Before the excitement of leaving San Francisco happened…there was Ex Postal Facto!For me, going to Ex Postal Facto was mostly about seeing (and meeting some for the first time!) the ladies I correspond with through the mail. The picture above is courtesy of Mary. (Back: Pamela, Bonnie Jeanne, me, April, Mary, Mandy. Kneeling in front: Bethany, Melissa, Anne Elizabeth and Karen.)
In the months leading up to Ex Postal Facto, it seemed like everyone I knew was planning to go, so it just seemed like the right time to take a little postal-themed vacation to San Francisco. When we looked into flights and found one for less than $300, it kind of felt meant-to-be. I am so glad I went…meeting everyone renewed my excitement to write to more letters!
On Friday night, there was an opening reception for Mail/Art/Book at the San Francisco Center for the Book. Many people sent in mail art submissions that were amazing interpretations of mail and books…seriously…the creativity! During the reception, there were opportunities to exchange artist stamps and addresses with the other participants. We had little red passports for collecting stamps and information…I will share a bit more in the ephemera portion of the Ex Postal Facto series of blog posts. You can see the fancy National Postal Museum stamp above, alongside Melissa‘s DC stamp.On Saturday there was a vendor expo at the Elks Lodge. There were tables and tables of great mail lovers selling and giving away paper, stationery, artist stamps, rubber stamps, postcards…and in the next room…there was a bar! It was a relief to escape the hectic fair and chat and make mail with friends (while drinking a root beer). I met some really amazing mail artists and sellers and my eyes were opened to the vast array of personalities and styles in the mail art world.
On Sunday there was a panel discussion at the San Francisco Public Library. A few of us decided to skip this in favor of enjoying the California weather. (What can I say…after two and a half days of not wearing a jacket, I was hooked!) Mary’s Ex Postal Facto write-up covers this event nicely, if you’d like to read about it over there.
I am so glad I went…most of my “near-home” friends aren’t into letter writing or the post office or old paper bits or stamps, so it was fun to get together with “my people” and geek out over that stuff. I’m hoping, whether there is an Ex Postal Facto II or not, we all can get together again for more postal shenanigans.
My trip to SanFrancisco ended in dramatic fashion.
In hindsight, I believe I was never in danger, but in the moment…the unknown, the adrenaline, the confusion…
My hotel in SanFrancisco was in a decent area–a busy, tourist area filled with restaurants and shops and people. It reminded me of Chicago’s Michigan Avenue because there were high-end stores, plenty of travelers and also plenty of homeless people. I never felt unsafe going to and from my hotel, even though I had heard and read that the area near the hotel was a little questionable. I just did what I do here at home…I paid attention to my surroundings and held my bag close.
On Sunday night, I was scheduled to fly the red-eye home so I said goodbye to my friends, went back to my hotel, gathered my belongings and made the two-block trek to the BART (the subway that goes to the airport). If you are familiar with subways, typically you walk down from street level to the station, then go down another level to the train platform. That’s how the Powell Station was, and the first set of stairs down from street level is circular, giving you a wide view of the station from above (and the city from below).
I was walking down the first set of stairs (down from street level) lugging my suitcase and big bag when I heard three pops, right above and in front of me.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
I stopped in my tracks. I knew it was gunshots.
Then, in my head, I was thinking, Nah…there is no way that was a gun. I’m on vacation. This is a nice area full of tourists. That was performance art or something.
So I proceeded into the station where no one seemed to be affected by what I’d just heard. Tourists were filling their BART card with money, the transit workers were sitting in their booth chatting…everything seemed normal. Maybe it was just a fluke or something. I headed over to the gate to pay and go down to the train platform. Just as I was getting ready to scan my card, people started screaming and running in the station about someone with a gun.
I was frozen. I felt like I couldn’t go back up because that was where the shots were fired. I couldn’t go down, because the gunman could be down there. I didn’t know enough about the station to navigate a plan. Then some guy ran down screaming at the BART workers to call the police because someone had been shot. People continued to panic and scream around me but I can’t even tell you where everyone was going…I felt like I was in slow motion, but my mind was racing and rationalizing a plan. Although people were running through and around the station, no one was running up from the train platform, so I scanned my card and cautiously proceeded to the escalator down. No one down there even knew what was happening and I saw a group of ladies and asked them if they knew someone had been shot. They looked at me blankly and responded in another language.
I suddenly felt really alone and scared, so I did what any normal person would do…I tweeted.
OMG! A shooting at my train stop. I’m not going to stop shaking until I get home.
I was hoping my fellow mail-loving travelers, most of whom were staying in the area, would see it and know what was going on and maybe send a comfort tweet or two. (My friends did not let me down!)
In the meantime, more people were coming downstairs and no one seemed to be running from a shooter. In the back of my mind, I knew he still could be on the platform, but a train going the other direction had left, so I figured if he was escaping, he’d probably take the first train out, not wait around for mine. A United Airlines worker came down to the platform and we chatted a bit about the shooting and about the BART ride to the airport. He was going to work, he seemed nice and normal and I was feeling a little better because I knew if I stuck with him, I’d get to the airport.
I was still shaking, but I felt better. Tweets were coming in, Naoto and I were texting…it was going to be okay.
Then, the BART came and didn’t stop. There was no real announcement except that the train wasn’t stopping. My heart fell. The United guy assured me that the next train would be in about ten minutes and I had plenty of time to make my flight.
Then, the next BART didn’t stop. Still no announcement but everyone started making their way upstairs. The United guy lamented about taking a cab to the airport and just as I was going to ask if we could share a cab, he disappeared. In the meantime, Carolee is tweeting and asking if I was in Chicago or SanFrancisco…a completely logical question.
I got out of the station went outside. Of course in my confusion, I chose the street that the police shut down for the shooting. I desperately asked a security guard where I could catch a cab and he sent me out another exit and through Bloomingdales to a busy street.
Once I walked into Bloomingdales, I started falling apart. I could not find the exit. I was kind of wandering around the perfume counters, staring off into space, completely overwhelmed. Carolee tweeted me her number and told me to call her. I found the door to a street finally. I got outside and attempted to make a phone call.
I have an iPhone. Typically, when a phone number appears in the iPhone, you can just touch it and make a call. Apparently, not through the Twitter app though. I tried copying and pasting Carolee’s number. That didn’t work either. So I had to switch back and forth between the app and the phone to dial her number. I’m usually good with remembering an entire phone number long enough to make a call. I could not even remember two numbers at a time to make this phone call. My hands were shaking, my mind was racing, I felt this crazy relief that I was out of danger but this intense panic that I had come crazy-close to danger…all wrapped up with the fear that I would miss my flight and end back up at the hotel again. It took about six tries of going back and forth to finally get Carolee’s entire number dialed into my phone. I was on a busy street, there were kind-of-crazy homeless people all around me and it felt like they were all yelling at me. At this point, I felt a lot like Brenda from Adventures in Babysitting. (See clip below if you need an explanation.)
The second Carolee picked up the phone, I started crying. Instead of telling me where to catch a cab, she sent me into the City Target (right at the corner) to wait for her to come and get me…as Naoto put it (so dramatically) she “swept in and rescued me from the battle zone”. I felt an immense relief and although she doesn’t live around the corner, it felt like she got there in a flash. She had tissues waiting for me just in case, she kept me entertained with funny stories the whole way to the airport…Carolee was pretty much the most perfect post-shooting super hero ever.
And that is why all of my postcards came home with me…I completely forgot about mailing them at the airport after all that excitement…
So that’s how I ended my trip…with a scary situation and kindness of friends.
I’m back from ExPostal Facto, but I spent yesterday recovering from a red-eye flight home and a very…eventful ending to my trip…hopefully I will be back tomorrow with a recap of what was an amazing weekend of mail goodness. I need to download about a thousand pictures and call my mother today.
In the meantime, please enjoy Letter Month Round Up 3. My Valentines are all sent out and I got a healthy amount of postcards written during my trip. Sadly, all of those postcards are still in my bag. I accidentally brought them home with me. (You will understand why later…) So I’m mailing them back to a postal saint in SanFrancisco just so they have that authentic postmark.
How are your Letter Months going? We are in the home stretch, and even though I haven’t thought about what I’m mailing out today, I’m feeling pretty good about a strong finish around here!
Today I am on my way to San Francisco to attend Ex Postal Facto!
I mentioned before that I will be seeing many of my pen pals while I’m in SanFrancisco this weekend. I’ve met a few in person before at various letter writing and social events, but most of them, I’ve never met. I’m excited to see them and hang out with them…they already feel like old friends.
For my pen pals, I decided to make bonus calling cards by including boxes of candy. Ferrara Pan makes their famous Lemonheads, Red Hots, Jaw Breakers, Boston Baked Beans and more right here in Forest Park and they have a fantastic little shop where you can buy fresh candy for practically pennies. I decided to buy Lemonheads (the classics) and Red Hots (my favorites, and perfect for Valentine’s Day) and make up some hometown treats for my friends.
They are super simple and not too bulky and once I hand them all out, I’ll have a little pocket of space in my suitcase to fill up with treats from San Francisco!
Tomorrow morning, I’m leaving for San Francisco! That means today will be a whirlwind of preparations. I’m happy to report that I finished three loads of laundry before nine this morning, and I think I have enough clothes to cover the next four days. (What is it about packing for trips that makes you realize how dull your wardrobe is?)
Most importantly, my calling cards are made, the treats for my friends are packaged (more on that tomorrow) and my address book is updated for postcard writing…the important stuff, you know…
Today I am packing my bag, packing up my mail supplies (while referring to this post) and I’m working on updating my calendar with information I’ll need while I’m gone.
Oh, and I’m cleaning up the apartment a bit…just in case Naoto and Presley throw a party while I’m gone.
If you will be at Ex Postal Facto, let me know so I can look for you during the events!
Next week I’m heading to San Francisco for Ex Postal Facto, a mail art show and conference. I am super-excited about the trip, mainly because I get to meet–in person–many of the ladies I’ve been corresponding with through the mail.
I decided, since I will be meeting new people, too, that I needed some simple calling cards. I was going to order some from MOO (I’ve used them before–they’re great!) but I’m a huge fan of creative and complicated calling cards (I have a Pinterest board dedicated to them!), so I decided I should raise the bar and try something fun.
I bought some plain business cards from Paper Source and played around with a few ideas. My original plan was to type directly on the cards, but I had mixed results due to the tiny card not staying securely in the typewriter. I was disappointed to have to resort to labels, but then I had the idea to turn the calling card into a mini “envelope”. Anne sent me a big bag of used flag postage with my Christmas card so I decided to put them to good use on the calling cards. (Thanks, Anne!) And, since an envelope isn’t an envelope without a little washi tape, I added a strip of skinny airmail washi at the top.
As far as the labels, I used my Royal Safari typewriter to type out the information, toggling between red and black ink (just for fun…or to complicate things.) After going back and forth about it, I decided not to include my address on the cards. It feels weird not to include it, since it is a mail conference, but it’s better to be safe than to have some stalker climbing on your balcony, right? Instead, I included my name, web address, Twitter & Instagram handle and phone number (the blurred part).
So far, assembly is slow, but I have a week–I can do this!
Have you seen any interesting calling cards lately?
The first time I flew to Japan, in 2008 for work, I flew American Airlines. It was fine. Economy class is uncomfortable on any flight, and it really wears on you after thirteen hours, but really, who can afford first class?
When Naoto and I flew to Japan in 2011, we flew Japan Airlines. Even though we still flew economy, it felt a little bit luxurious because the customer service was so good and because we each had our own little TVs for movie viewing. (I realize that personal screens are available on pretty much any flight theses days, but in 2011 it felt like a rare treat.)
On Japan Air, they serve a special drink, Sky Time. Sky Time is yuzu juice. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit that looks kind of like a tiny grapefruit and it tastes citrus-y…maybe a cross between a lemon and a grapefruit with a little bit of orange? It’s hard to say exactly. But Sky Time is delicious. You can drink it as is or mix it with vodka. Yum. Yuzu juice can often be found at the Japanese grocery store, too, in case you want to try it without suffering through the cost and the backaches of a thirteen hour flight.
At the airport while checking in for our flight home, we were magically whisked out of line and over to a kiosk and upgraded to business class. Our seats were roomy, we were offered slippers and eye masks and treated like royalty. I credit Naoto’s good karma for the luck of the business class draw…(he has amazing parking karma, too!)
In September, we flew All Nippon Air. It was comparable to Japan Air in customer service. We didn’t have any swanky upgrade luck, but they did kindly move me to an aisle seat. And, on the flight home when the flight attendant learned that my screen didn’t work, she apologized no less than four dozen times, offered me every magazine on the plane and offered to move me to a seat with a working screen another dozen times. It felt really weird…especially since we never complained about it and then explained that I could just hijack Naoto’s screen because he would sleep anyway. Yet the apologies continued…awkwardly.
Oh, and speaking of apologies…we got a little bit off-schedule upon departure at O’Hare and though our pilot tried to make up the time in the air, we were still five minutes late upon our arrive in Japan. The pilot apologized profusely…for five minutes…it’s nice to know that some airlines value my time.
I was excited to learn that ANA also has their own signature drink, the Aromatic Kabosu. Kabosu is another citrus (it looks more like a lime but is kind of similar in taste to yuzu) and it is delicious with gin. My cocktail is pictured above with my mid-flight rice cracker snack…the mid-flight snacks are my favorites.
Kind flight attendants, respect of schedules and signature drinks…more reasons Japan Does It Better in flying!
On Sunday night, Naoto’s actual birthday, we had tickets to the Blackhawks game. The tickets were one of my Christmas gifts but we considered it a bit of a birthday treat for Naoto to attend his first game on his big 4-0. The only problem was…it had been snowing pretty much non-stop since Friday and the temperatures were going to drop to sub-zero levels that night. I didn’t want to drive to the game because of the snow. Taking the L was our only real option…so we bundled up and carefully but quickly made our way through the snow. We live a short four blocks from the station and my cheeks and nose were numb by the time we got there. Brrrr! (The picture above was our snowy view from the train platform.) The whole train ride, I kept dreading the seven block walk from the L to the United Center…neither Naoto nor I knew what to expect. In spite of the unplowed sidewalks, the arctic temperatures and the shady characters offering us parking spaces for the game (Did we look like we had a car???) we made it safely to the UC with all of our fingers and toes (and our wallets and cell phones). We got there early enough to enjoy some tasty tacos and a drink before the game. One of the best parts about seeing the Blackhawks live is hearing Jim Cornelison sing the national anthem in person…he’s amazing on TV but hearing it live with the rest of the crowd cheering was spine-tingling! Sadly, the Hawks lost…but they scored twice so we got to hear the beautiful sound of the horn twice…that’s all we could ask for (though it was quite depressing to brave all that cold and snow and not leave with a win.) In case you want to hear the goal horn and song combo:
But Naoto enjoyed his first game and his first time at the UC. And, we were very grateful that Naoto’s colleague offered us a ride home. (He was at the game, too!) I do believe that it’s because of Matt that we still have all of our fingers, toes and noses in tact…by the time we left the game, the temperatures had dropped significantly and they reached twenty below that night (and that’s without the wind chill!) Thanks for a fun Christmas gift, Naoto. xo
We got our Christmas tree the week after Thanksgiving. Naoto has been taking Thursdays off, so it was the perfect day to head over to Menards for our usual $15 tree special. We were going to splurge on a $25 fir. Their branches hold heavier ornaments better and we had a pine last year, so I thought it would be a nice change. But when the tree guy shook the firs, needles flew everywhere. When we shook this one, not a single needle fell. Decision made! Plus, there is just something so soft and fluffy about the longer needles of the white pine.
The tree guy at Menards was in good spirits and laughed at our “backseat method” of carrying the tree home. It felt like the tree stuck out a little further than normal this year…Naoto did all of the heavy lifting and I did all of the decorating, as usual. (He doesn’t mind it that way one bit…)After last year’s leaning tree debacle, I am happy to report that this tree is standing straight and tall. I lost my ornament hooks and had to improvise with a limited supply of bent paperclips, so fewer ornaments made it onto the tree this year. The ones that made it are the most special ones, so the tree is all right with me. And the sage green bedsheet/tree skirt is lame…you would think I would have a real tree skirt by now…but really, Presley attacks the tree skirt on a regular basis, so something not-so-precious is really the best decision. Presley approves (and simultaneously tries to destroy).
In Japan, it is customary to buy gifts for your colleagues, friends and family when you travel. Whether you are going to another city or another country, omiyage is an expected part of travel. Usually, the gift is some sort of specialty from the area you visited (known as meibutsu), either a little souvenir or a snack made in the area. For example, when I used to work for a Japanese company, whenever someone would go to Canada, he or she would come back with little maple syrup candies for the office to share. (Sigh, I miss traveling to Canada…)
Omiyage is a big business in Japan. Everywhere you go, there are beautifully wrapped packages of sweets and snacks. We picked up the snacks shown above purely because they were wrapped so beautifully. (They were delicious, too!) I have to believe that the omiyage expectations keep Japan’s economy going… As a foreigner, it is especially fun to pick out omiyage. There are so many fun things to buy in Japan that we don’t have in the states. I bought a lot of washi tapes, stationery and handkerchiefs for friends. (And KitKats…which deserve their own JDIB post for sure.) The best part is, most stores will gift wrap just about anything. I bought a couple of these cutie cat handkerchiefs it Mitsukoshi and the sales clerk brought out an array of colored envelopes and gift stickers for me to choose from. She even pointed out that there is a tiny window in the back of the gift envelope so I could see which handkerchief was packaged inside. That way I could make sure I gave the right gift to the right person. Clever! I usually enjoy wrapping gifts myself, but I loved that a store would take the time to care for my tiny, inexpensive gift.
Omiyage and gift-wrapping small treasures…another simple reason Japan Does It Better!
Before the excitement of leaving San Francisco happened…there was Ex Postal Facto!
For me, going to Ex Postal Facto was mostly about seeing (and meeting some for the first time!) the ladies I correspond with through the mail. The picture above is courtesy of Mary. (Back: Pamela, Bonnie Jeanne, me, April, Mary, Mandy. Kneeling in front: Bethany, Melissa, Anne Elizabeth and Karen.)
On Friday night, there was an opening reception for Mail/Art/Book at the San Francisco Center for the Book. Many people sent in mail art submissions that were amazing interpretations of mail and books…seriously…the creativity! 
During the reception, there were opportunities to exchange artist stamps and addresses with the other participants. 
We had little red passports for collecting stamps and information…I will share a bit more in the ephemera portion of the Ex Postal Facto series of blog posts. You can see the fancy National Postal Museum stamp above, alongside Melissa‘s DC stamp.
On Saturday there was a vendor expo at the Elks Lodge. There were tables and tables of great mail lovers selling and giving away paper, stationery, artist stamps, rubber stamps, postcards…and in the next room…there was a bar! 
It was a relief to escape the hectic fair and chat and make mail with friends (while drinking a root beer). I met some really amazing mail artists and sellers and my eyes were opened to the vast array of personalities and styles in the mail art world. 
kimberly ah 