In the midst of the night
Dear Internet,
It's been quite a while since I've posted.
I apologize to all those who have kept checking up in search of artwork, stories of adventures, or jokes to keep your day light. All in all, not much has happened. Works happened, then stopped rather suddenly. I'm still dating Alicia. The local vampire LARP swallowed me, then receded to an acceptable level.
The main reason that I've decided to return is to provide myself with a schedule and some inspiration.
Truth be told, I've missed posting my thoughts on an open forum and sharing all of your experiences, knick knacks, art, and whatever the hell you post on here. Good, bad, or ugly, I've missed having a place to share and be shared with. I've missed the sense of a community.
So, to start, I'll be posting progress on the job hunt and posting anything interesting that happens to me throughout the day. I hope you enjoy it. :)
For starters, this was Alicia and mine's Anniversary. Kind of. We're not entirely sure when we started dating. Truth be told, I think it was in July, but we had never celebrated it and decided to do so this weekend.
The weekend started off as planned. We dropped by GatCat and Lex's cabin in the middle of the woods, drank some wine, and had a good time. It was good to see Scotch and Genius again (Those are the two dogs). Scotch jumped up with such excitement that I wondered if he actually remembered me from our adventure in Oregon such a long time ago. As for Genius, she's gotten a bit into her old age and I couldn't really tell if she remembered me or not.
Good wine, good company, and good conversation were had. Extended conversation revealed that I had more in common with Gatcat than I care to admit too.
After that, Alicia and I drove up in search for a place to camp Saturday night. Which, we rather epically failed at. I must admit; It was my fault for not making reservations ahead of time. Every other time I've gone to California's Northern Coast, I just drive up Highway 1 and land in whatever campsite I'm nearest too around sunset. But, much to my misfortune, every single one was booked this weekend.
According to the nice old lady at the visitor center, the first two weekends of August are the BUSIEST time of the year. The weather is nice, the summer is nearly over, and it's the last chance for the local yuppies to take their kids camping before they get into school. So, Alicia ended up driving around for four hours while I called every damn campsite within 60 miles.
Nothing was found.
After driving around all day, we did find one place with some sites and decided to check it out. It was called ">Lawson's Landing", on Dillan's Beach. Remember that name; it will be important later. Never go there.
So, we drove and hour from Santa Rosa to snag ourselves the final camp site in Northern California. We traveled through winding hills, cow fart infested air, and glorious sun glazed vistas. At long last, we arrive in Dillan's Beach. The beach is clean and friendly. Dozens of families are engaging in volley ball, BBQ, and swimming. So far, so good.
A small wooden sign directs us to the campgrounds a mile up the road; it's rivets rusted and threatening to fall off the post at any moment. How quaint. After a half mile, we see some RVs, then some motor homes, then finally the camp site nestled within a series of Dunes about half a mile off the beach.
It's packed neighbor to neighbor. Tent to tent. The campgrounds themselves are about a mile of dirt and dry grass with literally hundreds of tents, RVs, and families packed one right next to the other over flat lands.
Neighbors and no privacy. Well... that isn't too bad. I'm used to camping in similar situations during SCA and the ladies at the front gate are quite friendly. Perhaps the view isn't too great, but it's only a half mile's hike to the beach. It's a bit white trashish and isn't actually what we were looking for, but hell it's a place to sleep for the night and the people are friendly.
So, we start looking for an empty space to set up camp. First, we do a lap to the end of the site before my first red flag goes up. It turns out that Lawson's Landing ends in another half mile of mobile homes; most of which don't look quite so mobile anymore. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind folks who live in motor homes. I've had quite a few friends who have lived in one and they tend to be fine people.
Except, this particular breed of mobile home owners makes me feel a bit nervous. There are clothes lines in the front yards, dozens of car parts, and another dozen loud, barking, noisy, obviously aggressive, dogs yapping up a storm. Finally, there was an undefined odor emanating from this corner of the campground which can be best described as a combination of feet, moldy jelly, and old milk. This makes me feel a bit nervous.
I believe Alicia made a joke about a gypsy caravans stealing children into the night.
Well, crap. No worries. We just won't camp by the B-side horror movie film set. There's plenty of space and we should be fine if we just set up camp on the opposite side of this stretch of land.
So, I go scouting. I get out of the car and run around the Dunes for a while until we find an empty, and fairly secluded, little valley between two hills of sand. Perfect for some privacy.
No sooner do I start entering the Dune than the neighboring sand-valley's inhabitants begin to give me a hard time about setting up camp there. They gave me a few reasons, ranging from bad winds to waiting for their friends. So, I decide to be neighborly and look for another spot.
VIOLA! We find an empty patch of grass nestled between a canvas pavilion and an RV. It isn't too big, but the pavilion's inhabitants look like they are laughing and friendly. So, I open the passenger door to go ask if the space is free.
No sooner do I leave the car than two large dogs come bounding out of the RV, growling and barking. Now, I tend to be pretty good with animals, so I starting coo'ing and trying to calm down the larger dog. At this point, the larger dog, which looks to be some kind of yellow Labrador mutt with a particularly short, wide snout, starts to get very, very aggressive.
It started by growling. So, I ask the folks in the Pavilion if it's their dog. Then, it actively begins to snap at me and close the distance between me and it. I stand my ground and go back to trying to talk it down calmly. So, it decides to leap at me and bite me in the leg. Or, try too. I'm pretty quick and manage to wedge my sneaker between me and its teeth.
I'm normally not very afraid of dogs, but this one struck a coord deep in my mind that told me that this was not a situation that I wanted to get too. It snapped at my leg, so I jumped onto the hood of the car and tried to shoo it away. First, with soft noises, then by getting ready to kick it in the head. It proceeded to snap at me again and start trying to get atop the car and attack me.
Thankfully, their owner started screaming something in a southern drawl from inside the RV and the dog whimpered and began to wander off. I took the opportunity to dive back into the passenger seat and GTFO. Swiftly.
I reported the unleashed, aggressive dog, and the ladies at the front were nice enough to file a report and give me my money back without a fuss.
Unfortunately, it was too late to find a place for the night. Alicia and I ended up driving the 2 1/2 hours back to Sacramento and spending the weekend at her apartment. Not the most romantic way to spend an anniversary.
All things considered, I still had a few great moments this weekend. During the madness, we managed to walk around a gorgeous beach by Goat rock, pick wild blackberries (which tried to eat me), give Alicia a makeshift bouquet of flowers from the side of the road, and spend some time with an good friend. We got some good pictures of a graveyard on Alicia's old Minolta camera and ate some delicious sushi.
Still, next year, I'm going to make sure that we do something a bit more organized. Being spontaneous may be more fun, but getting stuck driving all over Northern California, then being forced to drive all the way back home, put a bit of a dampener on the weekend.
Tomorrow, I have a Grange Hall meeting and should apply for more work in Sacramento. I hear that there may be a few Government jobs opening up next month; hopefully I can get on board doing some statistical analysis.
Tuesday, we have a storyteller meeting for TAG, a local Vampire: The Masquerade LARP that I'm a storyteller for (I'm a dork)... and I should continue looking for work.
I will likely spend tomorrow afternoon floating around League of Legends and scanning some of the quick sketches that I did this week.
Until next time,
Truly,
Yours,
The only,
~Kigs
PS:
If you'd like a quick sketch, I'm pumping them out for an easy $5. Let me know.
It's been quite a while since I've posted.
I apologize to all those who have kept checking up in search of artwork, stories of adventures, or jokes to keep your day light. All in all, not much has happened. Works happened, then stopped rather suddenly. I'm still dating Alicia. The local vampire LARP swallowed me, then receded to an acceptable level.
The main reason that I've decided to return is to provide myself with a schedule and some inspiration.
Truth be told, I've missed posting my thoughts on an open forum and sharing all of your experiences, knick knacks, art, and whatever the hell you post on here. Good, bad, or ugly, I've missed having a place to share and be shared with. I've missed the sense of a community.
So, to start, I'll be posting progress on the job hunt and posting anything interesting that happens to me throughout the day. I hope you enjoy it. :)
For starters, this was Alicia and mine's Anniversary. Kind of. We're not entirely sure when we started dating. Truth be told, I think it was in July, but we had never celebrated it and decided to do so this weekend.
The weekend started off as planned. We dropped by GatCat and Lex's cabin in the middle of the woods, drank some wine, and had a good time. It was good to see Scotch and Genius again (Those are the two dogs). Scotch jumped up with such excitement that I wondered if he actually remembered me from our adventure in Oregon such a long time ago. As for Genius, she's gotten a bit into her old age and I couldn't really tell if she remembered me or not.
Good wine, good company, and good conversation were had. Extended conversation revealed that I had more in common with Gatcat than I care to admit too.
After that, Alicia and I drove up in search for a place to camp Saturday night. Which, we rather epically failed at. I must admit; It was my fault for not making reservations ahead of time. Every other time I've gone to California's Northern Coast, I just drive up Highway 1 and land in whatever campsite I'm nearest too around sunset. But, much to my misfortune, every single one was booked this weekend.
According to the nice old lady at the visitor center, the first two weekends of August are the BUSIEST time of the year. The weather is nice, the summer is nearly over, and it's the last chance for the local yuppies to take their kids camping before they get into school. So, Alicia ended up driving around for four hours while I called every damn campsite within 60 miles.
Nothing was found.
After driving around all day, we did find one place with some sites and decided to check it out. It was called ">Lawson's Landing", on Dillan's Beach. Remember that name; it will be important later. Never go there.
So, we drove and hour from Santa Rosa to snag ourselves the final camp site in Northern California. We traveled through winding hills, cow fart infested air, and glorious sun glazed vistas. At long last, we arrive in Dillan's Beach. The beach is clean and friendly. Dozens of families are engaging in volley ball, BBQ, and swimming. So far, so good.
A small wooden sign directs us to the campgrounds a mile up the road; it's rivets rusted and threatening to fall off the post at any moment. How quaint. After a half mile, we see some RVs, then some motor homes, then finally the camp site nestled within a series of Dunes about half a mile off the beach.
It's packed neighbor to neighbor. Tent to tent. The campgrounds themselves are about a mile of dirt and dry grass with literally hundreds of tents, RVs, and families packed one right next to the other over flat lands.
Neighbors and no privacy. Well... that isn't too bad. I'm used to camping in similar situations during SCA and the ladies at the front gate are quite friendly. Perhaps the view isn't too great, but it's only a half mile's hike to the beach. It's a bit white trashish and isn't actually what we were looking for, but hell it's a place to sleep for the night and the people are friendly.
So, we start looking for an empty space to set up camp. First, we do a lap to the end of the site before my first red flag goes up. It turns out that Lawson's Landing ends in another half mile of mobile homes; most of which don't look quite so mobile anymore. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind folks who live in motor homes. I've had quite a few friends who have lived in one and they tend to be fine people.
Except, this particular breed of mobile home owners makes me feel a bit nervous. There are clothes lines in the front yards, dozens of car parts, and another dozen loud, barking, noisy, obviously aggressive, dogs yapping up a storm. Finally, there was an undefined odor emanating from this corner of the campground which can be best described as a combination of feet, moldy jelly, and old milk. This makes me feel a bit nervous.
I believe Alicia made a joke about a gypsy caravans stealing children into the night.
Well, crap. No worries. We just won't camp by the B-side horror movie film set. There's plenty of space and we should be fine if we just set up camp on the opposite side of this stretch of land.
So, I go scouting. I get out of the car and run around the Dunes for a while until we find an empty, and fairly secluded, little valley between two hills of sand. Perfect for some privacy.
No sooner do I start entering the Dune than the neighboring sand-valley's inhabitants begin to give me a hard time about setting up camp there. They gave me a few reasons, ranging from bad winds to waiting for their friends. So, I decide to be neighborly and look for another spot.
VIOLA! We find an empty patch of grass nestled between a canvas pavilion and an RV. It isn't too big, but the pavilion's inhabitants look like they are laughing and friendly. So, I open the passenger door to go ask if the space is free.
No sooner do I leave the car than two large dogs come bounding out of the RV, growling and barking. Now, I tend to be pretty good with animals, so I starting coo'ing and trying to calm down the larger dog. At this point, the larger dog, which looks to be some kind of yellow Labrador mutt with a particularly short, wide snout, starts to get very, very aggressive.
It started by growling. So, I ask the folks in the Pavilion if it's their dog. Then, it actively begins to snap at me and close the distance between me and it. I stand my ground and go back to trying to talk it down calmly. So, it decides to leap at me and bite me in the leg. Or, try too. I'm pretty quick and manage to wedge my sneaker between me and its teeth.
I'm normally not very afraid of dogs, but this one struck a coord deep in my mind that told me that this was not a situation that I wanted to get too. It snapped at my leg, so I jumped onto the hood of the car and tried to shoo it away. First, with soft noises, then by getting ready to kick it in the head. It proceeded to snap at me again and start trying to get atop the car and attack me.
Thankfully, their owner started screaming something in a southern drawl from inside the RV and the dog whimpered and began to wander off. I took the opportunity to dive back into the passenger seat and GTFO. Swiftly.
I reported the unleashed, aggressive dog, and the ladies at the front were nice enough to file a report and give me my money back without a fuss.
Unfortunately, it was too late to find a place for the night. Alicia and I ended up driving the 2 1/2 hours back to Sacramento and spending the weekend at her apartment. Not the most romantic way to spend an anniversary.
All things considered, I still had a few great moments this weekend. During the madness, we managed to walk around a gorgeous beach by Goat rock, pick wild blackberries (which tried to eat me), give Alicia a makeshift bouquet of flowers from the side of the road, and spend some time with an good friend. We got some good pictures of a graveyard on Alicia's old Minolta camera and ate some delicious sushi.
Still, next year, I'm going to make sure that we do something a bit more organized. Being spontaneous may be more fun, but getting stuck driving all over Northern California, then being forced to drive all the way back home, put a bit of a dampener on the weekend.
Tomorrow, I have a Grange Hall meeting and should apply for more work in Sacramento. I hear that there may be a few Government jobs opening up next month; hopefully I can get on board doing some statistical analysis.
Tuesday, we have a storyteller meeting for TAG, a local Vampire: The Masquerade LARP that I'm a storyteller for (I'm a dork)... and I should continue looking for work.
I will likely spend tomorrow afternoon floating around League of Legends and scanning some of the quick sketches that I did this week.
Until next time,
Truly,
Yours,
The only,
~Kigs
PS:
If you'd like a quick sketch, I'm pumping them out for an easy $5. Let me know.