roughin’ it up

I mentioned in passing that I promised a date to one of the fighters at the competition last month, and I’m not one to go back on my word, so we made plans to hang out while he was back for Thanksgiving! He asked me what kind of activities and/or food I wanted to do/get so he could think up something special. I figured livening up my life with a bunch of stuff I’d never done couldn’t hurt, so I suggested going shooting (I’ve gone to a shooting range once in my life, but I’ve never fired a rifle before :O ) and going out on his 4 wheeler because that sounded rather intriguing. (I had no idea what a 4 wheeler was. ._.) :O He lent me a ginormous jacket, coveralls and gloves since I really only have just one warm jacket that gets me through the winters here and was somewhat hesitant about possibly murdering it.

I can probably officially say now that I’ve shown up to a date (of sorts) in clothes covered in mud (and possibly also dog poop).

What can I say? I’m awesome.

Kidding. But in my defense, it was because Mike and I went to the dog shelter the day before to take the dogs out on runs and I figured I’d wear the same clothes since I’d probably be getting all muddy anyway. And really, he’s already seen me parading around in a bikini. C’mon now. We bumped into his cousin along the way and he told us his wife was out tracking a deer, so he gave us a vest, which he put on me so the chances of me accidentally getting shot would somewhat decrease. (Whatta nice soul. :O )

I’ve since discovered that 4 wheelers are a type of ATV and holy effing crud, they are a ton of fun! :O! He used to race with em’, so that’s probably why we’re still alive and everything, despite blowing through the snowy countryside hills the way we did. I’m very glad that I didn’t fall off. I think that summer I spent taking horseback riding lessons and my rolling sessions with Dan and Mike definitely came into use there. It was super pretty out there (he says it’s even more beautiful in the summer, but hooray for seasons?). I will admit that it definitely made me enjoy the snow more. I wish I’d taken more pictures (when we were stopped, of course), but sometimes you just gotta enjoy/live in the moment! He also told me that his parents hold horseback riding workshops/lessons. Where was all of this during my childhood?! (Oh right. I lived in the suburbs. Although said suburbs = 4x more people than the biggest city here. It all makes sense now.)

It’s probably a little hard to tell, but there are a bunch of targets set up (with distances marked) off in the distance.

I actually hit the targets! :D To be fair though, it’s probably a little difficult to miss if you’re using the sights properly.

Still alive with intact limbs and all! Graininess because I resorted to using the front camera. I am not well-versed in camwhoring.

I sometimes wish I’d been raised on a farm. I feel like I have absolutely no practical knowledge or streets-smarts, and I don’t really consider myself to be very book-smart either (I just work really hard), so holy crud, there’s gotta be something. :O Would’ve been cool, but as it is, maybe I’ll just make a list of things I want to do before I leave WV.

In other news, my blanket fort (aka piles of blankets on the floor of my study room with the space heater aimed at said pile) has returned because it’s cold as shit over here.

Say hello to my best friend, the space heater!