30 Days of Turning 30 Recap

It's not easy celebrating a birthday for a whole month.  I think it falls under the category of "too much of a good thing."  I do, however, think it was good for me and Tommie to push ourselves to get out more, keep track of local events, try new things, and to be more conscious of how we spend our days--before we're so old we can't remember anymore.

It's no surprise that a lot of what we do involves eating.  At least half of our 30 posts included some kind of food.  It's also promising to see that the majority of things we did cost little to no money--even some of the events we attended were free.  There are a lot of cool free things to do around Durham if you look.  Our most expensive days were spent at big events like a concert and the state fair.  

I'm sad October is over, but we can't force ourselves to have fun forever--it's tiring.  This was good practice for the upcoming months when we have a couple weeks around the holidays to do fun things with guests, and now we know a little bit more about the place we live.

30/30: Finishing with Food Trucks

October 30th

We'll finish the month off the way it began--with food.  Always with food.

Carrboro had a mini food truck rodeo tonight so we stopped by and grabbed a pork butt with asian style slaw sandwich from The American Meltdown and an NC cornbread chill bowl from Foster's on the Fly.

It was a nice warm night (around 70 degrees) and we ate in the square.  

Sadly, our birthday month is coming to an end, but I know we will continue to eat well and celebrate the rest of the year.

30/30: Day at the State Fair

October 26th

  

Tommie's favorite part of the North Carolina State Fair was probably the quiet garden.  He's really not a "fair" kind of guy.  I couldn't convince him to come on The Swinger with me, so I had to go on it alone.  The last time I was on one of these I was probably a pre-teen--sometimes it's still fun to fly around.

But we did look at the cute goats and bunnies, the honey bees, and giant pumpkins, and played a game of skee-ball together.

We didn't go overboard with fatty fair food because we had to stop at Bosphorus on the way for more Lachmacun, but we did get some hot apple cider, and tried fried Oreos (to which Tommie responded madly, "Couldn't they at least be double-stuffed!").  He's a sucker for cotton candy though which might be one of the only reasons he attends these things. 

30/30: Blinded by the Light

October 21st

We saw Tommie's favorite band/idol/hero/man-crush, NIN, play at the PNC arena in Raleigh.

Trent puts on a concert with a light show attached (I keep telling Tommie it's the same as what Moby used to do, but apparently it's a little more involved than that).  

There were lots of lights--I'm not sure how the band has not gone blind playing all these shows.  At times, I put on my sunglasses and closed my eyes and it was still too bright.  Then again, I have large sensitive eyes...and I'm old.

NIN puts on a good show as far as entertainment goes.  Tommie, of course, loved it even if Trent forgot to give him a 3oth birthday shout-out.

30/30: Art and Baking

October 18th

On the third Friday of every month, Golden Belt downtown has open art studios.  We also stopped by a gallery on Foster Street that was promoting a new documentary about Patrick Dougherty--he creates the coolest art from sticks.  He had an installation at our old college campus (Wheaton College in Massachusetts) several years ago which we saw with my cousin.

 (Below: Patrick Dougherty's work at Wheaton.)

The rest of the night was spent party prepping.  I got a jumpstart on my baking.  The cupcake-to-person ratio will be about 4-1, so according to my standards, just right.

30/30: A Poetic Evening

October 13th 

After some light house projects and a couple rounds of bowling for Tommie with his guy friends, we spent the evening at a free poetry reading by Richard Blanco (Obama's inaugural poet) at The Carolina Theatre.  

I always enjoy poetry readings because you get to learn about the backstory of the poet and it givers greater depth to their poems.  Blanco's poems (and stories) were very entertaining and funny, and explored concepts of culture, identity, and family, which are universal themes, therefore, easy to relate to.  It's great to see a poet like him gaining traction and interest.

After the reading, I had my book signed and told him that he ironically lives in the same small town in Maine as my parents (I did tell him, Dad, that you two have yet to meet.  He said that eventually it seems everyone there does end up meeting, so don't worry there's still time.)

30/30: Past, Present, Future

October 12th

We did a few 30 for 30 activities today.  First, we checked out the opening of Durham's History Hub.  It makes great use of a central spot downtown and showcases Durham's past in a contemporary way.

Next, we made a stop in Cary to get some authentic Turkish food at Bosphorus Restaurant.  Sometimes we really miss the food we enjoyed on our honeymoon in Turkey, so when we read the positive reviews for Bosphorus, which is about 25 minutes away, we couldn't wait to try it...especially Tommie--he has a serious love affair with Lahmacun (a kind of pizza with ground beef and spices/herbs on it).  

Here he is enjoying it in Turkey...

And here in North Carolina; reunited at last...

I had chicken pide which is a kind of pizza made with authentic Turkish pide--the kind of bread we loved to eat during Ramadan in Istanbul.  It was delicious.

We ended the evening in my weird world of writing by listening to a panel discussion about memoir writing at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh.  I love memoirs and would like to write one someday so I find it interesting/fun to listen to different writers' stories and how they came to publish them.  Tommie is good sport to go with me though I'm pretty sure he'd rather be stuffing his face with another Lahmacun.

Duke Basketball

I'm not a sports person.  I spend more time pointing out the funny outfits of fans in the background than I do actually watching the game itself.

Basketball, at least, is on a short list of sports I don't completely mind watching.  It's fairly easy to follow, the game moves quickly, and the uniforms don't involve helmets and pads so I can actually distinguish one player from another.

We got to do something that's a pretty big deal in Durham...go to one of Duke's basketball games.  People go nuts around here for college basketball.  I'm hardly worthy, but it was fun to be able to see a game in the small student-filled stadium and pick out my favorite player with big arm muscles...that's how everyone watches a game isn't it?

Christmas Tree Alternatives

Downtown Durham lights the Lucky Strike water tower for Christmas, though if you ask me it could use a little more "oomph." I was more impressed by the luminaries lining the waterway.

Also, Tommie's work decorated a tree for charity along with lots of other Durham non-profits.

We don't do trees in our house, so the closest I get is decorating the mantle and putting up our little tin tree. 

While part of it is just to avoid the hassle, the other part is because real and artificial trees are not environmentally friendly. My husband is a real Grinch about it, but it does make sense when you think about every household in America that has to cut down a tree, or buy a plastic tree from China.

While I do miss the smell of fresh pine, I'm definitely willing to try some of the interesting tree alternatives out there.

Like making a tree from branches or driftwood:

Found here.

Getting a reusable wooden tree from Possibilitree or Jubilieetree:

Hanging ornaments on branches in a vase:

Found here.

Or going with a living tree we could plant afterwards:

Found here.

Concert in Wilmington

Last weekend, Tommie and I went to see Passion Pit perform at Battleship Park in Wilmington, NC. 

It seems like everywhere we go, we're the old people now. The concert was mostly college kids, and while we like to pretend we can still pass as students, Tommie's feelings were hurt when someone recently told him that's just not true anymore. (At 29, we are the oldest of all all his colleagues.) On a good day we can pass as grad students.

Before the concert, we took a stroll along the riverwalk then went to our favorite nice restaurant in downtown Wilmington (Circa 1922). We had a good time as elders hanging out in Wilmington and enjoying the band in a small, outdoor venue on a pretty night. Dawson's Creek was filmed along this river and I'd like to think that it makes me cool for knowing that, but really, none of these kids even know what Dawson's Creek is.

When we found out there were multiple opening bands, which meant that Passion Pit wouldn't be on stage until 9:30 p.m., we complained about how late we were going to get home (in our defense, we did have a two-hour drive), and when a couple crazy boys started to climb the support beams holding up the tent we were under, we formed an emergency escape plan and shook our fingers at them with some middle-aged woman. Eventually, even the lead singer, at a mature 25-years-old, yelled at them to get down.

We're no spring chickens, but it's good for us to get out and try sometimes.

National Poetry Month

Poets.org does some pretty cool ("cool" if you're kind of a nerd like me) stuff for poetry month:

One easy thing you can do is sign up for their free poem-a-day e-mails. You will get a new poem each day in your inbox throughout the month of April and maybe get a few new favorite poems/poets out of it.

Mass. Poetry Festival

The Massachusetts Poetry Festival will take place in the Boston area this fall. Events begin on October 15th and continue through the 18th. If you click on the image above, you'll be directed to the Website where you can view the schedule of events and reserve tickets to the popular events (especially those on Saturday, Oct. 17th). Tickets are free, but you can guarantee a seat by donating a few bucks to reserve your place online. I grabbed a couple tickets for Louise Gluck's reading in Lowell on Oct. 17th, which happens to be on my birthday. People who know me know I wouldn't mind starting my birthday evening off with some good poetry.

St. Peter's Fiesta

Despite the never-ending rain and drizzle that's been hugging the coastline for weeks, the city of Gloucester is not about to let that stop the opening ceremony of the most important "holiday" of the year—St. Peter's Fiesta.

How can I describe Fiesta? As someone who grew up in Gloucester, the annual five-day city-wide "party" seems normal, but whenever I invite people to join me for Fiesta and I tell them we'll go watch the greasy pole (a contest in which a bunch of Italian men dress up in drag and slide across a grease-covered pole suspended horizontally in the middle of the harbor attempting to grab the Italian flag stuck to the end of it), and on the last night we can march in the closing procession where people chant "Viva San Pietro!" (those who don't understand what to say chant "Eat a potato!")—my friends look at me like I'm barking mad. So I learned Fiesta isn't "normal" to most Americans.

Gloucester, Mass. a famous fishing port, has a large Italian population. When the Sicilian families settled here, earning their livelihood as fishermen, they brought along their beliefs and customs—including the one to pay homage to the patron saint of fishermen (St. Peter). This has evolved into the St. Peter's Fiesta. You can read more about the history at www.stpetersfiesta.org

Probably the most amazing part of Fiesta is its ability to bring the entire city of Gloucester back for a reunion. Even if you have no Italian heritage (or something like 2% like myself), having grown up in Gloucester is enough of an excuse to come back and reunite with your entire hometown. It's a kind of pilgrimage. My sister, a die-hard Fiesta fan, comes back from California every year. In her own words: "I've missed birthdays, weddings and funerals, but I'll NEVER miss Fiesta!" That might be Fiesta loyalty to the extreme, but it is the one time you can count on seeing 99% of your friends (and enemies) in the same place, at the same time. And let me tell you, there is something very odd about going into a bar and seeing your entire middle school class there. A few years ago I walked into a downtown bar and bumped into a kid who was a troublemaker in my 7th grade class. The teachers used to sit him next to me so I'd be a "good influence." I hadn't seen him in about eight years and he was drunk as a skunk, but a look of recognition flashed across his face and he hollered, "Hey! You used to help me with spelling!" Just the sort of thing I like to have announced in a bar. For better or worse, Fiesta never forgets you.

South Park Walkabout: Something For Everyone

Last night was out last South Park Walkabout.

It's my parents birthday weekend (they were born a day apart) and my grandparents are in town, so we started the evening with pizza down at Mazara's Pizza and Deli. We had some good food, made fun of my sister with a friendly game of "telephone" (my grandmother now thinks Eva likes a guy named "Eugene Andrew Six Pack"), and Dad was grooving to the live guitar music.

What's great about the Walkabout, aside from the fact that people are out and about and the local shops stay open late, is that there is something there for everyone...

My Mom and grandmother enjoyed the free wine and hoping on a trolley to check out the neighborhood happenings; my Dad, sister and grandfather headed to the nearest bar (The Whistle Stop), while Tommie and I power-walked to the restaurants we knew would have free samples out front (we love free samples...especially food); even Maya got samples at the South Bark Dog Wash.

For this, and many other reasons, we'll miss this neighborhood when we leave.

P.S.  Happy Birthday Mom and "Pops"

Gear Up For National Poetry Month

For all the poetic souls out there, now is the time to sign up for your poem-a-day e-mails in preparation for National Poetry Month in April.

Even though poetry has taken somewhat of a backseat in my life since graduation to be replaced by the burdens of "the real world," it's still an ever-important part of my being. In April I'll highlight some of my favorite poets, but for now here is a poem to get you thinking. I'm reminded of the quote by Robert Frost, "No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader." This is how some of the best poetry happens...it wanders like an unpredictable dream. The words and thoughts come as a surprise and leave you questioning how the poem got there, and also how you got to where you are in your own life.

Intro To Poetry
By Steven Bauer

You thought it was math that taught
the relation of time and speed
but it's farther than you knew
from that sun-lit white-walled classroom
to this darkened lounge with its couch
and overstuffed chairs. How many miles,
would you say, since you talked
as if poetry were no distorting mirror,
one-way street? But listen, sometimes
it's like this, a stranger's Ford pulls up,
and you, with no plans for the afternoon,
get in. He doesn't talk, stares at the road
and it's miles before you understand
you didn't want to travel. His lips say no
as you reach for the radio's knob.

In this silence you fall deeper
into yourself, and even the car
disappears, the stranger's face
blurs into faded upholstery, and all things
being equal, you're alone as though
you've wandered into a forest with night
coming on, no stars, the memory of sun
and a voice's asking Is this my life?