As a traveller, I am attracted to lists. Partly because they act as artificial and highly personalized markers for the unique rites of passage of a globetrotter. They are also a safe outlet for narcissism, I suppose.
(like this blog?)
On my way to hit my latest continent, and the final one before I achieved my goal (all the continents* on one passport) I listed the airports I had visited. I think it was the result of incurable jetlag, but I managed to fairly accurately recall all of them. The ultimate challenge would be to list them only by airport codes; that will have to wait for another occasion. Here they are by city name and, where necessary, by specific title to alleviate confusion.
*I'm not of the opinion that Antarctica counts. Nobody really lives there.
So Many Lines: All My Airports
Ottawa, Montreal (Dorval), Toronto (Pearson), Toronto Island, Hamilton, London (Ontario), Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Whitehorse, Halifax,
Orlando, Tampa, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco, Los Angeles (LAX), Chicago (O'Hare), Washington (Dulles), New York (La Guardia), Denver, Atlanta, Honolulu, Nashville,
Paris (Charles-de-Gaule), London (Heathrow), Glasgow, Rome (Fuimicino), Istanbul, Sofia, Malta,
Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Christchurch, Auckland
Singapore, Bangkok, Seoul (Incheon), Hong Kong
Lima, Cuzco, Puerto Maldonado
Tunis
I would have had Frankfurt to add, but I went home early the last time I travelled and missed that option for connections. I like the novelty of navigating new airports - the form vs. function of them is like having somebody you don't really know make you a lunchbox to take to work: You find yourself guessing at their motives, and laughing at their whimsy.
Future airports on the horizon: Albuquerque next month. In the fall, I'm headed for Winnipeg and Quebec City.
Climate Change?
As a car-free, cycling, waste-savvy vegan, my ecological footprint is relatively petite. I'm a big fan of my paperless office, and of buying used books, clothes and furniture. Alas, my frequent-flyer schedule *IS* contributing to climate change, and for that I'm very penitent. Some of the things I fly for are unavoidable, others are decidedly superfluous.
What can a carbon-conscious vegan do?
Here's a really good suggestion: Carbon offset groups can help balance the effects of your emissions with carbon-reducing efforts, like planting trees.
While I somewhat agree with George Monbiot that carbon offset programs are the modern-day equivalent of Indulgences the wealthy purchased from the church during the Middle Ages to offset sins their Christian souls were incurring through their usual gluttonous practices, it's better than doing nothing.
I wonder if the carbon offset programs could sell me a two-for-one deal of carbon and spiritual karma at a discount rate?
Think global; act local; eat your greens. Maybe cattle are worse than fossil fuels?
(like this blog?)
On my way to hit my latest continent, and the final one before I achieved my goal (all the continents* on one passport) I listed the airports I had visited. I think it was the result of incurable jetlag, but I managed to fairly accurately recall all of them. The ultimate challenge would be to list them only by airport codes; that will have to wait for another occasion. Here they are by city name and, where necessary, by specific title to alleviate confusion.
*I'm not of the opinion that Antarctica counts. Nobody really lives there.
So Many Lines: All My Airports
Ottawa, Montreal (Dorval), Toronto (Pearson), Toronto Island, Hamilton, London (Ontario), Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Whitehorse, Halifax,
Orlando, Tampa, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco, Los Angeles (LAX), Chicago (O'Hare), Washington (Dulles), New York (La Guardia), Denver, Atlanta, Honolulu, Nashville,
Paris (Charles-de-Gaule), London (Heathrow), Glasgow, Rome (Fuimicino), Istanbul, Sofia, Malta,
Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Christchurch, Auckland
Singapore, Bangkok, Seoul (Incheon), Hong Kong
Lima, Cuzco, Puerto Maldonado
Tunis
I would have had Frankfurt to add, but I went home early the last time I travelled and missed that option for connections. I like the novelty of navigating new airports - the form vs. function of them is like having somebody you don't really know make you a lunchbox to take to work: You find yourself guessing at their motives, and laughing at their whimsy.
Future airports on the horizon: Albuquerque next month. In the fall, I'm headed for Winnipeg and Quebec City.
Climate Change?
As a car-free, cycling, waste-savvy vegan, my ecological footprint is relatively petite. I'm a big fan of my paperless office, and of buying used books, clothes and furniture. Alas, my frequent-flyer schedule *IS* contributing to climate change, and for that I'm very penitent. Some of the things I fly for are unavoidable, others are decidedly superfluous.What can a carbon-conscious vegan do?
Here's a really good suggestion: Carbon offset groups can help balance the effects of your emissions with carbon-reducing efforts, like planting trees.
While I somewhat agree with George Monbiot that carbon offset programs are the modern-day equivalent of Indulgences the wealthy purchased from the church during the Middle Ages to offset sins their Christian souls were incurring through their usual gluttonous practices, it's better than doing nothing.
I wonder if the carbon offset programs could sell me a two-for-one deal of carbon and spiritual karma at a discount rate?
Think global; act local; eat your greens. Maybe cattle are worse than fossil fuels?
1 comment:
Hmmmh, narcissism and blogging. I've always felt that it was a moral duty to blog, to share my resplendent self in all its fabulousness with the rest of world. But your post has given me pause to rethink. ;)
I'm a big lister myself, usually pro/con lists. I never really use them, but I enjoy writing them. It gives me a sense that I've ordered things rationally, cataloged them, (today's a real Foucauldian day). Then I can dismiss all that hard work and go with my vegan intuition.
Thanks for the salt tip!
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