The Spiral Staircase

Green Curry Daze

It's been a little hard coming home from China.  I feel like half of me is still there, cheering on the fighters. 

This photo of women Lego boxers is courtesy of Coach Christy Halbert.  She constructed the red boxer by combining the torso portion of the Lego flamenco dancer with the legs and arms of the male amateur boxer.  The blue-green boxer was built using the torso of the Lego weightlifter.  There's also some hand painting.  Christy is truly devoted to our sport.

It seemed to me like the red corner fought orthodox and the blue was a southpaw, but Christy said the blue fighter actually switch hits, which really comes in handy.  At the moment when the photo was taken, blue was up on points, but you never know with Legos.  One punch can end it.

The USA Boxing Board votes tonight on whether to oust their floridly creepy President, Hal Adonis.  Huge props to Ariel Levy, who captured Hal mouthing off about women boxers, rape, and lesbians for her New Yorker profile, hastening his demise. 

What happens inside a boxing ring is so pure.  Why is the atmosphere around it so perniciously corrupt?  It makes the porn industry seem wholesome. 

All I've been doing since I got back from China is nap and eat.  Here's a favorite recipe.  This is so good.  It's like homemade fast food, because once the paste is made, you can have a fabulous dinner ready in 15 minutes.

This makes about 2 cups, enough for two big curry dinners.  Freezes well.

GREEN CURRY PASTE (From True Thai by Victor Sodsook)

Roast together in a dry skillet until fragrant and golden:

1/2 Tablespoon coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon aniseed

Grind them up along with

12 white peppercorns. 

Wrap

1 1/2 Tablespoons shrimp paste

neatly in a double layer of aluminum foil. Roast it in the dry skillet, flipping every once in a while, until fragrant and sizzling. Scrape into food processor along with the ground spices.

Add:

1/2 cup seeded, chopped jalepenos or serranos
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1/3 cup chopped ginger (galangal if you can get it)
1 cup chopped shallots
1/3 cup chopped cilantro stems
two stalks of lemongrass, tough outer leaves removed and bottom 3 inches finely chopped
shredded zest of two limes
6 large leaves of romanine lettuce
(optional, a few spoons of vegetable stock to facilitate pureeing)

Process for a long time, scraping down the sides periodically, until it's as smooth as you can get it. 

CURRY DINNER

Mix half of the above recipe (about one cup) with:

Two cans of coconut milk
1/4 cup of fish sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar

Heat to simmering and add mixed vegetables, shrimp, tofu, whatever you feel like.   Stagger the addition of items so the ones that take a long time to cook go in first.  I like a mixture of broccoli and pumpkin with deep-fried tofu added at the end. 

Don't add too many things; it should be brothy.  Right before serving, swirl in a cup of basil leaves. 

Serve over rice or noodles.  You could garnsh with chopped peanuts and lime wedges if you want.

 

 

Women's Boxing Coverage

This summer in London, Marlen Esparza of Houston and Claressa Shields of Flint will join 34 others from around the world to fight it out for the first Olympic medals in women's boxing. 

My coverage of three tournaments leading up to the London Games includes seven Huffposts from Spokane, four posts from Cornwall, four posts from China, and a Livejournal-style column on WNYC's Women Box page.

 

OLYMPIC TRIALS, SPOKANE, WASHINGTON 

 Day 1: The Draw
Day 2: What Boxing Needs
Day 3: Boxing Love
Day 4: The Trainers
Day 5: Weigh In
Day 6: The Kalispel Tribe
Day 7: Parting Shots

 

AMERICAS CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, CORNWALL, ONTARIO

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

 

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, QINHUANGDAO

Huffington Post:
First Impressions
Round of Sixteen
Continental Quotas
The Loss of Mr. Sai's Horse

WNYC:
Dispatches from China

 

Photo by David Bluff.  Claressa Shields in blue, Franchon Crews in red. 

Photo by Igor Cruz. The best US women's boxing team ever.

Photo by Sue Jaye Johnson.  Tiara Jones winning featherweight gold in Qinhuangdao.

 

Home Sweet Home

Many mazeltovs to the US women's boxing team, who did their country pround in Qinhuangdao with one gold medal, two silvers, and two bronzes.  Only Russia and China beat us in the medal counts. My final piece for the Huffington Post.  Tournament recap for WNYC.

I got home without my luggage after a delayed departure from Beijing and a mad dash to my Hong Kong connection.  The fifteen-hour flight to JFK was pretty mellow.  Cathay Pacific has deft stewardesses in red skirt suits and a great online entertainment system.  I watched Senna, A Separation, Klitchko, and several episodes of America's Next Top Model. 

When I got home, Ethan had the champagne already chilled. 

I won't be missing the press dungeon with its distincive stench, fluorescent lighting, and slow and censored wifi.

Certainly I will miss the boxers.

USA gold medalist Tiara Brown (125 lbs) with Regina the Pizza Hut waitress (weight unknown)

Russian silver medalist Sofya Ochigava (132 pounds) with Germany's Azize Nimani (112 pounds)

The mighty women of England: (L->R) Silver medalist Nicola Adams (112 pounds), bronze medalist Lisa Whiteside (125 pounds), bronze medalist Natasha Jonas (132 pounds), and gold medalist Savannah Marshall (165 pounds) who was celebrating her 21st birthday

She Is Poor but Rich in Spirit

Here I am, guest lecturing at Tony Liu's English class at Yangshan University.  I didn't know what to say, so I taught them some old SAT tips for guessing the meanings of words you don't know. 

I was honored to be asked to do this, and it was a great way to balance out some of the negative feelings I was having toward China based on the militaristic way this boxing tournament has been run. 

After the class we went out for lunch with Mr. Zhang the philosopher, and although I've always had scorn for Americans who travel abroad and eat at US chains, my relief was immense when they took me to Pizza Hut.  The garden veggie pan pizza was manna from heaven.  Between that and the traditional Chinese medicine candies Tony gave me, my stomach seems to be on the mend.

The students were very shy about asking questions but slowly they opened up.  At the end a young man asked, "So many goods in America are now made in China.  What do you think about this?"

"Wow, can I be honest?" I asked Tony.

He said I could.

It was hard to tell how the students responded to my rambling monologue about locovorism, suicide in Apple factories, and the global village.  They laughed in odd places.  It was hard, all in, to tell how they responded to anything about me.  But I've always believed that with teaching you just have to put yourself out there, because you never know who you'll touch or how.

My favorite question was: "Your dress is very beautiful.  Where did you get it?"

I got it in Brooklyn, but the shoes are from Beijing.

Stopping to Smell the Roses in China

Photo by Sue Jaye Johnson, my roommate and boon companion

My first update for the Huffington Post is here.  Sorry for all the typos.

As the HuffPo has been agonizingly slow to publish my updates, I've jumped ship to WNYC's Womenbox blog, where you can find my work by clicking the "Dispatches from China" link.

Never Bet on an Eggplant

If it were possible to love my husband more, I would after reading his analysis of the Pinkwater-multiple-choice mishegas.

Daniel Pinkwater is my main model for children's writing.  He is mysterious, funny, and never condescending, and the day he blurbed my novel Iris, Messenger was the best news I ever got as a writer.

When I was a kid I had this paraphrased quote from The Big Orange Splot taped to my bedroom door: "My room is me and I am it.  It is where I like to be and it looks like all my dreams."

Best Day Ever

Yesterday morning I called up Steve Johnson in Denver, who agreed to talk to me even though it was his birthday and I was keeping him from his morning motorcycle ride.  Steve is a charming man who has been chronicling the misdeeds of the USA Boxing leadership on the Examiner.com and on the blog Inside Boxing. 

Ethan prowled around the living room while I talked, looking adorable and bringing me bowls of raspberries.

After an hour with Steve I got a call from Christy Halbert, the fairy godmother of women's boxing.  A sociology PhD and former pro fighter, Christy knows everything there is to know about our sport and is largely responsible for its new Olympic status.  I had a great time talking to her and got some new writing ideas from bouncing ideas off her brillinat brain.

Then I ate some apples with almond butter and headed out to my wonderful gym, the Atlas Cops and Kids Boxing Club in Flatbush Gardens.  I'd been hoping the week I spent running at altitude would give me better wind, but nothing is as hard as boxing. 

Photo by Mark Fader

"I can hear you breathing, Sarah!" Sosa chided as he worked pads with me.  "Stop looking at the clock!"

On the way out, Coach Tito gave me some yams, yuca, and a mango.  My boxing gym is like a big happy family, only, unlike my real family, the men stick around.

I checked my iphone as I walked to the subway and saw an email from Wendy, my editor at the Threepenny Review.  The subject was "Pushcart" and the first line was "Dear Sarah, Great news!"  My heart lifted.  Writing's lonely and sometimes I feel like nobody notices how hard I'm working.  It was a great bump to find out that my essay Skydive made it into the upcoming anthology.  I vow to use this as motivation to finish revising my memoir proposal with my mom.

I rode the train to Columbus Circle in a happy trance, fast forwarding through any song on my iphone that was not hip hop or uptempo R&B.  My next stop was the 56th Street New York Health and Racquet Club for my 6:30-7:40 PM vinyasa yoga class.  I ate a Clif Bar on my way there.

There were six students in the class, and it was an unusually good vibe.  I told them all to set their own private intentions at the beginning, and I suggested "joy" if they couldn't think of anything.  We did a lot of hip openers and some restorative backbends, and during savasana I recited this Kay Ryan poem that I love:

PATIENCE

Patience is
wider than one
once envisioned,
with ribbons
of rivers
and distant
ranges and
tasks undertaken
and finished
with modest
relish by
natives in their
native dress.
Who would
have guessed
it possible
that waiting
is sustainable—
a place with
its own harvests.
Or that in
time's fullness
the diamonds
of patience
couldn't be
distinguished
from the genuine
in brilliance
or hardness.

I love this poem so much that I always want to recite it during final relaxation, but I restrain myself.  Somehow it just felt appropriate yesterday.  At the end, two of the students told me that patience had been their intention! 

I took the subway to West Fourth Street, where I had a few hours to kill before the Bad Plus's second set at the Blue Note, so I roamed Greenwich Village in search of dinner.  By this time I was starving and kind of wanted to splurge on fancy food but I didn't want to break my streak of eating mostly plants.  Magically, Cafe Blossom manifested itself.  I sat at the bar, where I was served fancy schmancy vegan cuisine by a beautiful, tattooed riot grrrl named Avalon who was named after one of my favorite childhood novels. 

Avalon suggested the seitan marsala, which was delicious.  Ethan and I have been talking a lot about irony lately, and so I was interested to note that Avalon spoke two sentences whose figurative meaning was basically the opposite of their literal meaning: "We don't judge" (in response to my not-at-all apologetic statement that I wasn't a strict vegan) and "It is not a pyramid scheme" (a propos of a certain energy drink).

I got to the Blue Note in time to hang out with Dave King's daughter Ella before the show and admire the cool magnetic toy from the Gugenheim gift shop with which she constructed metal snowflakes and stars.  We sat drum side, close enough to see her father's feet.  The night before I had sat right behind my husband and contemplated the plaintive quality of his piano tone and how fitting it is that we use the word "sweet" to describe both cake and music.  Maybe on Sunday I'll sit in the center so I can focus on Reid. 

Drawing from Ken Parris series 104 Work Weeks

I had forgotten that Andrea was coming to the show and got a jolt of pleasure when she came to say hi.  The Merce Cunningham dancers have been scattered to the winds in the wake of their guru's passing, but Andrea has landed on her lovely feet.  We closed down two places and I threw caution to the winds and had two Manhattans.  On the ride home, Ethan told Andrea's new boyfriend that he was a beautiful, strong man with a great name who could accomplish anything and that he was therefore reminiscent of David Boreanaz from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I've always loved Ethan for being the rare straight man who will say such things.  

We watched a great episode of Buffy when we got home, Lovers Walk, the one where Spike wants to cast a love spell on Drusilla but decides it's not worth it. 

"I'm going to do what I should have done in the first place," he says.  "I'll find her, wherever she is, tie her up, torture her till she likes me again.  Love's a funny thing."

We finally went to bed around four. 

 

Running in Santa Fe

It's exquisite out here in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I'm helping a friend write her book.  I've been running every day, and the 7,000 feet of altitude makes it super challenging.  My first day here I was headachy and out of breath even when sitting on the couch.  But it feels good to run at altitude, like I'm lifting weights with my lungs. 

I found this helpful page of good places to run posted by the Santa Fe striders.

Our first day we trotted around the trails down by the Randall Davey Audubon Center. 

Nobody is nicer than the ladies in sun hats and bird earrings who work the desks at nature centers.  Perhaps they are all the same lady.

Yesterday we ran along Old Santa Fe Trail, from the plaza downtown where vendors hawked chile ristras and turquoise earrings up a sloping hill to Amelia White park, where the benches had eerily appropriate quotations on them, all of which I have forgotten, but I think they had to do with not worrying about how fast you're going. 

Today I ran six miles that felt like twelve along the Chimisa Arroya bike path.  Aside from the sensation of suffocation, this was a blissful experience.  It's a sort of desolate desert vibe on this asphalt path, much of which follows the train line.  I saw a lot of bikers and cute dogs.  A kind man in a turban advised me to drink lots of water.

Photo: Missy Wolf

After the run, my inspired traveling companion took us to Kakawa Chocolate House, where I became extremely stoned on the combination of runner's high, altitude sickness, and Mexican drinking chocolate.  Served in a tiny cup, my atole was rich with 100% dark chocolate, agave, and hot chile peppers.  Cornmeal gave it an unctuous texture.  An ideal recovery drink that made me feel like an Aztec god.

Medallists from the Women's Continental Championships

To read about the action in the finals, see my last dispatch in the Huffington Post.

48 kg or 106 lb (L->R) Domingo Solano, the AIBA President of the Americas Federation; Silver Medallist Claribel Cruz of Argentina; Gold Medallist Alex Love of USA; Bronze Medallists Kim Klavel of Canada and Maira Rodriguez of Dominican Republic.  Alex really blew through this weight and looked outstanding doing so.

51 kg or 112 lb (L->R) Ray Silvas (A former boxer from Houston, Texas, Ray is on USA Boxing's Board of Directors and managed this entire tournament from a technical/scoring/judging point of view.) Silver Medallist Erika Costa of Brazil, Gold Medallist Marlen Esparza of USA, Bronze Medallists Mandy Bujold of Canada and Tiffany Perez of Puerto Rico.  I enjoyed talking to Tiffany and her adorable parents in the cafeteria.  I agreed with Tiffany's assertion that she could have beat Costa in the semis if she'd been more aggressive.  This short, heavy-handed puncher has a lot of potential, and I look forward to seeing more of her in China.

54 kg or 119 lb (L->R) Silver medallist Yanina Benavidez of Argentina, Gold Medellist Clelia Costa of Brazil, Bronze Medallists Araceli Nava of Mexico and Christina Cruz of USA.  Costa's power was great for the weight and she really came to fight.

57 kg or 125 lb.  Gold Medallist Tiara Brown of the USA with Bronze Medallists Melissa Esquivel of Mexico and Melissa Guillemette of Canada.  Guillemette had one of the most entertaining styles to watch of the whole competition and seemed like a real ambassador of the sport.  Tiara had no trouble with anyone, and I think she should do great at Worlds. 

Tiara Brown hugs her opponent, Silver Medallist Leonela Sanchez of Argentina.  Sanchez had to be walked to the podium by a teammate and looked like she was in excruciating neck pain.  Doctors said her vitals were strong but she'd had a fainting episode after the fight.  I hope this brave fighter heals up fast and is feeling well enough to compete in China.  (If she even gets to go; Raquel and I were talking to the Argentine coach in the bar after the finals and he told us that their country can only afford to send two boxers to china!  This is a shame.  Argentina was among the most skillful teams here.  Are any Argentine millionaires reading this?  Sponsor these ladies!)

60 kg or 132 lb.  As at the US Trials, this was the deepest talent pool.  (L->R) Silver Medallist Dayana Sanchez of Argentina, Gold Medallist Adriana Araujo of Brazil, and Bronze Medallists Sandra Bizier of Canada and Kiria Tapia of Puerto Rico.  Had the draw been different, Tapia would have taken silver; she pushed Araujo much harder than Sanchez did, and she's one to watch in this division.  Not medalling but also strong contenders are Mexican brawler Erika Rosalba Cruz and the US's Olympic hopeful Queen Underwood.  Here's hoping Underwood can use her disappointment at Continentals to dig deep for China.  This tourney was just a warm-up, so it was a great place to make mistakes. 

64 kg or 141 lb. (L->R) Silver Medallist Roselaine Silva of Brazil, Gold Medallist Mikaela Mayer of the US, Bronze Medallists Adela Peralta of Argentina and Melissa Redmond of Canada.  Like her teammate Alex Love, Mikaela blew through the field here.  A great tournament for the Californian, who has the best 1,2 on the US team.

69 kg or 152 lb. (L->R) Silver Medallist Kimberly Gittens of Barbados, Gold Medallist Myriam da Silva of Canada, Bronze Medallist Raquel Miller of US. 

Somehow I missed the medal ceremony for the Olympic middleweight division.  I think I was feeling too emotional about Gold Medallist Claressa Shields's dramatic win over Silver Medallist Mary Spencer of Canada.  Claressa is above in red.  Bronze medals went to Roseli Feitosa of Brazil and Yanebier Guillen of the Dominican Republic.

81 kg or 178 lb. (L->R) Silver Medallist Maude Bergeron of Canada, Gold Medallist Franchon Crews of USA, Bronze Medallist Andreia Bandeira of Brazil.  Franchon boxed very well at this tournament and was a sweet presence on the team and in the gym. 

Heavyweights (81+ kg or 178+ lb).  Silver Medallist Victoria Perez of the US and Gold Medallist Erika Cabrera of Brazil.  Perez should dust herself off and get back in the gym; prior to this bout she hadn't fought since 2008 and complained to me of the dearth of opponents in her weight.  She looked gun-shy and rusty.  Get this girl some good sparring!  Mauro Jose da Silva, the President of the Brazilian boxing fedaration, told me some harrowing stories about Cabrera's past.  "Boxing has given her dignity," he said.  "Now when her husband drinks and hits her, she hits him back."  He also told me that her last name sounded like the Portuguese word for bus and that this was her nickname in the gym.  I was too drunk to take good notes.  Cabrera was a spitfire in the ring with a looping right that looked like it came all the way from Sao Paulo. 

Coach Israel Acosta held aloft by Franchon Crews, Christina Cruz, and the rest of the team.  Izzy put on all the girls' medals - six gold, one silver, and two bronze.  Go USA!

El equipe de Mexico (NOT el equipaje de Mexico, as Ray Silvas kindly pointed out; I'd been going around all week telling Latin American boxers that they were a very strong suitcase) (L->R, top) Coach Mario Gonzeles Lugo; Alma Ibarra Vasquez, 75 kg; Melissa Esquivel Ledesma, 57 kg; (bottom) Zaida Judith Enriquez Cidillo, 51 kg

There's always two parties after a boxing tournament: the posh one with the head honchos in a hotel suite and the real one with the boxers and some chicken wings.  Look how proud trainer Jason Crutchfield is of his undefeated Claressa Shields.  She's going to suprise the world in China and has a serious shot at gold medalling for the US. 

Photo courtesy of Igor Cruz.  The best US women's boxing team ever. 

Photo coutesy Raquel Ruiz.  Here I am in my new incarnation as a sports journalist, asking Claressa Shields about her fight against Brazil.  I am very grateful to all the fighters for their inspiration, to Raquel Ruiz for being my fairy godmother, to Sue Jay Johnson for her beautiful eye, to Pat Fiacco and Boxing Canada for being such good hosts, to Ray Silvas for being incredibly helpful with my questions about the regulations, and to all of my readers for supporting my work.  I'll see you in China!

Semifinals

PHOTO: Sue Jay Johnson

Go USA!  Last night's action saw an emotional win for young phenom Claressa Shields, who will face three-time world champ Mary Spencer in tonight's finals.  My latest HuffPost recap is here.