Holidays

It is wonderful to have warm friends in the chilly moist winter here in Bellingham when your nearest family member is a couple thousand miles away. But Christmas day was spent with the dog reading a Faulkner novel. Holy days of rest and are wondrous, although the rest of the evenings were filled with parties, camaraderie...and rest - something I woefully lack during most holidays, or life in Bellingham in general.

Not much more excitement. Other than jacking up on Vitamin D and realizing how much that can impact me, just another day in Bellingham. Glad to turn off the computer at five or six, come home, and enjoy the free time that the office job affords. So consequently, I'll probably be writing less and less and enjoying my free time more and more. I am fortunately right where I need to be in my life in Bellingham.

Life

So my eyes stayed glued to a computer screen most of the day. When I get home at night, I try to do other things, such as read, sew, play guitar, cook, or many other things. Tonight, we went to see a movie at the Pickford. I've been building a pile of free passes from volunteering there, so tonight we saw 127 Hours and then to Mallards to use a gift certificate. It's nice to spend $3.25 for a night on the town.

Although I finally have a reugular job and hours, I still have retained my frugal ways developed over my economically challenged days. Last night I did buy an Edith Piaf CD at the music store. And saw a friend working there that I met a few weeks earlier. It's amazing to see the dynamic people of Bellingham just doing their jobs and loving life. It's rare I hear anyone complain about Bellingham, and few inhabitants want to "get out," unlike all other cities or towns in which I've lived. Every place had had its element of people yearning for greener pastures.

But not Bellingham. (Well other than the weather that can deteriorate your demeanor and drive you stone mad) smiles abound.

The picture above is from my bike commute to wok. Fortunately, it's only five minutes or so, and one stop light. This is the route past city hall and the library.

Pete

One of my housemates back in the spring turned out to be a great friend also. Unfortunately, Pete is moving back east after his (and his wife's) efforts to earn a sustainable living in Bellingham proved futile. And this is too bad, as he is a great guy and had many, many stories to tell, including his living off the grid in Alaska and through hiking both the Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. Bellingham seems to attract the nicest and most interesting people. You'll probaly never see this post, Pete, but I wish you Godspeed on your life's journey. You are a good man.

Oh well, off to a Christmas party tonight. Sort of. It's been going on for years and this is my third time atending. Fun, fun, fun.

Writing

Yes, the job has over the past week or two evolved from a "Holy crap, I'm stupid and I'll never learn anything" to "wow, it's all coming together and I really can add some value to this organization." Afer hearing the horror stories in the media, and living in a town where decent paying jobs are more scarce than sunshine, I am indeed a lucky person. And the CPA Exam that I arduously studied for years ago (and passed) many someday evolve into a valid license in this state.

I haven't been writing, as my evenings are spent doing other things like reading, playing music, and generally things that I find more appealing than the tie suckage of a computer. But tonight I need to get some pivot tables done, and that means sitting at the Public Market eating a piece of pizza being content.

The picture above is one I came across of an abandoned gas station we wanted to turn into a biodiesel facility. All indications were a "go," but to deal with getting this property rezoned to a retail facility from a residential mixed-use, even though it always was a gas station. I don't understand why the City of Bellingham so diligently discourages conducting business in their city. Personally, I like the abandoned buildings lining Cornwall Avenue anyway with derelict VWs parked in front. (There's another run-down property a block up the street with a '69 Beetle in front.) At any rate, we walked away from the deal for this year, as the permitting process in this town and county makes you want to consider a place like Anacortes.

And back to my personal situation, I am quite content to be back in the stable office world. As much as I lambasted the lifestyle in my past, a regular paycheck, benefits and not working horrible hours is quite welcome too, which is why I really haven't had much desire to be on this computer any more than I need to when in the sanctity of my peaceful home.

Back to the spreadsheet.