Outdoor gear and clothing … ugh. I get that gear is important. But I’m not the kind of person who wears high tech, breathable fabrics, or god forbid, a Buff. I wear cardigans. I wear vintage clothes. Dressed up in outdoorsy clothes, I feel like an idiot, a fraud. It feels like playing dress-up for…
Author: Elizabeth Lindau
Exploring Dearborn's culinary treasures, and rehabbing a tiny house in Michigan.
Why Shikoku?
In previous posts, I’ve 1) lamented the fact that I’ve never done a “outdoorsy/physical” challenge, and 2) fessed up that I plan to hike the Shikoku pilgrimage in Japan someday. (A quick recap: it’s a 1200 kilometer, Shingon Buddhist pilgrimage around the smallest of Japan’s four main islands with stops at 88 temples of significance.) But with so many…
The physical challenge
Recently I lamented the divide between indoorsy and outdoorsy people. I’d like to be more outdoorsy. But I feel like the outdoorsy world is so geared to outdoorsy people. I can’t figure out what kind of gear I really need, or whether a particular hike will be pleasantly challenging or a sweaty nightmare where I’m terrified that I…
Indoorsy people, Outdoorsy people
If you’ll forgive the generalization, there are indoorsy people and outdoorsy people. People like me, who read books and do crossword puzzles, and knit. And then there are people who ski, and hike, and who seem to genuinely enjoy running. As a committed indoorsy person, I’ve long felt conflicted about the outdoors. I enjoy a simple…
A language-learner’s lament
Last time I tried to learn a language, we used card catalogs in the library, phones had a cord, and Kurt Cobain was alive. To study Spanish almost required taking a class (though I suppose learning by book or cassette tape were options). My classroom learning in the early nineties was mostly worksheets, and lots of…
What to do when your oak disappears?
After months of agonizing, last fall I decided to have an oak tree cut down. It had insect damage, and was leaning in the direction of the tiny house. During every large storm, I lived in fear of getting a call or reading an email that the tree had toppled. If you’ve never cut down…
A 168-hour tour
With flights only scheduled once a week, we were stuck on Rotuma for a full seven days, so a place to stay was rather important. I tried to arrange for lodging before we arrived, I really did. Lonely Planet chipperly suggested: “Contact the Fiji Visitor Bureau in either Nadi or Suva for updated information and…
I’ve landed on ice, but never on grass
It may be hundreds of miles north of Fiji, separated by open ocean, home to a unique ethnic group and language. But you get to Rotuma like you get most places these days. You get in a plane and fly. Still, though, when you closest neighbors are, um, Wallis and Futuna … well perhaps this Google Map will…
The Last Page in the Lonely Planet
An inferiority complex. Such a diagnosis leads some to build tall towers boldly emblazoned with the family name. To seek riches, or internet infamy. My own complex led me to the far-flung Fijian dependency of Rotuma. Why yes, tale as old as time. While my travels to date seemed adventurous to many, they felt tame…
Neptali Figueroa of Duel Drinkware
I met Neptali through the Chicago music scene; he managed bands who were good friends of ours, including Scotland Yard Gospel Choir and Brighton MA. As he mentioned during our conversation, his unique experiences as a designer, band manager, and talent buyer are the perfect for an entrepreneurial life. Tell me a little bit about the drinkware….
When is a business just a hobby?
The views and opinions expressed in this essay are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any actual research or study of the literature on jobs vs. hobbies. Once upon a time, jobs were jobs and hobbies were hobbies. Electrician: job. Salesman: job. Firefighter: job. Making stained glass: hobby. Gardening: hobby. Keeping alpacas: hobby. But…
Serial silly projects guy, Steve Gadlin
Today I talk with “Shark Tank” alum and quirky creative comedian guy, Steve Gadlin. We discuss keeping one’s energy up after over a decade of making artsy stuff, the logistics and finances of running a stage show in Chicago, and chasing down very exciting rejection letters. Elizabeth: I only kind of know you, Steve. You worked with…
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