Yo,
On Saturday I woke up a couple of hours after my alarm went off. Didn't feel too guilty, however, since I'm still getting over the jet lag, and hadn't slept much on the plane the day (night?) earlier. Grabbed a quick bite and then set off for another part of the town called Camden Town. I'd heard that Camden is the more "alternative" district, so I thought it'd be a nice change from Canary Wharf.
Whoever told me that was not joking. Liked the area a lot - reminded me of South Street, Philly at night time. There were loads of random clothing shops and several (at least four) open-air markets where people sold a strange variety of stuff that can best be described as the offspring of chinatown (nyc), gothic garb and dime-a-dozen touristy treasures. The typical shop included a barrage of printed tees with witty/smarty remarks (the same tees you'd find four shops to the right and left), cheap sunglasses and watches (i.e. chinatown), neon bongs and shishas and tobacco, and punk/goth accessories. There was this one store, however, that was quite possibly the most well-branded apparel store I have ever stepped foot into. It's called Cyberdog. I don't want to try to describe it, cuz it'll take too long, but here's a link: http://www.cyberdog.net. Dang it, there aren't any pics of the store there. Here's one of the entrance: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3640/3294345244_e9bd81f9ba.jpg. Okay, here's a verbal shot. Take those statues times 10^4, stir in some cyborg (think seven of nine from Star Trek), add glowsticks and rave attire, top it off with a a healthy dose of LCD and lava lamp, and bake it all under black lights. That's Cyberdog.
It started raining after a few hours, but not before I had managed to complete the secret mission part of my trip to Camden Town: buying American peanut butter. They don't carry the stuff in most grocery stores in England! And even this place didn't have big or even medium-sized jars of Jiffy, only these baby-sized little buggers! So I bought four jars this time. They should last a couple of weeks. If you are out there and thinking of a holiday present to send my way, a giant bar of American peanut butter would be as good a gift as any.
Hung out in a Capoeira circle for about 45 mins; real cool. The dancers weren't great at it tho, haha, resulting in some great foot-to-the-stomach moves much to everyone's amusement. Music was solid, tho. The rain kicked us out, however, so that was that.
Checked out several phone carriers here, too. Vodaphone, O2 and Orange seem to be the weapons of choice, but this other carrier called '3' gives free Skype phone calls. Since this will come in SUPER handy for talkin to peeps from 'MERIKA, I think I'll be going with them.
It's late, gonna rush through the rest.
Roomie was hangin with his mum Saturday night, so I had a chill evenin sitting on my balcony (great view! pics to come soon) listening to Joanna Newsom and practicing blowing better O's. Mark Lester knocked on my door about 1am, surprise! He's on his way back from Israel.
Hung with Lester and Annabel today. Checked out Annabel's church, called ChristChurch London. Liked it, but gonna check out other ones next week. She said there's a church plant in Camden Town, and her friend told me about a smaller church that she goes to. Got a bunch of phone numbers and email addresses, and hopefully a bunch of mates with whom I can play futbol! Stoked about that :)
Okay, bedtime. Shalom,
- Josh
Sunday, July 19, 2009
sup london
Hello America,
Rolled into London about 8 am local time on Friday. Took me a couple of cab rides plus tube rides to get to my place, which is on the opposite side of town from the airport. I'm super thankful that my employer is helping myself and the other dude from NYC with accommodations until August. The area is called Canary Wharf, and it's one of London's main Financial Districts, hence work is less than five minutes walk from our flat!
Canary Wharf sits on an island created by a bow in the Thames, and almost every building on the island is a huge financial headquarters. Part of me is impressed, part is appalled by this. An interesting side effect of the location, as opposed to NYC's financial centers, is that Canary Wharf goes absolutely dead after 6 pm. Compared to Times Square, where I worked at Lehman Brothers HQ last summer, this place is Green Acres haha. There are many bars and even a shopping mall on the Wharf, but these places get most of their business during the day. At nighttime, everything save a couple of pubs close by 8 pm. It's bizarre!
On Friday night I walked all over the island and probably saw 50 total people. Wearing only my street clothes in a district that is usually replete with Suits, I was an imposter sneaking in the shadows with the sleeping financial gods looming overhead. There is this one square with a water fountain and this nice foliage, and as I walk up to it at night I think "Oh nice, what a pleasant park!" I get to the fountain in the middle, hop up the step and start pacing around its circular perimeter. After a lap or two, I slow down and lift my head to look at the sky, only it's not the sky that catches my attention. The park has been surrounded, besieged by giant concrete and steel bodies. Like symmetric sentinels with oversized neon nametags on top, HSBC and Citi and Bank of America and Barclays glare down at the park, reminding the perfectly manicured lawns and trees that they are the outsiders in this stolid London district.
I suspect that the real imposter is the one who puts on the suit and tie and walks around the corner to work every morning. The proximity of my workplace to my home, coupled with my solo nighttime escapades that I expect to ensue, might help me to come to terms with working here. It's like the banks lose their power over me when I'm just kickin it in shorts and a white Tee. In those unfettered afterwork hours I can safely shake my fist at the buildings, make jokes behind their backs or maybe even join forces with the trees and fight to take back the land. I already made friends with one - a tree that is. I climbed it.
So much more to say. Think I'll throw stuff into another post so it's easier to split the labels and titles up.
- Josh
Rolled into London about 8 am local time on Friday. Took me a couple of cab rides plus tube rides to get to my place, which is on the opposite side of town from the airport. I'm super thankful that my employer is helping myself and the other dude from NYC with accommodations until August. The area is called Canary Wharf, and it's one of London's main Financial Districts, hence work is less than five minutes walk from our flat!
Canary Wharf sits on an island created by a bow in the Thames, and almost every building on the island is a huge financial headquarters. Part of me is impressed, part is appalled by this. An interesting side effect of the location, as opposed to NYC's financial centers, is that Canary Wharf goes absolutely dead after 6 pm. Compared to Times Square, where I worked at Lehman Brothers HQ last summer, this place is Green Acres haha. There are many bars and even a shopping mall on the Wharf, but these places get most of their business during the day. At nighttime, everything save a couple of pubs close by 8 pm. It's bizarre!
On Friday night I walked all over the island and probably saw 50 total people. Wearing only my street clothes in a district that is usually replete with Suits, I was an imposter sneaking in the shadows with the sleeping financial gods looming overhead. There is this one square with a water fountain and this nice foliage, and as I walk up to it at night I think "Oh nice, what a pleasant park!" I get to the fountain in the middle, hop up the step and start pacing around its circular perimeter. After a lap or two, I slow down and lift my head to look at the sky, only it's not the sky that catches my attention. The park has been surrounded, besieged by giant concrete and steel bodies. Like symmetric sentinels with oversized neon nametags on top, HSBC and Citi and Bank of America and Barclays glare down at the park, reminding the perfectly manicured lawns and trees that they are the outsiders in this stolid London district.
I suspect that the real imposter is the one who puts on the suit and tie and walks around the corner to work every morning. The proximity of my workplace to my home, coupled with my solo nighttime escapades that I expect to ensue, might help me to come to terms with working here. It's like the banks lose their power over me when I'm just kickin it in shorts and a white Tee. In those unfettered afterwork hours I can safely shake my fist at the buildings, make jokes behind their backs or maybe even join forces with the trees and fight to take back the land. I already made friends with one - a tree that is. I climbed it.
So much more to say. Think I'll throw stuff into another post so it's easier to split the labels and titles up.
- Josh
Monday, July 13, 2009
My Backyard
When I come to Boise
I walk in my backyard.
I take off my socks, shoes and shirt.
Like a weirdo.
I pace for about two hours every day.
The grass gets all matted,
like when your dog runs back and forth
along the fence.
I can do all the mosts the best in my backyard.
I touch the most,
I breathe the most,
I smell the most,
I think the most,
I listen the most,
I feel the most.
I miss the most.
I walk in my backyard.
I take off my socks, shoes and shirt.
Like a weirdo.
I pace for about two hours every day.
The grass gets all matted,
like when your dog runs back and forth
along the fence.
I can do all the mosts the best in my backyard.
I touch the most,
I breathe the most,
I smell the most,
I think the most,
I listen the most,
I feel the most.
I miss the most.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Boise Friends
Tonight I hung out with some of my best friends, Larry and Cory. I love these two guys. Larry mentored me from junior to senior year in high school, and Cory was my high school youth pastor. They have had more of an impact upon me than I can even I imagine. Even to this day, the people that know me the best hear me describe Larry and Cory as the men who, more than any other persons in my life, first demonstrated what real love looks like. I can't thank God enough for these dudes, so hanging out with them tonight is a highlight of my time back in Boise.
We talked for over two hours, and our conversation meandered over numerous topics, most of which had the flavor of broad generalizations about how Jesus impacts the way we experience life. After a few choice beverages from Sockeye Grill (my first time there, but when I return to Boise I'll definitely be back. Might take JC there when he stops in), Cory leans over and asks "So, you went to..." I jump in to save him, "University of Pennsylvania." "Right, right, University of Pennsylvania." Cory always starts with this question as a way of moving us from intermixed anecdotal chatter, towards direct inquiry pointed towards me. It's always a question, too; each year during the gap between my biannual visits to Boise he forgets.
The point of clarification made, however, he asks me to elaborate on my past four years at PENN. It's a timely topic, not only because I just graduated, but because of an email thread that my friend Zach initiated a few days ago between Jordan, Josh, Matt and I. "When I first decided to go to PENN," I begin, "I thought it would be fun to meet people form all over the country and the world. Even moreso, however, I highly anticipated the quality of the education that I would receive at the school. But after the fact, I'm confident that the most valuable thing about my college choice wasn't at all the academics. It was the immense diversity - in every sense of the word - of the people with whom I came into contact."
My worldview and my faith has been radically transformed and refined by interacting with people that have vastly different perspectives than I do. I think this is an incredibly positive thing, yet it is something that is nearly impossible to communicate to someone who hasn't had a similar experience in their life. I won't attempt to do so in this post alone, but it will definitely come out the more I write (and speak and live, hopefully). It has, even in the nine days that I've been home in Boise, caused some friction between my parents and I, which is also a good thing.
By the way, listening to Joanna Newsom right now and she is the shnazz.
That diversity that I found so valuable, contrary to what many of my Christian acquaintances might guess, showed up both in communities of non-Jesus-loving and Jesus-loving folk; both groups challenged me immensely. My non-Jesus-loving friends blew my mind again and again as they showed me how well-thought out, rational and cohesive a secular worldview can be. I also saw how this worldview, sans Jesus, played out in their stances in social, economic, political, ethical and vocational choices. Before PENN, I had a pretty clear understanding of some of the surface-level issues that (mainstream) Christians and non-Christian peeps disagreed upon*, but I hadn't realized that these differences can be traced back to very basic assumptions we have about the world. Basic assumptions that are different than mine lead, quite cogently, to different conclusions, which I now respect.
*I'm speaking about these two groups, Christians and non-Christians, from the mindset of pre-PENN Josh. At the time, sadly, the world could be subdivided as such. I now see (hopefully my life shows it!) that such broad strokes aren't very useful. When I refer to (and espcially when I criticize) Christians, I'm often referring to the evangelical Christianity that I grew up with, which fits most of the stereotypes that Americans have about Christians.
From the Jesus-following friends I made I found that Christianity is a far cry from a monolith, and that that's okay! As I told Larry and Cory, I arrived at PENN with a picture in mind of what Christianity looks like - my specific cultural expression of Christianity. I was immediately wary of cultural expressions that deviated from my own, but through a lot of grace and conversation with other Jesus-lovers, I finally became aware that what I called Christianity was only a cultural expression thereof; it wasn't the Gospel or Jesus. Although this realization didn't come all at once, it's now shocking how limiting my perspective used to be. Larry and Cory agreed that, when you finally figure this out, you can start to nail down what the Gospel actually is without all the extra stuff each particular cultural expression piles on top of it.
This is just a start to that topic, but it's getting late so I'm gonna hit the sack for now. I mentioned the email that Zach sent out, which does in fact tie into all of this, and maybe I'll also hit on some of the other stuff that Larry and Cory and I talked about in another post.
I also need to decide how to balance between honesty and censorship in this blog, haha.
Shalom,
- Josh
We talked for over two hours, and our conversation meandered over numerous topics, most of which had the flavor of broad generalizations about how Jesus impacts the way we experience life. After a few choice beverages from Sockeye Grill (my first time there, but when I return to Boise I'll definitely be back. Might take JC there when he stops in), Cory leans over and asks "So, you went to..." I jump in to save him, "University of Pennsylvania." "Right, right, University of Pennsylvania." Cory always starts with this question as a way of moving us from intermixed anecdotal chatter, towards direct inquiry pointed towards me. It's always a question, too; each year during the gap between my biannual visits to Boise he forgets.
The point of clarification made, however, he asks me to elaborate on my past four years at PENN. It's a timely topic, not only because I just graduated, but because of an email thread that my friend Zach initiated a few days ago between Jordan, Josh, Matt and I. "When I first decided to go to PENN," I begin, "I thought it would be fun to meet people form all over the country and the world. Even moreso, however, I highly anticipated the quality of the education that I would receive at the school. But after the fact, I'm confident that the most valuable thing about my college choice wasn't at all the academics. It was the immense diversity - in every sense of the word - of the people with whom I came into contact."
My worldview and my faith has been radically transformed and refined by interacting with people that have vastly different perspectives than I do. I think this is an incredibly positive thing, yet it is something that is nearly impossible to communicate to someone who hasn't had a similar experience in their life. I won't attempt to do so in this post alone, but it will definitely come out the more I write (and speak and live, hopefully). It has, even in the nine days that I've been home in Boise, caused some friction between my parents and I, which is also a good thing.
By the way, listening to Joanna Newsom right now and she is the shnazz.
That diversity that I found so valuable, contrary to what many of my Christian acquaintances might guess, showed up both in communities of non-Jesus-loving and Jesus-loving folk; both groups challenged me immensely. My non-Jesus-loving friends blew my mind again and again as they showed me how well-thought out, rational and cohesive a secular worldview can be. I also saw how this worldview, sans Jesus, played out in their stances in social, economic, political, ethical and vocational choices. Before PENN, I had a pretty clear understanding of some of the surface-level issues that (mainstream) Christians and non-Christian peeps disagreed upon*, but I hadn't realized that these differences can be traced back to very basic assumptions we have about the world. Basic assumptions that are different than mine lead, quite cogently, to different conclusions, which I now respect.
*I'm speaking about these two groups, Christians and non-Christians, from the mindset of pre-PENN Josh. At the time, sadly, the world could be subdivided as such. I now see (hopefully my life shows it!) that such broad strokes aren't very useful. When I refer to (and espcially when I criticize) Christians, I'm often referring to the evangelical Christianity that I grew up with, which fits most of the stereotypes that Americans have about Christians.
From the Jesus-following friends I made I found that Christianity is a far cry from a monolith, and that that's okay! As I told Larry and Cory, I arrived at PENN with a picture in mind of what Christianity looks like - my specific cultural expression of Christianity. I was immediately wary of cultural expressions that deviated from my own, but through a lot of grace and conversation with other Jesus-lovers, I finally became aware that what I called Christianity was only a cultural expression thereof; it wasn't the Gospel or Jesus. Although this realization didn't come all at once, it's now shocking how limiting my perspective used to be. Larry and Cory agreed that, when you finally figure this out, you can start to nail down what the Gospel actually is without all the extra stuff each particular cultural expression piles on top of it.
This is just a start to that topic, but it's getting late so I'm gonna hit the sack for now. I mentioned the email that Zach sent out, which does in fact tie into all of this, and maybe I'll also hit on some of the other stuff that Larry and Cory and I talked about in another post.
I also need to decide how to balance between honesty and censorship in this blog, haha.
Shalom,
- Josh
Monday, July 6, 2009
Campin in the 'Ho
Hi,
Just got back from McCall, ID where the fam spent the 4th of July. Apart from frequent, short-lived rainstorms, it was pretty perfect.
On Saturday afternoon, Tyler, Pops and I went mountain biking down the backside of Brundage mountain. Soooo sick. Tyler (Jon, too) is finally old enough that we can do pretty much anything together, so the three of us just ripped down the mountain without having to wait up for each other at all. Took us just under two hours to bike 14 miles, according to dad's GPS. The trail had a great mix of tough uphill climbs , wide downhill paths, and "technical" rock dodging. Since most of the paths were covered with loose fist-sized rocks, the uphill climbs were a twofold challenge - sheer legpower, plus balancing at low speeds with abnormal angular momentum. we missed a couple of turnoffs causing us to take a couple of really steep uphill offshoots. along the switchbacking trail we ran into periodic mountainside meadows, through which we caught glimpses of Cascade lake at the foot of the mountain. Goooorgeous.
Other highlights include: cliff jumping (only 30' max, so nothin as big as ye ol' Walnut Street to Schuylkill drop), making homemade ice cream, duct taping foam into Bandit's ears so he didn't freak out with the fireworks, drugging Bandit via Benadryl tablets in hot dogs, sitting around the campfire, Oreo milkshakes at My Father's Place, and finally looking out the window at the huge sky on the way back home.
things i'm gonna miss about the 'ho:
1. rugged mountains that will mess you up and/or take your breath away
2. driving to mccall
3. camping with the fam
4. sky that stretches forever, and single clouds that cover 270 degrees of view
I think I like my family.
Lots of controversial talks with the rents. Topics included drinking (public and otherwise), American nationalism and smoking (hookah specifically). Plenty of nostalgic reflection with the rents too. Driving home with just the two of them (plus Bandit) was really pleasant. I love my parents a lot. I'm super lucky to have 'em.
That's all for now,
- Josh
Just got back from McCall, ID where the fam spent the 4th of July. Apart from frequent, short-lived rainstorms, it was pretty perfect.
On Saturday afternoon, Tyler, Pops and I went mountain biking down the backside of Brundage mountain. Soooo sick. Tyler (Jon, too) is finally old enough that we can do pretty much anything together, so the three of us just ripped down the mountain without having to wait up for each other at all. Took us just under two hours to bike 14 miles, according to dad's GPS. The trail had a great mix of tough uphill climbs , wide downhill paths, and "technical" rock dodging. Since most of the paths were covered with loose fist-sized rocks, the uphill climbs were a twofold challenge - sheer legpower, plus balancing at low speeds with abnormal angular momentum. we missed a couple of turnoffs causing us to take a couple of really steep uphill offshoots. along the switchbacking trail we ran into periodic mountainside meadows, through which we caught glimpses of Cascade lake at the foot of the mountain. Goooorgeous.
Other highlights include: cliff jumping (only 30' max, so nothin as big as ye ol' Walnut Street to Schuylkill drop), making homemade ice cream, duct taping foam into Bandit's ears so he didn't freak out with the fireworks, drugging Bandit via Benadryl tablets in hot dogs, sitting around the campfire, Oreo milkshakes at My Father's Place, and finally looking out the window at the huge sky on the way back home.
things i'm gonna miss about the 'ho:
1. rugged mountains that will mess you up and/or take your breath away
2. driving to mccall
3. camping with the fam
4. sky that stretches forever, and single clouds that cover 270 degrees of view
I think I like my family.
Lots of controversial talks with the rents. Topics included drinking (public and otherwise), American nationalism and smoking (hookah specifically). Plenty of nostalgic reflection with the rents too. Driving home with just the two of them (plus Bandit) was really pleasant. I love my parents a lot. I'm super lucky to have 'em.
That's all for now,
- Josh
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Shipping Boxes
Dropped off all my personal belongings at the shipping company today. Six small boxes in total, plus a rug with my sweet walking stick rolled up inside of it. I don't really care about the rug much, but that walking stick...the rug was just an excuse to smuggle the stick and provide some padding around it. Adding in the stuff I'm carrying in my suitcase, I think my total personal affects sum to less than 350 lbs. I think that's pretty good? I sure threw out a lot of stuff - mostly clothes - so at least I feel like I'm living light relative to two months ago.
I called around to a bunch of overseas shipping places, and this was the best deal. Still gonna cost me upwards of $350 (!), but that's significantly less than the others. Guess that makes sense, considering a plane ticket is like $500 or $600. The boxes, however, will be livin it up ON A BOAT for the next 3-4 weeks, so I'm pretty jealous.
The dropoff was about 20 minutes northeast of University City, and this was my second time driving there because the place closed at 4:15 (surprise!) yesterday when I had been told it closed at 5. Nonetheless my friend Sufjan Stevens kept me company on the ride over, and driving can be a great mix of chill and (in a city) high-pressure, which I found I kinda enjoyed. To make things even better, I had to wait 45 minutes for the warehouse workers to finish their lunch break, allowing me to go to this awesome barbecue place called Sweet Lucy's. It was excellent. Pulled pork sandwich with macaroni and cheese and cornbread. And then a homemade cookie to boot. Yeah, even though it was a restaurant the cookie did qualify for homemade, because it was the same size, freshness and texture as the kind of cookies your mom or your neighbor makes. Mmmmm.
Shalom,
- Josh
I called around to a bunch of overseas shipping places, and this was the best deal. Still gonna cost me upwards of $350 (!), but that's significantly less than the others. Guess that makes sense, considering a plane ticket is like $500 or $600. The boxes, however, will be livin it up ON A BOAT for the next 3-4 weeks, so I'm pretty jealous.
The dropoff was about 20 minutes northeast of University City, and this was my second time driving there because the place closed at 4:15 (surprise!) yesterday when I had been told it closed at 5. Nonetheless my friend Sufjan Stevens kept me company on the ride over, and driving can be a great mix of chill and (in a city) high-pressure, which I found I kinda enjoyed. To make things even better, I had to wait 45 minutes for the warehouse workers to finish their lunch break, allowing me to go to this awesome barbecue place called Sweet Lucy's. It was excellent. Pulled pork sandwich with macaroni and cheese and cornbread. And then a homemade cookie to boot. Yeah, even though it was a restaurant the cookie did qualify for homemade, because it was the same size, freshness and texture as the kind of cookies your mom or your neighbor makes. Mmmmm.
Shalom,
- Josh
I missed the sky
I was walking along 38th on the way to Cav's last night, and I looked up to notice the sunset. The rest of the sky was empty, but a handful of fluffy clouds circumscribed the sun almost as if it was pulling the rest of the sky with it as it dove underneath the horizon. Distracted by the sight, I petered out to a standstill and felt my arms fold across my chest as my head slowly rose to take in the scene. That's what sunsets can do to you. They so much capture your attention that you almost forget you have a physical body, until you feel your arm holding its counterpart or a breeze brush across your face. Until then, you don't exist because you're caught up in something so much greater and more beautiful than yourself.
As this was happening, I was (and am) ashamed to realize this was the first sunset I had taken in for more than a week. It's horrible, how can I miss stuff like that? I need to mentally slow down, to trudge with my head up, and to go out of my way to taste the wind and the grass and the sunshine more often.
I'm thankful to say, however, that there has been a lot of time spent with my good friends as of late. Some of my favorite times have been the nights when we go out and sit on the grass between the high rises with my green astro-turf blanket, my new waterpipe and a variety pack of summer ales from Alegro's. The air grows sluggish and still, the temperature drops, and if you look out across the grass you notice little lights burning on and off, welcoming the dusk. Fireflies, mmmm. They remind me of Kansas.
I get a kick out of Curty, when he comes out to the grass with his cotton shirt and pants that we bought in Istanbul. The guy looks like a cross between a merchant from the far east, and a stoner from the American far west. But when he sits down with the rest of us, slouching on the midnight blanket and shooting the breeze like old cowboys, we're all just urban chill.
- Josh
As this was happening, I was (and am) ashamed to realize this was the first sunset I had taken in for more than a week. It's horrible, how can I miss stuff like that? I need to mentally slow down, to trudge with my head up, and to go out of my way to taste the wind and the grass and the sunshine more often.
I'm thankful to say, however, that there has been a lot of time spent with my good friends as of late. Some of my favorite times have been the nights when we go out and sit on the grass between the high rises with my green astro-turf blanket, my new waterpipe and a variety pack of summer ales from Alegro's. The air grows sluggish and still, the temperature drops, and if you look out across the grass you notice little lights burning on and off, welcoming the dusk. Fireflies, mmmm. They remind me of Kansas.
I get a kick out of Curty, when he comes out to the grass with his cotton shirt and pants that we bought in Istanbul. The guy looks like a cross between a merchant from the far east, and a stoner from the American far west. But when he sits down with the rest of us, slouching on the midnight blanket and shooting the breeze like old cowboys, we're all just urban chill.
- Josh
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