The Dirty South

OK. Lets catch up. Moab.

Ive been to (well more like through) Moab once before. It was great. Dave and I packed up our girlfriends and some camping stuff and headed down there to try and make it to the Grand Canyon. We never made it the the canyon but made it through Arches National Park where we climbed some arches, bummed a campsite and made breakfast on a spire. We went to Lake Powell and some other places too and it was incredible. This trip was different.

I work for a place called Provo Canyon School, a residential treatment center for kids age 8-15 who have some problems developmentally here and there. Pretty nasty kids actually. So we decided to take 15 of them down to Moab for three days for some recreational therapy. Two 15 passenger vans, 15 boys, 7 staff members, a pickup truck and trailer full of food and supplies and we're off! We got down there around 4pm on Tuesday. When we got out of the car it was drizzling (which never happens down there) and we thought it would go away in a few minutes so started unpacking. Then it began to pour, a straight up monsoon. So we got soaked at the campsite and so did all our stuff. The kids didnt mind. Those little effers were just happy to be outside of their little prison school. We hit up the Arches visitors center. Waited for the rain to stop. When it did we went back and set up camp and cooked dinner. Hot dogs of course. But a BUTT TON of hot dogs. We let the kids goof off for a long time until it was real late then forced them all in their tents and I watch them to make sure they werent sneaking around or cutting up until I got too tired and too tired of it at 2:30am then it was off to bed, or I mean off to tent.

The next day was the same, french toast for breakfast, hiking the Fiery Furnace which was very very cool, Delicate Arch, Balanced rock, lunch back at the campsite, swimming in the Colorado River (whose temperature was absolutely perfect and it was the cleanest river I ever saw), steak dinner with bacon, potatoes, carrots, and Tang, night games, s'mores, cobbler, bed. The kids were exhausted so I got to go to bed early and slept pretty well, considering my back problems. We woke up, packed up, cleaned up, and headed out. Stopped at a giant sand dune to have a row. It was tons of fun that part. We were basically skiing in the sand without skis. Then we stopped for lunch at the Wendys in Price, Ut. Those poor workers having to deal with 15 loud selfish disturbed kids, just as smelly as their seven adult mentors. I then had to chase a kid who unfortunately did not get his meds in the morning through the parking lot and tackled him. Some good citizens of Price thought I was abducting slash kidnapping slash raping the young man and called the cops. This is a situation that has happened to me in the past and it is always kind of silly to deal with when youre laying on a kid and three cop cars pull up and want to know what the eff is going on. But we took care of it and headed home! Got back at 4pm on Thursday and unpacked. Then I hopped on my bike and went home.

Now I needed a shower in the WORST WAY. Usually I can go without or wait til I go to the gym or something. Impossible today. I had to start calling around for available showers. My friend Dave lovingly obliged. But when I got there he wasnt there but his roommate was and pointed me in the direction of the shower. Showering at a strangers house is like a one night stand. Its awkward, your just there to get some, you have no intentions of doing it again, but when its all over you feel like there is a need to sort of hang out after. So I shower and get dressed and come downstairs. I dont want to just leave because it would seem I was just there to use them so I hung out and watched some TV while I charged my phone. It was actually really great to just sit and watch TV. My next one night stand will end with some TV watching I guess. Breaks the tension. So now its Friday and I have to go back to work tonight. Whatever. I need money. I like it. I hate it. Ill take it.

Itinerary for this week!

Monday: Sleep. FHE. Baby Ghosts.

Tuesday: Leave for Moab (for work, I get paid suckers!)

Wednesday: Moab

Thursday: Return from Moab. Sleep probably

Friday: Party til you Puke

BACK AGAIN.

So in January I started having some minor back pains. I would go three weeks feeling just fine then bend down to pick something up and my back would just lock up and I wouldnt be able to move for a few seconds, it being very very painful. Then it would go away in a matter of minutes and I would be fine again. So, although that worried me, it wasnt enough for me to do anything about it. I thought that maybe it was a pulled muscle. Not so. Because as time went on it progressively worsened. And recently it has climaxed into an almost debilitating pain. It burns in my buttocks, down my left leg and hurts all the time, especially when I sit down. I did some research today and went to the doctor and found out that is is Sciatica. This is a nerve irritation, inflamation, or obstruction of the sciatic nerve endings in the lower back. Apparently it can be fixed..... maybe. I need to do some physical therapy type things and exercises etc. If those dont work Ill have to move on to medications. So you can imagine living in a van is not the best environment for nursing a bad back back to full strength. Its proving quite tough. However I think its gonna be just fine in no time at all. And oh what a feeling it will be to be rid of such an annoying, yet terrible pain.

Other than that, all is fine on the van front. The weather here is consistently in the upper nineties in the daytime and sixties in the night. Which is perfect for me! Im riding my bike a ton! And work is nice. We are stocking up on good movies to watch good strategies to use in Risk. Church is awesome as usual. Im teaching a mission prep class tomorrow and though I feel like the last person on earth that should be teaching about that, Im excited because I love teaching. Ive been hanging out with a lot of really cool people this week and have been having lots of fun! Ive been blessed so much with people who are somehow ok with helping me. Mel, who lets me break into her house sometimes, the girls who let me eat nachos and annoy them whenever I want, Lori who let me get ignored by her nieces, and my whole ward for always being awesome. When my vehicles broke down I wrote my bishop and asked him for any help or advice and he found me a bike, which was given me for free. And it has been the most amazing, valuable blessing ever. Plus I love riding it. I dont deserve anything, any of this, and yet people freely give of themselves and it blows my mind. I hope that I can pay it all back someday.

Til next time.

No Direction Home

I fear that Ive made my first mistake in homelessness. Wandering. It seems so harmless, adventurous even. I was on my way home when a thought that a Gaatorade would seem really great before bed came to me. So I took a left and headed to Seven Eleven (Sevey for a Bevey). It felt good to not have to be anywhere. At midnight in Provo, it was very relaxing to not have to fight college traffic and just cruise the streets. However it got addicting. After satiating my thirst it wasnt enough. I went to Smiths. Zig Zagged through the aisles a bit and bought some Nutter Butter Bites. Sat outside for a long time and ate and watched and observed. Then I made my way home, slowly and reluctantly. I realized that the difference between me and the other guys is a schedule. An itinerary. I need structure. I am the architect of my life and soul and do not want to build with sand. It scared that I could see myself just slipping into a wanderers attitude. Sick. It makes me sick. So sad. Was it even worth it? Times a million!