Relying on Intellect

Sadly, I am still lacking in independent transportation. Once they fixed the timing belt and associated bric-a-brac, they found that the car was running really rough and that it’s an issue with the computer. So now that has to be replaced too. For another $800. Fuck me.

So Alan applied for an Army Emergency Relief loan. They just need a written estimate from the mechanic and a copy of Alan’s LES. Hopefully that comes through, because my parents only just mailed us a check today, which means we won’t have it for a couple days. On the "bright" side, the car won’t be done until at least Monday, because the replacement computer won’t be in until then. The issue is that Alan has CQ duty Sunday into Monday and obviously no way to get there. It’s not like a regular workday, where Pez could drive him. We wanted to rent a car, but we don’t have the requisite $500 in our checking account for the security deposit. We have about $150. Ugh. I’m just crossing my fingers that they don’t look at Alan’s LES and deny the loan because of how much the estimate is. We don’t really need $3000. We only need $1000, but I don’t know how to explain that to "The System." We could actually pay 2/3’s of it back almost immediately. But again, we’re dealing with the Army.

I’m still feeling a bit off color. Headaches, stomachaches, sudden bouts of nausea. I did manage to push through it most of the day yesterday… until I spilled a drop of scented oil on my shirt while I was cleaning the bathroom. The smell just made the headache a thousand times worse, which just made me dizzy and nauseous. No fun. Much better for most of today. I even managed to go up to the gym for awhile.

I’ve decided to climb the Incline in a few weeks, maybe a month. To that end, I’m going to go to the gym everyday and at least three times a week I’m going to train on the elliptical… nothing new in that, I admit, but I plan on putting the crossramp and resistance up as high and they’ll go. I figure the first time I’ll get 10, maybe 15 minutes like that before I feel like dying. But the next time, I’ll five minutes longer. And so on until I can keep that up for at least 45 minutes. Alan’s fastest time is 38 minutes.

For those who don’t know… and that’s most of you… the Manitou Incline is an old cable railway line. It’s technically closed to the public, but that doesn’t stop anyone from climbing it. It’s not a long hike. Just a mile. But in that brief mile, the trail gains more than 2000 ft. of elevation. The average grade is 41% and the steepest is 68%! And then when you get to the top, you still have to follow Barr Trail down interminable switchbacks to back to your car. It’s more mental than physical, but I would feel a lot better mentally if I were better prepared physically.

Not long ago, a hiker from Wisconsin (or possibly Wyoming) was going up the Incline and noticed all the rebar jutting up from the ground. It is an old railway after all and closed to the public. Well, this guy apparently thought that was pretty dangerous to have lying around (there were at least two major injuries because of it last summer), so he went and bought a sledgehammer and went up and down the Incline 11 times, just hammering down the rebar! That’s some serious civic-mindedness right there!

So that’s my goal for the next couple months. I want to hike the Incline. Clearly, I’ve lost my mind.

Tomorrow is the Squadron Organizational Day. Charlee is picking me up sometime after she gets out of work and we’re going to Turkey Creek Ranch to have barbeque with all the other wives and their husbands. The guys even get to wear civilian clothes. OoooOOoooh! So exciting. Forced family fun. As only the Army can do it.

I really hope we get the car situation taken care of soon. I’ve been having a really hard time sleeping lately. My mind won’t shut off and thoughts flit across my brain one after the other, held together by only the most tenuous connections. Thoughts of people especially.

~Liz