Thank You -- Day 411

Often I like to start a blog post with a quote, and I was thinking about using "I get by with a little help from my friends" ~ The Beatles, until I realized that it was about taking drugs and that was NOT the tone that I wanted to set for this particular post, where I'm trying to figure out how to express my gratitude to my community of loving friends and family that have supported us through this rough transitional time. And why are run-on sentences so funny?

But seriously, I owe a tremendous debt that could never be repaid. I reached out for help, and the overwhelming generosity of the people that I am privileged enough to call my friends has humbled me greatly. The outpouring of loving support through words, job offers, places to stay, and obviously cash donations brought me to tears on more than one occasion.

I asked for a miracle and the miracle was you. 

To briefly recap, we spent a month in Hemet, California, trying to find jobs to keep our adventure going. All signs had pointed to this location as being the most logical, in terms of proximity to civilization, affordability, weather, amenities. Everything about our stay was perfect, except for the fact that literally no one was hiring. I had heard things about the job market being tough for the last decade, but it had never affected me in Texas, because the economy of the Lone Star State was really strong, and I was in an industry with high turnover (which means getting hired is super easy.) California is a different animal entirely, and the higher wages for menial labor means that people are more selective in their hiring and turnover is relatively low. When you pay people a living wage, it's a job they'll want to keep for as long as they can. We reached a point where we had to choose between paying rent for a little while longer, hoping that one of the 32 jobs for which I had applied would call me back for an interview, or giving up on California and trying to make it back to Texas. Paying rent again would have meant no money for food, so that was one of those really interesting exercises in Faith. 

I'm reminded of a story that I heard once in church. There was a flood, and a good Christian man found his house filling with water. As the water made the road impassible for his vehicle, a neighbor came by in a big four-wheel drive truck. "Get in, the flood is getting worse," the neighbor shouted. The man replied, "God is going to save me!" And he retreated to the upstairs of the house. As the water rose to his second floor window, a rescue worker came by in a boat.  "Get in, the water is going to continue to rise," called the rescue worker. The man shouted back, "God is going to save me!" and climbed up to the roof. As the water encroached upon the edges of the roof, a helicopter came with a lowered rope. The rescue worker called to the man through a bullhorn, "Climb up! This is our last flight out!" The man yelled back, "God is going to save me!" With a shrug, the rescue worker in the helicopter departed, and the water still rose. The man o the roof drowned and went to Heaven. As he stood before the Throne of God, he asked, "Why hadn't I been saved? Why was I left to die?" God answered him, "I sent a truck, a boat, and a helicopter. What else did you want me to do?"

As I was in Hemet, stressing about what to do, the idea of asking for help kept coming up. I am loathe to request assistance in ANY circumstance, preferring to suffer along in silence, often feeling like whatever struggle I'm going through is deserved. Consequences are the result of actions that we take, decisions that we make, and choices that we select. Everything that happens is for a reason! I'm not suggesting that everything is predetermined; rather, things are post-determined, in the sense that the reason something happened is often due to the actions, decisions, or choices that we make. There are ripples that we see, and many that we don't, that influence our world and the world of those around us. Everything is interconnected, and the ripples of the choices of other folks influence me and my ripples too. When I came to this realization, I knew that the reason I kept thinking of asking for help was to learn that it is OK to ask, and that sometimes when you ask, you will get more than you need. I didn't realize how alone I had been feeling, fighting this fight with only my girls in tow. Our community rose up to support us, and now I know that I'm truly Never Alone, and we are all in this thing together. 

So I extend to you all my heartfelt thanks for giving me back my life, and showing me how deep my roots actually go. Some of you I speak with regularly, others I haven't interacted with individually in a long time. But know this: I love you, you are part of my community, and if you ever need me, I will be there for you.

I am You.

 You are Me.

 We are One.

End of the rope -- Day 394

This is the hardest post that I have ever had to write. I've actually been putting it off for a while, trying to convince myself that I wasn't going to need to write this post. Holding out for a miracle.

Miracles are around us every day, and it is often up to us to figure them out. Sometimes the miracles that occur are so common as to be mistaken as mundane, and only after careful consideration does the miraculous appear. This past year has been one miracle after another! This adventure in an alternative lifestyle has been liberating and educational. I am truly thankful for this experience, and the places that we've seen, the friends that we've met, and the memories that we've created that will stay with us forever.

Sometimes when you're following a path, it will take you in directions that you are not prepared to go. Sometimes you think you know where you're headed, only to come around a blind corner to see a cliff with a dizzying drop-off. Is this a dead end? Of sorts. The beautiful vista that opens before you is worth the hike in. Appreciate the beauty of the experience! Having to go backwards down the path at that point is just logical, and safe.

This is the point that we have reached in our journey. We are at the precipice, we have seen the beauty and the majesty, but now we have to backtrack a bit. We are going to be going back to Texas. We are not looking at this as a failure, merely another chapter in the adventure.

But we are going to need help! Having calculated our budget for the return trip, it turns out that we don't have quite enough cash. The jobs that we were counting on to get us through this winter have all dried up, along with our savings. We are coming to you, our community, to ask for your assistance in this great time of need. I know that Christmas is coming, and you all are going to be stretched a little thinner in celebration, so I'm not asking for much. Whatever you can contribute will be greatly appreciated, and we will be indebted to you forever.

If you have ever wanted to buy us a drink, or dinner, or take us to the movies; if you have ever wanted to buy us birthday gifts or Christmas presents; if you have ever appreciated any help or act of friendship on our behalf and wondered how you could ever repay us? Now is the time. I will accept any gifts or loans to our paypal account Send the Jacksons back to Texas (paypal.me/CheoJackson). We have already made arrangements for a place to stay once we get back, and I have several job prospects there, but all of that is irrelevant if we get stranded in Arizona on our way back. Please help, if you can.

Vacation! -- Day 353

I'm on vacation.

"Perception is reality" and "Perspective matters" are my two favorite things to say. I actually tried to track down the origins of these quotes, and they seem to have just grown out of the distillation of longer quotes and ideas from a bunch of different people. So pretend it was Abraham Lincoln or Ghandi, depending on your own philosophical leanings. It's not like it matters who said it, or whether you believe it. These are the words that I have discovered are the most true for me and my life.

When I say, "I'm on vacation" it creates a new perspective on the current situation in my life. I'm taking the time that I have right now to relax, think, write a little, and spend time with people that I care about. Resting is one of the most important things that a person can do for health and well-being, but we feel like we have to somehow earn the right to rest. This can be a dangerous opinion, because what if you never feel like you've earned it? What if you never feel good enough?

I'm on vacation.

I don't really have a job, right now. At least not in the strictest sense of the "earning income" definition. I have lots of "things that I have to do that I don't want to" and "things that are expected of me to contribute to the well-being of the family unit" but nothing that I'm going to be putting on a resume. These are just part of this grander project called Life.

People get hung up on the semantics of their own personal worldview. I understand where it comes from, because I lived that way for most of my life. The need to define terms becomes important to ensure proper communication, but sometimes we get so bogged down in the minutiae of definitions that we lose sight of the bigger picture, the IDEA that was trying to be communicated. When I say that I don't have a job, the understanding is that I don't have an employer that is paying me for my time and skills. I am not part of the the commerce of this project called Life.

The danger of this particular worldview for me is that everything becomes a transaction. I want to eat, so I need food. In order to get food, I need money. In order to get money, I need a job. Work = eat. I was raised to believe that a person that does not work, should not be allowed to eat because of 2 Thessalonians 3:10. This is a misquote as it actually says a person that is UNWILLING to work, should not be allowed to eat, but as with a lot of popular Bible verses, it has been twisted to punish behavior deemed undesirable by the church. From this we have created the "Puritan work ethic" which is beneficial to an employer, but can create an internal pressure that leads to stress and anxiety in some to make sure that they are always "working." The concept of Rest is lost, gobbled up in the dread of becoming a devil's workshop.

I submit to you that the idea of "working" means different things to different people. We are all doing things on a daily basis that affect our world. The interactions that you have with people, the words that you speak into their lives, the love that you share -- these are all important things that are produced by you, just by you being you. You matter, you're good enough, and the world is a better place with you in it.

How many times have you heard, "If you find something you love to do, you will never work a day in your life" or somesuch? This used to inspire me, because I used to love to do lots of things. I loved sports, and music, and art, and making friends. The older I got, the less likely it was for me to be able to make money doing any of those things, and it was frustrating. Some of the things that I loved to do stopped being fun when they became monetized. The pressure of doing this fun thing became a job, and that sucked the fun out of it.

This left me in a predicament: How am I going to be rich, if I can't make lots of money? How am I ever going to be able to go on a vacation?

The revelation for me was that it's all perspective. I discovered that I didn't really want to be "rich" in the sense of having a lot of money. What I wanted was to be "happy" and there is all the difference. Now, instead of making decisions based on what is going to make me the most money, I look for what is going to make me the most happy. The difference is amazing, and has provided me with more "wealth" than I thought I would ever have. One way that I've heard it put is, "The secret to having it all is realizing that you already do."

And now I'm on vacation.

Delaveaga -- Day 340

Many of you know that I like to disc golf. For me, it's a particularly special sport, because it can be enjoyed simultaneously by people of varying skill levels. It's a chance to walk around outside, talk with your friends, and throw stuff really hard.

One of the cool things that I like to do is find new courses to play. When we lived in Dallas, we used to drive all over the city looking for new disc golf adventures. Now that we're travelling more widely, the opportunities for disc golf are more widespread, but not always easy to make happen. Fezzik is not the best vehicle in which to explore cities, and disc golf courses seem to end up in some pretty interesting, and hard to get to places. Remember Taylor Mountain?

I have compiled a wishlist of courses that I would like to play one day. I haven't updated it much, since we were stationary all summer and I was limited to the practice basket that I bought from Amazon. Now that we're back on the road, I dusted off the bag and got to check off one of the great courses of the USA.

Delaveaga

It's hard to explain the excitement that I felt when I realized that we were going to be in the vicinity of this course. I have learned that often proximity doesn't equal opportunity, and that is just part of being an adult. But this time the stars were aligned, because all of my new friends also happened to like disc golf, and have vehicles that can navigate the treacherous highway 9 through Santa Cruz to get to the park. It's like the universe WANTED me to play Dela. (Dela is what all the cool kids call it.)

The tall trees, and elevation changes made it a truly challenging course. Having all of my friends with me made it a memorable experience, and I wish I had taken a bunch of pictures. I didn't throw as well as I would have liked, being rusty from not practicing enough. But it was still a great time, and one that I will remember forever.

My buddy bought this disc as a souvenir

The moral of the story for me is: sometimes expectations set you up for disappointment. But sometimes the reality, while different from the expectations, will be so much better! I would have loved to play the most amazing round of my life at Dela, but really just being there and sharing it with my friends was the best day of disc golf I've had in a long, long while.

Now I have to find the next course to add to my wishlist, since a spot has opened up.

My life is AWESOME -- Day 304

"The rarest treasure in life is a true friend." ~ Sensei of Truth

When I was a dorky teenager trying to figure out how the world worked, I met another dorkier teenager that was equally lost. It was a strange time in both of our lives, being the sons of Bible school students, trying to learn about life and girls and sports and balance. Mostly sports and girls. Screw balance when you're fifteen, you know?

Over the years, my friend and I got into all kinds of situations, our parents would probably call "trouble" but when measured against other teenagers from the same era, I seriously question the comparison. (Like the time we VERY SNEAKILY watched "White Men Can't Jump" -- a rated "R" movie, sure to corrupt us to the core!) I won't even mention the fact that this was the summer after we graduated high school, because that would make us sound even less controversial.

Through the years, our friendship has grown and deepened. In the late 90's and early 2000's we worked together at a couple of different places. The most famous was probably Planet Hollywood in Dallas. The stories and adventures continued, even through marriages and kids. Spanning three decades and multiple cross-country moves, we always managed to keep in touch.

Now that we're living in the RV, the idea to visit friends that have moved away is always in the conversation, if the logistics would only cooperate. Sometimes the planets do align, and that happened last week! My friend lives a scant 12-hour drive north of where we're staying for the summer. The timing worked out and the reunion was nothing less than epic.

In celebration, and in line with our history of doing stupid things at the encouragement of one another, we decided to tackle the insurmountable Redwoods River Resort Giant Redwood Ice Cream Challenge.

I have personally built two of these ridiculous monstrosities, and watched 10 people fail at finishing during my time here. Whatever fantasies I may have entertained when first hearing about it were destroyed by watching other "more worthy" contestants get humbled by this mountain of sweets and dairy.

Until my friend came.

Let me be clear: I am an adult. I am a grown man. I have a wife and two children. I have a job and I use that money to pay bills.

"Dude," says my friend, "we should totally do this!"
"Dude," says adult me, "we TOTALLY SHOULD!"

Donning our server shirts from Planet Hollwood, circa 1999, we entered into the contest. We had plans and strategies that we had worked out over the course of the entire preceding day. We had read articles about food contests, and took notes. We weren't just going to beat the challenge, we were going to beat the challenge TOGETHER!

And then they built the sundae.

The distressed look on this child is for my health and safety

The judge (who also happened to be my boss) read us the rules, had us sign the disclaimers, and then set the clock for 45 minutes.

This is the last picture I took

The atmosphere of the gathering crowd was a mixture of excitement and disbelief. The tension was palpable as we prepared for this adventure of a lifetime. And then the the judge said, "Go!"

All strategies and plans flew out the window. I started shoveling this frozen mess into my mouth as quickly as possible. I was making a HUGE mess, with sundae all over my face, in my beard, on my shirt, dripping to the ground. I furiously scooped and swallowed until the warnings of a brain freeze started, and then I remembered the sage tip from Randy Santel at Foodchallenges.com: drink warm water. Refreshed, and saved from a pain worse than death, I plunged back into the morass.  I ate, and ate, and ate.

And ate...

and ATE.

I swear they used some magical portal bowl or somesuch, because I had steadily eaten more than I thought I could and barely made a noticeable dent in the damn lake of frozen dessert in front of me. I knew that I had to hurry because we only had a limited time. Glancing at the clock revealed: I had been eating for 7 minutes.

I thought I was going to die.

My friend was not doing much better. The frantic spoonfuls had been reduced to more thoughtful scooping, trying to dig out the frozen bricks that were once brownies, or candy bars. What once passed as ice cream now looked like a pool of Pepto Bismol past its prime. There was enough ice cream in my beard to make a nice sundae for a small child. And we still had more than 37 minutes left.

The mood of the crowd had shifted from morbid curiosity and excitement, to disappointment bordering on disgust. Parents were whispering explanations to their children: the cautionary tale of the overzealous old guys whose eyes were much bigger than their stomachs. Random strangers were taking pictures to immortalize this gross display of hubris and folly.

"Dude, this isn't going to work," my friend confessed.

"How much longer do you want to keep up the facade?" I asked.

We suffered through another 15 minutes of petulant toying with the spoons before finally declaring the challenge to be over. We rose from the table, the still-full bowls mocking my bleeding tongue. A collective groan from the crowd did nothing to boost our injured egos. Limping home, I swore I'd never want to eat ice cream ever again. Or at least not for a couple of days.

My friend and I now have another story to add to the growing library of Remember That One Time. And I love him deeply for it.

How is it already JUNE? -- Day 217

It's June 1st, which means that we have officially been here a month. They say that time flies when you're having fun, so we must be having a LOT of fun. Either that or we're experiencing relative velocity time-dilation, but I think that we would have noticed that.

This job has afforded me lots of time to think, and there have been some really wonderful ideas that have come up while I'm working. Sadly, by the time I get to my computer, most of those ideas are gone. I need to have a stenographer follow me around, or maybe a guy like Kal Penn's character in Van Wilder. Plus, it would be Kal Penn, ya know? How cool that would be!

Kal Penn (from Biography.com)

The biggest lesson from the month of May was ADJUSTMENT. You would think that after so much time, and so many things happening not-exactly-according-to-plan that we would have the whole "roll with the punches" thing down to a science. Well, friends, I'm here to tell you that adjustment is not a science, but more like an art. A martial art. If you aren't learning to "flow like water" you are likely to get your ass kicked by life. It's not malicious; the pounding surf doesn't hate the rocks that it's turning into sand, but pulverize is the name of the game.

Life is really good right now, because we are learning to flow better. Each new challenge is no longer a crisis, just another opportunity to adjust and grow. Being here in the forest is a different kind of living than any we've ever done, and it is an amazing experience. Figuring out the grocery situation has shown us that there are some really wonderful people in the world that love to help out others. Our jobs, while maybe not the most mentally stimulating, are still filled with lots of opportunities to serve others with love.

As Anya and I clean rooms, we are trying to fill each space with love and blessings, both on the people that departed and the people that are coming in. It helps to dispel any negative feelings that may crop up from having to clean up after people that are not your own children, contrary to the evidence left behind. (And to those of you that may travel this summer and stay in a hotel/motel/cabin/resort: your housekeeper will be going through the room with a fine toothed comb. Be courteous with your trash, and leave them a tip. You never know what a huge difference a little appreciation can make in someone's day.)

My favorite part of this job is my co-workers. A group of people from all different backgrounds and ages getting to know each other by hanging out at campfires every night. There are six couples, two that are retirement-age, two that are are our age, and two that are younger than us. The dynamics of the conversations are super interesting to follow, if you can keep up, since there are usually at least three separate conversations going on simultaneously. This is going to be a really fun summer.

Zoe with Dell and Sophia at the campfire

Random fun fact: I met an amazing young lady at the pub on Monday night. She is bicycling down the Pacific coast (Anacortes, Washington to Los Angeles, California.) I was so inspired that I bought her a beer, and then she played Jenga with Zoe. If you get the chance, check out her blog: Bikewridings

Zoe with Michelle of Bikewridings

We're off today, so I will be enjoying some of the fruits of my labors. Since I cleaned and treated the pool yesterday, I figured it would be awesome to actually get in it today. It will be my first, and hopefully not last trip to the pool here, and I'm really looking forward to it. 

Lessons in flowing like water from the water itself?

Last thought: 
"The most profound statements,
 be they political, religious, or philosophical,
 are not spoken,
 but lived. "
~Sensei of Truth~

April Wrap Up -- Day 185

So here we are on the doorstep of another chapter of our adventure. We're making the transition from constantly moving, to being mostly stationary for the next five months.

And it's nerve wracking.

Before I get into the new adventure, let me first wrap up April.

Viking RV Park in Kingsburg was a welcome oasis of green after so much southern California desert. It's a tiny little park, filled with mostly permanent residents. I don't think we would have found the place, had it not been for Passport America (did I mention the awesome 50% discount? Because if you don't have PA, and you're in a motorhome, you're doing it wrong.) The funny thing about PA parks is that some of them seem to have doubled their rates to account for the discount, but the discounted rates fit our budget and are generally acceptable. This place was very no-frills, and even had pay showers (!) but being surrounded by old green trees put a smile on Anya's face, and that is priceless, my friends.

After Kingsburg, we had some bigger city needs, so we stopped in Fresno. The turtles, Luke and Leia, needed some companionship and exercise, so we picked up minnows and ghost shrimp. We added 20 new creatures to the turtlearium (that's the scientific word for their habitat. Don't bother looking it up, it's way too technical to be on the internet.) Out of the 20, almost half were consumed in the first day, because Nature is a violent place sometimes. Fresno is a rough town, if you're a ghost shrimp.

One of the things that you have to do from time to time is splurge to maintain sanity. I was craving Snuffer's (famous Dallas burger joint) and thought that Fresno might be able to offer something of a local equivalent. There was a Farmerboys® in the parking lot of the PetSmart in Clovis, and Yelp said that it was good. And while it was good, it was no Snuffer's.

The next day we drove to Arena RV Park in Chowchilla, because I really dug the name of the town. It was a quaint little place, and the site we were in was super narrow, I couldn't even get Fezzik's whole body in the lines. But they had wifi, and nice bathrooms, so it was worth the overnight.

This is from Fahrens Park in Merced

While I love to disc golf, the parks are not often designed to accommodate a vehicle as impressive in stature as our dear Fezzik. The fair citizens of Merced, being no different, had a very cool natural boulder barrier to set off the parking lot from the disc golf course. I noticed that there was plenty of room when we arrived, and didn't think that lots of people would be coming out to disc golf in the middle of the day on a Wednesday. When am I going to learn that disc golfers don't adhere to a typical 9 to 5 schedule? Trying to leave the full lot was not fun, and I wish I could say that I pulled it off without incident. Sadly, Fezzik now has a not-so-straight bumper and the roof access ladder is a little broken.

Undeterred, we ventured forth to Fisherman's Bend in Newman, CA. If you ever want to be off the beaten path, this is the place to go. It was a little run down (Anya didn't feel safe leaving the rig) and it totally seemed like the perfect place for a meth lab, so if you're looking for secluded and out of the way living with chickens and goats, I have found the place for you! I didn't take any pictures (for fear that at some point my phone may get taken into evidence), but trust me when I say the place was really green.

Ready to return to civilization, we hit up the Flag City RV park in Lodi. The sad thing about civilization is that it often resembles a parking lot. This place had ALL the amenities: nice bathrooms, laundry, swimming pool, clubhouse, flat paved sites with full hookups. But it was ugly, and the pool was freezing! Also, even with the Passport America discount, it was really expensive.

Would you like to know the remedy for a parking lot camping experience? Disc golf. For us, it was the beautiful and grueling Taylor Mountain course in Santa Rosa. 

"Before disc golfing, we spent the night at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. After getting our butts kicked by the Mountain, we headed off to Alexander Valley," Anya reminded me. It was a really physical course, with lots of elevation changes, and some spectacular vistas.

Alexander Valley RV park was right on the banks of the Russian River.

For me, being in the Alexander Valley was a dream come true. Back when I was first learning to appreciate wine, Alexander Valley Vineyards was my first favorite Cabernet. After three glorious days, we drove up to Ukiah to the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds. 

This picture just doesn't do it justice

The energy up in Northern California is so awesome. It just really feels like we belong here. While I do miss the ocean, I am loving being up in the mountains amongst the trees.

Our final week of this stage of the journey was spent at the quaint little Sleepy Hollow RV park in Willits. It is a very cool, if tiny, place with not much by way of amenities. We also got to spend time with some of our new best RV friends that we had met back in December in south Texas. It's one thing to make friends when you stay in one place. It's a bit of a different experience making friends on the road because you never know when your paths will cross again. It was really great to get to spend time with friends that we met 4 months and 2000 miles ago. 

 Some of the local residents came to see us off

And now we're here at the Redwoods River Resort, just off Hwy 101 between Leggett and Piercy, CA. New jobs, new friends, and a new way of life.

Tomorrow starts the new adventure.

The Desert is scary and Water is wet -- Day 165

We made it to California! After blazing through Arizona and New Mexico in two weeks, we now have a month to make our way up to Northern California where we'll be spending the summer. This period of constant, rapid change is going to be put on hold for a while, and a new chapter of the adventure will begin.

Our first stop in California was in Needles, just over the border. We wanted a couple of days to charge up our spirits before braving the Mojave, having seen way too many Bugs Bunny cartoons as children. Anya is descended from forest dwellers, and I am of tropical stock -- so the desert is a scary place. We stayed three days at Fender's River Road Resort, right on the Colorado river in Needles. It was the perfect, peaceful respite before undertaking the Fury Road across Tatooine.

"You could not step twice into the same river" ~ Heraclitus

Being so close to the Colorado, I had to go down to it. It was really interesting to me to go down and touch the water. Imagining that this is the same river that had come from the Grand Canyon, and would eventually make its way to the Pacific. Some of it will evaporate and become the rain that feeds the crops that will eventually make their way to my plate. It's weird to think of the interconnectedness of it all. So I had to touch it. It was wet.

Maybe some of the water that I touched will make its way to you. I hope that when it finds you that it's particularly edifying. We are all in this thing together, you know?

I have made a lot of friends on the internet, recently. It it a reminder to me that I am not a rolling island on the highway, but there are real people out there whose lives are affected by my actions. And in turn, they are affecting me. It has been said, "Your vibe will attract your tribe." I think that I have found some of mine, and it feels pretty good.

Refreshed and recharged, we were ready to tackle the desert. Fingers, still wet from the Colorado, firmly grasped the steering wheel. "Let's do this!"

And then it was really uneventful. The desert is not nearly as bleak as we had thought, there were plenty of opportunities to stop for supplies (not that we needed it, since we were prepared to be stranded for a week, you know, just in case.) There was a lot of traffic, and it didn't really even get very hot. I'm sure it was the blessing of the Colorado River that moistened our way.

Our first stop, on the western edge of the desert, was in Newberry Springs. I'm not going to link to the place, because it was honestly one of the worst places that we've ever spent the night. (And that list includes Walmart parking lots.) To add insult to injury, it was also one of the most expensive places that we've ever stayed, so my advice to all travelers crossing the Mojave would be to get as far past the desert as you can, because they know you're coming. Everything near the desert is more expensive, since they are preying on your fears. It definitely worked on us.

Today is also "National Sibling Day" and my brother coincidentally called me. It was pretty cool, since he had no idea. He just hadn't talked to me in a while, and we got to catch up. He had big news: he is getting married, again. I'm super happy for him, because he seems really happy. Lots of things have changed for both of us through the years, so this is an exciting direction in which to see his life go. It seems like the changes in my life have accelerated over the last few years, and moreso over the last few months. But getting a call from my Big Bro reminds me that even though everything is in a constant state of change, there are some things that still remain true.

Water is still wet.