3/21/09

At the Underground Library. Right now Nell and two of the other girls are planning stuff. In July, the ALA (American Library Association) is having their annual conference in Chicago, so the CUL and other local underground libraries are banding together and trying to get involved and go to their big luncheon. They're not ALA members but they think it's really important for the Radical Reference groups to get involved and be represented. So that's what they're planning right now. I am just sitting and eavesdropping, and from 1-4 me and some other people are going to catalog. I really like the people who work here- it's definitely more of an indie/art/nerd crowd than a punk thing, but in spirit the organization is the same.

Thursday night I interviewed Nell, and it was really good. It was more of a conversation than an interview, really, but I did ask the questions I wrote earlier. She talked a lot about the larger plan behind the library, about how the real point of it is to take the fragmented, cliquey nature of the scenes in Chicago and connect them through this collection of books and magazines and journals and zines. The problem with Chicago, she says, is that while there is a lot of stuff going on, it is very, very segregated- people hang out with their little group of friends and no one really tries to go between groups or collaborate or anything. So her philosophy is, through their cataloging system, part of which is based on the use of keywords, stuff from all the different groups can be put together in ways that wouldn't normally happen. I don't know, she explains it much better than I do.

All of this stuff is making me extra-confident about the whole library career thing. This is exactly the kind of thing I would like to do.

I have about a week left, which seems good. I'm starting to feel ready to take all the stuff I've learned and collected and put it all together, and to go home.

3/16/09

So. It's Tuesday night, and I am in Logan Square, sitting at the CUL cataloging meeting. Annie's coming to get me in a minute, so I'll make this quick.. I got here at like 6 and met everyone. Nell, my contact, showed me around and taught me how to catalog stuff through GoogleDocs. It's a pretty small space- just a storefront, with a small downstairs for storage, a little kitchen/bathroom in the back, and a loft for their artist-in-residence to sleep in (there's no one here this month, because this space is really new, but there will be in April.) Two other projects are run out of the space- the artist-in-residence thing, which is called Incubate, and a bi-annual newspaper called Area.

The CUL collection is here, but not in order, because they're waiting for some dude to build a modular shelving unit. Instead of using Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress, they catalog using a system the invented, which Nell is going to explain to me later. So, all the stuff they're doing on GoogleDocs is basically just data entry so all the books and zines are in the online system. I'm going there on Thursday to interview Nell and have her explain the cataloging system to me, and then just to hang out and meet other people who volunteer.

During the day today I mostly walked around Andersonville, which is just south of Edgewater, the neighborhood I'm staying in. Went to a coffee shop and a couple nice cemeteries. It was unseasonably warm, like 60 degrees. I hope it stays like this.

Oh, I think I forgot to mention this: Amanda from Arise emailed me back her interview responses, and they are FUCKING GREAT. Chris also said he wanted to do it, so I'm waiting to here back from him. His should be one of the best, I think.

3/14/09

So. Day three in Chicago. Most of what I've done so far has been family-related non-punk stuff....my aunt is really excited that I've finally come to visit her for more than like 3 days, so we've done a lot of sight seeing (Grant Park where the Obama acceptance speech was, the Cultural Center so we could see the Tiffany glass ceiling, etc.).

Yesterday, we found where the Underground Library was...luckily, it's really close to the el stop and I only have to make one transfer, so it should be an easy commute. I feel like it will much easier to get around here than it was in Minneapolis, partly because I'm used to Chicago and I've had a decent amount of experience with navigating the el, and partly because public transportation here is much, much better than in Minneapolis. There, all they have is a bus system, and not a very good one. I'm way more comfortable with trains than I am with buses...trains are on a track and go in a straight line. Who knows what the fuck is going on with buses?

So, I am in the midst of emailing the Underground Library (heretofore known as the CUL, because that's way faster) right now. They're only open to the public on Saturdays, but there are usually events throughout the week- there's a public Cataloging Social on the 17^th, and a potluck on the 19^th, so I'll definitely be going to both of those. I'm also asking if they want me to come by during the day throughout the week to work...the more the better, of course.

More later. I'm sleepy.

3/2/09

Today, I emailed The Chicago Underground Library and The Chicago Indie Radio Project to confirm that I'm coming in two weeks and everything. I also emailed Amanda from Arise to say thanks for everything, and I sent her the interview questions. She also knows some cool people in Chicago, so hopefully she'll give me their contact info.

I've been back for about 8 days now. I tried to sort of take a mental break from my project and decompress- it's really hard to think about something so big and conceptual and abstract all the time, and I was feeling kind of mentally exhausted. But everyone just kept asking me how my trip was and what I was doing next, so it was pretty impossible to take the mental break I wanted. Oh well. I guess my plan is to kind of lay low until I leave again on the 12^th...I guess I'm worried that I'm going to get burnt out and sick of thinking about all of this stuff unless I just force myself not to. So, if you like me and care about my mental well-being: please, for the love of god, don't try to talk to me about punk rock for the next ten days. Thank you.

2/20/09

So, today is my last day. We leave tomorrow morning, earlyish. Mkl's been here since Wednesday afternoon, which has been really nice (obviously) and also useful, because now that I have a car it's much easier to get around. I was totally over walking 3 miles a day. I've also gotten to go to some of the places on my list that weren't in walking distance, so that was good. We went to May Day books today, which is a kind of historical underground/political bookstore that's been around since the 60's or 70's. It's not really inherently punk, but it's definitely radical and carries some of the same stuff as Arise, especially the drier political manifesto type stuff.

Last night, we went to dinner at Bedlam with Ann. Bedlam is primarily a theater- sort of like the punk equivalent of the BPP. They do a lot of local productions and puppeteering stuff, and were founded by sort of the first wave of the DIY movement in Minneapolis. There wasn't a play or anything that night, but they serve food, too, and we went mostly just to get a sense of what it's like there. We had pierogi...it ruled.

I'm pretty much done at Arise, except tonight I'm going to the bi-weekly volunteer meeting. There's a show afterward, too, so I'll probably stay for that. I finished my zine-labeling project yesterday; it looks really nice. Everyone was grateful because I guess they had been meaning to organize the zines for like, years. I've emailed a bunch of people about doing interviews, and I've gotten a few responses so far, all positive. Most people didn't have time to do it before I left, so they'll end up happening via email like I thought.

2/14/09

Let myself sleep in this morning and got to Arise around 1:30. The girl working today, Amelia, was hanging out with her two bandmates and making buttons, and we got along really well. She finally gave me an assignment- organizing all the zines by category. That took me about two hours, but it looks really good now. I also met Amanda, who had been my contact before I got here. She's really cool and gave me contact info for someone who used to work here who has kids, so I'll definitely follow up on that next week.

Last night, Ann called me and asked if I wanted to hang out at the Hard Times, which is this punk restaurant/cafe that works on the same self-serve basis as the Seward. It definitely had the best atmosphere of all the places I've been to so far- good music, lots of punks and crazy people, and it's open until 4 in the fucking morning, which rules. If I lived here, I would definitely hang out there all the time.

Tonight I'm going to this Valentine's Day show at the Triple Rock, which is this kind of famous bar/venue. It's not really a punk show, though...we'll see how it goes.

2/12/09

Day three at Arise. I spent yesterday just walking around the area, pretty much going into every place that seemed cool. Probably walked about 3.5 miles total. I went to this record store, Extreme Noise, that everyone kept telling me to go to, but it was kind of lame and only had hardcore punk.

One thing that I've noticed is that there really is no “folk punk” movement here- it's more rocker/hardcore types and activists. I guess this is more common in cities, even smallish ones like Minneapolis- things tend to have kind of a harder edge, even within small co-operative communities. A label like Plan-It-X probably couldn't exist here, at least not in the same way it did in Bloomington. That element of communal support and the sense that everyone around you is encouraging you doesn't really seem to be here. Maybe that just comes with the territory of being in a scene with this many people- here, people do seem to be more separated within their specific subgroups (i.e., all the political people, all the hardcore kids, all the artsy people) with much less mingling in between.

The scene in Bloomington is kind of a phenomenon, just by virtue of the fact that it's so active but still very small. We kind of had one of everything-one bookstore, one main label, one zine library, one publishing company, one coffeeshop, which I think really brought people together. Here, there are so many different coffeeshops in so many different areas that there's really no way to have one unified group.

It's still a great model, though, because there are a lot of very cool organizations here. Unfortunately, a lot of them have closed down either due to funding issues or because of raids and other scary stuff that happened around the RNC, but that's sort of inevitable, I think. Places close, everything kind of settles down for a while, and then new people start new stuff. I'm hoping that's what happens in Bloomington, too.

Anyway. The guy working today, Jason, is really cool. He has kids and is going to let me interview him about raising a family in the punk scene. The main focus of my project has shifted a little, because I realized the thing that's most interesting to me is stuff like that- how (or if) people can grow up in this movement without compromising their values. The official title of the project is now: “Social sustainability within the D.I.Y punk movement.” Good, right?

Also, I got into Collins. Sweet.

2/9/09

So, right now I am sitting at Arise, in the back meeting room. It's my first day. I got here like an hour ago and introduced myself to Emily, who works the first Monday shift. We go along immediately and she seemed into my project. I think she's kind of steampunk/post-goth, if the fact that she's listening to Joy Division right now is any indication. I like her.

We talked for a while about the climate of the scene in Minneapolis, because I told her that it seemed like a really vital, active community, and she talked about how things have changed in the past year or so. I guess since the RNC, people have felt more paranoid and aware of security issues, because there was a real crackdown on punk houses and establishments (though not Arise, kind of amazingly) right before. I told her that it was kind of the opposite in Bloomington- people are really paranoid about cops and government infiltration, but most of them (save for the serious activist types, like the whole anti-I-69 crowd) totally don't need to be.

I did some zine shopping- I am in desperate need of reading material, and while I'm here I've resolved to only read zines and other punk-related stuff.

So, in summary, my first day is going well. The only thing I'm really worried about is fucking up my bus schedule on the way home. I walked here- it's about a mile and some change, a totally easy walk and about the same distance as the walk from my house to downtown back home, but for some reason, the idea of trudging back as it's getting dark out is less appealing. I might do it anyway, just because it's simpler. Luckily, I'm staying in an insanely safe neighborhood, so as long as I get there around dark, I'll be fine.

Oh, and I guess I should write about Chris and Patty-

I moved in last night and so far it's been great. I was anticipating some homesickness and the like, since it was my first night on my own, but they made me feel totally comfortable and awesome. They're both crazy English teacher types- Chris works in the theater dept. at a public high school, and he would definitely fit in at Harmony. He reminds me of Tom, actually, but a little more cheerful. Patty is a freelance writer who also teaches at a local college, and she's really sweet and totally accommodating. They both get how it can be weird to go live with total strangers, and they're really aware of making me feel as at home as possible. They also have a 15 year old son named Kelly, who is really into skiing and stuff like that. I was kind of worried about whether or not I would be capable of getting along with a teenage boy, especially one who's into sports, but he's obviously really smart and doesn't act like a jock at all.

Okay, more later.

2/7/09

So, we arrived in Minneapolis last night. My mom and I are staying with our friend Ann until Sunday, when mom will go home and I'll move to Chris and Patty's. Today, we went to the Seward Cafe for breakfast. It's a cooperatively run restaurant that's been around since 1974, so it's definitely considered one of the most important mainstays of the scene in Minneapolis. They also have a co-op grocery nearby. The restaurant is totally DIY in the most literal sense- you look at the menu, write down your order on a piece of paper, pay at the cash register, pick up your food and silverware and stuff, and bus your own table. Very cool.

After that, we went to this lake a little ways outside the city where they do this art shanty project 5 weekends a year. Basically, people set up these little shacks on the lake (which is covered in ice like 2 ft. deep) with different themes- there was a word-themed shanty with a book exchange, a pedal-powered coffee shanty, a “make your own map” shanty...stuff like that. Not necessarily punk, but definitely very do-it-yourself.

After that, we went to Chris and Patty's so we could meet them and talk about logistical stuff. They were really cool- they're both teachers and involved in writing/theater, and they totally got what my project was about (which kind of amazed me, because most people are like, “what”?) I think I'll get along with them really well. Arise is about a 20 minute walk away, with a lot of coffee shops and bookstores and stuff in between. I'm started to get a good sense of where stuff is, geographically, which makes things seem much less daunting.

Tomorrow- mom's leaving and I'm relocating to Chris and Patty's. I'm a little nervous about being left here all alone, but it definitely helps that I've met the people I'm staying with and been to their house and stuff- just knowing where I'm going to be makes it much less scary. I'm really not into unknowns.

Not exactly senior project related, but worth mentioning nonetheless because it means one less thing for me to worry about: I got into IU. Hell yeah.

 Some more relevant stuff:
-Emailed back and forth with Patty, the woman whose family I'll be staying with. Everything's set and ready, and she seems really nice, which is good because I'm leaving in TEN DAYS. Whoah, dude. It kind of snuck up on me.
-Spent today Mapquesting all the places on Marshall and Nona's list for Minneapolis and figuring out their proximity to each other, so I can group them together and visit them on different days. Amanda, my contact at Arise! (who Chris has met and says is very cool) says that I can come by and work pretty much every day and that she's going to think of some cool projects for me to work on. They're open 11-9, so I think I'll go about 4 days a week for 4 or 5 hours. The days I'm not working, I'll spend exploring the city and going to the places on the list. If there are shows, which I'm sure there will be, I'll definitely go to those. Music, especially the communal aspect of seeing bands live, is a really big part of the punk scene, so it's something I feel like I need to experience there.
-Also worked on some boring stuff like getting a debit card so I can travel easier there (I spent like 45 minutes at the bank today) and getting more warm-weather gear. I feel pretty ready to go.

1/9/09

Now that I'm officially on my project (and leaving for Minneapolis in less than a month!) I figure it's time to start updating this thing more regularly. So, here's where I'm at now:
-Chris emailed me back and agreed to be my mentor. He seemed pretty interested in what I'm doing, which is awesome. It's a pretty encouraging feeling.
-My friends Marshall and Nona from the band Dark Dark Dark wrote me a list of cool places in Minneapolis that I should check out. They lived there until very recently, so they know what they're talking about.
-My housing situation is totally set up. Ann, the woman I know in Minneapolis, got some friends of hers to agree to put me up. Their names are Chris and Patti, and if I'm not mistaken they have a kid a couple years older than me in college, whose room I'll be staying in.
-I'm leaving for Minneapolis on February 6th. In the meantime, my plan is to:
1) Email Chris and Patty directly about me staying at their house
2) Email all the places I'm volunteering at just so they don't forget I exist
3) Write the interview questions I'm going to ask important people in Minneapolis
4) Go to Microcosm and pick up a lot of zines (for research)


11/6/08

So, since I last updated:
I got an email back from Sister's Camelot in Minneapolis, so I'll be volunteering there, too.
I also talked to my mom about my concerns about Minneapolis and being alone, and we decided that she'll come up with me for the first few days to help me settle in, figure out my train schedule, etc. I think that will definitely be easier than just showing up there and figuring everything out by myself, which sounds pretty overwhelming. Of course, I wouldn't have any problems if I had someone in the city waiting for me who I was staying with, but because Ann (whose room I'm staying in) will be gone while I'm there, it'll be really good for my mom to be there for a day or two at first.
Earlier today, I emailed Chris and asked him to be my mentor. I hope he says yes- if he doesn't, I have a backup, but he would be perfect.

10/15/08

So far, I've gotten emails back from Arise! Bookstore and Twin Cities Indymedia, two really cool places with a lot of volunteers in common. The idea of working within one social network definitely appeals to me- I have a touch of agoraphobia and I'm pretty shy and awkward around people I don't know, so I think it'll be good for me to have one sort of base group of people to work with. I'm sure that like a lot of scenes, everyone will know everyone else and it won't be hard to meet people, especially if I go to shows and events and stuff.

My one concern is safety- the prospect of being pretty much alone in a city that I don't know very well is pretty scary for me. Of course I'll be totally careful (I am, some might say, overly cautious about my own safety) and never walk home alone at night and carry mace and all that, but for me it's more of an emotional thing. I'm a total homebody. I don't even like to spend the night at people's houses. It's not like I get homesick or anything, it's just like...I like to be where I feel safe. And of course, going into a project that's inevitably full of unknowns, there's kind of this looming anxiety. It's definitely going to force me to grow up a lot, which is good. But also terrifying.

Chicago, I'm less anxious about. I've been there a million times, I'll be staying with family, it's closer to home. I'm sure I'll develop different anxieties about Chicago when it's closer to happening, haha.


10/2/08

Sent out emails to Sister's Camelot, Arise! Bookstore, and the Belfry Center in Minneapolis, and to The Chicago Underground Library in Chicago. Some places want volunteers to call rather than email, so if I don't get responses from my first choice places, I'll call my second choices. And, of course, I'll call my first choice places as well.