September 2018

Tekirdag, Turkey

After a late-summer rest, the pace picked up as the temperature dropped. August feels like it was a lull compared to September, when again I did too much work and barely had time to sit. I stayed in Turkey all month, taking only a short trip out of Istanbul, and generally enjoyed the (mostly) perfect September weather.

Istanbul, Turkey

Best Of The Month

My best friend Kelly finally came to Istanbul! After hearing all my stories for five and a half years, I had a week to show her all the joys of my Istanbul life in person. We had a splendid time, though the main highlight was just the opportunity to be together— we realized we hadn’t spent so much time together since we were in college.

Tekirdag, Turkey

My one jaunt out of Istanbul was a day trip to the wineries in Tekirdag, a two-hour drive out of the city. I went with two girlfriends on one of the last summery days of the month and we had a terrific time sipping red wine and frolicking in the vineyards. I want to go back next summer when the sunflowers are in bloom.

Also, I bought two big new plants this month which brought me an inordinate amount of joy.

Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

Worst Of The Month

I pushed myself a little too hard this month; one week of running in the morning, working all day, going to various dinner parties and events every night, and a day trip to the wineries left me a sleepless blubbering mess. It turns out that not sleeping enough is a bad thing. I forced myself to take a break and catch up on sleep, and am now trying to be a bit more conscious of balance.

Istanbul, Turkey

What I’m Loving

Reads: After an intense reading month in August, I absolutely slacked off in September. I caught up with a great article that was in the New Yorker a few months ago, about a man who is a community police officer after serving as a counter terrorism consultant abroad. His philosophy of caring for his neighbors and his neighborhood is refreshing.

Music: I didn’t listen to much new music this month, but spent a lot of time with old stuff. For some reason I had the album Liquid Swords by GZA on repeat, which is awesome and kicked off a few days of non-stop Wu Tang. I also rediscovered an album I was into a few years ago called Peru Bravo: Funk, Soul, and Psych From Peru’s Radical Decade. It’s full of excellent grooves and I’m not sure why I stopped listening to it ever.

Film/TV: My friend Pesha has decided to introduce me to a show I completely missed in the ‘90’s: Buffy the Vampire Slayer! I love it, of course.

Eminonu, Istanbul, Turkey

Podcasts: Surprisingly, I’ve really loved the new season of Slow Burn so far. The first season was about Watergate and the Nixon resignation, and it was great. When they announced that the second season would tackle the Clinton impeachment, I was a bit skeptical— it seemed like it was just a way to stretch the original concept into a new season. But season 2 is even better than season 1, I think. One of the interesting shocks of the new season is realizing how many familiar names of political players now were also major (and minor) players in the Clinton impeachment, and how many of them are hypocrites.

And to name a few episodes of other podcasts I dug: the War Poems episode from Rough Translation tells the story of a fascinating Dari-speaking woman in the US Army, and I found it very moving. An Angelic Troublemaker from The Thread delves into the life of the fascinating Bayard Rustin and the way he directly influenced Martin Luther King’s adoption of non-violence. I have loved everything about Crimetown, but the episode The Doctor Broad was particularly cinematic.

Tekirdag, Turkey

The Film Files

I finally got all my film that I shot in August back, plus new images from our collaborative Dreamspace project. I’ve been shooting with my Holga more often this month, and am eager to see what images the toy camera holds.

Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

Ephemera

I registered to run a 10K! It’s happening in November and I’ve been training for almost two months, but I’ve never run that far ever so it’s quite a commitment. The race goes over the Bosphorus Bridge, so I’ll be running from Asia to Europe.

Moda, Istanbul, Turkey

Upcoming

I have a massive project that will keep me in Istanbul for most of October, but as soon as it finishes, I am determined to travel! Whether it will be in or out of Turkey remains to be seen. Either way, it should be fun.