east coast here I come...

It's been forever I took a real vacation, usually it's a few hours here or a day or two there, and I haven't left the state of Ohio in three years, and that was to go to Detroit. Before that was a ride hitched to DC with politically earnest friends where I ended up at some protest that already fed my deep cynicism and where we must have looked so wholesomely Midwestern that everyone seemed to know we were from Ohio in spite of ourselves. I've never been to Boston and we have the most skeletal of plans involving Chinatown, seafood, Salem, and some kind of history.

I don't take vacay time often, as I don't have a house to work on or kids to take anywhere, and I keep saving my money in hopes I can get somewhere sweet someday, but it's hard for me to get the motivation to go somewhere alone and there are very few people I can spend a huge block of time with in the car or for a few days in a row. The whole prospect of tourist groups on busses sounds horrible too, whether they're Boomers or Bright Young Things, and the open invitations that I do have around the world are in places that are kind of no-gos for gringo infidels like me.

In the meantime, there's an uncompleted passport application in a desk drawer, piles of books on my shelves about exotic locales, and I live vicariously through the adventures of others, walk their dogs and feed their cats and drink lemonade in the hammock on a back porch of a nicer house than mine a few streets over pretending I'm somewhere else.

Someday, I'll get out more than I do. Cleveland's home, but sometimes it feels good to see something else.

enter the man cave.

My partner in crime once explained to me his theory on the similarities of photography and martial arts in terms of discipline, since he does both. So he calls me yesterday and wants to know if I want to come down to where his fight team practices at and get some practice shooting portraits and action shots.

So we're going down to this karate studio in an unmarked building on Lorain, waiting outside for everyone else to show up and I'm trying to take in all sorts of information on shutter speeds, ISO, and panning before I go in.

I'm a shy kid who majored in English who knows nothing about martial arts except that it looks cool in action movies but I agree because, well, hey why not? It's not the first time I've ended up in a place I never thought I'd be. And honestly, I was more comfortable than I thought I would be, because for some reason testosterone weirds me out less than an overload of estrogen. I'm not expected to do anything except do my job.



I'm still learning how to use the camera, and I'm shy at first because I know none of these people but they're friendly and it's my job to make them look good and badass. They ask me if it weirds me out being in the "ManCave" or I've ever done any stuff like this, and I say no, and I'm encouraged to take up Krav Maga for self-defense, which I'd never even heard of until now.

One guy tells me "I think women are better at martial arts than men in some ways. We do it to impress the women, they do it to kick the shit out of the men."

I settle in, running along the periphery of the mat, trying to keep my shots in focus, apply what I've just learned, and not get accidentally kicked or punched as my memory card fills up and I'm switching between two cameras.



I'm so used to photographing things that don't move: buildings, graffiti, whatever so this was a huge change and a challenge, and being behind a camera meant that I wasn't wincing. By the end of the night, I was sweating too, but not nearly as much, and feeling satisfied with my work.

Tonight I get to enjoy the great sounds of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and hang out with good people. Summer's ending so quickly, but it's been such a good one.

more fun with Craigslist

Things have gotten weird and Nordic here on Cleveland Love recently.

But if you want a "volunteer" opportunity to be a Viking, here's your chance.

>>> Viking festival - an amazing volunteer opportunity in Iceland
Date: 2010-05-24, 3:01PM EDT
Reply to: comm-xeqgn-1757275963@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

Viking Festival
COME JOIN US
June 6 - June 23, 2010

During the annual Viking Festival, which will trake place from the 11th until the 20th of June, Icelanders and "Vikings" from abroad celebrate their heritage. The Vikings settled Iceland around 874 AD and the Icelanders are very proud of those brave people who had the courage to start a life here in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The Vikings' wild and adventurous spirit lives on today, in the people of this unique country. In Hafnarfjörður there is a small Viking village where the volunteer project will take place.

The event is a lot of fun; there are displays of ancient arts and crafts, and large gruff men in full Viking attire demonstrate their ancient battle skills to anyone brave enough to challenge them.

The volunteers will help with the preparation before the festival and afterwards help the organizers to run the festival. You will receive Viking costumes to wear and different tasks to perform. Tasks will vary and include controlling the venues, giving assistance to visitors, helping the other Viking volunteers and staff in the kitchen or serving the meals. Working hours are flexible and in this project it is important to be very flexible as well. Sometimes the festival is very chaotic but the old Vikings were also known for lack of organization so that is a part of the programme.

Apart from our group of Vikings, there will be around 120 more Viking volunteers coming from all around the world! A big collection of artists will be at the Festival: warriors, bowmen, wrestlers, woodcarvers, stonemasons, blacksmiths, storytellers and enchantresses, musicians and magicians. The working hours are not completely fixed and they will be established according to the different phases of the festival.



Location: Hafnarfjörður is a town with population of 23.500 people. It is located 10 km away from the capital, Reykjavík. Hafnarfjörður takes its name (meaning Harbour-fjord) from the area's excellent natural harbour. The town is first named in the medieval "Book of Settlements," and the earliest reports of voyages to Hafnarfjörður date from the end of the 14th century. Today, Hafnarfjörður is one of the nation's largest fishing centres and the site of Iceland's first fish wholesalers' auction market.

Hafnarfjördur is famous for having one of Iceland’s largest settlements of elves, dwarves and other mystical beings, which are usually called ‘Hidden Folk.’ Centuries-old folklore has it that whole clans of such beings reside in the rocks that make up part of the town’s centre. We do not doubt this at all. Though elves are visible only to those with second sight, a great many Icelanders believe in their existence. Indeed, there is much evidence to support this belief, as stories abound of instances where new roads or housing developments were under construction and strange happenings took place. Hidden Folk enjoy a certain regard, and nowhere more so than in Hafnarfjördur. There is even a Hidden Worlds tour that takes you to their home sites, stopping at places like Hellisgerdi Park and the base of the cliff Hamarinn, which is said to be home to the Royal Family of the Hidden Folk. Along the way, the guide relates ancient folk tales of the magical hidden worlds and describes how the town grew and developed in harmony with the Hidden Folk.

Project language: English
Age range: 18 and over

More information and enrollment: www.cadip.org/volunteer-in-iceland.htm

For volunteer opportunities in other countries please go to: www.cadip.org or give us a call: 617-502-0400 (US); 604-628-7400 (Canada)