Djengo the Uterus: Unchained

Today. Has. Been. A. Day.

Let me tell you.  Anyone that does not have (or ever had) endometriosis, will never understand.  Or will at least have difficulty understanding.  It is a very difficult thing to be at work and wanting nothing more than to curl into the fetal position and cry.  Cry uncontrollably.  To throw up.  To poop everywhere.  To do anything to make the pain go away.  But no.  Not at work.

How to describe being in pain and having no energy?  The ability to open my lunch box and lean over to pluck things from it evaded me.  The very process to take a breath in and out causes pain.  And requires energy that I barely have contained.  I need to have a second vehicle simply so that it can be an automatic and I can drive it while in pain.  Driving a manual while in pain is no easy task.

Tell me this.  What evolutionary process caused this syndrome to develop?  It must certainly be with the onslaught of modern humanity since any female whose life relied on survival skills would never survive this.  Nosirree.

A travesty today is the inability to have coffee.  For it shall upset my stomach.  But it is very much needed.  A travesty today is needing to take over the counter pain alleviators, but not being able to eat anything due to an upset stomach.  Yet needing the pain alleviators and taking them and making the upset stomach worse.  Yep.  First world problems today for me.  Thank you genetics.  At least I will not be passing on these poor genetics to any poor unwitting victims.  Nope.  You are welcome, unborn children that will never come from my womb.

Luckily, I have the best mommy in the world.  Since I do not have a secure internet connection and my phone was being a douche, I called her and had her order pizza online for me.  Yes.  I just said that.  It just happened.

Fuck.  I'm hungry.  I want pizza now.
-----------------------
Post-pizza feeding Edit

And now, photos of Tiny Home shit that I like.  Enjoy.  Many pics from the blog: Tiny House Living.

 A nice interior, although I prefer the shed roof rather than a peaked one.  More head space overall.  I wonder about the size of that bathroom behind the ladder, but I like the built-in shelving.

 Tall Man Tiny Home. This has some fun ideas about it.  I like that the porch area can open and close, but I wonder about the recessed area- how much space was used to create it from inside the home.

 Potomac Tiny Home, interior by Finn.  I just love the idea of a stove in the house.  This one is made from reclaimed materials.

This is Air B&B in Nashville, TN.  I like how light and open it feels.  I also like the wall-mounted TV and railing for the stairs.  I am assuming the bathroom is behind the photographer...

 Ynez Design (fairly standard for a Tiny Home).

 Tiny House, Giant Journey.  I just like this photo so much.  Photo taken at Petrified NP in AZ.

 Nice size comparison for the interior of a Tiny Home.

 Luxury "Glamper" by Tinywood Homes.  Interesting interior design.  This is the one with a giant hot tub outside on it.

 This photo and the next few are from my very favourite Tiny Home EVER!  Article title: "Couple Builds tiny house for $33K, releases plans."

 

Thug life- Trailer Style

I must put a caveat on here.  My postings will be intermittent for a while.  The wifi here is so sketchy and drops me so often, that it is difficult for me to post any more regularly.  Hopefully, I can figure out this current wifi or just get my own.  We’ll see how my finances fare for a while before going that route.

I have been on a Tiny Home kick lately.  Pouring over all things (especially photos) pertaining to Tiny Homes.  I have found so many neat set ups and designs.  But of course, like all things, money is the limiting factor.  I need to get back in the shopping for a loan gig.  It is no fun and quite frustrating, but eventually, someone will give in and realise my vision. *fingers crossed*

I am discovering the wonders of living on my own.  I cannot recall the last time I lived totally on my own without roommates of some sort.  A month of the summer going into my senior year of college.  WOW!  That's 10 years ago (almost).  Impressive.  Today, I was so busy I did not get a chance to eat until after 1730h.  I got out my folding chair and TV tray and sat outside enjoying the weather and watching the birds at the bird feeders.  By myself with the music blasting from inside my trailer home.  It was pretty grand.  I really like my little niche of a neighborhood community.  I worked on the community puzzle again while doing laundry with a fellow RV park person.  Cool beans.

In the meantime, I ran my first 5K event in a very long time.  I ran the entire thing.  No walking, at all!  It was three loops with a hill in it *cough total of 3 hills cough*.  Most people passed me, but it did make me feel better about myself to see those faster than me walk up the hill while I kept chugging along.  I did not time myself, but I think I was sub-30min, which tickles me pink.

The event was Run As One, a nationwide event sponsored by three veteran support groups.  Here is the description from the RWB webpage:

"In honor of Marine veteran Clay Hunt, an original member of Team Rubicon who took his own life after battling PTS and depression, Team Rubicon, Team Red White and Blue, and The Mission Continues will partner to participate in the 4th annual Run as One on March 28th 2015. The event will not only serve as the celebration of a continued partnership, but will be a symbol of leadership, action, and collaboration across the veterans support landscape."

Before the start of the run, all participants did 22 push-ups, which is the average number of veteran suicides committed per day.  Sad statistics.

After the run, 10 Barrel Microbrew was there and cooked up AMAZING bacon cheeseburgers, with coleslaw, red potato salad and brownies with strawberries.  Fucking fantastic food!

Spent the night in Robie Creek with friends.  It was nice to get away from the world for a bit.  I love it up there.  I would love to live up there, but the commute to work would be beyond awful.  Sixty miles one-way sounds very icky, especially when much of it is in mountain dirt roads.

I am inspired to do more athletic events.  Team RWB Boise is working on creating a triathlon team.  EEEEEEE!  FINALLY!  If they make one, I will definitely join up.  I miss training for tris.  Back when I lived in DC, training with Team in Training for LLS were some of my favourite times.  Hanging out and being healthy with like-minded people makes me happy.  I may not have served in the Armed Forces (for health reasons, I was not allowed to join), but I can certainly support those that have in a healthy and positive manner. :-)

I am planning to sign up for the Idaho Wine Run 10K on August 15th.  There is also the Boise 90 Relay (http://boise90relay.com/) that I would like to participate in on Aug 8^th.  That event is like the Sawtooth Relay, but instead of 2 legs for a 6-member team, it is 3 legs of ~5mi each for a 6-member team, i.e. amounting to roughly a 90-mile run. 

So far, my planned (and some confirmed) event calendar is as follows:

April 11: Spartan Workout Tour (Boise, ID)

April 25: Pat’s Run (Eagle, ID)

May 9: GoRuck Light (Boise, ID)

June 6: Bruneau Beast 5K (Bruneau, ID)

June 13: Boise Spartan Sprint (Payette, ID)

June 25-28: NW Overland Rally (Plain, WA)

July 18-19: Off Road @Steens Mtns, OR

August 8: Boise 90 Relay (Boise, ID area)

August 15: Idaho Wine Run 10K (Caldwell, ID)

Long Time no See!

Sorry it has been so long since my last entry.  Wifi at the RV Park is spotty and for whatever reason, really does not like my desktop.  Quite annoying.  But not the end of the world.  Just means I will not have as many entries as I previously did.

The trailer was delivered on Thursday last week.  I have been staying in it since then.  I am quite happy here.  Aside from the constant background noise of the interstate next to me, it is pretty nice here.  Quiet.  People keep to themselves, yet are friendly.  And best of all, clean.  No pack rats here.  Neat and tidy.  I am discovering that this amount of space for me works very well.  I do not know how much square footage there is, but for just me, it is perfect.  I am working on establishing a routine that works for me.  With time it will come naturally.  I have also saved money on gas!  Wooo!

I consider this a practice run to get ready to live life in a Tiny Home.  I think I can do it!  The Tiny Home I envision would actually have more square footage than this trailer.  I plan to have lofts at either end to make better use of the space available.  I also hope to be more energy efficient.  Luckily, I know some of the people at this RV Park who have been so wonderful and patient in teaching me the in’s and out’s of living in and caring for a trailer.  Yesterday, I learned how to drain my black water tank!  Now I just need to buy a gray water hose to flush the black tank and I’ll be set on that.  Right now, I need to work on elevating the sewer hose so that I let gravity help me flush it better.

When the trailer was delivered, I was working, but stopped by to be there for its arrival.  People came out of the woodwork at the Park and helped set it up for me while I was busy at work.  Apparently, it became the community project to help me out.  How nice!  That first night, I forgot to turn on the furnace AND close all the windows.  I slept miserably.  So freaking cold.  Lesson learned, haha!

I still have a lot of stuff left at the house.  It will take me some time to get it out.  I will most likely have to get a storage unit to store some of my stuff until I can either: sell, trade or give away.  We’ll see.

I know I promised not to talk about work.  I really, I am not.  But I do have to say that yesterday felt like an episode of “Law & Order.”  It was both exhilarating and exhausting.  It reaffirmed how much I love my job, as well as, forming efficient/functional working relationships with other “organisations” related to what I do. Yay! 

I had an amusing thought today while I was sitting at the club house working on a group effort puzzle while waiting for my laundry to finish.  Yes, this is what I am doing on a Saturday.  Living at a 55 and over RV park working on a puzzle.  It was awesome.  It made me happy.

I started watching “Orange is the New Black” Netflix TV series.  That shit is HILARIOUS!  I am loving it.  And am slacking on being a responsible adult going to bed on-time in order to watch it.  What a good find indeed!  I finally finished/got caught up on “Law & Order: SVU” and all 202 episodes of “The X Files”.  So now I am on the search to finish other TV series I have not finished.  These include “House of Cards”, “The United States of Tara”, etc.

And now, since it took me almost 4h to get this far.  Fingers crossed wifi does not quit on me.  I will end here.  Enjoy!

Blargh: home not ready

My new home was supposed to be delivered on Monday.  They found some things they needed to repair on it before giving it to me.  I was totally fine with that arrangement, especially since I just had my peridontal procedure.  Fast forward to today.  Supposed to be delivered.  Time comes and goes with no word.  I call.  "Oh, we do not have a truck to drive it out there today.  We'll deliver tomorrow." Grrrr.  OH well.  Good thing I really do not care.  But still annoying.

One thing I am truly looking forward to?  NO MORE FUCKING CHILDREN!  WOO FUCKING HOOO!  Most people that know me are aware of my dislike for children.  And it really is a dislike.  Most of my friends with kids know I do not like their kids.  Yep.  It's true.  I'd rather their children simply not exist while I am around.  But, since that's not the way the world works, I endure and pretend to like them, or, at the very least, tolerate them.  But I am so looking forward to not living with them.  Ever.  I cannot stand living with them.  I cannot even describe why.  I just don't.  They're annoying.  Most of the time I want to slap them, tell them to shut up and go away.  I don't.  But it's fun to think about.

On a certain level, this brings up a point of something I sometimes feel/experience.  American society is built on the foundation that people will get married and have children.  I am outside the scope of this expectation.  I am single (awesome) and have no children (fuck yeah!).  But sometimes I almost feel like people, whether they know they are doing/saying this or not, treat me like a second-class citizen.  I am not a "whole" person because I have not fulfilled my civic duty to get hitched and pop out some crotch dumplings.  I have no desire to do either of those things.  Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to date someone.  And, I cannot.  I'm sure I'll find someone out there worthy of dating and boinking.  But I'm not in any rush for it.  I am no less a person for the life choices I have made than anyone else.  In fact, I should be the one getting tax breaks and incentives.  I have made the responsible choice not to breed and further add to the over population problem this world already has.

But why?  Why, since I no not have a SigOth or kids, do I get treated like the one that has to make the sacrifices?  The one to give way for those with families?  Frankly, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.  I am a bit bitter on the topic of love.  Love at the sacrifice of the single gal.  Yeah.  No.  I call B.S.  I'm just as good, if not a better person for being me.  Poo on you family-makers out there!  Bah-humbug!



I really want to get a decal for the Jeep about roller derby.  I have narrowed down my choices to the following:

This one: Give Blood- Roller Derby

This one: Derby love (skate w/ wings dripping)

Lesson of the day: Don't let your pain meds lapse

Oopsy.  Yeah.  I made that mistake.  Sadly, this is not the first time I have made that mistake.  It seems that I overestimate my pain level tolerance abilities at times.  Stupid pain.  I thought I was doing pretty well today.  Guess I was doing well while on painkillers, hahaha!  Dumbass.

Throbbing jaw/mouth pain is SOOOO much fun.  I got permission to go in to work late tomorrow.  Great.  You know, this is also not the first time a doctor has advised me I will recover in a day and be able to return to work quickly.  I think many doctors underestimate the importance of being fit and alert in my line of work.  For future reference: when I have a fairly significant medical procedure, I'm just taking the whole damn work week off to recover.

Today was filled with watching lots of episodes of Law and Order: SVU and The X Files.  I must say, I am pretty disappointed with the direction the writers took for Det. Benson.  An awesome single childless woman who then turns to a relationship (OK, I can forgive that).  But then ends relationship...sorta, but now wants a kid?  WTF.  What happened to independent childless woman empowerment?  Fuck you Hollywood for once again showing society how much women are unfulfilled in life unless they have a child (or few).  *Grrrrrr irritation grrrrrr*

There is a trail that I have always wanted to hike in Idaho.  The Seven Devils Loop.  Twenty-nine(ish) miles overlooking Hells Canyon.  Sounds fantastic.  I am hoping to be able to do it sometime in April before the weather becomes too hellish.  *fingers crossed*.

I read this article by a dude in Seattle who hiked the trail.  PRetty amusing and I believe him when he said he was expecting a difficulty level 5 (out of 10) and it was closer to 8-9 and that he felt the scoring level of the hike was a bit skewed.  All I have read about the hike is that it goes up and down a lot and is quite strenuous for that very reason.

Here are other useful links for planning purposes:

• Seven Devils Wilderness hiking guide
• The Spokesman Review: Seven Devils Hike
• Blogger: Recognise photos from area

I friend posted this article about a Tiny Home on my FB to help cheer me up while my face is recovering.  PRetty awesome design.  I like a lot of the elements in it, especially the sliding door, wood stove and chicken wire cupboard covers.

peridontal rucking

Today has been a less than pleasant day.

But let's back up a bit before getting to today.

Yesterday I agreed to go on a rucking event with Team RWB. The event? A 25-mile ruck from Anne Morrison Park to Sandy PointPark/Lucky Peak and back. All on the Greenbelt. All paved. Talk about harsh on the lower extremities. I also had my ~30lb ruck. Weather was beautiful for March. I am very glad I brought sunscreen and extra socks.

There were five of us. One turned around early since she was battling allergies/sickness. This turned into a blessing in disguise. The rest of us powered to Sandy Point. Laying in the grass with my shoes off was glorious. Until we had to head back. It was like a giant cock tease. Rucking 13mi to rest and only be halfway done.

Surprisingly, I managed to be doing the best of everyone on the way back. My lower half went on autopilot. One foot in front of the other. Again and again and again. Misery. But a certain part of me wanted to make it. Did not want to quit. I could do it. The bottoms of my feet were sore and my big toe ached a lot. The sun was beating down on us and there was hardly any shade. Needless to say, all of us bonded greatly while suffering together.

Eventually, we called the one that turned around to come get us. In all, I think we rucked somewhere between 18.5-20mi. I'm going with 20 mi since it sounds more badass. Afterward I could hardly move.

Move forward to today: the wonders of peridontal surgery. FML. FML bigtime. I can now admit that if there was a hell for me it would involve me being in economy class in the middle seat of a transcontinental flight full of screaming children and sick people while peridontal surgery is being performed on me in full sunlight in high humidity and temps conditions while an astymatism test is being conducted and chihuahuas running amok at everyone's feet biting at them.

By the time my procedure was done, I was soaked with sweat. I was shaky and never want to endure that ever again. Ever. Ever. Ever.  Being numb yet feeling pressure and hearing everything is super freaky. Freeee-key.

And here I am. In bed. Panda has not left my side since I got home. I love that damn dog. Stinky farts and all. I also.love watching Det. Benson in action. Mm mm SVU.

My trailer was not ready for delivery. They found a leak in the roof and some other stuff I guess. Should be delivered on Weds while I'm at work. Woooo!

Sorry for no pics. I'm on my nook and am too IT-tarded to figure it all out. My mind is seared with the images and sensations of today's procedure. I shudder each time. Nightmares.

EDIT: pics are now added, woooo!

Next step in my life

Today I accomplished a mild milestone in trying to accomplish part of my life's goal.  Today, Bonnie and Clyde purchased this for me:

2002 Skyline Layton 27' 5th Wheel trailer:

I already have the spot picked out where it will be parked.  It is a 55 and over retiree RV park in the city where I work.  Know what that means?  No freakin' kids!  FUCK YES!!!!  The park manager is also the owner.  I contacted her back in January about possibly living there.  She was ecstatic about it and more than willing to work with me.  I picked out my spot a few weeks back and this week we worked on re-landscaping it.

I brought a friend who also lives in the RV park with me while looking at trailers.  She was a great help in looking at things and asking questions I would not have thought to ask.  She will help me purchase the hoses and connections needed to hook up to the utilities.  The trailer will be delivered in a few days, wooo!

Shit.  Now I need to pack.  This process happened a bit faster than I thought it would.  I'm in a bit of shock that it is ACTUALLY happening.  I'm pretty excited and anxious all at once.  It will take me a while to sort through my stuff and decide what I should keep and get rid of.  This is downsizing on a massive scale.  Good thing I do not have a lot of stuff in the first place.  I'd really like to save up some money to purchase a small shed to store some stuff that is too big or I use too often to put in totes under the trailer.  I REALLY want to get a deck built for a place to hang out on.

Like this (drool):

List of shit I need to buy (sooner rather than later):

• sewer hose
• white hose
• sewer connection
• clear sewer connector
• extra light bulbs
• lawn/folding chairs
• totes/weather proof storage containers
• PVC piping
• heat tape
• insulation wrap
• skirting around slide out/trailer --> save up for this since it is hella expensive

MOAR pics:

 

Being a Woman in a Man's World

Mmmhmmm, that girl is...poy-zon! --> Bell Biv DeVoe

Love me songs from the late 80s/early 90s.  It is a music language that speaks to me.  So many memories.  Which is strange, since I have few memories associated with music within the last 5-10 years.  Weird.

Hannibal is going to have a mini rant about misogynistic society today.

I work in an environment that is predominantly male.  I learned from previous jobs that I do not usually work too well is female-dominated environments.  Apparently my Type A personality can be construed as threatening to women who have a lower self-esteem than I.  Crazy.  I know.

Anyway, I really like where I work and the environment in which I work.  My coworkers are like family to me.  Emphasis on family.  I care very much for them and would be there for them when needed.  That's what families do and are for.  This is even more true for me as a person whose nearest blood family member are over 1,500mi away and I see them maybe once a year.  I have no children.  I have no significant other.  This means that I transfer my sense of family from life outside of work, to my coworkers.  We work together in a high stress environment that is often misconstrued by others who are not in the same line of work.  We stand together as a (mostly) united front.  We vent to each other.  We support each other.  We are awesome.

Many of my coworkers seem to have many similar interests as me outside of work.  They hang out with each other and do those interesting things together.  Every now and then I hang out with them or one of them.  But this is a very rare instance.  I'm not quite sure I understand why.  I have some theories:

• Wives.  Dudes with wives don't like their "man" hanging out with single chicks one on one.  Especially doing something badass like hiking mountains, kayaking or fixing rigs.
• Dudes.  Dudes with wives are too afraid to hang out with super awesome single chicks because...well, I'm not sure.
• Bromance.  Cool bro activities are simply that.  Activities for bros.  No girls allowed.  Permitting a girl to tag along will cause the whole structure to come tumbling down.  Anarchy will ensue.

I am not sure if any of the above listed reasons are truly valid.  But either way, I am sad about it.  It seems like no matter how hard I try to be a peer to my male counterparts, I am still...lower/not equal/not good enough.  And if I am truthful with myself, it does bother me and makes me feel isolated and sad.  I know I am an awesome person with pretty awesome interests.  I even offer to do cool things with them with genuine interest.  And, of course, never taken up on the offer.  Instead, they move on to their bro buddy and talk about the exact thing I just offered!  ARGH!

Do I have cooties?  Is there some unwritten rule that I am not cool enough to hang out with?  Are vaginas that are single and not overly hot looking not allowed to hang out, too?

Now let us come full circle and address the top theory: wives.  

Dear Wives of my coworkers:

Your husband is my coworker.  He is a member of my work family.  I have absolutely ZERO interest in doing anything with him sexually.  I do not fantasize about him and I gallivanting off to some romantic getaway.  He is like a brother to me.  Such thoughts my make stomach heave in a not pleasant manner.  One does not make out, have sex or even visualise one's brother in those ways.  Ew.  I hold myself to high moral standards and one of my most important standards is: NEVER EVER be a homewrecker.  Know what that means?  I refuse to have any romantic or sexual type relationship with a married person.  EVER.  I have held true to this standard and plan to keep to it till the day I die.  One of my other mantras is to never dip my pen in the company ink pot.  That is recipe for disaster as far as I am concerned.

So, please, Wife, give me the common decency to trust me.  And please, give your husband the decency to trust him, too.

Trustfully yours, 

Hannibal- the most badass chick you'll ever meet

I just do not understand.  I do not mull over it too much.  I have come to accept it for what it is. But I would by lying if I did not get a pang of jealousy when I hear about my coworkers tell tales about hanging out doing things I love to do and invite each other along, but not extend the invite to me, too.  I'll get over it.  I always do.  But it is just a reminder how I am not yet considered an equal in their eyes, whether they recognise the impact of their behavior or not.

Getting old is Over-rated

Seriously.  This getting older stuff is for the birds.  Yeah, I'm wiser and have more life experience to draw from, which is cool and all.  But the way your body recovers so much more slowly than when you were in your 20s begins to be noticeable.  Granted, I am not "old" by any means.  But by golly!  My body sure does not bounce back like it used to.  Old injuries flare up.  Limps occur.  Muscles are sore and stay that way.  Food affects your GI tract so much worse than it used to.  Sometimes pooping is not a pleasant event.  Yup.  Shit blows.  Literally and figuratively.

I taught a class last night at work.  I really enjoyed it.  And it looked like the students did, too.  Teaching a subject I feel passionately about and know so much about makes me feel good.  I enjoy passing on my knowledge to others.  Whether the information is useful or not, they now have the ability to draw from what they learned and apply it in their lives (as needed).  Yay!

I read this cool article today.  It made me happy to read it.  So, here it is:

This 21-year-old pro baseball player is a millionaire who lives out of a VW camper van

I am proud of that man to be living the dream life he desires.  I am envious that he is able to lead that life.  Then I remind myself that I am slowly working to achieve the life that I want to live.  And it will happen.  You can count on that.  First things first, get my travel trailer and learn to live on a smaller scale, both personally and a smaller carbon footprint.  I'm all about "green" living, Baby.

I'm also all about treating people fairly as human beings.  Unless you rape, pillage and murder and stuff.  Then you get your rights as a person taken away as far as I'm concerned.  But that is for a whole different blog post or few, hahaha.  And, since I love rainbows (and glitter and unicorns!), I just had to share this bit of common sense with everything.  Just as a reminder for those that lost their common sense somewhere along the way:

Point of Clarification

Bonjour mes amis!

It was brought to my attention that my description of my current and future living conditions are somewhat confusing to those not in the "know."  Therefore, I shall try to clarify this as best I can while not invading people's privacy.

Story:

Hannibal met Bonnie.  Hannibal and Bonnie became instant friends.  Their shared interests and distaste of most of man-kind sealed their friendship.  Hannibal and Bonnie were tired of where they were living and the exorbitant cost of renting a home.  Finding a rental that would accept Panda was also a problem.  Therefore, purchasing a home seemed to be the best course of action.  House found.  House purchased.

Fast forward.  Bonnie meets Clyde (which happened due to the awesomeness of Hannibal, tehehe).  Bonnie and Clyde are a match made in Heaven.  Hannibal approves of Clyde, which, let's face it, is what really counts. *smirk*  Not to mention, Clyde understands the process of appeasing the roommate God(dess) and does a fantastic job of it.  Bonnie and Clyde want to spend their life together.  Unfortunately, Hannibal and its attachment to the house is in the way of this.  Solution?  Refinance and quit deed!  Problem?  Waiting for the loan to mature to be able to do this.  Solution? Hannibal moves out (with contract between everyone) into travel trailer to begin dream of having Tiny Home and Clyde et al. move in.  Everyone happy.  Families created, curmudgeons appeased. *fingers crossed*

Clear as mud?

Mr Skellington posted this to me today and I thought it quite appropriate.  Brought a smile to my face since it really is so very true.  The ecard posted above was posted by another friend.  I love that my friends understand my curmudgeonry so well and still love me for it, hahaha!

I have a quick rant I wanted to share with all of you oh-so-lovely people:

Please, for the love of whatever you hold dear, please, change lanes to get away and give people and emergency vehicles space on the shoulders to work and do what they need to do safely.  

This is one of my all-time biggest pet peeves.  When people are so GD ignorant to not give people space on the shoulder.  I challenge every single one of you out there to stand on the side of the interstate trying to do your job and help others with vehicles less than ten feet away from you blowing by at 60mph+.  It is rattling to say the least.  Stressful.  So, give them a brake and move away.  A few seconds of being slower is better than vehicular manslaughter and the label of being the ultimate DB for the rest of your life.  Fucker.

Live long and prosper.

--Miss you Mr. Spock

I'm home!

After driving a lovely 8h today, I finally made it home.  I took the longer route (time-wise), but it was much more scenic and healthier for the Jeep.  My friend, Mr. Tony Stark, gave the Jeep a name- Buehlla.  I consider the Jeep an "it", so we decided to shorten it to Buehl, which is more gender neutral.

I took the scenic route to my friends' place as well.  The Jeep/Buehl does not like interstate driving.  Apparently, 35" tires, manual transmission and low gearing are the trifecta of suck when trying to drive fast.  Add in going up and down in mountains and the suck increases exponentially.  On the way I stopped at the Perry Arch Bridge.  Pretty cool stuff.

On the way back I took Hwy 95-Hwy 55, so all the scenic parts of Idaho.  I had not been to the Lewiston-North of Grangeville area for years.  It was quite nice to see it all again through a different mindset than previously.  I stopped at the White Bird Battle overlook (and to give Buehl and my legs a break).  Breathtaking scenery.  Heartbreaking Nez Perce history.

I found this photo on my Facebook feed and just had to share it with the following statement:

"Oh oh, thats me! Hear that, gentlemen? Im a goddamned fucking Queen. This bitch aint need no saving!"

My friends bought some land and are building their dream homestead on it.  They are accomplishing a lifelong dream of theirs to live as sustainably as possible and eliminate their carbon footprint.  I applaud them and am admittedly jealous of this plan of theirs.  They are learning about forestry management in order to be the best forestry stewards they can be for the land that they live on and share with this planet.

I helped them haul fallen trees and branches to be burned.  I also helped (minimally, in the grand scheme of things) build some of their cabin.  I forced myself to address some discomforts I have with heights by climbing the 14' ladder and walk across support beams without floors, and walk on the porch suspended (in my opinion) high above the ground since they built the cabin into/on a hillside overlooking the creek on their property, on boards that are not yet secured to the support beams.  I had so much fun!  I was the errand-runner for my friends as they installed the porch roof.  I simply could not overcome my fear of losing my balance and plummeting to the ground in a heap of pain or death to go up on the roof.

We hiked around the property.  I must say, there is something so soothing and "completing" to hear golden eagles cawing/screaming while soaring over head.  And then hear the sound of the wind moving the trees so that they rub against each other.  And the gurgle of water in a stream cutting through and over rocks.  Serene.  My friends have chosen well.  They will have a good life there.  They are working so hard to reach their dreams.  I am so proud of them for it.  So proud, that I feel compelled to help them complete it and live it as well.  Maybe?

I am glad to have friends such as the thoughtful Tony Stark and his badass wife, Pepper Potts.  I only get to see them every few years, but they are the sort of friends that make an 8h drive more than worth it!  I was so sad to leave them today.  They are a part of my "Tribe" and with a tribe of so few members (due to VERY restrictive membership access), I cherish the ones I do get to see.  My Tribe understands when I post something like this:

One of the things I love best about my Tribe is that everyone is different.  And they all respect that of one another.  They are communicative enough to share their points of view.  They are awesome enough to know when to shrug their shoulders and take life by the horns.  They are all very independent-minded intelligent individuals who have goals in life and strive so hard to reach them.

Mr. Stark taught me how to operate a tractor with a backhoe on it and blade up front.  He also showed me how to drive/operate the Mitubishi bulldozer (tehehehe), as well as, "Olga" a 1955 military xm215 (i.e. giant old dump truck).  Olga was pretty challenging since it is a manual transmission, yet no syncros.  This means that the gears do not slow down to match each other for you to be able to shift up or down when you depress the clutch.  I managed to shift up fairly well, but going down, I simply kept grinding the gears.  I had to put it in neutral and stop it before shifting again.  It is also a full time 6x6 and no power steering.  If I drove that thing regularly, I'd have AWESOME guns, bwhahaha!

It is always so hard to come back to real life after a vacation.  Come back to the responsibilities of life.  The hum drum rig 'um an' roll of it all.  Not that my life is drole by any means.  It is not.  My life is pretty damn awesome.  But spending so much time being happy and full of fun times is what I strive to achieve.  Yes, I went on vacation and ended up helping roof a home, cut and collect/drag trees, driving and operating a variety of useful machinery and hiking are all things I consider time well spent.  Especially when done to help others.  I will bend over backward to help those I deem worthy.  That is what being a friend is.  That is what being a member of my Tribe does.  We help one other.  We help make sure we have the most fulfilled live possible.  I am so happy for Mr Stark and Ms Potts.  They are such a wonderful couple.  I smile when I watch them interact with one another.  I only hope I can find someone to make me giggle like that when I see them.

My Tribe fits wonderfully into this example of a Venn diagram.  Tehehehe:

I am slowly getting closer to accomplishing some of my life long goals.  I bought a house in 2014.  Due to a series of events, of which I am not sad about, nor is the process a negative situation, I will no longer have the house.  Instead, I plan to downsize my life.  I have mentioned the difficultly in procuring a loan for a tiny home.  So, in the mean time, I will live in a travel trailer.  I am very excited about this.  I already have a place to park it, hook it up and live.  Now to just find the as close to perfect trailer as possible.  In order for me to keep them all straight, I am listing my potentials I have found on craigslist here:

• 1997 32' WT Road Ranger (Pullman) $8500 --> call only
• 1996 Fleetwood Terry 30ft Fifth Wheel (Nampa) $7950
• 1995 29' Alpenlite Riviera 5th Wheel (Mountain Home) $6995 --> emailed, appt to see on Sat
• 2001 33ft Sunnybrook 5th wheel (Meridian) $9500
• 2000 27' Terry 5th Wheel w/slide (Meridian) $7500 --> call only
• 2000 27' Salem by Forest River 5th wheel (Boise) $8495
• 1997 30' Komfort 5th wheel (Shelley) $6900 --> emailed
• 1998 28' Wldrnss/travel/camp5th.whl.trl (Pocatello) $6700 --> Bonnie's g-pa to check out
• ???? 33' Komfort 5th w/2slides (Wendell) $6995 --> call only
• 1993 36' Challenger 5th Wheel (Burley) $6300 --> SOLD
• 1994 30' Kit roadranger w/tipout (Clarkston) $6400 --> emailed
• 1993 32' Fleetwood Prowler (Clarkston) $7000 --> emailed
• 1999 29.5' Layton 5th wheel (Libby, MT) $6000
• 2004 28' Keystone Outback BHS (Meridian) $8000 --> emailed
• 2004 23' Forest River Wildwood (Meridian) $9995 --> dealership, contacted
• 2002 Skyline Layton (Boise) $6911 --> dealership, contacted

My criteria thus far:

• Minimum 25' long
• Prefer at least 1 slide
• Bumper pull preferred, but can perhaps work with 5th wheel
• Prefer double pane windows since living in year round
• 1 bed (no need for bunks since it is just for me)
• armchair/lay-z-boy in addition to the standard pull out couch
• High R value in walls, ceiling and floor
• No water damage

Benefits/Pluses:

• Solar panels
• Outdoor shower

Any feedback is much appreciated.  Thanks!

Questions I am using in my email to potential sellers for me:

Does it have a clean title and are you the only owner it's ever had?

Was it ever lived in full time?

When was the last time the whole sewer system was flushed?

Does it have central air and heat?  What are the BTUs?

Does it have double pane windows and is there insulation in the subfloor/ceiling?

Have pets ever been in it?

Has it ever been smoked in?

How new are the tires? Tread?

What is the towing/max weight of the trailer?

Has it ever had/has leaks?

Does it have a "polar/northwest" package (i.e. 4-season ready-ish)?

Are the the jacks manual and independent of each other?

Is the refrigerator a gas/electric combo?
What kind of batteries does it have?
Does it come with a generator? Solar panels?
What kind of sound system does it have?
What kind of entertainment system does it have?
What sort of inverter does it have?