Dragonwall

Writer, Gamer, Podcaster, Die roller

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💉 The Things People Say When They Find Out I’m a Nurse

I spend my days moving between two worlds — writing stories about connection, and working in a profession built on it. When people find out I’m a nurse, the tone of a conversation shifts. Humor softens into honesty, and strangers share pieces of their lives that feel both familiar and sacred. By Dennis D. Montoya I’ve been a nurse for a long time and a writer even longer. The “nurse” part…

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Day 8: Disembarkation – Back to Seattle

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Day 7: Victoria – A Perfect Finale

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Day 6: At Sea – Music, Food & Stars

Eric nudged me before the tasting even started, already grinning.“I’m sending this to Spaulding,” he said, holding up his phone like proof we’d somehow made it here. Scott just laughed, leaning back like he’d been waiting for this moment all week. And that’s the thing about this trip — somewhere along the way, it stopped being about where we were going and started being about who we were there…

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Day 5: Endicott Arm – Dawes Glacier Unveiled

Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2025Location: At Sea → Endicott Arm, Alaska fter several days of open ocean and busy ports, today brought one of the most unforgettable sights of the entire cruise. The ship turned quietly into Endicott Arm — a narrow fjord of ice, cliffs, and waterfalls — leading us toward Dawes Glacier. It felt like sailing into another world of ice and silence. 🌅 Morning: Ice &…

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Day 4: Skagway – Trails, History & High Spirits

Date: Monday, August 18, 2025Location: Skagway → At Sea I expected Skagway to feel like something out of Northern Exposure — a quiet frontier town where a moose might wander past while you’re getting coffee. What I found instead was something far more impressive: staggering views, a roaring waterfall, and a hydroelectric system that quietly powers a town at the edge of the world. 🌅 Morning:…

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Day 3: Juneau – Alaska’s Capital of Wonders

Day 3: Juneau – Alaska’s Capital of Wonders

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Day 2 - The Drunken Sailor Walk

The wind on Deck 15 hit like a jet engine.It nearly blew HP off her feet and almost sent my glasses straight into the North Pacific. That was my introduction to our first full sea day. I thought sea days were going to be quiet and maybe a little isolating, mostly gambling and wandering the ship. It turns out sea days have a personality all their own. Equal parts excitement, exhaustion, and…

Day 2 - The Drunken Sailor Walk

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Day 1 Boarding Day – Setting Sail

Day 1 Boarding Day – Setting Sail

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Day 0 in Seattle:

I didn’t expect the first story of this trip to happen before we ever saw the ocean. Day 0 turned out to be its own little adventure — early alarms, unexpected moments, and the kind of surprises that remind you why travel stories start where they do. This is how our Alaska trip really began. ✈️ Welcome to Our 7-Day Adventure Welcome aboard! Our journey begins with Day 0 travel to Seattle,…

Day 0 in Seattle:

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An Alaska Cruise, a Snakeskin Hat, and the Rock Star We Didn’t Recognize

by Dennis D. Montoya Travel has a way of quietly undoing assumptions.You think you know what you’re signing up for — scenery, routine, a few good stories — until something unexpected leans on the bar beside you. This is one of those stories. You don’t expect to spot a rock star on a regular Alaska sailing. We weren’t on “Rock Legends at Sea”—just a classic Royal Caribbean run on Anthem of the…

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The Resting Irritated Face

By Dennis D. Montoya I caught my reflection mid-thought the other day — jaw tight, eyebrows furrowed, eyes narrowed like I was interrogating my own mirror. Classic resting-bitch face.The truth? I was just trying to remember the word metaphor. I’ve been told I look angry when I think. Not passionate or focused — angry. I blame the eyebrows. They’re thick, serious things. If left untrimmed, they…

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Pedal Optional: The Rise of the Electric “Bike”

Hitting the Trail E-bikes are everywhere — sleek, silent, and oddly mesmerizing. But are they redefining cycling or just giving us an easier way to skip leg day?Dennis takes a lighthearted look at the e-bike craze — and his own surprising ride through Victoria, Canada. My drive to work takes about fifteen minutes. I start the car, let it warm for five, and cruise across town at thirty-five…

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For centuries, faith and science walked hand in hand—monks brewed beer with chemist’s precision, sisters tended hospitals, and a friar named Mendel mapped the laws of heredity in a monastery garden. This isn’t an essay about religion; it’s about curiosity—and how the old light of learning still burns in modern science, waiting for someone brave enough to strike the match.

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🪶 People by Number

By Dennis D. Montoya I was walking through Costco when I saw someone from my past — not a close friend, just a familiar face from another chapter. Three or five years ago, maybe, since we’d last crossed paths. I did the classic move: looked the other way, pretended the rotisserie chickens held the answers to life’s greatest mysteries. But the universe has a sense of humor, and I bumped into them…

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⚔️ Chronicles of the Workweek

A campaign of coffee, chaos, and camaraderie. Prelude to the CampaignEvery friendship has its rituals. Ours started as a few morning group texts — part banter, part morale check — and somehow evolved into a week-long fantasy epic. Coffee became our potion of courage, and Wordle our daily skirmish. What follows is a record of that accidental legend: one workweek, six friends, and far too much…

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Autumn Update: The Work Between the Lines

I’ve always believed the real work of writing happens quietly — in the revisions no one sees, in the long stretches between inspiration and completion. Lately, my days have been full of that kind of work. I’m deep into the next phase of The Witch’s Mandate, carefully moving through my editor’s notes and finding new layers in every chapter. The process reminds me how much a story changes once you…

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