Still Processing

 It's hard to write when you've got a lot to process. Because like...you want to write...but when you don't want to process you don't want to write. 

Because a lot has happened over the last few days. And while some has been good a lot hasn't been great. 

And I'm honestly still muddling through my feelings on everything.

Like it started with dealing with a headache that turned into a migraine Saturday night. 

-Which thankfully, the Nurtec did make that go away.

To waking up to the news that President Nelson had passed away.

To finding out while I was in the beginning stages of spending the day driving back home to my Daddoo texting that he was 'safe' and that the 'shooting was no where near him." and having to wait until I got to the next gas station stop to figure out that there was a shooting at a church in Michigan and worrying about that.

To dealing with just random busy Sunday construction traffic in like all the canyons which delayed me by like an HOUR getting home because everyone decided they had to crawl through the construction areas when they didn't need to.

To having to white knuckle drive the last little bit home because it was raining but the sun was shining at the same time and at an angle that made the roads blinding white so the rain was making it hard to see the road the sun was making it hard to see the road and I was stuck behind a tarp covered semi that send foggy misty rain flying behind it in a nice misty bright white cloud that also caught the sun and made it hard to see....so like there was a good 40 minutes of driving through "heaven like conditions" wondering if I was going to make it through because it was sooo hard to see.

To going back to work on Monday with no day off from the 11 hour drive to recover and getting sent right back into the frenzy of work and figuring out what crazy happened while I was gone and getting back on track on what's happening in the store....

There's been a lot.

And like....sometimes it's too much to really want to think about....let alone write about.....hence the gap in posting the last few days....because writing just seemed like too much.

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

What's Your Job?

 There's so many jobs out there that I would have never realized were like....careers people would have as jobs, if I hadn't randomly encountered them online or on TV.

Like, while I was aware that horses needed their hooves taken care of.

I didn't really equate that Cows would also need their hooves trimmed too.

They don't need shoes put on or anything. But kinda like fingernails...cows need their hooves trimmed or adjusted if an issue pops up.

And like it's technically a job that people don't have to do. Because cows have the ability to shed their hooves over time to help get rid of issues.

But having people help treat those issues speeds up the healing process.

Or like the variety of ways people sell items online is another method I've come across.

Like using a variety of beads and a scoop and the buyer gets a random assortment of items depending on what type of bead and amount of the beads are scooped up.

The one I discovered today was the fact that people who aren't paleontologists and aren't in the archaeologist/sciencey field....can turn finding fossils and selling into a career. 

And like it was something I was vaguely aware was a possibility I suppose.

I mean people who sell fossils have to get their fossil teeth and shells and such from somewhere. 

But like the show I encountered while channel surfing wasn't your tiny "here's some teeth. Here's a bunch of shells." sort of fossil hunting.

No they were ranchers/farmers who have fossil beds on their lands and during part of the year they go searching for fossils like actual SKELETONS of DINOSAURS to dig out and sell to MUSEUMS.

Like. WHAT?!

Like I didn't know that was a thing.....

At least not for the full on skeletons of dinosaurs.

I mean last year my family and I kinda encountered the concept on our way to the eclipse because we stopped by a local rock shops that sold smaller fossils and the lady in charge mentioned that ...either they dig the land or the farmers nearby dig the land? In either case someone in the area had fossils that they could find on their land that they dig up and sell.

And it's like....I didn't know that people could do that.

It's kinda a cool career honestly.

One that could make you stupid rich too if you find the right type of fossil.

Like the episode I caught they had a pretty complete skeleton of a T-Rex that they were looking to sell for 4 MILLION DOLLARS.

WHAT.

Like definitely a lucrative career.....if you find the right vein of dinosaur bones.

So yah.

Interesting the random careers you come across when you're channel or internet surfing.

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Breakdowns

 There's a thing about trust being broken....

In that you recognize that things cannot be the same after that point.

And yet the heart yearns for those times before the trust was broken.

And yet the mind is going back to all those past interactions wondering just....just when did things start to go wrong. Was it lies from the beginning? Was it a slow decline? Was it just a wrong decision that caught brought to the light?

Who knows for sure what caused things to come to a head.

But this has been a year where I've watched multiple friendships between people just break down. Vanish. Alter. Change. 

Some have repaired themselves, though you can see things are not quite the same.

Some have fully ended. With no conversation taking place at all.

Others have become solely professional because they still work at the same location. 

And it's just .... I hurt for them.

For those who are hurting because of the decisions and actions of others.

For those who thought they had found their bestie. Their ride and die. Their confident.

And then get betrayed. To confide their fears and then have their friend turn around and become those fears. 

It makes it hard to trust people. I can see that. 

Makes it hard to want to make friends.

Because you wonder....how long will this friendship actually last IF a friendship is established.

The heart can only take rejection so many times before one shuts down.

And I've seen it happen a lot this year.

And it's just interesting to like...pick up pieces and clues that things weren't quite right. That things hadn't been what they seemed. 

Pick out the things you had ignored because they were your friend. And then realized that they were just taking advantage of you. 

It's been on my mind a lot this week. 

Mostly because I am the sort of person where I hold onto my friends as much as I can. 

So it boggles my mind that others would just...do things that would cause their friendships to dissolve and break.

It hurts. 

And I'm probably going to be chewing on it for a while more.

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Will You Get It? For that Price?

 There's an interesting thing about collecting rocks/crystals....

And it's when you need to decide if the price is worth it for the rock.

Because like....if you end up in a tourist trap. Where all the visitors come to the state to shop when they're in town....things are going to be marked up as a bit more expensive. Because the tourists don't always know better.

They're buying the experience as well as the items really.

But then there's people like me....who go to gem fairs....where I know that I can get that $10 rock for $3. That $20 rock for $6. 

And it then becomes a question of .... is the rock worth it for that price....when I know I could potentially get it at the next gem fair for a much better price. 

And really....my decisions today mostly came down to availability. 

Like. Are these rocks that I SEE at the Gem Fairs I visit at home? Yes or no?

If yes. Then less likely to go for them when they're at tourist prices.

If No? Then I'm more likely to go for it because even though I don't quite like the price and know that I could get it elsewhere for less.... I haven't recently SEEN them anywhere else for LESS to GET. 

I visited two rock shops today. 

One...had the entire store half off. 

Which was great! Because it brought most of their products back down to Gem Fair prices and therefore meant that I felt more comfortable getting more rocks from them.

Even though I do tend to wonder when stores...even at the gem fairs...do their entire setups at Half Off or other such sells....if they marked the prices up before hand...so that the rocks are actually selling at their normal prices but because they increased the prices before starting the 'sale' everyone buys the products because they think they're getting a 'good' deal.

Hard to tell....Like yes I got the rocks for Gem Fair prices....and knowing that everyone needs to make a bit of a profit I can get having a bit of a mark up on their rocks. So I know in regular stores my typical $5 rock may be double if not triple that.

Plus who knows how tariffs are affecting prices. Like I noticed at the gem fair this past weekend that some items had increased in price a bit. So I'm sure tariffs are affecting things.

Regardless. 

Got more rocks at the half off store, most of them stones I haven't seen in a while or had been looking for at the Gem Fair but didn't find this past weekend. 

The other rock shop in the area was probably considered your more 'high end' one. Selling the fancy expensive jewelry...and charging $5 carvings at twice to 4 times the price. 

So I was less inclined to buy things there...even though I saw a ton of carvings I hadn't seen before and wanted to get...the prices were high enough that I was like "maaaybe I'll wait and see if I could get them at the next gem fair."

But there were a couple of other stones that I'd been softly looking for but haven't seen.

One was brought up just last weekend when I briefly encountered a coworker at the Gem Fair and they mentioned that they'd been looking for "Desert Rose" but hadn't seen in and asked if I'd seen any. 

And like I knew what the stone looked like. But hadn't actively seen it at the Gem Fair...

It didn't mean it wasn't there as it's a more raw stone and I tend to gloss over those as I prefer the more polished and carved stones. 

But it did seem like it had been a while since I'd seen them at the Gem Fair.

But at this rock shop I found a whole box filled with them.

So of course I had to get a couple for my coworker as they weren't that pricey all things considered and it was something they'd been looking for. 

The other is a stone I've been kinda softly keeping an eye out for but haven't really seen at the Gem Fairs recently either.

And that's Green Goldstone. 

Which as a manmade stone....the manmade stones aren't always as popular at the fairs....

but Goldstone in particular...when it is around...tends to be in its base Orangish Goldstone shade. 

Or occasionally in that purplyblueish stage.

Green Goldstone? Not so much. 

And while the palmstone I was looking at was about twice the price as I thought it should be....I haven't SEEN it at the Gem Fairs recently and I don't know WHEN I'll see it again.

So again, even though I didn't like the price. I did want the stone. So I went through with it and bought the Green Goldstone. 

Because it's one I haven't seen in a while and I wanted it.

So yah.

It's interesting....at what point is the price worth it?

At what point do you go "Yes it's more money than I want to spend but I NEED IT because I don't SEE it." 

I mean the opposite happened at the first store in some ways...where I ended up getting doubles of a couple of stones when I may have only gotten one because the price was half off. So I could get 2 for the price of one really. 

So yah. When do you buy? And when do you hang back?

It was an interesting dilemma for sure today that I face in those two rock shops.

Especially considering that most of my rock shopping has only been at the gem fairs for the past little bit.

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi 

Wind a Blowin

 Gotta say. I'm not really a fan of wind. 

Like I like that it indicates that a storm is most likely on it's way because it's showing that there's a changing of pressure happening. 

But when the wind is blowing rather strongly like whipping the trees around or breaking off branches or shaking the house strongly.

Yah...no. I don't like it.

Like at home we've had gusts of winds strong enough to toss the deck chairs about. 

And I haven't liked dealing with the wind at home either. Though the house feels a bit more secure.

But where I'm currently staying?

The wind kinda has me on edge a bit more....

Because I'm out on the plains.

I'm in an area that has had tornadoes happen in neighboring counties.

So like whenever the wind starts picking up and blowing and shaking the house?

I'm always wondering if there's a tornado gonna come.

Unlikely.

But yah. It feels a bit more unprotected even while indoors when there's just open plains all around.

And while I have been enjoying the rain and watching the clouds zooming by.

I really would much prefer having calm sunny days while I'm out here so I can enjoy the outdoors. 

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Outside Light

It's crazy how the lighting in a place can change how one is feeling when you're inside a home.

Like how sitting with all the windows doors and blinds closed....can make you feel one way.

But then the moment you open up things and let the outside light in....the whole feeling of the house changes.

Maybe it's just me being used to having more natural light shining into my home when I'm home. 

But it was interesting today how a lot of the tension I was feeling eased up a bit once I could see the outside world and get the natural light shining in.

Which does make me wonder about those individuals who live in homes who are like always shut up. Doors always closed. Blinds always closed. No way to see outside. No light coming inside.

It can't be good for the mind.

Like I could feel a difference from just a few hours....I can't quite imagine how people would feel after days or weeks or months or even years....

But then again....everyone is different. People have different tolerances for lights.

Like I tend to like more yellow lights inside my homes because the white lights irritate me.

But I'm sure there's many people where it's opposite.

But yah.

Note to self bring in more natural light. 

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Do You Know That Noise?

 It's interesting the ambient sounds that you become used to when you live in specific areas and how those ambient sounds could mean something completely different depending on where you've lived and where you're visiting or moved to. 

For example. 

I'm currently staying out in the country. 

The city is a long drive away. 

Wide open fields and such.

But it's the sort of country living where you cant take your rifle out back and shoot some rounds for fun because there's nobody living behind you because the neighbors are for the most part so far apart it takes fifteen minutes to walk to the next home. 

Me? Even though I live in surburbia...I don't usually hear gunfire. 

I've wondered before. But it's like.....fireworks? Maybe gunshot? But most often with a college being nearby its mroe than likely fireworks.

Out here? The sounds to me were like "Is someone banging on a metal sheet?" 

And my godparents are like "No, the neighbor's are shooting." and then list off the specific type of weapon they're using.

Which I find impressive that they can tell what type of gun is shot just by the sound. 

Especially because I would have no idea. To me it just sounds like someone working about making loud noise building something. Though knowing I'm out in the country and people use guns to defend against wild animals and such I did wonder if it was gunfire I was hearing.

But like....they also have a neighbor who's recently moved to the country from a city where if you heard gunfire someting REALLY BAD happened. So it took that neighbor and is still taking that neighbor a while to equate the sounds of gunfire to "oh they're just shooting for fun, hitting targets on their land." Or "Probably just killed a varmit.' variety. 

Like it's just so interesting how sounds can affect how you react to an environment, especially when you are constantly around said sound or are rarely around said sound. 

It's never something I considered.

But like it makes sense.

Like there are people who can tell you what kind of car is coming up on you just by the sound of the engine.

And like birders can identify different bird species by their calls even if calls sound similar. 

I know that at work I'm sensitive to when the Fish System turns on and off and I can sometimes hear when water levels in the sumps have gotten too low because they make certain noises. 

So like....

It's just interesting. What sounds we do pay attention to and which ones we don't. 

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi