happy last day of 2008

PREFACE:
Yay, you get a New Year's Eve present! Musical accompaniment. I just love this song...and for some reason inspires new beginnings. Enjoy it as you read.*

To me, it sounds just like a sunrise...


Sigur Ros :: Hoppipolla

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Last day of 2008. Everyone always says that they can't believe how fast the year flew by. This year was no different. Surprises, new places, new people, a couple homes, trips, memories, colors. Last year today I was getting ready for dinner and a party with friends at an agriturismo in the Tuscan countryside, shooting confetti and waving sparklers around a frozen swimming pool and silver olive trees, all yelling "buon anno!" and "auguri!". Today, I will be on the sunny beach, then meet friends to shoot confetti and wave sparklers around a Florida backyard with palms and oaks, and yell "Happy New Year"! Same spirit, just a different year, different climate, different people.

New Years last year in Italy
Today is a mix of reflection and resolution. This past year has brought me many things, taken me to faraway places, and taught me important lessons. I'm thankful for all of it, and continue to prepare myself for the full life ahead of me. Today is the official last day of my current career, and I'm so excited about new opportunities on the horizon. It is a step to really find what you want to do...and do it. I'm not all the way there, but being on my way, feels good...and I'm really excited to see what this next year brings.

images from my 2008
Have a wonderful last day of the year! I know I'll be grooving on a homemade dance floor, laughing with friends, trying not to get hit by misguided roman candles, and besides listening to Auld Lang Syne I may even put on Hoppipolla and shed a small (happy) tear.

P.S.: oh yeah, and watch for the big "2009" glowing sign in Times Square that lights up when the ball drops...the 5th light bulb on the "9", third row from the top...yeah, I powered that! :)

* (Email readers may have to click to the site to hear)

giving gifts & giving back

There's officially less than 1 week until Christmas! In past holiday seasons I've posted about some of the better options for gift-giving than the traditional over-consumption of unneeded, unnecessary presents. This year, my list is narrowed to 4 companies making a big difference around the world...and who offer awesome products that you can enjoy buying, wearing, and giving, while at the same time knowing you're giving something back to someone in need. Apologies in advance for being a bit late on this! ...So my 2008 picks are:

ROSA LOVES
www.rosaloves.com

This makes my list every year *but I'm sad to report that I posted on this too late, and new orders will now be shipped out after the New Year...but who doesn't love an I.O.U. :), and there are always birthdays!). Chris helped launch this non-profit company a little over 2 years ago with a good friend of ours. It's been steadily growing, and there is lots of new stories and shirts to check out. If you're not familiar with the concept: 1) someone is found with a need, 2) a shirt is designed from their story, 3) the shirt is sold until enough funds are raised to support the need, 4) the shirt is discontinued, but the process repeats with another story.


Check out some of the STORIES, and then buy a shirt...like Simple Machine that raises money to pay for the commissioning of recycled bikes, which will be given to people without any means of transportation , or Hope Transfusion which will help pay for a little boy in Iraq's life-saving heart surgery.

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TOMS SHOES
www.tomsshoes.com
I can't say enough about how much I ♥ TOMS Shoes. First of all, the company is quite amazing, and the shoes ROCK! They are some of the most comfortable shoes ever...you'll never want to take them off. Plus, they just came out with a new vegan line. I got my very own amazing red, plaid ones for the holidays!
The best thing, is that for every pair purchased, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. It's called the "One for One" program, and they've sponsored shoe drops around the world in places like Africa, South America, and even here in the US. For the Christmas Season, they have a goal to give 30,000 pairs of shoes to Ethiopia! Watch this video and go buy a pair*!

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JEDIDIAH CLOTHING
www.jedidiahusa.com
So, yeah, this company is pretty much awesome, and is SUPER active in so many relevant ways...from art, music, surfing, design, mainly just "building community through clothing". Part of their entire sales goes back to non-profit groups that they support, and several specific collections are dedicated to giving back even more to these non-profit groups, such as Invisible Children, SurfAid International, Light Love and Melody, and others.

For example, The HOPE Collection is "a series of t-shirts designed to benefit certain humanitarian organizations and their causes. In addition to the revenue contributed through the 1% for humanity, Jedidiah will donate $10 per t-shirt sold from these ten collaborations to their respective social aid affiliates." Some good friends of mine work for them, and they also help support the group, Surfing the Nations, that organized the trip to Bangladesh that I went on. They're having some great holiday promotions (which end today) in their online store so GO SHOPPING!.

You can also check out this video to learn a bit more about the company*:

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PAPER ROOT CLOTHING
www.paperrootclothing.com

Our good friend, Greg Dettra, is an amazing screen-printer and overall creative guy. He does the screen-printing for Rosa Loves and has an awesome online selection of his own collection. Also, for the Christmas season, he's offering a special shirt where 50% of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to Toys for Tots! Plus, most all other items are on sale for the holidays. So....Check it out!

* email subscribers must click the blog link to view the videos online

festivals in bangladesh :: pt 2

...continued from part 1...

scenes from the beach
As we headed closer to the water's edge, pushing through the colorful crowds of people. Women in new, beautiful, ceremonial garb. Some sparkles, gold jewelry, even ornamental chains over the head coverings. Men in normal clothes, but many with faces, skin, and shirts stained with the red and blue liquid dye being thrown around during the initial procession. We passed by the festival food stands, set up like carnival stalls...but fresh pressed sugarcane, local fruits, and dried grains took the place of hotdogs and cotton candy.

The crowd only got thicker as the minutes passed, and several times I got separated from the others, and had to push through crowds around me that grew quickly of Bengali men with camera phones. This was an occurrence that happened almost non-stop during my stay. People, unashamedly walk straight up to my face, whip out a camera or camera phone and snap away. No questions asked. No greeting, or courteous permission request. Just shutter buttons pushed.

under the umbrellas • a nice photographer who asked permission to take our photo • ...so we asked him to take a photo of us taking a photo of him taking our photo :)
Each time this happened, it just depended on the day or my mood as to how I'd react. Sometimes I was annoyed, sometimes humored, sometimes neutral...but as the first week passed, I began to play the same game. As soon as someone would walk up with their camera, I'd have mine immediately ready to put it up to my face and take a photo of them taking my photo...then sometimes I'd leave it there, so if they did get a photo of me, it was with my camera in my face. Sometimes this would elicit a surprised reaction, but most of the time followed by a few laughs on each end.

standing above the crowd • looking back towards the land • idols entering the sea
We eventually found a handful of other people from our group, and one of the local boy's brother owned some beach umbrella rental company, and reserved several for us to sit under as they kind of surrounded them to keep back the crowds. They all encouraged me to sit and relax, but I declined, as I wanted to keep roaming around taking photos. Eventually a few of us retreated to the top of a platform of stacked, wooded beach chairs, where we were able to get a great view atop the heads of the crowd. There were rows and rows of the idols coming from the land to the sea. Drums beat all around us, and everyone was cheering as Durga fell into the water, just to break apart and leave thousands and thousands of colorful litter along the shore the next day.

hand-made wooden fair ride • colorful women • sunset over the festival crowd
On our way back towards town and away from the crowded beach we passed more festive activities including several hand-made fair rides. There was a wooden primitive ferris wheel which squeaked so loudly as the operator cranked it by hand and the wooden ring rubbed against the wooden stakes buried into the sand. So sketchy...but no one seemed to think twice. We talked to some food vendors and declined the inflated price on puffed wheat square snacks, but did grab a coconut. And as the sun set and we walked down the street towards our hotel, we smiled and tried to digest what we'd just witnessed.
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Here are a couple small videos from my poor little camera. Almost not worth posting aside the video from yesterday...but they show a little bit of what I explained: *to view the videos you must click to the actual online post if you're reading this from an email subscription*

close-up view of the idols entering the beach

from above the crowd watching the idols make their way to the sea

festivals in bangladesh :: pt 1

So, rewinding a bit...I want to finally write a bit about the Durga Puja Festival in Bangladesh which I mentioned wanting to dedicate an entire post to back in October. If you remember the brief summary I wrote when I returned, I included a video at the end of the post which showed glimpses of this amazing festival that took place during my last week in Bangladesh's southern coastal town of Cox's Bazar.

Before I left for this trip, I wasn't too familiar with all the traditions and festivals that are celebrated throughout the year by the Muslim and Hindu religions...but after a quick briefing before I left, and then witnessing them first hand while I was away, I know that this time period was a perfect time to visit because of all the cultural richness I was able to be a part of. I arrived a few days before Ramadan, which is the largest Muslim festival of the year, complete with about 30 days of fasting from dawn to dusk. I landed in Dhaka, the capital city, and spent time with a couple of friends who are doing grad studies at a NGO there, and since the final celebration of Ramadan is determined by the moon, we weren't sure exactly what day this would be.

iftar with new friends • tapioca snack • henna art for the Eid celebrations
My domestic flight to Cox's Bazar on the southern coast, was delayed a day, as Eid, the holiday which marks the official end of the holy month of fasting, fell on the day I was scheduled to leave. As the majority of Bangladesh is Muslim, most of the businesses were shut down, including the airlines. The evening before this holiday, we were invited to share iftar with a local family who ran a clothes shop next door to my friends' office. Iftar is the first meal (more like a snack) at dusk which breaks the day-long fast. We arrived a few minutes before sundown was scheduled, and joined the family and a few of their friends on the floor of the small shop, which was now covered in colorful fabrics. We sat cross-legged and the plates were passed along with the roti (fried tortilla), dried fruit, juice, and a tapioca pudding kind-of dish. When everyone had food, we all just waited anxiously. At last, the call to prayer came from the speakers of the neighborhood mosque signaling the official sun-down and permission to break the fast...and everyone dug in.

The day after Eid, most people took off from the city to have a vacation with their families. It just so happened that the city I was headed to, is one of the more popular holiday destinations for the Bengali people as well...so me, along with hundreds of thousands of nationals, went south the next day. That week was spent trying to push our way through the hordes of people in the coastal town, but slowly during the week the crowd diminished...but not for long.

truck parade • dyed faces and an idol • women standing on the sidelines
A few days after the Eid excitement was ending, the people started amassing again for the largest Hindu festival of the year - the Durga Puja (worship of the goddess Durga who most people recognize with the 10 arms). We'd heard a bit about all the craziness that ensues during the main celebration, and I couldn't wait to witness it. Again, this holiday follows the patterns of the moon, so the exact day was hard to nail down. Finally on Thursday afternoon (just a couple days before I flew out), one of the local surfer boys came into our hotel room, as we were resting from the other activities that day, and announced that the festival had begun. We grabbed our things (mainly cameras and sandals) and rushed out the door. Immediately we heard music playing, horns honking, people yelling...a lot of chaos really.

Our hotel was just about a block from the beach on the main road which leads to the entrance to the sand. There was a never-ending line of trucks full of men with bullhorns, stereos, and paint guns throwing this bright dye all over people. Each vehicle had a homemade idol in tow, and everyone was yelling, jumping around, and celebrating.

never-ending sea of people
The entire trip, it was quite strange to me to have to always be accompanied places...because being foreign where there is almost no tourism, and a female, I had to adjust to not being so independent. Even with two guy friends of mine from the group, we still had a couple of the locals around who were helping us through the masses...and I'm so glad we had them, because as soon as we made our way to the sand, the sea of people was unending. The crowd literally spread on either side of the shore for as far as you could see. I read the next day that they estimated over 1 million people were on the beach. We were surrounded and stared at constantly, but we couldn't stop trying to take in the sense-explosion happening on all sides of us.

I did several circles just trying to get a 360º perspective, and after just a few minutes, we walked over to a media tower where announcements were being made on speakers, and my friend Russell, who was doing the filiming, was able to climb up a bit to get a better view on the whole thing.

watching the idols pass
From this area we were in a prime spot to watch some of the idols being paraded from the trucks to the water. Each idol is carried by a group of men, and along with drum beats leading the way, is taken across the enormously wide beach until it reaches the water. When they walk as far in the water as they can, and the idol falls over, they all celebrate the sacrifice of the goddess and her symbolic return to her husband. Overall the celebration symbolizes the victory of good over evil...

(Here's the video again, and you'll see this festival around the 2:42 mark).

Bengal Visual Montage from Russell Brownley on Vimeo
...part 2 of my experience at the Durga Puja festival coming soon...

nyc at christmas :: a continuation

Chelsea Antique Market • view from Empire State Building • how'd he get way up here?
On Sunday morning we slept in a little, and then put on our 5 layers of clothes as we stepped outside ready for a beautiful, clear, cold day again in NYC. We walked north through Chelsea and happened upon a weekend antique market. We rummaged around for a few minutes then continued on our way. After a stop in a for a quick coffee, we arrived off 5th Avenue to the entrance of the Empire State Building. I'd never visited this NYC staple before, so I was excited to enjoy the view from above the city.

streets below • 50 cents • looking up
Glad we'd arrived early enough before the lines got too long, we paid the entrance fee and headed up the turbo elevators to the 80th floor, and then walked up the stairs to the 86th floor observatory (the 102nd floor is closed now for renovations). As soon as we walked outside, it felt like an Arctic blast hit our faces at about 300 mph. Thinking that the wind probably wouldn't be directly hitting all sides we went around to the north-facing side, and were able to steady ourselves enough to enjoy the view. It was quite breathtaking and iconic to see one of the world's most famous cities just beneath our feet. We took our time up there snapping photos, pointing out landmarks, and even exchanging a small amount of our lingua seconda with an Italian couple who asked for us to take their photo.

layered buildings • Chrysler in the distance • interesting textures
After coming back down to street level and stopping in a few stores to shop, we walked towards the Chrysler Building and then went in the direction of Grand Central Station. The architecture in this area of Manhattan is fascinating - each building has it's own dominating look. Each unique and styled in such an impressive way, that I couldn't walk more than 10 feet before wanting to stop and take another photo.

inside Grand Central • Dean&Deluca hot chocolate • police horses
Grand Central Station was a welcoming stop as we warmed up a bit inside and watched a Christmas light show projected on the walls and ceiling, complete with musical accompaniment. Time for another warm drink break...so we headed for Rockefeller Center again and sat in the Dean & Deluca by the NBC Studios enjoying espresso, hot chocolate, and a molasses/ginger cookie as we watched the loads of Christmas shoppers pass the windows.

views over the Central Park skating rink
More shopping stops for us as we headed once again to Central Park to take a look at the skating rink. We'd figured that we'd end up skating at either the Rockefeller rink or the larger one in the park, but after being on our feet for a few days, and in the numbing cold - flying along past the bitter wind on a block of ice didn't appeal so much anymore, and we were content to just watch the other people enjoy the fun instead.

Christmas window displays
We sat in a cafe as the sun set, and then headed back through midtown to see the famous department store Christmas window displays. Bloomingdales, Saks, Macy's, Bergdorf Goodman, Lord&Taylor...

a Santa spotting • Rockefeller plaza at night • the famous tree
We couldn't just window shop without going in...so we retreated inside one with over 10 stories of departments. Mainly, we just took advantage of the fun escelators to reinact Elf...but we did some shoe-shopping too (although we left empty-handed).

On Monday morning, we didn't have to hail a taxi for the airport until noon, so we first headed over the harbor to the trendy Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. Unfortunately we arrived a bit too early, and only were able to sit in a couple cafes before deciding we were entirely too cold to endure it any longer (as it was only 19º that morning), so most of the fun vintage shops weren't open before we took the return trip on the subway. I know we didn't give that area a fair shot, and I will try it again, as next time I really hope to find some good music shows to attend, as so many of the groups I'm listening to are from that neighborhood.

...so Brooklyn, and NYC - we'll be back again. But thank you for your hospitality, and even the little snow shower. We enjoyed it, and hope you have a Merry Christmas.

after a long hiatus...

Well, it's almost been 2 months since my last post, and I've received so many emails asking where I've been, how I'm doing, and if I'm ever going to write again. I know that this has been the longest I've gone without writing in over 2 years when I began this blog. There has been so much going on with me personally, that I just haven't had the motivation or inspiration to write, but I'm thinking that this may be a good outlet, and I know at least I needed to update everyone...so I'll attempt to give some update posts on what has been going on. I'll be posting more about my trip to Bangladesh, as well as some random events that have occurred in the last couple of months...but I'm going to start with the more recent happenings as they are most fresh in my mind.

winter trees • Rockefeller Center • globe in the city
Last weekend, Chris and I headed to NYC for several days to enjoy the Christmas season in the city. I've been up there a few times, but never during the holidays, and this has always been on my 'must-see' list. We rented a small apartment between Greenwich Village and Chelsea, and looked forward to being in a bustling city again....and walking, walking, walking.

city buildings • me in Times Square • Chris on the Duracell bike
On the small TV in the taxi from the airport (yep, that's right...lots of upgrades if you haven't been in a NYC cab lately. You can also swipe your credit card now!), we watched a report about Duracell Batteries setting up an exhibit off Times Square where anyone could stop and give time to pedal bikes that were storing up power to light the "2009" when the ball drops on New Years. So after we dropped our stuff off at the apartment, we headed up 7th Ave to Times Square and pedaled for about 10 min each, got a sticker that said "I Helped Power 2009", and left laughing a bit that we'd done it. Chris thinks that inmates should be required to power part of their cities like this. I would just settle for a bike-powered house. Exercise and lower your electric bill all-in-one.

colorful Central Park • levitating • street vendors
We meandered around midtown for most of the day, stopping in the biggest Whole Foods ever for lunch, walking through the Central Park, seeing Rockefeller Center with the tree and skating rink, doing some window shopping, and walking through a small Christmas market on the edge of the park.

cafe stop (check out the Illy!) • experiential film piece at the MOMA • Pollock up close and personal
We kept having to stop in cafes to grab a hot drink and thaw out a bit. It was SO cold! At 4:00 we got in line for the MOMA, as it was the first time of the Free Friday event. The line wrapped around the block, but moved fast, and we were inside within about 15 minutes. Initially we'd planned to go to the Guggenheim, as I've never been there and always wanted to go...but the MOMA is my favorite museum of all time, and since it was the closest to where we were, we decided it would be the museum visit of our trip. Awesome as ever. Newman, Rothko, Pollock...

On Saturday, we walked south through Greenwich, SOHO, and then over to Little Italy. We were both excited to try and find some genuine caffe italiano and possibly a decent pastry. I'd read reviews of a pasticceria, so we headed there, only to be disappointed by a photo menu, foreign (not Italian) workers, and a caffe latte when we ordered a macchiato. The pastries were quite good though, although I correctly ordered ONE cannol-O, and the waitress replied, "ok, one cannol-I". Sure, I'll take ONE cannoli. whatever.

black & white in SOHO • peace cranes in the church near ground zero • new WTC memorial building
We checked out a couple Italian groceries that we hoped against all hope to FINALLY find Barilla Pesto alla Genovese....but alas, it just doesn't exist here in the States that we have found. So we battled our way through the street vendors in Chinatown, down towards the financial district. We visited the church next to ground zero, and I was a little sad to see it even more museum-like since my last visit. All the memorials and hand-written notes to the rescue workers are still there, but now there are in official displays instead of around the church organically as they originally were. But the impact is still the same, and it quietens me each time. We walked around the north side of ground zero, and saw the foundations of the new Memorial building going up. The massive engineering undertaking just blows me away.

Italian grocery • view of NJ from Tribeca • band in the subway
We continued our long walk further south into Tribeca and along the harbor. We lingered in a waterfront promenade and caught a glimpse of Lady Liberty and Ellis Island in the distance. At this point, our gaunt through lower Manhattan had left our feet and legs quite sore, so we jumped on the metro up to the East Village to find the highly-recommended organic, vegetarian restaurant, Angelica Kitchen. This area seemed to fit our style, and the restaurant had so many interesting options that it was hard to choose a dish. After finishing, we walked back towards Greenwich and had dessert at GROM! I'd been looking forward to indulging in my most favorite Italian Gelateria since we moved back, and even though it was below freezing, we just bundled up, walked into the heated cafe, and waited until our hands thawed out so that we could enjoy the frozen treat. Caffe e crema di Grom per favore...It was a bit difficult to remember to speak English, as "un cono piccolo con..." naturally wanted to escape our mouths.

Later that night, we ended up going out to a couple clubs in East Village that I'd heard about. It was fun getting a bit dressed up, but a short dress, tights, and very high heels wasn't the best outfit for the weather...because as soon as we stepped outside the apartment, the sky had decided to open up as snow flakes filled the air falling steadily on the pavement, the cars, and our heads. It was quite magical actually. We hurried (as quickly as I could move in my shoes) to the metro station and rode a few stops to the outskirts of Alphabet City. We enjoyed a long, slow night of red, darkly lit atmosphere surrounded by fun characters...a musician-lookalike costume party, locals, and several foreigners. We chatted a while with a group from France, and then decided to walk a block away to another club, but wasn't too impressed as it was too crowded to even move, so we returned and talked more with our fast-friends. When we felt ready to battle the freezing temperatures again, we headed home, past the snow-topped cars, although the flakes were no longer falling.

Sleep came easily, and we prepared for another exciting day in the city that never sleeps...
(to be continued)