Starting over

In an effort to keep the blogging ball rolling (here at the "new Blogger," sponsored by Google, which has just collected my information to increase their reach into more and more lives--they wouldn't let me get to my blog without this), the basics: My new room/office is almost operational; I finally got the stacks of books off the table and onto the floor, though I need to find more shelving; my files are back in the cabinet; I'll be forced to do some real work in here soon. I'm reading Fries Rebellion, John Hus: A Biography, The Best Western Stories of Lewis B. Patten, and a couple issues of Harper's Magazine. All are good, even great. Teaching three comp classes is tiring, and I'm really, really not looking forward to grading papers. Parking here at the new place is a pain in the ass, especially now with the snow and the crazies saving spaces, even when they haven't actually cleared a space out--just plopping a recycling bin down in the snow. I'm a little obsessed with Pandora. I'm going to be wearing my softball pants to teach soon if I don't get to a laundromat. See you soon...

It's pronounced "gep"

So I can never bring myself to write anything substantial, even though so much has been happening, Valley-wise. The word came down--we're getting a casino here. It's official, so now Sands-BethWorks can begin breaking all their promises. I predict that the pledge to save and refurbish 80% of the Steel buildings will be one of the first to go. They'll say, "It just wasn't possible to spend the millions on something that needs so much work with such an uncertain profit margin." Then, the museum part of the project will start to get scaled down. I've been to casinos in other parts of the country, many of them Indian casinos, and they all have a "cultural" aspect, which often amounts to an alcove where a couple of baskets and jewelry are sold to the gamblers as they travel between the floor and their rooms. Watch as our own museum of industrial history shrinks from its original grand plans. Right now the deliberations about the blast furnaces, something not originally addressed in the plans, are going forward. It will be the first indication of Sands' true intentions with the property and their commitment to "good corporate citizenship." On the personal front, I've moved to another apartment in B'hem, one that I can share with my significant girlpartnerfriend. It's in a much more city-ish neighborhood on Goepp, the top two floors in an old brick house. Moving out of my old apartment wasn't much fun, but I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be, considering how much I loved the old place. I just love everything old--things that speak of the first half of the 20th Century, even if they're not particularly "nice." Like my last apartment, this one has the old wooden molding around big, drafty windows and doors, and nice old wooden floors (third floor) and heavy-plastered walls. There are some cute old fixtures, too. But, and I am a little ashamed of admitting this, it has some modern items I've longed for (i.e., a dishwasher). As I sit on C----'s wonderful couch in the living room typing this, I can look to my left into the sunny kitchen and out the front door window into the back yard, and a little to the right, down the hall past the bathroom and the doors to our "offices" and into our sunny bedroom (which still has way too much of my clothing sitting in piles and garbage bags). It is truly beginning to feel comfortable here. Culturally, I'm in a little old movie rut, watching a lot of Turner Classic Movies, especially when an old noir is on. Right now I'm watching the war movie "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo." I never really thought much of the WWII movies, but here I am. I'd like to think this new obsession with old movies is about more than just comfort in a new setting, but who knows. Well, let's see where this takes us. I hope to keep up the writing, especially things not regarding my personal life. If anyone is out there, hey.