I have been home for a little over a week now. No complaints about that, either.
The road out of Colorado was grueling. I had never traveled on mountain roads before, so I was a bit unprepared for the constant up and down, not to mention the sharp twists and turns. The roads had sand and slush on them from all the snow. I stopped on one occasion because some washer fluid had frozen onto the nozzles and prevented me from washing the crud off my windshield, and I was having trouble seeing the road.
I do not remember how long it took me to get out of the Rockies, but Utah seemed almost empty in comparison to the towering mountains I had just driven through. It was very rural. I saw a sign on my travels that warned of no services for 50+ miles. I stopped and refueled after that drive in case it happened again. Sure enough, if I had stayed on that interstate, it would have been over a hundred miles before I saw another gas station. Wow. I stopped for the night a little north of Salt Lake City in the town of Tremonton.
The next day took me through the rest of Utah and into Idaho, eastern Oregon, and finally Washington. More mountain roads, too. Eastern Oregon and eastern Washington were quite windy. My small car, even with all the stuff I had packed into it, was getting blown around the road. I kept at it, though. I reached the Cascades Mountains around 1700. The roads were not quite as bad as the Rockies, Blue Mountains, or the other winding roads I drove down.
I made it home around 1830, which surprised my parents. They had not expected me for at least another hour and a half. I admitted I had been making up for lost time in the very rural parts of northern Utah and southern Idaho.
My cats are slowly adjusting to their new home and housemates. My Siamese has so far decided she does not like my parents' cats. However, she is slowly getting used to being around my parents. She does not have much choice there if she wants attention.
Work goes as well as can be expected. I am not getting lost nearly as often in the store, which is much larger than the one I transferred from. I have restarted classes in Taekwondo, and I have several people trying to convince me to take up Thai Kickboxing, too. I have not made that decision yet, and may not until after Thanksgiving.
What's the oldest article of clothing you own? Bonus points if you show us a photo!
The oldest thing I think I own is a sweatshirt I used to wear for orchestra in middle school. We wore it to every concert along with a specific color of pants, depending on which grade we were in. I am sure I probably own something older, but that is the first thing that came to mind.
Go forth and fill your libraries with media.
Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.
you leave a horrible taste in my mouth and an unsettled feeling in my gut. all this clicking around and picking apart of events that happened is making me feel like a mad man. The more i fuss the bigger the mess and I'm starting to realize it's better left undone. The frog that swam and swam and found himself on a lump of butter didn't tell you that in the end he died of cardiac arrest. His heart beat right out of chest and he swam in vain and died just the same. I'm not cleaning up the mess for some lucky next on your list and I'm not going to sit here and feel like shit. This story has no end .. no version to model... a cultural tale of unstructured suffering. It's all in vain and there's no humbleness in the pain. You don't exist anymore than my future does.
A lot of Blythe people are doing their dolls' favorite fifteen items on Flickr. I decided to do a photo for Plum! She has so many favorite things... It was difficult to fit even just fifteen of them into one shot. o_O

And actually, all the items in this photo are Plum's favorite clothes and accessories, not just the fifteen that are tagged on my Flickr. I cheated a little! But I only tagged fifteen of the items, haha. ^__^
I can't wait to take more photos of Plum in the outfit she's wearing right now. She's totally dressed for autumn and winter. I dressed her and Jinkies the other day and they look so cute next to each other. It's been super cloudy and rainy every day this week so there haven't really been any opportunities for me to go outside and get good lighting for photos. I was lucky I got a chance to jump outside for this quick photo today. In fact, I almost didn't get any shots in because the tiny dresses started getting blown away. x_____x Shawn stood outside with me and made sure it all stayed in order, tee hee.
That is where I am presently stuck, for lack of a better term. I suppose I could have continued on, but my nerves were pretty much shot by the time I got here.
Let me start with yesterday. The movers came Monday and Tuesday. All my stuff was gone, with the exception of what I wanted to take with me in the car. It took me longer to finish the last of the cleaning than I anticipated, so I did not get out of Oklahoma City until after 1100. The drive out of Oklahoma and into Kansas proved uneventful. However, it started snowing not long after I passed into Colorado. I was bound and determined to reach Denver before stopping for the night, but my mind was changed in a matter of seconds.
I was following a truck which had a trailer. I had been following it with little trouble for a little while. The only problem I was having was focusing on the road instead of letting my eyes get distracted by the snow blowing at my windshield. The truck passed over some loose snow and blew it back into my windshield. No problem. I slowed down and the windshield wipers took care of it. Shortly thereafter, it happened again. More snow this time, completely obliterating my view of the road. Startled, I pushed on the brakes. Not hard. I know better. Lightly. However, I hit an ice patch at the same time and spun. That was my first spin out, and I hope to never experience something like that again. I ended up facing the opposite direction. I was lucky. One, there were no signs, poles, guardrails, or anything on the side of the road. Two, the car behind me was at least half a mile back, so I avoided what could have been an ugly accident. I managed to get my car turned back around and pulled into Limon, Colorado for the night. I was disappointed, but I was safe, as were my cats. Oh, apparently my Siamese is claustrophobic. Lovely. I just hope she quiets down somewhat tomorrow.
Today, I set out around 0900. Visibility was not ideal, but I could see the road well enough to trudge along. My original goal was to reach Denver, then head either north to Fort Collins and then Wyoming, or keep heading west into Utah. I learned soon after starting out that the interstate I had hoped to take in Wyoming was closed. Later, the interstate from Fort Collins into Wyoming closed, too. No problem. I decided to go west. Well, the storm was still going on and visibility went from okay to terrifyingly dismal in a matter of seconds. I ended up tailing a semi or two into the Denver area, hoping they would not stop suddenly, and using them as somewhat of a shield. By the time I got to Denver, I was frazzled. My eyes were exhausted from all the white and my ears were ringing from three hours of the Siamese's hoarse yowls. That cat has quite the voice box.
So, I am holed up for the night. The cats are quiet and enjoying the room. I am enjoying dinner and hoping tomorrow will be better, as they are predicting.
I had hoped to reach Seattle tomorrow, but that probably will not happen. I will be lucky to get to Boise, Idaho. It all depends on the roads leading west out of Colorado.
I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.
I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.
Cheers,
This is a wish list that I hope to kill part of it off myself but if not, feel free to get me anything here. List is intended for Tom to see. But what the hell. Enjoy it!
Fieldsheer 2009 Model Women's Alpina Jacket size 4 (creme) and here at a cheaper price (size 4/creme)- I need a riding jacket, hopefully I'll have one before January when it gets super cold.
Icon 2009 Model Women's Hooligan 54 Jacket (X-Small) - Hell why not make this an interesting wish list. I tried this ICON jacket in black on in store and it was comfortable as a mesh bunny! Can't decide between blush or lavender. Though I do like black. Whateves. It was comfortable though not quite small enough for me. :|
CYMA Reusable Grocery Tote Bag, Shades of Purple, Super Saver 12 Pack or 6 Six Pack (Dusty Lilac) - In love with this one grocery bag I have and want more. I changed it to an Amazon link to remember better. Oh and the 6 pack is cheaper because really, do I need a 12 pack? I just made a "wish" list.
Sandisk 8GB media card - THIS BRAND SPECFICALLY. It's the only one my computer acknowledges.
LA Girl Matte Nail Polish in Matte Baby Pink, Pink, White, Black and Turquoise. I want some matte nail polish. I actually want one of each color but not important. :P
REI Scarf (charcoal)- I admit, this scarf is intriguing. And I like scarves.
Jansport Heritage Stars and Stripes Backpack - It looks pretty small and old as hell. My style all the way. And it's obnoxious. Which is also my style.
Ariat Women's Cobalt XR Crepe 13" Boots in Dress Brown 17606
- Hmmm I want a new pair of cowboy boots. This somehow manages to be
CHEAPER than the riding jacket. It's meant to ride HORSES. WTF. Cowboy
boots are the ultimate boot all around. They are dry, comfortable, I
can drop things on my feet and it bounces off cowboy boots. It's
serious.