Off to the East Coast

And here begins my trip east. (I just caught a flight to Seattle (to connect with another headed to DC). I sat in seat 23F. Who was sitting in the same seat 8 rows ahead of me? Sean Parnell, riding coach. A man of the people — it was good to see him hanging with the scrubs. The guy’s alright.)

I’m headed to the Big Apple for another round of graduate school, this time at Columbia University. I’ve felt truly fortunate at a few points in life. This opportunity represents one of those points. Here’s to hoping I can keep my feet planted through the challenges ahead and stay focused.

I’ve made a list of things to do at school. Among them is a biggie: take advantage of the intellectual culture available to someone living in New York City, and I expect to attend New York City Council meetings and committee hearings, visit the Housing Development Corporation, hear Intelligence Squared US and TED Talks events live, hit Birdland and a few other jazz clubs, and hear a NYC Chamber of Commerce event on the “wealth building secrets of the 1 percent." That’s all in the first month. I’ll throw in a Mets game in mid-June as well.

But it’s the academic culture I plan to truly take advantage of over the next two years. My professors, I’m coming to realize, will include some fascinating people — Joseph Stiglitz, David Dinkins, et cetera.

Perhaps the school (School of International and Public Affairs) offers travel projects. If so, I’d love to visit developing states and their respective cities. It would offer valuable perspective as I study urban policy. It would also let me practice my Spanish in the process.

But I won’t need to travel far to watch urban policy in action. That’s part of what’s so exciting — I can simply find a few neighborhoods around New York and visit them regularly. Watch what’s happening and ask folks about the past. Write down what I see and hear. Perhaps draw up a proposal for a final academic project and, if the opportunity presents itself, share it with potential backers.

The courses are falling right into line, and they include: quantitative analysis; economic analysis; cost-benefit analysis; immigration policy; economic development in NYC during the downturn; housing policy and equitable development; quantitative analysis II for international and public affairs; quantitative methods in policy research; and public finance and debt management. 

Baconfest 3

Mark Ridgeway's shitty-ass cornhole shot.

Evidence of the aforementioned shitiness.

Hi. I'm apparently saying something so important that these two don't give a shit.

Winners for best beverage-based bacon treat, savory bacon treat, and desert bacon treat. 

Girls night out

Drag show. Juneau rocks.

Miss Behavior in action.

Southeast Alaska

My new haircut. First order of business when I got to Juneau: go see Rhonda, the best barber(ette?) in the state.

Two hours earlier I’d experienced the second real earthquake in my nine years in the state. It wasn’t even that big but it was strong enough to notice.

I was flying from Fairbanks (so long) to Juneau. We’d had a layover in Anchorage. I got off the plane to stretch my legs. That’s not accurate — I got off the plane to get a newspaper, changed my mind, and got denied immediate reboarding by the bitch manning Alaska Airline’s checkpoint. I needed to wait 45 minutes and board with the folks leaving Anchorage. So I got the paper, sat down and chilled out.

A few minutes later my seat started to shake. Enough to make me look around for the douchebag jumping up and down in his chair. But I didn’t see any such douchebag. Instead I saw other things around the terminal also shaking, such as the handrail a few feet away.

I asked the guy next to me if it was an earthquake.

“Either that or there’s an underground railroad down there.” I squelched the thought of a Lincolnesque comeback and smiled instead.

Bodie the hairless cat. 

So here I am, on no sleep, and it only took me 6 hours and zero effort to find a great, free place to stay while I’m here. It’s with my friend Jeanne, current player and former captain for the Juneau roller derby team. She bumped into me at the coffee shop at 4 o’clock and immediately offered me a place to stay for all 9 days here: her house, with her three roommates and her hairless cat Bodie.

The place is great and it’s only a few blocks from downtown. Perfect.

I’m a fucking lucky man. I’ll earn it with 40-ish hours of labor on the house.

My next blog entry: inflation … 

Big international dump

It's my last night in Fairbanks. I'm off in the morning to Juneau and, after that, to the East Coast (the Big Apple).

So here's a bit of a mystery to leave behind. I visited the bastardized neighborhood tavern on Saturday, the Big International (Big I). Work crews were doing major road construction outside. They were running machines. The whole fucking place shook each time a machine passed back and forth past the front door — every 10 or 20 seconds.

The big dump.

I’d like to know who the fucking genius was who decided the Big I should stay put while each and every other neighboring property should be bought (eminent domain) and demolished. I’m not talking about decisions made when the issue was revisited a few years ago. I’m wondering who originally suggested that dump stay put (pushed for it, against logic, in the 1980s). Who was the fucking genius bureaucrat who pushed for that shithole to stay standing? Some perpetual drunk? Someone needs to hire a hero to come blow the shithole up. 

About me

Here's information for those considering rooming in NYC: 

I'm a 36-year-old professional, and I'm starting my first year at Columbia U's MPA program in the fall.

I was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania but have been in Alaska for 9 years, the first year in Anchorage and the past 6 in Fairbanks (Homer in-between). I don't smoke and, while I’m social, I don't party.

I’ve worked mostly as a newspaper reporter up here (google “christopher eshleman alaska”) but quit in August to finish my first master's degree (University of Alaska), which I got in December. Since graduating I've worked as a consultant.

I'd like to get to New York now so I can acquaint myself and look around for permanent off-campus housing.

Here's me: https://www.facebook.com/chrisreshleman. 

If you're interested I can get there before the end of May.

My last landlord is named Colin Edgar and he’s at 907.750.5166. Use my old boss if you’d like another reference (Rod Boyce, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 907.459.7585).

---  

Chris Eshleman 

MPA class of 2014

(Urban concentration, advanced economic/policy analysis specialization)

Fairbanks, Alaska 

eshlemanchris@gmail.com 

I’m going to take a crack at changing my eating habits. I don’t feel quite ready to stop watching films, although I know I’ll feel lonelier if I did stop and recognize that any feeling is good feeling …

This is going to suck. For two months. Of course Rocky only had five weeks to prep for Creed, so I imagine I can handle this: 

8 am breakfast

10:30 snack

Noon lunch

2:30 snack

Snack

Dinner — meal

The party starts (ends) Friday morning.

An aside: From former baseball great Lenny Dykstra, who was on the radio the other day (paraphrased): “If you’re lucky you get a manager who appreciates the things you do more than he focuses on the skills you lack … who can see beyond his ideals and recognize the value right in front of him.” He was speaking about how he succeeded in the league, and on the variables that might make one player more successful than another player of equal raw talent.