i'll take toxic holes for $100, alex

you know, it is weird growing up with a toxic pit (basically) in your back yard. less than a mile away from my parent's front door is the berkley pit (as seen above). at more than a mile wide by a mile wide by a mile deep you get an idea of this problem's scale.

so, um, how do i apply to grad school and make it clear that environmental degradation isn't just a theoretical concept, but something that really affects people and communities? i wish i knew a creative way to express why i want to be a professional with the tools to honor the legacy of america's industrial history and the means to begin the process of mitigating the damage industry has caused to cities and towns, making life better for the people living there.

i'm getting constructive about how i'm going to approach this problem. i'm excited to write about this topic. from a personal standpoint, i have my story to offer. i have a lifetime of references to growing up in a community susceptible to the challenges of boom-bust industrial economies, the bi-yearly cancer scares among my peers, the annual lead testing for children exposed to (simply) dirt, etc. and from a political standpoint, i can explain how good policy has helped to revitalize dying communities, pay for environmental clean-up, create new and interesting jobs, and i can best attempt to explain how best practices can enable economic and community development in the future. oh, dear, so much work. such good work, though.

fifty million tissues

i got the flu last week. and by flu i mean everything that is traditionally associated with it the WORST of all seasonal afflictions. the sustained 102 degree temperature and constant exhaustion and the sore throat and muscle aches. i felt like the poster child for a night-quil advertisement. i'm better now, though. and aaron and i are going to butte on thursday and i couldn't be more pleased. home is my favorite of places and i'm excited for the chance to introduce another into the interestingness that butte has to offer. and to celebrate easter. easter is my most favorite of holidays because i LOVE my family's traditional egg hunt. yay!!

deliciousness

I have been spending a lot of quality time in my kitchen over the course of the last few weeks. For a long while I had an arsenal of about four or five totally dependable recipes that could hold their own in any situation. They incorporated the techniques and talents my mom bestowed upon me in her own kitchen. I got very good at chicken enchiladas, spinachy, savory lasagna, split pea soup with ham and swiss and jalapeno and bacon macaroni and cheese, just to name a few. But over the course of the last year I have become unreasonably obsessed with food. My favorite television station is food network, my favorite cable television show is top chef and my favorite online blogs update food related posts twice weekly.

The most fantastic thing about reading food related articles daily is the inspiration I have gathered and brought to my own kitchen. Instead of sticking with my mom’s recipes I feel better equipped to take some risks in the kitchen and experiment with new foods and new ingredients. I think my happiest moment was when I customized Ellen’s enchiladas by adding cumin roasted butternut squash and sautéed spinach. Combining those two new ingredients with feta under a blanket of rich red sauce I realized the potential of my food focus. Since then I have incorporated Arborio rice into my monthly repertoire, making a delicious oyster and cremini mushroom risotto with fresh thyme and parmesan. I have also enjoyed pan fried chicken breasts with a garlicky cannelloni bean mash, and the incarnation of a delicious honey balsamic vinaigrette to dress spicy greens.

All of these food discoveries in my kitchen have inspired me to keep better track of the things I cook and the methods I use to prepare them. I’m going to gather all of this information in a very charming little moleskin notebook for eventual incorporation a) gift baskets or b) the cookbook of my dreams (and, of course, submissions from others are always welcome).

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 T. Fresh from the comb honey (by fresh i mean relatively recently purchased at trader joes)
2 T. Balsamic Vinegar
3-4 T. Good Olive Oil (I "borrow" the olive oil my roommate brought back from Italy)
1/2 t. oregano

Whisk the vinegar and honey together until the honey incorporates itself into the vinegar, it should taste sweet. Add the oregano, crushing and releasing its flavors into the mixture. Slowly whisk the olive oil into the vinegar and honey mixture emulsifying the oil as you whisk. Voila! Serve over mixed leafy greens with walnuts with ackmak crackers and chevre on the side.

koolhaus and really bad window design

For the most part, I love the environment that surrounds me. That is why I started this blog. I decided I needed a place where I could be more expressive about the topic of place. I wanted to give myself a venue to discuss my surroundings and maybe learn a thing or two in the process. I realize I have learned less about my neighborhood than I anticipated and that I am more inspired by the people who surround me than the buildings I walk past.

The more that I think about it, I guess my love of physical place has never been about my adoration for the beauty of cornices and wainscotings or mullions and muttons or even the efficiency and effectiveness of architectural design. My interest always lies primarily in how architecture and interiors reflect the desires of the people who experience them. I am intrigued by why certain classes of people reside in certain types of houses—mostly the working class and their very charming worker cottages—and what this says about them and their values. I am enchanted by decrepit old buildings and the stories they tell, like the 100 year-old mai wah noodle parlor in Butte. In the kitchen of this noodle parlor, in front of the wok stations, are sunken divots of worn concrete where cooks once stood and tirelessly cooked noodle dishes. I like that place is not just about environment, but about people. I think the personal connection is sometimes missing in today’s discourse of architecture and physical place.

Design and architecture is about how people experience them. If we didn’t encounter and participate in our physical surroundings then we may fail to recognize the necessity of their presence in our daily lives. Sometimes I wonder if Rem Koolhaus designed the Seattle Public Library to illustrate the importance of architecture in civic buildings rather than just an ineffective deconstructionist building or developed his ridiculous “the generic city” theory to make people realize the importance of variety in city design rather than making claims that people are not loyal to place anymore. At least I hope that’s the case, otherwise…

What I’m saying here is that I realize structures are important, but I am more concerned about how they affect the people in and around them. I think that’s what I want to communicate about here as time goes on.