Week of Nov 4th

Another good week in the 509. Got to work on some cool technology for SEL this week that was recently used to help create electricity in the village of Mohari in Nepal. Very cool to work for a place that gets us involved in unique projects like this. hydro turbine power in the mountains. 

SEL computers in use. 

How to I get the job at SEL that sends me out to take pictures like these?

On the training front this week:

4/5 days spent at the gym

5k race this weekend. Got 2nd overall in the 5k with a 7:38 mile pace. Chey also ran very well and was top 5 women 

I need new shoes badly. Over 300+ miles on my current ones. New ones this week.

Dang. This past week sounds pretty boring. Gonna have to change that up this week.

Keke finds the softest place to sit

Keke finds the softest place to sit. A reflection piece

A drawer

 A laundry bin

My jacket 

A bed

A towel

A cushion

More jacket

Stretching

More more jacket. She likes this jacket

One of my sweaters

A blanket

A silhouette cat  

A bed

The softest thing outside. Moss. 

More chair

More sweaters

More laundry bin 

The Brevity of Autumn in the Palouse

A month between posts? Could be worse I guess. My first month at SEL has definitely been pretty fun. I am helping to produce reclosure relays that keep the power grid safe. SEL's hand is far reaching around the world and its cool to see the various projects we have going on around the world that make people's lives better. Working swing shift hours is not too bad. I am naturally a night owl and the schedule allows for me to exist like that. I tend to go to the gym at 11pm. No one is there and it motivates me for some reason. 

Getting back into a legitimate running training regiment is pretty nice. I never paid attention to how my body was conditioned when I ran in high school. But I have noticed my body definitely wants me to eat healthier when I am training regularly. Which is something I have been doing (or at least trying to do). I also think I am going to cut out all booze indefinitely. I can feel a single beer work its way through me now. I also have to run pretty often so its just a deterrent on my motivation. Dalton and I keep in each other in check in terms of consistency. 

I live here at the SEL gym some days

I was looking at some of my running stats and between 2015 and 2018 I logged a gnarly 40 total miles of running. That included 3 Bloomsdays at 7ish miles a piece, and a regretful 13.1 Half I did in 2018 without any training. In 2019, Chey, Dalton, and I all said we were going to get into decent shape so we could handle big adventures and challenges. I will easily get into over 450+ miles before this year is out. Likely the most I have ever done in a single year. 2020 will probably do more than that before we even get to June. /endtrainingreflection 

One thing I had forgotten is just how short Fall is here in Pullman. Seems like it was about 2 weeks long. The days are now cut short and the cold bites deeper than you expect. I know it will get colder still. I kinda like it when the environment forces you to be tough. Reminds me I am alive. Rachels  Halloween was a fun time. Chey was Slash and I was Axl Rose. GnR

Happy Keg

Early October down at Wawawai, looks like it could almost be a summer day 

Chasing sunsets with the some of Pullman's finest

just out here trying our best 

The Greatest Comeback

Like Tiger Woods coming back to win the Masters, or Brady in the Superbowl. I am coming back. The Cougar Kid returns to Pullman. It was nearly a 4 year absence, but "we always find our way back home." I have a feeling this website might need a little update.

Chey and I made our illustrious return to the Motherland in the Palouse at the end of summer. Why? Schooling here was done for us years ago. Well apparently not, it seems Chey was meant to return to school, but this time not as a student, rather as a teacher. Kindergarten at the new elementary was the excuse to return. Two months ago we packed up a u-haul and headed east.

We have moved into a tiny apartment complex very close to downtown Pullman, maybe a 10 minute walk away from Rachel's house. We got our two kitties with us, Khalessi & Buoy. As quickly as we made the decision to move out here, the realization that I needed work for myself became apparent.

Tomorrow is my first day working for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. I will be working with a small team in the manufacturing process. I think it should be interesting based on what I have seen from them so far.

If you told me three months ago-- in June, when Chey and I were preparing for our wedding in Roslyn-- that we would be where we are today, I would have been quite surprised.

As always, I like to picture dump some memories since we made our comeback. Here we go!

                                           Keke in the u-haul, watching us pack up to head east

Eastbound!

We made it to the promised land

Finalized some last minute memories with the boys

Lone Rider out between Moscow and Pullman

First Coug Game of the year

Second Game of the year

Minshew

Cheys latest goal: Roller Derby

My latest goal: Half Ironman Race Training