Small things are what make us concious of each other and what makes us happy, the world is filled with people who overlook the small things and sadly, it hurts sometimes. Now, i'm not writing that because im upset about something, quite the contrary, im writing it because i wish people to understand that sometimes I overlook those small things no matter how hard I try not to. Luckily for me, it is usually forgiven.
That aside, I want everyone to know that I am the most fortunate man around, I have a phenomenal girl, an absolute inspiration in my life who is tolerant, and patient, and forgiving (in most circumstances) and for that I am eternally grateful. I've been unfortunate to have to be on tour for a few weeks, and though to most of the world its a short time, for us who have just started our combined lives together, it is much more. I wanted to thank those of you who have been there to support us, and to offer conversation, and general happiness to both of us, and to ask that you continue to do so for the next couple weeks.
Heather is an amazing girl, and I hope everyone knows, and can understand that. I'm a lucky lucky guy, so please if you find time, say Hi to her, and send her something fun, to cheer her up, not platitudes to make her miss me more.
I miss her with all my heart,
-Dash
CRAZY*STUPID*SILLY
The dictionary defines crazy as this: senseless, impractical, totally unsound, likely to break or fall to pieces, demented, deranged, insane, intensely enthusiastic, passionately excited, enamored or infatuated, unusual, bizarre, wonderful, excellent, perfect, weak, infirm, or sickly, having an unusual, unexpected, or random quality, foolish.
And when asked if I was stupid, a wise woman I know responded: "Stupid, no. Silly, yes." I asked her to tell me the difference. She said this: Stupid would be if you got into a fight and drove all that way just to prove a point and argue further. Silly is doing something you know you don't have to or shouldn't do but you do it anyway because it makes you feel good.
All what way you might ask? Las Vegas, Nevada to Portland Oregon. 1043 miles. 16 hours and 54 minutes. There and back in 3.5 days. Yes, I did this. All for Love. So, I'd say add silly and stupid to my dictionary definition of crazy.
I tried to talk myself out of it over and over again. I had the days off of work and Spencer was in Portland for the week for his tour. His sister and I joked about it...but little did she know...or maybe she did know...I wasn't joking that much! I knew it was a short amount of time and gas prices aren't exactly cheap...plus that's a long way to drive all alone...even if you bring the dog with you! But I knew that with my days off and nothing to do I would just sit around going crazy missing him and then probably just up and drive there anyway, so I might as well plan ahead. Plus, I LOVE surprises! And my wise friend summed it up just perfect to hit the decision home: "You love him and you miss him and even though you know he's only gone a month and if you don't go you'll still be fine, you are going anyway because you want to see him. Silly, not stupid." So off I went.
I left Wednesday afternoon right after a quick nap after work. I drove all night (just like Celine Dion sings!) I never got sleepy...I had way too much caffeine and I was way too excited. I drove through lots of mountains and saw about a billion deer and of course I had some great tunes. But the best part of my drive was watching the sun come up over the state of Oregon. I had never been to Oregon. This state meant nothing to me until the man of my dreams turned out to be from there...and very passionate about where he came from I might add. Now I know why. Its amazing. I will live there one day. Maybe even grow old there.
Anyway, when I got close to his sister's house (where he was babysitting his nephews and patiently awaiting her "friend" to come and drop something off...) I texted him to say: "one of the coolest things I have ever done is watch the sun rise over your home state...come to the front door...I drove all night to get to you." Aw.....wait for it..........................................................................................................................
Oh yeah, keep waiting................................................................................................................
He never came to the door. I waited about ten minutes. Then I heard the sound of little boys screaming in the backyard and realized they were probably out playing and he didn't hear his phone. So I called him. (He thought I was getting an oil change and I told him I'd call him when I was done, so he was expecting my call...really I called and told him that from a bathroom at a rest area, but i digress...) He answered. I asked him if he got a text message from me. He said yes. I told him to hang up, go check it, and call me back. He said ok. I waited..................................................................................................................
And FINALLY the front door opened!!!! He was a little surprised. I was so nervous and hopped up on caffeine and SO HAPPY to see him that I shakily collapsed in his arms. But it was perfect. Immediately he took me out to the backyard to introduce me to his adorable nephews and then I introduced them to Tank. Once everyone was happily aquainted, we all took a trip to the "Pirate Park." It was quite a hike, complete with rock throwing to make splashes in the water, Colin with his giant shovel and "cool vest", Kyle training Tank, and my sleepy self holding Spencer's hand the whole way (mostly because I love him, but partly because I was afraid of falling asleep.) See for yourself:
Then Chelas and Gerd got home and we had a big pizza dinner and the boys headed to bed and the four of us chatted and then headed to bed ourselves. It was so great, not only because my head was resting on a pillow, but also because I was right next to Spencer!
The next morning, Spencer and Chelas went to work early together since they both had to go downtown. Gerd took the boys to their sitter and went to work himself. And I had the whole house to myself to sleep in. I woke up in time to head downtown to meet Spencer at the Rose Garden where his show was later that night. I got to watch him do what he does and we even had time to walk around a little bit and grab some lunch together. It was great.
Credits:
Chelas~for helping me plot and plan and checking in on me on my drive there and back! Jordan~for coming to work early on Wednesday so that I could leave early for my trip! Shelby~for covering my shift on Saturday so I could drive back home! Stef~for being so encouraging about my trip when it was looking like it wasn't going to work out! Adam & Alan~for keeping my secret, Michael~for being my emergency 911 dialer at the Shell Station in Hawthorne, Nevada...just in case! Kim~for checking in on me on my way! Michelle~for being so wise, putting things in perspective and checking in on me at the crack of dawn to make sure I was awake at the wheel! Mom~for checking in on me and being excited about my big surprise! Anthony~for being there for me when I was sad on my way home and afterwards! Tank~for being the best little travel companion ever!
Anyway, the last time I went hiking, I mean, REAL hiking (not in FLAT Florida) was probably about 4 years ago when I went with Michelle to the Grand Canyon. Today I discovered just how out of shape I am...BUT I didn't do too bad for a "beginner" as Spencer liked referring to me. (Because he's from Oregon where there are mountains, apparently that makes him a skilled hiker by birth or something...) The trail we took was called Calico and it was about 2 miles one way. Here's the path we took:
Hello everyone!
WOW! April was insane! The whole month was spent either packing or moving or unpacking pretty much. But I managed to have some fun too! :)
At the beginning of the month, a couple of my co-workers (Sara and MarySue...not sure who else was involved...) plotted with Spencer and threw me a surprise going-away party. I had NO IDEA and was totally surprised when I walked in Sara's door thinking I was having dinner with her and a friend and saw everyone! And I had talked to everyone there at some point during the day and nobody let on. It was a big success on their part and I felt very honored to have such incredible friends and such a wonderful send-off so thanks to everyone that was there, the sweet cards and goodbye gifts, etc. Those are memories I will treasure forever! The party was lots of fun and of course there are pictures!
Tracy, Sara, and me:
Me, Ashleigh, and Randy:
Kathleen, me, and MarySue:
Brian and me:
Me and Kim:
Me and Michelle:
Katie and me:
Me and Heather:
Me and Jay:
Anthony and me:
Me and Spencer:
Fred and me:
As you can imagine I spent the month doing my best to spend time with everyone in Florida and get as many goodbyes in as possible and do everything I had wanted to do before I left! I got to go to The Villages and see my grandparents! We had a yummy lunch and a nice afternoon talking. It was great to be able to see them before I moved because I probably won't get to see them again until my brother's wedding in October. It was nice having family so close. I miss that already.
Spencer and I also managed to squeeze in a Devil Rays baseball game with his roommates and a trip to the Big Cat Rescue...both were lots of fun!
Speaking of Easter, I had to work, but we had a great time celebrating with the Rhinos that day. They got all kinds of treats: hard boiled eggs, pastel ice blocks, cardboard
easter eggs and easter egg cookies! :)
Happy Easter from Sara and me:
Lucy and her Easter eggs:
Tim and me:
And speaking of Rhinos, I had to say goodbye to them too! :( My last day at Busch Gardens was really bittersweet. I had a great time doing everything "one last time" and saying goodbye to all my animals and co-workers, but of course it was sad to know that it was the last time. I am really lucky to have had the chance to work with such an amazing team of people and such incredible animals! My co-workers even got me a FACE CAKE! I miss you all terribly and working there will always be the best job I ever had! :) THANK YOU ALL!
Kayin, me, and Forrest:
Kisiri and me:
And after all of the goodbyes, it was time for the big move! We picked up the truck and loaded it up (well, I'll be honest, Spencer and his roommate Derek did all the heavy lifting and I just packed the boxes and made them heavy for them!) Spencer hitched up his car to the trailer on the back of the truck, we packed the animals up in their crates, and off we went. Our caravan was pretty amusing. Spencer drove the big truck with the trailer and his car attached and his companion along the way was Tank! Tank only whined for the first day and then he seemed to get used to the riding and enjoyed Spencer's company! I followed behind them in my bug with Noelle in the back. She didn't do as well as Tank. She meow-ed pretty much the entire trip and went to the bathroom everywhere but her litter box...so my car had to be fumigated by the time we got to Las Vegas! Our sleeping arrangements were perhaps my favorite part of the trip. We never knew where we would end up when we were so tired we couldn't drive anymore, so we never planned ahead looking for hotels that would allow pets. Instead, we just stopped whenever we got tired and decided to be done driving for the day...at a truck stop...and folded the back seat of Spencer's car down and cushioned it with sleeping bags and blankets and slept in the trunk/back seat! Keep in mind his car was on a trailer, so we slept on a slant all night...three nights in a row...the two of us and the cat and dog! It was hilarious!!!!! :) And of course, each night was colder than the one before because we were in the mountains. The last night, we slept on the Arizona/New Mexico border and it got down to 28 DEGREES!!!!!!!! Things were frozen when we woke up! Now, you may be thinking about how gross it is that we didn't shower all that time, but on our second day, while driving through Texas, we did stop at Spencer's second cousin's house and they gave us a nice meal and a warm shower so we did have a nice civil break! :) They were wonderful people and we were so thankful to them. We both decided if we didn't get that little refreshing break, we might not have made it all the way. But we did! We arrived in Las Vegas on April 17th and all the boxes were unpacked by April 19th.
Our caravan:
Our sleeping arrangements...Spencer's trunk:
Tank, me, and Spencer on the side of the road in Texas:
I started my job and things are going well so far. I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go to get to where I want to be there, but that's ok...it comes with the territory of starting fresh! Spencer's great search for a job continues, but he has lots of leads and I know he will get a job in no time!!! In the meantime, he's been a perfect roommate and very helpful getting me all settled and less homesick! And I'm pretty sure Tank will be devastated when Spencer goes to work...he has adopted Spencer as his best friend! Noelle, on the other hand, will be relieved...because that means Tank will be in the crate while we're gone and she'll have the whole apartment to herself.
So we are all settled here in Las Vegas and ready for visitors anytime! Let us know if you plan to be here so we can meet you on the strip for drinks or a meal...its less than 30 minutes from our apartment! And if you would like our address, just email me and I will send it your way! :)
Thanks to all of you for your love and support through this huge step!
RECORD FOR THE LONGEST BLOG EVER, I know!
Until next time...
