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Where Have You Been? by Joanne Schwart Three years ago, I met someone who coaxed me out of my Piscean shell and into the fray of Rensselaer County issues and politics. It's been a crash course in everything from geology to political science. It's been an illuminating lesson in personal power and public expectations. Somewhere along the way, I stopped defining myself as a liberal, but only because I don't know anymore what any of the labels mean. Coming off the Congress Street bridge at the Front Street exit on a recent Friday evening, after driving through white out conditions on I-88 east of Oneonta, I was again surprised at how things change. I don't live here any more. And I don't miss it. I haven't scraped the bumper stickers/souvenirs of Rensselaer County politics off my car yet. And my cats are still ensconced in Troy, as are most of my worldly possessions. But I've moved. After years of weekend treks to Cortland county to visit friends, the direction has reversed. It's weekends in Troy now, to pack and clean and say "goodbye, come visit." If there is an irony in being an economic refugee from one depressed area to one even more so, it is lost on me. After over six years of muddling through the recession with temporary clerical and restaurant jobs, an occasional plum writing or editing job, and a couple of mind-bending experiences with seriously crazy bosses, it's good just to be somewhere. It's even better to be somewhere I feel comfortable. The unpleasant reality of moving with three cats and no money has been minimized by not dealing with it. I've made some phone calls. The friend I'm staying with went through her rolodex and came up with a dozen names of people to call who might know of someplace. I will get to it - I have no choice. But most nights I've driven the 20 miles from work to my friends, made and eaten dinner, visited a bit and crashed. "I feel like I'm walking off a plank, the water is very cold here, but not uninviting." Joanne was a Founding Partner of Troy United Ink but has not been involved with TUI since October 1996. In cooperation with Troy United Ink Corp., a not-for-profit corporation 
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