Cars, hippies, sheep and four wheelers- all in a week's work

So I noticed it's been like a week since I've last been here... So I thought I should say something significant sounding (which won't happen, but I can try).

Nothing too excting has happened regarding work... But there have been some pretty cool non work related things going on. Let's start with last Friday...

So after work, I got to check out an apartment (and managed to sign the lease in the same day!!)-- it wound up being pretty cool. Susan and I even painted the mudroom's nasty floor. It's pretty cool now. Belinda helped me move in some furniture on Monday, and the place isn't actually too bad now that it has stuff, water and electricity.

Saturday was pretty cool- I moved the rest of my crap into my new place and... went to the Farmers' Market... We also went to see Revrend Payton's Big Damn Band, where we wound up meeting a bunch of the Earthship Crew. They wound up being pretty amazing...

Sunday, Susan and I found the Earthship here!! (Check out my facebook for pictures!!) This wound up being quite the adventura. It took us forever to find... Then, when we got there, we couldn't find Tucker, a hippyesque guy who's helping to build (and organize?) the project... So we wound up looking around a little and decided to leave... or atleast we tried to. Susan wound up accidentally backed off a mini "cliff", and got stuck. Her landlady, Becky, wound up appearing with her truck, at roughly the same time Jordan (an intern at Earthship that we met that day who appeared on a four wheeler) did. The car was gotten out sucessfully, and we met Jordan, who turned out to be my age... And he's a vegan! (I feel really good knowing, that, at least for a little while, Susan and I aren't the only "veggies" in town...) Anyway, long story short, we wound up hanging out with the new guy, and taking him back to the place where the other Earthship people were campin. We wound up hanging out there for a while, and it turned out to be good fun.

Nothing too new or exciting happening really beyond adventures with the hippies. Susan and I were talking about going to visit them this eve after work and getting Edna, my bike, looked at. (Yes, my bike's name is Edna.) It's squeaky as all get out and I feel like the front wheel is about to fall off... Thankfully, I've already befriended Miles, the bike man. I'm hoping he'll give it the lovin' it needs to be as new as it can be...

This upcoming weekend: camping in Billings where we'll go shopping and check out the mall (because malls are a luxury... Miles City doesn't have one). Next week also brings another adventure to Helena for more delightful training. Potentially more pictures on facebook to follow training.

Hope you're all doing well!

Miles City: Day One

So, I got to Miles City alright last night, but I got lost as I had the wrong address. All iis well, I eventually found myself with the help of Mary Lou, the person with whom I am living. She seems really cool, and I hope all works out. I've already noticed a ton of stuff that's different. First off, people here will occasionally ride their four wheelers down the road. Some even have liscence plates. Second, there's a lack of an LGBT community... a bit uncomfortable for me... but after talking to my boss, I think I'll survive. The people seem reasonably friendly... though some of them grumpy. I guess that happens with every town.

I suppose I should flash back to the drive here from Eagan. It wasn't terrible, although it was quite boring. There were a few hills towards the western part of Minnesota and the eastern part of North Dakota, but that was... roughly it. With the help of Baseman, I found a friggin amazing cafe in downtown Fargo, called the Red Raven. After that, the rest of the trip was sorta lame, save meeting the Dharma Bums shortly before gettting to Montana. We shared stories of our travels, discussed Kerouac and quickly got on with our lives.

I discovered a cute little cafe in Miles City, with really good breakfast. Then, I got lost on my way back home, and heard a little girl ask the adult she was with why I was on my bike. It was one of the most strange things I've heard in quite some time. Noone here really seems to bike- most people I suppose jump on their four wheelers.

Flash forward to a few hours later:
I got to meet some of Mary Lou's family, and they were all really cool. They were all really friendly and seemed to like me.
I also got to meet the staff that I'll be working with at Custer Alliance Aginst Domestic Assult.

They also seemed amazing, and occasionally wander around their office barefoot. Seems like my kind of place.

I am still crazy homesick. I got terrified when I discovered that the bike racks could potentially hold ponies as well. And, that there were actually four wheelers parked on the sides of the road. Whoo for living in a small town-- hopefully I'll adapt quickly.

At any rate, I really should get to sleep. Tomorrow, I'm planning to do more adventuring around the city, and maybe go out a bit and try to find myself... If I can accomplish everything else I feel compeled to take care of.