Just got in from spending the weekend with the world’s largest collection of travel enthusiasts and professionals under one roof. Of course, I’m talking about the ‘Adventure in Travel’ Expo in NYC at the Jacobs Javits Center. GoNomad’s booth was buzzing with free swag and friendly advice for their ever go-growing audience. I stayed busy go-shooting with the new Sony HVRZ1, breaking her in shooting a pending promo for GoNomad. Investing in such a sweet rig surrounded by eco, nature, cultural and outdoor buffs has got to be good karma. I’m anxious to try it out 6000 feet above sea level in Montana’s mountains next month and then, maybe even the country of Jordan by March. Hundreds more ambassadors of good luck encouraged me to sojourn in places like Greece, Guatemala, the Seychelles, Malaysia and Belize. As Dr.Suess once wrote..Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are shows to be shot, there is gear to be bought. And the magical things you can do with that camera will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you shoot for TV. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
Archive for January, 2006
Since buying a house 4 years ago I can’t begin to dream about getting myself out of debt…so, with that in mind, what’s a few more tens of thousands added to the home equity loan? What else is a girl in her middle 30′s to do when she changes careers mid-stream? Going back to school would cost just as much as this move, as would blowing money on clothes, the car, restaurants and movies. No more haircuts (I can chop this stuff off myself), no more dentists (just floss more), no more cell phone (email me instead), no more XM Radio (ouch – that hurts), no more Barnes and Nobles (that’s what libraries are for), no more Netflix (Larry holds FREE FILM NIGHT every Tuesday), no more GAP or Old Navy (Consignment Shops are trendy),no more a/c in the summer or heat in the winter (sweaters in the daytime, extra blankets at night), no more Starbucks, ‘Hai Au’ Vietnamese or the health food Co-op (bread with peanutbutter and water works) and no more sneaker fetish (how long can a pair of Reeboks really last? I intend to find out). Yes, I’m quite serious about doing everything in my power, short of selling this house, to afford my own business. Tomorrow’s big B&H purchase will either prove my gutsy move to be a wise decision or if the creditors start calling, a regretable one. Tell me again, how many businesses per year make a profit and how many fail? The odds are in my favor, right? Right? Oh forget it, don’t answer that.
Just got back from a mini-trip to historic Little Falls. All this time I thought I’d seen all of Upstate NY but then my juggler friend (juggler by trade, world traveler by nature) walked me through this book he’s reading called ‘Wedding of the Waters: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation’. One 3-hour walking tour later of Little Falls and I know everything there is to know about the Erie Canal, colonial architecture and chedder cheese. First up, the Old Masonic Temple, a grand and eloquent masterpiece, formidable to some but welcoming to me. It’s up for sale right now and by my best guess, well over 2 million, or at least that’s what I would ask for it. America’s earliest and richest settlers once lived in Little Falls and it shows in their big beautiful Colonial homes. There is Dutch, Spanish, French, Federal and New England style homes but we both agree that the stone barn-like building on Prospect St. is our favorite. The brick chimney set back by the black clapboard shutters against the white beveled stone is a trend that will always endure. Next up, a dirty ditch, also known as Clinton’s Big Ditch or the Erie Canal. Built in 1825, it took 7 years of engineering prowess and the first NY State-raised funding to finish the 350 mile stretch between Albany and Buffalo. It’s importance in trade, commerce and manufacturing is mostly overlooked in history books but without it Canada might own Buffalo today or so the book argues. Explosives, mules and muscle power carved up the Appalachian Mountains to built Lock 17, the highest lock in the world at that time. This eighth wonder of the world in 1825 helped turn Herkimer County into the largest cheese-making market in the United States. The official Cheese Museum is right down the road in Rome. Last up on the Americana circuit, a trip to two gigantic warehouses renovated into antiques shops and premium lofts. Thank you my juggler friend for showcasing a part of the world I should be writing about and it’s much closer than India.
Cross country skiing gives me blisters but that wouldn’t stop me from ice-climbing, dog-sledding or hockey so when a local Finnish couple invites us to enjoy the sport we go. Donning unwaxed circa 1982 boots and skis in hand, Mutti, Sister T and me drive the 70 miles to enjoy Lapland Cross Country Ski Resort. The place is located in Northville, NY and quoted by Ski Magazine as ‘one of the finest’ in the country. It’s a part of the Adirondacks where it’s still dense with tall pines, deep snow and winter activities. Ann and Olavi Hirvonen are the owners of 70-acres of trails, some that cater to night skiers, others that accommodate tube riders and ponds of ice for skating and Finnish games. Happily absent are logging tractors, massive cranes and new construction. Instead we enjoy skiing past reindeer cages, bubbling brooks and hot chocolate stands. It’s reassuring to known that some Adirondack owners still care about preservation and athletics. Towards the end of the day, I’m vigilant to sweat through the pain from the blisters and tear away to compete against a skate skier. We’re on Woods Lake, he’s practicing for the Olympic time trials and I’m merely fooling myself. It takes just 10 paces for me to fall behind gasping for air and exfoliating layers of clothes. At the Finnish line (get it) I treat myself to a free cup of cocoa and a new set of bandages.
I’ve been a bonafide Macintosh snob, a GUI zealot, a disciple of Steve Jobs since my early college days. The inherent strengths of the operating system include customizing, upgrading, running sofware, and premium computing specs. Mhz, MB, GB, processor performance and all that other tech talk was never quite as important as Adobe Photoshop, mini-apps and running smoothly. A Macintosh is the BMW, the Mercedes-Benz, the Cadillac of craftmanship. It’s a premium product with a loyal following…so what am I doing thinking about changing operating systems? It’s called Avid Liquid 7 – a brand new editing software and must-have for freelance editors like myself. Problem is it only runs on a PC platform. I edited with FCP on the M/V Explorer for 3 months and quite frankly I still prefer AVID products. Critics claim it’s a fallacy to think anything PC based is inferior to Mac and maybe they’re right. It’s not about nifty little bells and whistles anymore – it’s not about the ‘coolness factor’ – it’s about making and saving money and Avid Liquid 7, a cheap buy, will work magic with my new Sony HVRZ1U 1080i HDV Camcorder. Get ready to download my first podcast from Montana Big Sky Ski Lodge next month.
Yesterday’s fabulous ski trip to Hunter mountain was compounded by an invitation to Montana in Febuary to ski Big Sky country. I’ve never been out west and from what everyone tells me I’ll never want to ski the northeast again – that is if I return. Hunter Mountain had 90 inches of packed powder surface, which is an impressive amount for a rainy season we’re had in NY so far but the west gets into depths of 150 to 200+ inches by this time. The conditions are completely different and many granola heads have to relearn how to turn, navigate and descend a 2000-foot descent with fresh snow. If in doubt, be ready for a yard-sale! That’s skier slang for a fall where skis and poles are stewn all over the hill. There might be plenty of that to write about when, or if, I return in one piece. Yesterday I worried about not having health insurance and taking hairpin diamond runs. I slowed myself down rememebering how irresponsible it would be if I crashed. How am I suppose to do the same skiing in places like Big Timber and Bridger Bowl? These are terrain parks with rails, jumps and half-pipes I’ve only dreamed about. Mountains in the west are the grandaddy of scenery, fast lifts and trend-setting European villages. Bumps, runs, groomed cruisers, glades, bowls – you name it, all awaits me in Montana next month.
“But we have a tsunami-like death toll once a month with AIDS.” said Former President Clinton to Correspondent Dan Rather on CBS 60 Minutes Sunday night. He was talking about his efforts to help those in New Orleans as well as in China. An especially engaging topic for me because I just traveled close to that same rural area, known as the Golden Triangle, near the borders of Vietnam and Myanmar, which used to be known as Burma. There are several other breeding grounds for AIDS that I traveled in, most importantly, sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 12 million children are orphaned because of AIDS. While onboard the M/V Explorer an International organization called ‘Global Nomads’ shot and produced segments about AIDS for MTV television and organized video conferencing with students from America discussing HIV/AIDS issues with students from around the world. The ambitious organization gave students in Houston Middle School, Scarsdale (NY) and 10 other schools in the New York City Area the opportunity to video conference with peers in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, and South Africa. The Global Nomad Website has more information about the trip, including topics like disease, global warming, poverty, war, and global terrorism in the countries we visited.