Life(touch) Les-sons

Hello everyone and happy weekend! It was mostly sunny today but more rain is coming (it rained a lot when I got here last week). This area (Lake County/Mendicino County) has had a lot of rain this season and a decent amount of flooding but people are saying that we 'need' the rain because of the recent drought and even more recent notorious and disastrous Campfire in this area that has impacted as well. The whole area isn't burnt or anything but you can see where the damage was. I think that what I'm hearing from others is that the rain, combined with the changed earth where the fires were can cause more potential for rock and mudslides? That could be totally wrong. Either way, I am ready for the warmer weather. I would say on average it seems that it is about 10 degrees colder than it was in Fresno. More mountains and greenery, overall less orchards but still vineyards. I'll about my job later in this post. But first. 

The title of this post has to do with my sister. Years ago, Leslie took this really great photo when she was working in another elementary school (see below). She appears to have an ENDLESS supply of these photos and if you're reading this post there's a chance you have your own LTL (LifeTouch Les) in your abode or your workplace. She's quite generous with these photos. I don't know about you, but I only have a small handful of photos that I actually think I look good in. I have very few of those BUT my third grade picture is a classic thanks to Lifetouch Photography backgrounds and early 90s style. If Leslie can dig up a digital copy I will post it. Anyway. Leslie thought I needed some extra motivation in my life (always do) so she sent me these gems while I was still in Fresno. I can't even post all of them because they are so fabulous they might break this website. 

See? There are plenty more if YOU need some motivation. If you can't be with the real deal, you can have her in wallet size! Order some motivation today on QVC.

This year's school photo.

The original LifeTouch Les makes a splash

If you haven't been blown away by those photos- onto my job. Everything is going really well so far. I feel SO much better and that is probably one reason I am sleeping better. It's nice to work with friendly people who don't have their nose in the air (no comment from the peanut gallery) and actually do their job. I am working in another SNF, splitting time between 2 facilities, at one more than the other. They are definitely smaller than my main Fresno SNF but I like smaller and feel more comfortable there. You can get to know the staff and the patients better and it's easier to work as a team. That being said, I still overall hate 'teamwork' if it means working with morons and ANY amount of team-building bullshit. No trust-falls here. Also, for those of you not in the healthcare world, SNF stands for Skilled Nursing Facility, more commonly known as a nursing home. That being said, nursing homes encompass varying types of care including long term care (LTC) and skilled nursing (residents there for rehab). 

It's great. I'm happy with work despite the drive - 1 hr each way- but I knew that going into this assignment. Housing is really hard to find up. I have found a great place with BEAUTIFUL views and yes you can bet your bottom dollar rent is not cheap but there are few options. Also, a couple things are different in the area compared to STL county living- propane tanks, septic systems, and no water heater.  So what you have is a 'tank-less water heater'- and mine wasn't working. I was 8 DAYS without hot water (yes, I stayed moderately clean).  I'm renting this house through a property mgmt company and the owner has proven very kind about the unexpected problems. There was a SNAFU getting the new water heater to the area and now I don't have to pay for adding propane to the tank (it's a per-gallon fee) due to my troubles with NO hot water. I don't know how Laura Ingalls did it. Good Lord. It was rough but still, first-world problems. 

Rainy day.

double rainbow! 

Sunset views

We do plan to explore more eventually but I'm waiting a little bit, partially for the weather to improve. I've got to get into a solid routine and get my shit together (story of my life) first. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Peace, love, and sunshine,

ME

Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Hello all! I have moved up to Northern California and begin my new job tomorrow. I think it's supposed to stop raining this weekend- I'm currently getting a Seattle-vibe from the scenery despite the fact that I haven't been there.  However, this post is about Jenny's visit and our trip to JTNP.
Jenny came to visit last week and it was wonderful to see a friend!! We had a good time and I hope she enjoyed her mini-vacay. We decided to drive down to Joshua Tree National Park (with Bella in tow) while she was here as we both wanted to go. We were going to go to Kings Canyon NP the same weekend but the weather in the mountains was terrible and nothing was open.
Here are my pictures from the park!

The park was BEAUTIFUL and the weather perfect. I would not have wanted to go in the summer with the heat then. There appeared to be minimal people in the park for the most part (when compared to the summer) with more groups coming in as we were leaving (thank God). 

JTNP did have damage to the park during the government shutdown that will take 'hundreds' of years to recover from: campfires in undesignated areas and lots of off-roading. Probably more I don't know about. Anyway thanks to the hours from volunteers the park was cleaned up from the trash and waste left on the grounds.

San Joaquin River Valley

SJRV

JTNP injury from trying to jump on a rock- Jenny did warn me this was a bad idea.

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed the photos! 

Peace, love, and Contusions,

ME

Updates and Pictures!

A big what's up???? to everyone that still reads my blog. I hope you're still enjoying my colorful commentary and anecdotes. I try to keep things light and funny because Lord knows y'all don't need to know the full range of my emotions.

I am still in Fresno. I'm ready to leave this bitch though as sometimes the pretentiousness just gets a little much. For the record I have now seen 2 Maybach's and 1 Lamborghini in Fresno.... FRESNO. I'm not into cars so anyway... But mine is working well now thanks to a wonderful mechanic named Rudy (Danian's Auto Repair, Fresno) who charged me a reasonable amount for fixing my car compared to another company that gave me an astronomical quote (thank u, next).

I will however be leaving Fresno next week! "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!" as one of our lovely Beaumont patients enjoys saying- other classic phrases include "Hell's bells!" and "are you gonna put me in my bed?" Kelsey or Collin, buy her some Funyuns for me, will ya? I digress. We are blowing this popsicle stand for Northen California, or 'NorCal" as they say. Driving 4.5 hrs North to Ukiah, CA. I will be working at another SNF and am excited about my rental because it has lovely lake views, a big bathtub, bigger closet, AND most importantly more space. I have a better feeling about this job and hope to be more around my type of people again- people who are funny, think I'm funny (because I am, duh!), are good team players, AND actually do their job!

I have a real-world analogy to sum up my life as an adult- as "adulting" is NOT a word. So here it is:

I have several digital watches, all of which sit on my dresser. Some have beeps on the hour and some don't. The ones that do beep never beep at the same time and at least one watch is like 10-15 minutes behind the other ones (don't know which one that is). I swear there is one watch hidden in my mattress, pillows, or is just invisible because I always hear a beep very close to my bed. I fear I will never find that hidden or invisible watch and how is it always there every time I move?  

That, folks, is how I'm handling my 30s. Do I need all of those watches? YES. So I can coordinate.

Ok, the meat and potatoes of this post- recent adventures. Two weeks ago I went to Monterey and Carmel and last week I drove to Sequoia National Park (not too far from Fresno).

Off the PCH south of Carmel Highlands

I need to travel with a more enthusiastic dog who enjoys photos.

I think this is Rocky Creek Bridge. Little bit further south to Big Sur

Carmel Beach

Ok with exploring until the water gets close to her. 

Stunning views along the 17 Mile Drive... 

They were DEFINITELY up to par... 

It's a golf joke. Get it? 

Monterey, Cannery Row. This is really the only picture I got while in Monterey as we were too busing ambling about and eating an ice cream cone (me, not Bella).

Fort Ord National Monument, Marina, CA

Bucolic (love this word) drion the way back to Fresno:

Last week's trip to SNP sans Bella (we needed some space). There are two main entrances to the parks as Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs are grouped together as one park. SNP's entrance is in Three Rivers. The road between the parks was closed (for winter? for snow?). Definitely remaining snow when you got higher up to the actual Sequoias and in elevation (my right ear had it after like 6000 ft). Lovely scenic drive up and down- about an hour unless you are tailgating some idiot family in a rental who are unaware of the turnout signs for passing and are actually USING THEIR BLINKER on the curvy road (where else are you gonna go, asshole?)  Not that that happened to me at all... 

Jenny is coming to visit this weekend! I pick her up tonight! 

Peace, love, and see you at the Crossroads (Crossroads),

ME