Graduation Day

May 23, 2014 ~ Alina ~ 4 Comments

This weekend my baby brother graduates from college.

He’s worked so hard to train as an engineer, and he’s going to be a great one. I’m so proud of him. I can’t wait to see him decked out in all this regalia. (Regalia. Isn’t that a great word?)

It reminds me of this thing that was happening three years ago.

Graduation always looks perfect and cheery on Facebook. And it is indeed an accomplishment to celebrate. But more than that, it’s an open door to a world beyond: a world full of unknowns.

At breakfast this morning, I was reflecting to my bro that it’s important to do something you love with your life. Yes, a certain amount of money is necessary to living. And no job in the world will make every single Monday your favorite day of the week. But to feel some passion, some fulfillment, some purpose in what you’re doing with your life, both on and off the clock? That’s important.

These three years of my life post-college have been full of the unexpected. There’s been confusion. Uncertainty. Heartbreak. Disappointment. But some of my cherished dreams have come true in more dazzling ways than I could have wished for. And I’ve stumbled over some new dreams that my college self didn’t even have the imagination to visualize.

So good luck, Daniel. I love you always, and I wish you a spirit of adventure for the unknown road ahead. No one can tell you what’s coming around the bend. But with trust, vision, grit, and a good classic rock soundtrack, you’re looking at a mighty fine roadtrip.

Independent Bookstores: Piedmont Avenue

March 7, 2014 ~ Alina ~ 4 Comments

It’s been a while since I reviewed any independent bookstores, but boy, do I have some good ones for you today.

The motivation behind my birthday adventures to Oakland several weeks ago was largely the concentration of independent bookstores on Piedmont Avenue. There are at least four. Mere blocks from each other. It was perfect.

First up: Owl and Company Bookshop. The shop is owned by Michael Calvello, who has another shop in San Francisco and specializes in antiquarian books. Owl and Company is the quintessential independent bookstore. This is why.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lining both walls. Ladders (even if they’re not sliding ones).

And all the old books even my heart could desire. Well–at least for a while.

There was even a vinyl record of Viennese Waltzes providing ambience.

And a wooden owl keeping watch.

Next up: Book Zoo and Issues, next-door neighbors. Much smaller than Owl and Company, Book Zoo has an eclectic, slightly outdated collection of books on adult topics, politics, and environmental issues. Their website has a very intriguing compilation of other independent bookstores in the area.

Issues is more of an independent magazine shop, although there were a few books as well as eclectic print materials (including a large variety of greeting cards).

Their outdoor sign was also unique and charming. Perhaps I ought to advertise this way?

Finally, Spectator Books. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, and the display in the front room is all new books, which I don’t find quite as interesting as used ones. But what’s special about this shop is that it’s bigger on the inside.

In this veritable labyrinth of books, hallways lead to rooms, which lead to more rooms, which lead to nooks and crannies, all lined floor to ceiling (and then some) with books. Note to self: I should never face the temptation of Spectator Books (or any shop like it) alone. If my mom hadn’t diligently dragged me out when our parking meter expired, I might still be there. I bought a copy of Princess Academy by Shannon Hale as a souvenir.

I hear there’s also a fifth bookshop on the avenue called Black Swan. Sadly, I didn’t make it that far. Guess I now have an excuse to make a return trip.

Signs of the Southwest

June 21, 2013October 25, 2015 ~ Alina ~ 4 Comments

I get such a kick out of road signs. I grew up with the habit of reading anything with words on it (including the backs of cereal boxes at breakfast). So now it’s hard to stop. And sometimes, especially while traveling, the habit leads to laughs.

For example: where else but the Grand Canyon will you see a “Mule Crossing” sign? Let alone one that gives them the traffic right-of-way?

I liked this one in Bryce Canyon, Utah. I thought maybe standing close to it would be good for my creative juices.

This one, at Hoover Dam in Nevada, was especially beautiful. I didn’t expect to find a giant lump of concrete so interesting, but it takes on a different meaning when you realize that this giant dam redeemed a desert wasteland. Because of Hoover Dam, arid stretches of Arizona, Nevada, and southern California are now fertile and life-supporting. And more than a few workers during the Great Depression gave their lives to make it happen.

Sometimes, grammar is just funny. (If you’re wondering, the correct conjugation is “bitten.”)

Some wise and artistic person decided to complement the beauty of the Grand Canyon with the beautiful and praise-giving words of the Psalms (I found these plaques scattered at various viewpoints along the South Rim).

And the moral of the story is: do not–do NOT–attempt to buy gas in Death Valley.

Seen any wise, wacky, or hilarious road signs lately?

Canyons

June 14, 2013October 25, 2015 ~ Alina ~ 4 Comments

Canyons are a bad idea.

As my family and I roadtripped around the American Southwest at the end of May, we saw a lot of them. They’re fissures in the earth, weird yawning abysses. I thought of Dante’s Inferno or C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce. In fact, it looks like I wasn’t the only one:

A sign from the Grand Canyon shuttle route

Canyon hiking is an especially bad idea. Besides the abnormal elevation at the rim, the increasing temperature as you descend, the arid landscape that sucks out your body moisture, the sheer drops at every turn, the risk of poisonous snakes and scorpions, possible claustrophobia, and rapidly changing weather conditions, you have to deal with this fact:

Down is optional, up is mandatory

Unlike with mountain hiking, in a canyon you hike downhill first, while you’re fresh. But you’d better hike to only about 1/3 of your energy–because then it’s twice as hard to come back up. When you’re already tired.

So canyon hiking is a really bad idea.

But…

…if we never took risks…

…if we never ran with an idea that might fail…

…if we never did anything just a little bit crazy…

…we’d miss out on this.

Bryce Canyon, Utah

And this.

Grand Canyon, Arizona

And this.

Antelope Canyon, Arizona

Sometimes risks aren’t worth the payoff. And of course you have to plan for them accordingly. But sometimes…maybe unexpectedly…risks can reveal life’s beauty.

Ever taken a risk that made you glad you did?