Two days before I was supposed to leave Pennsylvania, it hit me that I didn’t want to drive into Vermont after dark. There was something about getting there before while the sun was still in the sky that felt very important to me. The timing was tight but two Saturdays ago, I made it over the state line as the sun was setting. I pulled over into a nature reserve and watched the sun go down as some geese fly over head. It was beautiful.
What exactly are Vermont-y things? I’m still investigating but it probably involves maple syrup.
It’s been an adjustment. I haven’t worked in an office since March 12, 2020, and I’m in a weird place with clothes. I make small talk and drink really strong coffee. I’m learning how to produce a live radio show and it’s overwhelming and exciting at the same time. Oh, and my desk can be adjusted to any height I want with just a button, it’s so nice.
Vermont outlawed billboards in the 1960s, so the other day, when I took a random exit off Route 89 hoping to pick up lunch, I really didn’t know what I’d find because the only sign said “FOOD - 1 mile.” I wasn’t aware until then how much I’m used to billboards screaming, “MCDONALDS” or “BOB EVANS” or “FILL IN THE BLANK CHAIN RESTAURANT.” It was fun, in a way, to trust a vague sign. At the end of that mile, I found a deli and got a chicken wrap. Vermont said there’d be FOOD and there was.
Also, there’s a thing called Public Radio Cake Week and it originated at this very station?? I love history.
Alsooo, I met the governor??? Not planned, I was scheduled to meet the reporters who work out of the state capitol office in Montpelier and it just happened to be the same day as two amendments were officially added to the Vermont Constitution, so I got to tag along. What a field trip!
Alsooooo, I’m technically a journalist???? I keep forgetting because that’s not how I see myself. I don’t break news, run after sources, or chase down leads. That’s not the type of work I do. I felt the Imposter Syndrome big time when I was at the statehouse. You can’t miss me in the video below since I’m the only one in the front of the press pool standing straight up. I blend in like a Pinot Noir stain on a white tablecloth.
Part of me that wants to fast-forward to a year from now. I’ll be more at ease with what I’m doing at work, I’ll know the area much better, and I’ll hopefully have a few friends by that point. But another part of me, the one that got me here, knows that this awkward in-between is an important part of the process. Just because it’s painful and hard doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. I try to remember that.
Week 1: stick season. Week 2: snow season.
I had never heard of Vermont’s stick season until Noah Kahan’s song “Stick Season” (very popular here, far and away the most mentioned song in our year-end music show). “The season of the sticks,” as he sings, is the few weeks of the year between when the leaves have fallen off the trees but snow hasn’t fallen yet. It’s a time of transition and it feels poignant to have landed here when I’m in transition too. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Thanks for sticking with me on this journey upwards and onwards. There’s probably typos in this thing and I hope you can overlook them. If you’d like, you can buy me a cup of Vermont coffee here or here which will both help keep me caffeinated AND keep me warm. Take care and stay cozy. xo