Category Archives: Historic Preservation

In which I go a little nuts with bullet-pointed lists

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This wasn’t so bad of a week.

On Tuesday I found out that I got the internship I wanted, which is great for three reasons:

  • I have an internship and will fulfill that portion of my degree requirements thus bringing me that much closer to the Master’s.
  • The internship I wanted is in Vermont, which means that I won’t have to leave for the summer which means that Emily and I can run around and play in our new state in the summer time and all our loved ones can come and visit and all will be right with the world.
  • I. get. paid. (Objectively, not a huge sum of money, but subjectively anything higher than my current wage of zero dollars an hour will feel like a fortune.)

I’m still a little jumpy about it, because even though I know I’ve been hired, I don’t have much in the way of specifics. I know generally what I’ll be doing, but I don’t know where or what the start date will be or what a typical day will look like yet.

And, as we all know, “not knowing” is my least favorite way to feel.

So I’m happy about that, but still a little apprehensive at the same time.

Other than that, I have three big assignments hanging over me:

  • A continuation of a paper I wrote earlier in the semester about the history of railroad grade crossings. (This one will be specific to their age of automation – the 2nd half of the 19th century.)
  • A portion of the nomination form for a property whose owners want it on the National Register.
  • A 20 page report (with 15 minute presentation) on my spring break research trip.
    • This is the big one. It scares me.
      • A lot.

So that’s where I’m at. Good times, and I’m happy. But also slightly scared.

HPSBFFT2008 – Chapter 9: Adamstown, MD to Winooski, VT (531 mi.)

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Better late than never, right?

Ok, no. I never really believed that one either.

So, fine, I’m a little late in posting the last chapter in the great Historic Preservation Spring Break Fact Finding Trip of 2008. I hope you canb forgive me. If so, join me now as we rewind the hands of time to an era that passed almost a week ago.

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I just wanted to be home.

I had had a great trip. I’d spent some quality time in the car and satisfyed the gypsy in me. I had broadened my horizons; had listened to and spoken with some friendly and knowledgeable people. I had spent time with friends, had laughed with family, and had surrounded myself with my home lands.

But home wasn’t home any more. When you get married, you relate your sense of place less with a patch of dirt and more with a person and a smile.

My home was five hundred miles north. And I’d been away too long.

So, I cut the great spring break trip short by a day.  Ihopped in my car on Saturday morning and started moving. And I didn’t stop for ten hours unil I was in Vermont and next to Emily.

And now I’m back. Getting back in to the swing of the semester, thinking about assignments and summer internships, and summer trips, and life and etc, and etc, and etc.

A paper will follow from the great spring break fact finding trip. That, after all, was the point. But it’ll be later in the semester after I’ve had time to assimilate all the knowledge and organize.

Later – maybe this week, but maybe not – I’ll post some pictures from the trip and some final thoughts.

But for now, my work for the week is done. It’s a day of blue skies and a high sun. Time to go play.

HPSBFFT2008 – Chapter 8: Hagerstown, MD to Adamstown, MD (35 mi.)

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Ok, I admit. I’m cheating a bit with this entry.

I’m writing it a day late and I’m not even in Adamstown anymore, but I committed to writing one post for every day of my tip, so we’ll just pretend that I’m not delinquent; k?

Friday morning, I woke up at Dad’s and was relieved to realize that for the first time in my spring break trip, I had no real agenda for the day. I just had to be at Mom and Cal’s by dinner time. I took my time getting in gear, and managed to knock out some laundry and a phone interview for a summer internship before I left Dad’s around noon.

I headed east toward Frederick, stopping at the toy store to pick up some gifts for the nieces (Spoilin’ the nieces: that’s the way I roll.) and then over to Grandma’s to visit for a while. I was at Mom’s by 3:30 and had a nice rest of the day hanging out and drinking beer and snacking and eventually falling asleep on the couch until about 2:30.

That’s also the way I roll.