The Myth & The Majesty

"This wasn't how this year was supposed to go." I don't know exactly how many times I've said that in recent history, but do me a favor. Keep going and read that sentence again with my intended tone. It's not a whine -- it's a slightly bewildered but hopeful phrase, as though what became reality might actually be an improvement on what was expected. "This wasn't how this year was supposed to go." I've had a lot of catch-up conversations in recent history that have started with, "So have you moved yet?" Each time I get to back up in the year and fill whoever it is in on exactly how the last few months have progressed, and each time I'm a little more baffled. Yes, I'm still on hold (as far as I know). Yes, I'm looking for other jobs in the meantime. No, my patience isn't infinite. No, I don't actually mind staying in Rapid City. In fact, the summer has been quite fun. This wasn't how this year wa

This is a broken car door handle. It's been a thorn in my side for a few years now. Why? Well, at one point I would have said it was too expensive to fix and therefore it was very low priority. Recently, however, I needed to replace my front brakes. Let's talk about things that are too expensive. Egads. This time, though, I realized I had the time to take care of it myself, and after a fair bit of research (that is, watching videos on YouTube) I realized I could probably do my brakes myself. A few parts, a couple hours, and voila -- brakes! Which is what brings me here today. You see, I'm not really a DIY person (whether that was car stuff or other stuff) and there are a lot of things out there that I used to only purchase. Over time, however, I've realized how much of it I can take care of myself in a shorter time for a lot less money, whether it's fixing something or making something from scratch. I'll admit, I have an  unfair advantage :

Three weeks ago, I sent a text off to the Machine. "Want to go watch the eclipse with me?" His answer was immediate and straightforward: "Yes." Being me, this wasn't the first time I'd thought about it. I'd been half-planning for months what I might do for The Day, based on where I thought I might be living at that point. As far as I could tell, I'd be close to the path of totality no matter what -- the question was more about how much free time I might have. As it turned out, I didn't have to worry about the time. Even better, as Monday neared, my crowd grew. First was the Machine. Then, Ashli realized she was starting work here on the 22nd. Finally, I met Mikah Meyer , a record-setting traveler who happened to be in the area with no firm eclipse plans as of nine days ago. The team now assembled, we started debating our options. Rapid City happened to lie two to three hours from the path of totality, with many options for where you

... I need a map.

All right, folks. I'm very curious. Who among my friends has eclipse plans? And what are they? This falls into the category of "things I should have been planning for awhile ago but I'm just now getting to it since it appears I'll have the free time," and while my eclipse experience may be a little ... we'll say spontaneous, I know many of you have official plans. Parking spots reserved. Lunches you plan on packing. Heck, a few of you don't need to make plans because you live in that totality path. So I'm curious. Are you making any special plans for August 21st? For those of you who want to learn more, check out NASA's official page (and laugh with me a bit over their website, which seems not quite as state-of-the-art as I would expect). Here you can find maps and times, places to find eclipse glasses, and great ways to explain the science of the event to your favorite non-nerd. Now, to figure out where I'm going ... I'm so close

July was a month of people. Actually, it was so much more than that, but trying to narrow it down to a few events has proven fruitless. Bear with me. There are a lot of things to summarize. It started with a trip to Minneapolis. Some sightseeing, food and beverages while visiting the Admiral, then a big family wedding... Wedding survivors! And then Mia Sorella and Jay turned up. They had a month of in-between-ness and turned up in Rapid. Which among other things meant a lot of cat pictures. And some enjoyment of Rapid City's downtown. And all of the food. Then Shorty joined us for some Pokemon. There was boating, biking, and hiking to be had as well. The sand mines by Deerfield.   The Strato Bowl from a new angle. Then, just for fun, I had a mess of other friends turn up. All on the same weekend, too. The weird part about this is that I don't have any pictures of you, Ashli. What happ