Appreciating Interest, now in Leathercraft!
Opening Week: 2025
This week I spent about 6 hours hand stitching a belt. Using a saddle stitch gave me some needed practice on this skill, but next time, I would set up the sewing machine instead. Belts, if you are interested, can be shipped at cost.
I also started using my bench grinder. This was a present from my parents, which has a bit of a learning curve, but I’m figuring it out.
The next big project will be a briefcase or satchel bag. I am going to expand my range a bit, while also working on some more bag tags/keychains.
From a business perspective, I will be focusing on establishing Appreciating Interest as a legal entity and documenting it here for you to follow along! Thanks for the support!
The Green Mustang Lives…?
The Ford convertible has been sitting for a while, but new parts have arrived! Will this car be ready for Summer?
New Year, Same Goals
I have always wanted to align my thoughts in an organized way. In December, I bought myself a laptop and I have used it almost every day since. The main part is to use it with intention. I have several goals, which I’ll discuss throughout these updates.
Day Five Travel: End of the Line
Dear reader, this will be the final installment of our current five part travel series. It has been so much fun taking planes, boats, trains, and automobiles. I am going to celebrate the conclusion of this trip with my birthday, which will include a nice long nap.
Already, writing is coming more naturally as a free expression of thought. I have hopes this will translate to clearer communication throughout all aspects of my life. One example is that while I am unable to connect to my website, I am typing this entry on my phone notes.
Enough rambling!
Sleep was not amazing, as one might expect, being on coach seats and all, but the sun started to rise when we were in Washington. At Spokane, our train split (don’t ask me how, I didn’t see it, but it sounds super cool); half the train left destined for Seattle, while our half of the train headed on toward Portland.
While we marched along the Columbia River, the landscape on either side morphed from slightly hilly, dry, and tree-less into the deep green forested Cascades. The sky was overcast, and I spent a long time trying to find a word for when two rivers of slightly different colors meet and show a clear distinction before fully mixing further downstream (the word is Confluence, if you were wondering). I noticed a confluence on the Columbia so that’s what sprung the idea.
We trekked further along the tracks, the man from dinner last night passed by several times in the morning to chat with his friends he had apparently made on the very same walks back and forth. What a character.
Portland, the Last Layover
As the landscape reached the peak of how I imagined Portland, a grey, wet, rustic city with some fantastic murals and architecture, along with lush green growing everywhere there was dirt to grow in.
After disembarking the train, I immediately went to check the larger baggage to free up our hands for walking around. Tony and I decided to head to the Deschutes Brewing Company for lunch. Pretty good beer (I had the Nitro Stout) and the food was solid (spicy mango shrimp salad).
Powell’s
With a few hours to go, we decided to check out Powell’s city of books, maybe two blocks up the street. To say that this place is a bookstore doesn’t do it any justice. The size of an entire city block, with 3+ floors of bookshelves, Powell’s is a treasure. I was overwhelmed for sure, not to mention I had my backpack, guitar, and wheeled bag with me, so I felt a bit in the way, but my curiosity took hold.
We walked through each section, before settling a bit on the top floor, the quietest, but also the most fascinating for me. It had books on art and old typewriters for sale, but it also housed the rare book collection. Of course I went in (I had to wait for a pass though). Nothing really caught my eye, except for a $100 dollar book on making your own cheap race car, and a few 10 cent comics that were priced a few pennies over cover price. I didn’t buy either of those things, but I did get a DIY vintage map kit, so I can make my own map with that old look to it.
After Powell’s we headed back to the station, got in line and boarded for home.
After a few hours on the train, we went to the cafe to get some food for dinner. We ate our microwaved Stromboli’s and drank our stone ipa, telling long, drawn out jokes with no punchline and thinking about how we would format our podcast, given the parameters of comedy. When that happens, I’ll make sure you all know where to listen.
After dinner, back in our seats, the train pulled us closer and closer to home.
In Closing
I began writing this late at night as I got ready to drift off to sleep for a few hours on the train, and while writing, I turned 27. The first person to wish me happy birthday was my loving fiancée, Ysabelle.
It made it all that much sweeter to see her when we arrived in Martinez. Once we had the bags packed into the car, we decided to stop at the Farmer’s market for a spell and maybe some bread. Not too long after, I had to sleep. I asked Ysabelle to take us home.
I greeted our cats and then I hopped on our king-sized bed, adjusted that mattress for comfort and slept well into the afternoon.
Day Four Travel: Tracks
I hardly slept, due to a mixture of emotions, music, and trying (and failing!) many times to write out yesterday’s recap without accidentally deleting my work, or my phone dying. I had bought a charging block from Axe-Man, but I couldn’t find it at all! Around 3 AM, my phone died.
Maybe 3 hours later, I got up to check my bigger luggage for the missing block. Though I was successful, train operators were walking quickly up and down the aisles as the train sat idle, while the lights were on in the cabin. Unrelated, but my phone did not charge at all. The phone would turn on, display that it was charging, ask to unlock, …..and the blank screen of no charge showed. The cheap outlet block was still semi-functional, though the usb port was no longer structurally attached, I believe this caused a weak connection and low power transfer. Shoot…
Breakfast
Around 7 AM, over the loudspeaker, an announcement of breakfast in the dining car called out. Our stomachs must’ve been listening because I did not realize how hungry I was until then.
We made our way up the train, trying not to stumble into sleeping patrons, a harder task to accomplish when someone’s foot is out into the aisle…
Antonio and I were seated for breakfast with a kind, older woman named Bonnie. Bonnie was from Rice, MN and was traveling west to see her son. She had just spent some time with her 82 year old mother on their ranch, and she shared some pictures of her mom on her 25 year old horse. Honestly, that life is my dream, I’m sure I’ve told you about it before, but if not, I’m sure I will in the future. After stopping in Devil’s Lake, ND, we returned to our seats to go back to sleep.
In-Between Hours
The rest of our train ride was mostly spent looking out the window as North Dakota and then Montana rolled by. We would pass miles of empty prairie and then stumble upon what seemed like a big town, where we would stop for a few minutes, the local kids watching the trains outside the windows would wave, and we’d move on. Being a Friday night, every once in a while an illuminated football field would appear and disappear into the darkness.
With a few bars of service, I watched the Twins play the Angels. We were up by a few runs until we got to the Rocky Mountains. Unfortunately for us, it was pitch black outside so we didn’t get to see anything in the entire region. Also, annoying for me that it was the 7th inning of a potential division-clinching matchup, and I’d be unable to watch them secure their pennant. Boo hoo.
In any case, it was dinner, and Antonio had made a reservation for us in the dining car. This time, we were seated with an older couple but they were something else. The woman had recently moved from Saint Paul to Park Rapids where she bought a house with an ugly tree in the backyard. This woman had been ready to live the rest of her life single, but the man who cut said ugly tree came back to her house to ask her out. And to quote, “You’re never too old to live happily in sin”.
Her partner hadn’t been there for her retelling, but when he did, their dynamic reminded me of my own partnership- a goofy guy who is joking constantly, and a logical, smart woman who pretends to be annoyed by the constant humor, but they clearly care for each other.
After dinner, we returned to our seats, this time with internet connection. I watched the replay of my twins getting the final out, securing a postseason berth as the higher seed for their initial playoff matchup. Yay!
Shortly after, I drifted off to sleep, though my dreams kept waking me up. For example, I had a dream we were gonna get kicked off the train one stop before our transfer due to two “hidden” warnings that we had. That sucked. Luckily it was a dream but it threw me off big time!
Day Three Travel: The Minnesota Goodbye
Well… I’m sad. It’s time to leave my home state once again, and it feels far too soon. Gather round, my fine feathered friends, as I tell you the tale of my Minnesota Goodbye.
The Mall
This morning I was woken up to the lovely sounds of “Happy Birthday” sung by the best available singers of the time. It was fantastic and I felt so much love that I promptly fell back asleep soon after the finale.
After waking up again, I went downstairs to face the day. Antonio was already up, so after a bit of breakfast, we decided to go to the Mall of America so that he could see MOA in all its grandeur, mid-week and uncrowded. We certainly got what we wished for! There was hardly anyone there, tens of thousands, I’m sure, but in such a large space, it felt empty.
At the mall we visited several stores:
Zumiez for a Donut Racing hat
The Crayola Experience store for a gift to my fiancée
The Lego Displays
A fishing store that caught my eye
And at the end, Starbucks, since walking around all day (again) took a lot out of us
On Returning
On the drive back, I took Antonio around Minneapolis, through the parkways and by the lakes Harriet & Bde Maka Ska as I showed him my first childhood home.
Along our journey, we passed by the George Floyd Memorial outside of Union (formerly Cup) Foods. It was a somber place, a tangible air of history. Names lined the street in front of the store, and a sign on either end of the block declared “The Free State of George Floyd”. No matter your perspective on what transpired there, this was a moving place.
Lingering Activities
After returning from the Mall of America, my mom took me and Antonio to Best Buy for my birthday gift. It seemed that Best Buy really outdid themselves. The locks on their displays are now all electronic, and not a single person of 5 had a card that worked. Unpromising beeps signaled that nobody had a successful card, yet attempt after attempt without trying anything differently! To make matters worse, we could hear the same sad beeps one aisle over.
In the end, the case was never opened, destined to tantalize onlookers without the possibility of releasing its captive product within. In fact, the situation was resolved when Antonio saw a secondary lockbox with the headphones in the Navy color I preferred. By some luck, one card opened the case on one attempt. I left a very happy customer with a fun story about a time when technology went too far for those tasked with managing it.
After our fun time at Best Buy, I decided we should check out Sierra, a company under the TJ Maxx family, with a focus on outdoor products, so basically my ideal of a shopping adventure. I found my holy grail of clothes, gray Carhartt overalls, and what’s more, they were half the price of the ones I saw in the Carhartt store at MOA. They were stamped “irregular” - a perfect fit for me! I would say those are my gift to myself, but if you read yesterday’s post, I’ve been treating myself to F1 cards and Harley Comics already, oh well, you only turn 27 once (probably).
Sending Off
After we got home, my dad had finished the ribs my mom prepared earlier. Delicious. My aunt Ann also happened to stop by, joining for dinner before her dance class, that was a nice surprise.
As dinner wrapped up, Antonio and I brought our luggage downstairs, where we let my mom unpack and rearrange everything much more efficiently. As time ticked on, we played board games, sang songs, and worked on a crossword together.
In these small moments, with my mom and dad looking over an iPad, solving the Dictionary.com crossword of the day as “I’m in a Hurry (And Don’t Know Why)” played in the background formed a core memory as a wave of sadness overtook me. Sure, I wish my sister and brother could’ve been there to complete the scene. Next time, I’ll work harder to make that a reality, and I’m going to do better to remember to record these moments for posterity.
It was soon after that my mom actually read the Amtrak policy, noting that we needed to be about an hour or so early to the station to our 11:13 PM train, the only problem is that it was already 10, so we decided there wasn’t going to be a better time to leave. I said my goodbye to my brother, grabbed my shoes from the dryer, and brought the luggage out the car.
Travel Begins
The drive to the station was uneventful until we crossed the Mississippi. A strange bout of road rage occurred right in front of us as a silver sedan (driving recklessly around traffic) was trying to pass an orange SUV. The sedan, behind the SUV, turned their lights on to pass on the right. As Sedan begin changing lanes, SUV, behind a third car, turned on his indicator lights, but did not begin changing lanes.
Turning Point
THIS WAS THE MOMENT, Y’ALL! Sedan swerved back into the lane behind SUV and began flashing her high beams at SUV, who took the opportunity to go through the open lane. But the twist you weren’t expecting is that after orange went through, he merged one more lane over, and when Sedan drove through quickly after, the road rage took over and SUV chased this Sedan down the highway, following behind closely and flashing his high beams at her. As they swerved away, we thought it was the end, but nope!
They must’ve slowed down behind us at some point, because from behind, Sedan drives around our car and then cuts in front of us. I think she’s mistaken us from her pursuant, but here comes SUV, still driving after her. We had to get off the highway at that time, as it was our exit, but we were nearly run off the road by careless people in giant metal boxes…
FINDING THE Train StatIon
Every road leading to the station was closed under construction, and the signage was absolutely unhelpful. After some maneuvering, we got to the drop off area! Which was closed… So we drove out to the nighttime entrance across the street, got the bags out, and I said my goodbyes to the two most important people in my upbringing.
We grabbed the bags and boxes, walked to the door, and were let in by a security guard who asked where Antonio got his (Oakland A’s) jacket. When Antonio answered, “Oakland” there was a tangible humorous awkward feeling that seemed to be shared by every bystander in the station! I think everyone took it positively, it just was funny to me.
Waiting in line
Carrying a box with of trading cards and a guitar amp and a rugby bag with the guitar stand, old cameras and my treasured overalls, this weight got weighty. We got upstairs and immediately got lost in the station. As soon as we retraced our steps, we found a hallway I didn’t notice the first time. We joined the line of passengers waiting to get on. When I asked the attendant about checking the 1.5 ton weight I had decided to impose upon myself, he held a professionally repressed smile, I got the message, we missed that boat by an hour or so.
Train wars of the 1950’s
While waiting in line with my weight, I noticed an art installation high up on the wall, which looked like a colorful ballista. I decided to run with the idea.
They’re relics from the great train wars of the 1950’s, when opposing train companies were in fierce competition with each other over total rail dominance. They built parallel tracks across main streets throughout the Midwest. On each train, multiple marksmen were placed to take aim at the rival train and their stations. The station-mounted ballista was a counter-measure to these brutal battle trains. The craziest part is that there was only one rail-laying company, so this company was rolling in dough and on great terms with both of this companies. This was due to one owner owning both of these train companies…
“Nah,” Antonio commented “that’s a lie” (I should point out that Antonio knew this history was fabricated from the beginning). We got a laugh out of it, and I think the guy in front of us thought it was a pretty funny yarn we were spinning, as he kept looking back at us and smiling. I’m glad someone else found it funny!
As we boarded the train (naturally we were in the car at the far end, adding some more reps to my new luggage exercise program), we had to go up a tight spiral staircase that was too narrow for the Chipotle catering box I was carrying. While I was doing my best to avoid dropping the heavy load, I had to yank the box on end and carry it in front of me.
We finally got out of the stairwell and into our reclining seats. It was a few minutes later while listening to music that I was hit with a much stronger wave of sadness to be leaving my loving family once again. It was a wonderful time in my home state and I cannot wait to make it back again soon.
Day Two Travel: MN Livin’
Welcome back, dear reader, as I bring you along for our recap of day two.
Morning: Exploring Hopkins
A solid sleep-in was exactly what I needed to recover from a moderate day of travel. My mom had prepared homemade monkey bread for breakfast, my favorite breakfast treat!
After we ate, Antonio and I got in the car so I could show him around my hometown. We drove down Main Street, saw my old high school, and stopped to shop at some local stores.
First, we went to Ultimate Collectibles, which now sells comics as well as trading cards… uh oh… and as you might’ve guessed, I bought cards and comics. A few Harley Quinn comics and two F1 hobby boxes were money well spent, at least to me.
The other shop we visited is called Axe-Man, a zany little store that is equal parts thrift store, hardware store, and joke shop. I highly recommend checking it out if you can, I was moments away from buying a video camera (it required actual film and a secondary box to actually record, so I passed). Instead, I walked away with a phone charger and sharpening stone, because why not?
After we returned home, my mom took us to LTD Brewing in Hopkins where we sat and took ridiculous photos, drank some nice beer, and even endured some catcalling from some kids on a school bus, which was funny but certainly not what I expected from the day. After our beers, it was time to go, we had plans on…
The Boat
When we got home, my dad was already hooking up the boat trailer to his SUV, so Antonio, my mom, dad, and brother, along with myself, hopped in and headed to Lake Minnetonka.
We boated around, pointing out huge lakeshore mansions, until it was time to head to our reservation at a restaurant on the lake.
To set the scene, those beers had made their way through the system and were ready to be released. Unfortunately for us, many of the docks were taken, so we had to go to the way back in order to find a place to tie up. In my hurry to tie up the boat, I knocked my glasses off, straight into the water. My brother recalled the singular motion in which he saw my glasses fly off and my jump in after them. I remember the instance differently.
I had already imagined this exact situation earlier in the boat ride, but said nothing, for fear that I would speak this horror into existence. As we know now, that image was a premonition, rather than a thought experiment. I successfully retrieved my glasses at the cost of wet clothes and a wet phone still in my pocket.
The dinner more than made up for my spill as I had a lovely breaded walleye with a side of perfectly steamed vegetables and a side of potatoes.
After a quick boat ride back to the launch area, I got to tow the boat back. We played a game of Yahtzee and my brother smoked us. After that, I finished sorting through my F1 cards, played a game of NHL with my brother (which he won, in somewhat questionable circumstances -jk it was all fair), and then headed upstairs to call my fiancée before bed.
Day One Travel: Bay to Vegas to Minnie
What’s up my ride-alongs?! Are you ready to hear about my trip with my good buddy Tony? If not, I’d just wait on this one until you’re sitting down and have had your coffee for the morning.
Bay Area, CA - 7 AM
Wakey, wakey…
After a 7am alarm, I got myself up, showered, and got ready for the day.
We had planned on only needing 1 hour to get from the house to the Oakland airport. We forgot was that schools start around that time (which just feels way to early to learn anything important, but that’s a different conversation). We live by 3 schools, so it took us about 20 minutes to get to the gas station, 1 mile away. I had ordered Starbucks as well, and you can imagine how busy that place can be when it’s within walking distance to a high school.
Naturally all of this lead to stress, by me, that we were gonna miss our flight. Luckily, flying out of Oakland typically means waiting in short lines for ~5 mins, getting us to the gate that much quicker.
Tony and I were the last to board, of course, but we took off with no issues and arrived in…
Las Vegas, NV - Noon
We landed at the airport right about on schedule, with just enough energy and optimism to walk to the strip for lunch and then walk back. Cool idea to discuss; in reality, walking several miles with our backpacks in the desert heat was a one-time event, even with our Fat Tuesday Slushes.
but but but aLeX, how was the rest of your 3.5 hour layover spent, no way you could’ve been walking the whole time!!!
Thanks for asking, random stranger, Tony kept time for us so that we could pace our return. It was about 40 minutes from the terminal doors to the MGM Grand, despite us getting lost in the parking lot on the way out. There was another guy in the same situation as us, looking for a way to the strip from the airport. Poor guy, I hope he’s not still out there.
The Strip
Tony and I stopped at a sports bars in the MGM Grand. My beer came with a free fly in it, but while I was pretty thirsty from our walk, I wasn’t that thirsty. The bartender was apologetic and poured me a fresh one. The food was fine, but my pulled pork was definitely not worth the $18 I spent for it, although everything in that city is expensive.
After lunch, we decided to get the aforementioned Fat Tuesdays (a slush filled with alcohol or cannabis that you can carry around the strip with you.
The last, and coolest, things that I noticed was that the roads all seemed to be under construction.
but but but aLeX why would you like road construction, it inconveniences people and infrastructure?
…Dude, who are you and where are you getting your information? The reason this is road construction is so cool is because it’s for Formula One in Vegas!! Tony and I saw the starting bridge (there were police officers stationed there for the sole purpose of telling people to go around and not under this bridge). The whole grandstand area and medical centers seemed to be almost finished! It all is getting built in front of TopGolf, which would be a great day of golf and racing, if you ask me. I thought it was so cool! I took some pictures, hopefully I can share them with you.
Needless to say, this path to the airport brought us more joy and energy than our outbound excursion, but time was running out for us to make our next flight…
Rushing back to the airport, I learned a valuable lesson about breaking in shoes before needing them to perform over distance-my feet HURT bad. But there was no time to waste as the plane had started boarding before we got back into the refreshing a/c of the Las Vegas Airport.
Fortunately enough, we got to the gate as the last groups were boarding. I bolted into the bathroom to change the shirt I had sweat through in the Vegas sun. As I emerged, Tony was just about the the front of the line. We quickly got scanned in, just before our scheduled departure and…
We waited for an hour on the tarmac as more luggage was boarded on the plane. I feel like I now understand the meaning of “hurry up and wait”. I didn’t really mind it, as I actually fell asleep in my seat, waking up just in time for the safety demonstration. The flight was fairly uneventful, though a new flight steward had a tough time getting ice out of his bucket, splashing me a few times in the process.
As we make our descent to Minneapolis, I am grateful to reflect upon how I got here:
I’ve got a good job that allows me to take time off
I’ve got a family that will receive me and my friend and host us for two nights
I’ve got a really good buddy who could also take off the time to go on this adventure with me
And, most importantly, I’ve got a partner who is willing to cover my household responsibilities while I travel
Touchdown (in) Minnesota - hopefully this is something I get to say often over Football Season, but our 0-2 record thus far is not promising. But I have hope!
Minneapolis, MN - 9 PM
Soon after we landed, I called home to arrange our pickup. After a brief wait, we got in the car for my parents’ house.
Of course my wonderful mother had some treats and food ready for us to enjoy, but soon after eating our full, it was time for bed after this long day of travel.