this awesome animated promo video:
  
  
  
  
  
• On a more personal note, remember my whole H1N1 kick? Yeah, guess who got the flu? It's pretty ironic too! In the evening of Monday, November 9, I learned that Quebec had accelerated its swine flu vaccination programme and I was now eligible to get my shot! I made plans to go the next afternoon but instead woke up with the flu -.- Of course, I can't be sure that it was H1N1, especially since they are no longer testing for it, so I'm going to get vaccinated anyway... just in case.

• In other news, I booked my flights for the Vancouver Olympics! I really wanted to rack up the Aeroplan miles, but Air Canada just didn't compare to WestJet, so I cut my losses and went with the more flexible, cheaper itinerary. Of course, I would have flown Porter if I could have! I also thought about taking the Canadian train across the Rockies, but as much as I love VIA Rail, I'm pretty sure that that trip is best done with company. Plus, after working away from home for a month, I know I'm just going to want to get to my bedroom, my bed, my space. So flying it is!

• I've been reading a wonderful book series suggested to me by J.T., the wonderful author behind The H does NOT stand for Habs. I'm sure you've all heard about it by now (I'm kinda late to this game). The first book was called "Outlander" and it's written by Diana Gabaldon. WOW! I can't wait to go to sleep and immerse myself in Jamie and Claire's world! If you're looking for a series that will captivate you like Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth/World Without End, or even like Harry Potter did way back when, you have got to try this one out. The series is up to seven books with the release of An Echo in the Bone, and so far, it's totally worth it. I'm on book 3, Voyager. Trust me. Twilight doesn't even compare!

• Apart from that, I've got a whole lot of translations to do thanks to end-of-year budgets. I can't complain! It'll make for a nice chunk of Christmas cash. Speaking of which, I'm almost done my holiday shopping! Are ya jealous?

• And World Partnership Walk season is almost underway... We've got our first few meetings this weekend and the next. Are you looking for a cause you truly can commit to? What about improving the lives and livelihoods of some of the poorest people in the world by empowering them to invest in sustainable community development? Whether it's in education, health, rural support, civil society, the environment or gender issues, the Aga Khan Development Network does just that. And by volunteering for the World Partnership Walk (or Partnerships in Action walks in the US), you're helping to make a difference in the world. A real difference, since 100% of the funds raised by these walks go directly to supporting Aga Khan Foundation Canada projects, which are non-denominational, by the way. Drop me a line if you want to get involved! Even if you're in another city, I'll hook you up with the right people!

And that's about it for my roundup! Don't forget, you can get more tasty little bites at Cupcake Camp Montreal, tomorrow!

See you there!

2 in 1 + 1

A bit of a delay due to intermittent Internet access, but here's the breakdown of the rest of my NYC trip, late but present.

On Monday, I made my way to the Top of the Rock Observation Deck, which, it turns out, is located right next to Rockefeller Plaza. Hence the "Rock". And therefore, I got to do an extra touristy thing I hadn't intended on doing. The sculpture was impressive, as were all the flags, but I must go back to NYC in the winter so I can skate at Rockefeller. It might be cheesy but I need to do it.

Also, next time I'm in town, I'm doing all the studio tours. I didn't realize NBC was in the vicinity or I would have planned to include that tour in my activities that day. I did get a bit of NBC history anyway, thanks to a short video on the way up to the "top of the rock". Not much I hadn't learned in History of Broadcast/Journalism, but some cool random timbits anyway.

I also caught a short video on being a Rockette, which totally makes me want to take a Christmas trip to NYC. There were actually 2 observation levels... three if you count the one on the roof, a mezzanine 10 steps above the "top" deck. I, of course, took pictures on all three of them, so I have many repeats. Also, I killed my battery, which means I had limited juice for the rest of the day.

The scenery itself was pretty impressive. You really get a feel for how large the city is in terms of buildings and so you wonder about just how many people, tangibly, live on Manhattan. It was a gorgeous day too, so the view was even more, well, scenic.

After Top of the Rock, I made my way to the NHL store, which wasn't very impressive. I actually was kind of disappointed. Their "largest hockey stick sculpture in North America" was just, eh. The NHL motorcycle was kinda cool... but wouldn't really stand out in a crowd, save for the miniature Stanley Cup replica on the back. The amount of gear they had was relatively low, and there was absolutely nothing from Alyssa Milano's "touch" collection, which really frustrated me, since that was basically the whole reason I went to the store. To see if they had more apparel than advertised online and to actually see and get a feel for it. In other words, sucky.

Before my Top of the Rock excursion, I'd made a pit stop at a lovely store called Anthropology, where I bought a heavily discounted gorgeous halter top. Apparently, they're trying to open stores in Toronto or Vancouver... I can't wait!

After the NHL store, I headed to the Museum of Sex, which is not a porn museum, for the record. Along the way, I caught a random sighting of the Flatiron building. Very cool.

The Museum featured 3 exhibitions at this time. The permanent collection, which takes a look at sex toys and sexual culture since way back, was on the 3rd floor. The second floor examines sex through film, from the early days when actors couldn't kiss for more than 3 seconds on screen to celebrity sex tapes and the emergence of sexually charged films. And porn. Though it stayed away from the porn thing, mainly because this is supposed to be an educational museum.

My favourite part was the first collection, which focused on sex and the animal kingdom. It went through regular sexual behavior, demystified the fact that animals have sex just for procreative purposes, and exposed the truth about same-sex and polygamous relationships in the animal kingdom. In other words, all these "extremes" in human sexuality are completely natural and also exist in more "primitive" animals. In fact, some primates have even been observed to trade sex for food and other goodies. Prostitution, it seems, is also natural.

I found it interesting to see that so many animals are asexual or have multiple or changing sexual organs. In other words, being female doesn't necessarily mean the animal is biologically female. It's a matter of attitude, not organs. A lot of sexual concepts that are tough to talk about in our modern world are shown here to be entirely natural and so, if closed-minded individuals took the time to examine the data, they'd realize that homosexuality and other touchy subjects should, in fact, be accepted by society at large. They've always existed, through evolution and through time, and should not be repressed. It was definitely the most enlightening part of my trip.

Armed with all this new knowledge, I headed to the shops. I purchased a few goodies from Bath and Body Works, then made my way to Century 21, where I ravaged through racks upon racks of discounted clothing. I ended up with 2 tops for myself, a couple of ties for family gifts, and some stuff for Ryan.

After that, I met up with my cousin for prayers, and we then found our way to Crumbs, a Manhattan area bakery that makes amazing cupcakes. We split a lemon cupcake and a large apple caramel cupcake that really tasted more like a delicious piece of cake. So moist, sweet but not too sweet. Perfect.

Late night snacking with one of Aleha's friends from school included a sushi delivery, left over dim sum, and that amazing apple cupcake.

Mmmmm...

*****

On my last full day in NYC, I decided to take it easy. NOT!

My full day started with a tour of the United Nations Headquarters in NYC. Well, not really. As soon as you pass through the gates at 45th St and 1st Avenue, you enter international territory. I think it's basically the only place in the world - apart from other UN buildings - where you can be in international territory, and not in a specific country, like in Embassies. Cross that one off my list!!

The tour itself was pretty uneventful. It included lots of information most educated people already know about the UN and its operations, in general. However, the bit of info I found most interesting was how every year, the UN draws from a list of countries to figure out who gets to sit at the front of the General Assembly. The tables are usually organized by alphabetical order, with 2 countries sharing each table, and about 3 seats each for delegates (I think). In theory, Afghanistan should be first, and Zimbabwe should be last. But since that's unfair, it changes every year, on the third Thursday of September, which is also when the "new" session of the GA starts. The GA sessions are always underway, in theory, with each year marking a full session.

As for the Security Council, it's on call 24/7. Emergency meetings, like the one called on August 8th when Russia and Georgia were going at it, can be called late at night - in this case, 11pm - and last into the wee hours of the morning, aka 4am. Members of the Security Council rotate every few years, which we already knew. What I didn't know is that if the meeting relates to a country that's not currently sitting on the council, representatives are invited to attend the otherwise closed meeting. The same is true for countries that hold a special interest in the subject of discussion. So if the topic was the war in Afghanistan and Canada was not part of the Council, we'd probably be invited in.

All in all, it was cool to just be there. Seeing some of the gifts donated by member countries to the UN was impressive as well. A few from Thailand were pretty spectacular, all covered in gold and intricately carved. Some countries have offered tapestries, some with global themes, others mostly just cultural and pretty. The only Canadian gift I could find was an Inukshuk that sits in the main lobby of the main building. It's a beautiful piece of work, but it's nothing compared to the lavish pieces some other countries have given.

After the tour, I went down to the gift shop, which also displayed Canada's lack of "typical" items. While some countries had shelves and shelves of cultural sculptures, fabrics and jewelry that could be purchased, Canada had a shelf and a bit, and a display of maple leaf broaches. I got myself a UN panda buddy and some gifts for random people.

Then, I rushed off to Grand Central Terminal to meet up with my friend and HIO co-conspirator Brian for lunch. We went to Oyster Park, which is known for its seafood, and it did not disappoint! I had a grilled Maine jumbo scallops with herbs dish, and it was to die for. Also, the conversation was great... The Habs being the main topic of discussion.

Once my tummy was full, I made my way to 59th St and 5th avenue to dance on the Giant Piano at FAO Schwartz. First off, let me confirm that this store is a designer toy store. It's got gigantic displays and it's like an enormous playground - just not in a tacky way. In fact, it's organized the way every parent wants their kids' toy rooms to be displayed. The dollhouse section was impressive, with its multiple fabric couches and tiny pillows to go along. There's an impressive lego collection and a big baby section too. The candy area is probably a parents' worse nightmare... hyper kids in a giant toy store? No thanks.

The piano was upstairs and definitely worth a visit. I was shy and didn't jump around too much, which is probably a good thing considering the little girls who were might have gotten crushed by my intervention ;) I did tiptoe around and took the "feet on piano" masterpiece photo. Next time, I hope to go with a couple of crazy friends and destroy the thing - musically, of course.

I decided to skip Macy's and Bloomingdales, because, honestly... they probably weren't that interesting anyway. I did make a pit stop at Lords & Taylor on an errand for my cousin, and so I got my fill of expensive branded department stores that are better in folklore than in reality.

Instead, I took the subway down to Union Square and toured the shops in the vicinity. I hit Forever 21, DSW and Filene's Basement. I was going to go into Strawberry, but that never happened. Which is probably a good thing, because by then, I was all shopped out.

At 6ish, I took the 42nd St crosstown to Pier 86 and borded a Circle Line Sightseeing tour. The Harbour Lights tour is a 2-hour trip that does a semi-circle around the southern tip of Manhattan Island during sunset. And it was gorgeous! I finally got to see the Statue of Liberty up close. The camera was freaking out due to the crazy twillight light, but I did manage to get some great shots. The tour itself was a suggestion from one of my friends. She'd done the 3-hour daytime tour, and as much as I loved the sunset, next time, I'll go during the day and circle the whole island.

Exhausted from a busy day, I headed home to leftover macaroni and cheese heart attack triangles from Maxies and delicious chocolate from Sarah. And then, just like that, my trip to NYC started to come to an end as the packing began.

*****

My Montreal-bound train left Penn Station at 8am, so I was an early riser at 6:30. I took a cab to the station because, lets face it, my purchases made my Beijing bag way heavier than it was coming in. The cab ride was interesting. I got to read the MSNBC ticker on their backseat monitor, and I guess I can now say I've ridden in a Big Apple yellow cab! I also got to see some of the landmarks I'd skipped out on, like Macy's (ugh) and Madison Square Gardens, which is actually where I went in to the train station.

This time, the ride took the correct amount of time, and I arrived safe and sound and sleepy in Montreal at 7:40pm. This time, I had to share seats since, despite my early arrival, the car was already full. I had an interesting experience with a Kahanwake woman sitting ahead of me, but most importantly, a made a new friend in Rachel, my seatmate. Actually, I was more like her seatmate. Either way, we chatted on and off throughout the trip and exchanged contact info on the way out. Hopefully, we'll stay in touch - though Facebook will make that much easier.

I finally got home at 9pm, pooped and hungry. And I still haven't unpacked.

Real "the last six months of my life" updates to come, I swear.

Stay tuned...