I am sitting here in Caribou robbing the free internet. Well I suppose you cannot steal something that is free but I think they assume you will buy a coffee or something first. We cannot afford to BUY a coffee! It has been awhile since we have written and there are a few reasons for that. First, we have not had internet. Second, we were on the road and are now back in MN!
It took us about four days to get back to MN driving. We got back last Thursday and stayed at rest stops along the way, never paying for a hotel. It was sort of an odd experience because of the progress we made at what times. We have Virgin mobile and what that means, besides that I pay less than you per month, is that we only get service in larger cities. If you have ever been to the western part of the country you know that moving east from the west coast you have California, then nothing, then the Midwest. What I am trying to say here is that there are very few larger cities en route back to Minnesota. Anyway, the reason we needed service is because Di was to have a phone interview for a job back in MN. After we decided we would return, following the unfortunate car window experience, we spent our time applying for jobs back in MN.
That being the case, we needed to at least get to Salt Lake City where I figured we would get service. But that only took about 8 hours or so. So I said we should go for Cheyenne, WY. I kind of forgot that along the way we would periodically lose an hour driving east. Then from Cheyenne, Denver is only about an hour and a half. Di drove during the day and I drove early into the morning. We got just outside of Denver when she did her interview.
What happened during her interview is, sadly, perhaps my favorite part of the trip. I hung out in a Target. I played the demo version of MLB 12 The Show. Those of you that know me, know that I very much enjoy MLB 10 The Show. Anyway, after the interview we moved on.
As I said, we took our time on the trip and I don’t even know where we stayed that night nor any night after that. All I know is we arrived safely back in MN.
My sister is the one that put us up. We are staying in a camper and compared to sleeping at rest stops, this thing is a dream. After the first night staying there, Di was a different person. She was happier. She was nicer. She was dorkier. She was all the things I loved about her. She says it was the good night sleep but I think it was the mental comfort of knowing she was back with family. During this entire trip I was mostly concerned with myself going on this adventure and I forgot how hard it was for Di to adjust when she first moved to the US. Maybe I should not have put her through that again.
Anyway, my sister lives in what one would generously call the “boondocks” , the “sticks” , or the “country”. When I used to visit her I would joke that it took us so long because we had to book a flight or that we had to fill up twice just to get out there. Well joke is on me because now we are living out there. As you may imagine, no internet out there. Now my sister would tell you that there is internet out there but my sister would be wrong. It is not internet like you and I know where we can watch a movie or play a game. You can do…email? I think? I never tries because they are limited to 6GB. Are you kidding? My phone does 4GB a month. As you can imagine, we don’t use the internet out there.
It has been pretty peaceful living though and it reminds me of all the things I love about this state. After visiting a lot of places, most of the things people say about MN are true. We do talk a bit odd. We are a bit hickish and perhaps a bit backwards. We do live in cornfields and we aren’t the most fashionable. But guess what? All of the good things are true too. There is such a thing as Minnesota nice, cost of living is pretty cheap, we do value friends and family, we do work harder than a lot of other states, and we do play harder true. This is the land of nature and the land of 10,000 lakes. There are more start parks per square mile than anywhere. The last part I made up but it seems like it’s true.
Suffice it to say, we are back. And Di got an in person interview and I as well. She will know by the end of this week and I will know by the 7th of September. But man is it hard to keep applying for jobs. It is a draining process that seems to have no promise of fruit for your labor or gold at the end of the journey. In fact it does not seem there is an end. And it is frustrating for both of us. Without a doubt either of us would be the best employee at a lot of companies once we start. But to get that opportunity is no small task. For now the focus is still to find something we like but a lot more urgency has been put on just finding something.
In lieu of rent we have been trying to cook for my sister and her husband. Monday night we used there left over pulled pork and made tacos and last night we had baked ziti. A nice change of pace for the two of us that were suffering from BK poisoning.
This post is starting to get long. All you need to know is we are back in MN and looking for jobs in the cities. But being here has not been so bad. I felt like a failure at first but people have been nice and genuinely excited to see us.
It’s good to be back!
-Mitch