Being Inquisitive

The whole point of this blog is to exercise my writing muscle, by writing about a variety of topics, by writing in a variety of styles, by exploring my written voice, and by thinking about what I want to share with the world. I often think about writing throughout the week, and wait for something to stick. I make a mental post-it note, and let it travel with me as I live my day. I roll the words over and over in my mind, composing sentences, thoughts, or phrases. Then I start to fill in the cracks, and complete the thoughts in order to convey something clearly.

I realize that I write better and more expressively when I am describing something, talking about something I love, or conveying my thoughts about my favorite things, such as a cabinet of curiosities. So my current idea is to pull all those things out of the woodwork, and thoroughly flesh out the things that have inspired me for years. There are many things in the realm of art and design that I continually revisit in order to replenish the creative ‘well’. I also enjoy a great quote, poem, movie, or song. Revisiting a place, exploring somewhere new, and adventures are also some of the most inspiring and encouraging things. Of course you can never quite predict what will appear here on my blog (well because half the time I don’t know until I start typing), hence the name haphazard.

This week the phrase, the importance of being inquisitive has stuck in my mind, an absolutely perfect segue thought to begin exploring things that inspire me. Anyway.

Curiosity rules my life. If there is one thing that would almost define me, that would be it. When something is so innate and ingrained, you cannot imagine life in it’s absence. What would it be like to not be ridiculously curious about everything around me? I don’t know, what is it like to not have an arm? Those questions are one and the same for me, meaning I have no faint idea of what it is like.

Being insatiably inquisitive about the world around you is the best way to learn. You don’t have to have information shoved down your throat because you are already thirsty for knowledge and experience. 

It's hard to be in class sometimes and have people constantly complain about whatever we happen to be learning. I have gotten through school thus far because I always find something, anything, in any subject matter that somehow intrigues me. I know that I'm not going to be a geologist, but it's fascinating how many amazing rocks and gems there are. I don't plan on being a doctor, but medical stuff is so interesting to learn about! I could go on and on. 

As an interior design student, I have to exercise my creative muscle constantly. Curiosity and creativity are infinitely intertwined. You take in, and in, and in, and then you can just explode with ideas. After sketching and exploring ideas for my designs I can feel just empty, so afterward I have to go on a design website, look at an interesting magazine, check the news to see what's happening in the world, read a book, take a walk, hangout with a friend, or do anything not necessarily design related to replenish the creative well. 

If you do not care about curiosity and therefore the world, I urge and implore you to take a chance. Explore something, get out of your comfort zone, eat something your normally wouldn't, go somewhere you've always wanted to go. People who never do anything cool are not really curious about the world, because if they were they would get off their butt and actively pursue something. I know many people have ways that they replenish their creative wells, and ways to encourage curiosity, here's some of mine.

Ways to exercise your curiosity:

1. Journal. You will start to learn how to describe your life and it will force you to explore the details.

2. Draw/Sketch. Taking a quick photograph just does not compare to studying the contours of a person, the shape of a feather, the mass of an orange, or how light plays across an object.

3. Take Walks. I grew up taking walks with my mother and siblings, and never realized how important they were until now I think. Learning to enjoy seeing the world at a slow pace takes time. Go outside and enjoy the fresh air, go see the world. I walk almost the same (and quickest route since I like to sleep in) route to the bus and my classes in the morning.  Along the way I always try to notice one thing I have never seen before.

4. Have a Conversation. Sit down with someone who studies a subject you know nothing about, and ask them questions. Get to know someone who is completely different than you.

5. Invest in People. Similar to the one above, when you take time to have conversations with people, and find out about their life you will always learn something!

Cabinet of Curiosities

This semester I have to design a coffee shop for my Interior Design Studio class and I think I will base my concept for the project off one of my favorite things: a cabinet of curiosities.

I have always been fascinated by the idea of a cabinet of curiosities (Also known as a cabinet of wonder, Kunstkammer or Wunderkammer in German). It may spring from all the nature center visits of my childhood, tapping on the glass pane separating me and snakes, picking up pine cones on nature walks, or simply being enthralled by even the simplest natural object.

I visited the Bell Museum of Natural History right here on the U of MN campus after my last class for the week. I cannot believe that I have not explored the wonders held within that building until now. Having a lecture in the large auditorium connected to the museum this spring and last, I have been mere steps away from a whole world of  wonderful objects without even knowing it. 

A cabinet of curiosities is literally a window to the world, a visual delight, and sometimes a visual overload. Basically they came about during the Renaissance period from rich guys who had time and money on their hands to collect cool stuff, though humans have been collecting intriguing objects throughout the ages. They bring to mind great adventurers and explorers who went to the ends of the earth and decided to pick up a few things along the way, or the anthropology professor who has filled his old creaky office shelves with peculiar things. They are a delight the eyes and the imagination.

I am particularly interested in the cabinets because they house such a variety of not only objects, but stories. Being an aspiring collector of curious objects myself, with every object there is a story and a history. The rocks on my bookshelf were picked up on the shore of Lake Superior last fall, the piggy bank a gift from my parents, and the feathers from a collection of my grandfathers.

We are accustomed now to searching out the latest YouTube sensation, the next big musician, or the up and  coming artist or designer on the internet, yet we are still taping into the age old search for something that fascinates us. I think we need to remember that there are curious things all around us everyday if we just step out our door. 

In the Bell Museum Touch and See room, it's like a cabinet of curiosities was strewn over the entire room. There are animal bones, antlers, rocks, seashells, animal pelts, live snakes and turtles, and many more objects that you can pick up and investigate closely. I felt like a kid again as I knelt on the floor and stared into the red eyes of a turtle, or when I lifted the various antlers to test their weight. In the room there are also cabinets full of various natural history objects, and I could spend hours gazing at the wonders within. For me, looking at the various treasures is more aesthetic than scientific because I could not tell you the difference and names of one bird or another, or identify what animal skull graces the shelf, but it does not diminish their intrigue.

I drool over books such as the 636 page volume of Albertus Seba's Cabinet of Natural Curiosities. I spend hours perusing photos of fellow curiosity hunters, such as Curious Expeditions Flickr page. I long to have an array of objects like ones you can buy here from a store in New York. I could spend hours in the Touch and See room at the Bell Museum. Some people collect the same object when they travel such as mugs, t-shirts, or snow globes, I buy something that is unique and will add variety to my collection. I cannot help but be curious about the world around me, I guess I still am that little kid who thinks they found a great treasure when I pick up a perfectly shaped rock, a piece of driftwood, or a fascinating seashell.

Penny Walks

As I write this, snow is swirling outside, yet again covering everything in sight. I meant to write this a few days ago because I think it would have been more timely, but no matter... 

The recent thaw brought to mind penny walks, an important part of my childhood. I have come to the realization that I actually AM quite weird. Yes, I know, you're thinking it's about time that I have understood this...but more than that, my childhood was quite abnormal in the best way possible. I used to think I was rather 'normal' up until very recently, but when you start talking about 'normal' things that you did when you were a child and people stare at you like you're from another planet...well then you know something is up. Apparently I did many strange and abnormal things as a child. Penny walks being one of them.

A typical street in Minneapolis

I think of penny walks and realize that they are very specific to my upbringing. Growing up in the city in Minnesota, where there's lots of snow, where people actually walk outside in the winter, and where people carry spare change for the bus all play a part in penny walks. When I was young, my mother would try many different things to get me out of doors. I would go on walks at the nature center with my siblings, and play outside in the snow all the time, but penny walks originally were another ploy to get us in the fresh air in late winter when the snow is just starting to melt. 

During the winter, the greedy claws of snowbanks will snatch away anything you drop in them, spare change included and when the weather finally warms up they are forced to release their icy grip on the treasures held within. And that's where penny walks come in. I would go on walks with my mom, and my siblings  and we would have a competition to see how much spare change we could find. At the end of our jaunt, whoever had the most money would gain bragging rights until the next time we ventured out. 

The bent and broken street pennies

We found more than just pennies, such as dimes, nickels, and the ever sought after quarters. Once I found a $20 winning already scratched off lottery ticket, and at another time a $20 bill frozen in the ice. Through all those walks over the years my eyes have been keenly trained to spot the small metal disks. At one point I even gained the nickname of Eagle Eyes, because I could spot a penny like a bird of prey finds a mouse. As time went on I would jump at the chance to go on a penny walk, and it ended up usually only being my mom and I walking. 

We would swing by penny street, not it's actual name but the one it gained because you were always guaranteed to find some spare change on it. My mother and I probably looked quite strange as we walked placidly down the sidewalk, only to suddenly burst into screams of "PENNY PENNY!!" and "I SAW IT FIRST" while pointed madly at a spot in the road or on the sidewalk, the rule being whoever sees it first gets it. At other times we would suddenly lunge towards the pavement to snatch up the copper disks. The curb was also a coveted position because it gave you a perfect view of the street and the sidewalk, I would walk along it like a balancing gymnast ready to leap off at a penny's notice. We always tried to walk side by side, because whoever was in front had an unfair advantage, and if someone started walking ahead the other would walk even faster, and soon we would be sprinting and sweeping our gaze back and forth rapidly searching.

Being away here at college I've been able to experience the wonders of penny walks. I haven't been counting....but I think I've found 37 cents this thaw. My friends laugh at me as I suddenly stop in mid stride to pick up a penny, nickel, or dime on the pavement, but I don't think they understand that...

...To this day I can't pass a humble penny on the sidewalk. 

Stoney Tangawizi – a love story

I will start out by saying that I’m completely biased, and that this entire post will be dedicated to the best sugary carbonated ginger beverage I have ever had in my life.

Sometimes things seem more amazing because of the experiences tied up with them. The joy of being a carefree kid can be associated with eating bowls of kraft macaroni and cheese, or thoughts of going to the state fair in the warm August air can bring to mind cheese churds and all manner of greasy delights. Then you go and revisit those foods, and realize that….they are… not that good actually.

Not so with Stoney Tangawizi.

In January of 2009 I traveled to Nairobi Kenya, and that’s where this love story began. A few days into the trip I went to dinner at a Wycliffe Associates missionary’s house, where I first was offered a bottle of Stoney. He actually offered the pop, and took a sip of his own, only to erupt into coughs brought on by said beverage. Seeing that I was a little skeptical, he insisted I must try it and exclaimed that it was “REALLY GOOD!”

That was the beginning of my love for Stoney Tangawizi (Also called Stoney Ginger Beer, and Stoney for short). The first sip hit that back of my throat like a little gingery fireball, and it took me about 3 gulps to realize that it was the best pop in the entire world. From then on during the trip, I drank Stoney every chance I got, every restaurant I would have the brown glass bottle proudly towering over my meal.

The majestic bottle

Drinking a Stoney is a unique experience and one that every person should experience in their lifetime, preferably as one is sitting in an outdoor restaurant in the city of Nairobi in the great country of Kenya, or outside the doors of a Nakumatt.

My last taste of Stoney from a glass bottle was in the Nairobi airport, I was slowly sipping the divine ginger liquid to make it last as long as possible. My flight started boarding and the bottle was still mostly full, in order to not waste a precious drop I chugged the rest of the bottle. So with a burning in my throat, tears in my eyes, and a runny nose I left the land of Stoney Tangawizi.

Since that time in Kenya, I have pined for the tasty liquid, and have only been able to see pictures of it. Last semester after many hours of sleuthing I found a place to buy the pop online from a small store in Canada which imports from South Africa. After a few seconds of deliberation I ordered the pack of 6 cans. (do not ask me how much I paid for them, love does not have a price tag)

After a few months I once again had a Stoney in my hand, only this time in an aluminium can. The precious cans have been opened on special occasions, and I once again have been able to enjoy the burning delight of Stoney Tangawizi. One day I hope to return to Eastern Africa, and I will drink all the Stoney to my heart's content. For now I will enjoy telling people how wonderful this beverage is, and try to decide when to open the last remaining can. Now you, my dear reader can dream of one day enjoying the divine taste of Stoney, a pop which no other sugary carbonated beverage can compare to.

Stoney and Banana Bread

At a restaurant in Nairobi

You cannot help but smile with a Stoney in your hand