My thought process when writing a blog post!
Each line is a thought or action I have or do when writing these posts:
"Ok! Decide on a good topic.....
Before I start writing I better start music
Go on YouTube - Featured Playlist - Ben Rector - Play
Ok, music set, lets write!
Produce a perfect intro, and seamlessly transition into some funny yet crucial point.
Question my wording.
Feeling uninspired, so go on facebook, cause thats always a productive place to go....
Write a few uninspiring sentences.
Rearrange them to fit better.
Feel uninspired again, open Pinterest on a 3rd tab.
Spend 10 minutes trolling Pinterest.....
Get inspired by Pinterest's Quotes page I eventually end up at.
Write the majority of what I have been trying to say all along.
Leave page alone for 2 minutes, do anything but read page, like refreshing my mental batteries!
Come back to page and edit all the stupidly obvious spelling and grammatical errors.
Troll Pinterest's Humor page to make myself feel better about my lack of spelling skills.
Write the ending of what I want to say.
Rearrange the paragraphs to make more sense.
Check facebook again, just incase something major happened in the last 5 minutes!
Chat with some people on Facebook.
Reread the entire piece.
Add some little things, take out other things.
Troll Pinterest and Instagram.
Reread post.
Contemplate the implications of hitting the "publish" button. (this might take a long time depending on the nature of the post)
Hit the "publish" button and read it live on the blog!"
The End :)
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
What I learned on a campaign (part 2)
1. Events are created to look spontaneous. The candidate "showing up" to a county fair looks spontaneous and light hearted..... Its really not. Its planned weeks in advance, the vehicle he/she rides in is parked particular places, they have a calculated time to arrive, how long they can stay, and a specific time they have to leave. Staff have specific places they need to be and a certain way they need to look. Most of the time its "Look busy and happy!" And sometimes candidates have specific people they are scheduled to "meet"in the crowd"
2. I know I touched on this before, but yard signs..... I actually HAVE an opinion about YARD SIGNS! How many 18 year olds can say that!? Just that they even have an opinion on them!?
3. You learn to give a good handshake.... and start judging people on their hand shakes.
4. Pizza and Pop is the staple of any campaign diet.
5. Teaching most volunteers to phone bank can be one of the most testing times of your life. It takes an average 20 minutes. Most look at the phone you hand them like you just placed a small alien baby in their hand, then look at the script like its written in klingon! And upon explaining the call process to them, they realize they have to actually do their first phone-call, and return to the previous alien baby look.
6. Volunteers' handwriting is worst that teachers' handwriting! Now thats saying something!
7. Now, I may sound like I'm bashing volunteers, but without them us interns would have sooooo much more work and I love the enthusiasm they all bring, so we treat volunteers like royalty when they walk in. Guess who has to roll out the red carpet and serve them when they get here for their volunteer shift? thats right.... interns :)
8. Interns stick together. We are inseparable and we like to do things in pairs!
9. Choosing whether you hate talking to people over the phone in a windowless room on a gorgeous hot July day more than talking to hungry customers at your fundraising burger booth on a gorgeous hot July day. (The election is over and I still have yet to make that choice!)
10. At any event, political stickers will cover at least 2/3rds of your shirt! Guarantee!
11. Always understand your field organizer understands your pain.... He/She lives it with you. If they can do it one more day so can you.
12. The connections you make now can prove very valuable later!
2. I know I touched on this before, but yard signs..... I actually HAVE an opinion about YARD SIGNS! How many 18 year olds can say that!? Just that they even have an opinion on them!?
3. You learn to give a good handshake.... and start judging people on their hand shakes.
4. Pizza and Pop is the staple of any campaign diet.
5. Teaching most volunteers to phone bank can be one of the most testing times of your life. It takes an average 20 minutes. Most look at the phone you hand them like you just placed a small alien baby in their hand, then look at the script like its written in klingon! And upon explaining the call process to them, they realize they have to actually do their first phone-call, and return to the previous alien baby look.
6. Volunteers' handwriting is worst that teachers' handwriting! Now thats saying something!
7. Now, I may sound like I'm bashing volunteers, but without them us interns would have sooooo much more work and I love the enthusiasm they all bring, so we treat volunteers like royalty when they walk in. Guess who has to roll out the red carpet and serve them when they get here for their volunteer shift? thats right.... interns :)
8. Interns stick together. We are inseparable and we like to do things in pairs!
9. Choosing whether you hate talking to people over the phone in a windowless room on a gorgeous hot July day more than talking to hungry customers at your fundraising burger booth on a gorgeous hot July day. (The election is over and I still have yet to make that choice!)
10. At any event, political stickers will cover at least 2/3rds of your shirt! Guarantee!
11. Always understand your field organizer understands your pain.... He/She lives it with you. If they can do it one more day so can you.
12. The connections you make now can prove very valuable later!
Friday, November 23, 2012
Why do we do community service?
This post was inspired by a prompt my civics teacher had us whrite. Why do we/should we do community service? Here is my answer.....
I think we serve each other for multiple reasons, having to do with the natural human ability to feel sympathy and compassion for one another. Those instinctive qualities we have drive us to extend our efforts towards other human beings. Another reason is we get some inner satisfaction from it. It makes us feel good about ourselves when we give back. We also like knowing that if we were ever in need, for whatever reason, the same generosity would be extended to us. Kind of a "treat others the way you would like to be treated" motto. But anther huge reason we serve our community, or why we think we should, is the feeling of community service is embedded in our national identity. Since the formation of this country we have helped one another. The freedom of religion started in this country led to various faiths being able to extend great efforts to help the poor. Churches brought food to the sick and aid to the poor, even when they lived miles away from each other. As the country industrialized in the late 1800s and early 1900s, organizations like the Red Cross and Boy Scouts of America, started up, spreading across the nation, starting mass mobilization of community service. Setting examples of how ordinary americans can help, and making it possible for everyone to get involved. I think, our calling to do community service is part of the modern american dream thanks to these early service foundations. Its obviously important to our society or else we would not have classes like civics embedded in our education system. Thats how you tell a society values something, when they take the time and money to teach it to their children. We are fortunate to live in a society that puts so much value in community service. I think community service is often felt to be a civic duty as much as a humanity duty.
I think we serve each other for multiple reasons, having to do with the natural human ability to feel sympathy and compassion for one another. Those instinctive qualities we have drive us to extend our efforts towards other human beings. Another reason is we get some inner satisfaction from it. It makes us feel good about ourselves when we give back. We also like knowing that if we were ever in need, for whatever reason, the same generosity would be extended to us. Kind of a "treat others the way you would like to be treated" motto. But anther huge reason we serve our community, or why we think we should, is the feeling of community service is embedded in our national identity. Since the formation of this country we have helped one another. The freedom of religion started in this country led to various faiths being able to extend great efforts to help the poor. Churches brought food to the sick and aid to the poor, even when they lived miles away from each other. As the country industrialized in the late 1800s and early 1900s, organizations like the Red Cross and Boy Scouts of America, started up, spreading across the nation, starting mass mobilization of community service. Setting examples of how ordinary americans can help, and making it possible for everyone to get involved. I think, our calling to do community service is part of the modern american dream thanks to these early service foundations. Its obviously important to our society or else we would not have classes like civics embedded in our education system. Thats how you tell a society values something, when they take the time and money to teach it to their children. We are fortunate to live in a society that puts so much value in community service. I think community service is often felt to be a civic duty as much as a humanity duty.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Millennials
We all know that there are names for every generation, such as the Greatest Generation, the generation that fought and won World War Two. The Baby Boomer Generation, the fertility boom after the soldiers returned from World War Two, the generation of my grandparents. The Silent Generation, born during the Great Depression. I began to wonder what generation am I? What category do I fit into? What reputation does my generation have?
I researched this topic a lot recently, and discovered I am a Millennial- anyone born after 1980, we are the first generation in the new millennium, and are in our late teens to late twenties! Our generation's identity is just being formed. Its exciting to think that what we are doing right now will define our generation in history books. We remember the Greatest generation because they saved a country, we remember the baby boomers because they changed the way the country had to produce goods and provide quality of life to all these booming new families! What is my generation doing to be remembered?
Well, we are confidant, connected, and progressive! We are more expressive, liberal, and open to change. We are more culturally diverse and significantly less religious. Though the millennials that are religious are more progressive and accepting than traditional religious believers in older generations. They have popularized new contemporary ways to worship.
We are on our way to becoming the most educated generation in american history, despite the rising education costs and supposedly broken education systems. Yay us! In 2008 a record 39.6% of young millennials were enrolled in a higher education system. Unfortunately we got one of the hardest blows of the recession, still, most of us still say we have enough money to get by or to go on to higher education. As of 2012 we still have 17% of us unemployed.
But we have a virtual monopoly over the viral world (see what I did there :), becoming the most interconnected generation because of the internet. I think thats what contributes to us being so progressive too. Things are constantly changing on the internet, so we learn to constantly change with it. Social media has expanded ten times over because of us. Nearly 3 out of 4 people of our generation has created a social media profile of some kind, 93% of us feel "empowered" by technology. I know I do! Most of us sleep with our smart phones within arms reach of our bed. We are the first "forever connected" generation and surly not the last!
We tend to have a good relationships with our parents, and have less conflict than previous generations. But only about 6 in 10 of us were raised by both parents. Significantly lower than previous generations. And we respect our elders, we tend to believe they hold higher moral values and work ethic than the young and that we can learn from them. But we have a way higher racial tolerance than the elderly. Generally we are known for getting along with others, and working well with others in social settings.
We ourselves have nothing against marriage, but are in no hurry to rush down the isle. We have the largest demographic of single women growing than ever before. Just 1 in 5 millennials are married, although, when asked, we place marriage and parenthood ahead of a careers.
More than any other generation we are more likely to identify as liberals. We are more progressive and inclusive of all types of people and ideas. Concentrate on domestic social issues the most. Yet, for some reason, incomprehensible to me, we didn't break the mold that the young don't vote. Our age group STILL had the lowest percentage turn out in this years election! I was hoping we would break that, seeing that we are so socially aware! But oh well.....
I think we are in the process of creating a new kind of community. Using our technological devices to create a safe, creative, and positive environment. Bringing our inclusive and progressive ideas forward as we start to take the reins of the country. Harnessing our craving for innovation and gearing it towards finding that 17% some jobs! Jobs that weren't even invented during our parents time!
I'm excited to see what my generation can do. I'm excited to be a part of it!
I researched this topic a lot recently, and discovered I am a Millennial- anyone born after 1980, we are the first generation in the new millennium, and are in our late teens to late twenties! Our generation's identity is just being formed. Its exciting to think that what we are doing right now will define our generation in history books. We remember the Greatest generation because they saved a country, we remember the baby boomers because they changed the way the country had to produce goods and provide quality of life to all these booming new families! What is my generation doing to be remembered?
Well, we are confidant, connected, and progressive! We are more expressive, liberal, and open to change. We are more culturally diverse and significantly less religious. Though the millennials that are religious are more progressive and accepting than traditional religious believers in older generations. They have popularized new contemporary ways to worship.
We are on our way to becoming the most educated generation in american history, despite the rising education costs and supposedly broken education systems. Yay us! In 2008 a record 39.6% of young millennials were enrolled in a higher education system. Unfortunately we got one of the hardest blows of the recession, still, most of us still say we have enough money to get by or to go on to higher education. As of 2012 we still have 17% of us unemployed.
But we have a virtual monopoly over the viral world (see what I did there :), becoming the most interconnected generation because of the internet. I think thats what contributes to us being so progressive too. Things are constantly changing on the internet, so we learn to constantly change with it. Social media has expanded ten times over because of us. Nearly 3 out of 4 people of our generation has created a social media profile of some kind, 93% of us feel "empowered" by technology. I know I do! Most of us sleep with our smart phones within arms reach of our bed. We are the first "forever connected" generation and surly not the last!
We tend to have a good relationships with our parents, and have less conflict than previous generations. But only about 6 in 10 of us were raised by both parents. Significantly lower than previous generations. And we respect our elders, we tend to believe they hold higher moral values and work ethic than the young and that we can learn from them. But we have a way higher racial tolerance than the elderly. Generally we are known for getting along with others, and working well with others in social settings.
We ourselves have nothing against marriage, but are in no hurry to rush down the isle. We have the largest demographic of single women growing than ever before. Just 1 in 5 millennials are married, although, when asked, we place marriage and parenthood ahead of a careers.
More than any other generation we are more likely to identify as liberals. We are more progressive and inclusive of all types of people and ideas. Concentrate on domestic social issues the most. Yet, for some reason, incomprehensible to me, we didn't break the mold that the young don't vote. Our age group STILL had the lowest percentage turn out in this years election! I was hoping we would break that, seeing that we are so socially aware! But oh well.....
I think we are in the process of creating a new kind of community. Using our technological devices to create a safe, creative, and positive environment. Bringing our inclusive and progressive ideas forward as we start to take the reins of the country. Harnessing our craving for innovation and gearing it towards finding that 17% some jobs! Jobs that weren't even invented during our parents time!
I'm excited to see what my generation can do. I'm excited to be a part of it!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Ben Rector
Ben Rector is a singer, a really good singer. This post is purely an outpouring of my devout love for his music. So if you don't like him, go away now, and crawl back into the deep dark whole you obviously live in.
~My top song of his has got the be "The Beat", its a fun upbeat song about a shy girl who meets her match on the dance floor, lets go of her worry and fear "when the beat comes." Its great!
~His songs "White Dress"and "Dance with me baby" are awesome ones too! Pretty much perfect wedding songs!
~His song "Autumn" is the cutest little love song! I want to name my daughter Autumn just to have a guy sing this song to her!
~Another top song is "Moving Backwards," it always leaves me in a calm and thoughtful mood. Its a very mellow song.
~On top of his multitudes of amazing songs, he is a very good singer in person! If you look up his live performances on YouTube they are really good! He is charismatic and charming! Not to mention very well dressed!
~He is not new to the music scene, he has been around since maybe 2008, but I am just now getting into him.
~He also has a holiday album that is to die for! And when a singer can seamlessly transition from regular music to christmas music, and do them both well, you know he is a keeper!
I don't know why I haven't discovered him until now, but he is amazing! He is all I've been listening to! He does wonders with a guitar, piano, microphone, and audience. I hope you all check him out!
I <3 BEN RECTOR
~My top song of his has got the be "The Beat", its a fun upbeat song about a shy girl who meets her match on the dance floor, lets go of her worry and fear "when the beat comes." Its great!
~His songs "White Dress"and "Dance with me baby" are awesome ones too! Pretty much perfect wedding songs!
~His song "Autumn" is the cutest little love song! I want to name my daughter Autumn just to have a guy sing this song to her!
~Another top song is "Moving Backwards," it always leaves me in a calm and thoughtful mood. Its a very mellow song.
~On top of his multitudes of amazing songs, he is a very good singer in person! If you look up his live performances on YouTube they are really good! He is charismatic and charming! Not to mention very well dressed!
~He is not new to the music scene, he has been around since maybe 2008, but I am just now getting into him.
~He also has a holiday album that is to die for! And when a singer can seamlessly transition from regular music to christmas music, and do them both well, you know he is a keeper!
I don't know why I haven't discovered him until now, but he is amazing! He is all I've been listening to! He does wonders with a guitar, piano, microphone, and audience. I hope you all check him out!
I <3 BEN RECTOR
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
People Watching
I had one of those days where you don't say much all day. I didn't say a word in chemistry, in fact I didn't do much of anything except day dream of my couch, comfy blanket, and a solid nap! I didn't talk to anyone in math, except to ask the teacher a question in the last few minutes of class, and we watched a movie in civics, so there was no talking there. I did happen to talk in sports medicine, cause I have the combination of friends a free-time in that class. But I realize now I spent the majority of my day just silently people watching. NOT in the creepy stalker-ish way! Just observing people all around, listening to interactions between others and not necessarily have an opinion on what was happening... just watching. I watch boys flirt with girls, and girls flirt with boys. I watch sleep deprived kids try to stay awake, watch a brian-iac wiz through homework, then watch a kid struggle to understand concepts sitting right next to him. I watch kids try desperately to fit in at their lunch table. I watch the goths sit in the corner doing whatever they do, I also watch the jocks throw whatever it is around their lunch table. I watch people drive in cars, I watch bus drivers drive busses. Some people look stressed, some look bored, some look sad, and some look content. It strikes me how everyday I pass these people, and don't notice most of the time. I also don't put into consideration the type of day they are having most of the time. Watching people refreshingly reminds me everyone is having a different kind of day. That girl walking unusually slow down the hall might have just had a crummy test, and that loud mouth jock might not have a nice family life, so he validates himself at school. That girl with her nose in a book might be super shy, but extremely nice if someone talked to her. Some people can also be funny! Like when a girl is obviously trying to flirt with a guy and he is just not getting the message! Its kind of entertaining to watch, as cynical as that sounds! None the less, it is nice every once and a while to notice people, just keep myself out of the equation, and people watch.
Jack Johnson gets me :)
People Watching, By: Jack Johnson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY8237U4Z1E
Jack Johnson gets me :)
People Watching, By: Jack Johnson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY8237U4Z1E
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Free Time
Sorry I haven't been very consistent lately. I have been very busy this last week, between the election, school, and an amazing weekend at a Young Life retreat. I have had little time to post many of my thoughts! I'm going to try to post about them all week this week.
Free time is a precious thing for a senior in high school. By the time I get to sit down and do whatever I please, its between the hours 10 pm-6am! I tend to like to use those hours to sleep! Generally I get free time during the weekends, I like to spend it doing nothing. Really, I just sit (or lay in a clean pile of laundry... try it sometime! Its the best!) and think about anything and everything. I may pray to God for a while, to refocus my mind. I might listen to music and go away from the stress of reality. Thats the funny thing about free time, most of us spend it going someplace else in our mind, maybe in a video game, in a book, in a tv show, or on the computer. But it seems nobody choses to stay in their own reality when given the opportunity. I think its human nature to spend free time somewhere else, even if it is just in our minds. Its a small but much needed break.
I value my free time so greatly. I want more free time, but know that school and social life takes work to keep up, and I want a healthy social life and good grades, so I make some sacrifices!
But I'm taking 10 minutes before and after school today to just chill! I encourage you all to try it too!
Free time is a precious thing for a senior in high school. By the time I get to sit down and do whatever I please, its between the hours 10 pm-6am! I tend to like to use those hours to sleep! Generally I get free time during the weekends, I like to spend it doing nothing. Really, I just sit (or lay in a clean pile of laundry... try it sometime! Its the best!) and think about anything and everything. I may pray to God for a while, to refocus my mind. I might listen to music and go away from the stress of reality. Thats the funny thing about free time, most of us spend it going someplace else in our mind, maybe in a video game, in a book, in a tv show, or on the computer. But it seems nobody choses to stay in their own reality when given the opportunity. I think its human nature to spend free time somewhere else, even if it is just in our minds. Its a small but much needed break.
I value my free time so greatly. I want more free time, but know that school and social life takes work to keep up, and I want a healthy social life and good grades, so I make some sacrifices!
But I'm taking 10 minutes before and after school today to just chill! I encourage you all to try it too!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
What I learned on a campaign (Part 1)
Working on a gubernatorial campaign has shed boundless light on the political process and how a campaign works! So I am comprising a list of things I have learned that I didn't already previously know! Enjoy!
1. By the end of the campaign you will hate people.... you will hate talking to strangers cause they generally hate talking to you (on the phone). I have had nights where I felt like maybe, if I hit my head on the desk long enough, all the annoying people and rude jerks on the face of the planet will disappear. Or at least I'll become numb to it!
2. You will learn to have a 15 minute conversation on some political issue with someone while typing an email to your father and texting your BFF about saturday night. Then when you hang up you do it all over again. Sometimes you can't even remember what you said!
3. Callers seem to think you have a magic link to tell the candidate anything and everything, when in reality you have shaken his or her hand maybe once.
4. Multitudes of people believe that us calling voters is illegal, and we should be in jail for calling them at the, and I quote, "the ungodly hour of 6 o'clock!"......... To which I remind them of our 1st ammendment right to freedom of speech and that they don't HAVE TO answer the question if they dont want. But instead they feel the need to repeat their disgust with me seven times over.
5. Some people are going to be rude and cranky to you no matter what. I learned to not take it personally pretty quickly. Because if I had, I would be curled up in a helpless and hopeless ball of a person on a nightly basis.
6. Yard signs may seem important to the visibility of the campaign, but they honestly don't influence much, cost more money to produce than profits sold, and take up precious space in the campaign office and cause little interns, such as myself, great amounts of physical labor and time. Besides, what in the world do you do with them after the election is over!?
7. The stereotypes are sadly, yet overwhelmingly true! Older people can't hear you and young people are pretty naive.
8. Caffeine becomes a substitute for oxygen.
9. Volunteers will come in and "strongly suggest" a way we could say or do something better, to which we politely smile and nod, but not really do, cause there is well coordinated system in place that everyone follows. Then when they come in again they expect their suggestion to be implemented..... And often get upset that it wasn't. Between opinionated volunteers and opinionated voters, sometimes you just can't win.
10. If there is food in the kitchen you better get there quickly! Good food is a rare treat!
11. The cute office dog becomes your best friend when you are phone banking :)
More to come in the future!
1. By the end of the campaign you will hate people.... you will hate talking to strangers cause they generally hate talking to you (on the phone). I have had nights where I felt like maybe, if I hit my head on the desk long enough, all the annoying people and rude jerks on the face of the planet will disappear. Or at least I'll become numb to it!
2. You will learn to have a 15 minute conversation on some political issue with someone while typing an email to your father and texting your BFF about saturday night. Then when you hang up you do it all over again. Sometimes you can't even remember what you said!
3. Callers seem to think you have a magic link to tell the candidate anything and everything, when in reality you have shaken his or her hand maybe once.
4. Multitudes of people believe that us calling voters is illegal, and we should be in jail for calling them at the, and I quote, "the ungodly hour of 6 o'clock!"......... To which I remind them of our 1st ammendment right to freedom of speech and that they don't HAVE TO answer the question if they dont want. But instead they feel the need to repeat their disgust with me seven times over.
5. Some people are going to be rude and cranky to you no matter what. I learned to not take it personally pretty quickly. Because if I had, I would be curled up in a helpless and hopeless ball of a person on a nightly basis.
6. Yard signs may seem important to the visibility of the campaign, but they honestly don't influence much, cost more money to produce than profits sold, and take up precious space in the campaign office and cause little interns, such as myself, great amounts of physical labor and time. Besides, what in the world do you do with them after the election is over!?
7. The stereotypes are sadly, yet overwhelmingly true! Older people can't hear you and young people are pretty naive.
8. Caffeine becomes a substitute for oxygen.
9. Volunteers will come in and "strongly suggest" a way we could say or do something better, to which we politely smile and nod, but not really do, cause there is well coordinated system in place that everyone follows. Then when they come in again they expect their suggestion to be implemented..... And often get upset that it wasn't. Between opinionated volunteers and opinionated voters, sometimes you just can't win.
10. If there is food in the kitchen you better get there quickly! Good food is a rare treat!
11. The cute office dog becomes your best friend when you are phone banking :)
More to come in the future!
Monday, November 5, 2012
Western side to Eastern side
I recently drove from western Washington to eastern Washington to visit a college. I have made the drive over there many times in my life, and every time I go through the same thought process.
We begin the trip going up the I-5 freeway, as if we were going to Seattle. We fight the traffic of Joint-Base Lewis McChord, we pass by the industrial city of Tacoma, and hang a right by the Enchanted Village. I tend to reminisce on this drive, remembering every adventure I've had between there and Olympia. We then enter the suburb area of Auburn and what not. The traffic dies down, and we eventually get to another hook right that takes us to the interstate that goes all the way across the state.
First up, through the gorgeous mountain pass. I like to think about how awesome it was to people like Lewis and Clark, discovering it for the first time. How massive and awesome it is. Now, however, people like us drive over it like its no big deal. Through the pass we stop for a rest at a nice pizza place/rest stop. Only cause we know its the last major stop for a while. We then continue on the trek, passing small rural communities. Passing some unpronounceable indian reservations.
We start descending into the farm land that is central Washington. Fields upon fields upon fields of various farm lands. We start to pass tractors like we used to pass department stores! We pass through one of the only place to grab a bite to eat, Ellensburg. This highway is at length a straight line, curving only for farm hills. As we trudge through this expanse of mindlessly straight road I begin to think that we've found it! We have actually found the road to nowhere! There is no end in sight! Only golden wheat fields as far as the eye can see! I get so excited that I have solved one of the worlds great mysteries that I want to share it with the world! Oh... Wait.... theres nobody within miles of us to talk to, except for tuck drivers who are also on the road. So I decide to keep the finding to myself. :) This is also where I question the overpopulation spectators. Have they ever been on this road!? Cause I'm pretty sure it refutes whatever arguments they have! The excitement of finding the road to nowhere wears off after about 3 hours on this road. We pass some gas stations that probably haven't been touched in decades, some more tractors, and LOTS of political signs.... I begin to ache for a restaurant of any kind! Some sign of modern day living!
Then we enter the final threshold of our journey. Just when I think I might throw-up if I see another tractor, we start to see trees. They at least make me feel like we are not the only living organisms on the planet anymore! We start to see signs to towns again. We see signs to universities (cause apparently most people put those in the middle of nowhere) and we are sent down into what I fondly call the "valley of civilization". Where I can see a city, with light poles on the free way, other cars on the road, and no tractors in sight! To others its less glorious and known as the Spokane Valley. But that is where our journey ends and where I will leave you all. If you've ever made this drive I hope this made you smile :)
We begin the trip going up the I-5 freeway, as if we were going to Seattle. We fight the traffic of Joint-Base Lewis McChord, we pass by the industrial city of Tacoma, and hang a right by the Enchanted Village. I tend to reminisce on this drive, remembering every adventure I've had between there and Olympia. We then enter the suburb area of Auburn and what not. The traffic dies down, and we eventually get to another hook right that takes us to the interstate that goes all the way across the state.
First up, through the gorgeous mountain pass. I like to think about how awesome it was to people like Lewis and Clark, discovering it for the first time. How massive and awesome it is. Now, however, people like us drive over it like its no big deal. Through the pass we stop for a rest at a nice pizza place/rest stop. Only cause we know its the last major stop for a while. We then continue on the trek, passing small rural communities. Passing some unpronounceable indian reservations.
We start descending into the farm land that is central Washington. Fields upon fields upon fields of various farm lands. We start to pass tractors like we used to pass department stores! We pass through one of the only place to grab a bite to eat, Ellensburg. This highway is at length a straight line, curving only for farm hills. As we trudge through this expanse of mindlessly straight road I begin to think that we've found it! We have actually found the road to nowhere! There is no end in sight! Only golden wheat fields as far as the eye can see! I get so excited that I have solved one of the worlds great mysteries that I want to share it with the world! Oh... Wait.... theres nobody within miles of us to talk to, except for tuck drivers who are also on the road. So I decide to keep the finding to myself. :) This is also where I question the overpopulation spectators. Have they ever been on this road!? Cause I'm pretty sure it refutes whatever arguments they have! The excitement of finding the road to nowhere wears off after about 3 hours on this road. We pass some gas stations that probably haven't been touched in decades, some more tractors, and LOTS of political signs.... I begin to ache for a restaurant of any kind! Some sign of modern day living!
Then we enter the final threshold of our journey. Just when I think I might throw-up if I see another tractor, we start to see trees. They at least make me feel like we are not the only living organisms on the planet anymore! We start to see signs to towns again. We see signs to universities (cause apparently most people put those in the middle of nowhere) and we are sent down into what I fondly call the "valley of civilization". Where I can see a city, with light poles on the free way, other cars on the road, and no tractors in sight! To others its less glorious and known as the Spokane Valley. But that is where our journey ends and where I will leave you all. If you've ever made this drive I hope this made you smile :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)