To the Graduates: A time capsule of life and advice

From a time when we could attend commencements in person and get sunburned. Photo by the author.

"Bloom where you're planted."

// attributed to St. Frances of Sales, Bishop of Geneva (1567-1622)

Graduation ceremonies were pretty different this year. Instead of baking under the sun or freezing in the rain, friends and family members sat in front of their computers, dressed in their caps and gowns. Their names were not mispronounced in front of their classmates and colleagues. Speeches were shorter than usual, since giving (or watching) Zoom speeches can be ... well, you know. Acting as dean, my cousin moved the tassel of his daughter’s mortarboard from one side to the other. She and many others have graduated, but this year's milestone was muted by pandemic, injustice, and unrest.

In these strange times, I offer the words of friends who, four years ago, shared glimpses of their college lives with me. For various reasons, those words had been forgotten and unread until now -- but I am so glad I rediscovered this treasure trove. Although these friends wrote during pre-pandemic times, their stories remain relevant. They spoke of uncertainty and disillusionment. They spoke of hope, and even assurance, in the midst of the expanse of life ahead of them.

Here I have included a curated portion of their responses, which are lightly edited but still speak for themselves. I only regret that, for attention span's sake, I am not able to include more of the words and stories I received. (I originally asked sixteen questions.) Some of the participants permitted me to use their first names or first initials, while others chose to remain anonymous. See the bottom of the post for some more information about them.

Whether you are in the class of 2020, the class of 2016, or are simply going through a transition, I invite you to explore this time capsule with me.

And in the time-honored tradition of graduation songs that stir up memories and nostalgia, I've included some musical accompaniment for this look to the past, in order to look forward.

Buried in snow, so where does it go?

Hello from the land of snow, snow, and more snow that is Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

We've had the snowiest month ever (98.7" and counting), the second snowiest winter ever (see graphic), and more white stuff is on its way as we speak.  Plus some rain and above-freezing temperatures tomorrow to throw some snow melt and ice in the wintry mix.

The stats (updated daily by the city):

285,728 miles plowed

74,862 tons of salt

174,725 hours plowed

98.7 inches (8.225 feet) total snow fall

While this 'winter from hell' (aka Snowmageddon, among other names) is already a cliched subject in the news, as a visual person and student of the built environment, I have still had lingering questions.  For instance, how much snow has there been?  How can I make it personal?  We've seen graphics galore on the amounts and quantities, but I thought it would be fun to visualize myself buried in the heap:

Yes, that is actually a scalie ("silhouette" used in rendered images) of me.  

My entire M.Arch class was converted into scalies, and some of my classmates are featured here as well.

(And no, that dog wasn't part of the class, just there as a height reference and for cuteness factor.)

The Christmas Tag

Now that the sun has started to set before 4pm and holiday music is playing 24/7 in my home and everywhere else (from taxis to the local bookstore), it's finally time to acknowledge that Christmas is truly around the corner.  One of my #Postcircle pals, Scottish crafter and beauty expert Roxie, posted a Christmas Tag and challenged fellow bloggers to fill it out as well.  This reminds me of the ubiquitous chain letter emails that floated around while I was in middle school.  This season always makes me a bit nostalgic, so to get in touch with my inner child, I will give this Tag a go.

And if you're reading this and decide to take it up as well, leave a comment and I'd love to read your answers!

(L) The Lo + Gibson fam in 2013  /  (R) An angel, once upon a time

1. What is your favourite Christmas movie?
I've found that as time goes on, I watch fewer Christmas movies -- but not for any particular reason.  There are two movies, though, that I always think about and hope to watch: It's a Wonderful Life and Home Alone.  The first is such a warm and fuzzy classic that I hope everyone has seen it at some point.  The latter, though, was a movie that my college roommate and I made a tradition of watching every single winter.  It always makes us laugh and cringe, and the Drifters' version of "White Christmas" is perpetually stuck in my mind (and associated with aftershave).


2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
What about Christmas afternoon?  Growing up, my family woke up late and always had to take a formal family photo in front of the tree, so we would end up opening our presents sometime in the afternoon or sometimes even in the evening.  (My brother and I learned to be very patient children.)  Nowadays, especially if I am with my nephew and niece, it probably happens more consistently on Christmas morning since the little ones are early risers and can't wait.


3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?

As a child, my ballet school was affiliated with the Pennsylvania Ballet Company, so some of my favorite memories are associated with dancing in the Nutcracker.  Imagine being six years old, wearing a sparkly white angel dress with golden wings and crown, and having the real live adult Sugar Plum Fairy give you a hug backstage!  While waiting in the dressing room for our scene, the other angels and I would play jacks, gossip about our favorite ballerinas, and hope to one day become a party girl or polichinelle -- some of the more coveted roles for girls.  Alas, I never did get to play one of those roles, but I did get to pelt costumed mice with foam cheese as a toy soldier.  Even today, I can listen to the Nutcracker score on repeat (to the chagrin of the Tall Man), with the Balanchine choreography like sugar plums dancing in my head.

4. Favourite festive food?
Peppermint hot chocolate, please!  Once it starts to get a bit chilly, I always love having some to warm me up.  I also have a hard time saying no to pumpkin pie -- who said it's only for Thanksgiving?


5. Favourite Christmas gift?
The Tall Man bought me a DSLR camera for our first Christmas as a married couple, to hone my photography skills on our honeymoon.  Another thing that comes to mind isn't quite a Christmas gift but a Christmas opportunity to visit my brother and sister-in-law while they were living outside London.  Spending the holidays in England, with Christmas crackers, fireworks, and all, was one to remember.


6. Favourite Christmas scent?
Mulled cider or wine filling the air with apple, cinnamon, clove, star anise, and anything in that combination.


7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?
Growing up, we would often decorate the tree on Christmas Eve.  My mom has been collecting all kinds of personalized ornaments since who-knows-when, so many of the ornaments have sentimental value.  Many of them were crafts from childhood or have photos, and she still likes to have one ornament for every year.  Now that holidays are spent alternating between two families, I'm still figuring out the Gibson traditions.  I'll let you know after this Christmas!


8. What tops your tree?
Since the Tall Man and I live in a college dorm, we don't have a tree but a Christmas wreath hanging on the wall with ornaments but nothing perched on top.

9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for 
but never received?
A horse!  I got horse figurines and books about horses over time, but never the real thing.  I even helpfully mentioned that we lived across the street from a horse farm, so the horse would already have somewhere to live!  My parents never gave in, though.


10. What's the best part about Christmas for you?
Having time during Advent and Christmas to reflect on the miraculous mystery of Christ come to earth.  And sending Christmas cards to friends and family across the country and around the world -- I love writing greetings and getting updates from people I don't get to see very often.  It's like giving and getting a hug from far away :)


Happy Advent and almost Christmas!

MIT 150 : Celebrating...what?

The bustle in the connection between the Infinite and the extension

The buzz is starting on campus and events are being readied for MIT's 150th birthday celebration.  Although this number doesn't seem very large, in comparison to some other gray-haired alma maters, but looking at what the Institute has become on a global scale and the people and work that has been produced in that time...  all I can say is that I'm proud to be fortunate enough to have been at Columbia to celebrate its 250th, and now at MIT to celebrate this sesquicentennial* milestone.

The calendar is full of events, highlighting the faculty and student body's research work, performances, innovations, social capital, among a vast spectrum of topics.  This semester, I'm actually taking the FAST class - Festival of Arts, Science, and Technology - that centers around designing installations to showcase the creative arts as extensions of the Infinite Corridor.  My professor, Tod Machover, known for his musical compositions with a techno-bent, has been introducing us to a slew of faculty like Evan Ziporyn (Music) and Marty + Erik Demaine (Visual Arts and Computer Science) who are doing some amazing (and occasionally obscure) work.  It all sounds incredibly exciting...

... but there's a hole in this narrative.  The topics covered range from the above mentioned to econ/finance to music to cancer research to neuroscience to explorations of the natural world and women in science, which are all great points of discussion ...

... but what about that intangible facet of campus life, that of the spiritual?  Does faith have a place at MIT?  Or, perhaps more pointedly, does MIT have a soul?**  I ask this not simply because I'm a Christian, but because I've seen how vibrant a faith culture there is here on campus.  This missing link seems glaringly obvious, but has apparently slipped through the cracks in favor of the more "obvious" topics of celebration.

Just a thought, but where do we stand - not just in the Infinite Corridor but in infinity?

- - -

* Not my word usage, but MIT's
** Also not mine, but from Chris of The Veritas Forum

Boston's "Japantown" : Care enough to be on camera?

The Common Market, sometimes known as Boston's "Japantown," in Porter Square

So for my Public Art (and Cultural Space) class, I'm making a documentary about the development and current issues of Boston's Japanese community in Porter Square, sometimes called "Japantown" depending on who you talk to. Seeing as I am neither Japanese nor have I ever made a film before, this might seem like a stretch, but I'm interested in ethnic enclaves (for lack of a better term...even though I hate that phrase), issues of globalization/tourism, and how an area is determined to be a Chinatown, Japantown, or ____town ... what is the critical mass? And who decides that, anyways?

Porter Square is particular intriguing to me, not just because I'm such a fan of Japan now (since the idea came up prior to my trip anyways). The Exchange Building there houses roughly 10 Japanese-owned businesses and restaurants - is it a Japantown? How does the definition matter, and who cares?

Now comes the question: do you care? And do you know about film (documentary or otherwise)? If so, definitely get in contact with me, as I'm trying to talk to as many people as possible about the meaning of a Japanese community here in this ole' town. Any advice/ideas are welcome, too.

Arigato gozai masu!

First job surprise

Filling out summer job documentation means digging back through the past to see...what did I even do as one of my first jobs? One of the most fun ones I had was working for Inside New York, that ubiquitous guidebook to NYC that every freshman at Columbia (and some other random schools and law firms) gets during orientation. I usually don't reference it anymore, but I made note of it today and happened across the website for the first time in years.

And to my pleasant surprise, the site is looking really good! The guidebook in the past was purely a printed resource, with an inquiries-only, minimal website with no content. Since then (gosh, has it really been 5 years?), the student staff has really hauled out to make an actively-updated website with all the reviews right there, with changing content and a blog.

It's cool how you return to your old roots and see how things have grown.

Any other first job stories?

what's your signature?

I recently changed my profile picture to the above photo of shoes. These aren't just any shoes, but my red Saucony's that I happened to get in Center City (Philly) for $12 on a fortunate spur-of-the-moment lunch shopping stint with Ruth, one of my fun-loving coworkers at RMJM. (Sorry - very long descriptor.) I really like them and would even say that I "heart" them. Their predecessors were also a pair of Saucony's of the same style, but blue. Those met their demise on the shores of Assateague Island, after being worn out, soaked, and caked with mosquito-infested mud post-camping.

Moment of silence.

Although I don't often get attached to physical things like this, it makes me wondering if everyone has a "signature" item that would be instantly recognizable by anyone remotely associated with that person. For instance, my friend Reem's would be bright green - simply the color applied to any piece of clothing. (This color also infiltrates her studio presentation boards as being "so Reem.") On another scale of fame, even Le Corbusier (architect) had round spectacles that were consistently part of his persona and now would even be said to be Yung Ho's signature as well (our department's chair).

What would your signature item be? And if all our "signatures" were put on display somewhere, would someone identify it as yours?

HOME : planet earth, with a human spin

Sung sent me a link to this documentary called "Home," which reminds me very much of the awesome Planet Earth, except its aim is not simply to show the stunning natural beauty of our planet, but to talk about the human impact on the Earth and the urgencies of climate change - a popular topic, but tackled in a slightly different way. The wide angle and high-res filming make it hard to stop watching (hence...the timing of this post).

Now I'm in the mood to watch Planet Earth - anybody have it?

social media 101

Lately I've become increasingly intrigued by social media. Why do people use them? To what end?

I knew of Facebook from its humble beginnings as a school-exclusive site, so I've seen its development over time. (Fun fact: one of my college classmates actually dated Mark Zuckerberg back in high school.) Now I find myself not understanding Twitter, the new kid on the block - but I'm determined to get to the bottom of it.

As part of my self education, I tuned into an informative webinar hosted by Social Media Magic. It was a pretty straight forward presentation on the basics of social media - why you, too, should get on the bandwagon! The target audience was more for marketers out to build partnerships and a client base, but it was still interesting for me, as I'm hoping to find ways to get projects off the ground in the future.

Some of the more helpful hints:

• Have a specific, narrow message with one core focus. Also known as the "sniper" approach.
  Self assessment: Very difficult for me, since I'm too curious and end up being all over the place in terms of interest. My initial intention was for this blog to be more architecturally focused...but then it ends up also being about food, travel, and other things. Ah well - I guess I'll learn to be a niche maker later.

• Start with the "Big Three" and branch from there.
  Self assessment: Facebook is for friends. LinkedIn is for business connections. Twitter...well, as I said, I'm still trying to figure out why people want to know what someone else ate for dinner. But this leads to the next point...
  

• Twitter can be a powerful search engine like Google.
  Self assessment: Now, this is something I can find value in. Looking at it as a way to search the most current conversations going on all over the world is actually a really smart thing. In my recent marketing/publicity endeavors - the MIT Museum vault project, the Veritas Forum - it's good to search out your audience. Hm hm hm...

So, who uses Twitter? Can you help me shed some light on that?