Life has been hectic and there is so much going on. So to make things easy here is an art piece that needs a new home. 

It has been with me for a while and I am hoping to say goodbye to it and get it out of my gallery. 

Share with others and help me let it go. 

Criss Cross Applesauce 9*12 $120

It's been a month since we returned from our trip, and the inevitable finally happened. 

Yesterday, as I was trimming my toenails in preparation for a weekend climbing session, something unexpected happened – one of my toenails came off. Yes, it just fell off. While I was cutting it, it unexpectedly detached, barely clinging on by a tiny piece of skin. It was both unsettling and surprising. Honestly, I had anticipated that my big toe's toenail might be the one to go, but it turned out to be the second toe on the other foot. The toenail on my left big toe is still somewhat discolored, and a portion of it has come off, but it hasn't completely disappeared, which is perfectly fine.

Fortunately, the toe itself isn't painful, and I can already see some new growth starting at the edges. I'm uncertain how long it will take, but at least there's no bleeding or oozing to worry about.

So, for anyone planning to undertake the rim-to-river trail, be prepared – you might lose a toenail or two along the way or experience some discoloration.

Nevertheless, in the end, the sacrifices were well worth it.

It's strange to be home during this time of the year. I know that I'm making the changes needed to move forward but I'm not a fan of being stuck in one place when I could be out hiking trails all over the western side of the state. It bums me out a bit and really makes concentrating hard. All I can think about these days is just being out on the trail or having some quiet. 

Once you get a taste of what you love it's hard to put it on stand-by, even if it is for a good reason (like switching jobs).

For now, I'm taking the time to get ready for training and while I am nervous I'm ready to get this over with. It's one of those things that would be good financially but I hate classes. They bore me and while it will be helpful in the long term to know what I'm doing I also know how I am when it comes to training where I have to listen instead of doing the motions. Luckily the verbal abuse is only for a week and then it's a mix of verbal with actual action like learning. 

While this is going on I will be still working at my current job because I still need to make money so I will be juggling both jobs for a short time. Or at least that is the plan currently. 

I don't know what the plan is from here besides making more money but I am planning to do something in January/Feb time frame and am hoping for suggestions for the Southern part of the United States. If anyone knows any trails or anywhere to visit shoot me a message. Any are appreciated. 

For now, I shall sit, learn, and dream of faraway places. 

With the start of anything new, there are always nerves. 

In one week I will be starting training for a new job. It matches what I was looking for and is a good stand-in for the time being as I continue to search for something else. The job itself is a middle ground to help small businesses manage accounts through QuickBooks. It's more money, regular work hours, I get weekends off, AND HOLIDAYS. I still get to work from home and pick my own hours. Honestly, I don't know what to expect and I'm pretty nervous about starting this new job but with time I'm sure I will quickly get the hang of it. 

The job I'm currently working for just isn't working anymore and with their new "requirements" preventing me from traveling I knew that the universe was finally giving me the kick in the ass to find something else. Sometimes all it takes is a touch of reality to get you moving. 

Of course, this isn't the end of my search but it is a step in the right direction. For me it's a step up in pay which I desperately need and it will give me the ability to finally travel again once I have everything down. Ideally, I'm looking for a job where I don't have to talk to people at all and I'm keeping my eyes peeled at those opportunities and have them bookmarked for when they do have more spots open. You best believe that is the END goal. I don't mind people but these days I rather work undisturbed and the older I get the more stupid I realize people can be. Not saying that everyone is stupid because that isn't true but in the customer service industry you get asked questions that make you want to roll your eyes, grab the person, and give them a real HARD shake. Like why are you asking these questions when you ALREADY know the answer? 

So I'm slowly making my way away from people-pleasing/talking jobs. 

I'm excited, nervous but ready to move on. For now (with my current job) I am limping on through the clients rolling my eyes and every time I get a call that I'm not getting paid more than average to handle, I transfer them and say

"Not my monkeys, not my circus"

Finally, things are starting to turn around a little bit. 

I'm sure there are a few of you who have already read about what happened in Albuquerque but in case you haven't let me go ahead and fill you in. 

While on the way back from the Grand Canyon my Dad and I had decided to stop at a Dunkin on our way back East. The closest one from the Interstate was one in town. It was a ten-minute detour and we made our way to the Dunkin. Getting our elixir we got back in our vehicles and started back on the road. Not even twenty minutes into this drive my driver's side window broke. While driving at least 40 to 50 mph in a 4-lane. 

Naturally, my reaction was to duck down and step on the break. I Slumped in the driver seat as glass spilled everywhere I looked around bewildered by what just happened. Mind you I have been through a lot of near-death experiences and heart attacks from the van since I bought it but this incident went near the top in heart attacks. 

While driving this massive vehicle I managed to not Crash into anybody and I did look around after a minute of letting my heartbeat in my chest along with widespread panic of looking around at other cars (and in my rearview mirror). All the cars behind me seemed to be aware something happened as the glass fell from the window and into the street as well as down my shirt and pants. After the initial 60-second panic I texted my Dad letting him know "My window just broke" followed by another thought to just call him. He was in front of me when this happened so he had no idea and when he picked up I tried my best to tell him that the window just exploded while keeping a slow pace and an eye on the last remaining pieces that were hanging in the window. 

Mind you if I was alone I would never have pulled over anywhere in that city. I would have kept going panicking at an all-time high and just hoped nothing else happened. But with someone else there and the fact that I felt the glass scraping my skin, we found somewhere to pull off. There was a casino parking lot with security around. We pulled into the lot and a guy came around in a golf cart and checked in on us to see what was going on. My Dad told him what happened and he relaxed some and called the inside of the Casino while we cleaned up. he then asked if we needed anything and after I settled some more we told him we were good and he left us to the task. 

After some time passed we had cleaned up the van the best we could and I stripped down to get rid of the glass that was against my skin. After that, we rigged a towel where the window was and started our way back on the road. I'm not going to lie that drive felt like an eternity. We were going to the Big Texan in Alamo and while Alamo is garbage and I had a broken window I said **** it and knew I needed a steak and drink after this incident. 

For four hours I drove replaying what happened. Trying to remember what I saw but I came to the conclusion that it wasn't anything physical I saw but I did HEAR the impact before the shatter. It wasn't a gun but a hard object of some kind. It hit the window and bounced away causing the window to wobble before it busted. It's unmistakable what it looks like when it gets a wave-like look from a high impact. 

For the next part of the 16-hour drive, I slept a total of five to six hours in between drives after that. We pulled into a rest area with Truck Drivers and I stayed in the middle of them. I trust truck drivers more than anyone on the road when it comes to sleeping arrangements. They don't fool around and they SEE everything. 

I made it home safely and we managed to get the window replaced. I haven't done any investigating in the van just yet but I do plan to look around while I work on things just to make sure I didn't miss something. Of course, If I find anything it will be reported and my assumptions will be updated but for now, I think it was an object that was thrown at me NOT shot at me (like a bullet) and that is an important distinction. 

I also would like to point out that I don't think this is from me driving a "van" and that it made me a target. I think that they saw a young person driving and probably tried to take advantage of a high panic situation hoping I would pull over or crash so they could rob my vehicle. Of course that did not happen so they lost that day. I do believe in Karma and I do believe it's coming for them in 100 fold and the universe will give it back to them. 

So I grant the universe permission to do as it pleases with whoever tried that stunt. Good luck to you stranger. Karmas is a bitch.