It’s been over two months since my big move. There’s been quite a few headaches, and I still have things to finish, but I can now say that I’ve officially settled in!
The main headache for me these past few weeks has been unpacking everything at my new residence. There was a lot of things to move from my old place, and there’s only so many places in a room you can put things. Thankfully, my new bed has a lot of space under it for keeping short boxes, so I’ve been able to store a fair amount there. My new closet also has a lot of space, so anything I can’t find a place for can be put there for now. My new desk is still cluttered, and my chairs are less than ideal for sitting (as they frequently are used as makeshift short-term placement of random s***), but I have a feeling that I’ll find opportunities to declutter as I go. As things are needed, I’ll find the best place to keep them. It’ll take a while to make things optimal, but I’ve at least unpacked everything. Now, I can focus less on making myself at home and more on enjoying home.
On a similar note, unpacking the office is going well. Assembling the necessary furnishings and finding spots for everything has not been easy, but I’ve found a place for everything, and my business partner is satisfied with our current progress. After weeks of delays, we finally managed to get internet connection to the office and get the printer/scanner up and running. While there are still some technical snafus here and there, and there’s a lot of case files and financial paperwork to finish reviewing, the office is effectively operational. Once we’ve finished tying up loose ends, we’ll be able start taking up new cases.
Speaking of loose ends, I still have business in Tillamook over the next few months. This means that my days of wearing a suit are still not behind me; instead, I now must put on a suit about once a week after waking up at 4am and going on the customary 1.5-hour drive. Still, it’s not all doom and gloom; living in Salem, Oregon means I have access to various quirky vintage and thrift shops. On one such shopping trip, I recently picked up a dapper fedora to complement my suits (and to keep the sun out of my eyes). Between this fedora and my new prescription glasses, I feel like a new man who’s all about business anytime I go to Tillamook.
Given my relative free time in the wake of settling in, I’ve also been looking around for ways to do some good in the community. One such way is gradual involvement in political activism. Recently, I attended a meeting of the Marion County Board of Commissioners to lend my support to something important to my work and values. For those not attuned to 2025 American politics, there has been a lot of controversy regarding the heavy-handed enforcement of immigration laws. Across the country, there have been disturbing trends of masked immigration enforcement officers apprehending, incarcerating, and deporting unauthorized immigrants and those suspected of being unauthorized immigrants. As someone who is descended from refugees and economic migrants alike, and as someone who deals with immigration law on an occasional basis (part of providing competent defense involves going over immigration consequences with non-citizen clients), this situation is extremely troubling. One bright spot is that things are slightly better in Oregon than in many other states thanks to Oregon’s sanctuary laws, which restrict when and how local or state law enforcement can enforce federal immigration laws. I’ve seen the benefits of this in my line of work; one positive aspect of police work I’ve noticed through hours of body cam footage is that police investigators almost never ask suspects or witnesses of their immigration status, even if the person clearly doesn’t speak English. Recently, the Marion County Board of Commissioners sued the State of Oregon to partially challenge Oregon sanctuary law regarding communicating with federal authorities about record subpoenas (that’s admittedly a big simplification; here is an article from the Statesman Journal (my main Salem-based newspaper) with more details: https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2025/08/19/marion-county-lawsuit-kotek-bondi-sanctuary-law/85725460007/). I believe that this lawsuit is an inappropriate use of resources, as any ambiguity could be resolved by consulting with Oregon’s Attorney General or similar such authority. This thereby comes off as political posturing at the expense of Oregon’s vulnerable immigrant population. I, along with several dozen others, attended a public Commission meeting to protest the Commission’s action (here’s an article from the Statesman Journal with more details: https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2025/09/04/marion-county-commissioners-get-earful-over-lawsuit-about-illegal-immigration/85960426007/). While I didn’t get a chance to testify myself, I wore my suit (though not with a fedora) to lend an air of professional community to the assembled protesters (I also had to stand behind a pillar due to a lack of seats, so you won’t see me in the photos/videos in the Statesman Journal article). The Commissioners tried to keep dissent silenced (we were forbidden from loudly applauding, despite applause being allowed earlier in the hearing on separate matters), but I hope we made our voices loud and clear through testimony and presence. I don’t know if I’ll get more opportunities to socially contribute in this matter, but I plan to try; Oregon’s sanctuary laws make the state a haven for economic refugees and their families, and this is a cause I am willing to continue championing when not in court.
On a more cheerful note, one thing I’ve been dealing with a lot more these days is the presence of cats in my residence. My landlord and landlady took in three adorable kittens around the time I moved in, and I’ve been seeing the little kitties gradually start to grow. Their names are Pete, Delmargaret, and Ulysses (named after the main convict characters from O Brother, Where Art Thou?), and I call them the Serotonin Squad (my landlady sometimes calls them “Ben’s Fan Club,” as they seem to get excited any time they hear my door open or me come down the stairs). These cuddly little critters are always a treat to run into, though they have presented their share of nuisance. Their insistence on attacking my feet and sneaking into my room at every opportunity have led to more than a few groans and have been hindering my plans to get back into cooking/mixology experiments, but it’s a worthy price to pay to see these furry purr machines on a regular basis. I’ve gotten used to carrying a cat toy around with me anytime I move around the house in case the fuzzy little delinquents want to play. I think I can only describe their cuteness so much in writing, so here are some photos of the wee beasties from the last few weeks.
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| My first photo of the Serotonin Squad (at least, of two of them). Look how tiny they are! |
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| All three of them, enjoying one of their favourite pastimes. |
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| Ulysses here has discovered that he enjoys climbing onto me. |
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| Awake and on the move. |
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| Pete, here seen with his vanquished prey. |
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| Sleepy Ulysses, taking a break from attacking/climbing me. |
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| Not cat-related, but still cute: I got to hold a little opossum at a pride event recently! For those wondering, his name is Luigi (note the green markings on his head). |
Those are the most interesting things going on in my life for now. I’m holding off on going to conventions or other major excursions until I’ve got work underway and a steady cash flow into my firm. Nonetheless, I look for joy wherever I can find it, and I’ve been finding little victories here and there. Aside from video games and the Serotonin Squad, I’ve been hitting up local markets with Cthulhu and finding my feet in setting up new routines. I’ve gotten back in the habit of regularly working out, and I’ve been experimenting with a new point system to reward myself for enforcing good habits (like going to bed at a reasonable time and saving money). Hopefully this will help mold me into a more successful person on a day-to-day basis. Since I just finished an entire law office transplant and marked the sixth anniversary of my admittance to the bar (six years…wow), I think I’m doing alright on the lawyer front. I just need to declutter, wrap up some loose ends, and keep fighting the good fight; Salem will improve me, and I hope to make my mark in Salem’s legal world.
