1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,920 Welcome to buying local. I'm your host, Matt N with Five 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:07,040 Towers Media. I'm joined today with Sean 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:10,720 Palladino. Sean's a writer freelancer 4 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:14,840 frequently actually contribute contributing to our buying local 5 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:19,400 publication where you can see his works on the latest arcade 6 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:24,520 archaeology, Stinky's Coffee even catch a vibe and you know 7 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,600 just so many more. Along with that, Sean's a 8 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:32,800 council on the Council of Glenn's Falls in the Common 9 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:35,520 Council. Sean, welcome. 10 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:38,680 Thanks for having me on, Matthew. 11 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:40,680 Quite an introduction, wasn't that? 12 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:48,000 Yeah, I still AM at a glow of like, that I'm was even like 13 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,160 elected because that was my first time ever, like running in 14 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:54,520 for public office. And I've learned so much from 15 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,800 along the journey. And the fact that it was down to 16 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,360 just 28 votes really shows that every single vote matters. 17 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:05,360 I mean, that's awesome. Yeah. 18 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:09,400 But before we get into things, just to kick things off, would 19 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,120 you just take a minute? I know I had that lengthy 20 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,000 introduction, but I know I missed probably half of the 21 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,560 great things you do. So for the listeners, could you 22 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:23,520 just take a minute and explain a little bit about who you are and 23 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:25,800 you know where you're spending most of your time nowadays? 24 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:32,520 Well, I grew up actually in New Jersey but moved into the area 25 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,440 in 2017 to be with my now husband Michael. 26 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:40,840 We actually we knew each other since 2015 and we finally 27 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,520 decided to we should get married at some point. 28 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,800 So we finally got married last year, but we did get a house 29 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,000 together in 2021, one of the new developments along the Pedar 30 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,680 Canal, which has been lovely and also a weird like there's never 31 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,160 a perfect time to buy a house. But it seemed like 2021 was like 32 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:02,080 right at the cusp of everything rising. 33 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,440 So I guess it was good that we decided to buy a house first and 34 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:09,600 then get married. But I've been an active runner 35 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,280 since I was in middle school, so I was loved. 36 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,960 I loved how there's the Adirondack Runners Group and 37 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,920 Glens Falls, as well as a relatively new group called 38 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:22,840 Glens Falls Run Club that meets every Tuesday. 39 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:29,520 So I almost every week at least I try up join one of their group 40 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:35,120 runs I've worked at. This is a new thing for me at 41 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,400 being involved in civil service in terms of being elected 42 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:43,800 council as well as more recently working as a recording clerk for 43 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,320 the Warren County. Because I've always been in like 44 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:54,680 logistics kind of jobs and manual labor because I did not 45 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:56,680 know what I wanted to do in life. 46 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,200 I had suspicions. I've always loved to write when 47 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:06,040 I was since I was little, but sometimes you never know 'cause 48 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,880 there's so many possibilities and it seems overwhelming. 49 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:18,280 And I just love that I found my calling in a way of like, 50 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:25,440 whether it's helping people with this Councilman position or even 51 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,960 the county clerk, as well as right and about the cool new 52 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,760 businesses. Yeah, great. 53 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,280 Thank you, Sean. I mean, I obviously want to 54 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:38,480 unpack all of that. Just First off, congratulations 55 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,200 on your recent marriage and your big purchase of your home. 56 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:43,880 That's that's great. That's wonderful. 57 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,240 But yeah, I just just to start it off, I just wanted to dive, I 58 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,760 guess, a little bit deeper into your writing process. 59 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,360 You know, I'm pretty familiar with your writings. 60 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:58,600 I'm going out and about dropping off our newspapers, buying 61 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,080 local, and we're very grateful to have some, you know, 62 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:06,440 outstanding articles written by you specifically. 63 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,280 I just want to dig a little bit deeper in the writing process. 64 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,280 What's it like when you're walking into these Stinky's 65 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:18,959 Coffee or the Hub or you know, these these recent places that 66 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:21,320 you've highlighted? Do you already know what the 67 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:23,720 story is going to be when you're walking in there? 68 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:25,800 Or is it something like this? You kind of just let the 69 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,240 conversation go and then you know, you work your magic after 70 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,040 kind of just walk me through that process of writing a story. 71 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,440 I think it's definitely a little bit of both because when I wrote 72 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,720 about the Glens Falls Karate Academy, that was my first time 73 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:48,720 ever joining the karate Academy, which based on my childhood of 74 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,960 childhood bullies, maybe I should have learned karate well 75 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:57,160 beforehand. But I that as well as others, I 76 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:02,080 just go in like not knowing and just just learning and taking it 77 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:08,480 all in, as well as researching like the history of like of how, 78 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:12,920 how long a business has been existence. 79 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:16,840 Like Glens Falls Crowd Academy had been there for a decade. 80 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,920 So it was fun to like research and look at what they were 10 81 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:25,400 years ago, especially how Ridge St. was 10 years ago in Glens 82 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:28,320 Falls. Not like there was very few 83 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:33,120 things there, like there wasn't 2 restaurants, a bookstore and 84 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,040 and a spa boutique. It was basically just Glenn's 85 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:43,760 Falls Keratomy, Glenn's Falls Chronicle, and City Hall. 86 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:45,640 Not much, not much over the street. 87 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:51,200 So I kind of do that, try and walk into an interview with 88 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:55,240 someone not knowing where it'll go, but also try and research 89 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,200 history beforehand to get the context. 90 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:00,600 Awesome. Yeah. 91 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:05,000 Because there's you definitely have, I mean, each writer has 92 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,320 their own, you know, style and writing patterns and, you know, 93 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:13,640 storytelling specifically. The one I was reading was your 94 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:18,360 arcade archaeology, which was awesome, which was, you know, I 95 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,520 was thinking it was like, you know, you're just, you're 96 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:26,240 playing pinball, but you made the story make it seem like 97 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:29,240 playing pinball was the most important thing in the world, 98 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:32,520 you know? So yeah, go ahead. 99 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,680 I do have to say I give credit to Lonnie, the owner, because 100 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:43,280 his enthusiasm was infectious. Like if and I, I think I put in 101 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:47,200 my article that like if every time you walk in there, you will 102 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:50,920 know way more about pinball and the history of pinball machines 103 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:52,840 than you did well before you walked in. 104 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:56,800 So it was that was really amazing and I loved his 105 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,720 enthusiasm. I think I mentioned like maybe I 106 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:05,160 sent you guys a picture of like one of the how he like opens up 107 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,360 the pinball machine so it all so you can do repairs. 108 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:14,240 That was, it's kind of almost like a, I forget which kind of 109 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:15,920 car. I think that maybe it's like a 110 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:22,280 truck where it opens, opens opposite way of the front. 111 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,560 What are they? What's it called The front? 112 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:30,280 Where there's a trunk in the front. 113 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:32,480 Yes, Yep, Yep. Yeah, it's kind of cool. 114 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,000 Yeah, that is neat. Yeah, I, I guess just could you 115 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:40,360 explain a little bit like about that, maybe specifically with 116 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:46,880 that arcade story? I guess I, is there a moment 117 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,560 where you thought I really want to help people see the places 118 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,560 like I do You, you explained how you walk in there and it's just 119 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,120 so vibrant. The the vibe in there is great. 120 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,680 Do you? Do you want to have your 121 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:05,520 articles be in the same way that you see it? 122 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,080 That's like, yeah, that's a good way to describe it. 123 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:12,600 Yeah. Like try and like, 'cause my 124 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,720 mind, ever since I found out I was recently diagnosed with 125 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:22,280 ADHDI, my mind is always running at like 1000 miles a minute, 126 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:24,240 like seeing this detail, seeing this detail. 127 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:29,960 And I think that's what I try and cultivate with how I write 128 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:34,120 articles to like walk, someone walks in and be like, oh, 129 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:36,919 there's these cool like machines here. 130 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:40,360 Or they walk into Glens Falls Karate Academy and like, oh, 131 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:46,600 there's a, there's a whole bunch of like signs here or, or 132 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:52,440 artifacts here or see or walking into the romance bookstore, like 133 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:57,400 all of the amazing like crafted bookshelves, like trying to sort 134 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:00,520 of tell the history of of how that thing was made. 135 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:06,160 And as well as the things that sometimes people don't realize. 136 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:11,160 Like I had no idea what the project pinball was that sort of 137 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:17,400 started this whole thing and how it's helped bring pinball 138 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,440 machines into what was it? Look into my article now, like 139 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:25,440 Ronald McDonald houses hospitals. 140 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:30,760 Like it's kind of a unique way of like, oh, like that's the you 141 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,480 never know where pinball machines or why pinball machines 142 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:40,240 end up where they are and try to bring that information to to the 143 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:43,360 readers. Yeah, that's, that's, that's 144 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:45,640 great. Was there, I mean, you're, 145 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,280 you're in front of so many interviewees and tons of 146 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:54,560 businesses was could you tell us about a time where there was a 147 00:09:54,560 --> 00:09:59,760 fun or maybe even a, a cool situation while writing a story 148 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:04,560 that you've experienced? I would definitely have to be. 149 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:09,560 Stinky's Coffee was really fun because when I finished my 150 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:14,760 article about Kitschevibe, Ryan from Stinky's Coffee, they, they 151 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:17,680 have partnered with Diana's Kitschevibe because they have 152 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:24,600 the, a Stinky's Coffees brand coffee that you could buy from 153 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:27,440 Kitschevibe. And he loved my article so much 154 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:31,080 that he's like, hey, can you write about my new, my new shop 155 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,640 that's going to be opened up? And he literally like let me 156 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,720 walk through his new shop before it was finished. 157 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:46,360 So I got to see like some of the OR the one of the big wall art 158 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:50,600 from Hannah Williams, right? Yeah, Hannah Williams before it 159 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:52,320 was finished. So I got to see how she 160 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:58,240 stenciled in like all of the creatures before it was painted 161 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,080 in. So it was that was my first time 162 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,200 experiencing that of like seeing something before it was finished 163 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:05,280 and get excited to write about it. 164 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,240 Yeah, that's neat getting to see behind the scenes. 165 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:16,360 I mean, you, you do a lot of work with like short films and 166 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,680 you have that artistic side. So could you kind of just walk 167 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:25,120 me through, I mean, you, you upon connecting, you sent over a 168 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:30,560 great blog, I guess, correct me if I'm wrong, of your last past 169 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:32,120 year. It's it's wonderful. 170 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:35,360 I had the chance to go through it and there's a section in 171 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:41,000 there, short films, and it looks like a lot of it was recent or 172 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:43,480 in the past work. Why? 173 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:45,280 Why did you decide to include that? 174 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,600 Are you still in that world of short films? 175 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:50,240 Do you? Do you still do that in your 176 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:56,520 daily daily ventures? Well, I just did. 177 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:58,080 I just did like short films for fun. 178 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:02,840 Like I just finished a really cool project for the Friends of 179 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:07,080 Crandall Library 'cause we just had our book sale and I asked 180 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:11,840 people if they wanted to have me record them and talk about the 181 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,640 books they found. Because used book sales, you 182 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:19,720 find so many different kind of books and just find trying to 183 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:23,920 find people to highlight their book finds was amazing. 184 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:29,360 So I made a little compiled video from that and I think most 185 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,960 recent one I did was compiling footage when I was on the canal, 186 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:35,960 when I was kayak on the canal, seeing all the beautiful nature 187 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:39,320 shots. I just do it as a way to just 188 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:41,920 another creative outlet kind of thing. 189 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:52,840 Although I did, I think on my blog I did put the 10 videos 190 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:57,200 that I made with my brother when I was like 14, called those guys 191 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:00,320 with the laptop. It's weird watching them now, 192 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,680 especially because our voices are definitely a lot higher 193 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:07,440 pitched and obviously me without a beard. 194 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:11,320 It's also fun to watch. Yeah, everybody go check it out 195 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:12,920 if you want to see Sean without a beard. 196 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:16,440 But you know what, it's kind of funny actually, because I think 197 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:21,400 those, those guys, the laptop, it was a way for me to practice 198 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:24,800 what I'm doing now of how to review stuff, which was, wow, I 199 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:26,880 didn't realize that that that is kind of cool. 200 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:31,720 It's like my, it's like my life was, was I was doing everything 201 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:33,440 all along. Yeah. 202 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:36,040 That, that was going to be my next question. 203 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,640 It it always seems like you've had this knack for the 204 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:43,760 creativity side, the storytelling. 205 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:47,080 Was there a specific moment maybe in your life where you 206 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,200 were like, I, I just love to do this, This is my calling. 207 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:56,880 Well, I, it's funny, I was not the best student, but when I 208 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:01,640 went to Community College, I got an associates in communications, 209 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:06,880 which all the various classes like a broad selection of like 1 210 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,920 semester of radio production, one semester of journalism, 1 211 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,200 semester of a couple semesters of English literature. 212 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:18,200 So in a way, like, and I remember when I was a kid, I 213 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:23,600 would always like always have a notebook in hand, write in. 214 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:28,280 There was a I'm trying to remember that there's a movie. 215 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:31,840 I think the main actress passed away recently. 216 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:37,320 I'll try. I'll probably remember it late, 217 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:41,000 late at night, But there there's so many different movies growing 218 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,880 up that I'm like, oh, I guess I'm not the only one I could 219 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:47,720 like you can make right in a, a career kind of thing, even 220 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,200 though I, it's not really career at this point, but who knows? 221 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,160 But let's see. Oh, but I think on my website I 222 00:14:56,160 --> 00:15:01,040 did highlight a short story that I wrote when I was 10 years old 223 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:05,200 called Ghost to the Clubhouse. And it was really fun to like, 224 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:11,080 repost that and transcribe it from notebooks 25 years later 225 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:15,520 'cause there's kind of lovely. And also a fun little moment to 226 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:19,160 reconnect with my cousins Michelle and Jenny, who were 227 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,840 like a part of this book. Quote UN quote. 228 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:27,920 Yeah, that, that's awesome. The ghost of the club's 229 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:32,880 clubhouse, along with a couple others that you've written from 230 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:37,760 a young age. I mean, was it just like you 231 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:41,360 just sat down and just all these creative stories that like you 232 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:45,440 said, your, your head was rushing with the ADHD and did 233 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:47,160 it? Did it almost feel like these 234 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:53,120 characters wrote themselves or did it then when pen to paper, 235 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:56,480 was that thought or was it always just an effortless, oh, 236 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:59,440 I'm just going to write a story and it's going to be amazing and 237 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:01,120 it's this is what it's going to be about. 238 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:06,200 I think it, I always try to like take different things from like 239 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:08,120 different sources because whenever it goes to the 240 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,240 clubhouse, it's about pirates. I was a big fan of Pirates of 241 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:13,920 the Caribbean, so that was a major influence. 242 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:20,240 And also I love like talking about like my experiences, like, 243 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:24,480 like going to my cousin's house and climbing up the ladder for 244 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:29,480 their tree house and envisioning like, oh, what if it was a 245 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:33,520 haunted tree house kind of thin. Because I was also very, very 246 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:39,320 much into the, the, that's the word ghosts and that kind of 247 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:45,640 like phenomena. But I, it's funny, I, I 248 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:49,680 reconnected with like the beginning of that beginning of 249 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:54,000 what my childhood was like when I went to see Anthony Rigiki's 250 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:59,440 Color World, which was a children's book about his own 251 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:05,079 life essentially of being this art artistic kid that nobody 252 00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:09,240 really understood and how he was able to use his imagination to 253 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:14,079 create wonderful worlds. And this live production that he 254 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:20,480 made last January, there was a scene where the Henry what the 255 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:24,760 main kid in it was lying on the floor like doodling a whole 256 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:26,720 bunch of things. And that's exactly what my 257 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:30,680 childhood is like just with writing, like just just 258 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:33,960 constantly pen to paper, just writing all these different 259 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,320 stories or, or journaling about what my day was like. 260 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,080 And I'm realizing that's journalism is a huge, or 261 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:46,880 journaling in a way is a huge way to deal with any kind of 262 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,000 like mental illness kind of thing or deal with like whether 263 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,160 it's depression, anxiety, or any kind of like trauma that you're 264 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:55,960 going through. Because when it's out of your 265 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,840 mind, you're able to think clearly again. 266 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:01,800 Yeah. Could could you explain a little 267 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:07,960 bit more of anything that you've dealed with and maybe the 268 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:11,720 journaling, like you said, that was that was a major piece to 269 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,880 kind of get you through that. I mean, there's a lot of lot of 270 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,720 noise out there and a lot of people who do deal with a lot of 271 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,920 anxiety, depression, they, they don't really talk about it. 272 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:25,960 So, yeah, could you just expand a little bit more of maybe a 273 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:30,240 personal story of how journaling has, you know, kind of shaped 274 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:36,000 shaped your mindset around that? But I do one of the big things 275 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,200 this past year was trying to break the stigma of just mental 276 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,840 illness in general when because we all deal with depression, 277 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:50,280 anxiety or any kind of trauma. And last this in 2024, I had 278 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:56,680 mental health crisis that almost took my own life, but I got the 279 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:02,640 help I needed from Glens Falls hospital and and through that 280 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:08,240 experience I it's funny the when I was asked like, have you ever 281 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:12,200 like been to a therapist? Like, Nope, because I try to 282 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:16,440 deal with it on my own, which sometimes it works, but 283 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:17,960 sometimes you need that outside help. 284 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:22,640 And I realized like going through that experience of just 285 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:28,160 how powerful writing and meditation and talking to a, a 286 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:35,160 therapist cuz they're able to help work through problems much 287 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:37,720 better than somebody might be on their own. 288 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:45,520 And I think finally finding that confidence again after 289 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:50,160 depression has allowed me to try things that I never would have 290 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:55,120 thought possible, like reaching out to a local paper to say, 291 00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:59,360 hey, can I be a freelance writer Or deciding, hey, I want to help 292 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:04,480 the city, how can I get on the ballot for a local election? 293 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:11,680 Just these things that my mind would feel like, oh, that would. 294 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:13,800 Have the negative thought patterns of like. 295 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,040 You can't do this, Sean. You don't have the experience, 296 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:22,160 but if you find someone to help work through those negative 297 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:24,760 thought patterns, you can. The Sky's the limit. 298 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:28,720 Yeah, thank you, Sean. And it, it sounds like you're 299 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:30,560 doing a lot better. And so that's that's great to 300 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:32,560 hear. And we're very thankful to have 301 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:36,120 you writing in our publication. You know, there's no one better 302 00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:39,800 than you, Sean. But moving on to the council 303 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:43,960 side, could you just explain a little bit more of why you 304 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:45,920 decide to run in the first place? 305 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,360 It's funny, I remember when I was in high school, I was always 306 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:52,760 the shy kid, but there was like a small part of me that was 307 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,760 like, I want to run like I because it sounds, because the 308 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,720 nature of it is really you're just, you're just represented in 309 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:04,520 helping people get stuff, whether it's for a school or a 310 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:08,080 town or to help improve their lives. 311 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:14,080 And the, the fact that when I looked into it, that it was only 312 00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:16,680 35 signatures I needed just to get on the ballot. 313 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:18,560 I'm like, I think I could do that. 314 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:24,360 And I got 43 signatures. And I had a good mindset of when 315 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:27,400 you first run for public office, you're probably not going to win 316 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:33,200 because Ben Latham, who represents ward four of the 317 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:37,480 Common Council, think he lost twice, either once or twice 318 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:41,480 before finally get elected. There was another gentleman, 319 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:48,120 Bill Loeb, forget which ward he represented, but he had ran and 320 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:52,800 lost his first time. So I knew I, I knew my mindset 321 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:54,600 of like, it'll be a fun experience. 322 00:21:54,600 --> 00:22:00,720 If I lose, it's fine. But the fact that I won, I'm 323 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:05,640 learning way more about local politics than ever in terms of 324 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:11,880 like how how it runs behind the scenes, especially with Diana 325 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:17,840 Palmer's new initiative of trying to have things go through 326 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:19,560 the various different committees, whether it's a 327 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:21,560 quality of life committee, Policy Committee. 328 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,680 So that way there's more eyes on the issues. 329 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:32,040 And so that way the counselors are not just the, the, the 330 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:35,320 counselors don't have to know exactly all the insurance and 331 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:38,720 outs of whatever resolution they're trying to go through. 332 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:44,320 If, whether it's a, a Policy Committee, they could like have 333 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:49,800 experts figure out like what's the, what are all the things 334 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:55,040 involved with the policies or the finance and audit committee, 335 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:59,320 They could actually have experts to figure out whether this 336 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,440 financial transaction's good or not. 337 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:07,240 I'm still learning. That's still a learning process, 338 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:12,800 but I'm excited to like, continue to help my neighbors 339 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:18,280 have a better quality of life. Yeah, yeah, definitely. 340 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:21,960 And I, I also saw there was a section on the blog you sent 341 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:25,520 over to me. You, from my understanding, you 342 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:31,120 have transparent, I guess, meeting summaries from each of 343 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:34,520 the meetings or any of the council's, which which I found 344 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:37,280 is really cool because, you know, someone like me who's not 345 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:41,640 on the council can, can still know what's happening in these 346 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:43,560 meetings. And I, I just think that's a 347 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:49,040 really great aspect of it. Could you kind of just walk me 348 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:51,560 through that process? Was it, was it kind of awkward 349 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,240 when you were writing an article and then, you know, the person 350 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,120 sitting next to you saw that they were in an article when 351 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:00,400 they I guess weren't used to that before? 352 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:04,400 Or was that I guess something that they appreciated? 353 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,680 Now someone's coming in here and writing a whole blog and being 354 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:10,760 transparent so our community knows what's happening. 355 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:12,560 Just kind of walk me through that. 356 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:18,240 Well, I've, I've definitely this another learned experience of 357 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:25,800 knowing what's private and what's public and and this is 358 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:31,960 probably something that I, that any journalist probably knows 359 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:37,080 that I'm still learning of. Always make sure you like ask 360 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:41,680 before writing down. Yeah, because I may have got 361 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:45,800 into trouble recently like some of some things that I thought I 362 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,840 heard from somebody say, but realizing, oh, wait, no, that 363 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,280 was a private conversation. I should not have said that. 364 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,440 Yeah. So it's a learned experience, 365 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:59,160 but I'm, I'm getting better at it to make sure that anything I 366 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:06,120 write is honest and also ensures that privacy is a privacy is 367 00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:07,600 intact. Yeah. 368 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:11,600 Because while transparency is nice, there are things people 369 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:16,080 don't want to publicize, just like even my trying to 370 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,240 destigmatize mental health awareness. 371 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:22,200 Some people just don't want to talk about it, and that's OK. 372 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:27,920 And you got to let people find their own voice. 373 00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:32,120 Yeah, yeah. And I, I appreciate you being 374 00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:37,200 open about that and again, tackling that stigmatism because 375 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,800 there's a lot of people out there and people just don't, 376 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:44,320 don't like to talk about it. So I appreciate you you bringing 377 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:48,000 that up. Going back to something you 378 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:53,120 mentioned earlier on in the interview introduction was the 379 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:56,560 Feeder Canal Alliance. From my understanding, you do a 380 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:00,040 lot of clean up with them and you know, you've spend a lot of 381 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:03,680 time around there. Could you update me on the great 382 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:05,680 things that's happening around Feeder Canal? 383 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:12,560 Well, Artie, the executive director helped me submit a 384 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:16,960 parks and trails application for an adopted trail along the 385 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:21,640 feeder canal, which hopefully it'll get approved because it'll 386 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:25,400 be a, a way for, to get materials, whether it's trash 387 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:31,640 bags or gloves, as well as being able to document any issues we 388 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:36,240 see on the canal and send it to the canal corporation So they 389 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:41,120 could help deal with any like trees that are down or stuff 390 00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:43,840 like that. So that way people can flow down 391 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:50,120 the canal smoothly. But I, you know what's funny? 392 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:55,680 I, I've always like picked up trash because it's such an easy 393 00:26:55,680 --> 00:27:01,680 thing to like to just feel like you did something to clean up. 394 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:08,040 And I love the fact that I'm inspired way so many people just 395 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:12,040 to help clean up even just a small section of the canal 396 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:16,360 'cause I think since May or last May, we've picked up over 100 397 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:20,200 trash bags, which has been amazing in terms of like 398 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:25,200 realizing like where, where all the, where all the hideout spots 399 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:27,880 are along the canal, which is kind of funny. 400 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,080 I'm like, oh, like that's where all that's that's where all the 401 00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:35,720 teenagers or 20 somethings party with with the use book by beer 402 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:42,200 cats, but also feeling like we're protecting the canal 403 00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:46,560 because there's a lot of animals that use it so they don't have 404 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:52,840 to like try and Mosey around these bits of trash and cans. 405 00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:58,440 Yeah, Well, I know the community applauds you and for the 406 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:03,200 listeners out there, between the articles that you do, the 407 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:07,320 council work, the volunteering, the running groups, you know all 408 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:09,920 of it, You're you're you're doing some great work in our 409 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:12,480 communities and in all of ours backyard. 410 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:17,120 But what's that one thing that you really hope people across 411 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:22,760 Warren, Washington, Saratoga that you that they that you 412 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,840 would want them to take away from the work you're doing? 413 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:41,600 I think the big thing is to to really acknowledge that if I can 414 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:45,440 do something, that anybody could do something just to inspire 415 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:49,520 more people just to get involved because it's so easy. 416 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:56,680 Well, I say it's easy, but it's you really can do anything that 417 00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:00,480 you set your mind to. Cause all it's, we live in an 418 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:04,480 environment where everything's a quick Google search away on how 419 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:09,240 to, on how to run for elected position or how to start a 420 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:18,960 running group or, or how to, how to begin writing, whether it's 421 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:24,800 like sending an e-mail to a local newspaper or, or something 422 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:28,640 like that, Like they're, you really can do anything that you 423 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:34,760 set your mind to. And I hope when people like hear 424 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:38,200 me or see what I'm doing to that, it resonates with them 425 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:40,760 that, that if I could do something, they could do 426 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:43,160 something. It's a there there should be no 427 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:50,120 gatekeeping because we're is the nature of democracy like it 428 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:52,120 requires our active participation. 429 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:56,760 Yeah, active participation from amongst us all. 430 00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:01,640 We can go do a do a lot of great things together as a community. 431 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:06,400 But Sean, I know we're running short on time. 432 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:11,960 I know I I've tried to ask all my questions that I wanted, but 433 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:18,720 if there were any questions that you wish I asked, would you? 434 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,320 Would you? I guess I'm opening the floor to 435 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:25,920 answer any questions that you hope I must have asked. 436 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,800 Now's the time. Would it be possible for me to 437 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:35,560 ask questions about you? How did you get into into buying 438 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:39,280 local and and this and this company? 439 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:41,280 Yeah, yeah. No, awesome. 440 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:46,920 Well, there is a brief interview on buying local of Mike and I. 441 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:50,680 We sat down just doing a little background of my work. 442 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:56,240 But yeah, I'm originally not from this amazing community that 443 00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:00,040 I've been so welcomed with warm arms in. 444 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:04,200 I'm originally from New Hartford, Utica area, couple 445 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,080 hours away. I went to school in Rochester, 446 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:13,400 moved back out here and then, you know, putting the feelers 447 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:15,800 out. Graduating from school needed a 448 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:18,240 job. So I was connected with Mike 449 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:22,440 and, you know, through a pretty long interview, like he liked to 450 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:26,080 say he put me through the ringer, but I, I really felt 451 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:28,440 like this was a good, good spot for me. 452 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:32,280 And, you know, I get to talk to amazing people like you. 453 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,960 So I'm, I'm really grateful for for where I'm at. 454 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:37,440 And you know how my career's been starting. 455 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:39,960 So I appreciate, appreciate you asking. 456 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,120 And yeah, I mean, I know we're getting short on time again. 457 00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:50,040 So if people wanted to, you know, dive deeper, read more, 458 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:53,880 learn more about you, Sean, Where I guess where can they 459 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:56,880 find you? My website's the easiest, the 460 00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:03,800 Sean Palladino so SEANPALLAD ino.com. 461 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:09,120 I'd like all my blog posts. I try and link to any by local 462 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:13,160 articles that I'm part of, as well as my common Council 463 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:15,760 summaries that I'm still going on. 464 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:20,600 Although kudos to our new Chief of Staff, Steve Thurston, him 465 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:26,440 and Emily Neal, the deputy city core have done an absolutely 466 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:30,560 amazing job of transforming the agendas that the Comma council 467 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:34,000 gets in terms of making it easier to access with page 468 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:38,080 numbers and links to things because the the previous 469 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,720 administration didn't really make it user friendly. 470 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:47,800 So the, the fact that the agenda items hopefully make it easier 471 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:54,640 for the public to to dive into is will be a great thing. 472 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:58,600 But also I'm happy that I am making summary. 473 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:02,480 So even if they even if they can't dive into a 200 page 474 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:06,120 agenda, they can at least get the highlights of like, what are 475 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:10,440 these five important things? That's great. 476 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:12,680 Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Sean. 477 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:16,000 This was very inspiring. I had a great conversation. 478 00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:20,080 And again, just appreciate you coming on. 479 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:23,480 So thank you. And to everybody else who is 480 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:26,320 listening, thank you. And of course, you can find us 481 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:31,000 at Buying local dot US. We are on Spotify, Apple Rumble 482 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,760 in YouTube, and you'll be hearing from us next week.