14.DEC.2001
Today Christian and I sold Flaming Shark for $600 to a crazy old dude down the street. "Bud" challenged me to squeeze his hand as hard as I could, and my hand still hurts - the guy is amazingly strong. He also has guns all over his kitchen. Although we were sad to see the old boat go, we are relieved that neither of us has to deal with it anymore. Christian still has the old wooden boat to work on; as for me, I'm sticking with the kayak from now on. Christian is out of here next week, which leaves me alone in Boat House until Keith moves in after the 1st of the year.
10.DEC.2001
Last week my family came for a visit, and Worth stopped in for a few days before heading up to PA for the winter. This weekend was filled with some pretty intense sewing projects, a hearty Sunday morning breakfast at the Pier 1 Restaurant with Worth and Christian, and a hike on the Turkey Point Lighthouse trail.
Strangely, now that I have no job I can't sleep past 7AM, even though I am not using an alarm anymore. While Christian and I were hiking yesterday afternoon, the thought entered my mind that my legs would be sore the next day at work - ha! We went home, had some beers, and listened to James Brown while making Christian some fleece pants. I went to bed around 11:30 (which used to be late for me), but here I am at 6:45 Monday morning and I am ready to face the day's activities.
02.DEC.2001
Friday was my last day at work, although I don't think it will sink in until I wake up at 9 tomorrow morning and have coffee in my slippers. On Tuesday I will turn 29 and, despite my disdain for consumerism, I bought a Milwaukee Super Sawzall to celebrate the two milestones. What better tool could I bring to Wisconsin next summer?
25.NOV.2001
I have uploaded more photos from Istanbul and added Life at Boat House to the photography page.
If you haven't seen it yet, check out Worth's page for some great travel writing.
After a scandalously large meal at Jeff and Chris' house (thanks!), I was treated to a long weekend that served as a preview for my upcoming lack of a day job. Fueled by turkey soup and coffee, I spent a lot of time scanning negatives and messing with Photoshop, with breaks to read the paper, walk to the post office, and do some housekeeping.
09.NOV.2001
This week I gave notice that my last day at work will be November 30, ending my stint on the hamster wheel of the middle class after 5 years and 360 days. (I started at my first "real" job on my birthday, December 4, 1995 -- I decided not to start the last year of my twenties in an office.) While my coworkers are sad to see me go, they have been generally supportive of my decision.
At last, I can reveal "The Plan"! I will stay where I am through February, working on photography and participating in local activism. In March, I will start on a trip by train through New Orleans, Austin, Phoenix, San Francisco, Sacramento, and ending in Vancouver. A friend and I might take a ferry trip from there up the Inside Passage to Juneau. From late May through the summer you will find me staying at Inn Serendipity in Wisconsin -- working around the farm, getting involved in more sustainable building projects, attending the MREA Energy Fair, shooting photos, hanging out with the llamas, reading, and thinking about what to do next.
28.OCT.2001
I had my wisdom teeth removed just over a week ago, and I am almost nearly healed at this point. Sadly, Worth has moved on, but we can track his travels with his website, The Signal. Right now he should be in Ireland, then later on his way through Europe. In February he will begin his 2-year tour of duty with the Peace Corps in Ukraine. I re-scanned and added some extra shots to the Reclaim the Streets page, and the Oberlin page is up, too. I recently purchased a shiny new (and fast) film scanner, so pictures should start appearing here more frequently.
30.SEP.2001
Worth and I had an amazing trip out to Wisconsin. On the way, we helped his dad build a pole-barn at his farm in Du Bois, PA. The next day, we drove to Inn Serendipity in Wisconsin to learn all about strawbale construction.
26.AUG.2001
Worth and I went up to the 40th annual Philly Folk Fest in Schwenksville, PA yesterday. Highlights were seeing Nickel Creek and Arlo Guthrie. Today we went out in the kayaks and the bay was as warm as bathwater, and the multidirectional chop (known to pirate types as "riff-raff") made it an interesting ride.
20.AUG.2001
OK, the content hasn't changed much, but I have tweaked my style sheet to get the layout to my liking. I have also added cool © symbols at the bottom of my photo pages, as if A) there were anything to steal for the purpose of making money and B) a copyright would stop anyone. (By the way, you are welcome to take any images for your personal use - that's what they are there for.)
16.AUG.2001
I have updated the links page and added another writing sample and some class photos. The college is closed until the end of August, so things will be slow for a while on the photo front unless I take the plunge and get that film scanner.
Worth and I (and maybe Christian if he isn't too busy) will be going to Wisconsin in September to help build a strawbale greenhouse at Inn Serendipity. We will also stop at Oberlin College on the way home to visit the A.J. Lewis Center for Environmental Studies, a building that produces more energy than it consumes, processes its own waste with a living machine, and is completely non-toxic.
Finally, check out Boat House for an invitation to our Labor Day weekend.
02.AUG.2001
Hi everybody, thanks for checking this site out. I'm still filling in a lot of content (especially photos, which are pretty time consuming). Watch this space for updates to the site and my life in general. I just uploaded a few pictures from the class that I took in the spring.
It's warm and sunny down here at the Boat House and I've been getting in a lot of kayaking. Maybe I'll take a half day tomorrow...
-JP