#3 - Visit a New 826 Location

I first learned about 826 in 2010 when I was visiting my friend Rachel in San Francisco.  She asked me if I'd heard of / been to the Pirate Store.  I asked, "What?"  So Rachel introduced me to 826 Valencia.  

You can read the whole story here, but basically, Dave Eggers (the writer) wanted to start a non-profit for tutoring and creative writing in San Francisco.  He chose a location across the street from McSweeny's, where he worked.  The location was zone for retail.  It couldn't be a tutoring center.  So Eggers decided to sell pirate-related merchandise in the front and, behind a curtain, provide a space for tutoring local kids.

While I was at the Pirate Store, I purchased a small telescope and a collection of written work edited by Judd Apatow.  At the back of the book, I noticed the list of the seven chapters.  The seven chapters each have 826 in their names, a retail store selling ridiculous things and books related to 826 or written by students in the chapter, and a tutoring center in the back.  Each of the chapters have a different, strange theme.  Something that would make you think, "Why would this neighborhood need a (pirate) store?"  I saw that both Ann Arbor and Chicago had chapters.  Chicago is a big city, so it's not that weird that I hadn't stumbled upon a non-profit in a city full of a wide array of organizations.  Ann Arbor, however...  

I thought and thought and thought about what store in Ann Arbor had bugged me for years and years about its mere existence.  I finally had to look it up, and, indeed, it is a store that had bugged me for years and years and I had actually taken pictures of questioning its existence: The Liberty Street Robot Supply and Repair store.  

Pre-826-Knowledge Megan: "Does Ann Arbor really have enough of a demand for robots to necessitate a robot supply and repair store?"

Post-826-Knowledge Megan: "No.  It does not"

Soon after, I started volunteering with 826Chi, which at the time was the Boring Store (Definitely Not a Secret Spy Store): for all of your mundane needs.  Now it's just the Spy Store.  I loved it there.  The volunteers and staff were a diverse group of hilarious, creative, supportive people who just wanted to spread silliness, creativity, and a love of writing in Chicago.  I enjoyed each and every "shift" I worked as a tutor, workshop volunteer, golf fundraising volunteer, all of it.

While in LA last summer for FYF Fest, I stopped at one of the 826LA locations: the Echo Park Time Travel Mart.  It was silly and creative and full of nonsense.

I'm so thrilled my new job took me to another city with an 826 location.  Last week I went to an info session and cannot wait to start volunteering with 826 Boston: The Bigfoot Research Institute, a center dedicated to cryptozoology.

#92 - See a Friend I Haven't Seen in at Least 3 Years

Moving across the country seems like it's going to connect me with a lot of great people I haven't seen in a long time.  The first old friend I managed to connect with was Joe Wang, a camp friend and thus a favorite.  This weekend, Joe took me to dim sum in Chinatown, taught me a bit about the area, and then took me on a very thorough driving tour of Boston and some of the surrounding areas.  I'm so thrilled he reached out and I hope to hang again soon and meet his wife Diana!

(There are no pictures here but maybe next time I see an old friend I'll snap a few and update this brief, visually lacking, mentally/emotionally/socially important post.)

#51 - Get Dim Sum

I did not take any quality pictures.

Apologies for the picture quality and quantity.  I was doing my best to enjoy the experience instead of documenting it...

I just moved to Boston.  The first 10 days were a bit rough.  I did one of those cryptic facebook posts.  My old camp friend Joe Wang sent me a message and we made plans for brunch this weekend.

After a dentist appointment, Joe picked me up, made a few suggestions, casually mentioned dim sum, and I was like, "Oh... dim sum, I've always wanted to get dim sum but never have."  I tried to be casual and not reveal just how pumped I was.  So Joe took me to Chinatown, told me a lot about the area, and took me to one of his favorite banquet halls.

Since it was my first time, I didn't have favorites, so anything that sounded good, I was like, "Sure."  Shrimp and rice pancake?  "Sure."  Shrimp dumpling?  "Sure."  Egg bun?  "Sure."  We had some of Joe's regulars and a few that were new for both of us, like the egg bun.

It was a really delightful way to eat, food rolling past the table, saying yes to whatever looks good until there's too much food.  It was like eating all appetizers but not having to wait for any of them.  Plus, it was really cheap.  Double plus, it was nice to catch up with Joe and learn a bit more about Chinatown.  I'm thrilled to have connected with several fantastic people with this move.

#9 - Move to a New State

Moving to a new state is mostly an extension of finishing my Ph.D. and getting a new job.  Since those stories are told in other posts, I'll focus on the journey to and arrival in Massachusetts.

Anderson all packed up and ready to go.

My last week in San Diego was tough.  I had so many people I wanted to see but so many things I had to do to prepare for my cross-country move.  I had to get packing materials, pack up 4 years of my life, my cats, my car, sell things I wasn't bringing with me, arrange the travel (which my parents certainly helped with a lot), figure out how I was going to move my bike and surfboard, and I was still working because after 4 years of being a doctoral student, I couldn't afford not to.  I managed to squeeze in a little extra time with some extra special people.  It was really hard to say no to anyone, but if I wanted to also sleep, I had to.

(Extra thanks to Connor, Grace, Julie, and Mariko for bringing me moving supplies!  Thanks to Theresa & Tony for taking some of our stuff!)

I packed up most of my car on Saturday night and then got up at 6:00am to pack up the rest on Sunday morning.  I had to leave by 8:00am because my dad was landing in Phoenix at 1:00pm, and it's a 5-hour drive from San Diego.  I loaded up the cats, strapped my bike, surfboard, and skateboard to the car, said goodbye to the best roommate ever, and set off for a week of not having a home.

Eastern California is a strange place.  It's where most of our food comes from but it's all desert.  There are quirky statues and abandoned towns that made me wonder why there had ever been a town in the middle of nowhere.  It's also incredibly beautiful: rolling hills, cacti, and sometimes even sand dunes.

I made it to Phoenix around 1:50pm, and my dad seemed impressed I made it that early.  I am not a morning person, and I'm grateful that he knew what he was getting into.  He also bought me Jimmy John's for lunch that day.  What a great dad!

Fastest visit to a cliff dwelling ever

We made the goal for ourselves to make it all the way without GPS.  We told each other facts about how GPS makes you stupider and you don't appreciate your location.  We made it for the most part.

Arizona was hot.  So hot that with cats in the car, we couldn't really stop.  So we didn't.  Well, we kind of stopped for a few minutes when we passed a sign for national monument.  I ran into the visitor's center, asked how far we'd have to walk to see Montezuma's Castle, parked in the shade, and ran the 50 yards, snapped a couple pictures, and ran back.

We drove to Flagstaff, dropped the cats off at the hotel, and found a place to eat.  I found a highly rated, reasonably priced place called Tinderbox Annex through Yelp.  It was perfect after a long day driving: a great outdoor space, relaxed people, decent beer and wine, and great food.  Seriously, ask my dad about their french fries.  I dare you.  He'll never, ever stop talking about how good their were and how forgetable french fries usually are.  He'll probably also mention the watermelon salad and how he doesn't even really like watermelon and then he'll list the ingredients and tell you how to make it yourself.  After that delightful dinner, we went back to the hotel, I watched the Game of Thrones finale, and we got a good night's sleep so we could get up early the next day for our trip to the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon

Considering it was tourist season, we timed our Grand Canyon trip perfectly.  We got up at 7:00am (which is 6:00am Pacific, mind you), and my dad drove while I slept.  We went to the Desert View, wandered and wondered for a bit, had breakfast, stopped at another viewpoint, and then headed back to the hotel, impressed with our decision to go that way as the line of cars going the opposite way was overwhelming.

Then we packed up and headed to Albuquerque.  That took slightly longer than anticipated as both cats had hidden.  Kyle was just between the comforter and the solid bed frame.  Mox was no where to be found.  In a small hotel room.  Eventually I pulled out a second collar I had kept just in case it was helpful.  It was.  Mox loves collars.  Loves them.  Like, if his falls off, I can call him, and he'll come and sit excitedly as I put it back on.  So I pulled it out, shook the bell, and he emerged from behind the microwave, eager to find the collar.

Painted Desert

Since that stretch was only four hours, we took a detour in the Painted Desert in Petrified Forest National Park.  That day, it was too hot and there was no shade, so we left the car running and took turns viewing the desert.  It was incredible how the colors and landscape shifted every second as the clouds moved, rolling the light over the desert.  The pictures don't do it justice.  It was really beautiful.

In Albuquerque, we got some pizza, walked around the area we had dinner, stopped and had a drink, and then headed home to rest for yet another long day of driving.

Mox had yet another successful hiding attempt upon leaving Albuquerque.  I looked and looked and every now and then heard the tag on his collar scrape against something, sounding like he was in the bathroom.  But there was no where to hide in the bathroom.  The collar trick didn't work this time.  I was about to open a can of tuna (that's right, I came prepared) when I decided to look under the sink.  He had found a ledge under the sink, above some shelves.  Impressive.

Somewhere in Indiana

I slept most of the way through New Mexico.  I'm sad about it because in between naps I caught glimpses of beautiful hills with patches of green.  But dang, I was just so tired.  This year has been exhausting.  January-March were intensely dedicated to finishing my dissertation.  February-May were intensely dedicated to finding a job.  June was intensely dedicated to moving across the country.  Then, the first day of the trip I was up at 6am.  The second day of the trip I was up at 7am... Mountain Time, so still 6am.  The third day of the trip I was up at 8am... Central Time, so still 6am.  I am not a morning person and I was exhausted.  So I slept.  And slept.  Until the eastern part of Arizona, and in Oklahoma I perked up enough to drive.

I drove us through Tulsa, which is apparently, affectionately known as T-town.  I drove us through... lots of Oklahoma and Missouri.  It doesn't sound like an exciting part of the drive, but I was blown away by the green.  After 4 years of living in the desert and mostly visiting the Midwest in the winter, my eyes were starved for thick foliage, and that section of the plains / Midwest was all trees, grass, shrubs...  It was really beautiful.

My mom gets me.

We got to Springfield pretty late.  We bought a bottle of wine in the lobby, watching some TV, and crashed.

The last day of driving was by far the longest.  We drove from Springfield, Missouri all the way to Ann Arbor, Michigan, with a bit of an unintentional detour along the way.  Somewhere after St. Louis, I missed the highway we were supposed to take to Ft. Wayne.  Instead of turning around, my dad decided we should use paper maps to get us through the middle of nowhere Illinois countryside to another highway.  It probably wasn't the quickest way but, again, it was beautiful, just rolling Midwest farmland and very small towns.  Then we detoured into Ohio (gross) to pick up a pass so I wouldn't have to stop for tolls on my way to Massachusetts.  By the time we got to Ann Arbor, everyone was beat, including my mom who had stayed up to greet and feed us.

Had to

I stayed in Ann Arbor for three restful nights.  I slept a lot and hung with the cats since they were staying with my parents for the summer.  Chris & Casey stopped by for breakfast on our first morning back since they were headed up north for the holiday.  I managed to visit with Evelyn and her family, which is always great.  Then I was off again, on my own this time.

I drove to Syracuse with just one major stop when I was out of gas and out of patience with the radio.  I found an exit with a Target and went to buy Rihanna's ANTI album because I'm obsessed.  I couldn't believe the weird organization of Target's CD collection, a place I hadn't checked out in awhile.  So then I went and found a Best Buy, and again, very confusing but I finally found it.  (Hey, places that still sell CD's, just alphabetize them.  I don't know what genre you consider things.  Nor do I know that there's also a separate "new music" section.  Stupid.)  Then I was off to Syracuse cruising to "Desperado."

I got to my hotel, dropped off my stuff, and headed to the Imboden's place.  Peggy, of my second/camp family, had reached out to me via the facebook to see if I was passing through town, so I did, and she promised me dinner and entertainment.  She followed through on both.  Momma Imboden made me dinner (or rather warmed up the dinner everyone else had already had because I was later than expected) and tried to chat with Mom, Peggy, Joe, Teddy, and Corey while Peggy's five hilarious children jumped in and out the room with hilarious comments.  Ruth was particularly on point after a five-hour nap.

I stayed up for a bit in the hotel, savoring one night alone before moving in with a roommate I didn't know in my Airbnb.  I went to bed around 2am, allowing myself to set the alarm for 9:30am, just before the breakfast buffet would close, and still enough time for a nap before checkout if I wanted.  There was no rush to get to Boston.  I'd be living there.

BA BA BA BA BA BA BA

At 7:00am, the fire alarm in the hotel went off.  So much for one interrupted night of sleep.  I went to the parking lot with everyone else.  One staff member circled around, cheerfully apologizing, explaining that someone had burnt toast, and that it happens all the time.

What.

Happens all the time?

FIX IT!

Sunset my first night in town

I was not pleased with her cheerful, dismissive attitude and her comments that "at least we're all awake now!"  No.  I did not plan to be awake now.  I planned to be asleep now.  In a hotel.  That I'm paying for.  (Well, my mom paid for because she didn't want me driving all the way to Boston in one day.)  I was not happy.

Eventually I got up, much more sluggish than I had planned and headed to Boston.

I had forgotten how beautiful upstate New York is.  I had driven through parts of NY on the way to Camp Michigan East many times, but it's been awhile, and I fell in love all over again with the rolling green hills.  Massachusetts was equally beautiful... and it meant I was almost there.

I temporarily live on the western part of the city, so I didn't have to drive far in to find my Airbnb.  There was even a spot right out friend and a key right where they'd promised.  I unloaded my car, went for a walk, and smiled that my journey had taken me here.

#74 - Skateboard

When I wrote this item, I wrote, "start, skate at least 100 meters, stop."  At the time, that seemed impossible.

Last year, I chose to surf at least 10 times.  I knew I loved surfing, so I made it a priority, put it on my to do list.  In January I decided to sign up for a wakeboarding class.  I'd been wakeboarding for years but wanted to really learn more.  I also went snowboarding this year.  I have come to realize I truly love board sports.  There's something about connecting to the ground, the water, in a new way, moving fluidly, moving laterally.

With just 2 weeks left in California, it was now or never in learning to skateboard.

Well, not really.  I could skateboard anywhere.  But I had access to a board and it is such a California thing.  For those who haven't spent much time here, many people truly skateboard everywhere.  It's so popular that there are bike/skateboard paths on campus at San Diego State University and there are not only bike racks but skateboard racks outside my place of work.  It seemed like the right place to start.

Riding & Foot Selfie-ing

I'd spent probably a year playing with the board indoors.  We have a huge living room and long hallway, so I'd push around, knowing there were walls to stop me before I gained much momentum, even with the sloped floors.

On Monday, I decided to take the board out and skateboard to grab lunch across campus.  There are so few people on campus in the summer, and, like I mentioned, there's an actual bike & board path.  So I kick-pushed, slowly, across campus.  And realized how much skateboarding is like any other board sport.  And how much I love board sports.  They're so wonderfully challenging and comforting at the same time.

It's been over a week that I bring my board to work every day, ride from my far away parking spot every day.  I'm still bad at it, but I love to ride, and I'm getting better all the time.  Thankfully I've spent enough time on other boards, wheels, and blades that I know when to bail, and I'm too chicken to go down any steep inclines, so it's been a good week injury free.

I can't wait to be a poser Californian riding around campus, fighting for a campus path, searching for other board sports so I can keep riding in Massachusetts.  While I'm sad it took me so long, I'm pleased I didn't let a limited amount of time stop me from trying something I'd always wanted to do.  I hope to bring that attitude with me to Massachusetts too.

#33 - Do Yoga Every Day for 14 Days

I started 2015 with some intentions: to be more present, to prioritize my appreciation of the beautiful place where I live, and to reconnect with myself.  Perfectly timed, Mosaic yoga studio, about which I had heard so many wonderful things and happens to be just two blocks from my home, offered a Groupon deal.  I purchased the Groupon, invited others to join me, and started a true yoga practice.  I practiced yoga every day for 7 days, alternating between classes at Mosaic and practicing at home with videos.  2015 had a very rough start, and taking the time to dive into the moment and into myself each day brought me to a place of healing and resilience instead of dwelling in hurt and frustration.

When I first started practicing yoga with Campus Recreation at Northeastern Illinois University, I enjoyed the practice but was inconsistent in my attendance.  After that I would drop in classes at various studios but never stuck to anything.  Ever those 7 days in a row in 2015, I have been attending yoga at Mosaic, particularly Kevin Freiberg's Tuesday 7:15pm class.  I attended at least 31 yoga classes at Mosaic in 2015 and have attended at least 16 more so far this year.  The best way I can describe my visits to that space is that it feels like a combination of exercise, therapy, and church.  It's good for my body and good for my soul.  While there are moments of struggle in each class, there are also moments of realization, of strength, of learning, of awareness, of forgiveness.  

Six weeks before my departure, I ran out of pre-paid classes and knew I could not afford to pay full price since I have yet to start my full-time job.  Again, Mosaic heard my call and offered a Memorial Day discount package.  I was skeptical I would use all 10 classes, but if I even went once a week, the price would be worth it.  To encourage myself to use even more of the classes, to max out my time at Mosaic, I decided to practice yoga every day for 14 days.  It turned out to be 15 days with 6 classes at Mosaic and the other 9 days at home.  I made it to Kevin's class 3 weeks in a row and added a few new classes.  I particularly enjoyed John's slow, meditative yoga, which sounds relaxing but was instead particularly challenging in its slowness.  I'm sad I won't make it to anymore of John's classes in the remainder of my time here, but I do plan to go to Kevin's class one last time.  It's important enough to me that I've refused to make social plans that evening, my last Tuesday in town, unless it's after class.

As I am leaving San Diego, I am very sad to be leaving Mosaic.  But, like I told Sophie, my time at Mosaic taught me what I need -- in yoga and in other aspects of my life -- and I'm hopeful I will find another space to continue my practice. 

#16 - Submit a Piece of Writing for Publication

Oh, academic research.  You're so useful and important and sometimes engaging and also tedious and time consuming.  This one piece took way longer than anticipated... and I have 5 others in various stages of completion.  While 4 of those should have been simpler to produce in an article format because they're based on my dissertation, which is already written, this article got done first.  Why?  Because DeJuan Benford, my supervisor at San Diego State University, allowed me to set a goal for the year of submitting a piece of writing for publication, turn a work assignment into a full-blown research project, request assistance from one of our student leaders, and work on it at work periodically.

The original assignment was to gather sport club dues information to assist San Diego State's sport club teams in setting their team dues.  At the time, I was just starting to analyze my data for my dissertation, so I realized the value in turning information gathering into formal data collection for academic research.  At that point, I did not realize how stupidly tedious and time consuming data cleaning and formatting can be.  

After I had agreed to do the project, in a meeting with our Sport Club Executive Board, DeJuan asked the five student Sport Club Executive Board members if anyone would like to assist me with the project.  For some reason, Mark Slader volunteered.  Mark is great.  At the time, he was also in school full-time, president of his sport club team, Executive President of sport clubs, and studying for the MCAT.  Then he was signed with the San Diego Growlers, a professional team in the American Ultimate Disc League.  Plus probably some other things.  And the project was all voluntary... as in he wasn't getting paid.  So I hope some form of this research is accepted for publication so he at least gets a line on his resume out of it.

Me & King Mark

Instead of describing all the tedious steps, here's a quick summary:
IRB: me
Survey design: me
Survey testing: Mark & DeJuan
E-mail address collection: Mark & me
Survey distribution: me
Data cleaning: Mark & me
Literature review: me
Data analysis: me
Synthesis: Mark & me
Writing: me
Editing: Mark & me
Article submission: me

I actually find the literature review, data analysis, and writing to be interesting.  Data cleaning, however, is the worst.  It's one of three reasons I could never be a researcher.  (The first reason is that I'd be too lonely and the third is that I don't sit still well.)  I'm so thankful Mark helped with that part because I might not have made it to the end if I had to do all of on my own.

The article focuses on the increasingly costs of higher education, the demonstrated value of highly involved campus programs like sport clubs (particularly for low-income students who are also more likely to be members of populations already underrepresented in higher education), a summary of the findings about the variability of the costs and funding strategies in institutions, and an exploration of relationships between institutional characteristics and costs for participation in sport clubs.  I'm hopeful to further explore this topic because our findings have the potential to be useful to the profession and additional responses and validity would add to that.

So, I've now co-authored and submitted a piece of writing for publication.  I can't wait to do the next one... mostly because the data has already been cleaned and analyzed :)  I do hope to continue to do academic research, to always be working on a project, because it's really gratifying, at times fun, and so important to further the legitimacy of my profession and for informed decision making.  I'm also saying that knowing this article will likely come back with revisions (since it's the first article either of us has submitted), so maybe I'll feel differently after receiving that harsh academic feedback.