The Santa Anna Winds Again...

My name is Anna, and I live in Twin Falls, Idaho. This place is nothing like what I may have expected. At every turn, I’m completely taken aback. Here’s my first impression of what I’d find in Idaho. I had left Yellowstone and had driven for a few hours. The sun had set, though it was only around seven thirty or so, and I had found myself a sketchy little rest stop. It was poorly lit and awkwardly arranged as far as parking was concerned. Inside there were a men’s area, a women’s area, and a family bathroom with the door propped open, which was, I think, the main source of the overwhelming stench in the common area. I proceeded to the women’s area. Through the door were a few stalls and some sinks- quite standard. The door shut behind me and drowned out most of the aroma. Altogether, maybe a four on the rest area bathroom scale. Don’t scroll ahead quite yet. I haven’t been writing all of this simply to tell you about a bathroom (although, if you are opposed to potty talk, I would go ahead and skip onto the next paragraph). I did my business and washed my hands. The water coming from the faucets was hotter than I usually find at rest stops, and I got the idea through my head to grab the bag from my car and give my hair a good wash in the hot water there. I walked back to my car a started to grab the few things I would need to take in with me when a car pulled up. Nobody got out for a little while, so I went ahead back into the bathroom. I decided to stall for time by changing my clothes first. As I changed, an old woman waddled her way into the women’s toilet area. The very first thing she did when she walked in was to announce (to me?) that she had taken her teeth out because they hurt her mouth. I was confused. I was hoping that she would just do her business and leave, allowing me to have full access to the sink area. Nope. She proceeded to belch- loudly- repeatedly. Mind you, she did excuse herself each time. I tried to wait her out, but decided it was no use when sudden grunting, tooting, and mumbling commenced. Perhaps she just hadn’t had her prune juice that day, I don’t know. All I know is that it was absolutely the most awkwardly horrible thing I’ve ever had to listen to. It couldn’t have ended soon enough. I had to return to my car and wait for this small old woman to return to her husband waiting in the car out front of the shady building before heading back in to wash my hair. I wasn’t surprised by any other late night stoppers… but I should say that one was certainly enough.

Um, so welcome to Idaho. Anyway, the town is bigger than I expected it to be. I arrived here after the sun had set, and was immediately greeted with a street reminiscent of Highway 192 in Kissimmee, FL: it was big and bustling and brightly lit with shops of all sorts on both sides of the road. I was surprised to say the least. I had expected a Golden sized town, maybe somewhere around one or two thousand population, a river, some farms… that sort of thing. What I found, on the other hand, is a small city, albeit the only city within 200 miles, full of places to go and things to do; lots of meth and few potatoes apparently. I found myself a nice, cozy Walmart and spent the warmer than anticipated night. The next morning I navigated my way to Starbucks to do some undercover surveillance of my new store. They are a bunch of great people. My new manager, Russ, is a teeny bit on the more managerial side of things than I’m used to- but then my last few managers had been younger people who had started as baristas and moved up in the company. Russ is an outside hire and therefore lacks a bit of the laid-back qualities that I had grown to love. No worries though, he’s a really great guy. I work with mostly girls, there’s really only Billy in addition to Russ in the testosterone department of the store, and I’ve been getting along really well with all the girls (except Sheila a little bit, but I’m hoping she’ll warm up to me). Amanda is the resident lesbian, and I must say she is my favourite of the group so far. She has a personality very much compatible with my own, and she and her friend Andy (also a favourite and big lover of mash-ups) really crack me up.

My new roommate, Nicola, is also fantastic. I was at the Starbucks on that first day here and I was searching Craigslist for rooms for rent. I figured that it would take me a few days to find a place at best, and I was ready for some tedious calling and emailing and viewing. I found a listing for a place nearby and called the number. I left a message and thought nothing else of it. I searched a bit more online for rooms, but finding nothing else that immediately caught my eye, I had just about decided to call it a day for the time being. I was about to close up the laptop when my phone rang. It was Nicola. She had been in class and hadn’t been able to return my call until then. She asked if I wanted to come by that afternoon while she was on her lunch break so she could show me the place. She sounded nice and I was ecstatic. We agreed to meet at noon. I got lost a bit on my way to the house- the street sign is behind a tree and there’s a turn onto a dirt road that I didn’t know about, but I was only a few minutes late. I walked through the front door and was immediately greeted by Nicola and her friend Liz having lunch in the living room, with Liz’s young daughter toddling around their knees. They invited me in warmly and Nicola gave me the dime tour. The room I’d be renting was still a bit full of her daughter’s things, but she’d be clearing it out that evening. Her fourteen year old daughter, Maiyana, was headed to Jackpot, Nevada (about 45 minutes away) to live with Nic’s soon to be ex-husband George so that she could be in a smaller school that could give her more one on one attention. The apartment was cozy but clean, and Nic and Liz were so nice, I ended up cutting a check for my first month and moving my stuff into the room within the first half-hour after we had met.

I’ve been here for a few weeks now, and I must say that it is absolutely incredible having a place to live again. I have my own heater so I never get too cold at night. I have a window with blinds, so I can sleep in as late as I want in the mornings. I have a kitchen with a refrigerator- which I have been keeping chalk full of all sorts of vegetables and fruit. I have an oven where I can make soup. I have a place to use my dishes and I wash the dishes all the time. I have to confess that I love washing the dishes. I thought it was just at work- but no! I really love washing dishes. Nicola loves me for that. I also have a washer and drier right here in the house so I don’t have to worry about keeping myself stocked with quarters for the Laundromat. I have a shower that I can use whenever I want and a sink to brush my teeth in. I can drink fluids past seven p.m. because I don’t have to worry about waking up in the middle of the night with nowhere to go. And most importantly, I have a BED. A real bed! It has a mattress and a box spring and a frame and everything. I bought new sheets for it. I make it after I sleep in it (occasionally), more often just if we’ll be having company. I can let the rats out of their cage to explore (although Violet has taken to scratching at the carpet in the corners, so I have to keep a really close eye on them because I really want my pet deposit back). And Nicola has the entire Friends collection on DVD and I’ve been watching it pretty much nonstop for over a week now. Chandler just proposed to Monica… omg! (Not that I didn’t know it happened… but I had never seen the episode. In fact, we’re getting into a lot of new territory this season. I stopped watching the show so much around this time) But really- this whole thing is so incredible. I love this apartment so much.

Idaho is turning out to be quite fantastic. It has snowed about a foot since I moved here, and it’s looking like it’ll be keeping this up throughout the holidays. I was invited to Thanksgiving lunch by a customer at work, and provided I can get in touch with him before then, it’ll definitely be something that I am up for. I’ve found a natural foods shop that’s short on produce, but does house a lovely woman by the name of Mary who wears a sweater just like the one I got for my mom for Christmas years back and who ordered a case of Mango Kombucha just for me for when I return to her shop on Monday. I’ve been recycling my fruit bags and buying whole wheat pasta and lots of carrots. I bought a French Press and teapot during our partner discount days this week with my extra 10% off, and I’ll be getting an $150 bonus next month with Starbucks’ re-implementation of the whole bonus system. I biked to work for the first few days here, and would be doing it still if my front tire hadn’t popped again. I have to get whole new tires for the bike now, instead of just inner-tubes, so the biking is probably out until the summer; or until I win the lottery, you know, whichever comes first. All I have to do now is to find somewhere that I can bring my recycling because we don’t have a collection at the house. I’m feeling now that I’m finally able to be the person that I really want to be, and it’s so wonderful. I’ve even been thinking about how wonderful it would be to have back in my possession all of the things I’ve been storing at my parents’ house in Florida. I know I’m not ready to stop moving around yet, but it would be nice to get a place where I could decorate a living room or something. Oh well, all things in time.

I’ve signed up for an email called The Daily Love, and it’s been so inspiring to me along with my friends Kate and Julz. I’ve started writing again and I’ve been sending love and messages to all the people that I can. I really think I’m growing in this way, and I’m really proud of everything I’ve been able to accomplish, even just in this past month. I have a lot more to do, but I’m so happy with where I am. I feel like such a grown-up. Haha. It’s like I’ve only gotten better at pretending.
For example, you know that feeling when you’re a little kid and your mom lets you pump the gas or hand the cashier the money and you pretend like you’re all grown up. When I go grocery shopping or to the bank or cook dinner or do laundry, really just anything that involves responsibility, I feel as though I’m a little kid pretending to be grown-up. I feel like I’m dressing up in grown-up clothes and doing such a good job. I literally get giddy with my excitement. You might see me gloating and ask me what I did that day that was so fabulous, and I’ll tell you proudly, I did errands. That’s right! Errands! Hurray!!! The seven year old in me is giggling madly with pride.

Warning: Digression

I want to write a book. I’ve decided that I might be able to meld together a few of my writings to make a cohesive storyline from a few different perspectives. I’ve written about various bits of my life from various points of view, and I figure, since they’re all on a timeline, and they don’t overlap, I can merge them as different chapters or parts in one story. I think it would be interesting. We’ll see what happens… but I’m going to go work on that now. I hope you’re having a wonderful time, whatever time it is and whatever it is you’re doing with that time. I love you. More importantly, I love me. Most importantly, I love love. Good night. <3