Alex Krogh-Grabbe

Today brought the second iconic experience of my three weeks in New York City this winter.

The first experience was staying up until 3:30am on the Solstice to watch the total lunar eclipse. It was late, my friends and I were all grumpy, but we saw it.

Today, I went with Nicole to play in the snow at Riverside Park. We walked through the foot-deep snow and bitter wind, past multiple hills crawling with sled-borne children. We met Nicole’s friend Mark near the steepest of the sledding hills, and after rolling around in the snow for a bit like puppies, decided to find sleds and descend the hill. We found two cracked disc sleds and one cardboard box, and all made single plunges down the child-bestrewn hillside. We then walked back to Nicole’s house to play a few games of Settlers of Catan. It snowed, we braved it, and now it is truly winter.

Merry Christmas! Happy Solstice! Happy Hannukah!

I have two finals left, a paper and an exam, and am at least 75% done with my work for each. So I thought I’d make here a change I’ve been thinking about for a while. It’s your Christmas present! This blog is now called “Walk in the Street” instead of “Dispatches from Life”. The old title was geared toward my cross-country trip, and “Walk in the Street” captures a number of themes I want to explore more in the coming year. First, non-automotive transportation. The streets belong to people. As long as you’re safe and don’t get hit by a car, I heartily advocate not restricting yourself to the ghetto of the sidewalk. Bike in the street! Walk in the street! Stand and chat in the street! Don’t wait for other people to change the world; just get started. In addition to my enthusiasm for multi-modal transportation, the new title captures the faint spirit of insurrection I feel in the face of the dominant social and political paradigms that continue to control our world. The status quo gets so many things wrong, and I’m tired of passively standing by as those evils get perpetuated. Additionally, “Walk in the Street” is what I want to do more of. Go for walks. Especially with friends or loved ones. Finally, the concepts of “walk” and “street” are common parlance in the world of planning, which I am giddily entering over the next year and a half.

So that’s your present. Hope you like it. Now on to the holiday card.

I continue to enjoy my graduate program, where I am in the first year of a two-year masters program. I have made so many good friends there. I continue to enjoy my girlfriend, who is moving into a new place in Somerville with me in January. I continue to enjoy contradancing, and in the past year have called several times as well as helping organize several dance series. I continue to be frustrated by the lack of progress in Washington, especially the oversimplification of the “political spectrum” as a line along which all people and policies fall. I believe that concept is what creates groupthink bubbles like the Tea Party movement. I continue to enjoy living a simple life, eating real foods, owning few things, and appreciating the world around me for what it is. I continue to enjoy Facebook, Gmail, and Gchat, and love staying connected (and reconnecting) with friends through those media. There are many other little things I enjoy in my life, but if you’re interested in hearing ridiculous amounts of detail, I’m sure you will get in touch with me directly.

May your holiday season be filled with joy and warmth, friends and good food. I hope I get to know you better in the new year!