November 1, 2023
Even though I no longer teach, I would still follow the tradition I have grown so accustom to… setting up my ofrenda and honoring the lives of dearly departed. This year, a Calavera cake after I came across this pan. I imagined it decorated to the nine’s. This was a Read more…
November 3, 2020
As I drove home from my birthday excursion, I found out my cousin had died suddenly–a massive heart attack at age 45. The shock has since given way to confusion and more heartache. 2020 continues to upheave. The philosophical and theological rumination that can only be born of close contact Read more…
November 5, 2019
Airport knees. Because I still sit like a 10 year old. The tail end. Good for them! I like my tables etched with love. She’s clockin’ my Banh Me Salad at Black Mountain Wine House. Or the wine. I love my “new” hutch. Having to get it in two trips Read more…
November 3, 2018
The first batch of cupcakes for this year’s kiddos. I start simple with a chocolate cupcake and vanilla buttercream for our Dia de Los Muertos celebration… The classroom spread. I go to Don Paco Panaderia in Sunset Park every year for the pan de muerto. And they never bat an Read more…
November 1, 2015
For Joseph Roth, 1973-2013 Once upon a time a bunch of misfits managed to find each other in the suburban sprawl of Long Island. They were different in many ways from those around them. But together they belonged–finally–in a way that required no conformity, no change in their ideals, and Read more…
For Joseph Henry Piecuch, 1979-2014 People can live in your mind–nourished, lively, protected from violent forces like time, distance, and reason. They bolster an assortment of ideas: Hope, love, fate. Woven to these forces and ideas, they become one, powerful and purposeful, an extension of yourself. And in return, they Read more…
November 4, 2009
It would be an injustice not to devote an entire post to the amazing hostel in Guanajuato that held my weary head for two days and two nights. After a long drive for someone with nothing to think about, we finally found La Casa de Dante. As soon as we Read more…
November 2, 2009
Guanajuato, which is right smack dab in the center of Mexico, is known for its beautiful bastillicas, brightly colored dwellings stacked into its surrounding mountains and its festive celebrating of Dia de los Muertos, the reason for our visit. One of Mexico’s oldest cities, it is steeped in history, brimming Read more…
October 31, 2009
We found a gem of an eatery in Guadalajara: Vegitariano Zanahoria. What a pleasant experience the old man with the salad tie gave us. Going out of his way to explain which dishes were free of dairy, I decided on the breakfast special: an enchilada stuffed with soy beef and Read more…
October 30, 2009
After fighting strong head winds south from Chicago’s O’Hare, I finally arrived in Guadalajara, Mexico, a modern city in Mexico’s center. The congested anomalous 6-laned highway into Guadalajara’s center was bustling with peppy 4-cyclindered cars, cab-heavy pick-ups and motorbikes. The smell of exhaust and industry took me back to my Read more…
This morning I am bound for Mexico to celebrate Dia de los Muertos in Guanajuato with friends. Though, of course, I will be reporting on my vegan options south of the border, which will include large quantities of Mexcal and straight from the blue agave cactus nectar, no doubt. I Read more…
October 14, 2009
There is a freedom in surrendering to far more powerful phenomena, accepting its influence. The billions of seconds and billions of variables that decided you be here right now– the percentage of them that had nothing to do your own motion, nothing to do with your conscious thoughts. If I Read more…
October 10, 2009
I’ve long wanted to visit Mexico to celebrate Dia de los Muertos. And this year I am! I will be heading to Guadalajara and staying with friends before heading to Guanajuato to take part in the sacred festival of the departed. Though I am only slightly disappointed that we won’t Read more…