Pete Nickeas

I’ve covered parts of the North Platte River for work - a free bridge, long-range planning, and free money.

Today was actually the first time Erin & I really tried to take in the scenery. We ran from point A to point B on this map but along the river instead of along the road. About two miles, and we kept a 10 minute / mile pace despite the last quarter mile (by my estimation) being uphill, which is good.

Getting up that hill was great, because the view above the river just keeps getting better and better. We walked the two miles back and detoured to a hill to the north of the river (we were running a path halfway between the hilltop and the shore) and got a great view of Casper. I wish I had a camera, because it was really something else.

We’re going to hike this weekend and there will definitely be pictures. When we went up the mountain yesterday, there wasn’t a ton of good views but we didn’t venture around the trails much. More just scoping the place out.

In other news …

This giant zucchini will be turned into two types of cookies and three types of bread over the next day or two, and half of it is going to Jake, since he hooked it up with lots of vegetables.

We cooked a lot this weekend too, and I was surprised how well grilling went Saturday night. Grilled chicken, barbecue chicken, burgers, plus Erin made crab Rangoon type pastries and there was beverages to be had.

So, we’ve got leftovers for most of the week and Erin’s making bread.

And, I bent the shoe horn I have. Who knew those things could bend?

We went to the top of the mountain today (Casper Mountain, that is) and it was nice.

For reference, that photo shows a cross section of Wyoming’s largest metropolitan area.

Anyway, we’re going hiking next week. There will be more photos.

The mountain itself seemed fairly clean. You could tell kids went up there - red cups and Keystone Light cans here and there. But overall, it was a pretty clean and well-kept area. The roads were a little daunting but it was more because we’ve not experienced something like that before.

I’m looking forward to hiking next week. We don’t have hiking boots or shoes so that’s gonna suck but we’ll bring water, food, etc and enjoy the trek. Should be fun.

Re: Weather …
It’s starting to cool off. It’s getting up to 80 or so but I think that’s as warm as it’s going to be until next year. It gets to below 50 on a regular basis at night, which makes for great sleeping weather, and I’m looking forward to the fall. But it’s going to be a long winter. We’ll see how it goes.

The plan is to make it back to Illinois for Christmas but who knows if vacation’s going to work out. There’s actually quite a complicated policy for vacation at work and I have no idea if it’s going to work out. Plus, there’s also the money issue too (mostly, whether we have some come Christmas).

It wouldnt’ break my heart if we were here for the holidays. I don’t think my brothers will be back for the holidays and it wouldn’t be “Christmas” if the family wasn’t together. I’d like to see my dad but we wouldn’t celebrate Christmas with half the family elsewhere. Erin’s house (been there the last two Christmas eves) is always super-fun, though. And if I came to town, I would make the rounds and visit everyone while I could.

But, we could get stuck in the trip to/from Denver so that would mean taking more time off, eating into the time I have to save for the wedding and a honeymoon, and it would cost money to stay in some shack hotel next to the highway. That concerns me a bit.

We’ll see how it goes. I’m probably just planning too much.

I gotta say, the transition to Wyoming has been far smoother than I anticipated.

Not as much in my personal life as it has been at work, which, has been a smooth transition … but it’s been difficult at times. We can’t just, on a whim, walk around the city. I mean we could, but the city is only a few blocks wide by a few blocks tall and stuff shuts down at like 5. So what’s the point?

But work, I mean, I feel like I’ve been there a long time and it’s been a month. I just kinda got there and started working.

Anyway, I have this problem where I’m always forward looking. SOUNDS GREAT RIGHT? It’s not. Because I have a hard time being happy in the present. At work, I bet the bosses love it because I’m always pushing myself but it’s not great for me because I feel like a bitch when I mess up or when I’m running in place.

Progress is the name of the game! Not just in work, but in everything. Not having a ‘next semester’ to look forward to is weird. I’m learning to pace myself.

Anyway, that being said, I’m looking forward to the next few months. I’ve got a lot of stuff I’m looking into at work, I’m beginning to settle at home, and our finances are improving just because both Erin and I are making some money right now.

I still am having a little trouble settling though. I miss some of the big-city amenities. It’s just going to take time is all.

ALSO! If you buy a couch and it reeks or is hideous then get a drop cloth to throw over it. We got two big ass drop cloths for a total of 50 bucks and they’re super solid. They’re durable, have a cool industrial smell to them, and don’t tear easily. What more could you ask for?

Hell yea, we got a couch and a chair for fifty bucks from a thrift store this morning.

Now, no more non-food-non-bill purchases for us for a long time, now that we’ve basically got this place straightened away. Strangely, it actually makes the living room look bigger now that we’ve got furniture instead of a Border’s chair and a dorm room chair that only Erin thinks is comfortable.

Plus, the criteria was, could I see myself playing xbox from this couch? And the answer to both pieces of furniture purchased today, is yes.

Is it too soon for another tribute to this?

Fuck, it is. Anyway.

It wasn’t too long ago when it hit me that Erin and I are now in Wyoming.

Not like, look, we’re here.

But I mean, we’re here. For a long time.

Erin has a decent job with the job description she’s always wanted, and I do too. I mean, throw me some OT every once in awhile and I’d be sitting pretty. But that’s to be expected.

Anyway, with that realization, I also started getting this bummy ass feeling - the crash associated with the end of a project.

When landscaping would end each year, around the end of November (the weekend after Thanksgiving typically), I’d just veg for like two weeks. Windows shut, sleep 8-10 hours each night and usually nap in the afternoon.

And I’ve been feeling burnt like that lately with the realization that life is going to be a lot more long term now that Erin and I are gainfully employed. It’s not semester-to-semester living anymore. Just life.

It’s exciting, for real. But it’s a turning point and I feel like I’m at the bottom of the valley right now, that bottom down feeling that comes when you’re at the end of something.

I know I’m a few weeks from coming out of it. Work is going well, though this week dragged a bit. And we’ve gotten most of the “settling-in” stuff taken care of. That’s what brought about that transitional feeling.

So I’m geeked about the future. But man, getting used to Wyoming is going to take some … well, getting used to I suppose.

I can’t reiterate how much “Cristo Redentor” is an important piece of music.

It’s a sad, down-trodden type song but such a wonderful expression of feelings. I feel ignorant about music when I listen to the song because of how much depth there is to it.

And maybe some music snob may disagree but damnit this song is smooth.

When I feel bummy, this song doesn’t actually make me feel better but I do feel as if I’ve got some emotion out of me through the song. It’s the same way with the Tupac songs where you can tell he’s drunk and high just letting the emotion out.

Sometimes, it’s better without words.

Runner blog, days 1 & 2:
I had a shitty day Tuesday so I didn’t run. But the last couple have been good. HELL YEA

I worked a bunch today, but I expected that. City council meets on Tuesdays.

BUT I backed the truck into a councilman’s moped, which I didn’t see because my tailgate’s height is higher than the height of said moped.

The councilman was fine, but the cop thought it warranted a $110 ticket.

And I didn’t run … I came home to run between lunch and the council meeting but tried to nap instead, and instead of running after work, I ate dinner and I’m going to crash.

DAMNIT

There was a slow, dull realization yesterday that it could very well be ten years before Erin and I can purchase a home.

Reporters don’t make a lot. Of anything. Money included. Plus, Erin and I owe a lot of people a lot of money. Student loans are going to be around forever and we do have a wee bit of credit card debt, plus a wedding on the horizon.

Anyway, it hit me yesterday that the apartment we’re in is where we’re going to be for awhile, and there’s no chance that we’re going to own our own home anytime soon. At least not with our current jobs.

So, we’re going to make this place feel like home. We never really, really did that in Springfield. It felt like home because we bought bookshelves and cleaned the place and made it not look like a dorm room.
But yesterday, we spent 200 bucks at Menards on a drill, hammer, a couple levels, and some shelves.

I put them together this morning, since the drill battery had to charge for like 9 hours. The two brackets are drilled into studs (which were a bitch to find since apparently they aren’t every 16 or 18 inches, which I thought they would be) and the shelves themselves are movable.

They’re quite nice, super sturdy, and solve our space-problem since the kitchen is a cleaner and more organized place now.

Plus, it’s a good party set up. Little stereo, alcohol and nice glasses all within reaching distance of two chairs, plus coffee and tea above. That’s the food processor and related attachments on the bottom shelf.

And that’s just the beginning … we’re going to be hanging photos and probably a few more shelves throughout the apartment. If we’re going to be in this building for awhile it makes sense for us to install high-quality, removable shelving that can be carted with us to wherever we end up.

Oh! Almost forgot the runner blog.

Runner Blog days 12 and 13:
Yesterday, Erin and I ran about 2 miles and then walked 1.4. We ran this trail by us, and it’s 1.7 miles from our house to the trail and then to the end of the trail, so we ran to the end and part of the way back. It’s definitely the farthest we’ve ran together but it was largely on flat ground, which I’m sure made it easier.

Anyway, there’s a 5k run in Casper in November (Turkey Trot?) that we’re going to do. 3.4 is more than 5K I think so if we keep running until we can do the 5k and then just try to be faster … I mean, we can get that done before November. So that’s the new goal. We’re just going to keep running until we can’t run and just turn around and walk home.

Today was day 13, and I ran alone. Erin wasn’t feeling up to it, so I did the hills and made sure to push myself for the last 3/10ths of a mile after keeping a pretty steady pace to that point. We’re getting a stop watch soon so we’ll actually be able to start timing ourselves.

Also, it wasn’t more than 60 degrees outside when I was running … and it further proved to me that running when it’s not 90 degrees is easier.

Runner Blog:
Day 9 was good. Got home late from work and ran without Erin because she wasn’t feeling really well and realized how much of a difference it makes running when it’s cool.

I really enjoy running when it’s hot out because the sun feels good and all that but it’s a lot easier running at night. The air is cooler, obviously, but it isn’t so dry.

Day 10 wasn’t an “off-day” but I didn’t get home until really late, so running was just so I could tell myself I didn’t skip a day. I was burnt from work and it wasn’t really a good run. Actually, we probably walked close to a quarter of the route.

Day 11, I realized that even on off-days we’re still running longer routes without having to stop.

I think later today we’re going to run as far as we can and when we get tired of running, turn around and walk home. We’ll see how long we can keep it up for.

And I always know when he leaves a voicemail there’s going to be at least 16 bars of some shit he just wrote.

I can’t think of a time he left me a voicemail without rapping. And I can’t think of a time he left me a voicemail that had a refined verse.

But it’s always good shit because it’s always fresh. And sometimes it’s random-ass voicemail raps, like, rapping about what he actually meant to call me about. Then other times he calls me with an unpolished verse and it’s great because you just get 16 bars acapella. Good shit all around, for real.

It’s actually inspiring to hear someone who’s still raps like they’re hungry. And it’s not like he needs to do it, I’m pretty sure he hasn’t gotten rich off of hip-hop.

Anyway, I’m supposed to call you back Cojack. My bad for not doing so. I’ll give you a call tomorrow probably.

Runner Blog Day 8:
We ran the hills today instead of the distance, which was good. That was Erin’s call.

We ran it all the way through again, like yesterday, which is good.

My Aunt (dad’s brother’s wife) commented on the last post. Apparently she’s running a half marathon. I’m not even close to that point yet!

In time though. In time.