micah takes photographs

heather & i moved to her camp on seneca lake at the end of last week. moved is sort of too strong a word, but the plan is to stay there until august. it’s only an hour and a half away, & we came home this weekend, so it’s close enough that i can hang out with people from home. but it’s far enough away that it’s a different life.

i’m a little nervous about it, just like i am whenever i live somewhere new. but i’ve been upfront about it to heather, who is sort of counting on it being an awesome experience, and has no plan b.

but, when i think about it, it’s got a whole lot of things i’ve always wanted to try. we’re living in a cabin, on a lake. there’s electricity, but just barely. no television, no internet. there isn’t running water, and it’s kind of exciting to develop a system for dishwashing with pitchers, basins, and water heated on a fire. in fact, i think most of our cooking will be over the fire. and that’s one of the things that feels so right to me.

town is only a few minutes drive, and charlie is with me. he can’t make it all the way down the windy dirt road, but he can make it halfway alright. driving down that road, which is directly next to a vineyard, in the sun, makes me feel like i’m in italy. and driving into town makes me feel like i’m in virginia. and those are good.

we talked to a guy about working crew on the big sailboat. i don’t care so much about the money, as long as i’m not doing it so much as to interfere with my business. so i’m considering proposing a cheap-labor-for-specific-schedule proposal; i work for less than he offered to pay, as long as i only work sat & sun afternoons. i have not proposed this to him yet; he & heather & i, and i think anyone else interested in being on the crew, is to meet this tuesday. i’ve always wanted to learn how to sail. heather paid a lot of money to go to the mediterranean and learn; if i can get away with getting paid, even peanuts, instead of paying, then i guess i came out on top.

it’s all just strange, because this all wasn’t exactly the plan. we said it was, but heather had always said, "if my other trip doesn’t work out," and really, heather and i make a whole lot of plans that we haven’t always followed through with. so now that it’s happening, it’s strange. i was just getting used to living at home, i guess. i’m reminding myself of the cool things this opportunity offers, and trying not to think about it too much. i think too much, you know? i want to enjoy it.

oh, but, so, i’m gonna go to the library in town everyday to work, to get internet. so you’ll see less of me, and probably hear less of me. but i’ll do my best, i promise.