Gibbs Street Groove

The annual Rochester Xerox International Jazz Festival just came to a close. I live a solid hour from downtown, but I managed to make it there Thursday. I went with my close friend from school, Jenny, whom I haven't seen since graduation. Her family has generously welcomed me to their house these last few years, so it's always nice to catch up with all of them. 

The Jazz Festival runs the entire week at venues throughout the city, many centered in the East End near the Eastman School of Music. Janelle Monae was the premier kick-off concert, and Earth, Wind, and Fire were the closing; Steve Martin always makes it back with his banjo, and there were dozens of performances with groups from around the country. My pathetically small budget couldn't afford the club passes, so we headed for the open-air community stage wedged on Gibbs Street. In between the food tents and trucks, lawn seats, cafe tables, and other attendees, we squeezed into the front row to dance!

We grooved to the funk jazz tunes of Soul Stew through the golden hour and into the night. 

 Jenny and I

 Between sets we took a break in a cafe, and I ran into my old friend from work, Katherine! It was a thrilling shock because I haven't seen her in two years, especially since her family moved nearer to Rochester. She was the first person I went to the Jazz Fest with a few years ago. Catching up over cheesecake and ice water (it was a steamy night) was wonderful, and seems things are falling into place really well for her. 

I always enjoy visits to Rochester for cultural events like this. Temporary funderemployment aside, I hope to own a vehicle and have more mobility to take advantage of these festivals. At the end of the night, though, I like returning to the dark, star-filled solace of the countryside.

Listening: "Don't Count Me Out" by TeamMate

Hammertime Work Weekend

Humans need to unplug and get their hands dirty every now and then. It was such a relief to break away from job hunting on my laptop and spend the weekend in Syracuse, where my dear friends Kate and Mike just bought a house and organized a work party. Kate and I have been close since freshmen year, meeting on the cross-country team (and subsequently deserting haha). Mike graduated in 2012 but introduced me to the St. Lawrence theme house community when I moved into the Habitat for Humanity house and joined the Habi family.

They landed a great deal on this house in the Tipperary Hill Irish neighborhood. After a revelatory house inspection, they bargained the price down even further because of all the repairs and remodeling necessary. In the week since Kate and Mike have moved in, they've stripped all the carpets to uncover old hardwood flooring, repainted the kitchen, tore apart rounded door archways--and there's a lot to go to make the quaint house into their home! We joked that we were slave labor for the weekend, but they really put us to work. With the help of family members, we scrubbed, primed, and repainted the entire house all on Saturday, then moved a U-Haul truck load of furniture.

Before (they test-painted the front of the house before we arrived)

During

After! 

The best part was reuiniting with other Habi house mates that I haven't seen in two years, and feeling like hardly anything's changed. School semesters split those four months of the year up and make it fly by, they said. So the guys feel a bit older, but we still "raised the rod" together and partied our way through the neighborhood. We ventured to the city for the Taste of Syracuse festival, watched an Allman Brothers cover band and Blues Traveler for a bit, then went on a bar crawl.

Enjoying craft beer and local restaurant offerings at Taste of Syracuse.

The lead musician of Blues Traveler killing it on the harmonica! You definitely know their '94 single "Run Around."

We didn't make it to all the bars in the neighborhood--four of which are in immediate walking distance--but it was still hilarious. A random man who works for Wells Fargo came over to us and wanted to learn how to play quarters, and subsequently crushed Luke in a boat race (what?).

Bar selfies with the team!

The kitchen was a heinous shade of yellow (and yellow is my favorite color) that they've since toned down with white. The sink is an old-school metal unit they're keeping and updating with new faucets.

Contemplating furniture arrangements. We slept on an area rug and sleeping bag for the prior two nights.

In spite of sore shoulders and dehydration, it was a thrill to be part of this new chapter in their lives. Plus, I'll always have a place to stay in 'Cuse! Now it's back to my career-launching mission (more like stumbling into), though at least tonight I'm starting an ultimate frisbee summer league. More updates, reviews, and summer food cooking to come.

Listening: "Run Around" by Blues Traveler

Catalina Cram Mixers

Fortunately, I never made it to the sweatpants stage.  No coffee either, but some really strong chai lattes.

On the standard collegiate two-semester calendar, there's an awkward, desperate two or three week period of time between Thanksgiving and winter break, where all the professors lose their desire to teach, students stop doing their work, but we are all institutionally obliged to tie things up.  The weekday cram sessions lead to some crazed partying, and in the North Country, that usually entails atrociously cold weather.  It was negative 26 degrees Fahrenheit at it's low last weekend!  Fortunately, my townhouse was hosting the festivities.. :)  Here's a visually review of the tail end of the semester:

 The Ruckus Bus Catalina Wine Mixer/Massacre part deux!  Courtney and I organized, along with lots of help from Laura and PJ.  I'll take any excuse to dress up and party with my team.

 What better way to kick off formal weekends with a French 75 (highly-recommend this cocktail.. for the recipe click here), peppermint chocolate pretzels made by yours truly, sugar cookies, and Cards Against Humanity!

Snagged this one from Sam's Instagram.

 The weekend after, the Artist Guild organized a student art exhibition, pulling together work from across campus of majors and just general enthusiasts (like myself) to have our pieces displayed at once.  It  was marvelous having my painting "Kanagawa Resurfaced" and four photos from China among all this talent.

  

Although I don't live in the Habitat theme house anymore, I still had an honorary invite to formal.  I borrowed my friend's outrageous leopard jacket and rocked it all night.. but apparently I look like Cousin It here.  Ha! o.O

I also bounced up the road to the Dub, where these awesome ladies were having a formal as well. So much dancing in so many dresses!

 Ah, and then it was time to hit the books.  I sat in the basement of the library collecting dust like the periodicals.. but I sat near the window so I could at least visually connect with the outside world.  At it's worst, I spent 11 hours there on Tuesday!  It's not naturally for human beings to be relegated to the same position for that long (see top illustration), but then again, I brought it upon myself and I did crank out my term papers.

 Winter skies are some of my favorite.  I was able to sneak in a breakfast date at the Blackbird, and then celebratory Thai food with my housemates at the end of the week.

The beautiful campus architecture almost redeems frostbite.  Almost.

~*~

It's funny, because we were begging for the semester to be over-- and now it is.  It's been a rougher one than I had hoped, which seems to be a shared sentiment across the board.  Elizabeth said seven down, one to go, and that honestly hit me like a pit in my stomach.  It's terrifying to consider what's coming "next" but things have a way of tumbling into place as they should.  This spring I have a lot to look forward to, but I honestly want to take full advantage of being a frivolous college student while it lasts and just have more fun (lest I find the ultimate unconventional-yet-fulfilling way to make money right after I graduate).

Now I'm home, preparing for the holiday, and gathering my bearings for another winter break full of adventure and pending travel in the new year; Boston, New York, and Florida... here I come!

Listening: Rubblebucket's new EP, "Save Charlie" ~I'm seeing them next Friday on the 27th, CAN'T WAIT

Weekend Views

Frost in the North Country, Halloween, my birthday, academic endeavors, and lots of dancing. 

 Porch views from the townhouse.

 ///\\\

Night 1 of Halloween: Have you ever seen a cat in space?

Sponsored by my roommate's absurd/awesome royal purple rhistone-embellished figure skating leotard, my friend's galactic leggings, sneakers for dancing, and Marg's cat mask.

 Dinner party with frisbee friends.

Night 2: Mother nature, zombie animals, Pikachu, and a hi-liter.

 Night 3: A fish that can fly (including a blue sequined blazer), skeleton babes, and a sassy cat!

 The proceeding Ruckus Bus party, of course with many crowded around the table playing quarters.  Same story, different appearance.

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 These dear friends trooped out into the cold with me for my first trip to the bar.  We were the only seven patrons at 12:30 AM, aside from a local resident.  We passed around a bottle of Andre champagne and took Hornitos tequila shots with the bartender, and I giddily went to sleep.

 Wahoo!  21 year old me, trying to keep it classy for senior portraits.  A typical Monday, though more exciting and significantly less regard for school work.

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 Almost every week, some of my classmates from my Global Studies Theories of Cultural Studies course meet to discuss the theory from the week, and topics that have diverged into marriage, migration, identity, Russell Brand, and even cats on the internet.  We are champions of social justice, Marxist theory, and will seek to restructure the world ... or at least contribute more sense.  (Not pictured: Tommy)

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  One of my favorite bands to come to Java is Thunderbody, who are from Rochester, performed Friday night.  Good roots and reggae with a leading percussion.  They even brought their thunder baby that was born this past summer!

 Alex, Evan, and... mustached Andrew.

 Set break dancing madness.

Karoke with Kat and my favorite theme house friends the night night the Java Barn!  We were keeping things smooth with some Frank Ocean.

 

 And the sweetest ending to a week of my 21st year of life: a pumpkin-chocolate cheesecake made from scratch from my roommate, Courtney, and help from Laura.

Listening: Arcade Fire's new album, Reflektor.

Socially Constructed Rites of Passage

A final shot of my U.S.-sanctioned underage self
... in a new dress & shoes from Asos!

I'm sitting alone in my townhouse bedroom with the lights low, wearing a new black dress with gold-beaded straps underneath blankets.  I'm listening to a beautifully morose Lykee Li on spotify, sipping on a whiskey sour made with Red Stag and homemade sour syrup, and there are traces of this past Halloweekend strewn about: angel wings, sequins, glitter, a cat mask, and a Pokemon mudkip.. on a leash.  I can't decide if this is amusing or pitiful-- probably a conflation of both.

Although I don't know my actual time of birth, I'm turning 21 years old in less than two hours.  And more than anything, I feel tired.  It's been a long weekend, and several weeks of hype building to this rite of passage, mainly in the form of me grumbling when all my friends bailed on parties and headed to the bar, while I was left behind.  To a definite degree of selfishness, I have begged as many as possible to join me tonight in my first trek to the Hoot Owl, despite A) it's a Sunday night and B) it's below freezing temperatures!  Ha, we'll see; I'm not admonishing any of them if they decide otherwise..!

I haven't given the proper reflection to my mere lifetime, but my dad has pointed out more than once the outstanding experiences I have collected!  I wish I could articulate every moment, travel, turn, taste, project, game, person, place that has enriched, ruptured, and altered my life.  Before I went to China, I never really bought into serendipity, but more and more I believe that things happen and there are people in this world that we intersect for a reason.

Against the daily grind and flitting emotions, I know that this life has been good to me.  And I trust that it will only accelerate, and excel, from here.

Listening: "Tonight" by Lykke Li

在中国美国的生日

 So what’s it like celebrating the birth of your nation while halfway around the world in another?  Actually, a lot of fun, and more patriotism than I ever imagined!  Maybe it’s the vacuum effect of being a minority expatriate; we've come to China seeking something different, but the U.S. is our commonality.  Thursday on the 4^th I was acquainted with a lot more ultimate frisbee players at a friend’s rooftop cookout, while venues around the city had drink and barbecue deals and live music the rest of the weekend.

When in rains in the city, I can’t help but cringe and veer away from puddles, not quite sure what it’s washing away.  But summer storms are still welcome; on the 4^th of July, a menacing storm from the north blustered through the city and took the pollution with it!  Peter’s new apartment had jaw-dropping views of the northern mountains, meandering clouds, a saturated sunset, and even stars later into the night.  Apparently this only happens, like, once a year—so I was thrilled to be a witness.  It did pain me a bit though, knowing that this is how it should be but now is only experienced rarely.  I can understand why Beijing was chosen as an imperial capital.

We donned our red, white, and blue, waved garden-sized flags, and someone brought a kiddie pool (it was 8 feet long and a logistically humorous to fill up).  There were grilled vegetables and meats, pasta salad, home brewed iced tea and lemonade, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and desserts: I savored the joy of stuffing my face with frosted banana bread and carrot cake, with vanilla bourbon frosting.  In a land of sketchy meat and very few ovens, it couldn’t get any better.  The only things missing were fireworks and a rousing rendition of the national anthem (which occurs at least once at every frisbee party I’ve ever been to).   Happy birthday, U.S.A.! 

A kiddie pool, barbecue, clear skies and good company -- what more do you need?

In the spirit of the holiday weekend, other events also included an Independence Day-themed Food Club at Justin's house.  He's another frisbee player who's been living in Beijing for a few years, and each month he hosts a themed meal and brings friends, neighbors, and people he just met off the airplane (literally though) together to enjoy the food.  He used a sous vide method in his bathroom and cooked a pork shoulder, made his own barbecue sauce (heavenly), mac and cheese with a thick roux and crusted top in a toaster oven, coleslaw, potato salad, and one of his roommates contributed a peach pie-- another case of food-induced coma heaven.

 Justin, demonstrating how the pulled pork sliders (on baguette) should be eaten.  He was also quite proud of the bacon jam.

On Sunday, we had one last hurrah for the U.S.A. by taking over a Xinjiang restaurant's sidewalk and hung flags, played Americana music, drank more PBR, and gave them good business by ordering a lot of chuar (roasted lamb skewers).  Like I said, who knew the 4th of July could be so exciting in Beijing :).

~*~

 It’s events like these, and subtleties in our behavior and language, I think, that construct our appearance to others.  Since being abroad, I’m acutely more aware of how identifying your origin influences how people perceive you.  We all have stereotypes, or at least ideas, about a person when they tell you what country or region of the world they’re from.  Most Chinese natives’ reactions range from surprise, to curiosity, to confused, or impressed when I say that I’ve lived in the U.S. all my life (meiguo 美国).  Just like in China, you say you are from the North, then you probably have a very hardy personality; from the South, you must have a great penchant for eating (whether that’s biological or socially learned or not is another story, but I’d like to think as being born in a southern city, I certainly uphold this trait haha)!

I remember my freshman year of school, I was in a Race, Culture & Identity class and we were discussing labels.  Someone pointed out that saying, “I’m American” is a lot less descript than us, er, Americans (U.S. folk), would like to assume.  ‘America’, to the rest of the world, is a set of two enormous continents!  The Canadians, they’re American, they’re from North America; Hondurans are Americans from South America… you understand my point, right?   It’s a language subtlety, and an indicator of power, that struck a chord and hasn’t left me since.  Just because the U.S. dominates these two continents, does not mean we can make claims on being more ‘American’ than anyone else that inhabits them.  And while I’m still guilty of saying, “I’m American” (especially with an obnoxious twang), I make a conscious effort to identify as citizen from the United States.

~*~

The first full week in my apartment was a good time—I’ve smoked out the place by not plugging in the stove fan, disconnected one of the kitchen sink pipes by removing the drain, couldn’t figure out how the breaker box worked to repower the electricity—the place has a few charming, dysfunctional quirks.  My roommate Tom has been there for nearly a year and he’s worked out so many of them, and my mistakes tend to be a reminder of issues he can smooth over without a second thought.  I also have a bike now!  It’s a creaky single speed with scarlet red frame that’s a bit too small, but silver wheel fenders, and a black seat and back rack.  The best part is, my co-workers helped me locate the bike online and we went to the vendor together.  She wouldn’t negotiate the price down, but for 220 RMB (about 33 USD) I received the bike, a lock, and a basket.  What’s more, my co-worker FangFang bought the bike, and is simply letting me use it for the rest of the month!!  It’s so generous of her because now I don’t have to worry about reselling the bike before I leave. 

Some photos of my Beijing home base:

 The apartment is right around the corner from Nanluo Guxiang-- one of the most bustling streets in the city -- but because it's set back, we have quietness and privacy.  Well, aside from the construction that usually starts at 7 AM all around us.  My roommate speculates that they other proprietor is turning the surrounding apartments into a big hutong hotel, though we'll be gone before it's finished.

 My room!  Simple, yes, and the comfortable bed (thickest mattress I've slept on in China) takes up about two-thirds of the room.  Can't complain.

FangFang has also enlisted me to help her learn English.  She’s aiming to take the TOEFL next winter to boost her resume and accreditation, and I happen to be her most accessible candidate as a language partner.  Much to my resistance, she’s treated me to dinner twice now, even though I’m more than happy to talk through her lessons for free.  So for a few hours after work we enjoy delicious food together and tackle general topics in English (with some Chinese lessons thrown in for me), then review the TOEFL text.  

 

Chinese hotpot (above), where you're given an individual pot of the broth of your choice -- like vegetable stock, meat stock, mine was tomato-based -- and it's placed on an electric heater.  Once the broth is forming, toss your food in until its cooked!  We ate heaps of vegetables, lamb, and small dumplings.

This quaint Japanese restaurant, Suzuki, is a complete hit in Beijing.  We just went to their newest location down the street from the office.  The interior has dark wood, clean lines, and charming rabbit-themed decorations.  We shared a huge tuna salad, Japanese hotpot, and a tofu-egg rice bowl.  太好吃了！

 

I'm actually feeling settled in, which is a lovely realization indeed.
Listening: the drills, hammers, and scuffles of the construction