south of the loop

I think the term “Boxing Day” is gaining notoriety in the States, though it’s certainly not a federal holiday. According to the Internets, the term “Boxing Day” doesn’t have a singular definitive origin, but according to my friends in London, it was historically the day that you boxed up your unwanted gifts to the poor. Which is a pretty good reason for a federal holiday, frankly.

This past Boxing Day, Tim and I joined his dad for a ramble through Hampstead Heath in north London. It wasn’t at all the manicured park I expected—more a sprawling, muddy lawn, with gravel paths and dozens of dogs happily racing through the mud and muck. (I should have worn my new patterned wellies but didn’t realize just how muddy it was going to be. I finally caught on near the end of my stay, after I ruined a pair of jeans by constantly dragging them through muddy paths).

After a good post-Christmas walk and a cup of tea, Tim and I headed toward Waterloo so I could take a few more pictures with my proper camera (as opposed to my point-and-shoot). We walked through the compound that houses the British Film Institute, the National Theatre, and other cultural buildings, which were decorated with small white lights hanging between the buildings. The moon was bright that night and not quite full. I loved the asymmetry of the moon and the broken string of lights.

Filed under: london, photos, travel by ellembee
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When my friend Megan and I were at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, we happened onto a large group of Filipino tourists gathered in front of O’Brien’s Tower. They were staging a photo op by all jumping at the same time — this went on for quite a while, and they were so excited about it that it just cracked me up. So I set my camera to a fast shutter speed and started snapping. This is my favorite, even though the light isn’t that great (it was a gray day, of course, and my shutter speed was probably a little too fast). I especially love the guy on the far left:

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current book: Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, which I need to hurry up and finish so I can read Ender’s Game for my YA book club next week.

current music: The newly launched CHIRP Radio. Go listen! You can even stream it through iTunes.

current socks: It’s SmartWool season. I was wearing brown socks with pink mushrooms until I ran through the snow after the UPS truck wearing only pajamas and socks. Now I am wearing red-and-white SmartWools.

Filed under: ireland, photos, travel by ellembee
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I’m back in Chicago and over the jet lag, though my mind is not fully Stateside yet. The Chicago accents greeting me in O’Hare were jarring, the tea here is terrible, and the museums cost a fortune. Until I figure out how to move abroad, I’m keeping myself busy. A few job-related notes:

- I was featured on a Chicago Public Radio blog last month in a series called, “Give me a job, please!” Check it out: Storyteller, art lover, wordsmith, factory tour enthusiast.

- Starting in about a week, I’m joining Chicagoist’s Arts & Entertainment bloggers covering museumy things. I’m pretty excited about it, and I’ll keep you posted.

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People keep asking what my trip highlight was. That’s impossible to answer — I was there for five full weeks and packed a lot in. I did catch a couple shows at The National Theatre — we had hoped to see more, but it just wasn’t meant to be — and I realized how much I’m missing out here in Chicago. I live in one of the best cities in the world for theater, and I think I’ve seen maybe two shows since I’ve been here. Unacceptable. I’ve done some poking around, and reduced-rate tickets are available at almost every theater, either by queuing up the morning of, or via HotTix.org (also usually the day of). Here are the current shows I want to see. Who’s in?

The Year of Magical Thinking — Court Theatre (in Hyde Park; based on Joan Didion’s book of the same name)

American Buffalo — Steppenwolf Theatre (a David Mamet play)

Private Lives — Chicago Shakespeare Theater (a Noel Coward play)

And just about anything at Looking Glass Theatre and Second City.

Email me or leave a comment if you want to join me. In general, cheap tickets are around $20 (compared to prices anywhere from $40 to $60+, so it’s actually a good deal).

Filed under: chicago, london, theatre, travel by ellembee
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In the East End near Brick Lane.

Filed under: art, graffiti, london, travel by ellembee
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View of the South Bank from Waterloo Bridge last night. I only had my point-and-shoot with me, but I was able to steady it on the bridge and set the shutter speed to one second. The ferris wheel on the left is known as the London Eye and was built to celebrate the millennium. You can just see the Houses of Parliament behind it and to the right.

Filed under: london, travel by ellembee
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UK customs officer: Can I see your return ticket?

Me, suddenly sent into a blind panic worsened by severe sleep deprivation: Return ticket? Um, it’s ticketless travel…

Customs officer: Surely you printed out the itinerary.

Me: Um. [digging madly through my coat pockets, bag pockets, everything]. There’s… this. Oh crap, it only has this leg.

Customs officer: When is your return flight?

Me: January 8.

Customs officer: What time?

Me: 4:30pm.

Customs officer: What flight?

Me: Uh. It’s on American? I don’t know the flight number.

Customs officer, looking at the printed itinerary, and then looking at me as though I’m the biggest dolt to pass through Border Control: Your return flight is right here.

Me: *wipes sweat from brow*

Customs officer, examining printed itinerary more closely: Who is [dad's name]?

Me: That’s my dad. The ticket was purchased on his frequent flyer miles.

Customs officer: Fair enough.

He looks at my landing card, on which I’ve identified my profession as ‘writer.’

Customs officer, smarmily: So your dad had to buy you the ticket because you’re a struggling writer and can’t make any money?

After a few more questions about the nationality of the friends (British) I was visiting and how I met them (at Oxford), he said, “we’ll take that, then. Go on.”

And now I’m at a kitchen table in southwest London looking out at a lovely garden and drinking tea. Life is good.

Filed under: london, travel by ellembee
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A shot of Reagan Airport as I was waiting for the Metro my first day in D.C. last week.

Filed under: travel by admin2
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Austin is not what I’d call a particularly beautiful city; although relatively small, it sprawls, like most Texas cities, spreading from the State Capitol into suburban-esque neighborhoods punctuated by strip malls and monster grocery stores. The areas around the city center have the most character, with pockets of historic homes with purple front doors and stretches of the funky boutiques and independent coffee shops you’d expect near a major university. Burnet Road, one of the main drags northwest of downtown, feels delightfully haphazard, with faux-adobe Tex-Mex restaurants next to baroque neon signs advertising Japanese food, all next door to a run-down car dealership or an even shadier business. Once escaped from the downtown grid, the streets meander like rivers, looping this way and that with no apparent method. From a distance, and on a clear day, the skyline is small and bright and sparkling above the Colorado River. A little closer, and you’ll see dozens of people running and walking along the river path, most of them wearing burnt orange.

Despite its happy-go-lucky layout and its suburban stretches, there is something striking and beautiful about Austin: its signs. Every shop, restaurant, cafe, seems to have made their sign as much of a destination as the store itself. Neon, shimmering reflective orbs, unusual fonts, paint thrown over the entire store front. And they weren’t just for self-promotion—the city has absorbed a Tex-Mex sensibility for color, painting doors bright azul y rojo, populating their outdoor seating with bright lime and lemon chairs, concocting mad neon designs. I’ve never seen a city with so many beautiful, wonderful, crazy signs. I’m angry at myself for forgetting my camera on Saturday, which was perfect and sunny and bright, and when Laura and I wandered around shops in the North Loop District, one of the better areas for sign-watching. (The North Loop District is one of those stretches of funky boutiques that pops up in the midst of an otherwise dull stretch of road.) I remembered my camera on Monday—the weather was grayer, so the contrast isn’t as good (also, my camera sucks)—and I took pictures of nearly every sign I came across. Here’s a few.

Filed under: signs, texas, travel by admin2
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Farmers who were already in the park were grandfathered in and allowed to keep farming. The problem is that nobody enforces legislation, meaning that their lands aren’t being monitored, and the farmers can easily overtake park land. The problem is that most of these farmers don’t know anything besides slash-and-burn techniques, which degrades the land within three years. One thing Organization and Partners are trying to do is teach farmers other techniques that are kinder to the land but still yield profitable crops.

Filed under: panama, travel by admin2
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Filed under: panama, travel by admin2
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