The War on Christmas

I just left a lengthy comment on a friend's facebook page and was a bit pleased with the result of my efforts, so here it is: My thoughts on "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays."

Regardless of our country's founding principles, not everyone celebrates Christmas. If I told a Jew "Merry Christmas," then he or she might easily be offended, just as I'd be a little put off if that same person wished me a Happy Hanukkah. To me, the most galling thing about the whole debate is the assumption by one party that everyone ought to celebrate one holiday and forget about the rest. Such an assumption lacks courtesy and respect. I'm fine with folks who devoutly celebrate Christmas - I used to be one of them. However, when devotion to one faith leads to dismissal and disrespect of the others, that faith has lost its beauty, like a stained glass window lying shattered in the mud.
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So there you have it. Regardless of which tradition you follow, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

Just in case you're wondering...

I had a little fun with my facebook profile by changing the picture to an emo look and then posted an emo-like status, referring to this blog. Now, all I have is Strong Sad of homestarrunner.com to imitate for emo-ness, so I don't know how well I did. Really, I'm posting to reassure people I'm not really that depressed.

Otherwise, things are okay - not fantastic, not awful, just okay. Can't wait to see old friends at Wake, and I need to see my favorite mountains soon, but it's been good to be with my family and befriend a new cat.

Gotta go.

Wow.

Six months. What a ride.

I plan on giving those experiences the attention they deserve, but for now, chilling out in the concourse of Denver International, I'd like to focus on something more trivial. Like driving 750 miles or so from Bozeman to Denver because I wanna get home now and not wait another week.

Or the fact that the place to go in Bozeman if you want ethnic/lingual diversity is the bus system: in the last week, I've heard Russian, Farsi/Arabic, and Mandarin. In friggin' Montana! The state tied with Utah for whitest in the union, and Utah's got the excuse of Mormons.

I got on the bus from the rental car return station to the terminal today, and some guy was talking on his phone with a southern accent. I about hugged him. Didn't know I missed that drawl until I heard it again. It's funny, out here, there's a kind of twang that resembles a southern accent, but it's just not the same.

Oh, it took me 540 miles on my trip to see a cop, then another 150 until I got to the Denver area and saw others. Weird.

Last night at 7:30pm, it felt like midnight on the roads; not because I was especially tired, but because it was so dang dark and I was practically alone on the interstate.

Traveling 5mph over the speed limit out here makes you a speed demon (again, until you get to Denver). I was passed by a total of one car, and that was because we were on an on-ramp. I passed him (for good) a few minutes later.

After 600 miles at 80mph, 65mph feels like crawling.

Downtown Denver is a cool place - I toodled around for 30 minutes before heading to the airport, and I wish I could've gotten out of my car and explored on foot. The new Mile High Stadium is pretty impressive, too; looks a lot more imposing than Bank of America Stadium.

It's kinda funny that I've been to Denver's airport five times, but today was my first experience of the city.

I got stereotyped at the CO visitor's center. I told the lady I had a couple of hours to kill before turning in the rental car, and she started rattling off the breweries that were nearby. I was tempted to throw a fit just for kicks: "Just because I'm a 20-something male doesn't mean that I wanna go get buzzed! Besides, I've just told you that I'm driving! And then flying afterward! You want me to become more dangerous on the road and then be dehydrated for my flight back?!?! Hey, you're a lady in your 60s, why don't you find something better to do, like knit a sweater! And when you finish, make one for your dog, too." No, it doesn't upset me. Just something funny.

Okay, gotta pack up and mozy through security. Like I said, I'll be writing more soon.

Yeesh...

A quick note from the Bozeman library: I'm alive and enjoying myself pretty well out here. Apologies for the lack of pictures, but my computer's been in the incompetent hands of HP for the last month. Ask me about that some other time over the phone, and I'll be happy to relate to you the whole story. Suffice it to say that I'm encouraging all my viewers/friends/relatives/acquaintances/strangers to buy their computers from someone other than HP, because quite simply, neither Hewlett nor Packard has a clue when it comes to computer repair.

Enough of that nonsense - hopefully I'll have my lappy back in the next week. Also in the "hopeful" catagory: I'll post pictures from the last few hitches. Unfortunately, my camera (second among my possessions in monetary value only to my laptop) has also decided to poop out for the time being.

Well, I'd better get a move-on. As much fun as it is out here, I'm beginning to suffer from NC withdrawal and may have to remedy it with *gasp* phone calls to friends since I can't carry a conversation via the internet. The horror, the horror!

PS - Just saw Apocalypse Now, which was the most thought-provoking movie I've seen in months; great stuff even though it's long and brooding.

Yeah, I know I already posted once today...

...but guess what? I don't care; I got more to say! I know haters out there will be like, 'but dude, there's the edit post option!" Yeah, whatcha tryin' to say? That I should edit my posts? You sayin' my posts be flawed? You sayin' I make mistakes?

*calms down*

Seriously, a friend asked me about the average day and if I was happy, and when I was finished I thought I ought to share my musings with everyone else. Plus, it's pretty well written, if I do say so myself. So here 'tis...

As for the average day, this past trip was fairly consistent: Wake up at 6am, gather at 7am, hike along the trail until reaching a previously marked spot or a crew leader assigns me a task (like widen it with a pick/shovel, or dig a drainage pan for the water to leave the trail, or something similar). Then just keep going until about 5pm or so, with breaks around 10am, lunchtime, and 3pm. Then there's enough time to hike back to camp, eat dinner, and if the weather permits, have a fire as the light fades before crawling into the tent.

Of course, that summary leaves out all the wonderful vistas and wildlife sightings, not to mention the thrill of working outside doing manual labor. Am I happy? You bet your boots I'm happy. The biggest downer, among the wheezes of uphill climbing, aching muscles, muddy clothes and rainy nights, is that all this will come to an end in four short months. Now, that's not to say I didn't have the best shower/shave of my life (so far, anyway) after eight days of dirt and sweat. What I'm saying is that it's been less than five days since I arrived in civilization, and I can't wait to get back out there.

So there you have it. Two posts in one day. Savor the flavor, 'cause I'm departing the internet for nearly two weeks. Man, I'm feeling cocky today...

Brief update from Bozeman

Kinda hard to believe I've already spent a month here, but that's thanks to a busy schedule: general training and crew assignments for the first week, then training with chainsaws in Yellowstone, then working on a youth camp outside Bozeman followed by helping build a playground in town, then eight days south of the Tetons with trail work, and that brings us to the present! One thing's for sure, I'll have to be diligent with my time off; it's too easy just to sit around like I have the last few days waiting for the next hitch instead of enjoying the sights/sounds/opportunities I have all around me.

A nugget of news! I just learned that we can have guests with us while we're on a hitch, so long as we give at least a couple weeks' notice. Hopefully I can get more information in July about when and where we'll be the rest of the summer, but just in case you're jonesin' for working outside with me and my crew, we can make it happen! Let me know if you're interested, and maybe we'll throw something together.

New topic... my crew is pretty much the best. I can be nerdy, goofy, and punny without fear of death threats; in fact, it's encouraged out here! Plus I've been mandated by one of my crew leaders to learn Disney songs so I can perform them while we're out in the wilderness without access to CD players and iPods. What a relief! Instead of feeling like I have to shut up, I'm told to sing more!

Yes, life is good here. Fondest wishes to you all!

Thoughts from Bozeman...

Just a few things while I'm sitting here putting up pictures...

First, the South may have a reputation of being friendly, but here in Bozeman, the motorists are extremely courteous. I've already lost track of the number of times a driver has waved me across an intersection even though I'm a pedestrian and have a stop sign, no less!

The sun stays up soooo late here! It's now 9:30pm and just now getting dusky dark. Kinda crazy.

In the last week, I've visited caves and hot springs, watched the old Star Wars Trilogy, used chainsaws, circular saws, hammers, levels, shovels, wheelbarrows, pulaskis, buckets, axes, built fires and benches, climbed a fir tree about 50 feet tall, and danced a cachucha in my room. Just normal week.

Well, the pictures didn't work out... booooo. Guess I'll have to come back to the cafe this weekend, because Monday I'll be heading out for a ten-day hitch. Hope you're all doing well!