"Fair"ly Well

Guess that pretty much sums it up. I'm doing fairly well living my new life in Annapolis. And it is kind of a new life - I'm completely self-employed for the first time (and also completely freaked out by that), paying double the amount of money I was paying in Harrisonburg for an equal-size apartment, and struggling to make connections in a town that is much more culturally diverse and significantly less friendly.

All that said, I really love living here. It's a challenge, but one I needed. If I thought my life was stagnant before, I'm now in a full-blown waterfall!

Probably the biggest adjustment I've had to make is dealing with a more limited social calendar. After four years in the 'burg I finally felt like I was converting my temporary friends into life-long ones (if I've learned anything at all, it's that true friendships take years to build.) I miss the regular Thursday night Wii and boardgame night (yes, I am a self-admitted nerd). I miss the spontaneous dinner invites. I miss the chats over tea and snacks. (On a positive note, it is a great reprieve for my pocketbook.)

Here, I'm starting all over again. Not a huge problem, I've certainly done it a million times before, but I find that as I get older, people shrink more quickly into their pre-formed social circles and comfort zones. It takes longer to create the same knitted bonds of friendship I could easily weave in, say, college. Thinner threads, perhaps? Yikes, okay I think I've carried out that analogy far enough...

Anyway, I've completely digressed. The real point of this post was to talk about the fair I went to. Stephanie (my first Annapolis friend!) is a fellow photog and invited me to shoot the Maryland State Fair up in Timonium with her. We had a great time! It was almost weird to show up to an event with a camera and a tripod but no bride and groom. Ha. I went without any particular photographic vision or goal (not always the best idea) but just to see what I could see. Insert confession here: I love fairs. Always have, always will. There's something almost enchanting about the combination of fair food, carnies, rickety rides, impossible games, and screaming children. Individually they all suck. But collectively, that's where the magic happens.