Sweet November

The SEPTA strike ended last Monday, which allowed me to more easily get to the American Public Health Association's annual meeting, held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. In short, I spent 2.5 days in center city hotels listening to experts speak about everything from careers in global health to parent-adolescent communication. I also ate at Reading Terminal Market several time, enjoying everything from a latte with no line (take that, Starbucks!) to a pumpkin whoopie pie from the Amish bakers. I also ate at Rangoon, which is actually the first time I've had Burmese food. They had an interesting take on the papaya salad (which I've had from Thai and Laotian cooks), thousand layer bread (like roti canai from the two Malaysian joints I've tried here), and a mindblowingly scrumptious tea leaf salad. I had bubble tea at Ray's Cafe, which has the most insane coffee selection and siphon brewing process. My dining partner got the Jamaican Blue Mountain, which was an experience.

I spent last weekend in New York, traipsing around Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. Well, there was a piano bar on the Upper East Side, but the pianist seemed high as a kite, and I tried to exit before reaching the two-drink minimum. There was a lot of attempted shopping (I made a list of New York-specific stores as a Google Doc, then saved it in my phone), but I really only bought a few things from TopShop. There was a lot of food and drink, especially since bars are open until 4AM. I didn't see either art exhibit I meant to, but there's always next time.

Only a week from now, I will be traveling back home for Thanksgiving.

SEPTA is on strike. And a regional rail train (still operating, but we're without buses, trolleys, and the subway lines) caught fire this morning, causing further delays. It's an exciting time to be getting around Philadelphia.

RVA

The New York Times did a piece on 36 Hours in Richmond and I'm surprised at how many of the places I haven't visited. Times change.

Draft Post Potpourri

As promised:

1/7/09: Someone in the office made the mistake of putting fun-size chocolate bars into the office candy jar. I have eaten almost all of the Butterfingers, half of the Crunch bars, and accidentally ingested a Baby Ruth in my two days back here.

3/7/09: West Philadelphia, born and raised...

6/17/09: Many of my fellow AmeriCorps members are skipping town shortly after our contract ends in late July (and around when their leases run out). One even mentioned having a "Philadelphia Bucket List".

10/05/09: Plan C did not pass, so the continued use of libraries, parks and weekly trash pickup shall continue.

weird Philly memories and moments that make me weepy

Yeah I know, nobody expected that subject line to appear. But on my drive to work today, a radio station played Harry Kalas's announcing of the final outs of last year's winning game and I teared up a little. You can watch it here and here, but I don't know if you'll get the same warm fuzzy feeling.

Secret confession: Whenever I need a mental pick-me-up, I think of the excitement at the election party and then later at our house last year on Election Night. It always makes me smile. At the former, people cheered when a state went to Obama and booed when one went to McCain. It was sponsored by Philadelphia Weekly, and only one district in this city went to McCain, so there you go. But later in the confines of my little rowhouse, Obama won for certain. And when both Virginia and North Carolina turned blue, I cried. BLUE, you guys. Blue. We didn't even go blue for Clinton. My voter registration card is still for VA, and this confirmed that I don't need to change it. For now.

I could also list all of the Philly memories that make me angry (getting sexually harassed on the bus), upset (people hating on my out-of-state car), or generically happy (getting into clubs without paying cover, drunk taxi rides, cookouts at the main AmeriCorps house, meeting awesome new people), but I thought I would start with the sappy.

I've been here for over a year! In less celebratory news, Plan C could take effect and leave me with overdue library books. And fewer streetlights. And no more parks. Plus trash collection would go down to only every other week. Can't wait for the smells of that one.

at school, but not in school

Ah, the joys of being a young staff member at a university: everyone thinks you're either a student or a prodigy-type professor. So I can slum in the library with the undergrads, but I can also eat in the faculty/staff only restaurant. On my way to get my new ID, I was accosted by Comcast workers, offering me a giant Pixy Stick to showcase their "it's kind of a big deal" cable/internet promotion for students. This might have been awesome back when Anchorman came out, but...oh, who am I to turn down free candy. I might have to buy a bottle of soda just to relive the middle school field day memories of pixy stick-induced explosions. Take that, adult responsibility.

Coming soon: draft post potpourri, where I summon up snippets of all the great blog posts I started bu failed to finish in the first year of writing this. Because apparently Blogger saves them for you.

ice cold

Just sharing my love for Philly-based company Rita's Ice. Which up here, is not Italian Ice, but Water Ice. And they pronounce it "wooder" ice. I tried it once last summer in Abington, and didn't have it again until this summer. Blue raspberry in Wilmington got me started, but it's the new Swedish Fish flavor that got me there twice in a week. You get an extra bag of mini Swedish Fish with it. And with a location near you, how can you turn that down?

With that said, I have also hit up Capogiro Gelato recently, as well as every major new tart frozen yogurt with toppings place in town (Yogorino, Phileo, Sweet Ending) in the last two months. summer came a bit late, but it is here and the frozen treats are on.

Forbidden Drive

So last Wednesday, a jogger got killed by a large tree branch falling and hitting her while she was running in Fairmount Park. The story freaked me out because we were the same age, taught in local schools, and lived in the same neighborhood. Oh, and she was also 4th in her high school class (nothing like the little details to really shred your nerves). So I decided to continue with my running routine in preparation for an upcoming 5K, without the use of my iPod while on trails. There I was yesterday afternoon, just jogging along Forbidden Drive (it's a popular jogging trail, not at all forbidden) when I passed by the spot where she died, marked with various crosses. Nothing makes you want to get out of the woods quicker than that, so I decided to head up a hiking trail in an effort to get back to the main roads. As I was emerging back into the sunlight, I noticed a man in a FOX 29 news van. He yelled to offer me a word of warning, which I figured was about falling tree branches or the like.

Nope. Seems there was a reported "attack" on a woman in the same stretch of park near a parking lot a mile down the road. I had inadvertently run to where the press conference about said attack had just finished. He then cautioned me not to run alone. I made it back home and read the story. For some reason, the word attack made me conjur the image of a mugging, or attempted assault where the would-be victim got away. No, this was rape. It reminded me of a Jezebel item about the news media's inability to use the word. It happened before dark in what I thought was a pretty active and popular parking lot. Finally, if you watch the FOX video, the women interviewed say they plan to bring their husbands or other large, burly men along next time they go running. Which leaves us unmarried running ladies with not as many options. I have pepper spray and a cell phone, but no large dog or running partner. Also, I hate treadmills.

Newspaper update

So I should probably find it ironic (or just sad) that I read about the Philadelphia Inquirer's serious troubles in the New York Times. What's a Big City Without a Newspaper?

But while reading one of my favorite local food blogs, I found this great article from the Inky's Craig LaBan all about hard-shell crabs. And the inevitable drive further south to obtain them. It made me want to incorporate the phrase "regional foodways" into my daily vernacular. Isn't that most of what I write about anyway?

P.S. If nobody's going to click on the funny, interesting or cool buttons, then I'll get rid of thme. But then I expect any lurkers to actually comment once in a while.

home again home again

I went home to VA last week (albeit briefly) and forgot to have any sweet tea. Sacrilege, I know. But I did have Chesapeake Bay steamed crabs, and encountered beach traffic on I-95 both Friday and Saturday. So 2 out of 3 summer rituals in Virginia were successfully upheld. Thanks to my parents who are probably reading this with their new and exciting broadband.

We're about to get a grocery store right by my office. It's slated to open later this month (probably when all the students come back). My excitement can hardly be contained, because it means an end to the weekly Rite Aid trips. These usually culminate with bags of hot fries for me, pork rinds for my colleague, and too much chocolate and/or soda. This week, we had a taste testing of the new Sour Patch kids in fruit shapes. I'm hanging my head in shame as I write this. Once Fresh Grocer opens, there shall be healthier lunches and snacks around here. I will need to vacate my desk around September when the new AmeriCorps person comes in. Right now, the top middle drawer holds office supplies, the bottom right drawer contains files and important documents, and the top right drawer is home to my snack collection and extra plastic bags I keep meaning to recycle.

If you just read the above paragraph, you may realize that a new AmeriCorps person will be starting here in September, meaning that I am no longer in AmeriCorps. My term ended two weeks ago and it hasn't really hit me yet. I'm still doing the same basic things (teaching summer programs to middle schoolers, helping out with the home visiting paperwork, living in the same place, etc.). I'm waiting for it all to sink in: no more member meetings, no capacity building sessions to plan, no Dexter St. parties or cookouts, many fewer rides on the last bus home. Sigh.

Overheard in Philadelphia Potpourri

"You want some fries with that shake?" - 11 year old boys across the street from me up at Fern Rock station. I never thought I would actually hear these words uttered in any measure of seriousness.

"I just wanted to let you ladies know that you are smelling good and looking fine. Mmm yes." - Girard Ave., 9PM. My only scent that evening was Secret antiperspirant, so only part of this compliment could possibly apply to me.

"It's like when you go in your room. What do you do? You close the door." - 12-year-old in one of my classes describing the act of fertilization in an example his friend could understand. The sperm shutting the door to the egg so that no other sperm may enter, for those of you who were unclear.

"Oh, I love Harrisonburg!" - lead singer of Perkasie after I gushed about seeing them last summer at Blue Nile (they'll be playing there again soon). I got to see them on Sunday at the XPoNential Music Festival and am now even more in love with Peter Bjorn & John, among others.

The best Philly commerical I've seen yet, featuring the Phanatic and a Butterscotch Krimpet. Magical.

Then there's this less magical story about one of my favorite South Philly spots, the mermaid fountain. Way to go, Fumo.

running & walking

Philadelphia has inspired me to run again. Of course, I live in the hilliest part of the city, so this may not have been the best athletic decision on my part. It is happening nonetheless as I roughly follow the Couch-to-5K plan. I skipped ahead a little (the former track runner in me needed less walking and more sprinting) and I am running two miles straight on week 5. Perhaps I will end my triumphant completion of 3.1 miles by running up the art museum's steps, Rocky style. Probably not.

Several college friends have visited me here, each with varying degrees of touristy activities in our itinerary. I think Greg P's wins for walking distance, though:

We took the bus from my place to center city around 11AM, getting off at 19th and Chestnut, then walked to Rittenhouse to eat our Wawa breakfast (no food or drink on the bus). We then walked around City Hall and Love Park before heading to Chinatown (10th and Arch). We wanted dim sum and mistakenly believed the restaurant called 'Dim Sum Garden' would have what we were craving. Not so. We decided to order a duck entree (I have frequent duck cravings), and several small appetizers of dumplings and buns. We unknowingly ordered Xiao Long Bao, or Shanghai soup dumplings and managed to eat them successfully, which entails poking them with your chopstick and letting some of the soup drain out so that you don't scald your tongue when biting into them.

We had many leftovers and dropped them off at a friend's office refridgerator, only after a trip to CVS for blister pads. I wore the wrong shoes for city gallavanting, that's for sure. We then took a bus from Broad over to 22nd (only 8 blocks but I was in pain) to visit the Mutter Museum. Fetuses in jars, horns growing from heads, and a special exhibit on conjoined twins. After this, it was cocktail hour at Continental in Old City. They were premiering their new martini menu and I had a couple on the sweeter side. There was also partaking of the cheesesteak spring roll, a Philadelphia classic. Then we strolled down to South St., purchased a new pair of sandals for my aching feet, and met up with relatives at Gnocchi, a delightful cash-only Italian BYOB on Passyunk which has a killer recession special.

Total walking distance throughout the day was around 4 miles, give or take. I managed to cross the Mutter off of my 'Philly Bucket List', too. Not bad for a Monday. Pictures of other visitors and happenings (The Roots Picnic on my birthday weekend, happy hours galore, and more) to come.

Philadelphia tourism

Lacking a degree in marketing, I can only guess what runs through the minds of those that try to visually persuade visitors to this fair city. But a writeup in Budget Travel was only the start. I present to you:

Feel the Love, which will make you wonder if Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross ever did hook up. They had an open casting for this one (show up with a partner) and it obviously took over Love Park right before Valentine's Day.

With Love, Philadelphia, XOXO, the newest campaign from the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Campaign (that's a mouthful). I've been in the habit of writing love letters to the city of Philadelphia, but certainly wasn't expecting any to come back my way.

36 Hours in Philadelphia, because even New York wants to give us props.

Coming soon: my own personal photographic ad campaign to get more visitors (that I know) to Philadelphia. Not being versed in Photoshop, it will solely involve me putting up more photos.

the sounds of Philadelphia

Em after giving some money to an amazing busker on Broad St. one Friday night












Of Montreal at the Trocadero, 4/22












And there was Drake at the Tritone, PFUNKT at the North Star Bar, jazz combos at my restaurant on Wednesdays, and now outdoor festivals in the parks. Plus Andrew Bird, Jenny Lewis, Metric, and the Roots Picnic all coming soon. My Woodstock-attending father would be so proud. I love living in a city that houses so many venues for music, art, and creativity. Even when it's the side of buildings, like the Mural Arts Program.

other reasons to love Philadelphia

So, Budget Travel (which I am not yet a regular reader of) published a story of their 25 Reasons to Love Philadelphia here. I've already covered some of their favorites (Halloween's "Terror Behind the Walls" at Eastern State Penitentiary, photos of Elfreth's Alley from my August tourist tour, the epic cheesesteak battle, my immense love for Rittenhouse Square at Christmas or in warm weather). But now is the time to conquer the rest, especially visiting Bartram's Garden, kayaking the Schuylkill, and art viewing at The Barnes Foundation. Fortunately, I have already purchased many a 1/4 lb. of cheese at DiBruno Brothers (the enormous Rittenhouse location is my food mecca even more than Whole Foods), eaten at a Jose Garces restaurant (Tinto, his Basque-inspired outpost), and stuffed myself with the many delightful flavors of Capogiro Gelato.

As for sports superstitions, the Flyers lost in the playoffs. Is it wrong that I'm now rooting for the Caps?

Coming up this weekend: Winterthur Point-to-Point, the Delawarean answer to the Kentucky Derby, Charlottesville's Foxfields Races, and Richmond's Strawberry Hill Races. All of which are partially an excuse to get dressed up, wear a big hat, and consume alcohol very early on in the day. Thank goodness this tradition is not limited to the South.

Philadelphia Inevitabilities

You can not walk around any of Philly's assorted neighborhoods without witnessing someone spitting onto the sidewalk or street. It's a fact. Nobody puts the effort in to hock a loogie like we did back in elementary school or summer camp. Not everybody is sick and trying to expectorate the phlegm. They just naturally possess the spitting frequency of a camel or llama. High schoolers, little old ladies at the bus stop, well-dressed businessmen, everybody. I feel lucky that to this date, I have not yet found saliva on my clothes or shoes.

Another inevitability is that the afore-mentioned SEPTA buses are often early or late to their respective destinations. This will leave you sprinting after the #9 as it cruises down Walnut St. a few minutes early, or the #27 will show up 30 minutes later than expected on a Sunday, leaving you to hail it down after you have given up hope on its arrival and changed transportation plans. It's a daily gamble, but it's good exercise.

Also, I'm beginning to realize the downfalls of the (inevitable, if you will) citywide last call at 1:30AM and closing of the bars at 2AM. Fortunately, as a server in "the industry", I am allowed access to a number of sketchy after-hours bars, so long as I furnish proof of employment. I'd usually rather just go home, or fall asleep watching TV on friends' couches, but it's good to know. Besides, Atlantic City never sleeps.

A Tale of Two Buses, or What's a Transpass Anyway?

SEPTA: SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. According to wikipedia, it is the 7th-largest rapid transit system in the US by ridership. SEPTA operates the city's buses, subways, trolleys on tracks, regional rail (sort of a Amtrak lite), etc. Us AmeriCorps volunteers are given a monthly transpass which allows us unlimited access to the buses, subways and trolleys. Over half of my group (probably 3/4) use theirs to get to work in the morning on a regular basis. I'm currently in a state of off-and-on use, mainly because I have to take 3 different buses just to get to my site. Or a 15-20 minute drive. As the weather warms, I may be more willing to stand on street corners in unsavory parts of town, waiting for the bus. But I've had enough bad bus moments (falling into the lap of an unfortunate 4th-grader, getting sexually harassed by a drunk sipping his 40, etc.) that I will probably battle with the whole "I got up half an hour earlier for this?" question every morning. The bus, however, is not my main issue. I actually have much worse luck with the subways.

The subway system consists of only two lines, the Broad Street Line (orange line) and the Market-Frankford line (the blue line or the El). You New Yorkers and Washingtonians may scoff at this lack of criss-crossing colors, letters, and numbers, but the sheer volume of buses in this town more than makes up for it. I am a once-weekly subway user, particularly when I have taken a single bus from my place to Center City and then need to reach my office, a short walk from a far North stop on the Orange Line. But every single time that I step underground, bad luck strikes. I have just missed the train and the next one is late. The Broad-Ridge Spur comes before the regular. The Local arrives before the Express. Last week brought a tragic event that totally shut the subway down and forced a mass exodus to the surface, where we all waited for shuttle buses that never came. As hundreds of people crowded the intersection of Broad St. and Girard, our complaining (and pushing and shoving onto the few shuttles that did eventually appear) brought us together. Today I helped a client to the hospital by carrying her enormous stroller up several flights of stairs, because all subway stations don't have elevators and are thus not handicapped-accessible. WTF?

Public transportation in this city is certainly different than Washington DC (and NYC if I remember; I'll give an update when I visit there this weekend). Litter exists. There is an unscrubbable layer of grime on all surfaces. People publicly comment on the racial and economic class divisions between who takes the subways vs. regional rail. Accidents happen (actual collisions, not just small children using the bathroom). But hey, it all gets me to where I need to go with the swipe of a card. Though it did take me 4 months to learn how to exit the trolley.

my kids say the darndest things, installment #1

"Miss Hilary, how many times a day do you say the word 'sex'?"

"So the Eagles don't like T.O. now?"

(during a roleplay, a girl pretending to be a male asking a girl on a date): "I was wondering if on Friday, January 16th, you would like to see the movie Notorious with me".

Me: "You produce testosterone in your testicles, J....that's how you can grow that moustache."
J: "Oh you noticed that, huh?"

Major Philly-related postings in the coming week. Plus I put new photos up. Also, finally taking a brief trip to NYC in 2.3 weeks. I'm ahead on my hours, so our program director urged me to take a vacation. Not a problem.

avoiding the fax machine

I accidentally left the Mural Arts Program off my checklist, which is ludicrous because I have a book about it (thanks, Dad) and see them all the time. I'll be sure to go on one of the walking tours and maybe one of the trolley tours when the weather gets nicer. I also need to go to the Philadelphia Zoo, though one of my Friday classes was interrupted by the Zoo on Wheels program. My 8th graders got to learn about tropical rainforest animals instead of STI's. As for the rest of my to do list, I have since been to Chinatown twice (for late-night karaoke and Malaysian food, respectively) and purchased a book on Philadelphia beer by Joe Sixpack. If any of my loyal readers are planning a trip up here, Beer Week is March 6-15. Just something to think about.

Both of my jobs are going pretty well; I received a February-induced kick in the pants that should combat those winter doldrums. Or maybe it was the Girl Scout cookies. I've been here for 5 months now, so there are less than 6 to go in my AmeriCorps program. Hopefully I'll know and choose where I'm going next (or if I'll stay here) by sometime in June, so I'm not making crazy last-minute decisions about my life and living situation like I did last year.

Also, I need to take more photographs. The only ones I have of late are from New Year's in DC, and happy hour last week in Philly's oldest pub. Not exactly picasa-worthy.

lunchtime musings

I am disappointed to report that all of the fast food drive-thrus on Broad St. going North from Girard to Olney are McDonald's or Dunkin Donuts. OK, and one Checkers. What's a girl to do when she wants something from Wendy's but doesn't want to leave her vehicle? So now I'm sitting in the office, it's 1:17PM and there is no Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger in sight.

The whole having two jobs thing is wearing me down a bit, but it also presents new opportunities for eating and drinking in Manayunk. I will have probably been to every bar and restaurant on Main St. by the spring, which is nothing to sneeze at. And now that I have cash on hand, I can aim for my other culinary goals, such as eating every kind of cheese at DiBruno Brothers, or visiting Capogiro Gelato weekly.

an obvious immigrant

As I hurriedly approached my snow-covered car this morning, hot cup of Wawa coffee in hand, I noticed a message written in the snow on my passenger side rear window. "Go home." Then I turned my attention to the conspicuous absence of my Phillies National League Championship Series bumper sticker. Nice. This comes two weeks after discovering that my back bumper was puked on while parked on the next street over.

I get it. My Virginia license plates stick out like a sore thumb in this all-Philly neighborhood I live in. But really, shouldn't you save the aggression for an Arizona Cardinals fan, or someone with a Mets/Giants/etc. bumper sticker? I was watching the Eagles game last night, rooting for them just like the rest of you. Don't let my lack of a Pennsylvania license plate distract you from that fact.

Philly checklist

very Philadelphia-specific things I have done in my 4 months here:
- eaten multiple cheesesteaks
- gone to a Phillies game, and tailgated in the parking lot between Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field ("The Linc"
- taken a trolley in West Philly without knowing how to exit
- eaten at a restaurant by one of Philly's celebrity chefs (Morimoto, Vetri, Garces, Perrier, etc.)
- thrown a penny on Ben Franklin's grave (if it lands heads up, you'll have a good marriage/life/what have you)
- correlated my beers to the amount of Eagles plays in a game
- gotten a parking ticket (ok, 2); the TV show Parking Wars is based in Philadelphia
- become a more aggressive but quicker-with-reactions driver (ride with me and you'll understand)
- run up the "Rocky" steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I've also walked up them slowly with my parents.
- heard the phrase "youse guys" used in all seriousness
- eaten water ice, used Cheez Whiz as a condiment, started putting Old Bay on my french fries, soft pretzels with mustard, my weight in Tastykakes and more
- battled rush hour traffic (both ways) on I-76 aka the Schuylkill
- been in City Hall (the world's largest municipal building); Mayor Nutter said hi to me
-shown people how disappointingly small the LOVE statue is

things on my Philadelphia list I still need to accomplish:
- more time in Fairmount park
- Mutter Museum (I need to devote an entire day here)
- weekend trip to the shore (the Jersey Shore and its beaches)
- eating at a Stephen Starr restaurant (they're everywhere in Center City, how have I avoided these?)
- Italian market on a Saturday
- attend a Flyers game
- try beers from all of the surrounding breweries
- take a road trip to Amish country (though they do staff my local farmer's market)
- spend enough time in Chinatown, buying interesting stuff
- watch the bike race in Manayunk or crew showdowns on the Schuylkill River
- go to the City Hall observation deck, or any of the other skyline buildings for that matter

It's a work in progress to say the least. Please add to the list or come visit and I'll make an effort to explain and show everything.