22 March 2013

Shake up, shake out

I've got two weeks. Apparently I kicked the hornet's nest with my little ultimatum dealio and now I've been stung. That is, they decided that they might as well not keep me around if I'm not planning on sticking around. My position is being terminated. This next pay period is going to be my last. I'm done on the 6th.

Sudden? Yes. Shocking? Just a bit. Bad? Bittersweet. I just have to do in two weeks now what I was planning on doing in four, which includes wrapping things up here and heading out to Bodie (and everywhere in between, because I can't start there until probably mid-May!). Did I mention that my folks are visiting this coming week? That means that I really have to do all of this is one week. Ah!

I guess I'm alright with it. After all, I'm running out of things to do, everyone knows that my job is a joke right now, and it's getting hotter and hotter each day.

I'm not really sure where I'm going to go at this point. Pretty much everything west of here is open to me, it's just a matter of how much driving I feel like doing and how well I can live off what I've got in the bank right now. I'm really going to be living up the vagabond life for the next several weeks! And somewhere along the way I have to pick up a trailer...

Things are about to get interesting.

19 March 2013

Changing Perspectives

Sunny yellow shirt, bright striped skirt, and birkenstocks, waltzing down the street with a spring in my step at high noon. The breeze is gentle and cool, the sun feels nice. I can't help but enjoy the cool weather today.

It's 81 degrees outside.

It's amazing how enduring a handful of 90+ degree days has made me feel that 80 is cool and 90 is comfortable. My how my thoughts on the heat have changed in the last two weeks.

Thoughts on my job have changed in the last two months as well. I went from feeling like I had no direction, to creating a job that I could really enjoy and getting as much out of it as possible. But the nebulousness of it all couldn't last forever. I've made a pact of sorts with my boss that, if the crossing doesn't open by the 6th of April, I'm going to put in my two weeks and head for Bodie. That way if the position does remain in my absence, I can ask him for rehire in November and get more in-sync with the seasonal opportunity schedule, as it were. If it is open by the 6th, he would like me to stay on through the beginning of July like I was supposed to.

With so much activity on both sides of the border, rumors are starting to fly that the crossing is going to open soon, but it remains to be seen. Personally, I would like it to wait so that I can have a better timeline for the next several months, but I'm open to either possibility. There's two and a half weeks to wait, still, so I figure it's best not to think too much on it until then.

I just have to trust that someone with a lot more perspective has my future in his hands right now.

16 March 2013

Happy Birthday!

It's another fantasmargonical birthday (and surrounding birthday weekend) here in Big Bend. I treated myself with a big hike patrol today: Ore Terminal Trail, approximately 8 miles. I don't have anything in particular setup for tonight, but I've certainly been busy this week already, and there's plenty of plans for the days to come.

Doug and Ginny arrived on Tuesday, and I was able to enjoy their company through yesterday morning. Thursday night, in honor of their visit, I threw together a potluck (which even got attendance from PJ peeps!) that she and I could play background music for - it was loads of fun! Doug and Ginny got to meet Daisy and Steve and they all hit it off quite well, I think. Afterwards, Alyssa and I rode with the PJ posse to the hot springs and soaked for awhile before she and I hiked back home. 'Twas a very late night, but I didn't look at the clock because she's intent on a theory of not fixating on the time when you're out late so that you get better sleep. I'm not sure if it worked or not... I slept soundly, but I was still quite tired the next morning.

Monday will be my first day off and will include the official birthday weekend events. Currently, the idea is to ride bikes from PJ to Chisos Basin Lodge and eat up there before riding back down, inviting everyone to join (for the meal, at least, if not the biking) for a fun time. Monday evening, the St. Patrick's Day Porch Party (which I got the ball rolling on by putting the bug in Pops' ear) will occur and I have every intention of putting on my green dress and thoroughly enjoying myself.

So that's what's on the agenda. We'll see how it all pans out, but when it's my birthday weekend, you know it's going to be fun! :)

Until next time!

11 March 2013

Let the countdown begin!

That's right: it's 5 days to my birthday!!

I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing to celebrate yet this year, but I'm sure it'll be something fun!

It's been another typical week down here in the Big Bend, filled with hot springs, hiking, and cycling. I've officially reached 100+ miles of hiking and 250+ miles of bicycling since I got here! Still no word on whether or not the crossing will open, although there's rumors flying around that it might happen soon. But I wouldn't believe it until I see it, if I were you.

In much more exciting news: my foster parents from the U.P., Doug and Ginny Smith, are planning a sudden visit! Due to the snow, they've decided to take the southern route home from the Baja Peninsula and will hopefully be here later in the week! What a pleasant surprise! Hopefully we'll get an informal jam session going on down here because it's been awhile since I've gotten to play with someone else, and most of my friends down here haven't really seen/heard me play/sing at all, so I think it'd be loads of fun.

My parents are talking about possibly coming down for a visit sometime in the relatively near future as well, so we'll see how that pans out.

All-in-all, things are going well, I'm learning how to survive the 90* weather before we amp it up to the 100* stuff, and my house is going to get a good cleaning today because I've officially been here for another month. So, lots of exciting stuff - so much so that I think I ought to take a nap now...
Photo Credit: Mike Coe

03 March 2013

Happy Sunday! Happy Friday!

(Oh, and happy birthday to Mom, if you're reading this! :)

It's Sunday, which means that it's my Friday, and I am looking forward to the weekend. Nothing too special or exciting planned - just the usual biweekly burger bike and laundry the following day - but after last weekend I am eager to have the chance to sleep in.

Yesterday I gave my first interpretive talk since I got here, and I was reminded why I do this kind of work: I absolutely LOVE doing interp! I had an audience of 36 (or more - it's so hard to count while talking...) and they were riveted to my every word. When I finished the talk and opened it up for questions, nobody left! They all stayed and I got questions from just about everyone. Afterwards I was on cloud 9 for the rest of the day, just so happy! My next presentation will be on Thursday, and then I think I'm going to be scheduled for the Wednesday after that. It looks like I'll be giving this talk once a week. I wish I could be giving it more often than that, but we'll see.

An update on my cycling and hiking numbers: I've now breached 200 miles on the bike and have logged over 75 miles of hiking! I wouldn't be surprised, with the way things are going, if I get over 100 miles of hiking within the next couple weeks. I'm sure you'll hear about it when I do. I've almost hiked all the posted trails down here at RGV, but there's a few more that I have to cross off my list!

Until next time!
Photo Credit: Amy Gibson