I’m only two weeks in, but it’s really hard to believe there are months more to go. Don’t get me wrong — I like the work, and it was surprisingly easy to transition to sleeping during the day. But the schedule is a bit devastating for relationships of all kinds. I do well alone. I like my “me” time. I have hobbies and interests that I’m happy to pursue in my free time. But when this — movies, books, music, podcasts –  is all I have, it becomes isolating.

When I was adjusting to life in London, I felt the same way. I distinctly remember grabbing onto a quote I read from Into the Wild. “Happiness is only real when shared.” It rang true for me then, and it rings true for me now.

There’s still plenty of adjusting to do. I haven’t mastered the perfect schedule of wakefulness/sleep, but I’m hoping I’ll get there.

I leave you with my favorite track of the moment: “You” by Gold Panda. Happy Friday.

“Riding with headphones on in the city… Good way to get killed. And kill someone else. Nice one NPR” (Christopher Genovese)

“This total absence of synthesis is troublesome for me. I’m losing faith in some my ‘fellow mankind.’ (R D Harmony)

“No helmet, no brakes, AND headphones!?! (based on the image above) Deathwish. Someone didn’t think this playlist through very well…What a stupid way to die.” (K Cook)

“We need NPR to promote “agression” in transportation? We don’t have enough road rage from drivers of cars? We have to have a picture of a biker, no helmet, the article promoting use of earphones, a horrible degradation of our social interaction, let alone unsafe in a car or a bike.” (David Pearce)

A reader called Brim Stone, at one point, asked, “Did this piece get edited? It now says ‘boombox,’ ‘not too loud,’ ‘helmet.’ ” The answer is “no.” The piece appears now as it was first published, meaning the majority of commenters did not read the text at all. They simply jumped to conclusions and took the opportunity to a.) condemn cyclists as a whole for being wreckless; b.) condemn ME as a cyclist for giving good cyclists a bad rep. I did have a small (but very much appreciated) bunch of defenders:

“C’mon people! Whoever, other than the first poster, said anything about wearing headphones while biking?!? Certainly not the author or NPR. At some point, you gotta let the stupid people (both bikers and drivers) live and learn. No amount of ranting in the comments section is going to change their minds about wearing headphones while biking. Anyone have anything interesting to say about the music, which is really the point of the whole article? I’m still listening but so far an interesting mix.” (ReNae Gorder)

“Just like the ‘wistful workout’ for depressed people and other past NPR workout mixes, this is just another fun way of introducing people to new music. and no where in the story does the author encourage the use of headphones while biking. Take it for what it is, another enjoyable mix of music from the nice people at NPR.” (Meg Ruddick)

Initially, I was a little disturbed that so many people had responded negatively to my list. But as the comments poured in, I became more concerned about the general attitude about cyclists.

Comments from fellow cyclists almost universally condemned the “recklessness” of certain riders, particularly fixed gear riders (fueled by the photo I chose for the story featuring a man with no helmet on a fixed gear bike). There was an air of superiority, even: an attitude of “I ride more safely than you,” if you will. For those of you that don’t know, a a true fixed gear bike has neither a free-spinning hub nor brakes. It makes for clean and simple aesthetics, a look I consider beautiful, but calls for incredible skill in the rider. I don’t possess those skills and thus, I don’t ride a fixed gear. But they can be ridden safely, and that went unrecognized by most readers.

Both cyclists AND drivers condemned wearing headphones while riding, and I agree! But of course, that doesn’t matter. These people didn’t actually read my text, in which I wrote, “So strap a boombox to those handlebars, crank it up (not too loud, because the sounds of the streets are vital in the battle of bike vs. car) and pedal to the beat.” Will you really strap a boombox to your bike? No, and it doesn’t matter. This list is hypothetical, but that point was clearly misunderstood.

Finally, cyclists and drivers reacted to my call for aggression — healthy aggression, though that part was also ignored by readers. One reader’s criticism distinguished aggression from defensive riding, but I consider it one and the same. Respect pedestrians and drivers. You are, after all, a diplomat of sorts. But if they disrespect you, I believe in letting them know. Ding your bell, shoot them a glare, or even verbally tell them they almost killed you.

Why did I write this overly long defense/reflection of my bike list? Well, as a cyclist, I take pride in being a safe and respectful rider, and I needed the last word even if no one reads it. In the larger scope of things, the comments revealed to me how utterly dysfunctional the relationship between drivers and cyclists is; even among cyclists, the vibe is less unified than I expected. We need to change that. So Washington Area Bicyclist Association, expect a donation from me very soon.

You can read the post in question here.

It’s only appropriate that this story published today, because today, I’m attending my first Georgetown basketball game of the 2009-2010 season. Go Hoyas!

Thanks for all the support from friends and family in 2009, and here’s to a happy and healthy 2010 for all.

Read “Let’s Hear It For The Crafty Guys” here.

I’m relieved that WCP blogger Christine Ernest took my piece in jest, as it was intended to be.  After all, it’s a light-hearted observation on the men I found at the craft fair.  I echo her sentiment that “there are some pretty fantastic male crafters… these days without or without the collaboration with women.”

I also got a nice mention from the lovely Elijah and Rhonda Wyman of Figs & Ginger.  Read it at their blog here.

More reflection on that later.

In the mean time, I urge you to check out the show at
www.npr.org/internedition/fall09.

My story “Men of Craft” can be seen, and heard, here.

If you don’t have 30 minutes to spare, cruise on through to individual stories and bios.  The whole page should be a visual treat!

Finally, keep an eye out for new Gitnerblog posts in the near future.  My time is mine again soon… well, more than before, and I’ll be returning to the blogosphere.

Thanks for reading as always.

I’ve continued to neglect Gitnerblog in favor of my duties as Blog Editor at NPR, but I just posted my second blog post for NPR’s i.e. blog.  Check it out here or read the except below.

“I’m scared.”  Sometimes I say this out loud to myself before I go to bed.  Not every night, of course.  “I’m scared” is not my peculiar version of bedtime prayer. (I don’t do that either.)  I just say it out loud to address the elephant in the room, to quell the fear.

So what am I scared of?  I’m scared of what comes next and where I’ll end up.  I’m not referring to the afterlife.  I mean… what will I be doing in a few months?  Where will I be living?

Roughly five months ago I graduated from college, and I could only find temporary work.  To complement that, I found temporary housing in an eccentric group house in Georgetown.  “Eccentric” is potentially too kind a word for the house I lived in.  It was messy, and I shared my space with both mice and cockroaches, as well as the occasional hippie house guest.  “How many hippies are sleeping on the floor today?” my roommate would ask me.  We would even bet on it some mornings.  My situation wasn’t ideal, but I felt some comfort in the consistency of things–even if it was just hippies sleeping on the floor.  Then that arrangement expired.

Continue reading at NPR’s i.e. blog…

While I’m clearly not producing daily content for Gitnerblog, I am editing daily content for another blog: NPR’s i.e. (or Intern Edition).

Yours truly is Blog Editor for i.e., and I’d love it if any Gitnerblog supporters would head over to the i.e. Blog to check out our posts.

When I have time, I also write for the i.e. blog.  Check out my recent post on hearing my favorite song for the first time here or read below:

I saw The Royal Tenenbaums for the first time back in 2002.  I don’t remember the exact occasion — it probably isn’t worth remembering: something involving my parents driving me to Blockbuster on a pathetically uneventful Friday night.

I do remember that my expectations were level.

That’s why I was totally unprepared for the following scene:

My life changed at 0:41 when, in the clip above, Margot Tenenbaum (played by Gwenyth Paltrow) took those slow motion steps from the Green Line Bus.

(Continue reading…)

I can’t emphasize how important this tour was to me in my outlook on the future. In the past week and a half, I’ve gone from zero post-graduation plans to 5 months worth of employment. Massive sigh of relief. While this isn’t the situation I had imagined for myself at age 21, I’m happy with it. In times like these, I forget what I really want. I tell myself that I’d rather get any job as long as it’s full-time and pays. After the NPR tour, I realize that’s a lie. I envy the security of jobs in consulting, for instance, but I know that I wouldn’t enjoy it. Even if this NPR high only lasts a few weeks, I’m so glad I felt it.

I have struggled with blogging for the past two weeks, because I’ve only wanted to talk about my perceived worthlessness. I know no one wants to read that, so please endure this paragraph. I, like many of my fellow 2009 graduates, are feeling like everything we’ve done for the past 8 years is meaningless. Should we have just tried to join the US Postal Service after high school? Those are some enviable salaries… and I only wish that was sarcasm! I don’t think anyone expects to literally be unemployable after 4 years of college, but this is what we face. This will be a fantastic story to tell in another 20 years after it’s all worked out, but it’s hard to see the hilarity when it’s all still happening.

Places I’ve found inspiration through it all? Housemates and friends. Professors that know my name. Videos of babies hula-hooping. I can’t put into words how meaningful it was for me to have a professor that expresses some level of caring about me as a student or, even better, as a person. It was almost shocking to me, but it has been a defining part of my undergrad experience.

I hope this didn’t come off as some kind of plea for pity. I meant it more to paint a picture of the world that lies before those graduating this semester. Let us be poor. Let us complain. Let us be bushy-tailed and bright-eyed about our aspirations. If you find yourself losing hope, go on a tour of something. A brewery, a museum, a network station, anything! We’re too young to give up already. One thing that you can expect of me in 20 years: I’m going to help the shit out of some poor, jobless college student. Hold on to your hats.