#15: Write a Letter to my First Grade Teacher

Mrs. Hill was my first grade teacher at Oak Hill Elementary in 1986. Recently while cleaning out some old boxes in the attic I found all my first grade papers. Amongst the journals Mrs. Hill made me keep, I found the letter she gave to each of us at the end of the school year. She instructed us to keep up with our math facts and read lots of books. She advised a lot of swimming and minimal TV watching. And at the bottom of this letter, it said, "Keep Writing, you can always write to Mrs. Hill, she will always want to hear from you." And it included her then current address. The letter took me back 24 years… Mrs. Hill was the greatest most patient teacher I had. I knew I had to write her.

While the letter I wrote her is personal, I didn’t think she would mind if I shared it. I mailed it a few days ago (after googling an updated address for her) and I very much hope that she writes back.

Dear Mrs. Hill,

I’m not sure if you will remember me, but you were my first grade teacher at Oak Hill Elementary in 1986. Now, 24 years later, I am about to celebrate my 30^th birthday, a milestone for any woman. To celebrate this event I started a “Thirty Before Thirty” project several months ago. It’s a list of 30 things I wanted to try or accomplish before turning 30 years old. I never imagined the journey this project would take me on when I started.

I have an ongoing blog for friends and family members to track my progress as I work through the list. Creating the blog was a suggestion from my boyfriend, and until I started it, I forgot how much I enjoy writing. You taught me to read, gave me my wings when I succeeded (which I still have), and reading has been a passionate hobby ever since. Moreover you encouraged me to write, a gift I’m grateful for. My blog is similar to the journals you made us keep every morning. I found those very same journals in the attic recently and couldn’t believe it. My spelling was atrocious, but you always seemed to know exactly what I was trying to say.

In working through this list I have faced fears and overcome challenges. It has given me reason to see my family more often, and deepen relationships with them. I have tried new things, uncovered new talents and unearthed old passions. Perhaps most important of all, it has kept me active. I’m having more fun and am happier now than I have ever been in my life. Instead of wishing my life was one way or the other, I’m making it into exactly what I want it to be. This year will no doubt be one of the best in my life.

I found the enclosed letter you gave to all of us at the end of the school year and was instantly struck by what an amazing teacher you are. I know you were my favorite teacher when I was younger, but looking back with the clarity of hindsight I can see just how much patience and love you gave to us all. I simply wanted to say Thank You, you made a strong impact on my life and I wanted to take the time to let you know how much I appreciate it.

I think we all promised to buy you a sports car if we ever won the lottery. Unfortunately I haven’t won yet, but I sincerely hope you got your sports car!

With love,

Allison Bass

Oak Hill, First Grade class of 1986

22 down; 8 to go

#27: Learn to Make Sushi

You may have noticed my best friend Mike B popping up in this blog quite often. He is always ready to try anything, which makes him great to be around, but also very helpful in terms of this list. This past weekend, while he was here to support me by running the 10k, he also brought his sushi making kit!

I fell in love with California rolls when I was in college. My then boyfriend Gary introduced me to them, and it’s been a passionate relationship ever since. (With the sushi, not Gary). Since California rolls, I have tried squid, tuna, salmon, sashimi of all kinds, eel, and octopus. I have always wanted to attempt making my own sushi, and now seemed like a good time.

To make your own sushi you need the following:

Sushi rice, any other kind just won’t do

Rice vinegar

Sugar and salt

Nori (thin sheets of seaweed)

Whatever fillers you want inside your sushi roll (typically cucumber, avocado and fish)

I made my rice on the stove, since I don’t have a rice maker. Nothing difficult here, literally just boiling water and waiting. Once it was done I let it sit 15 minutes. After that I heated the rice vinegar on the stove and dissolved 3 Tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of salt into it. I let that mix cool, and then folded it, a little at a time, into the sushi rice. Then I spread the rice out on a sheet of tinfoil.

Next, I laid out my sushi mat and placed a sheet of nori on top. I spread the rice on top of the nori, leaving just about a half inch around the sides. If you’re thinking in terms of bed linens (which I’m sure you all do) you want to spread a flat sheet of rice, not a pillow top mattress, on your nori. I ended up somewhere in between, with let’s say a down comforter layer, and it made my rolls a bit too thick.

I arranged my sliced cucumbers, avocado and crab meat on the top and was ready to roll!! (Mike B and I decided to make simple California rolls since it was our first attempt, and also because the tuna at the store looked less than appetizing). The rolling process was easier that I expected, probably due to the rice, it is seriously sticky. Using the mat, I rolled the nori as tight as I could, and then slightly wet the edges to seal the roll. After that I rolled it in plastic wrap and refrigerated.

When we decided it was time to try our creation, I pulled the roll out of the fridge and sliced it with a very sharp knife. Again, easier than I thought, but I did crush a few slices a bit too much. Above is the final product, and it was delicious. I was especially excited that Kevin asked for seconds!

I’d love to try this again. It was surprisingly easy and not too time consuming. And now that I understand the process I can start to get creative with the ingredients!

21 down; 9 to go

#16: Take a Spin Class

Wednesday night Lynda invited me to a spin class at her gym, Worldgate Fitness. I was incredibly excited to have someone to spin with, and to see the gym (it’s much nicer than mine). She arranged to get me a free pass and we showed up for our 6:30 Spin Class with Beth.

I’ve heard several people talk about their addiction to spin. I mean some people really love this class, and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. My favorite (and I use the term ‘favorite’ loosely) form of cardio has always been running. I can’t stand the elliptical machine and biking is okay but I’ve always felt like running was a better workout. But it’s boring, so if spin classes are as great as everyone says… well, count me in.

The hour long class got started right at 6:30 and we began with an easy warm up. We were doing something Beth called pedal drills. She would tell us to push on the right pedal, pulling up on the toe cage, now back to center. What? I was looking around, everyone appeared to be pedaling along just as before. Now the left side! Again, no discernable movement. I just kept pedaling.

After the quick drills and stretches we began the ladders. Beth’s voice was such that I didn’t realize she was saying ladders until about 40 minutes through the class. We would pedal away, gradually increasing the resistance as we went, and then drop back down to the beginning and do it again. The knob that you use to adjust the resistance isn’t labeled, you simply turn it clockwise for harder, and counter clockwise for easier. It took me a while to try and find a consistent level of change, but towards the end I was just getting the hang of it. After our ladders we went from flats to hills, which really seemed the same as ladders to me, but who knows. At the top of our hills we would come out of the saddle (aka the seat) which really got the thighs burning. All in all the hour went by much faster than if I had tried to do an hour of cardio on my own, and I was entertained the whole time.

A few things to mention though, let’s start with the saddle. As someone who took up horseback riding at the age of 9, I can tell you for certain, this ain’t no saddle. Saddles are relatively comfortable (at least nice ones are). This is a tiny bike seat with minimal cushioning that you will be resting your body weight on for approximately 50 minutes. It isn’t comfortable and it doesn’t feel good. Several times I was pedaling away thinking, let’s get out of the saddle, let’s get out of the saddle! Then we would, and thirty seconds later I thought, let’s get back down, ouch! Also, do they teach you motivational quips when you become certified in spin? I mean, I somewhat expected it, and it’s about the same as any other exercise class, but about halfway through I could hear Beth’s speech on repeat in my head. “Flats to hills, 7 to 9; push pull the pedals, push pull; feel up to the challenge… and recovery” with that last ‘Recoverrrry’ coming out in sing-song fashion. It gave me the giggles several times throughout the workout.

All in all, I don’t think I’ll be addicted to spin, and I still think running is cardio-king, but it was definitely fun. And a good break to the treadmill. I would do it again, but I would invest is a padded seat cover. I can’t even imagine how men attempt this….

20 down; 10 to go

#10: Eat Ethiopian Food

My dad and I had a date this past Tuesday to travel to exotic Gainesville, VA to visit Zed’s Ethiopian restaurant. We had been trying to get together for several weeks to do this, but the best Ethiopian places in our area are in Georgetown, and it’s difficult to drive in (especially on a week night) and find parking. Last week Dad emailed me that one of the best places in the city had opened a second location out west and we planned our excursion.

We headed out in a rainstorm and found the restaurant tucked in between a childcare facility and a Tae Kwon Do gym. The building was brand new and absolutely spotless. We walked in and found one other table of diners inside. We took our seat and were greeted by the manager who was so polite. We explained that we had never eaten Ethiopian before and he helped us pick our meal from there.

We started with two different appetizers. The first was dried cottage cheese curds with clarified butter and red pepper. The other was sautéed mushrooms with peppers and onions. Both came with the standard injera bread. Traditionally Ethiopian food is eaten with your hands, using the injera bread to scoop up food. Injera is made with a grain called teff and comes out in flat pancake like sheets. It is gray in color, fairly light and very spongy in consistency. It is also typically served on one platter for all diners, with everyone sharing the servings
Both appetizers were very good, especially the mushrooms. The injera was okay, and easy enough to use as a scoop. Here's what it looks like:

For our entrée the manager had suggested we get a sampler of the traditional meat and vegetable dishes. It came out on one huge platter, pictured below. Starting with the cauliflower at the top we had: cauliflower, split pea kik alicha, collard greens gomen, cabbage in sauce tikil gomen, chicken infillay, beef kaey watt, miser watt, more collards, and spicy beef alicha in the middle. And lots more injera. We dove into the meat dishes first and the chicken was delicious, it reminded me of Indian food. The beef kaey watt didn’t have much taste to it, but it was good if you added some of the red lentils (miser watt) to it. All in all the food was good, but the injera really started to weigh on me about halfway through the meal. I kept looking at it and feeling its odd texture in my hands, I knew it resembled something non-edible but I couldn’t think of what. Halfway through the meal it came to me, carpet padding. Injera bread is like that layer of foamy carpet padding they put under the carpeting during installation. After I realized that, the meal started to go downhill. Mentally I couldn’t get that thought out of my head and it was really starting to bother me, but there was no other way to get the food to your mouth without using the injera. I continued on and we finished most of the food, but I was glad when it was over.

We ordered a non-Ethiopian dessert of coffee ice cream and it helped immensely, but on the drive home I could still feel that strange spongy layer in the back of my throat. I can say conclusively at this point that while it wasn’t bad, I don’t need to eat Ethiopian food (specifically injera) ever again.

19 down; 11 to go

#4: Run a 10k

I thought adding a 10k was a great idea when I originally made this list back in March. From then I figured I had 4 months to train and would be in terrific shape by the time the race actually came along. Well, you know what they say about good intentions… Instead, my training program looked like this:

April: do nothing
May: begin running and building up distances, run a 5k
June: keep running, but less than before
July: stop all forms of exercise

I structured the weekend of the race in the following way:

Thursday: stay up late discussing life with Mike B over pizza and beer
Friday: have people over, eat more pizza, drink more beer, go to a bar and get drunk
Saturday: go to work hungover in the morning, take a nap in the afternoon
Saturday evening: eat pre race meal of wings and nachos
Sunday: wake up a 4:45 am, run 10k

As you can see I was not exactly adequately prepared for this race, but I was determined to do my best regardless. We arrived at the race site in Maryland at 6:30 on Sunday morning. The race was a part of a series of trail runs; there was a 10k, 15k, 25k, and 50k all going on that morning. (A 50k is 31 miles—in case you were wondering). We checked in, got our numbers and stood to the side to stretch nervously as we waited for things to get started.

The runners set out in waves, with the 10k participants (the largest group) starting last. We ran down a grassy field and a paved path for about ½ a mile, and then turned into the woods. The trail was a single file footpath, strewn with rocks, roots, and the occasion log lying across the path. Mentally, this race was tiring immediately because you couldn’t take your eyes off the ground for a second. All three of us (you may have noticed that Kevin and Mike B have been semi-willing participants for many of the list activities) tripped, cursed, and stumbled our way through the race.

Despite my lack of training, I felt great while running this race. It was a huge help that we were running in the woods, shaded by trees, rather than in the direct sun. There were a few steep hills that were challenging, but for the most part I was able to settle in and actually enjoy running (which almost never happens). At one point I actually started making notes to include in my blog post, leaving me to wonder if this was a case of art imitating life, or life imitating art, imitating life. Your call, Mr. Wilde. Then I started wondering why I was talking to Oscar Wilde during my run. Around that point I tripped on another root and all thoughts flew out of my head completely.

I finished this race in third place for my gender and age group*, and I felt great afterwards. Today I feel a little less great, my calves are sore and I have two sizeable blisters on the arches of my feet. In spite of the physical pain, I have the terrific feeling you get when you accomplish something that challenges you.

*Kevin said that I should mention that there were only 4 people in my gender and age group. Apparently it’s not as impressive but funnier.

18 down; 12 to go

#13: Read Anna Karenina

Finally, finally, finally I can say I have read Anna Karenina. All 817 pages of Anna Karenina, and that’s 817 pages without any pictures at all!

I considered writing a theme paper about the novel for this blog entry, and even letting Dave grade it, as the foremost English teacher in the family. But there are so many themes in this book that writing said paper might end up being as long as the actual novel, and none of you would be all that interested, having never read it for yourself. In fact, I concluded that since I am fairly certain I’m the only one who has read this book, I can say whatever I want about it and none of you will know the difference.

So, Anna Karenina is a novel about robots who learn to love…. No wait, that’s Android Karenina! That’s not a lame joke, that’s an actual book written by the same author who wrote Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Have you seen these books? I have no idea what they are about, but the cover art (skeletons in 19th century dress) really freaks me out.

Back to the point, Anna Karenina’s main theme is Happiness. Tolstoy examines the relationships between work, love, society and family; and how each may create or hinder happiness. At the time Tolstoy was searching for meaning in his own life and it comes through in the novel. The most famous quote from the book is its first line:

“Happy families are all alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Halfway through the novel I was convinced that Tolstoy was trying to convey that whatever you think will make you happy, will actually make you miserable. Three quarters through the book, I was convinced. The novel follows three families, all related to each other. It opens with the Oblonskys. The husband, Stiva, is having multiple affairs and his wife, Dolly, finds out. She doesn’t feel as though she can forgive him, but she also cannot leave him because of her children. Instead she grows to despise him. Dolly’s sister, Kitty, is unmarried at the start of the novel. Stiva’s friend Levin is in love with her and proposes, but Kitty is infatuated with a young officer, Vronsky, and hopes he will propose, so she refuses Levin. Later Levin (whose character opposes Anna’s in almost every measure) does marry Kitty once she realizes Vronsky never had any intention of proposing. Meanwhile, Stiva’s sister, Anna Karenina is married with a young son. Vronsky meets her and immediately falls in love. He and Anna begin an affair, she leaves her husband, he takes her son, society rejects her for her actions, she has a daughter with Vronsky that she cannot love, Vronsky becomes distant and she ends up {SPOILER ALERT} killing herself. The end.

Was that summary too confusing? I tried to keep it as short as possible.

Tolstoy’s goal was “to present this woman [Anna] as not guilty, but merely pitiful.” I can’t say that he succeeded, at least looking through the lens of modern day. Anna Karenina is unlikable as a character. While at rare times the reader may feel a bit of sympathy for her, for the most part she acts selfishly. Even though she is only trying to pursue her own happiness she ends up hurting those around her. I know she was stuck in an unhappy marriage with a cold man, but to forsake her son for her lover is low. She becomes so unhappy living out of wedlock with Vronsky, rejected by society, estranged from her son, and consumed with the thought that she might lose Vronsky that she kills herself, both to escape her fate and to punish him for a perceived lack of attention. I struggled to feel empathy.

Meanwhile, Levin (or Koysta, Demitri, Konstantine….everyone in Russia has 17 different names) becomes our protagonist. It is also interesting to note that Levin’s character is written as a semi autobiographical portrayal of Tolstoy’s own beliefs. He lives a simple country life on his estate, doing honest work (farming) rather than holding a superfluous post in the city for which he is overpaid. He loves Kitty and eventually wins her love in return. He wants to do what is right and moral in regards to the peasants who work his land. And although he is agnostic at the start of the novel, he does wish to know the meaning of his life and what it is that he is living for. In end, although he is happy in marriage, work, and has a baby son, he contemplates killing himself. What? These Russians are miserable, and the Bolshevik revolution hasn’t even happened yet… hold on Levin, it’s going to get worse! Rather than kill himself though, Levin finally has an epiphany and finds purpose in living for God and achieves happiness and fulfillment.

Am I glad I read this book? Going into it, I thought it was a love story about the strong and beautiful Anna Karenina. Turns out, she isn’t strong or particularly beautiful, and this ain’t no love story. It’s more of an examination of happiness, living for God, and a commentary on the debate over the role of peasants in society. Before I answer I’d like to share Tolstoy’s own thoughts on his masterpiece. Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina in installments (published in the Russian Messenger) from 1874-1877. His eager start to the novel began to slow towards the end of this time, due mainly to the changes going on in his personal life. Tolstoy was saddened by the loss of several relatives (three of them children), and became more and more occupied with providing an education for the peasants that worked his land. He also underwent a spiritual epiphany at this time and renounced the Russian Orthodox Church. He eventually gave up all his property and possessions, became a vegetarian, and practiced celibacy. Anna’s story of aristocracy and the over indulgence of society was of little interest to him. In November 1875, Tolstoy wrote to a friend, “My God, if only someone would finish Anna Karenina for me. Unbearably repulsive.”

While I won’t go as far as Tolstoy, am I glad I read this book? No, not really. Portions were entertaining, and it certainly started off well; but somewhere in the middle it became somewhat muddled and began to stall. Towards the end it became clear that there would be few, if any, resolutions to the questions brought up, and that Tolstoy did not intend to tie up all of the loose ends. Tolstoy left his novel true to real life, complete with messy story lines that aren’t completely resolved and characters who never learn anything.

In related news, I did hear that a play adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s “The Demons” is coming to New York this summer, if anyone’s interested. It’s 12 hours long and completely in Italian.

17 down; 13 to go

#22: Go Skinny Dipping

Text from Mandy:
It's dark, you should go skinny dipping.

Text reply to Mandy:
Done :)



16 down; 14 to go

#20: Plant an Herb Garden

I was looking forward to this item on the list because I like having fresh herbs to cook with, but also because I knew it would be one of the easier tasks to complete. …And then I forgot to do it until mid-July. As it turns out, mid-July is a little late in the season to be buying herbs, so what I’ve ended up with is a motley collections of herbs.


Tarragon is on the bottom left. I did want tarragon for the garden, I cook with it fairly often in the spring and summer. Tarragon, also called dragon’s wort or dragon’s herb, is one of the four primary herbs used in French cooking.

Peppermint is on the bottom right. Peppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between watermind and spearmint. As a hybrid, it is sterile and doesn’t produce any seeds. Peppermint has a high menthol content and is commonly used in tea, and ice cream.

Parsley is on the upper right. I think everyone is familiar with parsley, its commonly used as a garnish in European and American cooking. Its tea can also be used for an enema. Mmmm!

Lavender is on the upper left. This particular type of Lavender is Munstead Lavender, which is able to tolerate heat better than other varieties. It is the best smelling herb in the pot. It can’t really be used for cooking, its primary uses are for perfumes and potpourris.

I had originally wanted to plant thyme, oregano, and possibly cilantro… but I guess lavender, parsley, and peppermint will have to do. Herb garden complete, and that means we’re officially halfway through the list!!

15 down; 15 to go

More Updates...

Is this list getting longer? I feel like it is, 25 days and counting and so much left to do. But I committed to finishing so I’ll do whatever it takes to get it done. The hard half of the list (skydiving, camping, Fenway) is over, so it’s just about time management now. Here are a few updates…

• Fundraising!!! I think all of you should have gotten a compelling letter from me by now, inviting you to visit my donation site: www.firstgiving.com/allisonbass. I’m raising money for The Water Project to do what I can for the African water crisis. It’s a good cause, for most impoverished communities in Africa they are living on top of water and money is the only barrier to reaching it. The Water Project doesn’t just provide wells, they set up a community board to govern the well’s use, employ local labor to build the wells, and teach the residents sanitary habits. It may seem simple since we’ve never been without easy access to clean water, but it changes everything in third world countries. So please contribute. A donation of just $10 provides water for one person for TEN years!!
• The 10k is set for July 18th. Currently I feel like I can run about -1 miles. I haven’t been running much at all because I’ve been so busy at work and travelling every weekend. All I can say is at least I didn’t put ‘run a marathon’ on the list. At this point it’s just going to be a huge mental challenge to push myself through it, which is why I’ve enlisted the help of both Kevin and Mike B, who are both extremely mentally tough. I can count on them to make sure I finish, even if I don’t want to after mile 3.
• Skinny dipping. I think it would be weird if I told you all my plans for this one. Also, I want to inform you all in advance, this post will have no pictures.
• French Wine. I’ve been working my way through the major wine regions in France, which by the way is counter-productive to my 10k training. I’m sure finishing off a few more bottles in the next weeks won’t be a problem. This is one of the easiest, and most relaxing, items on the list.
• Anna, Anna, Anna… who told me this was a love story? They lied. This is a commentary on the social, political, and economic climates of 1870s Russia! It’s long, it’s fairly boring, and lately Anna’s character is really starting to annoy me. Oh, I want to live with my lover, but I don’t want to divorce my husband and I miss my son… blah blah blah, stop being so selfish. Anyway, I have about 150 pages to go, should be done by next week.

#3: Leave the gun. Take the Cannoli. (aka watch all three Godfather movies)

Several folks were shocked that I had never seen the Godfather trilogy when they saw it on the list. Well, I was -8 years old when the first movie came out, so I think that has something to do with it. But given the fact that several people rank the first Godfather as the greatest movie ever made, I thought it would be worth a try. So here’s the review:

This movie is absolutely amazing. I watched it and immediately wanted to watch it again. I couldn’t get enough Brando. I know some of the actors weren’t well known at the time (the studio adamantly refused to cast Pacino, but Coppola threatened to walk away from the project), but what an all-star cast! I can’t imagine what this movie would have become with Ernest Borgnine as Don Corleone, or worse, Robert Redford as Michael (both of whom Paramount wanted to cast).

Best of all, I now have an appreciation for all the famous lines commonly quoted. “Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.” “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” And best of all:

"I don't care how many dago guinea WOP greaseball gumbas come out of the woodwork! [Tom: I'm German-Irish] Well let me tell you something, my Kraut Mick friend! I'm gonna make so much trouble for you, you won't know what hit you!"

The second movie was also good, but I found myself more excited for the scenes with Deniro as a young Vito Andolini than for Pacino’s scenes. And the third movie sort of lost me, granted it was made in 1990, 16 years after Part II debuted. But the Vatican, really Coppola? It was a little too much for me.

This trilogy and its heavy impact on pop culture got me thinking about which movies have done the same for my generation. Another tale involving an Italian American family of bandits (the Fratellis) comes to mind. The Goonies is just pure quality, and always fun to quote in a room full of 25-35 year olds. Example, next time you want your friends’ attention, just shout ‘Hey You Guys’ Sloth-style. Problem solved. Yup, Goonies, best movie of my generation. Well, that or Spaceballs. I mean, there are two sides to every Schwartz.

quattordici down; sedici to go