Still here
The other day I came up with a brilliant idea only to be frustrated by the facts. It all began after I recently got hired to work for my local historical society as a museum educator (which is basically the title of someone who does a lot of different things that can't really be described very well). Since I'll be working at the historical society, I thought it'd be neat to work on a side project and try my hand at writing again. I came up with the perfect topic too. I basically wanted to find a Civil War regiment that had been recruited in Columbia County, and write about it's involvement in the battle of Gettysburg. The idea was great because it combined the resources I had at hand (The local historical societies) with my favorite topic (the battle of Gettysburg). I even had visions of getting the article published in one of the many Civil War magazines that get published. The beautiful thing was that I thought I had finally found something about the battle of Gettysburg that hadn't already been written. After all, what Gettysburg scholar has even heard about Columbia County much less has thought about writing about it's contribution to the battle.
So in preparation for my new project I went online to find out what regiments had been recruited in and around the area. After going through nearly 200 hundred regiments I came up with a few that had been recruited from this county. Doing a little background research on them I discovered that all the regiments from this area were not involved in the battle. Not a single one. Two had signed on for two years at the beginning of the war and were mustered out in the weeks leading up to the battle. And two others were recruited in 1862 for three years, but were in Louisiana at the time of the battle. Not one friggin regiment from this county was at the battle. So much for a good idea. Instead I will just have to content myself to writing about the idea in my journal, so that people can read it and think "is this all this guy has to talk about?" Yes. Yes it is.
Anyway I start my new job a week from tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, though I'm a little concerned at how I will be at it. The big thing is I have to go into elementary school classrooms and put up with children and actually teach them stuff. I don't know if I'll have the patience for that but we'll see. I'm still going to be working at the bank on weekends, though after a while I might get sick of having to work 6 days a week and just quit. But for now I don't mind since I have made a lot of friends at the bank and going in once a week will be good for getting to see them.
This weekend was nice and relaxing as usual. After work and a haircut on Saturday I went golfing with Lieutenant Phil (my friend who recently graduated from West Point and will be heading to Alabama to fly helicopters in two weeks). Then we ordered some pizza and watched the Yankees, followed by a trip up to Albany to hang out at Jillians (a sports bar / club). I had never been to Jillians but it was actually pretty fun, though it would have been more fun if there were a large group of people such as we used to have down in Gettysburg. We played some pool for a while and then just chilled and talked about our different college experiences for a bit before heading home. The good thing about bars in New York as compared to Pennsylvania is that they are smoke free. In PA when you go to a bar you leave with the horrible smell of cigarrettes stuck on your clothing. In New York there is no such problem now. That being said I would have much rather been sitting at the Plaza or Mama V's with my friends instead.
Yankees 2.5 back of first with a 4 game series with the Sox coming up after the All-Star break. I am headed to the stadium on July 31st and on August 14th. My hope is that on one of those days the Yankees will overtake the Sox for first, as that would create a great atmosphere for the game.
Anyway, time for sleep.
So in preparation for my new project I went online to find out what regiments had been recruited in and around the area. After going through nearly 200 hundred regiments I came up with a few that had been recruited from this county. Doing a little background research on them I discovered that all the regiments from this area were not involved in the battle. Not a single one. Two had signed on for two years at the beginning of the war and were mustered out in the weeks leading up to the battle. And two others were recruited in 1862 for three years, but were in Louisiana at the time of the battle. Not one friggin regiment from this county was at the battle. So much for a good idea. Instead I will just have to content myself to writing about the idea in my journal, so that people can read it and think "is this all this guy has to talk about?" Yes. Yes it is.
Anyway I start my new job a week from tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, though I'm a little concerned at how I will be at it. The big thing is I have to go into elementary school classrooms and put up with children and actually teach them stuff. I don't know if I'll have the patience for that but we'll see. I'm still going to be working at the bank on weekends, though after a while I might get sick of having to work 6 days a week and just quit. But for now I don't mind since I have made a lot of friends at the bank and going in once a week will be good for getting to see them.
This weekend was nice and relaxing as usual. After work and a haircut on Saturday I went golfing with Lieutenant Phil (my friend who recently graduated from West Point and will be heading to Alabama to fly helicopters in two weeks). Then we ordered some pizza and watched the Yankees, followed by a trip up to Albany to hang out at Jillians (a sports bar / club). I had never been to Jillians but it was actually pretty fun, though it would have been more fun if there were a large group of people such as we used to have down in Gettysburg. We played some pool for a while and then just chilled and talked about our different college experiences for a bit before heading home. The good thing about bars in New York as compared to Pennsylvania is that they are smoke free. In PA when you go to a bar you leave with the horrible smell of cigarrettes stuck on your clothing. In New York there is no such problem now. That being said I would have much rather been sitting at the Plaza or Mama V's with my friends instead.
Yankees 2.5 back of first with a 4 game series with the Sox coming up after the All-Star break. I am headed to the stadium on July 31st and on August 14th. My hope is that on one of those days the Yankees will overtake the Sox for first, as that would create a great atmosphere for the game.
Anyway, time for sleep.