Well guys, I did it. I survived my first wildfire season here in the southwest, working as a Public Information Officer on a National Forest in Arizona.
It was a bit busy.
So, just in case you didn’t think I could possible cram myself anymore into the Flagstaff stereotype mold…
…I finally got around to joining the local climbing gym.
*Shocked Pikachu Face*
Well, it’s probably well past due time for this post.
Meet Ryan!
He’s my boyfriend, and — my soon-to-be roommate.
How exciting.
Is there anything more depressing than waking up in your own bed and going to an office to work after a great weekend camping trip?
I mean, yeah, lots of things, but also? Having to wake up and go to work (thankfully I’m working from home, still) after waking up the night before in a tent in a forest at the rim of the MOTHER EFFING GRAND CANYON is still pretty damn depressing.
I was lucky enough to spend this past weekend camping up at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park with a few other Northern Arizona Returned Peace Corps Volunteers!
Sooooo.
Getting outside of my comfort zone has historically been pretty easy for me. Just hop a flight to wherever and bam, instant personal growth!
Sometimes, you just kinda quit your job and move to a new country, to get outside your comfort zone, too. It happens.
Anyway, thanks to COVID and house arrest and social distancing (which — by the way — I am totally in favor of, don’t get me wrong!) it’s been a little harder to get outside my comfort zone lately.
Enter… this past weekend!
My college friend Vandy strapped me to a pair of skis and sent me down a mountain for the first time ever on his birthday weekend. Wild!
So, I have a new fur child.
For now, kind of.
Meet Yukon Johnson!
I think I have juuuusttt enough odds-and-ends to fill a quick post about the random things I’ve done to entertain myself during the pandemic this winter.
Super excited to say that I was able to get my first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccination last week!
Another year, another dental insurance plan, another dental surgery!
When I tell people that — thanks to genetics — I don’t have wisdom teeth, they always crow about how lucky I am.
Ehhh… not so much.
While it’s true that I’m grateful I never had to have impacted molars removed, I’ve had a slew of other dental problems over the past three decades. I have hypodontia so I’m missing several teeth that I should have, and my remaining teeth are laden with issues.
I’ve had braces four (yes, FOUR) times, extractions (baby teeth fused to my jawbone), bone grafts, implants… you name it, and as long as it isn’t wisdom tooth removal, I’ve had it performed. I’ve had more bottles of that medicinal mouthwash prescribed than you can count.
So, my latest procedure? Gum grafting! Guys, lemme tell ya. NOT FUN. The periodontist had to cut an inch-long incision in the roof of my mouth to scrape out tissue to add to two places along my bottom jaw.
Plus, I’m a redhead. So local anesthesia just… doesn’t work on me.
Seriously… NINE shots of Novocaine and I could still feel the sutures going into my face. Argh.
Anyway. While the dental procedures suck enough, what’s even harder is being hangry and grumpy and relegated to liquid and soft foods for two weeks.
Alright: I am back to finish yesterday’s park with a second National Park of the weekend: Canyonlands National Park.
