Bringing the Dork to the Forest

Hidden along an old growth forest, where the canopy towers overhead and the undergrowth is sparse among a population of wood both fallen and upright, an elusive creature may be spotted. Identifiable by the green tone of her hard hat, we find the nonnative dork grasping a shovel, and occasionally taking a selfie.

Let’s rewind. I would call this week my summer sampler tray; I took a few small adventures that look to be indicative of my longer adventures over the next three months.

Last weekend contained a road trip, followed by sixteen hours a day of class and a chance for a still developing introvert to try her 'I am a normal and friendly person' skills. I headed out on the five hour drive to Spokane early Friday for a two and a half day Wilderness First Aid course through the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute. Such training is useful anyway for anyone, especially if you spend a lot of time in the back country, and most definitely if your summer internship requires it. Outside of the classroom, I’m usually someone who favors independence, but learning about where my fellow classmates were from and what they did and why they were taking the course managed to coax me out of hermitage, leading to some enjoyable evenings, including a lovely one at the Spokane Arts Fest. The highlight still remains the drive for me, from trying not to get distracted by the rocks in the road cuts to marveling at just how many miles of flat I tolerated to watching the sun dip below the Cascades at sunset as I headed home.

(Seriously, flat and plain. Almost like they’re plains.)

Part two of a taste of summer was on Wednesday, as I had the first day of filming for season two of a web series I was in last summer. Although I can’t say much about it (spoilers!), I can shamelessly self-promote (I mean, this is a free online blog, I’m pretty sure the entire point is shameless self-promotion). Here is the link to the YouTube page, for any interested parties. The geeky/nerdy/dorkiness shall never end, so be warned that End Times is a post-apocalyptic tale crafted lovingly by some huge nerds with a strong affinity for science fiction, geek culture, and good storytelling.

The final installment in here’s what I’ve gotten myself into for the summer came today, as I did a day of trail work for Washington Trails Association as at least an intro to my internship with them this summer. I’ll be heading out to trails and campsites around the state to do help lead work parties and learn about outdoor leadership and trail maintenance. My way of saying so long to the brutal east coast winter is to spend as much of it as I can outdoors, in rain or shine—and let’s be honest most of it will be rain. Still, the morning was beautiful as we did some general brushing and drainage maintenance on McClellan Butte Trail out near Snoqualmie Pass.

And I still grin like an idiot whenever I get to drive into/through/around/near/away from but glimpse in my rear view mirror the mountains and forests of the Pacific Northwest.

But seeing how this is going to be my office for the summer, can you really blame me?

Dream Homes, New Homes, and New Dreams

The crush of the week: tiny homes.

Typical Buzzfeed procrastination led to tinyhouseslistings.com, and the wave of imaginings for what my future could be tumbled forward again. Continued clicking (I was compelled, I swear) found me on Tumbleweed's website, a company providing plans, workshops, and aiding the dreams of those thinking to downsize to, if not tiny, at least rather small homes. One of my favorites was certainly small, the little over 500 square feet Whidbey floor plan:

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/whidbey

A dream without the details is only half complete, so I zipped over to Zillow (the procrastination is strong with this one). A suitable sunny and green half acre lot on Bainbridge Island later and I was already floating on the possibility of biking the few miles to the ferry and arriving in downtown Seattle whenever I wanted, but returning home to my little patch of heaven beyond the city chaos.

The point of this tale is, that’s me. I latch onto possibilities and let my brain take them where it may. At times reality rudely crashes in. For example, the none too gentle reminder that I’m a college student who should start paying off loans once that elusive income shows itself, not mortgaging dream homes.

Sometimes the crash helps. It can force you into an unexpectedly magical evening at a band concert where you watch your brother win a surprise scholarship, and you’re reminded that things get along pretty well in the real world too. Really, it’s all for the best. I’m too pragmatic to dwell solely inside my head. I need mud under my fingernails, long talks with good friends, and a finished product.

I guess I’m hoping that this blog can be the new home for my dreams that are far in the future, as well as those that I’m already beginning to assemble. As I embark on adventures both physical and mental, my goal remains to just keep moving forward, even if the direction may change, and to stay grateful for the beauty that already surrounds me every day, although my mind may run wild.

That lot and tiny home may long be gone by the time I get around to them, but another future will have moved in.

Still, have some Puget Sound.