I’m already homesick.
Ugh. How am I supposed to wait another year to go back to Moscow again?
I just want to be back there for another few days or so, that’s all.
Sad.
Back to Calgary
So for various reasons, I’m leaving Moscow several days early.
Because why should I get to stay here the full time I was hoping to stay here?
(Sorry, both of the main reasons I’m heading back are legit and important, but I’m feeling frustrated and bitter right now. I just want to hang out here with my mom, why is that so hard to do?)
HAWK IT UP
Y’all, I got swooped by a hawk FIVE TIMES on my walk this afternoon.
Story time: I’m in the ‘Scow, so basically the only walk I ever do is to Pullman and back because it’s exactly 18 miles round trip from my mom’s house. I’ve done this walk (and run) every day since I’ve been here now and haven’t had any issues.
But this afternoon, coming home along the Guy Wicks’ Field stretch of the path, I felt a bonk in the back of my head and looked up to see a giant hawk ascending back into the sky.
Weird, thought I. He must have been diving for something and misjudged his timing/aim. No big deal.
Then it happened again.
So I looked up and saw this hawk make a deliberate turn followed by a SUPER FAST dive right back at me. I had to duck to get away from his talons.
This happened twice more before I could get under the cover of the trees by the parking lot across the street.
It was super wild. If I hadn’t been wearing my hat I’m sure the back of my head would be all scratched up. He must have thought I was a rabbit or something based on the color of my hat, which I think he was wanting to snatch. Now I’ve got talon marks in the back of it.
Evidence:
(Okay, they’re hard to see on camera, so I put circles around them. I also put circles around the little threads that got pulled out.)
FUN!
It’s disappointing, really
Does anyone wear masks here anymore? I don’t think I’ve seen a single masked person except for myself and my mom.
That’s…that’s kind of sad.
Gettin’ Mugged
Why the hell does Moscow feel like a swamp right now? This kind of mugginess isn’t normal, is it? I don’t remember it being this muggy in the summers when I lived here, but I may just not be used to it because Calgary is like the driest city ever.
UGH.
My Life Here
I was born in Moscow. I grew up in Moscow. I went to elementary school, junior high, high school, and college in Moscow.
Because of this, I obviously have a ton of memories here. And I think I’m more appreciative of those memories thanks to being away from Moscow for a few years thanks to Covid.
This evening, for example, my mom and I were doing our nightly drive around town (which is something we’ve done for YEARS) and we turned down this one street we’ve always turned down. It hit me how many different memories I associated just with that street. All the different thoughts, obsessions, worries, and phases of my life that I’ve gone through and that I’ve contemplated on car rides past as we’ve driven this street.
It’s actually pretty wild to think of how much I’ve experienced here.
I really miss the past sometimes.
Moscow!
My mom and I got back to Moscow today, YAY!
I don’t have much to say ‘cause it’s late and I have to get up early tomorrow and walk, but YAY!
What the HELL, Moscow?
Possible (likely) quadruple homicide? That’s…terrifying.
(Yes, I know the actual murders happened like a week ago; things are finally starting to filter through the news enough that I feel like we can trust what’s being said about the situation.)
Creepy stuff. Please stay safe, Moscow friends.
Hey Moscow Nerds:
Do y’all remember Hastings? The store that sold books, games, movies, and miscellaneous other stuff and was in that weird little back building of the mall behind Macy’s?
I miss Hastings.
Back when I would go to the mall every Saturday with my dad, he’d give me $20 and set me free for an hour or so to get whatever I wanted to get. I’d usually end up at Hastings at some point during the hour, and while I rarely bought anything apart from used books (CDs were like $16.99 and that was a huge chunk of the $20), I always loved to look around at everything.
It’s too bad they died. Hastings was fun.
Palouse Mall needs more fun shops.
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.
Elementary, my dear?
So my mom and I stopped by St. Mary’s, my old elementary school, and got a tour of it from my old principal, Sister Margaret.
I went to St. Mary’s Catholic School for six years (1st through 6th grade; seven years if you count going to St. Rose’s for kindergarten) and I remember some things about it very well. Since my going there, though, the building has undergone quite a few renovations and changes, including a huge gym add-on and the addition of a few more grades.
But MAN, some of the things we saw on our tour are things I remember very well.
The library. We just did a brief walk-through, but I remember checking out many of the books in there.
The classrooms. They’re so small! So are the desks! But I remember them very clearly.
The multi-purpose room. This lived up to its name back when I went there. We had band, choir, lunch, gym, plays, and concert rehearsals in there.
The bathrooms on the main floor. I don’t know why I have such a strong memory of freaking bathrooms, but I do.
It’s also wild that a few of my classmates from St. Mary’s are now teachers there.
Anyway, it was an odd trip down memory lane, but very cool to see what’s stayed the same and what has changed.
CHIP
So the Bill Chipman Palouse Trail (the part of the pathway that connects Moscow and Pullman) is super boring to walk on. Whenever I come back to Moscow and need to get my walking miles, walking on the trail gets old pretty fast.
However, I am now back in Moscow for the first time since picking up running, and running on the trail is SO MUCH BETTER.
It’s flat, it’s smooth, and there are like five people on it at a time, which makes it way less busy than any trail up here. My current running distance doesn’t quite get me to Pullman from my mom’s house, but pretty close.
WOO!
Home!
ZOMG I’M IN MOSCOW
IT’S THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2019
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
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.
In This Blog: Claudia’s Jet-Setting Suitcase Says “Screw You” to Cold Temperatures and Goes to California Instead
Today, I went from Moscow/Pullman (PUW) to Seattle (SEA) to Calgary (YYC).
My suitcase, however, did not. It went from Moscow/Pullman (PUW) to Los Angeles (LAX) to Calgary (YYC).
????
Luckily, my nine-hour layover in Seattle meant that my suitcase still got to Calgary before I did, despite its little adventure.
I like Sea-Tac; I’ve spent a decent proportion of my life there. It’s a nice airport. Nine hours, though, is a little too long of a layover. At least I got a lot of semester prepping done and still had time to walk around a little bit.
Hoorah.
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!
Moscow…Moscow Never Changes
- People still blow at shoveling their sidewalks
- The Palouse Mall still allows whoever shovels their parking lot to pile the snow on that outside sidewalk that goes the length of the mall to Walmart
- Winco still has cheap as hell cheese and it’s fantastic
- COLBY JACK CHEESE
- Safeway doesn’t have pitas
- There’s something kind of comforting/relaxing about walking in a small town compared to Calgary. I can basically get anywhere I want in about 45 minutes regardless of where my starting point is. The same definitely cannot be said about Calgary
- No Chinook headaches!
- The bus runs on Saturday now?!?!?!?!?
Whining Time!
When I’m in Calgary, I miss my mom and Moscow.
When I’m in Moscow, I miss Nate, Jazzy, and Calgary.
LIFE IS HARD
HEY MOSCOW POLICE DEPARTMENT:
It would be much appreciated if your officers could be a little more pedestrian-aware.
Story: I was walking down the highway towards the intersection by those new “Identity” apartment student-housing thingies. A police car was sitting in the parting lot of the apartments and, in no particular hurry whatsoever, started to pull away from the curb and approach the intersection.
I pushed the little “walk” button and—COMPLETELY LEGALLY—entered the crosswalk in front of the approaching police car. Once I was about 1/3 of the way through the crosswalk, the car reached the crosswalk itself. I expected the car to slow to a stop, as I had made eye contact with the driver as I was crossing.
However, they did NOT stop and I had to very quickly move out of the way of the front of the car before it finally gradually stopped IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CROSSWALK to wait for its green light. The officer showed no sign of knowing that that she was about three inches from hitting me with the front of their car, nor did she seem to care once I shot her a dirty look after getting to the other side of the street.
Again: I was making eye contact with the driver as I crossed. I was LEGALLY crossing. she did not have her police lights on to indicate that she was in any sort of hurry. Once she pulled out of the intersection, she was not in a hurry to get anywhere. She just apparently felt like trying to run me over.
What the fuck.
I should have gotten the license plate number. That is 100% unacceptable.
I hate everyone.
SCOOPTITY BOOO
I really miss Moscow. Like, I’m not sure if I could live here again just due to the fact that it’s pretty hard to walk 15 miles in such a tiny town without taking the trail to Pullman all the time, but it does really feel good to come back here every once and a while. I like knowing that I’m at most like three miles away from home anywhere in the city and I like how quick and easy it is to walk to Walmart/Safeway/Winco and get nonsense stuff.
And how cheap everything is.
Also, MOM!
MOSCOW-BOUND
I’m heading to Moscow for a bit, YAY! We’re driving back from Calgary today and then I’m in the ‘Scow for like two weeks.
Rockin’.
Edit: $163.27 wheel of cheese? It better be…gouda.
Moscoooooooooow
I am SO FREAKING HOMESICK RIGHT NOW.
I’m glad I get to go back to Moscow in half a week or so. This has been a very long spring/summer following a very busy winter semester and I really miss my mom.
I also really miss Moscow itself, despite how difficult it is to do my daily 15 miles there without looping the hell out of all the streets.
WOO!
Zoom North
Headed back up to Calgary today. Not ready to go back. I want just a bit more time in Moscow.
Edit: THIS KOKANEE FOOT HAS SIX TOES
BACK IN THE ‘SCOW
I am BACK IN MOSCOW AGAIN!
It always feels good to come back for a little while. It’s not quite the same now that my dad’s no longer living here (meaning my mom and I can’t go crash over there and visit, haha), but it’s still fun.
Calgary’s great; I love the big city, I love Canada, and I love pretty much everything else about it here (except CHEESE IS TOO FREAKING EXPENSIVE), but it’s nice to “escape” back to tiny old ‘Scow for a bit.
And buy $1.77 bags of shredded cheese from Winco.
ALSO. Did you know that there is no Colby-Jack cheese up here? I don’t know about the rest of the country, but Colby-Jack is not a thing in Calgary.
Which is dumb, ‘cause Colby-Jack is life.
Anyway.
A Thought
As you are all probably very well aware, I have moved around a lot in my life. Yes, most of that was in one city (Moscow), but I’ve moved a lot. Ask my mom.
At some point or another, I have missed living in most of the places I’ve called home, except for that first house on Grant St. (sorry mom) and that shithole I lived in in Vancouver for the first year or so (this one).
Another place that I’ve (surprisingly) not missed very often? My place in London, ON.
I miss the dorm room sometimes because it was so unlike a dorm room and more like a little apartment and I had it all decorated and pretty (this one), but I really don’t miss London at all.
I don’t know if that’s because those 70-ish days I spent there were part of a very bad time in my life or what, but I just didn’t enjoy it there. I knew I shouldn’t have gone, but I went anyway. And then had to come right back, haha.
That was really a rough time. Maybe I’ll tell you all more about it someday.
Maybe not.
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