Want to pretend COVID is gone? Come to Moscow!
Nobody masks here. NOBODY. It’s actually wild. It almost seems like COVID doesn’t exist here…
…Except it does. The lack of masking is quite distressing, honestly.
Anyway.
Home!
ZOMG I’M IN MOSCOW
IT’S THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2019
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Pocatello, why?
So apparently the city of Pocatello has a flag.
And apparently it’s horrible.
(source)
It looks like a bumper sticker, what the fuck.
But luckily, we have the kind people on r/vexillology who gave it a redesign. But not without some scathing comments, of course:
- How am I supposed to know how proud pocatellans are?????
- This [the redesign] isn’t even trademarked, any dumbass can copy the flag now!
- Not enough pride in this flag.
- uncontrollable screaming
- Oh my god, that is horrendous. A copyright on a flag that looks like a Windows 3.1 background is just next level.
- we don’t talk about the last one…
- *vietnam flashbacks intensify*
(I love flags, sorry)
SOOOOON
The Idaho expansion pack for American Truck Simulator comes out NEXT THURSDAY!
YAY!
I’m going to drive the Lewiston hill and you’re not going to be able to stop me hehehehehehe
GUESS THE ‘SCOW, EARN SOME POINTS
So y’all know Geoguessr, right? Well, my wonderful husband made a Moscow map for me because I’m beyond homesick and I neeeeeeeed the Palouse.
It’s super fun. Go check it out!
I also love how I lived in Moscow for about 23 years total and still don’t know the damn street names.
COME ON, IDAHO TRUCKIN’
Ever since SCS Software announced that Idaho was the next state to be added to American Truck Simulator, I’ve had the expansion at the top of my wishlist on Steam.
I have never been so excited for a game expansion in my life.
They’re even putting in those little historical marker signs. I recognize those little buggers!
ALSKJFLSFJSALFKAJSFAKSLJF I don’t know if you’ll be able to drive through Moscow, but there’s no way they’re not putting Lewiston and the Lewiston grade in there.
EEEEEEEEE EXCITED
Idaho
I’m feeling super homesick today for whatever reason.
That’s not an uncommon occurrence; every once and a while I just really miss Moscow.
Anyway, during my usual Reddit browsing this evening, I came across a post on the r/Idaho subreddit asking about songs that featured Idaho. A lot of them were pretty good, but my favorites have to be “Idaho” by Reckless Kelly and “Idaho” by Gregory Alan Isakov. Crying happened.
Idaho may be a backwards, Republican, redneck haven, but it’s my home and I miss it.
I am IN MOSCOW
Also it’s Christmas. Merry Christmas.
I spent most of the day in various airports, but at least I got to walk/run this morning before I left. So yay!
In the spirit of Christmas, have a beautiful rendition of Carol of the Bells.
BYE!
BALLS TO THE W A L L
YESSSSSSSS Idaho is coming!
I seriously hope they’ll have Lewiston/the Lewiston grade in there. It’ll be so weird to be playing this game in a region that I know in person.
*excited screeching*
MOVE, TREE, GET IN THE HOLE
I had no idea there was a giant Sequoia in Boise.
Of the like 400 things I would like to study if I ever went back to school (again), one of the top options would be trees. Old, giant trees. I love these massive beings.
Idaho Towns Challenge
So the “Idaho” subreddit posted this picture the other day:
Can you get them all?
Highlight the white text below to see the ones I could get without cheating.
- Banks
- Blackfoot
- Billings
- Castleford
- Eagle
- Ketchum
- McCall
- Mountain Home
- ?
- Picabo
- Filer
- Bruneau
- Pocatello
- Soda Springs
- ?
- Twin Falls
- Emmitt
- Moscow
- Idaho Falls
- Boise
- Bellevue
- Middleton
- Coeur d’ Alene
- Salmon
Back to Calgary today.
That was NOT ENOUGH MOSCOW TIME.
I need like two weeks down there, seriously. I just want to hang with my mom for a bit. I have a feeling we’re not going to be able to do that for much longer, so I want to hold on to it for as long as I can.
Also, it was super weird not being able to go to my dad’s house in Moscow. It’s no longer his house. That’s going to take some time to get used to.
And now I’m sad. Change blows.
Hey poop-o’s, I’m back in Moscow!
FREAKING FINALLY, it’s been way too long since I’ve been back here and seen my mom. I think early September last year was the last time. That’s super sad.
ANYWAY. I should be here for a week and a half or so. I’ve already walked 15 miles around the city, haha. And I’m going to go to Mongolian BBQ like 50 times because I love it and miss it.
And maybe I’ll even get my blogs all posted before I leave.
(I won’t.)
Homesick
You wouldn’t think I’d miss this little dink of a town, but right now, I miss it very much.
I’m excited to go back for a week or so in May to hang out with my mom/see Annabelle/walk around on my old routes. The cheaper groceries/clothes/everything will be a nice change for a bit, too.
Have more pics.
Where is Idaho?
I did a little experiment this evening (because why the hell not). I wanted to see which states Idaho is most commonly grouped with when the country is split into “regions” (because I’ve seen it put into the Pacific Northwest, the West, the North West, etc., each with different states along with it). So I went to Google Images and typed “regions of the US” to see what I could find.
I looked at 50 different maps and recorded how many times each state (apart from Idaho, of course) was grouped along with Idaho.
Results!
States like Mississippi and Louisiana and such were grouped on some map showing the nuclear regions (or something like that) of the US.
Heat map!
Heat map courtesy of here.
Interesting to see the difference in grouping frequency between our state to the east (Montana) versus the two to our west (Washington and Oregon)
Oh, brain…
I had this super elaborate dream last night, which I was trying really hard to remember this morning, but the only phrase that I could recall from it was this:
“Whenever you accidentally start taking Idaho seriously, remember that a guy named Butch Otter is the state governor.”
True that, brain. True that.
Too bad Moscow isn’t named “Phileas”…
Because it’s Foggy as hell here today.
It actually looked like smoke this morning:
I had to walk to the U of I to do stats consulting stuff and the air seemed super smoky, especially over by my mom’s house. But I guess it was just fog?
This nonsense had better go away by Saturday morning. I will walk back up to Calgary if I have to.
?!
Woah, what the hell is this?!
Seriously? AWESOME! I honestly never thought this would happen until it became federal law.
Edit 1: one of the comments on the article:
Edit 2: Butch, you turd, just let marriage equality happen already!
Man, look at the air quality today
I missed the “early” bus this morning and was going to walk to campus, but last time I walked in this much smoke my eyes hurt for like three days straight. Since I have to proctor my students taking their exam today, I decided I would kind of prefer to have my eyesight for the morning and just waited for the “late” bus.
But tomorrow is WALKING DAY! I love Fridays for that reason alone. I should go to the fair, too. Anyone want to go to the fair with me?
Flume
Sucky, sucky, sucky day. Do not wish to speak of it.
So in other news, has anybody ever noticed how average Idaho is at pretty much everything (but potatoes and lentils)? Aside from being one of the most right-wing-insane states, in almost every other way in which states are ranked/measured, Idaho almost always lands very close to the middle. Obviously there are exceptions, though. Did you know that Idaho has the third highest percentage of resident population under the age of 18? And that the state is 5th in geothermal power generation?
And for something totally unrelated: I forgot how badass the soundtrack to Princess Mononoke was.
Until we meet again, Idaho
Okay, so barring anymore interference from Mother Nature, TODAY is my last day in Moscow.
Sorry for not scheduling a hang-out time with more of you sillies; things have been semi chaotic since I got back from London and I pretty much had to unpack my stuff rapidly and then just as rapidly repack it.
Also my brain has been alsfajfoijgavhaioewr for the past few months and I’ve been having weird and random panic attack thingies. Would rather not subject my awesome friends to that.
ANYWAY.
Moscow and I are pretty much opposite magnetic poles; I will be returning at some point. I’m actually not sure how long I’ll need to be in AZ anyway.
PEACE OUT, I’m going to go watch Boston Legal until I have to drive to Lewiston in a few hours.
Last day in Moscow
Total re-addiction to OK Cupid = accomplished.
Oh, and here’s the route for the next six days:
Wednesday: Moscow, ID to Bozeman, MT (~450 miles)
Thursday: Bozeman, MT to Rapid City, SD (~460 miles)
Friday: MOUNT RUSHMORE, OMFG (PRESIDENTS!)
Saturday: Rapid City, SD to Rochester, MN (~575 miles)
Sunday: Rochester, MN to Kalamazoo, MI (~494 miles)
Monday: Kalamazoo, MI to London, ON (~266 miles)
As if there aren’t enough things to make fun of in Idaho
This, ladies and gentlemen, is a prime example of why I love Capitol Steps:
Capitol Steps is a musical performance group that re-writes songs with lyrics about current political issues. Their songs from the early Bush administration are extra gold.
Seriously, check these guys out.
Eigenblogger 