Good Airs, Good Reads

Because: When I say I am into the Olympics, I mean I am really into the Olympics. I have been watching the coverage, reading articles and taking in as much of it all as possible in as many forms of possible since before the games began, and now that they’re on I am on overload and loving it. The international, united spirit of the event, the stories behind every athlete, team and match, the surprises—whatever it is that brings that really gets me about the Olympics, I don’t deny it and unabashedly proclaim my fandom.

I recently thought about how for the last summer Olympics I was not on Twitter, and this article drew me in for that reason. Also, I applaud NBC for offering such comprehensive online coverage this time around, but because I am out of the country I cannot access any of the videos. This was frustrating when, last night, social media informed me that pretty much everyone I knew was watching gymnastics, and I could not find a live broadcast as the Argentinian television channels were focusing on other recaps. So, thank goodness for the always-on culture, but I am still scrambling and piecing together.

The resolution? For the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, I will be present and with a press pass. I am declaring it here and now publicly (to all my four readers) so I am tied to making this goal happen. 

Because: The avid travelers and others residing outside the US in my social media networks have been circulating this article. The author makes a number of valid points, most presented in this tough-love, just-face-it manner. As such, I’m afraid it’s a little too aggressive for many people who might benefit from reading and heeding it to stick with it through to the end. 

Because:It is interesting to read this article, which is from 2007, today when the world is in the throes of the worst economic recession in recent memory and Argentina has lost some its luster as the shining exemplar of Latin America.

Because: This reminds me of how Buenos Aires bus drivers decorate their buses, though it’s not to attract passengers because people are practically throwing themselves in front of the buses (which sometimes do and sometimes don’t pause for passengers at the designated stops) to get on board. It’s more just for fun, I suppose is how one could describe the fuzzy red covers that encase some of the the card swiping machines, or the incandescent lights that at night can make the buses look like glowing, seedy clubs rolling along the streets. 

Also, the other week I was walking in the Belgrano neighborhood and saw a “Pimp My Ride” decal on the back of a decidedly un-“pimped” hatchback silver auto. 

Because: A million times yes. This is the stuff of which our country is made.

Because: This is a seemingly quotidian story with a wild, meta twist and I love it. That concept of “ghost relationships” I think is especially relevant today, with the over-abundance of relationships that exist almost exclusively from afar, such as with Twitter acquaintances and email pen-pals.

Please do write a book involving ghost relationships, Patrick Somerville. 

Because: What a fascinating, revealing look at the current state of the U.S. economy. I think in a way it divulges much about where the U.S. is headed; ACA has been upheld since the article was written and we are presented with these two generations, these two very different archetypes of people who have made it big.

I have given some thought to the fact that it was a Brit who was behind the piece, and I wonder if that outsider perspective was required to tackle the story objectively, or as objectively as possible. But really, only one woman out of six profiles?

Note: I went and watched Nick Hanauer’s TED talk on inequality after reading this. Here’s the link if you’re interested. 

Because: I was tempted to blog this as a quote, but I would have been entering the entire column into that section, this whole column gets it so right. I talk about this concept often with people in Buenos Aires, as it arises in conversations comparing the two cultures and countries. Up in the Estados Unidos there is this cultural obsession with being “busy” (as accurately described in this article) that is all personally created and self-imposed even though, and here’s the kicker, it seems we resent all of it. The summer before I moved to Buenos Aires I remember listening to a radio program on NPR discussing this concept of busyness. The man speaking described how an acquaintance of his, a recent immigrant to the U.S. who was learning English, came to respond to the greeting of “How are you?” by saying “Busy!” with a smile. What she had witnessed and picked up on in the U.S. from the majority of cordial interactions was that saying “busy” was synonymous with “I’m doing well,” or, “Things are good!” What a telling anecdote. I remember thinking to myself, “No one in Argentina is going to answer a question of, ‘How are you?’ with ‘Busy!’ as the knee-jerk response. I was idealizing and generalizing, but I was right. 

In Buenos Aires, people spend hours lazing in parks and a “productive” weekend involves lots of sleep and a lengthy lunch with friends. From travels and stints elsewhere, I have come to learn that is how it is many places. I know that being situated in this framework is what I needed and still do need. Naturally, I tend toward the “busy” expounded on in this article. I would load myself up with things I both do and don’t want to be doing, feel like I wasn’t doing enough and whine about it all. It’s funny, though. Now, if I were to objectively look at how I spend my time and what I do, I think I would see myself as “busier” and more productive than I ever have been, even based on my prior set of ‘busy/productive evaluation standards. But I am calmer, more relaxed and feel less rushed or pressured than ever. I think it’s because I have changed my perspective on it all, or put myself in a place that forced me to do so. Seeing a certain movie, writing an essay or trying a new restaurant aren’t things I cross off lists any more; I do them when I want to and because I feel like in that moment, that is the most fulfilling way for me to spend my time. Certain obligations are inevitable, but even from what I see in most all full-time corporate jobs here, for example, everyone takes a full lunch break. I have never seen anyone eat at a desk. One day early on in my job I almost took my lunch at my desk, and my coworkers had no qualms about telling me I was crazy and just could not do that. I now take my lunch on a park bench and spend the remaining 30-40 minutes wandering the neighborhood.