Fade Away and Radiate

Been feeling overloaded lately. Also feeling something of a sense of ennui with social media. Sometimes it’s good, and sometimes I just see things in my various feeds that annoy me. Sometimes I feel like it’s not fun anymore, but instead is merely a pointless distraction.

Time for a break.

(I was going to do this starting in November, but fuck it - am starting today.)

So, here’s what I’m going to stop checking and posting to:

• @jenvetterli
• @jenvetterlicom
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Yammer (which is an internal work account that I cross-post to from @jenvetterlicom, but occasionally interact with separately)
• Blip.fm (which feeds into @jenvetterli)
• FourSquare
• various Tumblr and Flickr accounts that haven’t seen much activity anyway
• somehow feel like I’m forgetting other accounts - clearly they’re not important

Accounts that I will keep checking and posting to, albeit not so much (in all likelihood):

• @ZenSkyMind
• TripIt (only if I actually travel somewhere; in which case, my updates will post to both Facebook and LinkedIn *shrug*)
• Diigo, which cross-posts to my work Delicious account
• personal Delicious account (not used much, but just in case…)
• my company’s Jive implementation (which is for work, of course)

So, thanks for following. I plan to start up again in 2012. Maybe I’ll see you then.

(Pic is courtesy of my brother, who hasn’t updated his Flickr account since 2010.)

Traveling with other people can be tricky. First, just trying to coordinate schedules to go somewhere can be challenging. Then, you might discover new and interesting personality quirks in people you thought you’d known for a while. Lastly, after being with the same people for days - if not weeks - on end, you might all wind up getting on each others nerves a bit.

It’s tempting to not bother and just go by yourself - and travelling solo can be great - but at the same time, it’s nice to have other people you know around to share experiences with you. Having spent a few days hanging out with friends in Amsterdam, here are some things I learned that worked well for us, and might just work for others too:

1) No whining. Despite the fact that vacations are supposed to be fun, they can also be a lot of work. The jetlag, the unfamiliar languages and customs, the strange surroundings - it can be pretty stressful. Not to mention that things often can - and will - go wrong and throw your carefully honed plans (if you made any) into disarray. Whatever happens, try to recalibrate gracefully, make the best of things, and learn to enjoy the unexpected. Your companions will thank you and you’ll have a much better trip as well.

2) No picky eaters. Why would you travel halfway around the world just to eat the same crappy fast food that you can get at home? Try something new - really, it won’t kill you. (Unless you have a food allergy - in which case, I do understand and sympathize.) If all you want to do is eat at McDonalds, I’m happy to leave you there. Note that of the three friends I was with, one is vegetarian, one has a dairy allergy, and one has an egg allergy, yet we all managed to reach consensus on places to eat, enjoyed some new foods, and had a great time.

3) Be punctual. Jetlag can be brutal and make it hard to get up on time, or maybe in an unfamiliar city you might not know how long it takes to reach a particular meeting place, but overall, do try to be reasonably on time if you’ve agreed to meet your companions somewhere. Everyone has better things to do - like eating or sightseeing - than hanging around for 45 minutes waiting for you to show up.

4) Be prepared to go it alone occasionally. Not everyone likes to do the same things or see the same things on a trip. If you can all agree to disagree once in a while, and split up to do what you want, everyone will have more fun and you can compare notes and swap stories when you do meet up again.

So, props to my peeps for being such swell travelling companions and making a great trip that much better - it was a blast :)

Addendum: Just in case it wasn’t clear from the above, none of my friends (and hopefully not me either) were guilty of any of the gaffes noted above.  Having been thinking about things, I really appreciate that we were all able to get along and have a good time on this trip.

So, it was not quite two years ago that I decided to set up a second Twitter account, @jenvetterlicom, and move all my “work”-related Tweets on User Experience, Information Architecture, Interaction Design, etc. there from my main Twitter account @jenvetterli.

It seemed to be needed, since I was posting on a wide variety of topics, including a lot of food posts (not to mention a lot of venting and whining), and I figured that many people who were following me for UX/IA/IxD posts weren’t necessarily interested in hearing about what I had for lunch (or whining), and vice versa. 

I think it’s worked out pretty well, albeit with the occasional hiccup where I’ve accidentally posted to the wrong account (fortunately, it’s only happened twice).  I do occasionally cross-post, and follow some Tweeps on both accounts, but overall the two accounts are fairly separate.

Meanwhile, things have continued to evolve with the @jenvetterli account, and I feel that it’s time to do another split.  So, I’m moving all my Buddhist-related Tweets to a new Twitter account, @ZenSkyMind, thus sparing many Tweeps from my #OMCru check-ins, #Twangha shout-outs, Zen quotes, and the like…

Clearly, I’m still all one person.  I’m leaving all three accounts open, and people can follow on whichever ones they like.  (Or none.)  But hopefully this cuts down on a lot of “noise” for some of my Tweeps.

Thanks for following…

You know how the saying goes…

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Which is fine.  For a while.  But what if you keep getting lemons, over and over?

Maybe - just maybe - the problem is that you’re sitting under a lemon tree.

In which case you either learn to like lemons a lot, or you find a new tree to sit under.

Have you had enough lemonade yet?

(Pic is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

A few links that have crossed my radar lately*:

• The top 10 buildings lost to demolition in Toronto - being familiar with some of the locations, I keep trying to picture how those buildings would look in present-day context, especially the original Toronto Star building

• Intervin’s Top Scoring Value Wines for 2010 - lots of good bottles selling for $15 or less; I think a trip to the liquor store is in order…

• Ten Days Without Caffeine: A Love Story - not sure if I’d be brave enough to quit coffee cold-turkey, but glad to hear that it’s survivable

• Guide to Searching for a Buddhist Teacher - I think a number of these points apply to searching for a mentor of any kind

*Actually, there are tons more links that have hit my radar, but these are ones that I’ve actually read.

I’ve been trying to get into the habit of going to the library on weekends to get some reading done, and some writing done.  So far, so good - even if the results haven’t been particularly outstanding, at least I’ve been showing up and accomplishing something.  That’s half the battle.

Why am I doing this?

In late July, I’d made up a list of 14 books I wanted to read before the end of the year.  Many of the books are ones that I started to read, but never got around to finishing.  Then, things kind of went sideways, and I didn’t pick up a single book for months.  So now, I’ve been trying to make a dent in the list, although I won’t get through everything by year-end.

It was also one of my stated goals from the beginning of the year that I wanted to write more.  It’s been happening on and off through the year, but I need to make it more of a regular habit, which means scheduling time to do it.

I still haven’t quite settled on one particular library to go to.  I’ve been hitting the Toronto Reference Library, which is fairly decent - it’s not too far from where I live, near to a couple places that I like for brunch, and has free wifi.  It’s a bit of a challenge finding a seat, since so many people come here, but I’ve been able to get one without too much difficulty.  There are other people here who tend to chat with each other, or on cell phones, and that’s a bit of a nuisance, but overall it’s fine.

I also tried the public library down near College and Spadina last Sunday afternoon.  The location works, since I’m in that area on Sundays anyway, and there’s free wifi there as well.  Unfortunately, the disturbance factor is also greater than at the Reference Library - it wasn’t entirely insurmountable last week, so I’ll try it again tomorrow, but I’m not entirely sure if I’m going to make it a habit of going there.

I’ll probably try some other locations as well.  I used to go to Robarts on the UofT campus a fair bit (even after I graduated from UofT), and could certainly do that again.  Need to figure out where else.  But, regardless of the location, I just need to get out there and do it, even it’s just a couple hours each on Saturday and Sunday.

Onward and upward…

BTW, this is actually the first time that I’m using my wireless keyboard with my iPad.  (I’d meant to take it with me when I went to London and Paris, but forgot to put it in my carry-on.)  Am liking it, although the keys are just a smidge noisy when I type, especially here in the library.

Managed to get out and see a fair bit.  Even more surprisingly, accomplished this without copious amounts of caffeine.  Also got pretty good at hopping on and off the Metro - I don’t find it quite as easy as the Tube in London, but not as baffling as the New York subway system.  (I don’t know why I’m intimidated by the subway in New York.  I just am.)

Things I saw:

• Place du Trocadero - a bit underwhelming, since the fountains were being repaired, but with a great in-your-face view of the Eiffel Tower
• Guimet Musee des Arts Asiatiques - only went through a few galleries, again electing for quality viewing over quantity
• Arc de Triomphe - one thing I appreciated very quickly was that just about everything associated with Napoleon has an insane larger-than-life epic quality about it - talk about overcompensating ;)
• Champs Elysee - was nice and all, but I hate shopping so it really didn’t do much for me; briefly considered going into Louis Vuitton, but there was a line-up to get in - no thanks…
• Centre Pompidou - only saw one gallery before I had an energy crash; planted myself on a bench in front of a Kandinsky painting and semi-dozed off for half-an-hour; was able to focus better after that

Things I ate:

• crepe with apricot filling for breakfast - light and tasty
• tagliatelle and salmon, with a half-bottle of Chardonnay at lunch - had this at a brasserie within sight of the Arc de Triomphe; was decent, but expensive relative to the quality of the food; decided to take the plunge with the Chardonnay after my positive Riesling experience in London, and didn’t regret it - of course, it was a French Chardonnay (I’m more acquainted with the California ones, and don’t really like them) and I found it very drinkable, if not spectacular
• coffee and a mini-cheesecake on the Champs Elysee - also not cheap - clearly you’re paying for the scenery as much as the food
• Croque Monsieur and a Kronenbourg for a light dinner - this also marked the first time I got out of Montparnasse for dinner - this was at a bar in Les Halles; basic, inexpensive comfort food, in a cheery atmosphere

Things didn’t really get off to a great start, considering that I woke up achy and sick.  Even my appetite was slightly shot, and that’s never a good sign.

So what do you do when you feel like crap?  In Paris, go for crepes…

For breakfast, I wound up at Creperie Josselin, which was recommended by Time Out Paris.  Nice, homey atmosphere, all decked out in provincial decor.  Had the Crepe de Marron, a double crepe filled with sweet chestnut paste.  Lovely, just lovely.

Dinner was at another Time Out Paris recommendation - Creperie du Manoir Breton.  It had a similar homey provincial theme, although it was less pronounced, and it was also a bigger space.  I had the Perigord crepe, filled with duck, prunes, and caramelised pear.  Also super-tasty.

So, despite tweeting that day that I wanted to do nothing, I did manage to go out and see a few things.  Attempted to find the stop for the bus tour and couldn’t, so instead I wound up going up the Tour Montparnasse.  The locals deried it as an eyesore, but. it’s certainly good for the view and to help you get your bearings in the city.

After that, I decided to just pick something off my list, and went to Musee Rodin.  This again was one of those places where it really paid off to take time and appreciate things.  

I did less well at my next stop, Hotel des Invalides, where Napoleon’s tomb is located.  It was late in the day, hpoand I found myself starting to get distracted and not pay attention as much.  I had to force myself to stop at one point and really look at things.

Also took the Metro for the first time and survived.

Overall, not a bad day.

So here I am on my first visit ever to Paris.  It’s kind of sad that it’s taken me this long to get here, but better late than never…

Am slowly getting used to things.  Am reasonably confident to at least make a mangled attempt at speaking French (and it’s largely “restarant French”), although as soon as things go off script, I revert to a very Canadian “Sorry…”

Spent some time yesterday just wandering around, getting a feel for the neighbourhood around my hotel.  I am once again staying in a fairly touristy area, although it’s less distressing and more comforting here than it was in London.

I haven’t been super adventurous with dining out yet.  I’ve visited the same brasserie (and yes, am still learning the different between brasserie, cafe, restaurant, bistro, etc.) three times, and I’ve only been here a day-and-a-half.  It’s close to the hotel, I’ve been able to score a reasonably good table on the terrasse each time, and the waiters don’t treat me like a complete imbecile when I attempt my mangled French.  Oh, and there’s free wifi.

I’m at least doing a bit better with actual food choices - steak tartare for dinner yesterday, a basic petit dejeuner with coffee, croissant, and orange juice for breakfast this morning, a buckwheat crepe with chevre, honey, walnuts, and fromage frais for lunch, and steak de cheval avec frites for a late dinner tonight.

Oh, right, and I did do stuff today besides eat…

It was a beautiful day for walking around, and while I did have a few things planned out, I ended up going off-plan a few times, allowing myself to get “lost”.  It was worth it.

First planned visit was to the market on Rue Mouffetard.  Yes, I know it’s touristy, but it was near(ish) to the hotel and near other things that I wanted to see.  And there was definitely lots to see there.  Again, was easy to go into sensory overload, so it was yet another exercise in really being aware and paying attention.

Second planned visit was the Pantheon.  You really appreciate a sense of history that exists here that seems to be lacking in much of North America.  Again, much to take in and absorb.

I made a semi-planned stop at the Musee National de Moyen Age - more history…

The last sightseeing stop was entirely unplanned - in my wandering around, just following whatever looked interesting, I wound up at the Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris.  I’d thought to go later in the week, but decided that I might as well visit as long as I was there.

I guess it really is going to be mantra on this trip to really take things slow and pay attention as much as possible.  In going through there, I tried not only to absorb sight and sound (not to mention the smell of burning wax and incense) as much as possible, but also get some sense of the feel of the place, of what it meant on a spiritual level to be there.  Not that I’m religious like that - it just seemed to be important.

Anyway, it’s getting late here.  I still haven’t done the write-up on lunch at Gordon Ramsay’s.  I also don’t quite know what I’m doing tomorrow.

It’ll be a good day, I think…

If yesterday was a day of surprise and delight, today was a day to slow down and pay careful attention…

Once again got off to a slow start (do you see a trend here?) and didn’t get out of the micro-room until after 11am.  Since my lunch reservation was at 1pm, I had a small bit of time to fill.

I decided to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum after all, reasoning that even though I could spend only 45 minutes there at the most, I’d at least get to see something.

What do you do if you only have such a short chunk of time to spend in a place where you could theoretically spend all day?  The temptation is to do some kind of museum blitzkrieg, quick-marching through a couple galleries and snapping photos like a madwoman.  It also would be wrong.

So I took my time, strolling to the central courtyard, stopping to watch people and snap a few photos.  Then carefully and calmly going through one gallery, only looking at about a dozen things, but pausing to study and reflect.

Slow down… Pay attention…

I set a timer on the iTouch to tell me when to leave.  At that point, I did rush like a madwoman to my next destination - Claridge’s, where I had booked lunch at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant.

Lunch really deserves it’s own post.  In the context of this particular screed, the whole experience of it - the food, the surroundings, the service - begged, nay demanded, that every moment be savoured.

Slow… Down… Pay… Attention…

After lunch, I headed off to the National Gallery, which sits right on Trafalgar Square.  I only saw Trafalgar Square briefly last year, from atop a tour bus that whipped past at 40kmh or so.  But now I was right here, and it was easy to get overloaded.    So much going on all at once.

Slow.

Down.

Pay.

Attention.

Statues.  Buildings.  Pigeons in flight.  Tourists speaking half a dozen languages.  Sounds of traffic.  A stiff breeze.  Spray from the fountains.  Even though the clock was ticking, and the gallery would close in a few scant hours, it was necessary to take everything in…

All worth it.

The gallery was lovely.  I only went through a few sections, focussing on Renaissance works.  Definitely worth another visit or three.

After that, I strolled down Whitehall - again just trying to absorb as much as possible - then doubled back via the Tube uuto hit the National Portrait Gallery, which was open late.  Also worth it.

What a great day.

Once again am writing this in the hotel bar.  Need to go to bed soon, as I’m catching the Eurostar to Paris in the morning.

G’night.