June 2023-October 2023

Paradise Springs

In the summer of 2023, I worked a glamping resort in the San Bernadino mountains as one of my seasonal jobs!

I worked in the camp's restaurant, serving up burgers, smoothies, and arugula pizza (I swear to god people around LA put arugula on everything). It was a pretty good gig, honestly! My only complaint is when my boss made me clean maggots out of the trash bin with a power washer. I did not enjoy getting a backsplash of maggots to the face, and I threw up to show my dissatisfaction with the matter.

I was living in a canvas tent on a nice little wooden deck right in the heart of the forest. And I loved it! It wasn't quite off grid (there was still electricity, plumbing, and wi-fi available to me a few feet away), but I took the opportunity to disconnect for a while and really limit my technology usage.

My daily routine consisted of waking up, taking a walk over to the restaurant to get myself a large mocha and pbj crepe, eating my breakfast while watching the Stellar Jays (and trying not to get stung by hornets), doing a crossword from my crossword book, lifting weights outside my tent, and reading a bit of a Murakami novel. I wasn't letting myself use my phone/laptop for more than a couple hours a day, and I even quit smoking! (but that didn't last long). I took that summer to focus on self-improvement, which meant less partying and more doing yoga in the woods.

There wasn't many employees living there at the time, at least not compared to other seasonal jobs I've worked, but I did get along alright with everyone there. The resort is owned by a French company, so a few of my coworkers were from France. I admire the French attitude toward smoke breaks, but I do think they're weird for eating pizza with a fork. The rest of the crew were mostly local snowboarders and a couple other seasonal work nomads like myself.

My closest friend there was Emily, and we'd go hiking together almost every weekend. Our favorites were waterfall trails- of which the San Bernadino and Angeles National Forests have plenty. I will say, though, hiking in the LA area makes me pretty sad because there's a serious litter problem. Who tf graffitis trees?? Southern California is really beautiful, though, despite the number of times I almost pissed myself in six hours of traffic just trying to get to the trail.

I got a lot of new experiences that summer. I went paddleboarding and rock climbing with Emily (both normally outside my comfort zone), spent a couple drunken nights skinny-dipping in the resort's pool (really getting out of my comfort zone), got to drive a Polaris around camp, and experienced a hurricane and an earthquake at the same time!

The most memorable experience, however, was getting trapped in a laundry room with Rigby the black bear. Rigby loved to hang around camp, breaking into our dumpsters and generally being a bit of a menace. That night, I was doing my laundry in the staff room. I finished folding my clothes and was about to walk out when- oh shit. oh shit oh shit oh shit.. We were about six feet apart from each other and he was blocking the whole doorway. I remember thinking "awh, his little ears are so cute" and then "wait- shit shit shit shit ". Luckily, I was able to scare him off by yelling "rawr" really loud and flailing my arms, but I went back to camp that night white as a sheet.

The one thing I really hated about living in California was the cost of living, and that's why I wouldn't go back there. Gas is $9/gallon and the weird special seal pumps they use wouldn't fit my gas cap so I would have to stand there holding the nozzle looking like an idiot. I lost a good chunk of my savings on gas and groceries- and I eat cans of beans for every meal.

January 2023

San Francisco:

San Francisco was the final destination on my 2023 Coast to Coast Train Trip!

As we left Nevada and crossed the border in California, I was awestruck by the diversity of landscapes we passed through. The sparse vastness of the desert shifted into densely packed pine forests almost in the blink of an eye.

As I was reaching the final stop on my train journey, nearing Oakland, I made a new friend! For the entirety of the trip I had been lamenting my inability to approach other passengers, but as I sat there wondering what to do now that I finished my third Agatha Christie novel, a man sitting next to me in the viewing car introduced himself.

He was an electrician, a local to Oakland, and a fellow transman! He taught me all about labor unions (did you know electricians make $70+/hr in California??) and we chatted about our shared experiences with trans-masculinity. It was a lovely way to end the last stretch on the California Zephyr, and I reached San Francisco feeling inspired.

I spent my day in the city wondering along the seaside. Since I've spent most of my time here on Earth in landlocked Kansas, I feel I have to take the time to appreciate the ocean as much as I can when I'm near it. I encountered a bob of seals on my stroll through Fisherman's Wharf and sat to observe the chubby fellows for a while. I then spent the rest of the afternoon following the coastline of the city all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. Everywhere I looked, smartly dressed people, quaint homes painted in pastel colors, $13 organic lattes. I watched people in the park flying kites, accidentally attended a gathering of Weiner dog owners on the beach (talk about a sausage fest), and narrowly weaved through a hoard of rollerbladers. It felt like summer in January.

After all that walking, I decided I want to try one of those Lyft scooters you always see hipster types riding about on. After much trial and error, I set up my account and unlocked one, only to be completely overwhelmed by how quickly it accelerates. Fun fact about me: I cannot ride a bike- never learned- because I'm terrible at balancing. I got about two feet before bailing and walking the thing back- all as a family of picknickers watched on.

In the evening, I took a tour bus through the city. Not typically the kind of activity I'd go for, but I only had one day to see what I could, and it seemed efficient. Unfortunately, the other passengers were quite loud and a little rowdy, but I was happy to rest my legs and take in the views. I particularly enjoyed our drive through Haight-Ashbury and had to stop myself from getting off to buy some of sort of Jimi Hendrix themed keychain, as tempting as it was. The one thing I regret is taking a seat up top on the double decker bus. It was great until we reached the Golden Gate Bridge. As the bus reached 45 mph, I was absolutely assaulted by the cold January air above the sea and I departed the bus with a chill in my bones that lasted well until bed time.

Overall I had a lovely time, and I hope to return someday!