Living Rootless

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Top Five Free, Travel-Easy, Pack-Friendly Beauty Secrets for Women of a Certain Age

Obligatory weird and kinda gross picture for this kind of post. But in fact, these are actual eggs inside an actual chicken. Rustavi, Georgia.

Yes, you heard right.

Five weird tricks that plastic surgeons don't want you to know about!

Free!

They take up no space in your luggage!

No messy liquids to measure and carry in four-ounce containers loaded into a ziploc bag!

1. Close your mouth

When we get to a certain age, I've noticed that many of us have a tendency to let our mouths hang open a bit. Don't believe me? Start looking for it. It adds 10 years to our looks. Easy fix. Close your mouth. Get your nearest-and-dearest to tell you when you forget. They'll love to oblige.

2. Smile

I've seen miraculous transformations when a woman of a certain age smiles. Years drop off in a nano-second. Works with an open- or closed-mouth smile. Being a rather serious sort myself, I try to remember this tip, otherwise I can look very stern (which could also explain this).

3. Avoid locking your upper and lower molars together.

This creates a severe look. When your mouth is closed, let your jaw relax away from your upper teeth. Look in a mirror at the difference between the two positions.

4. Look alert.

Look like you've got your wits about you. Make direct eye contact with people you're talking to. Look with purpose at things around you.

5. Put your shoulders back and stand up straight.

Just like your mom told you.

6. A lagniappe: Borrow some bad-girl attitude:

Numbers 4 and 5 have the side benefit of making you look less of a target when you're traveling.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Louisiana: "Stuff Cajun People Like"

I've had the Chockablock List of Stuff Cajun People Like bookmarked forever, saving it for a rainy day. "Chuval" is the author.

Sadly, the most recent post is from 2010, and a number of the linked videos have since expired, so who knows how long the blog's delicious contents will survive out on the ethernet?

A couple of my favorites from Chuval's list of 39 things Cajuns like:

#2 Lent

Cajun people love Lent, the 40 days of repentance and fasting that lead up to Easter. More specifically, Cajun Catholics love lent, but since the majority of Cajuns are Catholic, I’ll use the two interchangeably. Forty days may sound like a lot of sacrifice, but after the pure debauchery of Mardis Gras kicks off the Lenten season, Cajuns actually need 40 days of repentance and fasting, and there’s nothing Cajun people love more than asking each other “What did you give up?”. Mostly we give up small things like chocolate, candy, or swearing, but some crafty Cajuns build loopholes right into their penance like “I gave up all candy but chocolate.”

Each Friday during Lent, Catholics are asked to give up meat, and only eat seafood. This is the equivalent of asking a child to skip dinner and only eat dessert. Sure, we may put on a pained expression, but how miserable can a Cajun be when he’s shoving seafood gumbo or crawfish etoufee down his gullet?

Sure, the whole Jesus-dying-on-a-cross thing might be a downer, but everything else about Lent is all good.

Bullfrogs in St. Martinville, Louisiana

#39 New Orleans Saints, or: Nobody, Dat's Who!

Man, I thought I wuz done with dis bloggin’ stuff. Thought dere wasn’t anything else good to write about. And dat was mostly true, until the other day dat is. See, cuz dat’s when this funny little thing happened. You might have heard about it. You know, when dem SAINTS WON THE WHOLE DAMN SUPERBOWL!!! Wooooo Hooooo!!! WHO DAT? WHO DAT? Nobody, DAT’s Who All You Hatin’ Couyons!!! Oh pooh yaille, I gotta sit down now.

Mais, if you not a Saint’s fan, then I’m sorry cher. I’m not tryin’ to gloat or nothin’. Dis long-time Saints fan knows what it’s like to be handed an ass whupping, and it don’t feel too good no. I’m jus celebratin’ cause I’m happy like a guy who shot a 20 point buck on his wedding day.

Now, I’m not of those guys who likes to take credit for the winning of others, but you should know that me and my old lady and my cuz T-Boy prayed the rosary between plays (and sips of Natural Light). And when we was down by 10, I started bargaining with the big guy himself. I was like, ‘Come on Brah, you know we need this. I tell you what – you give us this one and we promise to give up drinkin’ an cussin’ for Lent’. My wife and Cuz, they shot me a face, but I told dem that’s the way it’s gonna be. And not too long after that, the Saints, they come back and the rest is histoire. Why, dis ole boy got so caught up celebrating that night I even picked up a few crunkin moves. Things, they got so crazy, I laid a big kiss on Cuz’s lips by accident. It was a little bit uncomfortable after dat, but then he punched me in the mouth and called me a big sissy and that was that.

Outsiders say dis makes up for Katrina, but I don’t know what these couyons are talking about, cause this has nothing to do with Katrina. Ain’t no Superbowl fairy gonna come fly down and rebuild all dem houses that got all flooded and stuff. We all a lil bit happier these days, but dat doesn’t mean it’s all good.

From now on, I’m hostin’ a Saints Superbowl party every year. Everybody’s invited! And if my Saints not in it, that’s ok, we’ll just play dis one again (I got a copy for my video player). My house, my rules.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Rootless Movies: Without Bound - Perspectives on Mobile Living

There is "....a continuum of people who live in a vehicle." Source: Without Bound: Perspectives on Mobile Living.

I saw reference to this documentary about wheeled "full-timers" over on Good Luck Duck. The film is about mobile dwellers. Well, it's about some mobile dwellers with a certain perspective.

In order of appearance, the full-timers are:

vagabloggers dot com (which provokes a warning from my browser when I attempt to go there)
Randy Vinings at Mobile Kodgers
Laurie Theodoro
arizonaexplorations.com
Chris Carrington
Steve
Cheri

Randy Vinings was inspired by Thoreau's Walden: "Why would you work all of your life so you could have a little bit of freedom at the end of your life, when, if you could live efficiently, you could invent your own life now?"

Laurie Theodoro also drew inspiration from Thoreau: "[what is] the essential of things .. what [is] the real marrow of life?"

I like the documentary in that it shows a viable way of living that many Americans may not know about. It's a way of living I could see myself doing some day.

Some of the most useful information came toward the end of the film - how much it cost to sustain oneself as a full-timer who lives in a wheeled shelter:

Steven at arizonaexplorations.com --> ~ $500 per month
Randy at mobilecodgers.blogspot.com --> less than $600 per month
Cheri --> $630 per month

But sheesh, there's so much smug talk about the people who "don't get it" - who are prisoners of their stuff or their ball-and-chain houses. Overall, the documentary felt very didactic. A pity.

There's also a MAJOR piece of information that is only alluded to - the cost of purchasing and outfitting one's wheeled home. There was also silence on another important fact of mobile living - maintenance and repairs of one's vehicle-shelter. The cost of living like a turtle will vary widely, depending not only on the complexity and age of one's rig, but on the DIY abilities you have.

But I'll leave on a positive note from one of the full-timers: "Choose your life." Amen.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Flashback: My First Solo Road Trip

I first posted this on January 11, 2011.

1995

All the stars were in alignment: An Important Birthday. Daughter visiting relatives in Ireland. Vacation time from work.

In preparation for my road trip, I had a cassette player installed in my 1980s-something Chevy Cavalier. I was still pre-CD.

Destination -> Black Hills of South Dakota. For the romance, the mystery, the history, the scenery. As a child of Carlos Castaneda, it was the next best cool place for me to go in lieu of Sonora, Mexico. I could look quickly over my shoulder for a raven anywhere. Was it a raven over one's shoulder, or a little man? I forget.

Anyway, I told no one where I was going. That was part of the trip for me. To actually be on a piece of the earth without anyone knowing I was there. Freedom. 'Course, I started sending post cards and then it was out, but that was fine.

Photo from National Park Service

I played Vivaldi's Four Seasons on my newly-installed cassette player really, really loud while I got lost on a gravel road through the Badlands.

Umm, not this version, though. But I love it.

I got a speeding ticket on my birthday, on Interstate 36, before I even left Missouri. An inauspicious start.

Got a flat tire in Nebraska, in the Sand Hills, which I changed myself. This gave me the chance to enjoy a hotel room the size of a studio apartment (including the amenities) in Broken Bow, Nebraska, for about $35.

Stumbled on the great fur traders' museum in Chadron, Nebraska. One of the best museums I've ever visited.

Saw Carhenge.

Visited Mount Rushmore, about which, upon arrival, I thought, "Oh. Hm. Looks just like the postcards."

Learned that a little Sand Hills scenery is sufficient to get the idea, notwithstanding the inches-long progression of black dots on the AAA map to designate "scenic route."

The wonder of trains that seem so long as to never end.

Noticed how the light is different in Nebraska.

Saw that the beauty of the Black Hills didn't have anything on Missouri.

I concluded that solo road trips were fun and I'd do them again, which I did.

I don't remember if I saw any ravens.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Relocation 2015

So here I am in Missouri for my usual interregnum between annual migrations.

You may have noticed that I haven't yet announced where I'll be living in 2015.

I can announce that my original plan was to move to Oaxaca (city), Mexico. That was my plan all the way up to, maybe, September, and then I surprised the hell out of myself and decided instead to

Monday, January 5, 2015

The Camera Sitch

The three rechargeable batteries I've been using for my two identical, used Canon Powershot SD600 cameras, are in the terminus of life. I've been relying on my Android phone camera, and that's OK, but it's not entirely satisfactory. I just received a replacement battery that goes by the name Canon, but frankly, I'm questioning its paternity and thus its efficacy, so things are up in the air til I see how it performs. At which point I'll decide if I want to invest in another battery and therefore keep the two used cameras (that I bought for about 55 bucks apiece) or do I rev up the research engine and buy a new camera?

While this story unfolds, I present for you an article I first published in June 2012.

5 Secrets of Great Travel Photography

Rustavi, Georgia. Rotting watermelon on landing.

1. Take your camera with you at all times, even if you're only walking to the corner market from your base. If you've got a big-buck camera that you hesitate to carry with you everywhere you go, fine, but in that case, also bring along a point-and-shoot that fits into a pocket.

Lost Creek, Missouri.

2. Have your camera easily accessible. In other words, not at the bottom of your bag, making you think twice about taking an impulse shot.

Rustavi, Georgia. This woman gave me this loaf of bread. Just because.

3. Have duplicate batteries, chargers, and SD cards in case of theft, loss, or sad demise. Carry an extra battery with you, always. It’s damn frustrating to run out of juice just before some potentially great shots present themselves.

San Francisco, California. Hayes Valley.

4. Like the big fish that got away, your fantastic travel photographs didn’t happen if you never uploaded them to an external source (i.e., laptop, tablet, Facebook) before your camera got ripped off, dropped into the pit toilet, or was stepped on by an elephant. Upload photos regularly, by which I mean at least every 2 or 3 days.

Nazret, Ethiopia. English Alive Academy.

5. Set the review time for your camera to “off.” You want to be able to take photos as quickly as possible, not wait for interminable seconds before you can catch the next shot.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Travel Resolutions for 2015

Highway 3, New Mexico

Here is my tiny round-up of travel resolutions for 2013. Salt plays a prominent role.

An even tinier round-up of travel resolutions for 2014 is here. Greg Kohl's list remains solid.

A common theme for 2015 travel resolutions is to unplug. As is local travel, a model I've long espoused.

I especially like two of Pauline Frommer's 2015 resolutions:

Connect with some of her social media's "friends of friends" on her travels - what a keen idea to arrange a meet-up with someone who is a stranger to you, but with whom you share a friend!
Use an outlet multiplier at public venues so nearby strangers can still get plugged in. Open source in a literal way - love it.

I also favored two of Wanderlust's resolutions for 2015:

Remember to look up. The Wanderlust author refers to the heavens, and I agree. Looking up also applies to treetops, surrounding hills, ceilings, and rooftops.
Call on local guides to get more local back-story. I have smiling memories of a local guide in Harar, Ethiopia, who took me to see the hyenas.

After dipping in and out of dozens of lists, what I've got above is the best of the lot.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Revisiting My Portable Gear

It's been a few years since I bought some of my portable gear.

I took a look at my gear in 2012, and it's time for me to do it again.

Jewelry bag

I bought this zippered jewelry bag in 2010 and I use it every day. I still wish it were a brighter color so it would stand out more clearly in a suitcase or offer better contrast against a dark-colored motel bedspread, but other than that, it still gets five stars from me.

zippered jewelry bag

Mini flashlight

Photo from onebag.com

I still love my flashlight.

Yeah, I know everyone's gone over to the headband thing, and I am sometimes tempted, but being able to tuck my light into a pocket, in a small bag, or hang it around my neck - all excellent qualities. I've lit up an entire room when the power has gone out in Ethiopia, in Caucasus Georgia, and I don't even remember where else.

Laptop

I bought my laptop in 2010. It's showing some age:

The fingerprint scanner doesn't work anymore;
The optical drive is cranky and unreliable; and
I'm on my second battery - an after-market brand, as the HP replacement battery was prohibitively expensive.

I know I'll have to replace it in the next year or two. Assuming I'm still working online, I'll replace it with another laptop (versus a tablet). And I'll still want various ports, although I may give the optical drive a pass.

Electronics case

Still use the red Ethiopian Airlines "case" to keep my small electronic paraphernalia.

Ethiopian Airlines case for my electronic paraphernalia

Rain poncho

I've got the rain poncho I bought while on a break from Caucasus Georgia, and I've used it on a few occasions since I bought it, but my earlier conclusion still holds - an umbrella is handier and lighter. I especially crave an umbrella on brutally sunny, hot days. Some day, when my decrepit black umbrella bites the dust, I'll replace it with a lighter-colored new umbrella (to offset the sun's hot rays).

There's a good bit on umbrella v. ponchos on onebag.com here.

Kindle

I went with the basic Kindle in 2012.

I think I'm glad I made the choice I did, though I feel a little sad I don't have the paperwhite version. The basic Kindle does what I want it to do, even though it's rather clunky to get from some points A to some points B.

I've downloaded quite a few library books to the Kindle. Nice.

Also, my reasoning about not wanting to feel too much of a financial loss if it were lost or stolen remains valid.

Trekking poles

A great purchase in 2012! They collapse into a size that fits into my backpack. So lightweight. I love to have them on trails with uneven surfaces, just for the balance.

Portable speaker

Yup, I still use this! I attach it to my laptop for better sound. I hook it up to my mp3 player. To my Android phone. To my voice recorder for playback.

My "puppy"

I bought an Android in July, 2014. Glad I bought it. In addition to serving as a backup to my online work in the event to a wifi or laptop failure, I find it a quality-of-life enhancement. I have not introduced it to social media or games, and I don't intend to do so.

Friday, January 2, 2015

The Creative Life: Brain Space

Mmmm, brains a-sizzlin'. Kutaisi, Georgia.

Years ago, the Atlantic Monthly (before it devolved into the pseudo-intellectual organ it is now) ran a riveting article about how religious faith and ethics are two entirely different biological operations. An individual might have both in spades, or neither, or be rich in one and poor in the other.

I bring this up because the same idea is probably apt for the creative process. That is, a person's vision is separate from the discipline one needs to give light to the vision - to give birth to it.

There is a lot of raw creative material in my head or, in the case of photos, in my hard drive awaiting distillation. I'm not at all happy that 2014, especially the second half, saw so little creative output, notwithstanding tremendous amounts of input.

It seems that my brain can focus on only so many things at once. My year in South Louisiana was filled with new things - both good and not-so-good - that sucked great swaths of brain energy. Learning to dance! Starting a new job! Car troubles! A wretched bout with backache. And more, some of which is none of your beeswax.

If I now know that I can only barely chew gum and walk at the same time, what does this mean to me and my creative life?

What it means is that if I want to push stuff out, then I have to set up the physical time and the brain space to produce. To effect the latter, I've got to divert my brain-energy flow to creative thinking from distracted thinking. Otherwise my creativity is just the snap and crackle without the pop.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

A Doozy of a Makina

and I climbed down from the gleaming spacecraft, and stood on solid ground - nay, literally the Earth - for the first time in more than six weeks. I waved goodbye, as per Pergelliac custom, with my forearm at a 90-degree angle from my upper arm, and my hand down and fingers flapping, to my rescuers, as they soared back into the heavens.

So much had happened since that night when I was snatched from my deep sleep and taken into The Cloud. But I don't want to bore you with the details.

Now where am I? Right, back in Missouri for a bit.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Louisiana: Rayne Frog Festival

November 2014 Rayne Frog Festival

After 42 years, the Rayne Frog Festival is moving from November to May.

November 2014 Rayne Frog Festival. Chubby Carrier.

So the 2014 Rayne Frog Festival is the last one that will be held in November.

November 2014 Rayne Frog Festival. Chubby Carrier.

Probably a good idea.

Mzuri is cold at the Rayne Frog Festival in November 2014.

South Louisianans don't come to such things in cold weather.

November 2014 Rayne Frog Festival. Chubby Carrier.

Despite the wonderful music one would expect, there weren't many people present to enjoy it.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Rootless: Letting Go

November 24: What I have below is my first draft. Since I wrote it, I took back the hat. And some of the coozies.

Getting ready for my move at the end of the month.

Letting go of some things are easy, like the saucepot I bought second-hand years ago, which takes forever to heat up its contents on an electric stove. Enough! Out you go.

The 20 coozies I've collected this year. Easy come, easy go. Plastic parade cups, ditto.

I tried to find a reason to keep some of my Mardi Gras bead collection, and I feel a little wrench about letting them go, but groups recycle beads here and I like the idea that my beads will get re-thrown and caught by another happy reveler.

Can you believe I've carted around a plug-in electric burner for longer than my daughter has been alive? I can't even think of when I've used it last. Time for it to go. Irrational, but this hurts a little.

I'm releasing a hat.

A couple of reference books will go.

I already donated back three of the chairs I bought from the local Habitat for Humanity's Re-Store.

A box of clothes for Goodwill stands by.