A letter to a friend

Hallie,

I’m currently working at Sleeping Frog Farms which is in Cascabel, Arizona. If you don’t feel like plugging that into google maps it’s a little over an hour drive east of Tucson, Arizona. I’m three hours from Phoenix, six from Albuquerque, New Mexico, five to El Paso, Texas. Also, it’s half an hour to the nearest phone reception, gas, or NPR station, what with being in the middle of a desert and all.

The desert is beautiful, Hallie. I’m still running every day that I can and for my run I go uphill for anywhere between one and a half and two miles and then when I turn around and go downhill and when I go downhill I’m running straight into the sunset. Like, a stupid pretty, I-don’t-believe-this-shit is real pretty. When I run, I leave my hair down and the wind whips through my hair and I feel like a fucking dessert princess. But picture mountains in the dessert you’re imagining. And a huge sky. And the stars, when the night comes. The stars are everything you’ve ever read about stars, They’re everything you read stars should be. 

I’ve been working my ass off In the daytime, running, cooking and cleaning for myself and climbing into bed exhausted every night. I love farming and my coworkers are all really cool (side note: I’ve yet to meet anyone who chooses to give their lives to the sustainable one åresponsible creation of food who is an asshole. but it’s an exhaustion job. I barely even make enough money and have barely enough energy to go dancing in Tucson on the weekends. I’ve been leaning swing and blues dancing—both are so much fun. Both have a lot of attractive, hippie queer young people. I wish I lived closer to Tucson because there’s dancing every single night of the week. Cascabel is too far away from Tucson to justify going in on a week day but I’m dancing on the weekends every chance I get.

I feel good and I look good (I’m tanned and ripped) and I think I could be happy for a while here. And of course I miss you. When do you leave for Taipei (is it Taipei?)? You must be excited! I’d love to call/skype before you leave. Weekends are the best time for me, Sunday of this weekend is preferable to Saturday. Happy december and good luck on whatever round of tests happen in your life next,

So much love,

Monya