Tome

Almost three weeks ago I wrote about starting my new book, Infinite Jest. I knew from the beginning that it was going to be a challenging read due to a variety of factors: length (1,090 pages), style (postmodern metafiction-ish), content (think intertwining stories with only scraps in common [at first…]), and just the overall David Foster Wallace-ness of it all. It is proving to be the challenge I predicted. Not in a defeating way, rather in a rise-to-it way.

As of this afternoon I have conquered 400 pages of “story” and 47 pages of footnotes. See, in order to understand Wallace you have to get his use of footnotes. These are not places for quick, trite references or small seemingly insignificant explanations. Entire chunks of plot occur in these footnotes. The other day I read a footnote that was 18 pages. These bits are sometimes the hardest, but add depth to the novel, not to mention they are a sort of signature by Wallace.

The novel is spectacular. As Dave Eggers says in his foreword, “…it’s deeply felt and incredibly moving. That it was written in three years by a writer under thirty-five is very painful to think about.” The book mixes stories from a private elite tennis academy, a halfway house for drug and alcohol addicts, undercover agents, and numerous subjects who I have yet to determine their involvement in the novel to concoct an ingenious cocktail of humor and resounding sadness. Eggers also says, “[reading this novel is like] being in a room with a very talkative and brilliant uncle or cousin who, just when he’s about to push it too far, to try our patience with too much detail, has the good sense to throw in a good lowbrow joke.”

This is exactly what the entire novel is like. Certain episodes are so heartbreaking to read. It pains me to think Wallace and all his creative genius were able to come up with some of these scenes. How can someone detail drug and alcohol abuse with such precision? Did he actually suffer from depression so soul-consuming and black? Unfortunately Wallace succumbed to his own demons only a couple years ago and committed suicide. Was a book of this magnitude a cry for help? Contrstinly, the novel has lines, pages, theories so funny that I often find myself laughing out loud and shaking my head in astonishment at playfullness with the English language.

I feel a sense of accomplishment with this book. Each day when I push aside another chunk and my bookmark gets closer to the end I feel as I though I am consuming something great. And though I gave myself a month to finish the tome I am in no hurry to let this one go.

 

Paris

 

Three months ago today I was coming down from the high of being in Paris. Yesterday I happened upon this video and I was immediately taken back to that incredible weekend. If we would have stumbled across Phoenix putting on a take away show at the base of the Eiffel Tower I probably would have lost my mind.

 

 

Highlights

It’s high time I include some more content on here besides that of my heightened emotions. Allow me to share with you a few highlights from the last few days. The first didn’t occur on my trip, but rather the night before I left at family dinner. Still, it deserves to be shared.

 

Family and I went to dinner the night before I left to celebrate Valentine’s Day and our undying love for one another. Courtdazzle found this little guy hiding under the table and I continued to manipulate him into various positions around the table. When we turned him into our waitress she confessed she thought he was ours and a part of some weird inside joke in our family. I wish.

There's a snake in my boots!

 

Coffee at La Stanza is touted to be the best in Zürich according to several international publications. I only knew it as a great place to find inexpensive beer and surround yourself with unpretentious folks. Before I left in December I made it here one morning before my au pair meeting. I went again last week. Confirmed. This is the best coffee. In. The. World.

It's all in the foam

 

This tune came on in the middle of my second cappuccino at La Stanza last Friday. Commence swooning.

 

Yesterday Adam and I went to Maison Blunt for brunch (wait, doesn’t everyone brunch at 2:30 p.m.?) and were treated to this amazing spread: five kinds of cheese, fruit salad, homemade jam, honey, and a giant bread basket. Don’t forget the coffees…

The full spread

 

Finally, whenever you a pick-me-up, distraction, or an idea for a new pet, I suggest watching this video. The number of views went up by almost two million since the first time I saw it earlier this week so I can’t be the only one thinking this is a great idea.

Murderous Rage (too much?)

For the most part I don’t get angry. It’s not really a good color on me. When I get upset, which is rare, I brood a little, maybe mope around, probably do some good ol’ fashioned sulking. But rarely do I get angry and mean.

Today, however, was a different story. Here I am getting ready to go to the au pair meeting, which starts at 10. I look at the clock, it’s 9:44 and the next tram leaves at 9:46. One year of running for trams and trains tells me I can make this. So I grab the necessities in a semi-blind panic and haul myself to the tram stop. I make it to the stop sweating (obviously) and little out of breath. I realize I don’t have time to buy a ticket, but have no fear because I’m (overconfident-ly) positive that no one will be on the tram to investigate.

Not five seconds after I sit down do I hear the infamous, “Gruezi mittenand. (In German) We are the controllers and we are coming to check your ticket, make sure you are following the honor system, and generally make your life unpleasant.” No! This could not be happening. In the eleven months that I lived here I got checked on the tram twice. Twice! And here I am getting checked within a week of arriving. I debate the merits of tucking and rolling off the tram at the next stop, but my plan is foiled when I see a giant burly man standing in front of the doors. When it comes time to fess up I meaninglessly check my wallet and find, wait, what is this?! A ticket I bought for yesterday to visit my friend Whitney. YES! So I show it to the man, and he says, “Nei, nei, nicht gut.” And I stand up to look at the ticket, check the time stamp, annnnnnnnnd…

It expired 20 minutes prior. Yep, 20 minutes. Here, folks, I actually stomped my foot on the ground. Like a child. Or a brat. Or someone who was looking for a little bit of sympathy and understanding. And none was delivered. He promptly told me to pay my fine, there would be no exception to my outlandish rule-breaking. So I forked over 80 Francs (=80 dollars, or doll-hairs, depending on your currency) and stewed and cursed under my breath (maybe a hex or two, whose to say) and actually proceeded to re-sweat from my misery and anger.

Thankfully, the rest of my day picked up from there. I made a visit to see the kiddos I used to take care of and had a great day of arts and crafts with them. Though I had a considerably lighter wallet on my trip out there.

Two in a Row

Yes! I am a master predictor. Not only did Band of Horses play “Islands on the Coast” the other night, but they played a whole host of the tunes I predicted. The set-list looked a bit like (liberty taken with the order, and the odd omission or two):

• “Blue Beard”
• “Marry Song”
• “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands”
• “Factory”
• “Dilly”
• “Ode to LRC”
• “The General Specific”
• “Older”
• “Is There a Ghost”
• “NW Apt.”
• “Compliments”
• “Islands on the Coast”
• “Laredo”
• “The Great Salt Lake”
• “No One’s Gonna Love You”
• “The Funeral”

The funny thing about shows in Switzerland is the energy of the crowd. The Swiss aren’t known for the rowdiness or general over-abundance of enthusiasm. They know when to clap and celebrate at the right times, but rarely engage in the music during the actual performance, which is an element that I think can take an average concert to the next level. About thirty minutes into the show the lead singer finished a song and commented, “Alright, there we go! You guys are starting to wake up and we can (expletive) party!”

A few songs later he lit up a cigarette to accompany his song. I was a part of a band for about five minutes my senior year of undergrad and performed “World Spins Madly On” by The Weepies for Greek Idol. When one of the guys in our band thought we should chug some Nesquik before heading on stage I declared that there would be No Milk Beforehand, and thus our short-lived group was named. I suppose I feel the same way about milk as I do cigarettes in regard to performances: the certainly do no singing body any good.

After “The Funeral,” which they proclaimed their best song ever, the band retreated so we could call them back out for an encore. Only two fellows came back out for the most delicate performance of “Evening Kitchen,” a song that I have a particular attachment to. The rest of the group quickly joined them for “Detlef Schrempf” and “Monsters,” closing with the final bars of “Neighbor.” Truly a great show.

Last night Adam and I headed to Cold War Kids to culminate the concert weekend. They played at a smaller venue with a pretty healthy showing. Adam and I were sandwiched between two of the most enthusiastic attendees who were wildly throwing themselves about. One gal was swinging her body around like a “lady of the night” dancer, whilst the other was fist-pumping to an entirely different beat than the band was issuing. They definitely made for a heightened experience.

I’m not as well-versed with CWK as I am with BOH, but they played the four songs I know and I thought they did a pretty good job. Overall, it was a fun night and two good shows in a row!

 

Ah, yes. And a Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

 

I’m Baaack!

Alas, I could not stay away from Switzerland. How could you expect me to?

The decision to return came about suddenly, but it seemed like the obvious choice. With most stores postponing hiring until the spring, and not much to do but work on graduate school application, the time felt right to come back to Zurich. Plus, who even likes the month of February in Kansas City?

So, I can do all my work from here, and enjoy being back in this city I love. For the remainder of the month I will be hanging out and relishing this time off while I still have it. I guess having Adam here is an extra perk (winking emoticon).

To make things even better the mercury is hovering around 50 degrees during the day. I just left KC where the high temperature on Tuesday was like, oh let’s say, 7. Thursday we walked around by the lake and picked up one of my favorite bratwursts at Sternen. Friday we visited the Museum Gestaltung and had one of the best meals of all time at Josef. I can’t say I’ve ever wanted to weep from a single gnocchi, but last night’s dinner was life-changing. Today the temperature was perfect again and we joined the rest of Zurich by the lake for a little jog. Not bad for three days.

Tonight we are heading to the Band of Horses concert. I was treated to a performance by these dudes last year in Manchester and it was one of my favorite concerts. They just work so well together despite their ever-changing members. I’m pumped to see them again. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite tunes, which I hope they play tonight!

Roller Warriors

I wish I could give this post the attention it deserves, but I am finishing getting ready for a trip (more on that later) and am doing a little running around.

But, I could not let the week escape me without posting about one of the more original things I’ve done in a quite a while. Last week I was sitting around with some of my buddies trying to decide what to do for the weekend. Maddie and Stephanie both had suggestions for Saturday night.

Maddie said, “Well I have an idea, but I’m afraid you guys won’t like it so Steph, you go first.”

Stephanie said, “OK, well I think we should go to the Roller Derby.”

Maddie throws up her hands and makes a fist pump, “Yes! That was exactly my idea.

I’m not quite sure how 50% of our little group had the same idea for Roller Derby, but it happened. And so did the Roller Derby. A group of us headed down to Municipal Hall on Saturday night to check out the Kansas City Roller Warriors–KC’s premier all-female flat-track roller derby league. I have never been to such an event before, but it was fun to get out and do something different. And it sure beats another night at the same old bars.

Track + Warriors

The sport involved a lot of skating (er, obviously), shoving, falling, skidding, hair-flipping, and absurd commentary from the announcers. The program booklet came with a little explanation on the game, and Hannah and Maddie saw the movie “Whip It” so they were well-versed in the art of roller derby. Thankfully, I had people to help explain the matches. Basically, you want to get points. End of story.

Black-Eye Susans v. Dreadnought Dorothys

I think my favorite part of the game was reading and hearing the names of the warriors. Most were clever puns or plays on words (my favorite!), and it was fun picking out the best. Some fine examples include: Strawberry Cutthroat, Whip R. Snapper, Yvette Yerass, Bruz-Her, Bubonic Peg, Hypersmacktivity, and Dominant Jean.

Must-have for the game

Spits, Annie, Stephanie, Dani, Maddie, Hannah

Definitely a fun night. Next match is on April 2nd. Who’s in?!

 

Not sure what this shifty panda was doing there…

Hmm

Street Art

While rooting around on “Freshly Pressed” I stumbled upon a photography site. The post that caught my eye is centered on graffiti. There are only four pictures but they are pretty amazing. I wish I could say which one I’m most partial to, but they all capture something incredible. Definitely check it out. The rest of his site is full of other treats as well.

 

Christ Martin Graffiti Photographs.

Footgame

As much as I like to be at sporting events (more on that tomorrow) there is something equally as wonderful about watching the game with a bunch of friends, devouring food, sipping brews, and being 10 times warmer than you would be if you were huddled outside. At our house, this is what the Super Bowl looked like:

A pretty awesome spread of cheese, meats, dips, crackers, pickles, etc.

Two times chili. I made the white one a couple weeks ago and the red is a combination of two recipes that I sort of mashed together- delicious.

 

Friends!

 

Dani, Stephanie, Peter, Maddie, David, Kathryn, Jared

Plus me!

 

Since all of us, except David (a UK alum), graduated from K-State we had to cheer for the Jordy Nelson and the Packers. Scoring the first touchdown?! Obviously he perfected those skillz as a Wildcat.

 

Annnd, this is just because I think it is so funny. Additionally, it’s the inspiration for the title.

RUN!

The other day I signed up for the Rock the Parkway race, scheduled for April 2nd in Kansas City. There is a 5K, 10K, and half-marathon course, and I opted for the 10K. I haven’t reached the point in my life when I believe running 13 miles is a necessity. I’ll stick with 6 for now.

This scenic route takes you down Ward Parkway, a relatively flat course with plenty of visual stimulation to distract you while you are pushing through the last couple of miles. Several friends have signed up to do it as well and I’m looking forward to the early morning run with buddies. You can sign up on their website up until race day. Although as of tomorrow the prices jump up a bit. Proceeds will go toward Science City at Union Station to help fund a weekend of health taking place on April 9th and 10th. This event will expose children and adults to healthy lifestyles and ways everyone can make changes to be active, eat right, and generally treat our bodies well!

While “training” might be a little too intense for what I’m actually doing, these past few weeks I’ve been upping my mileage in order to prepare for the race. I know I’ve mentioned these dudes before, but Ratatat is the best music for running. Their upbeat tunes keep me going, and surprisingly the lyric-free songs prevent me from getting distracted (sometimes I have a tendency to want to sing along). This song is one of my current favorites (they change weekly, more or less). At about 1:15 and 3:10 into the song I can’t help but want to break into a sprint. Either that or jump off the treadmill and bust a move. Either way it’s a win-win situation.