S&YE235 - The Stella Ru

[00:00:10] Okay, three, two, one. Hi all, this is Emily and you can find me and Stella on Instagram at TheStellaRu. You are listening to episode 235 of the Subie & You podcast. Let's go. That's right. Let's go. Let's go into another episode of the Subie & You podcast. Welcome back to episode 235. And if you've been listening to this podcast from the very beginning, thank you for sticking around.

[00:00:38] If you're new to this podcast, thank you for listening to this episode. And if you like this episode, go check out the other 234 episodes. So it's been cool that this thing's been going on for over five years and I've had that many guests. And I mentioned it on or I mentioned it in the conversation, but she is another guest that I've had on the podcast that I've actually met in person, which is really, really cool.

[00:01:04] I told her to that I haven't counted in a while to see how many people I've actually met in person, but I just counted it up and it's 107 ish. So I think there's a few people in there like where I think that I may have met them, but I'm not 100% sure because I've met so many people. But 107 people that I've had on my podcast is pretty amazing. Of course, some of those were local here to Houston or in the Texas area, not too far from Houston.

[00:01:31] And either that or I travel when I was out of town, actually recorded with them in person and took advantage of actually being there with them. So 107 is a pretty good number. I'm very proud of that. And I think that's really, really cool. All right. There's a pretty big event coming up this weekend. It's August 21st through the 23rd. And that's Overland Expo Mountain West at the Ranch in Loveland, Colorado, Friday, 9 to 5, Saturday, 9 to 5, and then Sunday, 9 to 3.

[00:02:01] So Subaru is going to be there again and it's going to be a great event. If you haven't attended Overland Expo before and you are out in the Colorado area and you want to check it out, go to Overland Expo. Go visit the Subaru booth. Check out the Expo. There's so many vendors there. So if there's something that you've either purchased for your car and you've never met the people that own that brand and you know they're going to be there, it's an opportunity for you to go meet them, say hello, tell them that you love their product, ask them if they have anything new coming out.

[00:02:30] And then it's also a chance to see what other vendors might be doing there or providing for your vehicle. So it's just it's such a cool event to go to. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to Mountain West because I started this new job and I've only been there. I would have only been there for like less than three weeks by the time Mountain West came up. So I wish I could have made it out, but I didn't want to ask for time off already. But I did make it out last year and it was a lot of fun.

[00:03:01] So again, if you have not been, I highly recommend going to check it out. And of course, you've got plenty of time since we're only halfway through August. But next month at the end of September is Boxer Fest. It's Sunday, September 27th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at York Fairgrounds in York, Pennsylvania. So be sure to go check out that event as well. Subia Fest is always a fun event. It's great to go check out what people have done with their cars.

[00:03:26] And again, either hang out with your subie friends or see some people that you haven't seen in a long time. So be sure to get your tickets for both events. It's Overland Expo Mountain West this weekend and Boxer Fest at the end of September next month. Now, you won't be able to get anything in time for Overland Expo, but you have plenty of time to get something for Boxer Fest from SubaruGear.com.

[00:03:51] You can go browse and get a new hat, get a new shirt, get a new backpack, get a new pair of socks. There's all sorts of really cool things that you can get. There's key chains. If you've got a dog, there's stuff for your dogs if you're going to take your dog with you. So just go browse SubaruGear.com. Also check out the new section. And don't sleep on the sales section either because a lot of times what's in the sales section is stuff that's not going to be there anymore once it sells out.

[00:04:19] So if you find something you like and it's on sale, even better, get it now. Get it while it's still there if you see something you like. And you can use the code SUBINU2026 at checkout to get 20% off your purchase. Or if you want to fill up your cart and save 20% off your entire cart, you can do that as well. If your total is over $50 after the 20% discount, you'll automatically get free shipping, which is a really great benefit. So go check it out. Browse the site. Use the code. Save some money.

[00:04:49] And thank you so much Subaru Gear for sponsoring the SUBINU podcast. We really appreciate it. Got a quick little Subaru story. We were at my mom's house on Saturday the 15th because my son's birthday was August 14th. So they wanted to see him. So we went over there and I ended up washing his car for him for like a birthday gift. And when he was getting ready to go like put his mat back in his car, he went to go move his seat and it didn't move.

[00:05:15] And so he was like thinking that maybe or I was thinking that maybe when he was vacuuming under his seat, that maybe he like somehow unplugged it or something. But he was looking. Everything looked fine. Everything was attached. And I said, maybe you blew a fuse. Maybe you blew a fuse. And so he checked the box and sure enough, that's what it was. So we went and got a new fuse. And thankfully, that was it. Easy fix. And his seat works now.

[00:05:41] We are always thankful when it's an easy fix like that because I think the fuse was like $799 or something like that. But yeah, it is, you know, sometimes you have these little things happen and you think, oh no, what's going on? But then if you just kind of do some research and check it out, hopefully it's not a difficult fix or an inexpensive fix. And thankfully, this one wasn't. Another easy fix was topping off his oil. Because it's a Subaru, it burns oil because it has over 220,000 miles.

[00:06:11] I'm sure that has something to do with the two. But I also think he has a small leak, which we need to get fixed. But when we took off his engine bay cap for the oil, it is a Melee Design Firm red wrinkle cap, which means that it has some texture to it. And it looks really, really good. And that is a really great way to enhance the look of your engine or just change out some normal components with something really cool. So you can go to Melee Design Firm, type in engine bay cap, find the one for your vehicle.

[00:06:39] And you can get either the oil or all of them. But you can also use the code SUBIANU to get 10% off your purchase on almost anything site-wide. But go check out MeleeDesignFirm.com and save a little bit of money on your shopping there. That's it for all of that. So now we'll get into this episode with Emily and hear about her Crosstrek and her Subaru journey and all the other stuff that she has going on. So let's get into that.

[00:07:15] Let's go. Hey, let's go. How's it going? Good. Life's good. Yeah, that's good. I'm excited because you are another person on my list that I'm recording an episode with that I've met in person. Yay! Yes, I love it. Yeah. I need to count them up again, but I'm up over 100 now for sure of people that I've met in person that I've recorded an episode with. Oh, that's incredible. We got to do a reunion. Yeah, yeah.

[00:07:46] Yeah, I know. It was cool to meet you at Overland Expo PNW. That was a nice event. Everybody was out there camping out at Camp Subaru, or no, Subaru Base Camp. And yeah, it was a nice setup and a lot of cool stuff, a lot of cool people. So I'm excited to chat with you. Yeah. Yeah, it was. Those were good times. I loved it out there. Yeah. So of course I have to ask you the most important question. And I don't remember if I asked you there.

[00:08:16] I may have, but I've asked it so many times to so many people I don't remember. You know, of course, every episode I ask the question, but if there's like an event or something, I don't remember if I asked every person. But do you prefer waffles or pancakes? I'm team waffles all the way. Pancakes are just too, like, they don't give me the texture journey that my mouth needs. That's the first time I've heard that.

[00:08:47] They're just too black. They're too vanilla for me. I need waffles. Okay. That is a great description of waffles. Okay. I can, I totally can give you that. A hundred percent. That was great. Yeah. I don't know. I mean, I like them both. I, there's a lot of uses for waffles besides just eating them as a, you know, a breakfast staple. But I just like pancakes a little bit better.

[00:09:12] I guess you could use two pieces of pancake to turn like a breakfast sandwich. I could see that. I, well. Add some crunch in there with like bacon. I could see it. I could get on board with that maybe, but I'd still choose waffles. Well, see, McDonald's makes the McGriddle. And, you know, it's like super nasty because it's McDonald's. But, but it tastes so good. And I've, I keep meaning to try and replicate that at home. And I just keep forgetting. But I'm going to have to give it a try sometime.

[00:09:42] And yeah, I think that would be good. But yeah, good description of the waffle. All right. So we're, we're obviously here to talk about Subaru stuff, but like where did your interest in Subaru come from in the first place? I wouldn't say it's like an interest in Subaru. It was like the timing where I was building my own adventure vehicle. And Subaru was on that list.

[00:10:07] Um, I felt like I had to do like a Tacoma or a 4Runner. And then I was like, I don't want that giant of a thing. Um, that was a really big vehicle for me. Yeah. And really expensive modifications. And I started looking at like the RAV4. And then I was like, wait, what about this Crosstrek thing? And by and large, like I had a whole chart. Yeah. I was like, I had this whole chart going of comparing. And I was like, I really like the Subaru, this like Crosstrek. I'm like, hmm.

[00:10:35] And then when I sat in my car for the first time, I was like, this is my sole car. Yeah. This is it. Like no questions asked. Yeah. And then from there, it snowballed of like, I've now learned so much about Subaru. I know so much about Subaru. And yeah. So did you. It's kind of a bit of an obsession. Just a little. Did you know much about or much of anything about Subaru before you bought it?

[00:11:01] Or were you, or is it just like been since you've owned it that now, you know, a lot and you didn't really know anything before? I mean, I knew I really liked the like hatchback WRXs. Yeah. Oh my God. Oh my gosh. I love them so much. And then when you do like a really obnoxious, colorful wrap on them with the best thing ever. So I knew like aesthetically, I was like, oh, I like that car. But I don't think like at the time I didn't realize, oh, that is the same brand as this

[00:11:31] car that I'm looking at. Yeah. Because obviously they've changed so much in terms of design over the years that to some degree they're unrecognizable depending on the years you look at. So yeah, I didn't know much. And then I slowly learned a lot. I knew because I grew up in San Diego and that's where I bought my car. And so San Diego Suis is a huge group down there.

[00:11:54] So I did know that there was like a big group of Subaru community, but I didn't know much about it. Like kind of outsider looking in knowing it existed. Yeah. So you knew about that before you bought your Crosstrek, you're saying? Mm-hmm. Just a little bits and pieces. But again, didn't connect all the pieces. So like, oh, this is like a whole different world. Oh yeah. You know, like I didn't connect all of that beforehand. Uh, so you said that you were thinking about an adventure vehicle.

[00:12:24] Were you already like adventuring with something or it was just like an idea that you had and it's like, I want to start adventuring, but I need something to do that with. Yeah. I had previous access to an adventure vehicle that I then lost access to, you know? Yeah. Breakups happen. Yeah. Um, and so that was really the catalyst for me being like, well, I don't want to lose that aspect that I love doing.

[00:12:52] And conveniently the car that I had at the time was like, I'm going to do something really crazy and make you want to get a new car anyways. So the universe is just going to make this happen faster. Um, and I was like, what do I want for my adventure vehicle? And so that's what started the whole process. So were you looking at, was the Crosstrek the only one you were looking at? Because, you know, you said that like with the Tacoma and other vehicles, like the mods

[00:13:20] were really expensive, but like with Subaru, you know, the mods don't have to be super expensive just because you get a little bit more expensive car was, so was the Crosstrek the only one on your radar or were you looking at like a Forester or maybe even an Outback? Um, Outback was too big for me. Ascent was too big. And then Forester, I liked them, but I just sat in the Crosstrek and knew, like as soon as I drove that car, I was like, I know this is, this is the one.

[00:13:50] It was like, checked all the boxes and it just felt right. And so I went with the feeling. And did you buy it new? Mm-hmm. Very new. Okay. What year is it? Yeah. She's a 21. Okay. And a premium? Limited. Oh, limited. Okay. Yeah. Mine's a 21 also, but it's a base model and it's a manual. Yeah, no, I'm not a manic. My brain does not function with a manual very well. Yeah.

[00:14:18] So I, I remember when I was out there, I think it was when we were going to the cave. I mean, that may have been when I first noticed your car and I was like, oh my gosh, whose is that? Because that is like one of the coolest, most awesome looking Crosstrek's I've seen. Because it's like, you haven't done a whole lot to it, but just the stance. And it's like, it's kind of plain looking as far as like, you don't have, like I said, you don't have a whole bunch of stuff on it, but it just looks so good.

[00:14:48] And I was like, whose is that? I got to find out. And yeah, because it definitely caught my attention. Thank you. You're welcome. Yeah, I'm very proud of her. So when you, okay, you said you were wanting to get an adventure vehicle, so you got the Crosstrek, but did you know about doing like off-road modifications because of like your previous experience of going and adventuring?

[00:15:14] And then were you already like planning to mod your Crosstrek? Like, did you already have a list or did that come later? Yeah. So I knew about off-road modifications because I'd be out in the desert pretty often. And obviously you see a lot of heavily modified vehicles out there. And with the Crosstrek, I was like, I know I want to do stuff. The plan exactly I didn't have written out. I just, I knew I was going to modify.

[00:15:44] And so that's when I just dove into Instagram and just started like doing all this research and seeing like what I could do. Because I mean, coming from like a Toyota world, it's like Leaf Springs and all that stuff. I'm like, oh, that I don't have that for a Crosstrek. So I needed to figure out what was the equivalent to that in Crosstrek world. But yeah, I definitely started doing my research like right after I purchased and knew I was going to modify. How far I was going to take it was TBD. But yeah, it was going to happen.

[00:16:15] So when you started doing your research and looking at like other Crosstreks and what was available, did you see something where you were like, oh my gosh, that is so cool and I have to have that? Oh my gosh, I saw so many things. Yeah, it kind of goes that way. So many. I, oh my gosh. So I wasn't sure like wheels, tires, all that. I was like, everybody has methods. I don't want to do that. But what is my alternative? So I wanted to like figure out what's my alternative.

[00:16:43] And then I used to call it like the marshmallow look when there was like a heavy sidewall, like almost feeling like it's eating the wheel. Yeah. I was like, I don't want the marshmallow look. But what does that mean? And like, what constitutes that? How do you get that look between your wheel tire combination? And then how am I going to fit a full size spare? Like, what am I going to do with that? So researching that and like, yeah, just it snowballed. There was probably so many pages that I saved in screenshots.

[00:17:12] And like, I don't even think I created like an inspo list necessarily. But I just dove headfirst into research. And I just listened to my friends who modified their vehicles. They're like forerunners give me advice on products that I was looking at. So when I just started choosing things. When did you start getting connected with the Subaru community, like the off-road Subaru community, especially like cross other cross-trek owners?

[00:17:39] Because, you know, those are going to be probably the best people to help you figure out what you need for your car. Because of course, it's good to talk to people about just off-roading and what you can do, even if they're in a different platform. But like, when did you start connecting with the Subaru people? Actually, like pretty recently. So I moved to the Pacific Northwest last April.

[00:18:05] And I think over the winter was when I actually started connecting with people in the Subaru community. A lot of the stuff I did from my own research and just going with my gut and finding shops that I trusted in San Diego. There's like certain specific Subaru shops that you can go to. Nice. But yeah, so kind of recently.

[00:18:30] And then it just like full force launched into the Subaru world. Yeah. So, yeah. So when, what was your first mod? Whenever you, and then like, so how long did you have your car before you did your first mod? And then what was your first mod? Okay. So I got her in September of 2021. Her gotcha day is coming up. Oh, yeah. So is mine. Yeah. What, what date? The 27th. Oh, okay. I got mine.

[00:18:59] I got mine September 17th, but of 2020. Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah. We'll have to celebrate. Let's see. My first mod. So September, I want to say my first mod actually, I've got a ceramic coat for my car, like a full professional ceramic coat because I had learned like the paint jobs on Subras are not like the best. And I was like, well, I'm an off road and probably pinstriper. So I should probably have some kind of barrier. Um, so I did that by February.

[00:19:29] I was like, I would consider like my first modification. And then from there, I think by summer I did wheels and tires. And then Black Friday, I started buying other things like a roof rack. That's when I bought my, um, first set of coilovers and I tried to like budget as much as possible. And so I'd buy stuff while it was on sale. Um, and then I got those. That's always a good idea. The following year. Yeah. So what all have you done to it so far?

[00:19:59] Uh, okay. So first iteration was I did 16 inch wheels cause I didn't want the marshmallow looks. I did my Teggies. Um, and one 39s and they're similar to the, uh, methods, but a little bit different. And then I did like toy open country tires cause I had experience with them. Um, yeah. And I liked them. They were fine for what I needed. Um, and then I did flat out suspension and I loved, I still have those in my garage.

[00:20:29] I need to send them in for a rebuild cause I still love them so much. Um, and then I did a prinzy roof rack and then a rigged tire carrier in the back. That was like my first big build, I guess. And that worked for me in Southern California. And then when I moved up to Washington last year, things accelerated quickly.

[00:20:52] Um, um, I ended up having to change some, my control arms, which then snowballed into like, well, you could change your coil overs. And so that's when I ended up doing race works. Nilsing got me into race works. So that's my next like growing step into this world. Um, and then I changed my wheels cause I wanted more sidewall. I wanted that marshmallow look. I evolved. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:21:21] I started, I started off with that in the beginning. I got 15 inch wheels because only because I kept hearing people say like, when you go off road, you want to have more sidewall so that when you air down, you know, you're going to have more tire and more cushion and everything. And so that's just, that's what I did. And, uh, but yeah, I get it. Yeah. Yeah. So now she's a bit of a marshmallow look, but I like it now. So I don't know. You can evolve. It's okay. Oh, of course. Yeah. I mean, a lot of people do.

[00:21:51] Yeah. Yeah. So I did that. Now I'm at new wheels. There's a black rhino wheels, the boxer wheels. I've got squishy tires. I couldn't even tell you what the tire numbers are, but they're squishy. Um, but no, I have the Milestar Patagonia tires and I love them so much. That's what I have too. I know. Hey, welcome to the club. Yeah. It was funny walking around at Overland Expo and seeing like so many people with Milestar

[00:22:22] Patagonia. Yeah. It's a little contagious in a good way. Yeah. I love them. I'm like, I'm like, I already asked, do I need to buy a new set before winter? And I got scolded. Like, no, you barely like moved any of the tread. Like the tread is still fine. Like you're good. And I'm like, okay, I just want to make sure I'm doing what's best. Yeah. No, good choice. They're, they're good. Yeah. Yeah. What else do we have? I finally got a front bumper. I wanted a front bumper so bad for so long.

[00:22:52] I popped my bumper so many times. I was like, this thing needs to go, but I was not going to get anything but a tubular style. And thank you, Alex at Snailworks. You need to keep making them because they're amazing. Yeah. I'm going to get a bumper because it's so perfect and beautiful. It looks good. Now I don't biff anything, which is great. Knock on wood. Yeah. No, he did a good job with those. Yeah. They are. It's so beautiful. What else have I done?

[00:23:22] Obviously skid plates. I feel like I have one of every brand. So I have ADF in the front and then primitive in the middle for the transmission. And then Oscar in the back for the diff. That was not intentional, but that's how it came to be. So. Hey, represent all of them, you know. Might as well. Yeah. There's all room. There's room at this table for everyone. And let's see. I switched my roof rack out to Sherpa. I really like the wider stance. It's just like thicker and beefier. Wait, so you have a different rack now, huh?

[00:23:52] Oh, that's right. Yeah. Yeah. I saw it. Yeah. I saw it tagged in one of your things. Yeah. I really like it. So how was that switching out the roof rack from the Prinsu to the Sherpa? Not bad. I was an assistant for that install. So not terrible. Thankfully, we could make it work because like with the Prinsu, obviously you have to

[00:24:20] drill out your factory holes wider to fit the plus nuts. So if you don't have to do that and you're considering, I would say definitely go with Sherpa because it's like you don't have to make it a permanent fixture to your car. Yeah. So, but yeah, it's been great. Knock on wood so far. Like no leaks. Hey. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's really nice. I like the wider stance. It's just thicker. I feel like when I grab it, I'm not going to bend something.

[00:24:45] Like I love the lightness of the Prinsu, but I like the stocky beefiness of the Sherpa rack. And they look good too. Very good. Yeah. Yeah. Oh man. What other things do I have? All the things. You've got some lights on the front. Oh yeah. Yeah. I finally got into the light game. I'm a little bit addicted now and want more. Probably because of Milton and Carrie maybe. Just a little bit.

[00:25:15] But they, oh man, those diode lights are so bright and they're so good. So yes, I have those in the front. And then I finally have ditch lights. I'm so excited. I should have gotten those so long ago. Or chase lights. But ditch lights are next on my list because there's just, her front end needs a little addition. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We got lights, Rallytech, control arms in the back, like all the additional arms that you can imagine. I think it's control. Oh, very nice. Lower control arm, trailing arm, and upper control arm. Yeah.

[00:25:45] All of those. And then last but not least, I think this is the last thing. No. The F44 rear bumper. I'm obsessed. I've had it for like three weeks. Oh. And I feel like it made my car faster. Like she has more power somehow. I don't know how that works. But I feel like she has a little bit more power. But yeah, I absolutely love that thing. You need to post some pictures of that. Because I know you didn't have that. I'm definitely shy about posting.

[00:26:14] No, yeah, that's new. That's the newest thing. And a wolf box too. I guess that's new. Have you done anything to the inside? Let's see. I have like vinyl wrapped parts of it. Like all the silver that's on the inside. I started vinyl wrapping this dark gray, which that was like iridescent rainbow in the sunshine. It's like a half done project. I have a half done project list that I need to get projects fully done on. So that's one of them. But yeah, it's the same.

[00:26:44] Her emblem, the Subaru emblem on the outside is the same wrap as the inside. Very nice. Yeah, nothing really else modified on the inside. I do want to do like pull out the back seats and do like a drawer system and make it convertible for camping if I want to camp inside the car or camp outside. But that's future mod. Because you camped in your – did you camp in your car at Overland Expo? Yeah. Okay.

[00:27:11] So what is your current setup right now for camping? Let's see. I've got – I've got a double X-ped sleeping pad because I like to be a princess. And then a double sleeping bag also. So I just like set that up. It fits perfectly in the car. Like it's from sidewall or tire wall to tire wall. It's perfect. Nice.

[00:27:34] And then in terms of like camp gear, I bring like my chair and then I have one box that literally has all of my camping stuff. Like a cooler for cold food and then like a dry bag for dry goods and then a big water jug. That kind of covers everything. I feel like I'm super minimal with what I bring camping. Hey, as long as it works for you, that's all you need. Yeah. And she's so tall that I just like have everything under the car.

[00:28:05] Yeah. She's tall. And whatever elements. Yeah. That's right. I just – I got to go back to the stance. I mean the lift and everything. It looks – because like to me, like as far as Subarus are concerned, I think a lifted Crosstrek looks the best out of any lifted Subaru. And yours again was just – it caught my – I think it was the lift that caught my attention. Probably. It was because I saw like that it was high and I was like, okay, that's really nice.

[00:28:34] Yeah. I had someone yell out the window one time recently at me. What's your lift? What's the lift? And I'm like, oh, three to four? I don't know. It's somewhere in between there. It's high. It's good. It's funny. Yeah. I thought it was really cute. How is it done off-road with the lift? Oh, amazing. Yeah. I absolutely love it. That's good. Well, at least – I think the tires too help because before I couldn't air down as much. And now like – Yeah. I typically run like 40 PSI.

[00:29:04] But now I can air down to at least 20 if not less depending on the terrain. So it's just incredibly comfortable. Very nice. And I can – I mean, go kind of fast. And it just like – she floats. She floats over things. It's great. It's – yeah. Even like – so I don't have a lift. I just have the stock suspension. But airing down your tires just makes it so much softer going off-road. Yeah.

[00:29:29] And I just like – because like there's a cheeseburger loop up here north of Houston. Mm-hmm. And a lot of it is on pavement. But the fun section that I like to go to is gravel roads. And some of it's not too bad, but some of it's like kind of bigger, rocky gravel. And so you don't – you don't really have to air down. But I like to just – one, because it's like I can air down because I have a compressor so I can air back up.

[00:29:59] Mm-hmm. And so I just – I don't know. That process of it – and I think because I don't go very often, the process of airing down and airing back up is just fun to me because I feel like I'm – even though it's just a gravel road, I feel like I'm truly experiencing the off-road experience, you know? Yeah. And so like airing down to me is just like part of that and, you know, airing back up.

[00:30:25] But yeah, just – I remember we went to Colorado one time too and we found this waterfall. But to get to the waterfall, you had to drive up this really rocky gravel road. It was like big gravel and it was like so bumpy and I was like I can't take this anymore. So I aired down and it was so much better. Yeah. Yeah. It changes everything. Definitely. So where did you come up with the name Stella?

[00:30:56] So I have a tradition, I guess I would call it, is I name all my cars like older lady names, so like Boomer and Beyond names are what I choose. Yeah. And I love alliterations also. So Stella the Subaru. I just – Stella was the name that fit her. Yeah. Yeah. Very nice. Like before that I had Phyllis the purple Honda. That's what I wanted. Like that's the way it worked. But yeah.

[00:31:23] Old lady names plus an alliteration and that is how I come up with all my car names. So like with your – all of your modifications and everything, what would you say has been the most useful? And then which one would you say is your favorite mod? And they can be both in the same. Most useful? I mean, most useful is my front bumper. I mean, it works bumper.

[00:31:47] Because, yeah, I can go over things and like nosedive now and not worry that I'm going to pop something or bust something. I think that one's been like the most useful right now. And then what was your second question? Like least useful? No. What's your – what's the most useful and then what's your favorite? My favorite? Her lift. Yeah. Because that's Dan. It turns heads.

[00:32:17] And yeah, I like it. Yeah, I can agree with that. I can see how that could be your favorite. Yeah. Definitely. I love them. Are there – like when you were getting your mods installed, like did you have friends help you or did you do some of them yourself or did you take them to a shop? All of the above. So my ex and I did a lot of stuff together on the first iteration, like putting in my roof rack.

[00:32:46] That was the longest day ever. Oh, yeah. That takes a long time. I was like dropping the headliner, drilling the holes, and then putting the rack on. And then one of the like holes did not line up. And it was like this could not get any worse. But we did it. So, yeah. A lot of that. And then shops here and there for like kind of maintenance, regular mechanical things that like I wouldn't do, like changing out my differential fluid. I'm like, I know I could figure it out, but do I want to buy all the stuff for it? Not really. I'll just have a shop do it and dispose of those things. Yeah, me too.

[00:33:15] I thought of the same thing because like I needed to change my diff fluid. And then I was like, hmm, I'll just have somebody else do it. And it wasn't that bad, like cost-wise. Because some things are just better to like let them do it. They know what they're doing. They can do it quicker. Yeah. And then I'm like, just look her over and see if you find anything else. Like just tell me. I'll fix it. Like it's fine. Like if you find something. But then, you know, Milton. Oh, Milton. Oh, that guy.

[00:33:41] He does a lot of my, he does most of my modifications. And he also spends a lot of my money willingly. I willingly let him spend my money on more modifications on Stella. So, yeah. Just a mix of all the above. So what do you, are there other things that you still want to get? Like do you have a list of other things that you would still like to get? I need to write a list. It's in my head currently. But yes, there are things.

[00:34:08] So pedal commander or like throttle control will be is on the list. I want to get one too. The tune is on the list. I got to figure out cooling for her oil and her transmission fluid. I've noticed her oil has been a little higher with the beefy tires. Yeah. So figure that out. Obviously more lights because I can't stop now. So ditch lights. And then I want to do rear lights in the bumper from diode.

[00:34:36] That's like the short list right now. And then interior stuff would be like the bigger list. It's like getting their back seats and all that. Yeah. But yeah, that's like a very short list. And then fixing all my half done projects, completing those. Yeah. So if there was like a big mod where money was no object, is there something that you'd be like,

[00:35:01] I would definitely get that if I just had the expendable funds to do it? I mean, okay. So realistically speaking, a torque locker, obvi. Yeah. Have I needed it? No. But do I want it? Yes. Unrealistically. It could get you to some places eventually that maybe you had some struggle with, you know, so it could come in handy for sure. Yes.

[00:35:31] Unrealistically speaking, I've been thinking lately and very inspired by my recent Dunes trip and having Instagram send me reels about trucks jumping in Baja. But what if I turned her into like a Baja trophy truck, but in a cross truck? Like, could I modify her to have the suspension that those trophy trucks have and just like bounce her through the desert?

[00:35:59] That would be my unrealistic money is no object. Anybody could build something for me. Big wish list thing. That would be awesome. Yeah. That would be, that would look really, that would look cool for one. And I think that would be a lot of fun. Yeah. I joke that she's my trophy truck, but I'm like, but what if she was? Yeah. But you don't, the thing is, the thing is like just having that car and loving it the way that you do, it is your trophy trick. You don't need a truck. Oh my God.

[00:36:29] I love it. Trophy trick. There you go. Speaking of trophies, you won an award. So talk about that because I saw that on your Instagram page. You, you posted that. That was cool. So talk about that. Talk about the event and then about winning. Like, how was that all going? I mean, so the event was Vancouver Subaru Club up in Vancouver, Canada. They are super duper active. Very nice.

[00:36:59] They've been active for like 20 years now. Oh, wow. I am a part of their Facebook group. They do like trail runs once a month. They do a Friday meet every Friday up there. So on Sunday was their summer meets. They do an annual summer meet. They had all this cool stuff. Like they had a bunch of Subaru, new Subaru vehicles. One of the dealerships out there sponsored the event. They had food. They had a bouncy house. They had everybody show up.

[00:37:27] They had a rev off, which was so cool. And I guess, and part of it was you could vote for like the best vehicles. Um, I did not expect to win anything. Like I knew they had like awards on the itinerary. So I was like, oh, cool. The club's going to award people in the club. That was my understanding. Yeah. And then I'm sitting there in the chair and they're like, it's a Washington plate. And I was like, oh gosh. And then someone's like, Milton, pay attention. I'm like, oh, okay. It's Milton.

[00:37:56] It's going to be Milton. It's okay. He has a Washington plate. And they're like, there's a banana slug in the window. And I was like, oh man, that's me. That's us. Nice. And then, yeah, they were like, sell everyone best cross track. So yeah, it was so sweet. And made her out of my comfort zone to post that on social media. I'm like, oh, but it's so cool. I'm so proud of her. Yeah. That's, and it's a cool looking trophy too. Yeah. Very cool. I want to get it engraved with her name. That's my plan to get it engraved. Oh, nice. Yeah, you should. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:38:30] Incredible. They were so friendly, so nice. And like, just come hang out with us. Like, let's do fun stuff. And I was like, this is fantastic. I love it. And they're closer to me than Seattle is actually. Like for driving wise, they're closer. It's like, maybe I'll just cross the border a little more often. Well, there you go. Yeah. Yeah. It's fun when you can meet up with really good people. And then especially when you can unexpectedly win an award, a trophy. Yeah.

[00:39:01] Yeah, totally. That is really cool. Yeah. So I saw your post about getting to a beach shot with Stella. So like, where was that? And how satisfying was that? Because it sounds like it was kind of like a little bucket list shot or something, or just something that you really, really wanted to do. Yeah. So that was in Sand Lake, Oregon, Sand Dunes. So that was just like a one day weekend trip.

[00:39:29] Like, how often do you get to drive up on the beach? Like, there's not so many places where you can drive up on the beach. And I think we hit it at the best time too, when the sun was going down. Yeah. Yeah. We were all facing the sunset. And I was like, I want to take a picture of her like in it. I was like, I think I can go over there. And I confirmed with my Subaru advisors that I could drive into that area just fine. And yeah, I just parked her and I was like, oh my gosh, this is so incredible. Like, it was just beautiful. Yeah.

[00:39:59] It's not a free day that you could drive on there. It looks really cool too, because you have not just, you're not just like on the sand, but there's like water there with it too. And so it just makes it look even more epic. Yeah. Very good. Good job. Good job. Yeah. Bucket list that I wasn't like actively trying to check off the list, but somehow it did. Yeah. I'm happy. No, that's very nice. Yeah.

[00:40:24] So like, as far as off-roading goes, obviously you did some off-roading when we went out to Overland Expo PNW, but like, where are some other places that you've gone? Because it looks like you've gone to some nice spots with your few posts that you have on Instagram, but I know it looks like you've had some fun. Yeah. Well, I mean, being from San Diego, a lot of the off-roading out there is out in the desert. So Anza Borrego is a place that I've been quite a few times and Death Valley as well.

[00:40:53] I know it's like six hours north of San Diego, but I absolutely love Death Valley in the winter, not in the summertime. Idyllwild I've been to a couple of times and those trails are really pretty. And then I'm just like working up the West Coast and then up into Washington. I feel like I've been out on the I-90 a couple of times. I go out with Carrie and Milton here and there, but I live kind of far north, so not super often.

[00:41:21] But there's a lot of trails east of me that I want to check out. I want to, there's one on Saturday that I think I'm going to go look at that. It's just like a forest road, but the top half is like switchbacks. I think it's a little dicey. So we'll see. So you're like in northern Washington? Yeah. I'm like 30 minutes from the Canadian border. Okay. Gotcha. North, north. Yeah. But yeah. There's, yeah, there's plenty of exploring to do out there. And yeah.

[00:41:49] So I mentioned Overland Expo PNW a few times, but like, and we talked some there, but like, can you go over like your overall experience? Because we were still there when we talked last time, but now that you've been there and had that experience, like kind of run me through like what it was like for you. And how you even got there? Through what I like to call my internet friends. Yeah.

[00:42:17] So Carrie and Milton had told me about it and had said, okay, fill this out so you can hopefully get in. But yeah, I just did it through them and then just chosen to go, which was great. Um, and I'd been to Overland Expo before I went to Flagstaff before and I'd been to SoCal before. So like, I knew about that side of it, but I didn't know anything about Super Bowl Base Camp. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into.

[00:42:45] I was like, do I bring a tent or can I camp in my car? Like, yeah. Can I leave? Like, whatever. So then I was like, I'll just get in the car. Um, but yeah, I mean, somebody described it as like adult summer camp and it totally was adult summer camp. Oh yeah. That's a really good way to put it. Yeah. With like, but yeah, but you had like kids around that made you laugh because they were just having a grand old time and then like dogs everywhere and just like incredible food.

[00:43:14] And I loved how the picnic tables, like everybody had to sit together. There was no choice. You had to sit with community. It was like forced, but it didn't feel forced to talk to another person. Yeah. Everyone was open to connect. Yeah. And everybody is there driving Subarus and they're there for common reasons. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And like you could see things in person that you, you know, could only look at on the internet, like a certain product or something.

[00:43:41] Um, so that's always nice when you can actually talk to somebody and get real world perspective on something. Definitely. That is the best. Yeah. I, I was like so giddy the entire time. And then even days after I was so, so giddy. Like that is the word to describe the whole emotion for the entire time I was there and both. It was incredible. And I identified as an introvert, but somehow I was a social butterfly and have just continued

[00:44:11] that going forward. Yeah. And we'll see in like, for somebody like you, that is, you know, the way you just described yourself. And like, for me, I'm very shy in person and I'm very much the person who is going to be in an event and kind of just hang off, hang out on the sidelines, you know, and just watch other people and not really introduce myself and go talk to people except for the people that I already know.

[00:44:38] But those kinds of events, like you said, it's like, you're not really forced to talk to people, but you're just put in the situation, like the perfect situation to be able to talk to people. Because if it was any other type of social event where just random people from random places and things or whatever, it would be a lot harder to interact. But when you're all there, you all own Subarus, you were invited by Subaru of America, you have

[00:45:07] some sort of camping set up, you have some kind of Subaru story, you have modifications. There's just so much to talk about. So it makes it a lot easier to be like, hey, I'm going to open up and start talking to people. And I think that helps with people open up in other aspects of their life, too. Like, I can do it here. Maybe I can do it other places, too. But it's just it was so cool to bring everybody together like that and be in this common space

[00:45:35] that they designed for us to like really, really enjoy. And they did such an amazing job. Yeah, it was incredible. I was like, I want to go to every single one, but I don't want to go to every single one because I want someone else to experience this. Like, it's like selfishly, I want to do it. But I want everyone to know this feeling. So I don't want it for all to myself. Yeah, it's like you would be willing to give up your spot so somebody else could go experience it for the first time. I totally get that. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.

[00:46:04] So how many people did you meet in person that you had only been like talking to through Instagram or Facebook? Let's see. Quite a few. I think Sue Buggy is the one that I've like seen and watches content all the time. And I was like, oh, my God, you're like the coolest person ever. You're like rad. And it just like puts so much more context to the content of like, wow, like you are so

[00:46:34] authentic in what you present in your content and the way you speak. And that is truly who you are in real life. Yeah. And it was great. Yeah. But I met so many people. There's so many people that like I met that I didn't know and I didn't follow their account. And now I'm like, oh, my gosh, I like kind of know you. Yeah. And we'll send you messages and like cheer you on from afar. And I just that's my favorite part is like cheering other people on and like supporting them and being like, that's the coolest thing. And like maybe I don't see you all the time.

[00:47:03] But I met you this one time and like Subarus are awesome and like you're awesome. So let's just like keep that awesomeness going. Yeah. Yeah. And that's what's so great about the community, too, especially like the off road community within Subarus, because like you can have somebody come to an event or a meetup or whatever who doesn't have any modifications and people with heavily modded Subarus are going to be excited for them just for the sheer fact that they bought a Subaru and they showed up.

[00:47:33] And then I maniacally laugh like, so when are we going to modify things? Yeah. Come on. You can see what you can do. Let's do it. What's first? Come on. Let's do it. You can do it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's there's some people that like just don't want to. And then there's people that start with something and, you know, they didn't even know they could in the first place. And then now they're like, oh, my gosh, this is amazing. Let's keep going. It's definitely a lot of fun. Snowballs.

[00:48:03] Yeah. It's worth it. So with all the places that you've been, especially like living in San Diego and hitting some spots around there and north of there and now trying to hit more spots in Washington. First of all, like what's the furthest distance you've driven in Stella? And then second of all, do you have like a bucket list spot that you would love to drive out to and explore? Yeah. So let's see the farthest that I've gone. So I've driven from San Diego to northern Washington. Nice.

[00:48:33] Round trip three times. I did a lot of exploring before I moved and adventuring to make sure that I was making the right decision where I was moving. So I think that's the farthest. Do you know how far that was mileage or at least like time wise? I think it's 1,200 miles one way. So 2,400-ish round trip. That's a good distance. And I think it's up to 24 hours depending on the route.

[00:48:59] And I've done from east side to west side, like both ways, like coastal. And yeah, I've done it as much as possible. Yeah. So it's pretty far. I'd like to break it up into like four days at least. Wait. It's just like, I'm not a power driver. Are you talking about east to west, like east to west Washington? No, like driving up all the east side of California.

[00:49:27] So going up east and then going west to western side of Washington and then driving the whole coast all the way south. Oh, nice. Yeah. Oh, gosh. Yeah. That's okay. That's a cool way to do it. I mean, you would have seen a lot going that way. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. The coast of California is incredible. Oh, my gosh. There's so many camp spots that I want to just go back to and another one that I never even made it to.

[00:49:55] But yeah, I think that's probably the farthest that I've driven. And then no like specific bucket list place that I want to go with her, like certain trail or anything like that. I do love Montana. I love just being out there. There's like something about Montana that's like my heart is meant to be there at some point. I don't know. Have you been? A couple of times. Yeah. Okay. Like it's always been something that I'm like, I just want to go to Montana even before I'd ever gone to Montana. I just like.

[00:50:25] Yeah. Love it there. I don't know. I it's interesting. Um, but yeah, that and like, I don't know. I want to take her to Mexico, like not just Bob, but like, I want to be able to like beach camp along with her. Like warm waters sounds fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. The water in San Diego is cold. Yeah. Ish. Yeah. I think it's probably warmer than here. Um, Washington, but compared to where you are, yeah, our water, that water is probably freezing. Yeah.

[00:50:54] Cause I've been out there cause my brother was stationed in San Diego when he was in the Navy and then he finished up and you know, his four years in the Navy and then he stayed out there for like another 12 years and I would go visit him and, uh, I miss San Diego. It's so beautiful. I haven't been there in so long, but it's so beautiful. I get to be a tourist now and it's actually really enjoyable. Like growing up there, I didn't appreciate it, but going back, I'm like, I get to be a

[00:51:20] tourist and appreciate all these things and leave when I'm ready to go back to trees and greenery. Yeah. It's San Diego is really cool. There is a lot to do there. I really, I really liked it and I miss it. Um, so now that you were like kind of more, cause you said you kind of recently connected with the Subaru community and stuff, like who are the people that you, when you do get out and go exploring, like who are you going out with?

[00:51:48] Milton and Carrie, obviously the, uh, people like, yeah. So I got with them. Um, we hang out fairly often, go to events and stuff together. They were at the Vancouver Subaru club, um, thing this weekend and they did the trail run on Saturday up there as well. So yeah, I hang out with them a lot. They're my peeps. They're good people. They're fun. Yeah. They're really good people. Yeah.

[00:52:16] When you just meet people and you're like, you are my people. And that was like instantaneous with them. It's like, you're my people for sure. Yeah. There's so many good people out there. Yeah. Yeah. I just keep meeting them. I'm like, oh, I love everyone. So welcoming and nice in the community. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. How often do you go car camping? Oh, it's kind of sporadic. I feel like last year when I moved, I was all about mountain biking and I didn't camp much at all.

[00:52:43] And then this year I'm like, I feel like I'm camping every weekend this summer. Um, yeah, it's kind of sporadic. I haven't winter camped in Washington. So maybe I'll try that this year. I'm not sure that I'm built for that. Um, but yeah, it's a bit sporadic. I used to go every other month or so I would car camp, especially in California. Like you don't have to worry about weather necessarily. Other than it being blisteringly hot potentially.

[00:53:09] Um, but yeah, it's been an adjustment to Washington and be like, oh, I have to consider this thing called weather. Yeah. And do I have the stuff for it? So yeah, it's a bit sporadic right now. Just get one of those full body, uh, like, um, like sleeping bag suits like Carrie has. I need that for the winter for sure. It's so funny. I need to get one of those bags, especially this winter if I'm going to try and camp. I don't know. I just have like bibs for snowboarding.

[00:53:40] That's what I have. And a snowboard jacket. That's pretty much what I wear when it's really, really cold. Hey, those are good too. And I'm out on the trail. Yeah, those are good too. So with you, with like going off-roading in your car as much as you have and like outfitting it, cause you know, you started off wanting something that could be an adventure vehicle and now you have that and you've done a lot of adventuring, but what have you learned about yourself through like all these experiences?

[00:54:10] Oh man, that's a loaded question. Um, let's see. I think the thing that I've learned is that I'm more capable than I give myself credit for, but I also have good instincts. Yeah. I feel like oftentimes I'm like, I think about something and I have it in my head, but I don't say it out loud for fear of it not being the right thing. And then I hear somebody say it and I'm like, that's exactly what I was thinking. And that was the right thing. Why did I doubt myself? Like, uh, what was I thinking there?

[00:54:34] Um, but yeah, I feel like I have good instincts and I just need to trust myself more. And I've been doing that more and more of like, oh, this doesn't feel right. That line is not right. Uh, this modification is not the one for me. Yeah. And like trusting myself enough to do that. So that's good though. Yeah. Yeah. It's progression as you keep going and, you know, cause you're going to constantly keep

[00:55:02] learning and figuring like, yeah, I mean, trusting yourself and trusting your instincts. That's like really big. Cause then it can, it can help you do something that you thought you couldn't do that turns out to be like a lot of fun. You're like maybe doubting yourself and you're like, no, just go do it. And then, or, you know, keeping yourself out of trouble. Yeah. It's definitely helped me with like working with tools. Like I am not mechanically inclined at all.

[00:55:32] Um, and tools and like all the nuances of them and the sounds that they make. And like, I'm just like intimidated by it all. But I think that's something that's like, I need to trust myself that I can learn this thing that I don't think I can learn to, you know? Yeah. It has been a lot of progress. Yeah. I didn't. What? No, you go ahead. Oh, I was going to say, I did my breaks the other day and nice. I was like, I had my friend Coley. He's my safety supervisor now.

[00:56:01] Um, so when I need help with something, like when I want to do something myself, I do it and he is there if I need him as like support or like, I can't get something undone or whatever. Um, but yeah, I did them on my own with his support and like just cheerleading. Um, and I was like, oh my gosh, me five years ago would have freaked out in the first 10 seconds. And I'm like, I can't do this. But me now it's like, oh, I can't do this.

[00:56:29] And I was walking around like I knew what the heck I was doing, but I knew it in my gut that I knew what I was doing. And I was like, okay, I can do this. Yeah, that, no, that's awesome. I think it's great when people kind of get out of that like scarce mentality of like, I'm not, I can't do this. You know, I just, I don't know anything or whatever. And then they give it a try because then it's so satisfying once you were finished with it. You're like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I did that. And it, everything still works. You know, it works properly. Yeah. I was like, my brakes break.

[00:56:59] Yeah. Cause like I changed my brakes on my car. Like I've changed brakes before, but on older cars a long time ago and I hadn't done it in a really long time. And, um, one of my buddies like has all the tools for it. So I'm like, I want to do my brakes myself. So I went over to his house and we did it. And then like, um, you know, after I was done, I was like, oh yeah, my car stops and it works. And, uh, cause I, you know, it's like one of those things where you're changing.

[00:57:28] It's, it's a safety thing. And if you get it wrong, it could not, it could not turn out. It's a big deal. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So, uh, and I changed them at 122,000 miles. So I, and I bought the OEM. Yeah. I bought the OEM rotors and brake pads. So I know that I've got like a lot more miles on them. And I think, That's amazing. I think part of the reason that I was able to go.

[00:57:55] So, I mean, my rear brakes were really, really, really thin. There was almost nothing there. But I think the reason that I was able to go so long is because I have a manual and I downshift a lot. And so I'm not braking as hard whenever I'm slowing my car down. Yeah. That's funny. Cause I changed mine at like 66. And I wonder if that's like the auto to manual difference. It could be cool. Yeah.

[00:58:22] And if you're like, I mean, if you're off-roading a lot and you're having to brake as you're going down inclines or declines or whatever, I don't know. Maybe that has something to do with it too. Maybe Houston's also flat. So we don't have like a lot of hills. So I'm not having to brake hard as I'm not having to like go downhill a lot at all. And so like the hills that we have here are overpasses and that's pretty much it. But yeah.

[00:58:51] So I just, I think that it's probably, I think having a manual has a lot to do with it. Yeah. Makes sense. How many miles do you have on your car? I think I'm, I could check my Subaru app, but I think I'm like 67,000. Okay. I work from home, so I don't drive. Like when I do drive, it's far, but I don't have like a commute. So it's kind of nice that she doesn't have a ton of miles. Yeah. That's good. I'm at 148.

[00:59:21] Wow. You drive far. Yeah. I, I, so I mean, like I, I had a commute for a while, but I mean, I've also driven back and forth to Arkansas and my daughter was going to school there. Um, I drove to Colorado and drove around all around Colorado when we went out there and we were there for a week. And then I've driven like back and forth to Austin and San Antonio.

[00:59:46] I drove up to Madison, Wisconsin, which is in, uh, well, I went to Subaru Flatfest, which is in Madison, Wisconsin. And that was 1100 miles one way and a lot further coming back. And yeah. And then, um, I've driven, I just drive around a lot here because I, um, like I just don't like to be at home. And so, um, yeah, I get out a lot and like me and my son will like go into downtown Houston

[01:00:16] and go other places and stuff. But we, um, but also my girlfriend lives in Dallas and I live in Houston and that's like 250 miles one way. So it's a little bit more than that. So I think it's like over 500 miles round trip a little over. And I have driven up there countless number of times. So, you know, there were times when I was going every other weekend.

[01:00:42] So that's like a thousand miles a month just with that trip, not counting how much I was driving during the week. So yeah, it's been kind of crazy. I mean, good thing you love your car. Oh, I love my car so much. Yeah. How would you say that owning your Subaru has changed your life? Oh gosh. Another floated question. Yeah. Um, yeah. Let's see.

[01:01:10] I feel like, I think I got Scala at a time where a lot was changing in my life. Personally, like I hit my thirties and like everything changed. Like the foundation I had built shattered. Like I was like questioning everything. Yeah. And then building this car was like, oh my gosh, this is like an, like an evolution of who I am. And then kind of expressed through this vehicle.

[01:01:37] Um, but yeah, I just feel like before I questioned myself, I believed like the opinions of others and telling me whatever they thought. And that was more value than what I thought of myself. And now I'm like so different where I care what I think about me and I know who I am. And like, yeah, if I'm going to do this thing, like I'm going to do it because I want to do it. Not because I think others are telling me to do it or, you know, yeah, she just, I think I express a lot of myself in that car.

[01:02:07] Shockingly. I'm like, I'm not someone who wants the attention or anything like that. But then she's like, she kind of grabs attention. I'm like, this doesn't make sense, but somehow it makes sense. Um, it does. But yeah, I think she's just given me the confidence to take up space and own a space. Yeah. And not hide behind the scenes. I feel like I've always been a hide behind the scenes kind of person. And like now I'm, I'm not so much that, especially with how social I am now. Yeah.

[01:02:36] And, and I, the me that you met at Overland Expo is not the me of five years ago. So yeah, definitely a different me. And I totally get that because like, I've always been, I mean, I've been like very shy and kind of introverted and not really wanting to express myself personally, like with the things that I wear.

[01:02:59] Cause I, you know, I wear like quote unquote normal clothes and I have normal hair and, you know, but my car is a completely different story. And I love like everything that I've done to my car. You know, I like that my car stands out. I like it when people look at my car, but it's like, you know, if I'm out somewhere, I wouldn't be like all, you know, bringing attention to myself on purpose.

[01:03:27] But I do with my car because it's kind of like, I'm able to express myself through my car the way that I am too afraid to express myself like on my person, I guess. Yes. Yes. That's a very good way to put it. Yeah. All right. So do you think it would be safe to say that you will always own a Subaru? Highly, highly likely.

[01:03:53] I am currently considering what my daily driver will be after Stella semi retires from being my daily. And I'm looking at a WRX. Oh my. Yeah. Okay. You get the best of both worlds. You get something that can take you off road and something that can just be fun and zippy and pretty quick. Yes. Yes. I want a fun zippy car. I was considering a hybrid or one of their electric cars.

[01:04:21] But then I was gotten a WRX and I was like, this feels right. You got to stop sitting in cars. That's the problem. You know? Yeah. That's how we come to be. We're like one. So this last segment is to get to know you a little bit better. But who is Emily as in describe yourself? And it sounds like you're completely different today than you were five years ago. So that would have been a different story. Very different. I probably would have not agreed to be on this podcast five years ago.

[01:04:52] I would describe myself as hopefully enthusiastic. I feel like I'm very enthusiastic. Hopefully everyone gets that from listening to this. Yeah. And meeting you. I am very. Yeah. And meeting me. Yeah. I'm very enthusiastic. I just enjoy life. I am passionate about being happy, honestly. Like and enjoying the little things in life. And yeah, I will be your biggest cheerleader.

[01:05:20] And support you as much as I can. And be your biggest hype woman as much as possible. Um, I have always been really connected to animals. So I have a background in veterinary medicine. So animals are a huge part of my life. Like I call it the deer thoroughfare, like highway next to my bedroom. Like I get to see them walking past and get very distracted in meetings sometimes. Like there is a giant deer outside. I'm sorry. And then I always talk to them and I try and talk to them in Spanish. I don't know why. I just do. Um.

[01:05:51] So do you speak Spanish fluently? No. I just love Spanish as a language. And growing up in Southern California, if you, like how do you not learn some sort of Spanish? Yeah. Um, but yeah, I just try and throw some random Spanish words at them and they look at me like I'm insane. And that's our relationship. That's cool. Um, let's see. I feel like I'm silly. I'm goofy. Yeah. I don't know. I just like trying things and being good at them or being bad at them. And just like making life interesting.

[01:06:21] Yeah. And that's a good way to look at it, you know? And if, uh, I, I would have never guessed that you were not like outgoing and enjoy talking to people when I, by meeting you. So, uh, good job. Yeah. Thank you. Thanks. My friend makes fun of me all the time. She's like, you're not an introvert. And I was like, yes, I am. I swear. I swear I'm an introvert. She's like, no, you're not. She's like, we went to this little market thing and she goes, oh, I've lost her. And I'm over there talking to everybody and like, she's like, you're not an introvert.

[01:06:51] Yeah. It's, it's, uh, I think we can surprise ourselves, you know, with the way that our life takes a turn for something different and unexpected. And you kind of like stop yourself sometimes and like, who, who are you? Who is this person? Yeah. But it's good. Yeah. I enjoy it. I'm just like, I just want to laugh. I just want to be silly. I just want to be goofy. Yeah. I just enjoy life. That's the way it should be. Yeah. What is a favorite memory from your childhood?

[01:07:23] Um, you're asking these loaded questions. Um, my childhood was eh. I think my favorite part was summers because we would always be in the garden. That was, like my mom would do a big vegetable garden every year. And so our summers after, you know, the sun started to set and it would finally cool down from being so hot. Um, we would just go in the garden and pick fruit and veggies and check out the spiders.

[01:07:52] And I'm a total bug, bug nerd. Nice. So I'll just sit in my garden now and just watch all the creatures be themselves and do their thing. Yeah. Um, but yeah, summaries in the garden were like my favorite memory. Uh, so what is it you do for a living? You talked about working earlier and looking at deer. What are you, what are you doing when you're getting distracted by deer? Um, so I am an implementation specialist.

[01:08:19] So to me, I essentially call it like a project manager for an app in the veterinary field. So it's an app for pet parents to access their pets records and talk to hospitals and book appointments. Um, so yeah, that's what I do. It's remote. Um, only go in maybe once or twice a year to see the team. So yeah, that's why I get to stare at deer and like whatever cats walk by and they won't let me pet them either. Um, how dare they? I know. I like, I'm nice to them.

[01:08:48] I have cat treats and everything. I do all the things and they look at me like, don't give me the time of day. And I'm like, please, let me love you. Yeah. Come on, kitties. Do you have a dream job? Oh my gosh, a dream job. Is being a philanthropist a job? Cause that would be my dream job. I would just want to have a lot of money that I could donate to organizations that are doing good in the world. I guess so. Especially animal rescues. Yeah.

[01:09:17] That would be my dream job is being a philanthropist. Yeah. Yeah. No, there you go. That's good. I, I totally get that. Yeah. And just wanting to help others and make the world a better place. Yeah. Yeah. That's all I want to do. What is something that makes you want to get out of bed every day? Coffee for sure. I love my morning coffee. That's a good one. Cold brew only. Iced only. Always. Even in winter. What else?

[01:09:47] I think making an impact in the world. Supporting others. All the things that get me out of bed. That's a good. What is something that makes you want to stay in bed? When it's cold and the bed is warm. That would be in bed. Sometimes social media, which is not a good thing. Yeah. Yeah. I guess those things would keep me in bed. All right.

[01:10:15] What is something that really scares you? Let's see. Walking under ladders. I'm very superstitious. So all that stuff. Walking under ladders and not knocking on wood. When you say something. Absolutely not. Every time I've said anything on this, I've knocked on wood. Let's see. Disappointing others. Like doing something and disappointing someone. Yeah. Unintentionally. That would be. I get that. Something that I'm scared of. Always.

[01:10:46] Yeah. Besides your Subaru or all things Subaru, what is something that really excites you? I mean, gardening, obviously. But other than that, mountain biking. I actually really love mountain biking. Hey. Nice. I've been neglecting that sport so much this summer because I've focused all on Subaru stuff. Yeah. But yeah, mountain biking, especially going downhill and going fast, just like I drive my car. Translates.

[01:11:14] That happens, you know, where you get into doing something else and you really enjoy that, but then you are neglecting something else that you really enjoy too. And that's tough. It's tough to get to that part and then like try to get back into that thing that the other thing that you enjoy too, or just finding the balance between the two. I get that. Yeah. Especially with biking too. It's like when you are not consistent, that first ride is painful and demoralizing.

[01:11:44] And yeah, I'm like, maybe I should get an e-bike because that would, you know, get over that hurdle a little bit easier, but then I can't jump it as high. You know, it's all about balance. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So. What is, or what would be your best bit of advice to give to someone about anything? Oh man. I want to say do it anyways.

[01:12:11] Like, there's so many things. Do it anyways. There's never going to be a right time to do it. Yeah. I think that's the, that's probably the number one thing that people have said is just, just do the thing. Yeah. And I think the other thing is don't compare yourself to others. Like that saying comparison is the thief of joy. I feel like I've run into that quite a few times and talking to people whose car is like,

[01:12:39] maybe not built out as much as Stella is, but I'm like, my, this is five years in the making for me. Like my now should not be compared to your now because our past was not the same. Yeah. So I don't want people to compare. Cause like, of course I'll hang out with you. You know what? I'm going to like help you get to where this, where I am. If you, if that's what you want. But yeah, don't compare yourself to others. Yeah. Everybody's journey is different.

[01:13:07] And I think too, that like you can, you can have like a wish and a desire to have your car look similar to somebody else's or be able to do the things that somebody else is doing. But you also have to be able to find real true appreciation in where you are now with your car. Because like, for me, I really want a lift. I don't need a lift, but I will like a, not even anything crazy. I'm talking about just like a one inch lift and then also stiffer suspension too.

[01:13:37] Um, and I would like something on top, you know, that I can like a box storage box on top so that I can store and get some of the stuff out of the, out of my hatch. But, you know, I love the way my car looks now. I love, even though I don't have a lift, I love the stance. I, you know, I'm thankful that I'm able to store all the stuff in the back because there's, there's not really anything else I'm trying to carry back there anyway.

[01:14:03] Um, and I have my spare tire up top, so it's not like I have to get to a spare tire underneath, uh, or, you know, in the hatch area. But I think if we can find appreciation where we are now with the understanding that maybe we can get to this other place someday, and then if you can't still appreciate what you have. Yeah, I totally agree. I think that's good. Yeah.

[01:14:31] And then just hang out with more modded people because you know, they have parts that they're trying to get rid of, sell, whatever. Yeah, that's a good point because there are people that are like upgrading to something else and then like, Hey, uh, anybody want to buy this really cheap? I'm getting something else. Yeah. Yeah. And I'd rather sell it to someone in the community than some random person on Facebook marketplace. Like no shade to them, but like, yeah, I want to see this live on. Yeah. Yeah. That's always fun too.

[01:15:00] Especially when you know somebody's looking for a particular mod and you have it and you're upgrading to something else and you can help them out and help them along their journey. That's always nice. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Was there anything else you wanted to share about your journey or your Subaru or just yourself? Oh my gosh. I don't, I don't know. Say hi to me when you see me. If you see me out, like I want to meet everybody. Yeah. There you go. As you know, I'm not, but I am a social butterfly. So yes. Come talk to me.

[01:15:30] Let's geek out together. Yeah. Yeah. And you can recognize it because it says Stella Rue on the license plate. You can't miss her. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you for taking the time to be on the podcast and it was great again, meeting you in person at Overland Expo and getting to see Stella in person and you and having you on that episode. So that was cool. Yeah. Thank you for all the invites and pushing me to do it at Overland Expo. I needed that little nudge and it was great.

[01:16:00] Yeah. I know. Cause that one was on video and I mean, that was, that was, that was me pushing myself to be on video too. And so like, if anybody was like uncomfortable or not sure, I'm like, Hey, I'm right there with you. I'm, I'm pushing myself to do this as well. But yeah, that was great. Yeah. So we, yeah, we have a good evening and, uh, thanks again. And we'll talk later and keep in touch. Okay. Of course I will.

[01:16:29] I'll see you sometime in the future. I'm sure. Yeah. Most likely. All right. Thank you. Night all. Good night. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Subi and You podcast. If you're not doing so already, go give Emily a follow. Her account is the Stella Rue and it's the.stella.ru. And Emily, thank you so much for taking the time to record with me and sharing your Subaru journey and more about yourself.

[01:16:57] Now that you are, you know, more outgoing and not so introverted and everything. Go post some more photos. I also want to see your new F44 bumper. And, uh, I mean, you've got a really, really nice Crosstrek. So, uh, show it off. You don't have to show yourself off if you don't want to, but show off that awesome car. Anyway, thanks again for tuning in to another episode. I hope you all have a wonderful week. We'll see you next Monday for another SubiScoop.

[01:17:26] Much Subi love. Raph. The Subi and You podcast is hosted by Raphael in a closet in Houston, produced by Raphael in a room next to the closet in Houston, and edited by Raphael on a computer in the room next to the closet in Houston with music by Luke Ruiz in another room in Houston. You can find the Subi and You podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including Apple podcast, Spotify, and many more.

[01:17:52] To support the podcast, please head over to patreon.com slash subi and you podcast. Once you join, you will have access to the discord channel and discord chats with other patrons. If you'd like to get in contact with the show, you can find them on Instagram at subi and you podcast online at subi and you podcast.com or by email subi and you podcast at gmail.com. That's all for this week.