What I Learned From Living in Maine

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My time living in my home state of Maine for the first time is coming to an end. I don't know if I will ever live here again, but I will certainly visit often and have appreciated being able to explore this naturally beautiful state. I've learned a few things from being here for two years, and I wanted to reflect on this time here on the blog.

My Appreciation for Craft Beer

Maine has an awesome craft beer scene. There are breweries of all sizes and styles, from Allagash, to Shipyard, Sea Dog, Black Bear, Geaghan's, Baxter's, and my personal favorite, Orono Brewing Company. This community is a fun, passionate one full of unique flavors and artistry in each beer. Going to local breweries helps support small businesses, but it also allows for connections based on a share interest with other people or it's especially great when you can talk with the people who made the beer you're enjoying. I look forward to continuing to support the breweries I love, and discovering new ones in Maryland and wherever else I go to visit.

The Value of Beautiful, Natural Spaces

Most of Maine is covered in trees, that is a fact. The state (which is larger than most people think) is sparsely populated with small towns nestled in these woods, and Maine also has a beautiful coastline. My partner and I especially enjoy the Bar Harbor area which is a popular tourist location that neighbors the very awesome Acadia National Park. There is an abundance of naturally beautiful spaces in Maine, with plenty of great trails to walk and mountains to climb. It is important to preserve areas like this for people to enjoy. It's good for communities in so many different ways (jobs, recreation, and the environment just to name a few major ones) and I look forward to finding spaces to explore in Maryland.

The Importance of Family

My mom and all of my extended family lives in Maine (my brother still lives in Delaware, where both of us grew up) so it has been nice to see my family up here more often than I ever had before. It is really great for me to be able to spend quality time with my mom as our relationship shifts into a new phase with me no longer being a student and "adulting" full-time with my partner. It is a bummer that I will be moving away and not able to spend as much time with everyone, but I know the values that I have developed and the importance I have put on my family will persist into the future. I'll come up to visit as often as I can, and it will be a priority more then it has in the past, when I would go too long between visits. Our families can be frustrating sometimes, but they also (hopefully) love us unconditionally. They will always be supportive and excited for what is happening in our lives, so it is important to make time for them when we can. I look forward to doing my best to continue to cultivate my relationships with my family, especially my brother and mother, since it was just the three of us for a long time and I don't want us to drift apart.

I've appreciated my time in Maine, but I am looking forward to getting my first apartment, living with my fiance, and being close to two big cities as well as our friends. Stay tuned for more thoughts as I go on my next adventure!

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 09/12/14

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Geek-and-proud

Here's to another week in geek!

This week's stuff is all local places and events I've been enjoying lately. I share these in an effort to encourage you all to get out and shop local! I'm sure there is more cool stuff going on than you know in your cities and towns and awesome stores to support with people who live in your community!

If you read my previous post about some life updates, you saw a picture from a fun event here in town called Bangor Greendrinks. As the name implies, it is a monthly community gathering for folks to have a drink and share their love of sustainability in all its forms. The events are held at different local establishments and have different local breweries supply the beer as well as a different local shop donate food for the event. It's an awesome community effort that I plan on going to every month. I've already met some cool people out at the gatherings and I look forward to meeting many more!

I usually buy all my movies and games from Amazon these days but I recently was introduced to a super cool local store called Bull Moose. It's a local chain that sells new and pre-owned movies, books, games, and music (including vinyl). The games are everything from NES to Xbox One and they have comic books, all sorts of movies, and lots of other cool stuff. I have really appreciated their customer service and their prices are very competitive. Even if I'm paying a little bit more, I've enjoyed the personal touch and the opportunity to shop local for all my geeky media needs.

These cool cats were at the most recent Greendrinks event and had some delicious samples of their all-natural, locally sourced juices and smoothies. I got to chat with the owner and founder at the event too, which was awesome, and I am really looking forward to their opening of their second location in downtown Bangor. I also thought it is super cool that they're doing an IndieGogo campaign to help launch this new endeavor, which is great marketing and helps have great community buy-in from the start. Yay for local healthy food stuffs!

Thanks for stopping by!