Kate's Point of View

The Product of Creative Frustration

Category: travel Page 1 of 15

In January 2018, I started a list book in which I recorded selected events throughout the year. Thanks to that journal, I can quickly reflect on and celebrate the last year.

There Is Power in Lists: A Record of Time

I did a lot of great things over the past year. My proof is in the memories, stories and pictures. But also, I kept a bunch of lists. It started primarily as a curiosity and, frankly, because I was jealous of some of the book tracking I saw on Instagram. And so, I kept a list journal.

In January 2018, I started a list book in which I recorded selected events throughout the year. Thanks to that journal, I can quickly reflect on and celebrate the last year.

Last January, I selected a few things to track and that sort of set the stage for the year. Or, at least, indicated how I thought the year would proceed. I decided to track books, movies, concerts, fostering cats, trips and speaking events I attended. Those things all make me happy and I thought being intentional about doing them would lead to a great year. Mostly true!

Thanks to my list book, I can summarize my year in just a few stats:

  • Books read: 145
  • Movies seen (in theaters, planes and at home): 31
  • Bands seen live in concert: 21
  • Cats fostered: 3
  • Trips and vacations: 5
  • Speaking events attended: 3

Those numbers don’t tell the story, but do indicate where intentions met action.

Books

When it comes to books, I nailed it. And my list making does give me more information. For instance, I know that I read 35 paperback books, 61 hardback books and 49 audiobooks.

I’m a little disappointed in what I chose to track, but also want to keep my record-keeping easy. I know some people track books in a spreadsheet. (Book Riot has one you might want to check out.) I already use Goodreads for digital tracking and like the physicality of paper for everything else. (Related: Note that I read 0 eBooks.)

The data I wish I had on hand, easily, is how many books I read by authors of color, how many new books I read versus older novels versus classics. I wish I knew how many female authors I read compared to male authors. All of that data could have been more easily tracked in a digital record. I can still go back and pull that information from Goodread (unlikely) or keep track for 2019.

My reasons for wanting that more granular data is to ensure that I am challenging myself to read a variety of types of books from a variety of authors from a variety of time periods. To me, that variety is what helps me be both a better reader but also a better person.

Movies

Two years ago I started a movie club amongst a few friends. It’s the easiest club to which I’ve ever belonged. Every month or so we see a new movie and we take turns picking, going in alphabetical order by last name. (Note: If you borrow this idea and work with a group pulling from different friend groups, work in alphabetical order by first name. Much easier!) I used to see maybe a movie or two a year in the theater and would just binge on international flights to catch up. Not anymore!

Over the last year, I’ve seen some really great and some really terrible movies. And I’m so happy with both. I’m especially happy that I’ve seen several films that are well outside of my wheelhouse. Would I have seen The Post or First Man in the theater by my own choice? Nope. But they were great!

Going to the movies on a monthly basis has been a good reminder to me about how much fun it is to see a movie surrounded by strangers, or, as was the case with The Hate U Give, with only one other person in the whole theater. And comedies surrounded by other people laughing, like happened with Uncle Drew, only makes you laugh harder.

Bands and Concerts

Live music is a wonderful experience. Sure, you can listen to an album, but when you see the music live… It’s just more … full. I initially intended to track concerts but then took a page from the sometimes controversial method in which NPR’s Bob Boilan tracks shows, and I started keeping track of bands I’ve seen live. What’s the difference? It essentially comes down to opening acts and music festivals. For instance, I went to see Ke$ha (Yeah!) and Macklemore (meh) perform and  Wes Period (?) was their opening act. I could have tracked that as one concert, but I counted it as three bands I saw live. Disagree? As I said, this method is not without controversy. But I like it because it helps me track down to the artist, which I value more than the event.

Every year I intend to go to more concerts than I do. This past year, I went to 8 concerts or festivals. It’s good, but I want for more next year!

Intentions Versus Reality

The remaining lists I kept, foster cats, trips and speaking events, speak more to my intentions than to tracking.

In 2017 I started fostering cats again and liked it so had big plans for 2018. That all came to an end when one cat hated me, another had chronic poops and the other was a last-minute surprise. Also, all fostering comes at the expense of my pet cat’s waistline and affection towards me.

I had similarly positive intentions when I started tracking speaking events. I love hearing people talk about their areas of expertise and their creative process so try to seek out author talks or take advantage of speaking events at my local libraries, museums and universities. Over the last year I did see the amazing Min Jin Lee and Susan Orlean talk during separate events at the Mercantile Library. I also enjoyed visiting a local independent bookstore with friends to hear from Janet Beard about her book. But for 2019, more please.

Lastly, I tracked trips and started so boldly by including a daytrip to Cleveland, Ohio, in my list book. No offense to my Cleveland side of the family, but as trips go, it was small. And why did I could Cleveland, and later a weekend in Columbus, Ohio, but not my countless trips to Dayton, Ohio. I’m the one who wrote it all down and even I’m confused. I think my intention was to embrace more weekend trips, which I can still get behind. We’ll see what 2019 has in store.

Future Lists

I’ve already added in pages in my list book for 2019 for books, movies and concerts. I also have more room to create other lists as makes sense. I think I’ll track different things about the books I read this time.

I’d encourage you to make a list book, too. It’s not about the lists themselves. They’re just a piece of paper or a digital record. The fun is at the end of the year to have a sort of memory book on which to reflect and acknowledge that the past year was truly great fun.

In January 2018, I started a list book in which I recorded selected events throughout the year. Thanks to that journal, I can quickly reflect on and celebrate the last year.

Wanderlust: Seeing the World via Public Transit

When you visit a new place, how do you try to ensure an authentic experience? For me, it’s through public transit. While I certainly don’t accomplish it in every new place I visit, public transportation has provided with me with an inexpensive insight into many new places. That realization dates back to my second international trip when Delicious and I realized how cheaply we could explore Portugal. At that point, budget was one of our top priorities so it was wonderful. A side benefit was that we saw the countryside and met a lot of new people. Since then, I’ve ridden tuk-tuks, subways, trans, buses, junks, motorbikes and boats. It’s my favorite way to travel and, I think, gives me the best exposure to a place and its residents.

Riding the suite, or subway, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

 

Riding the train to Aguas Client, Peru.

 

Riding in a junk in Halong Bay, Vietnam.

 

Riding in a Tuk Tuk in Ica, Peru.

When you’re fulfilling your wanderlust, how do you travel?

Read the Book Before the Movie! “First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers” by Loung Ung

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung.So many great films are based on great books, but I am partial to the book versions and try to read them before seeing their cinematic adaptations.

Angelina Jolie Pitt is directing a Cambodia-set drama as a Netflix original movie, which will be based on First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung. I read the book back in 2009 immediately following a trip to Cambodia. It was a wonderful place to visit and an even more wonderful book.

Read a review of the book, which I originally published in 2009:

Helping Others Remember

Book Review of First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung

On a recent trip to Cambodia I got to witness it’s rich culture, lush landscapes and delicious, delicious food. At every turn I also saw the remnants of a painful past. I spent a hot afternoon walking through the Tuel Sleng Genocide Museum, having my breath taken away as I walked from room to room, each worse than the last. In one section of the former prison, I walked into a hastily made brick cell and felt so instantly claustrophobic I had to run out into the open air. The pictures, informational plaques and even the conversation, held via hand gestures, with a former prisoner couldn’t help me grasp the genocide that occurred not that long ago.

Later I went to Choeng Ek, the most (in)famous of the killing fields. I walked up to, around and even in the commemorative stupa that had been built to honor the murdered and to hold their remains. Seeing children’s skulls display evidence of so much violence with the cracks, dents and bullet holes broke my heart. Walking through the grounds and stepping on peoples’ bones and clothing remnants that were making their way up through the dirt… Knowing that every year the rains would bring up more remains…. How do people make peace with that? How do they move on?

Loung Ung lived through the genocide and has carried on her life by teaching others about what happened, helping them to survive the atrocities that seems to keep happening around the world. In her memoir First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers she tells of the Cambodia genocide from the eyes of a child. This perspective that makes what happened all the more heart-wrenching but also makes the facts easier to understand. (I use that word loosely, because I can never understand why what happened did, but I want to, need to, understand the facts of what did happen.)

Genocide is such a big concept. The Cambodia genocide was so messy, political, based on a series of events that made it possible. A child’s memory strips out all of the extraneous facts and delivers only what they know. In her memoir, Ung inserts the historical facts necessary to keep her story moving, but she inserts them as dialogue from her father delivered to her. History as would be explained to a small child doesn’t include the political intricacies that make our world so confusing. For this, I was grateful to Ung. Her tale helped me establish some basic knowledge from which I can expand with future reading.

A quick read, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers is the kind of book you start reading and don’t want to put down. It’s a great introduction to anyone interested in visiting Cambodia, learning about their history or learning about genocide in general.

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Memorial Stupa at the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek in Phnom Penh. Some 8000 skulls are on display in the Stupa.

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Barbed Wire at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh.

On Checking Out. Finally.

Sometimes I feel like there is a hamster living in my head who won’t get off of the damn wheel. He just keeps running and running and things won’t turn off. I lie in bed and and can’t shut down. I need to shut down. So I come up with workarounds.

In the evenings while I watch TV I’ll cut fabric for a quilt I’m working on. Or I’ll color in one of my multitude of coloring books (thanks to some birthday scores). The combination of keeping my head distracted and my hands busy, of using all of my senses at once so that I don’t have time to let my mind wander, that seems to work.

Last week I went on vacation with eleven other people. We went to an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic and I had few goals for the trip: have fun, make new friends and strengthen existing friendships and, most importantly, check out. I think I accomplished all three. And thank goodness! On a beach trip back in May I read a lot and got some sun but couldn’t get my head out of work and that sucks. For this trip, I worked uncomfortably fast in the weeks prior so I could go out of town feeling like I was all caught up at my job. Downside, my wrist was hurting for the week from rapid mousing and typing. Upside, I didn’t think about work. At all. Hallelujah!

During our one week getaway, I read only four books, about half as many as I read on a standard beach trip. Despite unlimited food and alcohol, I never felt too stuffed and imbibed less than expected. But I experienced my first foam party, attended vow renewals that had me tearing up because they were so sweet and got to go on a snorkeling cruise / party boat and swim in some of the bluest water I’ve ever seen. I spent dinners laughing at ridiculous stories, stared at the clear oceans waters and enjoyed the luxury that is a midday nap.

The ship BEBE took Wonder Boy and I on a snorkeling / party cruise in the ocean along the Dominican Republic.

Watching Beautiful Things Disappear: Reflecting on a Recent Trip to Nepal and How an Earthquake Changed Everything

This past Fall I visited Nepal with my husband and two friends. It was a jaw-dropping trip in so many respects.The people there were welcoming and friendly and generous. They had so little by our American standards but were thriving, particularly when you look at the country’s recent history. We saw makeshift trams (not the right word but I’m not sure how else to describe them) strung out over valleys so children could attend school. People farmed on the most impossible of land, making food production a possibility in the harshest of conditions. I heard some of the timelines for the building of monuments and parks and it was painfully slow, but it was constant. Slowly but surely, people were moving forward.

And then an earthquake stopped things. It stopped the lives of so, so, so many people. The death toll is more than 3,000 right now and seems to never stop growing.

And the beauty I saw all around me? That has changed too, some of it never to be reclaimed.

USA Today said that “Saturday’s earthquake — the same magnitude as the one that hit San Francisco in 1906 — was 22 times more powerful than the 7.0 quake that devastated Haiti in 2010.”

If I think too long about the people or the things there, it makes me cry. The people… Three thousand people. I can’t wrap my brain around that. The things, certainly not more important than the people, is something I can understand more. It’s simpler. It’s less emotional.

Nepal has the densest concentration of World Heritage sites in the world. When we visited there, we were lucky to see several of them. We stayed overnight in Lumbini and toured the birthplace of Buddha. We visited Chitwan National Park and were able to see some amazing wildlife. In Kathmandu Valley, there are several structures considered to make up that World Heritage Site. So many of those were affected by Saturday’s earthquake.

The seven parts of the Kathmandu Valley National Heritage site include the Durbar Squares of Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu), Patan and Bhaktapur, the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhu and Bauddhanath and the Hindu temples of Pashupati and Changu Narayan.

Pictures like this one, of Boudhanath Stupa, suddenly feel precious to me.

The Boudhanath Stupa in Nepal was affected in Saturday's earthquake. This photo is from 2014.

Or this one of the Durbar Square of Hanuman Dhoka.

Durbar Square of Hanuman Dhoka in Kathmandu, Nepal, was affected in Saturday's earthquake. This picture is from 2014.

My husband and I are donating money to support the relief efforts in Nepal. PRI has vetted a list of agencies that are providing support in the country. I encourage you to donate as well. People have lost family members and homes. They lack food, water, electricity and medical care. They are a country of some of our world’s greatest wonders and now they are a country in despair.

I have faith that in time Nepal will go back to their slow and steady work of building and rebuilding and improving their country. But right now, they need help. As much help as they can get.

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