#lol today i was listening to montana sky in the car and i got so fucking emotional for some reason

[cherrymoonvol6]

hozier - "nobody" / jonas brothers - "montana sky"

[boggirlsummer]

Wet Hot American Summer

August 18 Zoey and I thought we fixed the leak in my tent but we were wrong. I spent the early morning inching away from a puddle that finally pushed me out around 8 am - time to get up anyway. Too rainy to cook or make coffee and I left camp aimlessly. I could barely see anything through the smoke and clouds which threw a wrench in my non-plan to drive around and take photos out the car window. Grand Tetons and Montana and Wyoming were up there on my teenage bucket list (lmao, dream big!), mostly for the landscapes and western vibes and maybe a few cathartic renditions of Wide Open Spaces. I just hiked all summer so I feel like I earned a few days of all-american automobile tourism.

Cozy

Decision fatigue is a ball buster on solo trips (and in life) and sometimes I refuse to change course even when it’s clear that a plan isn’t going to work out. I drove around Tetons alternately listening to the directions and making random navigational decisions, so Google kept yelling at me to make a u-turn. Eventually I got annoyed with both of us and stopped for snacks at the general store. I’ve been making my way through all the kettle chip flavors and so far honey dijon is the best and korean bbq is the worst.

Drove straight through to Yellowstone hoping the storm would let up, but by the time I got there it was 50 degrees with rain expected all afternoon. I thought it would be SUMMER once I left the Bay Area, so all my sweaters and warm jackets are in vacuum sealed bags that I don’t have the space in my car to open. I wasn’t loving the idea of being wet and cold in Yellowstone all night so I talked the campground lady into refunding my site reservation and headed for Big Sky, Montana.

I felt bad leaving without seeing any of the Yellowstone sights so I stopped at Old Faithful on my way out. I knew laughably little about what I was looking at and when a bunch of people started gathering I thought to myself, is this thing gonna explode or something?? And ya turns out that’s the entire point, it shoots a bunch of water and steam into the air every few minutes. I bought a cup of coffee and watched halfheartedly. The only other attraction I know about is the rainbow glory hole and there was so much traffic to park in the lot I said screw it and went on to Montana.

No LTE between Yellowstone and Big Sky and I was without a place to sleep - luckily my sister was available to do some emergency concierge work for me. I eventually found a nice campground near town but the obscene number of bear country warning signs freaked me out. I backtracked to Big Sky to buy a $50 can of bear spray, what a rip. Feeling beat today so I made it up to myself with a bowl of chicken curry ramen and a Sapporo. It was no nugget curry, but it did the job ☺️

Reading the bear spray instructions before bed - you’re supposed to use it once a charging bear is two to three seconds from reaching you. Wtf. I can’t do anything in two seconds. Finished Year of the Monkey at last. Almost fell asleep with a candy wrapper in my pocket, instant death. Also I got my period and I’m worried this is going to attract the bears.

August 19 I broke my own rule. I drove to Bozeman this morning and had a chicken fried steak at the Western Cafe, “The Last Best Cafe.” I had a nice chat with two old guys at the bar, initiated by ME! We talked about my trip so far and books (I was reading Walden Two and one of the guys had Woman in the Window with him, and we agreed that both authors are pretty nuts). Good time all around and then one of them secretly bought my breakfast 🥰 I’ve only ever had creepy men buy me drinks at bars so free CFS with no strings attached was a revelation. My smile lit up the cold dark streets of Bozeman.

Too early for hostel check-in so I killed some time hanging out in a coffee shop and wandering around Main Street. When I’m alone in a new city I usually get on the apps, it’s fun to hang out with a real LOCAL and have an AUTHENTIC experience. I did this on my first night in Sydney last year and my date won $7,000 at a bar raffle he’d been going to every week for three years and then bought us a night’s worth of top shelf shots, bad coke, and dumplings. Obviously I was his good luck charm so I should’ve gotten a cut of that $$$ but whatever… Eventually we went back to his depressing loft outside of the city. It was barely furnished and full of his shitty art and luckily he didn’t have any condoms so I was able to decline sex without feeling guilty (I had condoms of course but didn’t disclose). He tried to fuck me again around 4 am and I was so confused I thought he must have found a condom while I was briefly sleeping. He had not. I snuck out at 6 am and caught the bus back to the city. Not the most restful night but nice to get away from the hostel for a little while. But ya I updated my Hinge location to Bozeman and got hella conservative men swiping on me 🥴 My profile isn’t anything crazy but I don’t think I’m giving off Megyn Kelly vibes. Are they playing some sort of sexual bingo? Are they out to stealth me? Seems sus.

If you are a man on Hinge with a naked photo on your profile I WILL screenshot it and I WILL make a collage of my collection once I have enough material and I WILL sell it as a NFT and I WILL make $0 cuz y’all are freaks. This is the tamest one I’ve got, text me if you want a photo of a naked man covering his junk with a pineapple.

Ooooieee hostel is grungy and subterranean and not the kinda place you want to spend many conscious hours in. I took myself to the movies to escape - another thing I really missed last year. I saw The Night House, which I would describe as an architectural horror? I’ve been thinking about architecture a lot lately, this cool site Zoey sent me has some interesting interviews and stuff. In the movies I ate an entire bag of sour gummy worms and a box of junior mints.

Had a freaky bookstore experience earlier today, not the first time this summer. I originally wrote a longgg paragraph about synchronicity here but I got self conscious and started wondering if hearing other people’s stories about synchronicity is like listening to them talk about their dreams. I personally love talking about dreams (call me and tell me about your crazy dreams!!) but things definitely get lost in translation and sometimes they’re straight boring (like when my old coworkers and I used to dream in Excel, fucckkk). So I get why people find it annoying and here at Bog Girl Summer we can’t afford to alienate any of our readers. All I will say is that I walked into a bookstore today with synchronicity very much on my mind, went to the psychology section to buy a baby Jung text, and there saw a literal sign that said “Staff Pick, Introductory Jung: Synchronicity.” So yes, I bought it. Don’t forget y’all - I have a psychology degree so please don’t come after me about confirmation bias and all that lol. It’s very possible that in this summer of upheaval I’m desperate for some kinda sign that I’m on the right path. Let me have this one 😘

I also bought this postcard which spoke to me because most days I feel like I’m trying to drink out of a firehose

[purplesurveys]

340

How many months are there until your birthday? Nine months. Have you gotten gum stuck in your hair? Uhhh I think once, when I was 7. It wasn’t overly bad. When was the last time you received straight A's? First semester. I could have had straight 1′s (our equivalent of A’s) just this last semester, but one of my profs decided to give me a 2. As someone who’s grade conscious, I deeply resent her for that lmao. Where is your sister right now? She’s upstairs in her room. Is your handwriting large, tiny, or pretty normal? Apparently it’s extremely tiny. I didn’t know until like a billion people pointed it out to me. I always get conscious when I write stuff for people to read now.

Are you currently listening to a song? No. I refrain from listening to anything while taking surveys because I end up getting 100% distracted. If yes, what song is it? Do you have a digital camera? We used to, but it was principally my sister’s. We don’t use it now though; we have a DSLR and our phone cameras instead. Do you own any kind of yellow clothing? Just my shirts from junior year when our class color was yellow. Who last commented you on myspace? Wow. How many piercings do you have? Two. One on each ear. What time is it? It isssss currently 5:43 PM. What color are your eyes? Dark brown. How tall are you? Somewhere between 5′1″ and 5′2″. How long does it take you to shower? 5-7 minutes. Shorter if I REALLY don’t feel like it. Do you wear your seatbelt in the car? Hahahaha this is something I’m guilty of not doing. I always get into trouble when my mom’s in the car and she sees I don’t put my seatbelt on. What jewelry do you wear all the time? I used to wear a necklace but it came off and I hadn’t gotten around to putting it back on, so right now there’s not one piece of jewelry I regularly have on. What would you say if your doc told you you were pregnant? Wow. A lesbian conception. A Powerful Breakthrough. Lmao jk I see myself freaking out and insisting it can’t be true. Would you keep it, abort it, or allow someone to adopt it? Keep them and either keep them for life or have them adopted. Any siblings? Yes, two of them. What are you doing tomorrow? I have class tomorrow but other than that, it’s a chill day. Tell me a story about a scar you have. When I was five, I had been riding my bike when my pinky toe got stuck in some of the gear thingos of the bike whilst it was spinning around. The wound never fully healed so it has since stayed on me as a scar. What color are your socks? I don’t have any socks on. How many cavities do you have? Zero. When's the last time you went to the zoo? Sadly I went to a zoo earlier this year. I don’t remember the exact date. I hate zoos and only went because it had been a family outing. What is your GPA? We don’t do GPAs here, and our system of grading is also different. What color do you wish your eyes were? Dark brown suits my brown skin and Filipino looks, I’m good. How long is your hair? It’s reached a little past my boobs already. What school do you go to? University of the Philippines Diliman. What are you allergic to? Chihuahuas. Can others make you cry easily? Sure. I’m a big crier. What are three things in your backpack? My notebook, a pack of Maltesers, and pencil case. Whose house did you last go to? I didn’t go inside but I dropped off my former busmate from high school, Yanna, at her place. Where did you get the shirt you are wearing? Gabie gave it to me as a Christmas present three years ago. Who is your best friend? Gabie and Anj. Do you know what you are going to wear tomorrow? No clue. I’m not seeing anyone and I’m not going out so I might fuck around and just pick an extremely lazy outfit. What are your favorite color(s)? Tiffany blue, pastel pink, millennial pink. Do you know anyone who lives in another state? We do provinces, not states. And yes, a whoooooole bunch of my school mates all come from different provinces. Some stay in dorms near UP for weekdays and go home to their province on the weekend; others stay in the city for an entire semester (or even a few years) and don’t get to go back to their home province at all. I’m lucky I live close to my school. Are you easily confused? No. That’s my girlfriend. What is your favorite kind of ice cream? Cookies and cream, chocolate chip, peanut butter chocolate. I also have a soft spot for cheese ice cream. Is your current hair color your natural hair color? Yes, I’ve never dyed my hair. Who have you talked to today? Quite a lot since I did go out today. I’ve talked to my mom (through text), sister, brother, Gab, Angela, Hans, Yanna, Lex, Athenna [an (un)pleasant surprise when I unexpectedly saw her in my high school ugh], the servers at my high school bakeshop, Aya and Jo (through Facebook), and Michelle (through Twitter). How has the past week been? Meh. So uneventful. Pride was amazing though. What year was you born in? 1998. What size shoe do you wear? I can fit a 7 to 7.5. What's your bra size? LOL. If I even qualify for a bra lol jk I’m a 32AA. Would you like to be bigger or smaller? On boobs? Bigger. I don’t know what else this question can refer to. Pants size? 0. When did you first get your period? I had just turned 10.   Do you like thunderstorms? I love them, but I wish I get to stay at home more often when they happen. Do you have a bad attitude? Uhhhh as far as I know no. I used to be a nasty kid though. How do you do in school? I’m doing well. I was always a good kid; except back in elementary and high school when I didn’t care for submitting homework because I knew none of it was going to matter in college. Now that I AM in university I’m more grade-conscious than ever. Do you get in trouble a lot? No. How much do you weigh? Something like 95 lbs., I think. Last time I checked, anyway. What's the hardest class you have? Journalism ethics was a big bitch. Have you ever had a detention? We don’t have detention. Do you watch Hannah Montana? I used to. Do you smoke? No. Do you have an iPod/MP3 player? Also used to. My iPod was my best friend for soooo many years. How many aunts/uncles do you have (only your mom/dad's real siblings)? My mom has two brothers, my dad has two sisters and one brother; so that’s five aunts/uncles. Are you the first born? Yep. Are you a vegetarian? No, but I could live off of such a diet if I had to. Are you eating? Nope, just filling this out while waiting for my class to start. Gold or silver? For jewelry? Silver. When's the last time you cried? Last night. Ocean or pool? OCEAN. Or beach. Whatever natural body of water there is. For some reason I converted somewhere along my teenage years and now I’m a complete beach person. I can’t stand being in swimming pools. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? Twirl. When was the last time you went to the bathroom? An hour ago before I drove to school. Are you selfish? When it comes to my food. Have you ever seen a dead body? Only in wakes. What's the weather like right now? The sky’s color is scary and it’s getting more humid. Probably gonna rain in the next hour or so. Do you wear contacts or glasses? Glasses. Do you have braces or a retainer? I had both, but I lost my retainers. What's the worst sickness you've ever had? Platelet loss, which landed me in the hospital. What's on your mouse pad? I don’t use a mouse pad. How many keys on your key ring? Two - car key and house key. Do you use any instant messengers? Yes, I have several. Black and white or color photos? COLOR. B&W photos drive me crazy. What color is your toothbrush? Purple. What color is your hair brush? Hahahaha I stopped combing my hair ages ago but on the rare occasion I pick it up, it’s pink. Do you dye your hair regularly? I’ve never dyed it at all. Are you shy? Very. Are you smart? I’m not gonna claim that lmao ask my friends. How many languages do you speak? Two. Do you like your handwriting? I loved it for the most part, but ever since I took down notes on my laptop, my writing has gone shittier by the day. Now I’m just kinda meh about it. McDonald’s or Burger King? Burger King. Are you a daredevil? I wouldn’t call myself that.

[spikeyandspeedles-blog]

Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃 🍂

Hi all! Speedles here again :) K wanted to write a post (she said she had nothing better to do, lols), so here it is! P.S. Please don't tell her if you like my posts better than hers ;)

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[This was written during the last week of October. I hadn't had time to finish it until this week, and even though this is the October update, the topic happened to be quite Thanksgiving-y ^-^ So: HAPPY THANKSGIVING from the Hwangs!]

I'm currently sitting in bed with the lights off, writing a blog post. In bed, because I got cold. With the lights off, because I'm trying to save energy and/or I'm too lazy to get out of bed and turn them on. Probably both. Writing a blog post, because the internet is down and I therefore 1) can't send the emails I was going to send, 2) can't make dinner (recipes online), and 3) can't communicate with Daniel to ask why the internet is down because I haven't re-charged my data plan yet. Whew. Now we all know what's up.

What else is up? The sky, yes. But you know what ELSE is up?!?! FALL BREAK IS UP!!!! That's right, peeps: fall break is happening in T-minus five hours, which is a pretty spectacular fact as far as the Hwang household is concerned. The last thing that happens to be up is that this blog has been pretty un-informative as of late, so I'm trying to change that. October went by faster than probably any other month on current memory. I remember that at some point September sorta morphed its way into slightly cooler days and darker evenings, but by the time I actually checked the date it was already the 17th. Then I checked the date again and it was the 26th. And tomorrow, the 27th, is the first day of our very own week of break. We're pretty excited.

School has been a whirlwind, but of the fun, crazy, learn-a-ton sort. The program continues to be a perfect fit for D, which means he's loving the classes, loving the work, and always has lots to talk about with his professors and fellow classmates. However, he also has LOTS of homework. Our current schedule involves working until 3am most nights and then sleeping until 9am, possibly with some naps thrown in later on. I'm grateful to have lots of personal-project work as well as real (!) work to do, so we can hang out by working in the same room… just like college :P

I'm always amazed and humbled by God's provision for us over the past 2.5 years--it's a bit like one's birthday every week, seeing what sorts of things He'll bring along that you hadn't planned for. In the case of these last few months, we have been given a flat, jobs for both of us, food, health, safety, friends, spiritual encouragement, and gifts from some of you on top of that!

FLAT (D is still working on his blog post… but until then…)

The other day, D was commenting on the fact that God has been teaching us about the insignificance of our own work. Not, of course, in many ways, but specifically in relation to His work in our lives, whether that be salvation or finding us a place to live. We had asked Him for a flat, and had put in hours of emailing agencies and visiting possible places, but nothing panned out. When He brought us this current place, it was by no work of our own; instead, someone else had already done the calling, visiting, and talking with agents. Our flat is "practically perfect in every way": lots of space, a private bathroom for us, a sunny screened balcony, a big dining/entertaining area (including a ten-person set of china--plates, bowls, teacups, the whole nine yards), a kitchen with lots of counter space, and tons of storage in each room.

FINANCIAL PROVISION

Even when it seems impossible, God has always given us the money we need to pay bills, eat, and buy toilet paper each month. Most recently, we have been incredibly blessed by the generous gifts of family and friends, and are so grateful to receive that love.

Also: we got jobs! In October, D was contracted by a producer he works for regularly to write string arrangements for a Matt Papa album. It was a pretty crazy few days with very little sleep, but worth it. As for me, the tutoring company I was accepted at in September finally had some students for me, so I've been helping them with English reading, writing, and speaking for a few hours every week. However, because the job pays very well, I am able to spend the rest of my time keeping the house clean and making food… which takes a while, especially when you're trying to save money and therefore make like EVERYTHING from scratch :P Also when you don't have any small kitchen appliances and the oven only has a top element (this is a thing in Spain--I have no idea why?).

FOOD

Our working food budget is very small. It's a fun challenge (D might not be as quick to say so :P), but also discouraging at times. More than ever, we strive to faithfully live out Jesus' instructions to "not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink." And just in this past month, He has provided food for us in a multitude of ways: through gifts from family, through dinners hosted by friends, through our flatmates' leftovers, through good sales at the market, and through recipes that make a little go a long way.

HEALTH and SAFETY

We walk or ride the city bikes everywhere. It's great exercise, and so working out and commuting just happen at the same time, which is super. Despite all the pedestrians, cars, Vespas, motorcycles, and other cyclists, we have been protected from injury while commuting and otherwise traveling around the city. We have also been kept from sickness, despite a cold apartment, little sleep, and sick friends.

FRIENDS

First, HUGE shout-out to our family and friends from the States who Skype, chat, email and pray for us so often. Our stay here really would be impossible without your love and encouragement. Despite the time differences, we've been able to Skype friends often, and keep up with the goings-on in both our families. God has also provided us with good friends here in Valencia: at church, at En Vivo (the independent campus ministry), and at school. We also have two wonderful Christian flatmates who are interning at En Vivo until the end of December, as well as a Filipino friend from church who stays with us on the weekends.

SPIRITUAL ENCOURAGEMENT

We continue to be blessed by the ministry of our church, through the Word preached and through the community of fellow believers. Neither of us had the experience of finding and becoming part of a church in a totally new place before, but we have definitely seen how our Father brings His children together despite differences of culture, language, and worship style. It makes me excited for the total understanding and harmony that will exist in our collective adoration of Christ in heaven! I've also really enjoyed listening to sermons from our home church in Montana (Lolo Community for anyone interested; all the sermons are online) when I'm working by myself in the house.

We are thankful for these many and bountiful blessings from our Father, and thankful for you who exhibit and channel His love to us! I'm also especially thankful today (and during our time here) for His Word, which is CRAZY COOL you guys :D It is truly life-giving, so read it read it read it :D

Hehe OK, signing off for now; it'll be time to write the November update soon! O.o

With love,

Katherine and Daniel (and Spikey and Speedles)