Updates

We're in town. We have a place. We both (Nate and I) have jobs, though I need more hours to make more dollars.

But we're here, in the place that will be home for a year (or more...?), and now it's time for a report on the Burg.

I. Work
I work at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore, a hub of the arts and academic scene here in Midtown, and in Harrisburg in general. This makes it a wonderful place to work, though my hours are less than desirable--I work through dinner and right into the night. I remind myself that, although I won't be out in the community making the connections that Nate and I came here to make, I will be behind the counter when plenty of people are making their way through the store. I am learning to be a barista.

II. Farm
I've just begun volunteering my mornings at the Joshua Farm, in Allison Hill (a nearby neighborhood that has been identified as a food desert). They are a working CSA, and also support an after-school program for kids from the community. It's only my second day there, and they're already giving me vegetables. Today was harvest day, so that probably has something to do with it.

III. Music
I'm always looking for more ways to indulge my favorite hobby, and while having a record player and decent speakers in the apartment is great, I need to do more. So I've been playing my banjo on the riverfront, looking at the paddle-wheel "Pride of the Susquehanna." I've also sent around videos of the Balkan Band to convince people that I am part of an awesome band, and that they really need me to be in their band. That might be working out; more details to follow.

IV. Other (aka Media)
I've just finished reading Suzanne Collin's YA "Hunger Games" trilogy. I have my thoughts, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so if you've read it, let me know, and we can chat. I've been listening to NPR's coverage of the Newport Folk Festival, and the online preview of Ray LaMontagne's newest album, "God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise." I recently watched Stanley Kubrick's noir/heist film "The Killing" and the recent release "Winter's Bone" (playing at the local arthouse which is showing "Get Low" next week!). Check any or all of them out if you get the chance.

V. Conclusion
As I ride my (awesome, fast, green) road bike (thanks mom!) between the urban farm/CSA, the coffeeshop/bookstore, and my apartment in the artsy neighborhood where my record player and banjo await, and I cannot help but worry that I have, officially, become a hipster. Those of you who are the praying type, please pray that my pants do not get tighter; that I continue to enjoy bands' second and third albums, and that I refuse to ever consume PBR.