Saturday was TobacCo’s company picnic. Naturally, even though we’re in the midst of a drought, half an hour after we got there, thunder began rumbling. Then it started pouring rain. (As opposed to…milk? Rubber duckies? I guess I could have just said “pouring,” but I digress.)
Fortunately, we had a covered shelter. It got pretty cozy in there with a few dozen people dressed in loud Hawaiian shirts crowding close together to avoid getting wet. So weird that virtually everyone was wearing the same thing!
J/K. It was a Hawaiian theme, although only loosely given that they were playing Chris Stapleton music and the catered food was BBQ brisket and pulled pork.
We didn’t stay super long. By the time a second round of storms rolled in, we were outta there. But it was a fun little gathering, and I can’t remember the last time I had a company picnic. Probably 7-8 years ago when I was working for Fuel Medical in Camas, WA. The cops showed up and busted us (“us” being the company) because we were drinking alcohol in a public park. I’ll never forget our HR manager, a tiny sprite of a woman with thick black glasses who always reminded me of Edna Mode from The Incredibles, trying to sweet talk several police officers. I believe we still had to pay a fine.
Good times, good times.
Then later on in the evening, it really stormed hard, but by then we didn’t care since we were home playing cards.
The lightning and thunder were going off pretty much nonstop, and we ended up with over an inch of rain. Second week in a row, which is exactly what needs to happen if we are going to make a dent in our drought. Looks like July is going to end up wetter than average. Already our grass is greening up again, and I’m going to have to hop on the John Deere this afternoon and give it a good mowing.
(I say “have to” like it’s an unpleasant chore or something. Silly Mark.)
This week is looking hot, though. Mid-90s, heat indices over 100. Thank god for air conditioning.
Luckily, Friday was a lot pleasanter. There was nary a cloud in the sky, which made for an ideal afternoon and evening to kick back on sunburst chairs, drink beers, listen to music, and people-watch at Memorial Union Terrace in Madison. After scoping it out a few weeks ago, we wanted to come back for a sunset. We can now check that off our bucket list.
I love the Union vibe so much. It’s exactly the type of culture we desired (and the biggest reason we left Rapid City). No shade to the City of Presidents, of course. There are good things there, too…just different kinds of good things.
After sunset, we walked back down State Street for a late supper at Great Dane Pub & Brewing. Yes, the same place we went for brunch last Saturday. This time I got the Korean rice bowl I’d been craving! So, so good. We snagged a patio table and savored the warm night air.
Didn’t get home until close to 11:00, which is really late for a couple of old fogies like us, but we wanted to take advantage of one last Friday where we could spend all afternoon and evening downtown. I say “one last” because Tara starts a new job tomorrow. She’s actually been out of work for a couple of months. I’m not going to go into too many details about that; the abridged version is that she came home from her last job for lunch one day in mid-May and decided never to return.
I always thought she was way better than that place anyway.
It’s actually been a slightly stressful couple of months, because we aren’t in a financial position to be able to survive on just one salary. I had worst-case scenarios running through my head: having to sell the house, bid adieu to the birds and the ponds, and–worst of all–part ways with the beloved John Deere (sniff). I’m sure it never would have gotten to that point, of course, but The Unknown is scary. Luckily, I leaned heavily on my manifesting skills, and voila! Shiny new job for the wife.
I suppose her experience and charming interview skills had something to do with that, too.
It’s a much better fit for her professionally, and pays way better, too. The office is in a town 41 minutes away, a drive on two-lane highways that wind through more cornfields than you can count, but after a 90-day training period, she’ll be able to work from home three days a week. Just like me.
It feels like things are just now finally settling into place. Took almost 11 months to get to this point, but better late than never, right?
Mark My Words 
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