This is what happens... I want to write things in a timely manner, but I've never been good with deadlines. Or, I take it back, I'm fine with deadlines, but I always somehow time assignments and projects so that I start them with exactly enough time to finish them by the deadline, down to the second.
With this thing here, there are no deadlines. Sure, I'd like to tell you all about the
Rally to Restore Sanity the evening of, or day after the event. But one thing leads to another, I'm back in Burlington hanging with the sis and her friends, not updating and posting in my blog and all 9 of you are left sitting there at the edge of your seats with no idea whats going on. (Sorry)
The other thing is, I want to post pictures, and maybe relevant links, and I'm self-conscious about the grammatical errors I know I make and the general flow of the entry. I think about you people, and I want this to be pleasant for you and I start to get a bit of anxiety about it all and I think about how much time this is going to take. Then, I get overwhelmed and either waste a lot of time doing absolutely nothing productive on the internet, or decide to read a book and drink some tea instead. Then more and more time passes and I feel silly about posting anything at all because I already feel silly about it in the first place, let alone days or weeks late.
Eventually, like right now for example, I get to it and decide to just do it regardless of all that because it is kinda fun for me, and maybe I'll even get better at it. But then I can't remember things. So I start to sort through the pictures I have and tell the story of them the best I can remember.
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| Bri, Ashley, and Abbey (Pup) in Bri's Backyard |
I was at Bri's house last. Loving just being in the same room as her. That's all it really takes if you ask me. If I love you I just want to share your air, thats all!
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| Squatter Accommodations. Bedside table on the right leads to the rest of the house. | | | |
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| Clothing Line |
The next day I drove to
Burlington, VT and finally got to experience the 12 person commune style living my sister currently calls home. The house is on the edge of Burlington, and is a house that has been divvied up into 3 separate apartments. They rent the entire house and basically share all the space. The main, largest apartment has a big living room and kitchen. Emily's room is in a smaller apartment with its own small kitchen that she only shares with 3 other people. There are 2 bedrooms in her section of the house, and one extra room that is always housing a squatter. They've had a friend in there for the past month I guess. There is a front door that enters in the kitchen area, but the easiest way to get to the main part of the house is through a window in the squatter's room. So there is a small sturdy end table on one side of the window, and a mobile 3-stair block set up on the opposite side of the window that leads to a hallway that leads to the main living room. They have a large front yard with a tree and a rope swing, and a large backyard with a chicken coop (home to 8 chickens) and a turkey in a pen. A little scruffy mutt named Fi runs around, and although she isn't the easiest on the eyes she is quite lovable. They eat eggs from the chickens, and the poor turkey's days are numbered with the approaching holiday season. This thanksgiving remember to be grateful you are NOT a turkey.
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| That's Pablo Delicious. Wednesday isn't looking good for him. |
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| Sleeping Chickens |
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| This is what a Slavic Soul Party Looks Like |
After the intro we went to see a show at Higher Ground, a good number of reputable musical performances pass through this venue. This particular Thursday night we had tickets to a the 2nd of two sold out shows for the
Yonder Mountain String Band. A very pleasant folky, bluegrass ensemble. It was a lot of fun but went on a bit to long, in my opinion. During the break between sets we wandered next door and caught the encore of the
Slavic Soul Party, which was friggen' awesome. A bass drum, snare drum, and variety of brass instruments, the musicians just standing around in the middle of the crowd bringing a great deal of joy to everyone in the room as far as I could tell. Go see them if you ever get the chance. I mean it. Do it.
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| Protesting? |
Friday night Emily and I, plus another Emily, loaded ourselves into one of 2 charter busses leaving from Burlington to Washington D.C. for the Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity or Fear. It was about a 12 hour overnight bus ride that brought us to join over a quarter of a million people in Washington D.C. who gathered for some reason, even if they weren't totally clear why. I think collectively we were all pretty sure we were there for a monumental moment in history and we were glad to gather from all walks of life sharing in the sentiment that we care about something and we are in this together, and we are many!
Fill in the blanks with a few more days in Burlington. I little trip out to a
Vermont winery where one of Emily's roommate's works, a stop to get hot cider and a maple creamy (maple ice cream) on the way back, and a look at some silly animals at a petting zoo. Winery was separate, but the rest was all-inclusive at one establishment.
I am now back in Syracuse, where I found a nice yoga studio to pass my time. I applied for one job, but I'm starting to think I don't even want to have one at all and maybe won't try too hard for that after all. I can easily spend a couple of months doing yoga, reading books, drinking tea, visiting with loved ones, and writing about anything that may be considered interesting. Oh yeah, living with the parents is A.O.K. If I had to pick a pair to spend some time with, I'm quite happy with the ones I got!
Kbye.
