My Life Lately

Signs posted outside the House Finance committee room.

It's the final few days of the Alaska Legislature's normal session, which means there's a lot of the above. Waiting. For example, Darryl and I were scheduled to cover an 8 am House Finance meeting this morning, but it was delayed until 9:30 am. But I'm the last one that should complain. My five fellow crew members have been kind to let me get off early this week so I can spend time with visiting friends from Wrangell and enjoy the Alaska Folk Festival. I got to leave the Capitol last night at 7:30 pm (after 11 hours of working) while other Gavel to Gavel staff were working until 1:30 am when the House Floor finally adjourned. The House Finance committtee reconvened after the Floor session and didn't end their meeting until 2:30 am.

Important decisions, billion-dollar decisions (and that's not an exaggeration), that affect the entire state are being made in the wee hours of the morning by legislators who feel pressure to fit as much as they can into a 90-day session.

My emotions have been a rollercoaster the past week and a half knowing that this would end soon, 'this' being my peek into Alaska politics, my up-close look into how bills live and die, my infatuation with certain legislators and my utter disenchantment with others. The Alaska Capitol is a unique world, as I'm sure all state capitols are. And I've only done this for one year. Imagine those who've worked in this building for decades, how sucked in they must feel. I've been telling myself that life within the Capitol - the plush seats in the committee rooms, the ever spotless carpeted floors, the constant availlability of hot beverages (I won't even go into its occupants) - is not real life. It's just that the actions that take place here determine how we live our real lives.