The State Street Peeps

In order for this blog to be an effective tool, I also need to be taking action outside it. That will happen soon, in a very structured way, due to school. In the meantime, and hopefully even as that gets going again, I want to make sure I am taking the kind of action each day that gives me something meaningful to write about here. It's not that I'm doing nothing, but a lot of what I have been doing lately is related to either my personal relationships or my Buddhist activities. That is good stuff, but that isn't what this blog is about. Of course it's all interconnected, but I'm working on a specific thing here.

One thing I guess that has been developing gradually worth mentioning is the community of the house I live in. I thought maybe I'd posted this already, but I skimmed through previous posts and didn't see anything. There are 4 apartments in the house, and everyone who lives here is really cool. Everyone seems to be interested in food and the outdoors and being cool neighbors. There is also a general consensus that bikes are at least as respect worthy as cars, if not more so. There have been some potlucks for just hanging out... we hosted one, the girl next to us hosted one, and the people on the second floor have had several. We are musicians and students and grocery store workers and gardeners and philosophers and talkers and doers. In the foyer as you come inside, there is a community monthly calender and it has all sorts of awesome events and notes and drawings. Sammy watched our cat while we were gone, and now we're watching hers while she's gone. We bump into eachother in the driveway or stairwell or sidewalk or garden/backyard and talk about food or religion or work or society or whatever. It's not all the time, and it's not in your face. It's relaxed and develops when someone wants to do something or communicates. I'm so glad I live here, because it has a little of the feel that I'd like the village to have. Unlike most places I've lived since moving out of my parent's house, *all* my neighbors are friendly and interactive and utterly unbitchy. The last place I lived I think had the willingness, to an extent, but people ended up keeping to themselves for the most part, even though we always talked about more. Here, we knock on each others doors, and we do stuff, we don't just talk about it. I'm delighted to live in a place with a real garden (even if I didn't make it), and one step closer to that village vibe.