frail gestures

The entire premise of this long-neglected blog has changed. Were I the melodramatic sort (moi?!), I would tell you I'm unemployed. But that would be misleading. Really, I'm doing the unthinkable. Actually, two unthinkables. First, I'm taking a month off. Second, I'M GOING TO LAW SCHOOL. What's really weird about the latter is that I'm leaving journalism. That I'm on my way to being an attorney seems -- and is -- far off. But leaving journalism? It's a lifestyle, a way of being, a way of thinking. I called a former co-worker while I was at the airport the other day to make sure they had somebody following the corruption cases I was watching. And, oh, I miss that! I had read in the Times that morning that Bob Ney won't run for re-election and Republicans can't replace Tom DeLay on the ballot. Soon after, Lieberman lost the Democratic nomination -- and where am I? Michigan, but more on that later.

Transitions are funny things, especially when they're bridges between one good thing and (hopefully) another. I was ready to leave DC. I'll miss my friends, my job (largely) and the political process. I can't believe I won't be there for election day. But I also can't wait for that next step, for the intellectual challenge and novelty. For a different city, and an apartment that's more my own, for time in the library and in coffee shops pouring over thick books.

Also, I'm working on an article that is very different from the terse, straight-forward reporting I'm used to. It's a magazine profile of a man from my hometown whose grandfather was an important historical figure in the town. Pretty psyched about that -- and more on it later.

So, I'm in Michigan visiting Y&A -- then back to Boston for a couple of days. To Jersey for 10 (Anybody want to hang out in NYC?) and back up north for ... SCHOOL!

Here's to getting this thing going again, eh?