In Response

For the record, "Ignore your family and piss off all those around you by checking email as you cross a crowded intersection!" is not from an ad...it's from his wife...

Adam nearly lost a foot in the mall parking lot this weekend as a giant Hummer (redundant, I know) turned the corner towards us while Adam walked blissfully along, head down, eyes glued to the screen of that damned blackberry. Just a week in, and I'm already having visions of pulling the move from "Keeping the Faith" where Edward Norton's character chucks Dharma's (ok, I can't remember her real name...Jenna Elfman!...where did that come from?) character's cell phone in a mail box...

If by mailbox you mean puddle...

But I understand the ways in which it makes life easier so really, I'm just teasing. Although, if you lose a foot, babe, don't say I didn't warn you.

I'm in love

...and I don't care who knows it. Kate and I recently upgraded phones (and changed providers...eff you Sprint!). And, primarily on account of the travel I do for work, I ended up with a Blackberry Bold. 

Or as I've been calling it recently, my precious. 

I was truly hesitant to take this step. I hate all of those ads that promote Blackberries with taglines like,

"Work from anywhere!"
"Work 24/7!"
"Ignore your family and piss off all those around you by checking email as you cross a crowded intersection!"

I'm paraphrasing the actual ads, but you've seen them as well.

Not to mention the fact that I often launch into long-winded, poorly organized, and generally pointless rants about feeling overwhelmed and undermined by the crush of instant, all access, multimedia and information.

So, you could reasonably expect - as I did - that my flesh would burn just touching one of these things.

However, what I've learned in just one week's time of using this magical device is that it is actually a very helpful tool to keep up with that which usually drowns me. Now, when traveling or commuting or killing some time at lunch, I can easily respond to personal and work emails that need only a quick reply; clean out my clogged email inboxes (something this otherwise hard to find the time to do); and check my calendar to know what I'm already late for! Amazing!

So, there you have it. Old dogs can learn new tricks.

That said, I'll be damned if I ever start Twittering.

Bread

Given how neglected our poor blog has been in 2009, I've now forgotten if I've posted about this before. I'm sure our scores of readers (hi Holly, Ashley, Maired, and Katrina!) will forgive me if I have. 

For Christmas, Kate bought me a cookbook detailing how to make artisan bread using an easy recipe. Two reasons why I thought this idea could work: 1) I love bread; and 2) I'm lazy, so easy is about my speed. 

I made my first attempt early in January, which is documented below. I haven't branched out much beyond the classic white boule....mainly because it's so damn good! But, I have made a whole wheat version and am planning on trying a white, bran-enriched boule and then a classic rye bread recipe. 

Yes, that is a Miracle Blade knife...our one late-night, TV infomercial impulse buy. Everyone has at least one such item tucked away, be it a Shamwow, a Snuggie, or a classic Ronco Dehydrator. "Set it and forget it!"

Freaking delicious

The source

Bullets

Things I Should Be Doing While Waiting for the Rice to Cook:

• Emptying the dishwasher
• Putting away the miscellaneous things cluttering our kitchen and DR tables
• Cutting Patty's toenails
• Knitting (I'm under deadline, people)
• Making an agenda for a session I'm leading at work tomorrow

Things I'm Actually Doing While Waiting for the Rice to Cook:

• Wondering if I'm totally addicted to the computer as I seem to wander aimlessly when I'm not in front of one...this could be an issue.
• Wondering why it took me this long to buy fleece pants. If you don't have a pair, buy some.
  
• Wondering aloud, with Dad, about whether it would be "better" to crash into water or into land in the event of a plane crash...because they're flying to Spain tomorrow to visit my sister and Mom hates flying. A ridiculous conversation.
• Talking with Lizzy, who generously lets me vent about my terrible state of apathy and frustration with work.
  

Stories while traveling

In last Sunday's NY Times, there is a great story about traveling across the U.S. by train. I've always wanted to take a trip like the one the author relates, and someday I will. But, this morning, catching up on last weekend's reading material, I was struck by the simple connections that can be made perhaps only by travel: connections with some part of our inner selves and connections with that broader community of strangers that surrounds us day in and day out.

It reminded me of experiences I had during my time abroad in Ghana while in college. I dug out my journal from the trip (the only time in my life I've even been able to successfully keep one up), and started reading through some of the entries. Here's an excerpt from a neat one:

"4/16/99 - Wow! It's a pretty big day b/c I officially have 4 weeks left here. It's April 16th. I leave May 16th. So many mixed emotions on the subject. It come down to the fact that as I have cool discussions with Ghanaians on tro-tros, I wistfully look at the control tower of Kotoka Airport and whisper, 'Soon, Adam, soon.' An interesting dichotomy.

I've been tripping out recently over decisions I've had to make that go from big ones (when to go to the Shai Hills to take pictures) to very small ones (whether to have an egg sandwich for a late breakfast or red-red for an early lunch). It's my own fault b/c I've put myself in this position. Since I've planned my time so tightly, I'm dealing with the consequences of worrying if it will all work out...

...But now that I have this place to stay, maybe I'll extend my trip a bit. I get back to Accra on Wednesday morning (early) and planned on leaving immediately to Cape Coast. Maybe I should wait for a day or two to tie up some loose ends? I don't know if the will is there. I guess I don't care all that much if the leads could help the paper out b/c they would just be another in a long line of equally important, if not exactly relevant, experiences. Some of the highlights:

• I had a long conversation with a guy from out side Accra w/ relatives in New Jersey. He paid for my tro-tro fair (even though it turned out I had taken the wrong one).
• I was picked up by some random guy named Joseph driving his company's truck. He took me all of the way back to Accra after my ill-fated Shai Hills visit.
• The whole housing situation and friends made at Adjei Mensah
• I was able to be alone in Accra for a week, speaking Fante nearly the entire time, and comfortable moving around the city.

Not bad. I'm okay with a lower grade b/c of these experiences. I just don't want my desire to be back in Cape Coast (and my desire to be home) to dictate and undermine my ISP efforts. But, in the end, hey, who cares?"

Some explanations:

• I wrote this during my ISP -- Independent Study Project. Everyone on this study abroad program spent 4 weeks on their own in the last month of the program, somewhere in Ghana, doing research on a topic we had chosen. The resulting paper was our final product for the program.
• I had scheduled myself to be in 4 different areas of the country during my 4 week ISP, which created quite the schedule. What's more, I arrived in Accra without a good idea of where I was staying; somehow, I ended up crashing with the cousin (Latif) of a guy (Desmond) who had befriended a couple of women who were also on my program.
• Accra is the capital city of Ghana; Cape Coast is the former capital city, a very historical town, site of one of the few remaining slave castles along the coast of West Africa, and the base city for the program I was on.
• Tro-tros are the cheapest form of transportation in Ghana; they are bombed out minivans that act as communal taxis/buses, shuttling people around on set routes. I love tro-tros.
  
• The Shai Hills is a small nature park outside of Accra (30-45 minutes, I think). I had visited there previously with the group, but I wanted to get back there to take pictures as part of my research. From what I recall of the events I describe, I took the wrong tro-tro on my first attempt to get out there and then, on my second attempt of the same day, I got to the preserve to find it was closed. I was essentially stranded out there, until Joseph the truck driver stopped to pick up to lone white person on the side of the road.

What strikes me about travel is this: if you're open to "the experience," strangers become friends (even if for the duration of a tro-tro or train ride); you are reminded that everyone has a story to share, even you; the journey is truly often as important (or more) than the destination; and there is tremendous - almost inestimable value - in connecting with people/images/things beyond yourself (and your laptop, your iPod, your book, etc.).

In a world of clutter and of sound and of constant electronic connection, it's hard to hang onto these thoughts and stay "open." I think we all yearn for corners of solitude and grab them when we can (I never want to talk to people on planes). But, travel is one place where it's easier to swap stories than in the office or at a cocktail hour...and stories are some of the most vital currency we have to trade.

Now that you've suffered through my ramblings, here's my favorite photo from the Kesslers' most recent travel adventure -- skiing in Colorado:

Breckenridge, CO - Kate, about to drop into the Whale's Tail bowl. Adam, on the verge of passing out from vertigo, takes picture.