Snail Mail - #1

Hello! Welcome to my pigEon Mail! Slightly faster than Snail Mail! The Snail union demands more funding, but the pigeons are happy enough… more coming soon…

Don’t worry I won’t be spamming you and you can always “unsubscribe” I’ll probably email once a month at the very least. So I can keep telling y’all some crazy stories and fun updates! Additionally, y’all will be able to email me too! Yet another way to stay connected through the horrors. This email will definitely be pretty long, so grab a drink or enjoy reading this while in the bathroom.

I’m writing this first part of the email at Stone Creek on Downer Ave in MKE. Which is a little surreal, I’ve been coming to this specific shop for 4 years. In two days time, I won’t be back for a while. At least it will be a bit of a drive… People keep asking me how I’m feeling about the whole moving thing. My frequent answer is “I’m really excited” or “yeah, I’m nervous” which is to be expected. And that is the truth, I’m excited and nervous! But it's also surreal, I’ve never moved like this ever in my life. In fact, the biggest move I did was to get to Milwaukee, which is still only an hour away from my childhood home. This move has been in the works for months, so now that it is actually happening, it doesn’t feel real. I guess I’ll share some of my reasons for moving away, trust me it was an incredibly hard and scary decision. But it’s one I’ve wanted to make for a long time. 

I’ve always wanted to move out of Wisconsin, I love exploring new places and I really enjoy meeting new people. As many of you may already know. I feel like there is so much to explore in this world and you should take every opportunity you can. I also understand that this is a huge privilege, not just monetarily, but to have so much support these past couple months I can’t even begin to thank you! I truly don’t believe I could’ve been able to do this as easily without you all. My other reason for moving is Graduate School! I was accepted to my number one pick for English/Writing: Publishing for Books at Portland State University. I haven’t started yet but the classes and program looks so cool! So I can’t wait. 

I’m writing the bulk of this on the third day of driving to Portland. Celia took the first shift and is doing really good, she hasn’t wrecked the car at all yet! Kidding, by the time I send this we will be in Portland and safe and sound. The first day was driving all the way to Chamberlain, South Dakota from Lake Mills, Wisconsin. Which took about 8 hours of driving, I drove the first 4 and Celia handled the rest like a pro! She also killed so many butterflies, I drew a recreation, while it wasn’t on purpose, it was probably about 10 butterflies in an hour. 

The second day we had the longest drive. From Chamberlain, South Dakota to Bozeman, Montana which is over 10 hours of driving. In the morning we stopped by the Badlands National Park and it was HOT! But gorgeous, it was Celia’s first time there so we walked around the park. I also ran around climbing as much as I could without my dad panicking about snakes and loose dirt, it was very fun. We then took the driving tour all the way to Wall Drug. 

Wall drug was cool, but definitely a tourist spot, filled with over priced stuff that no one really needs. So I bought stickers and found a cool rock. After that I drove until around 3:30pm, at this point I had been driving around for about 6 hours. Celia also had a job interview on the road, which I think went well! Hopefully by the time I send this there is a second interview. Celia then drove for about an hour and a half before I took over again and finished the drive. I clocked 8 and a half hours of driving by the time the day was done. We then got to our hotel and had Taco Bell, minus the lettuce, and watched the Donner Party Episode of Puppet History! And now we are driving up and over the Rocky Mountains to Pasco, Washington, which is less than three hours away from Portland, Oregon! So it’s an adventure, going pretty smoothly I would say. 

On the third day of Driving I felt sick and gross so Celia tackled the mountain! It went great! Then the fourth day was smooth and long sailing.

Alright, final part. I’m writing this on the second day/night at the new apartment! It’s so cozy and cute. It’s definitely been a blur these past couple days, so I’m glad I started writing this email a couple days ago. This will not be the norm I promise, it’s just been crazy and its my first email out to y’all, so I gotta get into the swing of things. Right now I’m dying my hair green and orange like a pumpkin, which is a little early for fall colors but I hope it turns out okay enough! Today I got to see my brother nad sister-in-law, its so awesome to see them, I haven’t since the wedding! We were running around a ton while my brother took a nap. I haven’t really seen Celia cause we’ve been busy with family and running around. So I’m excited when the place calms down, but I will dearly miss everyone. This move on my end has gone pretty smoothly, and I don’t think I could’ve done it without all of you on this list. Such as; Julian, Zach C., Marlo, Fern, My Dad, My Mom, Casey, Crystal, Craig, Pam, and most importantly Celia. 

Alright, that’s my first pigEon Mail. I hope you enjoyed the update! Till next time!

Tschüss,

Ducky