Textile Factory Nightmares

Since my last post life has been ripping, and it’s all because attitude my babies. Life’s so good—both sides of the pillow are cool. I had my final week of swing shift and now I am working an 8-4:30 schedule. So much nicer and I’m only two days through it. It’s feels like I’m cheating almost because I get to see people and do stuff I want to, like a mini weekend.

But first let’s retrace a little bit:

Went snowboarding for the first time in two years with Sarah, Kayla, and Alyssa. I was super excited and couldn’t fall asleep the night before and only ended up getting like 4 hours of sleep. Sarah showed up in my room to convince me to go because I said I wasn’t feeling up to it since I got limited sleep. I was not a hard sell once she said if I didn’t go, I’d regret it. She was right, and we drove down to Bluewood which is around Walla Walla. It was my first time boarding outside of Snoqualmie pass in over a decade. Snoqualmie is very posh and I feel like Bluewood is what skiing/boarding was like in decades past. No extra posh stuff— just slopes and ropes. It was super fun, I sent it over every jump I could. Rode through tree coverage with Alyssa. Drank beer on the lift. Went home exhausted and woke up sore. Couldn’t have asked for more out of a day.

While I was boarding, Cheyenne was living her Roller Derby dreams and she was down in Oregon watching the Palouse Team and being their coach/moral booster. At least I think that’s what she was doing, derby is a mystery to me. She got to do some sight seeing and saw likely the most famous waterfall in the Northwest.

The day spent at Bluewood was a total bluebird day, until it wasn’t. A storm rolled in at lunch and we were pelted by the biggest hail I’ve ever seen, just under dice sized. It was brutal, but 20 minutes away we were back into the Palouse and the sky broke away into a classic scene:

Biking to work should’ve been problem free. I have been riding bicycles for my whole life and have never had a chain link snap on me mid ride. But it happened this past week.

I guess it was an excuse to break out the road bike and see how quickly I could get to work:

If you guessed 8 minutes door to door you’re on the money. It nearly killed me to cycle that hard but it was something to do. Rode the blue bike all week until Friday, when I skipped work and Chey and I took off for Tacoma. We chased the sunset for a couple hours as we headed west through the Palouse and back to the 253.

I know for a fact we have waited too long to go back to Tacoma, it was apparent immediately when we showed up Friday night. It is so nice to go back to a familiar place like my parents condo, it just feels safe there. This is pretty ironic, because for the longest time, the condo felt like a hotel room. Not home. It was foreign, but I think enough memories and time has allowed it to feel so homey. We spent time with Colin Williams and looked at a van with him. Colin always jumps into things head first and with a smile. I didn’t see him getting a van like Dalton, but here he is. Colins one of my oldest friends. Maybe it’s the closeness that surprises me, given the number of years we were apart in college, that we still remain good friends. Of course we are friends, it’s hard to explain but I’m sure some of you readers will understand what I’m trying to describe. It’s simple friendship, it doesn’t dwindle with time— like most relationships do— so to have it pick up seamlessly, surprises me. 

I’m sure it’s not unlike this for Cheyenne and one of her oldest friends Audrey, who we also saw this weekend. I have always like Audrey because she has been there for Chey and I many times. She is likely the most unique and confident people I know. You don’t have to guess what she is thinking, because she’ll tell you. I like that in a person. 

Rosa and the twins also came to the condo. Of course Hannah Banana, and my parents were there. It was a very nice evening. The wine was flowing, the tacos were cooking, the whole place had a warm glow about it. You could feel the good times in the air. It’s those day you live for. The ones you know are “the good old days”while you’re in them. Effortless conversation, with the people you love. I dont know what else there is. 

Sunday: Chey and I made a purchase 

This is Berty. She is a Volkswagen Vanagon. She’s been all over North America, she’s been to the east coast, she’s been to Nova Scotia, she’s been to California, she’s served time going up the 101 to Hood Canal. We were skeptical but decided she was a solid adventuremobile to bring home.

She ran up Hwy 18 perfectly, and up Snoqualmie pass without any problem. We stopped at the pass to use the restroom and show Jonathan, who was up there skiing. Berty got too hot when we took off again and we were left on the side of I-90 with a high coolant temperature. I guess I should’ve checked the coolant levels before we left, luckily we did buy coolant and oil for this exact scenario. And with smiles on our faces we made it to the next exit to have some lunch and check the other fluids.

Here is our lunch spot as I check oil levels, and coolant levels. With no real options, we set off again for the next 250–problem free— miles.

After nearly having the pop top come off on I-90, I latched that puppy down as hard as I could and we made a Pit stop in Ellensburg:

Had to stop at the Coug Barn for a picture:

Well, now we are caught up. Again, I’m working 8-4pm. Feel free to call me. I am horrible at reaching out but great at holding conversation. 

By the way, Chey and I made a pretty good +1 Family member announcement earlier this evening:

It’s about to be Friday again. This week has ripped. The previous week ripped. It’s like a nightmare in a textile factory out here. I’m sure Chey and I will get into something cool this weekend as wel

Stay livin’