anything is peaceful from 1,353 feet
observations from the sky and clouds, mostly, over the past couple of months
It’s been a busy couple of months since my last update (two weeks, two months, who’s keeping track?). Sadly, progress on the 100 day project has mostly halted. But it’s OK because I’ve been busy past couple of weeks working on the 2nd season of my podcast! I recently wrote more about it here, but in a nutshell, I have 12 working-parent-artists lined up, 9 of whom have scheduled interviews, 4 of which are now recorded. Woo! I’ve managed to sneak in a little bit of studio time here and there but on top of full-time work and family, I’m at peace with the reality that I only have time for ONE other thing at any given moment. And this is that one thing until I’m done (by end of September, if things stay on track).
Last month I traveled to Brighton for a 3rd time for work. I was thinking about Alicia Kennedy’s recent post about airline food as a “mostly vegan vegetarian” always torn between requesting the vegan meal, which is almost always one notch above inedible, or “relaxing” into vegetarianism, with most airlines offering a non-meat option by default and it’s usually much better than the “special” vegan meal. Brighton is also one of my favorite places to visit for all the yummy vegan and vegetarian options. If I had to pick just one place to recommend, I’d send you to The Pond for their vegan and vegetarian bao buns (although the vegan pastries from Flour Pot and Real Patisserie are also worth writing home about…or smuggling a few in your carry-on).
The day before I flew via overnight red eye to the UK, I crashed at the final championship race of the high school MTB season and, while I didn’t get an x-ray to confirm until after I returned home, fractured two ribs. I cannot recommend international travel the day after breaking a rib or two, but on the other hand, I was able to do very little that week other than walk to The Pond to fetch yummy bao buns for lunch. I’m nearly six weeks recovered now and got back on the bike earlier this week. Flat, paved trails only for now, but I’m hoping to ease back onto dirt trails soon. In the meantime, you can check out the video recap from our Mother’s Day ride in Pacifica. Dreaming of the day I can get back to this level of riding.
The school year came to an end the week after I got back from that work trip and things have not slowed down since. We traveled to Indiana via Chicago to visit family in early June. I loved the barn quilts I saw driving through Indiana.
Chicago is a swell city. We just happened to be there during the blues festival and I was blown away by the fact that it was free. Other highlights included the architecture tour by boat and visiting the Art Institute, where I thought a lot about the relationship between film and painting (been meaning to rewatch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off ever since).
Since our return, on top of kicking off podcast production, work has been keeping me super busy. It’s hard to believe it’s already been nearly 3 years, so I’m busy cramming enough PDUs to renew my PMP by early August (because there’s no way I’m taking that exam again!). Related to work, I really enjoyed Anne Helen Peterson’s interview with Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something, whose new book, When We’re In Charge, explores a new generation/style of leadership (her org also implemented a 4-day work week, which sounds pretty dreamy for an artist in office like myself).
