The holiday weekend has come at a good time.I’ve been running non-stop since the middle of August, after the Stibbs family reunion and my return to Ann Arbor. From that point forward, my life has been little else beyond packing, moving, unpacking, and settling in. It’s been a wrenching experience in some ways, exciting in others. Moving is always hard, but this is a big one—and not just in terms of changing locations, but also with respect to so many other things in my life. I’ve got a new job,I’m starting a new career—there are lots of changes. The whole experience has felt a bit like two other times in my life when so much changed with a move: a) when I went to Turkey in 1992 and b) when I started an MA program and moved back to the United States from Turkey in 1999.

While change isn’t easy no matter where you’re going, the fact that I seem to have moved to a really great place makes everything a lot easier. Bozeman is much more of a college town than I had remembered it being from my brief visit out here in December. Indeed, it strikes me so far as a very cool and laid-back place. I really enjoy being able to see mountains everyday, too. In Bozeman, there’s a bike path that takes you past a large hospital out of town, before you swing back into a suburban neighborhood. For a mile or so to your left there is nothing but fields and mountains—it’s really gorgeous. It’s about 7.5 miles from my house to the beginning of the path and then back from the end of the path, and I’ve been riding it about every other day. The other days I’m riding my bike into town to run errands. For now, relying on my bike for transportation is fine, but I get the sense that my long-standing resistance to buying a car is starting to crumble.

 

Indeed, the whole situation out here seems pretty good. My job conditions are good, the town seems cool, and I like my apartment. I don't know many people, which is a drag, but I imagine that will change over time. Bozeman's selection of vinyl retailers could be improved, but I'd say other than that I have no big complaints right now.

(You must really have a sterile personal life when you've purchased so many records on e-Bay lately that your credit card company has frozen your card because they can't believe you'd really be doing this yourself. But what can I do? I'd always been reined in by the presence of good record stores nearby. Cactus Records in Bozeman is okay but they don't sell much vinyl, and I shopped them out my first weekend here). 

I’m really glad that MSU started in August, rather than waiting until after Labor Day to begin the school year. If I hadn’t taught a class yet I think I would be dying of nervousness by now (as it was, I was pretty nervous when I started teaching last Monday!). Regarding the academic calendar, though, I should also say that the early start is nicely balanced by an approximately month-long break between semesters! Sounds like a good time to get some skiing in.

This weekend marked the first time since the middle of August that I’ve actually gotten some academic work done. I’m giving a talk in Boston at the AAASS conference in November, so I’ve been doing some work on Rizaeddin Fähreddin’s biography of Ahmet bey Hüseyinov (I guess I'm just channeling my inner Orientalist, you could say). It looks like I’ll be giving a talk at Princeton as well this fall, so I spent some time yesterday hammering out what I’ll talk about there. I’m also producing something related to my NCEEER fellowship in Russia and Georgia—these things get posted on their website, so I’ll post it when it’s up.

For now, here are some other shots from Bozeman, mostly from the bike trail:

Burnt out remains from last spring's gas explosion 




Nice view from the bike trail

I was distressed to learn that this Jetsonesque service station would soon be torn down


Masonic Temple, corner of E. Main and Tracy

Another shot from the trail

Misty morning

They don't call it Big Sky country for nothing

I have a nice view from my living room