No dash lights. No air conditioning. No cup holders. A passenger-side window that doesn’t roll up. But who needs those extras when you have 12 cylinders and two doors that close with the unmistakable heavy “thud” of a 20-year-old European sports car. (Or so says my friend who I was visiting in California with the … Continue reading »
The tornado truly could not have dropped us in a more foreign land. Spiraling out of Jackson, Mississippi and stepping out of the doors into the Emerald City of Seattle, Washington could only been more strange if we had to step over a dead witch’s shriveled legs. For one, Mississippi is hot and muggy, Seattle … Continue reading »
20 hours in transit (and counting) 13 hours at IAH Houston airport 1 flight cancellation 1 standby ticket 8 delays 4 gate changes 5 circles made around the food court trying to find an open outlet 3 half charges of my phone 1 cup of coffee 1 glass of wine 3 episodes of Top Gear … Continue reading »
We returned from our bead-and booze-infused weekend to find utter destruction in some parts of Hattiesburg. The tornado damage hit the town, however, just in time for us to fly to Seattle for a conference. So that’s what we did. We turned our backs to the uprooted trees, roofless houses, and debris-covered streets, and let … Continue reading »
Now I know how Dorothy felt. Earlier this year, I had my own little trip to Oz. There was no bumbling scarecrow and I didn’t steal a pair of shoes from any witch. But there was definitely a tornado, and suddenly, we were in a strange land as different from where we came as one could … Continue reading »
When I was back in Minnesota for Christmas break, my friends gave me a hard time for having lived in southern Mississippi for four months and still not having been to the coast. So, antsy and unable to complete anything productive, I finally decided to drive to the gulf. How to spend three hours alone … Continue reading »
Living in the south, I’ve learned how prominent the Minnesota stereotypes really are in different parts of the country. “Minnesota is rural, cold, and the accents are funny.” In truth, some of Minnesota is rural, sometimes it’s cold, and… yes, the accents are funny. I returned to my hoooome state hearing that accent more than … Continue reading »
Signs give a sense of place to a photo. Most of these are prohibitory signs or warning signs. Some of them are funny or ironic. All of them are unique and representative of the cultures, settings, and attitudes in which they were found.
County Wicklow is a perfect Sunday daytrip from Dublin and a perfect drive to get a taste of the quaint, winding Irish roads. Sundays are usually a quiet day on the roads, save a few groups of bicyclists, which is helpful for, say an American who still has to drive out of her side view … Continue reading »
