For year's I've been wanting to go on a holiday lights bike ride around San Francisco, to see all the beautiful decorations. This year I got the gumption to organize a "Reindeer Ride" with some friends a couple of weeks ago. Here's how it went. To prepare, I decorated my bicycle and helmet. It was easy to…
Category: Travel
Lighting Up My Brompton Folding Bike with El Wire
On Friday, some friends and I are going on a holiday bike ride around San Francisco, something I have been wanting to do for awhile. I’m super excited about exploring my city and seeing the pretty displays. But honestly, it’s just a good excuse for me to decorate my bike with festive lights! You have…
Mickey’s Halloween Party: One of the Best Ways to Experience the Magic Kingdom
It was 10:58pm. The "spook-tacular" parade was winding to a close. Barry, Eve and I are sprinting through Fantasyland, past the Matterhorn Bobsleds … past Alice in Wonderland… past Pixie Hollow. We've entered Tomorrowland! Racing past the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster… now around the Astro Orbiter… we near our destination… Barry was the fastest, getting to the entrance to…
Herrang 2016: Solo Jazz, the “Bus Stop,” and Swedish Pancakes
I’ve been at the Herrang International Dance Camp — “The Home of the Happiest Feet” — for the past week and a half, along with hundreds of lindy hoppers from all over the world. It’s billed as the “most comprehensive and exciting dance camp focusing on African-American jazz dances from the Golden Era of jazz.”…
Taste Test: Lyckans Ost Rakor – Swedish Shrimp-flavored Cheese Spread!
Swedes love their cheese spreads, apparently. There are several varieties in the grocery that I saw when I was there last week. This one looked particularly weird, since it had a picture of some shrimp on it. Shrimp cheese spread? Sure, why not? Here's how my taste test of "Lyckans Ost Rakor" went. All…
Off to the Herrang Dance Camp Tomorrow!
Tomorrow afternoon, I'm headed off to Europe for the Herrang Dance Camp, which I call the Burning Man for lindy hoppers. It's a five week intensive, chaotic gathering of thousands of lindy hoppers from all over the world for workshops, social dancing, performances, parties, socializing and much much more. Being there is like being transported to…
Nana’s Rolls, Mom’s Spaghetti, Nairobian Langoustines: Your Wonderful Food Stories
For my birthday this year, I decided to request my friends to send me personal stories about food. I’m so impressed with the stories that people shared! Here are some of my favorites. Mom’s Noodles Credit: CC-licensed photo by Cameron Cassan Homemade spaghetti came up a couple of times in friend's stories. My friend Jim…
Figs, Proscuitto and A Birthday Request to You
It was the summer of 1998. I was on a work trip to Rome, Italy with some colleagues at the human rights group I worked for a the time, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. We were being treated to dinner by a local Italian human rights nonprofit. It was one of our first…
Foodie Adventures in LA: Ramen, Frozen Custard, Korean Fried Chicken, and More
This past weekend, I got to spend time with David, one of my favorite people on the planet, doing one of my favorite things, going on foodie adventures. David, a self-described "princess" who won't wait in line for anything, was a very good sport. Basically all we did was drive around LA and wait in…
Five things I learned giving out free coffee at a lindy hop event
Late last night, I returned from my second epic dance adventure at Lindy Focus in Asheville, North Carolina. There’s lots I can say about the event, but in this post I wanted to share what I learned by setting up a free coffee stand at this swing jazz / lindy hop event. By…