urban studies

TBEX Wichita. Attending our first TBEX conference in Wichita, Kansas. This event brings creators and destinations together to collaborate in an effort to increase tourism. 

Responsibility & Pests. I have very little sense of what I'm meant to do on UpTrust so I'm just going to do something imperfect and refine from here...

My dog presently has fleas. Historically when this has happened I give him a bath, apply a topical, and don't have to think about it again. This time, that wasn't enough. The dog has fleas, my house has fleas. (I sort of have fleas! Ick)

Of course, this coincides with a period of time when I'm more 'in' with community and committed to hosting than any time since the pandemic. People come to my home with linens, massage tables, floor mats, and everyone is rolling around on the floor and giving each other back rubs. (An event I call 'touchcraft.')

This is likely not a coincidence, but causal. It is probably all the new linens and belongings and people that lead to this level of new exposure, and therefore, new safety protocols/cleaning protocols. The dog will go on the monthly preventatives. Everything will be laundered/vacuumed/treated.

Meanwhile a neighbor in my building whom I'm friendly with thinks this is somehow a landlord responsibility, that I should get building management to pay for cleaning and fumigation. This seems incorrect to me... that this is one component of managing a house that seems like a maintenence/cleanliness/personal risk assessment issue. I chose the guests, I chose the dog, I deal with the fallout. 

As I research the issue I can see that this comes up frequently. Pests are seen as a recurrent problem in low income housing, the fault of deadbeat 'slumlord' type landlords who won't deal with habitability issues. But, concurrently, when I talk to friends who own properties they seem more inclined to point the finger at lifestyle problems of tenants.

Repeatedly there is a question, when an issue arises, of who must do the labor and take on the costs of fixing the issue.

Anyway, I'm doing lots and lots of laundry today. Hot water, staging the cleaned things in sealed plastic bags. Choosing which room will be the 'clean room.' Heinous. And shameful, somehow? Like having pests isn't just a sign that I'm a human contending with problems all humans do, but that I'm an especially unhygenic one, or something? This is a fleeting voice, and combatable, but it's here.

If anyone has tips, I'm open. 

Culture shocks while visiting Kathmandu, Nepal. I'm here for Harris' friend's wedding, and the country is way poorer than I realized. GDP per capita is just under $1400 (in 2023), 2022's HDI is ~.6 (medium human development), both of which are apparently among the lowest in South Asia.

• The roads are crazy! There are very few stop lights or stop signs at intersections. There are some large traffic circles with police directing traffic. Mostly it looks like it's just a free-for-all (with some order I can't decipher), with cars, motorcycles, bikes, trucks, buses, and pedestrians sharing the road. A yoga teacher at our hotel told Harris that they're pro-Trump and glad that the US is stopping aid to Nepal, because the money goes to oversea bank accounts/corruption rather than actually improving things in the country. The sentiment  was somewhat echoed by a nice taxi driver we had (on Pathao, the Uber equivalent), who apologized to us for the state of things in the country. 
• I've seen several people on the streets (porters?) transporting heavy loads (like large appliances) using straps tied around their foreheads.
• Preservation of history - we visited the Patan Durbar Square yesterday, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It was remarkably accessible to visitors (few things were even cordoned off), probably a similar situation to what the Forbidden City was like before they started closing sections off for repair/preservation. The most surprising thing to me was how little historical information they have about the site and its function, given that it was built in the 17th century.
• Momos here are way better than the ones I've had in the US

Cities and Ambition. I recently reread this Paul Graham essay [ https://www.paulgraham.com/cities.html ]. It’s about what messages individual places send their inhabitants vis-a-vis which ambitions are good. It mentions Berkeley (where I live) as a place that wants people to live comfortably/well, which seems right. So I’m curious: what city do you live in and what does its vibe want you to do?

Cities and Ambition. I recently reread this Paul Graham essay [ https://www.paulgraham.com/cities.html ]. It’s about what messages individual places send their inhabitants vis-a-vis which ambitions are good. It mentions Berkeley (where I live) as a place that wants people to live comfortably/well, which seems right. So I’m curious: what city do you live in and what does its vibe want you to do?