Rebecca A. Foster

I don't think we're meant to live without heartache. What kind of literature, art, poetry and music would we have if we never felt bad? I missed Cool Girl 101 class, where you learn to get involved with people you don't get attached to, not care what their response is when you say how you really feel, forget in an instant everything about someone you cared about, and always say and do the 'cool' and 'right' thing. What was I doing instead? Probably a Lit class. I'm not a cool girl at all. (Side-story) Saving the hardest moving task for last: getting rid of a large percentage of my library. Turns out I'm not only really attached to my books, I'm attached to the identity they formed for me. I'm not giving away paper, I'm giving away my sense of self . I've felt pangs of anxiety just sorting the books for donation, nevermind a single sheet of paper hasn't left my house. But the anxiety means I MUST do it. It's not healthy to...

This article from today's NYT talks about possible new firefighting tactics being tested due to the change in furniture materials over the last few decades. Today's furniture burns differently than in the past, which affects ventilation and how quickly the fire burns. It also affects how toxic the smoke is. I got interested in firefighting and emergency services when I moved out on my own and realized I was now solely responsible for my safety in my home. Luckily I lived across the street from a firehouse with some really friendly guys who worked there so I had the chance to talk to them about it. I was also interested in it from a community standpoint, because I was doing work with refugees and other non-English speakers. I got a chance to talk to some firefighters in a forum about my questions and they also taught me a lot. It helped me feel more safe to understand what causes fires and how they are put out. (How they are put out: call 911.)  Just like after my dad d...

An article from the NYTimes last Friday , a roundup up of technological innovations on the horizon. This one startled me: "You need a lot of water to put out a sizable blaze, and the chemicals used in fire extinguishers can be toxic (halons, the most effective chemical fire suppressant, create holes in the ozone layer). So the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency at the Pentagon has developed a hand-held wand that snuffs out fires, without chemicals. According to the program’s manager, Dr. Matt Goodman, an electric field destabilizes the flame’s underlying structure rather than blanketing the fire to smother it. Eventually, the technology could be used to create escape routes or extinguish fires without damaging sensitive equipment nearby." (#27) Will it be possible to someday install these electrical field generators in buildings and if you have a fire, you flip a switch to extinguish it? Call me small-minded, but it never occurred to me there are other ways to put ...

A fun and interesting thing I got to do in NYC was visit a firehouse in Washington Heights, near the bridge. I was able to learn more about the tools the FDNY uses specific to their area, such as air bags for pushing subway cars away from trapped people. I also got to see how the aerial ladder works and learn more about their response to different kinds of emergencies. The truck is amazing (and the people who use it). One thing that struck me is that the tools they use were thought up by someone to get a job done, and then picked up by others and became the standard. That's really cool. I tried on a helmet and coat and it was so heavy--I can't imagine wearing all of that gear in the summer. (I'm holding a halligan, one of my favorite tools I never use.) The helmet was a lot heavier than I expected. Very solid. It made me appreciate how much we have in America. We are so lucky and privileged to have prepared, professional response teams such as the FDNY, the best o...

I'd never heard of Magnum bars before I went to China, but they quickly became my favorite treat. One of my favorite ways to spend an weeknight evening was meeting up with R., J. and V. for dinner in R.'s neighborhood, then walking off dinner before crashing at a beer garden for some late night laughs. I spent more than one night searching for Magnums at every little ice cream seller we came across; more often than not, no Magnums, so when we DID find them, that made the evening all the better. I "mmmm"-ed all over the place. So of course when I saw Magnums in my local grocery several weeks ago, I excitedly took a phone pic to send to R: Magnums! In the U.S.! Worlds collide! In my humble ice cream opinion, they are better than Haagen Daz bars. I recommend the coffee ones, if you can find them.

Ma La girls like hot pot. I had a hot pot dinner party at my house this past week, with spices I brought home from Chongqing. (I saved the wrappers and I'll be taking them to the Asian market to see if they can order more for me.) Here is the food table, next to the eating table. In China the plates of food for hot pot come out on a multi-tiered cart, but because I don't have one of those, I used a card table. There are meatballs, little smokies, lotus, rice sticks, quail's eggs, noodles, squids, and two kinds of tofu. (We also had golden mushrooms and chicken pieces but those were already on the table.) Here is a shot of the table set up. I bought an induction cooker to use in my apartment, because that's the kind of cooker I had in China and I found I prefer it to the convection cooking more popular here in America. I used it that night for the hot pot; not only is it portable to the table, but inductions don't get hot like convections so no one was going to ...

Those of you who have been reading this blog a while know that in San Antonio I lived across the street from a firehouse. Most homes in my neighborhood were gated estates set back from the road, but I walked everywhere I could and ran in my neighborhood at night, so the firefighters would often see me outside and we'd say hello, and then chat a bit, and then we became friends. One year I couldn't go home for Thanksgiving and when they found out, invited me over to have Thanksgiving dinner with them. I brought pumpkin pound cake and we had a delicious dinner. (Firefighters are awesome cooks.) I was pretty honored they'd ask me to join them, and it remains a memorable Thanksgiving. I'm sure it's the only Thanksgiving I'll ever spend in a firehouse. I feel like firehouses are special places; they are setup up just to protect and help. Especially after living overseas, I appreciate that we have these places, and people willing to serve in them. I think nothing rea...

Well, according to your comments, of those who stated a preference, half prefer window and half prefer aisle. You window people, I admire your bladder control! In my last post I mentioned that Shanghai is more developed than NYC. I’ve never lived in NYC, only visited two or three times a year for work or pleasure. I’ve been once to Shanghai. So, that’s my background in both cities. Here are a few reasons I think Shanghai is more developed: 1. The maglev train . As of this writing, the maglev in Shanghai is the fastest train in the world. It runs 268 - 310 miles per hour. There’s a station at the airport, and it takes seven minutes to get from the airport to the city. Now, can you imagine arriving at JFK and getting to Penn Station in seven minutes, for $6.00? How nice would that be? 2. Transport cards. In Shanghai, you can buy one refillable card and use it to pay for the subway, buses, or taxis. So convenient! I especially love that you can pay for a taxi with them, I hate carrying a...

On 9/11 I had no idea what to say publicly. I hurt inside for those that still hurt. Especially for the ones I know personally. It's a difficult day for so many. I lit a candle for them in my living room. I wish I could tell them I was thinking of them that day.

Firehouses are beautiful to me for their unique architectural and historical place in society. Unlike office buildings, restaurants, and sometimes even churches, no two firehouses are exactly alike even though most of them provide the same services. Pretty cool!   Many firehouses in NYC are listed on the historic register. Using a historical register guide, I took myself on a walking tour, taking photographs along the way. (The picture at left is one of them.)  Once or twice someone working inside saw me taking pictures and talked with me about the history of the fire companies and the firehouse in that neighborhood. I loved hearing more about the neighborhoods and the people who have lived in these houses.  If you want to see more of my pictures of NYC firehouses, click here. 

My dream living space has these two items in it:  Brass fire hose couplings, as bookends or paper weights: An old library card catalogue, as a storage space for desk supplies and odds and ends: I love the idea of using an old item meant for one thing as something else. Also, recycled items. I think it brings a nice ambience and karma into your home to have items that were used and loved by someone else. 

Some friends made me this apron. I already thought it was hilarious, and then I saw the backside: Who the hell makes fabric of a guy pulling his pants off? What exactly do they think you'd make out of this? A quilt? Anyway, it's my favorite apron anyone's ever given me. My friends, they rule.

I spent a 12-hour shift at a local firehouse as part of my EMT-B clinicals. This schedule is posted on their bulletin board. Sunday's task still makes me chuckle. (Click pic to enlarge. And no beer in the firehouse, btw, also a joke.) Although, logically, wouldn't #1 need to be on the schedule only once?? (btw, it is not any warmer on the East Coast than out West. Drat. And if you're wondering why I am inside instead of out wandering about: back sore from the long plane ride. And if my spine doesn't straighten out on it's own, will have to do therapy, so trying to take it easy. Hope to get some good picture taking time in later this week, though.)

I have no idea what this is, but I like it. NYC Fire Museum.

I'm a tool junkie. I think I get this from my grandfather, who was a railroad mechanic and had a separate shed to house his many and diverse tools. When we visited, I loved going out to the workshop with grandpa and having him show me the tools and how to use them. He passed them down to my dad, who has now passed them down to us. My third favorite tool is the rock cutter, because I went through a geode phase and while out with my grandpa on walks I would pick up rocks I thought had crystals inside. My grandpa cut open a lot of plain old river rocks for me. He was a good grandpa. My second favorite tool is the ratcheting socket wrench, any size. I like the sound it makes and how practical it is for getting in small spaces. It suits me. My favorite tool is the halligan, pictured here. It is a firefighting tool use to break through doors and windows and whatever else needs busting into. (I am simplifying because I am not a firefighter so I can only say what I have been told.) I lo...