JCTownsley.com

So I suppose its been a while. Time has flown by this fall… I remarked today that I feel like I’m physically here, but the rest of me is hitch-hiking in China somewhere. At some point so much occured at once, that I think I’ve just lost track of time since then.
So maybe the basics first to catch up those of you around the country…
After New Orleans I was offered and took the position of Manager for the Sauvie Island Drainage Improvement Company. Ironically enough after my work with FEMA, my position is responsible for keeping our beautiful island from flooding. Just like New Orleans, without our levee and drainage system, we would be under water all winter and spring.
Part of the job is running the systems: pumps that push tens of thousands of gallons of water a minute, ditches that drain 12,000 acres of farm land, and 18 miles of levees that keep 600 homes dry. The other part is very political: working with landowners over water rights and such, lobbying the Government for funding, and working on grants.
I’ve realized how dangerous salaried positions can be, especially for me. Just like I have drained my energies with the fire department putting in too much time, I find myself working this position seven days a week. However I enjoy a good challenge, and this job has plenty of those.
I’m living in a house now, came with the job. It has been an interesting transistion finding my land legs again. At first I really missed the boat, but the more I clean out my boat, the more I look forward to having it ready for weekend camping trips and such. Perhaps the biggest downside from moving out of the boat is losing that community feeling day-in and day-out. All of a sudden the television becomes a necessary evil of background noise.
After living in a boat for three years, I’ve limited what I own. I’m slowly starting to pick up furniture here and there. Give me a few months, and this will be a pretty fun house I think.
Well perhaps this is it for now, I’m going to try hard and get back into updating here. I think the writing process will be good for me to slowly regain a sense of time and place in this crazy world. I should not be so fortunate that the earth will spin more slowly, but only that my heart and mind can catch up with all that I have seen…