June 24, 2007
Evidence I’m still here ::
personal — tagged bikes, flickr, freeride, me, montpelier, photos and vermont
11:06 am
Langdon Street Geek Week – Freeride Bike Clean!, originally uploaded by SirStan.
So, its been four whole months since I posted here. In that time I devoted myself to my job at the state house, involved got involved in a serious relationship with a girl from Worcester (Massachusetts, not Vermont), drafted more legislation and attended more judiciary committee meetings than I care to think about, found myself unemployed once again, and got involved with a recently-conceived Montpelier bike cooperative. Above you’ll see a picture of me at one of Freeride’s functions, washing my orange Bottecchia fixed gear.
Speaking of my Bottecchia, the bike has served me well over the past few months (after some serious upgrades—it’s quite a different bike from the one it was before). Fixed gear, it turns out, is definitely a new and interesting biking experience, and seems to be an interesting next step after recovering from my broken hip.
I also turned 31 with a small but important amount of fanfare (which came from my new girlfriend) traveled to Central Massachusetts on several weekends, and started the process of finding more work. I’m not sure what the next phase of my life is going to look like, and in the meantime I’ve really enjoyed once again being between things.
November 7, 2006
Where I’ve been ::
personal — tagged bethel, montpelier, personal, recap and vermont
3:23 pm
The contractors are outside the house, dismantling the rotten porch. What started as a small project involving some joists and a couple hours under the porch on some Saturday has developed into a pretty substantial home renovation. But it’s been fun listening in on the contractor’s conversations, which for the most part don’t get much beyond their parroting lines from South Park back and forth to each other. (If you can imagine two middle aged guys with Vermont accents doing that, you might crack a smile.)
I’m in here, posting to this site for the first time in, what, three weeks? It’s been quite some time. But as has become the standard, you can assume that if I’m not writing, there’s a reason. Actually, there are multiple reasons. They are:
A trip to Washington DC to visit Robin. It was really a great, though pretty whirlwind, trip. I saw a couple of friends from Vermont Law, one of whom I hadn’t seen since before he graduated back in 2005. I also (finally) saw the Wrens play, at the Black Cat no less. It was an amazing show. Unfortunately, I have no photos to share, though here’s a picture of the two hand stamps I got—one to get me in and the other, of course, to get me to the bar.
A new job! That’s right, I am employed, and will be until May. I’ll be working at the state house, where I’ll be clerking for Legislative Council, dealing with judiciary matters. As near as I can tell, the job entails dealing with criminal, constitutional, and judicial matters, and I’ll be working closely with legislators throughout the legislative process. It’s pretty much a dream job, and I still don’t quite believe I got it.
This weekend consisted of two parties, one trip to Bethel and one to East Bethel. It involved some substantial driving and some really great interactions with friends, including people I hadn’t seen in quite some time.
I also stopped by the old Bethel house to get the last of my stuff, which has been sitting up in the attic for the past four months or so. That was a lot harder than I expected it to be, but it’s over now, and I feel like I’ve made my final break from that house. While there, I helped my landlady with a computer problem and took Shamus for one last walk, which gave me an opportunity to say goodbye and remember that, as hard as the past few months have been, I’m in a better place now.
So, as I survey everything that’s happened since I last posted here, I realize that I should feel pretty great about my life. I’ve passed the bar, set myself up in Montpelier at a place where I can afford the rent and I really like my roommates, I have a new job that will involve interesting, important work and hopefully lead to something more permanent; I continue to meet great people and do a pretty good job of staying in touch with old friends; but for whatever reason, I continue to feel a little sad. Maybe I’m still in the process of separating myself from my old life, or maybe, despite all my social interaction, I still feel alone. In any event, I don’t feel terrible, and I know it will be just a temporary thing—if nothing else, work starts next Monday and after that I just won’t have the time to worry about such things. But in the meantime, some insight into all of this would be helpful. If you have any, send it my way?
