Week 1 of class, and I already have homework!

I promise, reflections on Bosnia are in the works.  In the meantime, the profe assigned us to write an entry on the conflicts we are most interested in helping transform.  It was a brainstorming piece, and I ended up doing a semi-chronological free-write, which I now share, if you've wondered why I have chosen my current path.

______

I have always loved to travel, and have wanted to see and get to know the world since I can remember.  Through life, I learned about languages and how culture can vary across a single city, across a region, across a country, before I even set foot abroad.  

Cincinnati, OH, is where I grew up.  In many respects I'm not meaningfully "from" there, but in some respects, it played a significant role in my life.  I went to a variety of schools, including a homeschool program, which were populated by varying mixes of Black and White students, ranging from my being the only non-Black kid at one school, to there only being White kids at another.  For the most part, I was young enough that it didn't really matter; we lived in a predominantly Black neighborhood at the time, and there were only a couple of other kids around- so we were friends, because the racial differences were meaningless and unimportant- we wanted to play!  Cincinnati is also on the north shore of the Ohio River, which meant that it was a significant point to reach on the Underground Railroad.  In school, we learned about slavery, and the supporting institutions, year after year, and occasionally had demonstrations like where they made 20 students stand in a small box to demonstrate how closely the Africans were packed on the ships.

When I was around 12 or so, I learned the words "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide," about of the violence in Serbia and Kosovo.  I had no idea of the significance of the final collapse of Yugoslavia, or its place in history.

In high school, I found myself repeatedly frustrated by this incomprehensible trend of people treating other people as less-than.  In the slave trade, in the Holocaust (made more personal by a close relationship with my Jewish cousins, although I am not), and then the euphamistic "cleansing" in Kosovo, and so I dove into engineering and physics, taking haven in the purity and beauty of numbers and math, formulas that could take a convoluted expression and distill it into a simple line of variables.

But, then I went to college, and among many other things, learned about the Rwandan genocide, US coverage of which was masked by the nationally enthralling O.J.Simpson trial, about many of the cultural and developmental consequences of European colonialism in Africa (and the United States, and Australia, and Asia...)  About the trends of educating indigenous children out of their culture and into Europeanism, where they would never be fully accepted.  About the Uigher people in China, who don't have a charismatic leader like the Dalai Lama to the south to bring attention and international sympathy to their support.

I joined the Peace Corps and lived in a rural town in Panama for 2 years, learning firsthand about the disparity between the urban Canal Zone, and the other (vast majority) of the country, about the deep racial lines which unofficially determine who runs which kind of store, to the point where a convenience store is called "the Chinese," and where machismo and sexism is rampant and widely accepted, as well as prevalent alcoholism in a society struggling to balance familiar values and models of how life works, with imposed technology and development, that tries to be benevolent but is tragically disconnected from the actual needs of the recipients.

I lived in Seattle, WA, where I met homeless men and women who just needed a leg up, who had mental challenges, who don't have legal residence, who are tired of the competitive rat race.  

Over time, I've met people who really believe that education is teaching others what to think, instead of how to think.  I've met people who say "but not me or mine or us," who say "yeah, that's rough," who say, "wow, their society is so backwards," who say "it isn't my/our/my country's problem," and then move on to complain about the offhand, slighting, remark their co-worker made about them, that they happened to overhear.

So, the conflict that compels me isn't specific.  It is sort of the conflict between my understanding of humanity as a glorious mess all figuring out how to move forward together, and the framework of us vs. them.  It's how a society can try to thrive, while actively undercutting part of its population, because they look/act/sound/value differently, even though the differences bring the richness.

I have about 10 assignments due in the next week, so have a blog post! (inspired by the date)

Having someone special in your life can be a magical, wonderful thing.  I don’t want to demean the importance of that One Special Person in the slightest, but I do think it is a great disservice to many other people who are special in ways beyond romantic life partnership.

In the last month, I have had friends who joyfully expanded their families through children and weddings, and had others lose people from this world’s experience.  While nominally these events, and related ones, like breakups, pairings, pet adoptions, and more, fall under these categories which I’ve been using so far in this post, each one is unique to the people involved.  If nothing else (and there is plenty else), this really illustrates how a given type of relationship can vary so very greatly from one case to the next.

Every day, life is full of choices and experiences.  In the past month, I have spent a lot of considering and reconsidering my life choices and goals, where they came from and how they’ve changed over time.  They haven’t really changed, but I am coming to understand them, and therefore myself, better.  Some things have been consistent throughout my life- the first job I remember wanting was to be a professional theatre actress, not for the stardom, but to go on world tours; for whatever reason, to my 5 or 6 year old mind, that was the surest path to travel.  Since then, I’ve gone through astronaut, president, librarian, governor of an interstellar colony, bridge designer, theatre set/costume crew, and now my plan is to bring about World Peace (and then enter and win Miss Universe, and come up with some brilliantly quippy answer about doing something trivial since I’ll already have achieved world peace). Or something like that ;-)

To the common meaning, probably in part due to this streak of travellust in my psyche, I have very rarely had “someone special” in my life, and never on Valentine’s Day; in my meaning, I disagree.  I haven’t had a significant other, a romantically special person, in a while, but I have had the great pleasure and honor of having people in my life whom I consider very special.  There are a handful of people for whom I would do anything I can, and who would do likewise for me.  There are those who I can talk to about anything, and those I can talk to about nothing- equally important, as one of you once pointed out.  There are those who help me where I need it, and whom I am here for as well- there are few things which make me happier than to see these individuals happy. (The only things I can think of are one or two truly exceptional dances, and one particular time on a catamaran at sunset in Barbados).  I am unspeakably grateful for these individuals in my life.

To close, what I think of Valentine’s Day.  Despite not having (or being) a romantic Valentine on the day, I have never felt excluded.  I love to see the love pouring in so many directions.  Over time, I’ve celebrated Gal-entine’s, and Pal-entine’s, and probably other versions of anti-Valentine’s Days, but in Panama, I finally found the holiday which I had actually been unknowingly celebrating for years, and it is best wishes for this day that I send you-
Feliz Dia de Amor y Amistad- Happy Day of Love and Friendship!

America, you're breaking my heart. and/or Brave New World

Dear America, we've both invested a lot into this relationship, and it's had its struggles (even going long-distance for a bit), but so far, we've held strong.  I don't always agree with your opinions, and you haven't always agreed with me, but like any relationship, it's a work in progress.  But now, you're scaring me.  You wouldn't hurt me on purpose, but you're getting overprotective.  I know that you're a wonderful person, and a big reason we've lasted this long is that we really do share a lot of values.  Hard work, integrity, respect.  But you've gotten some new friends who are kinda bad influences.  You think that you're strong, and can stand against anyone, and sure, you can pretty much take anyone in a fight, but you've let your guard down in other areas.  You've been getting your news from pretty one-sided sources lately, and I think you're losing sight of the bigger picture, and who you are.  I remember when some other guys took a couple swings at you in the dark, and they broke your nose.  It was horrible, and I never want to see you looking like that again!  You said you were in a bad part of town, and you figured you knew who it was, and you wanted to take revenge.  You went charging around the neighborhood trying to roust out the guys who hit you, but mostly ended up making a lot of noise and scaring the other folks.  You got some of the guys, including the one who said he broke your nose, but while you were looking for them, their buddies came out to see what the ruckus was about, and they saw their families' trashed homes.  And now you're feuding with them, and have been for a while.  You're worried about my safety, but you've set so many rules for me that its getting harder for me to live my life.  My friends, and our mutual friends, have been kinda backing away too, and I've been feeling lonely.  I'd like to talk to you, like we used to, but you're always so preoccupied.  If it isn't the feud, then it's money problems, and that ongoing argument with the neighbors over the utilities.  You're still here, but not really present.  I miss you, the way you were.  We used to be able to talk about anything, now you tell me not to worry, that you'll take care of everything, but it's getting harder and harder for me to believe you.  We both have a lot of growing up do to, but I was really looking forward to doing it together.  You have so much potential, you have so much to offer the world.  Please, step back and look at what you're doing to yourself.  I love you.


That part came out when I started to type.  Now for the angry part of this blog post, which is what has been mulling in my mind.

Look people, I blame you for our President-Elect and the current state of "civil society."  I'm not just talking to the people who voted for him, or who voted third-party, or who didn't vote.  I'm blaming dang near everyone in this country, including myself.
The internet is great.  We can get online, find people from all over the nation, and all over the world, who think like us, talk like us, believe like us.  It is such a welcome feeling to have a place (a safe space, if you like) where we can share ideas and develop that sense of community.  But those places are bubbles, in which we can insulate ourselves from everything and everyone outside, to the point where we don't know if other people even exist in any significance.  In a way I am grateful the election worked the way it did, because it revealed how divided the country is, and how much work we have to do to be the singular United States.
If you say it's the other guy's fault, then I blame you all the more.  Trying to blame someone else is a cop out.  I couldn't care less, now, who started it.  People on all sides are behaving despicably.  Deplorable and nasty.  This isn't to say that these people are deplorable or nasty, but their behavior has been.  If you don't like how the election turned out, that's cool.  That's fine.  Voice your disappointment.  But with our system, sometimes things don't turn out the way you want them to.  Suck it up and try harder next time.  Don't turn into a violent mob.  On the other side, if you do like how the election turned out, win generously.  Understand that a the other guys are really hurting, and don't stand by and pretend that the spurt of homophobia, racism, and xenophobia isn't happening, because it definitely is.

There has been a lot of misinformation spread around, and frankly, it's hard for me to point out all of the examples, because I get my news from generally the same places you do.  But I've heard about enough things that I know factually aren't true to easily infer that there are a great many more false ideas floating around.  The communities we build on the internet, our facebook/twitter/instagram/tumblr/pinterest/i-don't-even-know friend groups allow us to preach to the choir, and hear the other members of the choir step up and preach back (which is probably what I'm doing with this very blog post), while believing we have a much wider audience than we actually do.  Or we know the limits and embrace the bubble.
If you want to get a third party candidate elected, get your candidates elected, get your policies passed, you've got to actually connect with the other people involved.  If you want to live in an inclusive society, you've got to include people, and not just the ones who agree with you.

These days, it really seems like terrorism is winning.  I'm not talking about ISIS or any of those other groups.  I'm talking about a society here that is built on fear.  We aren't boldly and peacefully standing up for what is right (see the Civil Rights movement- imperfect, but darn good) with integrity and grace, we are striking back almost wildly.  TV programming is full of crime dramas, death, gritty "realistic" reboots, even our superheroes are dividing.  The commercials do their utmost to convince you that your home and health are in danger, and you need their product to be safe and healthy.  Video games set in post-apocalyptic universes or war zones contribute not necessarily by making kids violent, but by being part of the lowering of the collective consciousness of the consumers.
We are fed fear, of ISIS, fear of serial killers, fear of death, fear of dogs, fear of men, fear of abnormality, so much fear of so many things.  And yeah, a lot of them are legitimately scary, but they are sufficiently rare that they do not need to be a ruling force in your life.  Terror is a very strong emotion, and media producers have realized that emotion (more than sex?) really sells.  But you can choose not to buy it, and choose not to sell it.

From what I see lately, strength is defined as brawn, courage as having a gun.  Negotiation and moderation are weakness.  (One of these days I'll write the blogpost about the undervalued strengths of the Disney princesses which has been bouncing around in my mind for a while).  Manly men must take up arms to prove their worthiness to protect their women.  I saw a comment on facebook in which a guy bragged about his inability to control his violent inclination- I believe he was trying to say that he holds his values so deeply that his reaction to injustice would be instant, but I suspect that the knee-jerk reaction was not that different than the one that led to the incident to which he was responding.
While writing this, I started thinking about Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and I worry that we're getting a bit too close to that "brave," of control, complacency, and conformity.

Also, a note on safe spaces.  They've been getting a bad rap in a lot of places, because they're 'places for wussy millennials to avoid reality' or something like that.  In some cases, it seems likely, since the world can be a very difficult place to live even in the best of times, and learning to deal with that is as necessary a part of the educational process as the academics.  But if you're so offended by the existence of safe spaces that you don't think are necessary, cry me a river, suck it up, and go back to your own safe space (by whatever name you call it) of like-minded people to complain.

And a few thoughts on religion.
Question: What Arabic-speaking Christians call God?
Hint: Transliterated in to English, it starts with "All" and ends with "ah"
Christians in the US, have you loved a Samaritan today?
There's a popular hymn, "Onward Christian Soldiers" which is basically an exhortation to jihad.

As always, we have choices.  So many choices.  A lot of them are easy, pretty straightforward.  Some of them seem straightforward, but require a bit more backbone.  Sometimes you make one choice, and then have to change your mind (humility is a great strength).  Sometimes you make choices for the wrong reasons (mistakes happen, you learn from them).  In the end, we make our own decisions, and our own lives.  We have to take responsibility for our successes, as well as for our mistakes.  The world is big and most of it is outside of our comfort zone, and we don't know what's coming in the future.  But we get a say in the future.  As the saying goes, if we don't change direction, we'll wind up where we're heading.

Thanks for reading! I feel better, at any rate ;-)
Pictures are from a wander I took on Theodore Roosevelt Island, in the TR Memorial itself.

Which side are you on?

When you blame all Muslims for the actions of Islamic extremists, you support ISIS.
When you advocate for more guns, you entrench the broken trust in our society.
When you wish rape on a rapist, you condone rape as valid.

Regardless of if you really mean it, the internet just carries your words, and you don’t get to choose how they’ll be interpreted, or who will hear them.

The shooter in Orlando grew up in the United States. He has lived here while it was made increasingly clear after the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001 that Muslims are different, separate, violent, and unwelcome. He lived here while the Westboro Baptist Church made waves with their protests, while the entire country debated whether or not homosexual people were equally entitled to the same rights as heterosexuals. He lived here while abortion clinics and the doctors who worked there were violently attacked. He lived here through mass shootings, individual killings, extended discussions of their motivations, and thousands of people talking about the horrible things they would do or wished done to the perpetrators of these crimes.

He lived here while a lot of decent people gave voice and motion to a desire to literally take up arms to defend themselves and their values.

He said he is a follower of ISIS, but ISIS doesn’t exist alone. It was not the only influence in his life. Perhaps it filled a void left by a country which has made it clear that he’s an outsider. Perhaps he genuinely felt it’s avowed principles were right, and decided, like the shooter at the Colorado Planned Parenthood, that he could make the world a better place. Perhaps he was just an angry, unstable man with ample access to firearms.

Anger is OK. Anger is a valid emotion. Anger is not the only emotion, nor is it a wise guide, particularly when harnessed with it’s partner Fear. They are very powerful in tandem, with strong, clear voices as to what should be done, but no matter how articulately they declaim, they are not worthy leaders. Moral Courage stands against them. It pulls against the riptide that is Anger and Fear’s goal of pulling society down into mistrust. Moral Courage looks at the problem with clear eyes, even looking inward, to find solutions that are more than extensions of the original problem.

Popular opinion is against it, the media, even its own emotions, but then, that is exactly where true courage is most evident.


Whose side are you on? Anger and Fear, with their raw immediate emotion or Moral Courage, with it's coolheaded plan for an improved tomorrow?

Why I Like Train Travel (also applies to the Alaska-Washington Ferry)

I love train travel.  I get to sit back, relax, stretch out, watch movies, read, think, all while watching the gorgeous scenery that is the United States pass by.  I can talk with the train attendants, who on my Seattle-Chicago leg of travel were 2 lovely individuals who were just starting their Amtrak careers- one having 4 months' experience, and the other on her very first training ride, other passengers, who come from all sorts of different walks of life, or work on projects.

I love the diversity of people I've met on the train.  There is such an evident mix of races, genders, ages, professions, avocations, social and financial statuses.  [On a note, I've only traveled in coach, not in the sleeping cars, which are more expensive and more private, so I don't know how much of what I'm saying applies to those passengers.]  On my trips last summer and this, I talked in Spanish with a Guatemalan mother and her 2 sons in the diner car, discussed race with an interesting young woman en route to DC, made friends with a itinerant drummer, listened to one guy's stories about traveling around the parts of central Asia which have enraptured my mind for years, and met a fellow who had his possessions in a Peruvian basket and was using a fountain pen to write the most visually beautiful longhand letters I've seen.

Train travel is as communal or solitary as you want it, given the range from lounge car to sleeper.  In coach, with my sleeping bag, computer, and headphones, I could be practically alone (granted, it helps that for the most part, the seat beside me was empty).  Train travel is leisurely, flexible, and essentially communal.  For a touch of class and schedule (because there isn't much to mark the passage of time), there is the option of the dining car, where for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the attendants do their best to fill all 4 seats at each table, often bringing complete strangers together for half an hour of conversation.  It can be relaxing, in that once I'm on the train, I know that it will arrive when it will arrive regardless of my actions or wishes.  Unfortunately, due to the current state of trains and rails in this country, arriving 2 hours late is fairly reasonable, but if such delays are anticipated, they don't have to add stress.*

As much as I enjoy it, I acknowledge that Amtrak has plenty of room for improvement.  Because freight brings in the money, the freight lines own the rails and have priority over passenger rail, we have to wait for them to pass.  However, many other delays are from maintenance issues.  I've been on 2 trains on which an engine needed to be replaced, and had multiple delayed departures due to maintenance work, so maybe they could have an extra engine at main stations, and do more for their working fleet (or whatever the railroad terminology for engine collection would be)?
But, to legitimize the expenditure, people need to use the passenger service, so get on the rails, and be sure to schedule in some extra time on the end!

Getting people to use the passenger service, which I will reiterate, I consider fabulous, nearly requires a cultural shift.

Right now, the United States is all about efficiency, independence, autonomy, and privacy.  I see it in Keurig coffee makers, empty carpool lanes next to 3 lanes of stopped traffic, closed doors house doors, selfies, and headphones.  We cling to our choices and laud self-reliance, while immersing ourselves in virtual worlds populated by people who think the same ways we do, mindlessly led by charismatic leaders.  It's easier that way, but results in a divided society which considers the only acceptable "compromise" to be a complete victory.

If we talk to each other, especially those who have different ideas, we can learn about our country, and what actually makes it work.  We can develop empathy and form bonds between the myriad races, ethnicities, religions (or lack), genders, sexualities, wealth levels...all of the things which contribute to our identities.

Traveling on the train is a prime place to exercise that skill of being human- communication! (As well as, you know, taking time to enjoy life, disconnecting from our frenetic lives, sitting back, and reuniting with ourselves apart from our activities.

By communicating, we can build a common community, based on communal values which will bring actual unity to prominence, overcoming our divisions.

*Yes, there are inconvenient delays, and I spoke briefly with some passengers who refused to be anything but frustrated and angry because of them, but that happens with every other form of travel, be it foot, bicycle, car, bus, train, plane, ferry, balloon.  I arrived in Chicago over 23 hours late on my last trip- but I've been stuck in the wrong city for days waiting for a plane in winter!

Not about travelling. Frustration and train of thought.

I'm sick of it.  I'm sick and tired of hearing about people dying.  I'm sick of people who are supposed to be protectors fearing their wards.  I'm sick of individuals, who in the end, act for themselves, killing other individuals.  I'm tired of people taking verbal and physical attacks on other people, or even on groups, as personal.  I'm tired of people attacking individuals as a means to attack a group.

I'm tired of people being out for their own gain, no matter the expense.  I'm tired of thoughtless consumerism, and enabled greed.  I'm really tired of people being terrified of otherness, of anything that doesn't fit into their thought-models.  I'm tired of racism, tired of homophobia, transphobia.  I'm tired of double standards.  I'm tired of people caring about other people's labels, but not the people themselves.  I'm tired of people calling the police on their neighbors because their kids are walking down the street, or having a pool party.  I definitely don't want to hear about how people "can't even" or "have no words" and whatnot about coffee drinks and fashion etc, phrases which are bandied around so freely that it seems the users are discouragingly uneducated and can't come up with suitable expressions, and it makes those sentiments less meaningful when an event is actually that impactful.

I'm tired of people closing themselves off in carefully constructed worlds of internet fora and netflix.  I'm tired to death of people blaming him, her, them, anybody but themselves.  I'm tired of old, horrible, injustices being used as justification for modern crimes.  I'm tired of one-up-man-ship, and the need to win to beat somebody.  There isn't a group on the earth who didn't abuse their power when they had it, and precious few if any, that never drew the short stick.

Can we talk to our neighbors?  Can we walk around our world, and engage with our fellow inhabitants, and not just the ones who are the same?  (We might find that many more are the same than we think.)  Can we empathize with someone else's pain, someone else's history, someone else's joy?  Can we step up to the challenge that is a divided world, and take hands?  Can we see through our pain, through our hurt, and see that we aren't the only ones?

Who will be the bigger man?  Who will be brave in the face of adversity?  Who will put themself aside, for the greater good?

There are thousands of people who do just that.  There are wonderful people in every community.  There are wonderful kids and adults, there are wonderful police officers, there are mothers and fathers who teach their children to listen.  There are so many people who genuinely want to understand, to reach out, and to connect.  We can help them, and in doing so, help ourselves.

We all benefit from saving the world.  Why not work together on it?

Song list:
What a Wonderful World- Louis Armstrong
Stand by me - Ben King
Put a little love in your heart - Jackie DeShannon
You've got to be carefully taught - Rodgers and Hammerstein (South Pacific)
Lean on me - Bill Withers
One Love - Bob Marley
Where is the love - Black Eyed Peas
Let there be peace on earth - Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller
You'll never walk alone - Rodgers and Hammerstein (Carousel)
He's got the whole world in his hands- traditional
We shall overcome - ?

Tangents that I almost veered into, because there is always more to say and more ways to expand, and ALL PARTIES have room for improvement:
Responses to more specific incidents and topics
USA's leadership and hypocrisy
Rights to culture/cultural appropriation
The purpose and place of police
Domestic intercultural relations
Sexism/racism/bigotry (subset, double standards and assumptions)
Gun control
What can we do?

AA - After Alaska (my apologies- lots of words, but is up to date!)

Soon, I'll start writing blog posts about things other than places and straight forward experiences.  You know, thoughts and ideas and the like.  But now, a chronicle of what happened after I finished my few months in Alaska!

I'll try to keep it relatively concise.  Illustrations available in the form of assorted photos on facebook.

On my flight from Fairbanks to Juneau (via Anchorage), I sat next you an Aussie on a wander, who in the course of more general conversation, told me about the hostel where she was staying that night.  This proved highly serendipitous, as the ferry departure was pushed from 2 AM which would have meant spending some hours at the port waiting, to 9 AM, which meant that I managed to find and secure a place at the hostel of lore.  I ended up taking a walk around town with this erstwhile friend, who was staying a bit longer in Juneau before continuing on her way.
The next morning, some other ferry riders in a similar situation to me gave me a lift to the port, where after a bit of waiting, we boarded.  I highly recommend the Inside Passage ferry on the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS), either in a cabin or in lounge chairs in the solarium, but will include a caveat: unlike airplanes, where there are 5000 announcements regarding boarding and whatnot, you'd better be paying attention on the ferry and in the docks, because they aren't particularly concerned over whether or not a particular passenger is on board.  They keep to a schedule, which they announce, but there's nowhere near the degree of handholding that happens in the airport.
The Inside Passage is GORGEOUS, and varies just enough that 3 days just starts to get old.  On my boat, the Columbia, there were 2 enclosed viewing decks, a movie theatre with the same 4 movies every day, a deli/cafe place, and a restaurant.  Also showers and laundry facilities for the solarium guests, without their own in-cabin bathrooms.  It's a place to hang out and chat with fellow passengers (nothing else to do!), which led to a couple music circle nights, card games, and conversations, including some with a recent college grad named Aaron (not sure how he spelled it, actually), and his friend/mentor, who'd just been on a kayaking adventure in SE Alaska, and who gave me a ride from Bellingham to Seattle!
In Seattle, I made arrangements for my forthcoming rail tickets, secured a few legs, and connected with Jenn, a friend from college, who graciously hosted me for the several days I had in town.  We went swing dancing, had indian food, where I spoke with the waitress in Spanish, wandered around Pike Place Market and Seattle Center where we were surprised by the revelries of Seattle Pride!  I had a couple week days where I was on my own for a few hours, but aprovechar'd the time (that means 'took advantage of') by visiting the Space Needle, Childrens' Science Museum, EMP Museum (my favorite- pop culture, movie costumes and props, music stuff), a tour of the harbor, some fabulous views of Mt Ranier, aquarium, and a pass by the famous Seattle Library!  I also got to catch up with a handful of other college friends who live/d there :-)
Once I left Seattle, about 24 hours saw me in Sacramento, where David (more Prin! there was a lot of Prin reunioning in this part of the trip) picked me up from the train station. I got to have dinner with Miranda, a friend from Peace Corps, and saw Ivy and Andrew for a couple days, which involved more swing dancing, because more swing dancing is happy. On my last full day in Sac, David and I went white water rafting for my first time, on the American River, with an entertaining - and capable- guide, and a group of 4 women who ranged from yearly rafters, to one other 1st timer. It was great fun!
From Sac, I went to San Francisco for a couple days, where I stayed with a cousin, Betty, and her husband, when I wasn't wandering around the city essentially at random. I've got to say, San Francisco was my favorite city of those I visited, in terms of itself.
I flew from SF to San Diego for several days with my grandmother, and went to the beach, ran on the beach of my own volition, wandered in Old Town, and she and I went to some music venues, and it was a generally lovely time! We also went sailing with another couple of friends, and Skip, our enthusiastic captain.
From there, I boarded a train to LA, where after a brief reunion with Joe (yes, more Prin), I set out on the Southwest Chief, scheduled for a 2 day trip from LA to Chicago, whence I'd end up in Cincinnati as a surprise for my mom's birthday. That part ended up happening, as well as it could, but on the way, the train broke and we had a 4 hour delay in Raton, NM - oh, Raton!- which ended up with the train running 9 hours late. However, there were some fabulous people on board, and there was an impromptu drum/music circle in Raton, so it had some good stories. In a side note, just because, there was also a drug bust in my train car, but didn't lead to any increase in the delays, so that's OK! Instead of going to Chicago to transfer, those who were to make my connection were put on a bus in Galesburg to pick up the train in Indianapolis, no, Cincinnati, no, Indy...but I ended up in Cincinnati a mere 45 minutes after the train was scheduled to be there...after giving the driver instructions on how to get to the terminal. Yay!
A week and a half or so in Cincinnati held 2 birthdays, Korean food, kayaking, running, shopping, crafting, all sorts of fun stuff, and then I was off to College Station, TX, via Washington DC and New Orleans! More trains. They're rather limited by their tracks, but quite comfortable.
DC saw more Prin friends, with whom I stayed, catching up, and walks around the iconic spots. NOLA saw a Peace Corps friend, and her friend who put me up for the nearly 12 hours I was in that city- I really need to actually visit that place sometime! And about another day saw me in Texas, where on an hour layover in Houston, I ended up leaving early and meeting my friend Mollie, for a few days of moving her, her husband, and her dog, from an apartment to a very cute duplex! Then I flew back to Cincinnati for a Month And A Half!
Cincinnati held Cincy LX, a weekend of swing dancing til 5 AM on two nights, dancers from this eastern-part-of-the-Midwest, and hosting 3 fun dancers up from Tennessee! After recovering, I ran at least 5 days a week, caught up with Cincinnati friends, and started getting into job searching!
But then September came, and it was time to bus to Omaha via Chicago (6$ - go Megabus!) staying with a Prin friend in Chicago, for Cowtown Jamborama, a Lindy hop workshop weekend, and another week of hanging out and enjoying the company of Omaha friends. Then off to Colorado for my cousin Kelsey's wedding (perfect!) where I reconnected with the Little Dragon, my charge in Alaska, who Remembered Me! Then were several days of checking out Denver, to which I'm about ready to move, and driving through the mountains with my parents to Glenwood Springs, Delta, Ouray, Grand Mesa, Black Mesa, and more! We saw rain, fog/clouds, heat, cold, sun- every kind of weather, and completely unbeatable scenery.
Sated for the time being with topography, I went to Florida, where I am given to understand by my host and Prin friend Andrew (different Andrew from Sacramento) that there is none. We whooshed through all 4 parks over 2 days, with 2 visits to Epcot, went to a wetlands wildlife preserve, to the beach, and there was good times had by all.

And now, I'm back in Cincinnati, fairly permanently for the forseeable future, except for 1 little week-long trip to NYW next week, for a career conference ;-)