FBF: I Wish I Was Still There

In the last month I've been transcribing the journal I kept while traveling around the world from January 2017 to June 2018. It's been amazing to relive the journey, especially since big travel is not on the horizon for .... a while. I am fascinated by what I chose to record, and so grateful that I took the time to do this (although I know this will turn to frustration later in the trip when I'm pretty sure my journaling became a lot more infrequent).  

I also sent postcards, of course! I brought some along to get started, but naturally the big draw was sending cards from wherever we were.

First postcard sent from the road 1/29/2017 - to my ma

I even participated in LetterMo in 2017, and I was thrilled to see that I took some photos of the writing before sending them off - although more often than not, it was just a close up to get artist credit for the image and I can't see the whole text. So frustrating!

"Afatista em Alfama" Toni Frissell, 1946

Sent to a college friend in Colorado:

"3 February, 2017

Hey Chica! 

We were in Lisboa last week and walked around Alfama often, but have not yet seen any Fado. It seems primarily for tourists, and locals consider it old peoples' music. I'd still like to go, but it's also $$$. we are in Porto now, staying in an Airbnb that is a 3-room hostel. The other guests here DO NOT leave the apartment and rarely leave their room. It's weird. They leave tomorrow and we hope that no one else shows up. Tonight we went to a couchsurfing meetup that was very fun, although it's been so long I've been anywhere people can smoke inside it was hard to bear after a while. Rain continues to follow us everywhere. xoxo"

Narrator: She never did see any Fado.

I have to laugh at the sweet summer child I was at the beginning of this trip, because by the end I absolutely could have been the weirdo who never left their room in some of our stops. Also, get used to the indoor smoking, kid. RIP clean lungs.

Postage from around the world is also very cool:

Very inexpensive international postage!

I gave LetterMo a good try that year - which was mostly easy because we were based in either Lisbon or Porto the whole month. My correspondence after that became sketchy - there were plenty of places that I didn't have the time to figure out the post office situation, but also our schedule could be erratic and it was hard to be disciplined. Now I have a whole box of postcards from countries I've visited to join the huge stack that I inherited from my grandmother and her travels.

Stay tuned for more trip correspondence as well as more recent ones.

Bon Voyage!

I'm off on a big adventure this afternoon, which means I'm up reeeeeeeally early packing and cleaning. I've got a bunch of postcards to take with me, although my track record of sending mail while I'm still abroad isn't great.

Last month was so busy I didn't send many postcards. I did get a nice response from one of the recipients, who put this up on Facebook with the following message:

"I got mail and I love it when I do! Thanks so much. I miss you.
Thanks for sending me hugs..."

A lot of the people I send postcards to don't say anything about it - which isn't necessary anyway, but who knows if it's something they enjoy or just toss. One friend demurred, saying she's got too many postcards already (not all from me!). The point of writing certainly isn't to annoy or antagonize anyone, so I'd rather know if anyone doesn't want them (although who doesn't like mail???), but it sure is better to know when a postcard has brightened someone's day.

I sent some of the promotional materials from my show last month to my mom:

The performances didn't have traditional posters or programs. These are the two sides of tickets we handed out to attendees of the night market in the City of Redmond, giving them passage to a staged meditation labyrinth in a nearby heron rookery.

This is the postcard for the shows, featuring images related to the second one. The photo was from a previous event, and isn't someone in our cast, but I got to be a clock.


My other postcard from the last few weeks went to My Awesome Sister:

I didn't take notes about this postcard, except it came from my grandmother's collection and is from Turkey.

Back to packing! Ta....

Spring Flings and a PSA

The last 6 weeks have been a whirlwind. Two quick trips, huge work projects, a move, and a week of illness meant that there wasn't a lot of room for writing, despite the renewed sense of purpose in my last post. I had hoped to send some actual Wish You Were Here postcards during my travels, but both sojourns were brief, and I was woefully unprepared.

DC/Baltimore:

 

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Katja 7, got married in April. I flew into DC and spent a few days there, but the wedding was held at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. It was an exquisite location for a wedding, especially for two creative people who wanted to ensure a magical environment for their less-than-traditional nuptials (about an hour into the initial reception, the bartender asked me "So...what exactly is the theme here?", eliciting a poor description of steampunk from me - there was no actual theme, but there were lots of wings, tutus, and the groom wore full on steampunk regalia). That egg, with its mosaic of mirrors, was a real hit. 

I did write this postcard while back in DC, but I didn't bring any stamps, so I handed it to Tilly when I returned. Postcard fail.

Chicago:

Willis Tower Skyledge

Two weeks ago I was in Chicago for a weekend. I spent one day being super touristy: Grant Park, Millenium Park, riverwalk, Navy Pier, water taxi, Sears Willis* Tower, riding the Loop, architectural boat tour. It was a great day, and totally exhausting. Normally I wouldn't bother with any tourist trap that involves huge crowds or long lines, but it was a cloudy day, so I was able to get up to the top of  Sears Tower relatively quickly. The more tedious line was waiting to step into one of these little boxes that let you go 4 feet outside the building, 103 floors up. Watching the reactions of those who went before me was better than doing it myself, to be honest. The people in the postcard are NOT drawn to scale, by the way. A person kneeling like the fake photographer in the left would take up most of her side of the box.

I brought stamps this time, but not my address book, so even though I bought several postcards in Chicago, I could only mail one to my mom, because I know her address by heart. Postcard semi-fail.

* Apparently, all of Chicago resents the renaming of this building and still calls it Sears Tower, so I do too.

Public Service Announcement:

Effective June 1 (tomorrow!), postage rates are going up. First class letter stamps are staying at $0.49, but extra ounces will cost you another penny, and so will postcards ($0.35 - still a bargain!). It bugs me to no end that there are no forever stamps available for postcards. I tried to get some of the new rate stamps at the post office last week, but was told they wouldn't be available until the price changed. How irritating. Especially because they last raised the rates right after I'd bought a roll of 100 postcard stamps, so I've been adding a 1-cent stamp for two years now.

I did manage to get one final postcard out the door yesterday under the old rate:

Sent to a friend I haven't seen since college who spent Day Two of my Chicago adventure with me in Wicker Park.

The Resurrection (almost)

It's been a little crazy the last few weeks, but I woke up this morning and realized I have an entire day with no plans. Actually, that's not true - I'm cleaning out old files, which are currently strewn across the floor below me as I type. There is so much paper that I may just start a trend of wallpapering floors. But nothing is scheduled, so it still feels like I've got this whole luxurious day ahead of me. I think I'll procrastinate and take a look at some of the great mail I got last month:
 

Artist: Erica Jane Huntzinger (no title listed)

I love this postcard. Green is my favorite color and the chaotic randomness of it feels a bit like my brain some days. From a friend who, unknown to me, moved some months ago. Fortunately my postcard in February found her - and I just scheduled a weekend getaway in her city, so I hope to see her face to face in May.

Egon Schiele, Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Standing (1915)

 From my Mom:

"I tend to buy my postcards from museums so I can remember paintings or pieces I like/love. This is a lovely portraint of Schiele's wife, who was so young when she died. The dress is an astonishment of color and form - all those beautiful stripes - but does not distract from her lovely face. Now she's yours!"

I do the same thing when I am visiting museums - buy postcards of pieces I want to remember.

Ha! A friend who bought the naughty postcards collection read this post from 2 years ago where I kvetched about having to part with this postcard and she sent it to me. Score!

Of course, this makes me feel terribly guilty, as I haven't responded to any of these yet. Perhaps the paper carpet will have to wait just a little longer. Did I mention that I found a bunch of postcards shoved in files from 15-20 years ago during the excavation? I'm more than a little sad that eventually I will be an organized person and I'll stop finding them everywhere.

Oh, and the Easter part of this post: I'm making homemade cadbury creme eggs. Very messy, very delicious little sugar bombs.

Happy Valentine's Day

Sometimes a goofy valentine from your mom can make your whole day:

Missives from Mom

I always love highlighting postcards from My Awesome Sister, but I have to give credit to my mother - she's really stepped up her game this year. I think she enjoys sending postcards more than I do. Here are a couple that I've gotten recently (am I buying time to get back in the swing of things? why yes, thanks for noticing!)...

Received back in October:

Peace Sign, Missoula, Montana - Dismantled 2001

"Don't know why they took this down. 
Mission accomplished?

NOT

love you,
Mom"

And received last week:

"Blue Snow, The Battery" George Bellows (1910)

"This is Battery Park - way before the landfill. looks like a park, eh? Bellows exhibit blew me away. Amazing stuff - This is only one of favorites - M"

Short and sweet!