WARNING: Hot steam ahead.
I was supposed to leave months ago, but things kept coming up, and coming up, and coming up. Finally things settled down enough that I quit my job at the end of March with the intent of dealing with the rest of the to-do list on the road. Well I had been expecting a beneficiary check since the beginning of March, and when it didn't arrive by the time I quit working I called Teamsters and they said, "Oops, it was misfiled and forgotten, we'll work on it ASAP and you should get it in a week. Sorry no direct deposits." Over a week later I called back and they said, "Oh, we JUST gave it to Prudential to look over, call back in two days." Ok so two days later I called Teamsters, who then transferred me to Prudential, and they said, "We don't have it, call Teamsters." Several hours later Prudential called back and said, "Ok we don't have it *yet* and weren't notified of any urgency, so you should expect the check in May." After explaining the circumstances someone supposedly arranged for the check to reach me in five days. A week later, ready to bash my head into a wall, they said the check had been mailed. Two days later (a few days ago) I FINALLY got the check, cashed it in, split it with my sister, and now I'm ready to head out. Don't get me wrong I am more then grateful that we're getting anything at all out of this mess, I'm just frustrated. Oh but that's not all... RIGHT AFTER I quit my job the van, which had been working wonderfully since I bought it and upgraded the battery, started behaving oddly enough to concern me into going for a "pre-trip inspection". Turns out I had a crack in my exhaust manifold and a fresh crack in one axle. The mechanic was able to hunt down a used replacement for the manifold, but it still cost over $600. Ouch. The good news is everything else appears to be in good condition, so fingers crossed that this is the only major breakdown. I'm still kicking myself for not working during all of this, and started regretting my commitment to this trip. Oh but bad things come in threes so while Jesse and I were out on a 50-mile bicycle ride and I somehow injured my achilles tendon. That was several weeks ago and it still hurts like hell. How am I supposed to train for our Seattle to MONTANA bike trip in August if I can barely peddle down to the grocery store!? I'm still going to train during this trip and hope that my foot heals up soon because I feel very far behind (literally).
So what does one do with a bum foot, a broken van, no job, and plenty of frustration? Pull weeds. Lots of weeds. The mom here is very happy. Then for several days straight I sat at my computer and completely pimped out my Stepmania (DDR simulator) game. I went from over 2000 songs to under 500, changed up the themes, and fixed a few glitches. I am quite pleased to have learned a lot about my computer in the process. I also had fun venting in Photoshop, which explains the demented picture of a cat eating itself. Then last night we finished up watching all three extended versions of Lord of the Rings. That only took half of a day each, lol. Ok so now I'm sitting here ready to leave and suddenly I don't feel rushed to get out the door. Even though I have been feeling really down and antisocial lately I am really enjoying being lazy. I'm enjoying staying up late and sleeping in till noon, which has always been my natural sleep cycle. I am REALLY enjoying not going to work. I HATE working. Anyway for a surprise switch in plans, I've got a close friend who recently moved to Washington DC and is willing to help pay some of the gas expense so I can visit her. Wow! I've never been to the East coast and don't see myself having another chance anytime soon, so I'm taking up that offer! Yes I realize that it will depreciate the van, take a LOT driving, and *cringe* a LOT of gas. I probably would have been better off just buying an Amtrak pass, but too late now. For another change of plans I've decided to leave my computer behind. I'm too afraid of having it stolen or broken, and with my time on the road much shorter then planned I probably won't be settling down long enough to use it. Expect a FLOOD of pictures at the end of July, unless I have to cut the trip short and return to work sooner then anticipated.
So right now I am frantically rerouting my trip and trying to find the most interesting way to cross the United States. I'm thinking of taking a Northern route from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming... over to New York then down to DC, continue South, then head back West. Once I hit Utah I plan on slowing WAAAAAY down, especially in California where I had planned on spending most of my time being a tourist and volunteering. This is why I'm going Northeast (coooold spring) first and hitting South (hot hot hot!) later, even though it makes more sense to do it in reverse and follow the nice weather. I had hoped to hit up the National Rainbow Gathering in New Mexico early July, but I doubt I'll want to backtrack that much. By mid-July I'll head to central Oregon for a pre-planned week-long hike with some friends. After that I will return home prior to heading out for a loooong bicycle tour with Jesse, come home for a week, head out again for another week-long hike in the Cascades, sleep for two weeks, head out again for Burning Man, then come home and die, lol. After that I will go back to work while trying hard to keep my sanity in check. Ok I should stop writing now... I will update one more time before heading off.
Edited to add... I know very few people see or take the time to read this, except maybe you Justine, but I write private entries for myself pretty often and sometimes I just need to make a "public" post or random update for fun. I just try to keep the public one's happy because I love to entertain.
So what does one do with a bum foot, a broken van, no job, and plenty of frustration? Pull weeds. Lots of weeds. The mom here is very happy. Then for several days straight I sat at my computer and completely pimped out my Stepmania (DDR simulator) game. I went from over 2000 songs to under 500, changed up the themes, and fixed a few glitches. I am quite pleased to have learned a lot about my computer in the process. I also had fun venting in Photoshop, which explains the demented picture of a cat eating itself. Then last night we finished up watching all three extended versions of Lord of the Rings. That only took half of a day each, lol. Ok so now I'm sitting here ready to leave and suddenly I don't feel rushed to get out the door. Even though I have been feeling really down and antisocial lately I am really enjoying being lazy. I'm enjoying staying up late and sleeping in till noon, which has always been my natural sleep cycle. I am REALLY enjoying not going to work. I HATE working. Anyway for a surprise switch in plans, I've got a close friend who recently moved to Washington DC and is willing to help pay some of the gas expense so I can visit her. Wow! I've never been to the East coast and don't see myself having another chance anytime soon, so I'm taking up that offer! Yes I realize that it will depreciate the van, take a LOT driving, and *cringe* a LOT of gas. I probably would have been better off just buying an Amtrak pass, but too late now. For another change of plans I've decided to leave my computer behind. I'm too afraid of having it stolen or broken, and with my time on the road much shorter then planned I probably won't be settling down long enough to use it. Expect a FLOOD of pictures at the end of July, unless I have to cut the trip short and return to work sooner then anticipated.
So right now I am frantically rerouting my trip and trying to find the most interesting way to cross the United States. I'm thinking of taking a Northern route from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming... over to New York then down to DC, continue South, then head back West. Once I hit Utah I plan on slowing WAAAAAY down, especially in California where I had planned on spending most of my time being a tourist and volunteering. This is why I'm going Northeast (coooold spring) first and hitting South (hot hot hot!) later, even though it makes more sense to do it in reverse and follow the nice weather. I had hoped to hit up the National Rainbow Gathering in New Mexico early July, but I doubt I'll want to backtrack that much. By mid-July I'll head to central Oregon for a pre-planned week-long hike with some friends. After that I will return home prior to heading out for a loooong bicycle tour with Jesse, come home for a week, head out again for another week-long hike in the Cascades, sleep for two weeks, head out again for Burning Man, then come home and die, lol. After that I will go back to work while trying hard to keep my sanity in check. Ok I should stop writing now... I will update one more time before heading off.
Edited to add... I know very few people see or take the time to read this, except maybe you Justine, but I write private entries for myself pretty often and sometimes I just need to make a "public" post or random update for fun. I just try to keep the public one's happy because I love to entertain.