Krystal Firebaugh: [00:00:00] so the, the world programs us to think that we're always supposed to be happy and everything is supposed to be going perfect and that's not how it is. So when you're happy, enjoy it.
And when something bad happens, you're at a choice point and you need to decide, am I gonna do something that's gonna make this better, or I'm gonna do something that makes this worse.
Riley: Today I've
Krystal Firebaugh: All right. Today I've got a special interview. This is
Riley: crystal.
Krystal Firebaugh: cousin, crystal.
Riley: [00:01:00] It's a joke we've played or
Krystal Firebaugh: The joke we played or talked about for a lot of years until I got married and now
Riley: favorite
Krystal Firebaugh: I'm no longer her favorite cousin.
My wife is now her favorite cousin, and I got
Riley: two.
Krystal Firebaugh: to number two.
Riley: but today's
Krystal Firebaugh: But notice I have stayed the same.
Riley: yeah, well, you know,
Krystal Firebaugh: Yeah. Well, you know,
Riley: some people are cooler than
Krystal Firebaugh: some people are cooler than others. I guess. Whatever
Riley: uh, I'm
Krystal Firebaugh: we, uh, I'm excited for this interview 'cause we,
Riley: we're,
Krystal Firebaugh: crystal and I, obviously we're, we're we're cousins and, but we were,
Riley: We were cousins with
Krystal Firebaugh: we were cousins of, with shenanigans.
We did some stuff and we're gonna talk about some,
Riley: kind
Krystal Firebaugh: some of the fun we had kind of in our, our high school days. And, uh.
Riley: you're entertained
Krystal Firebaugh: Hopefully you're entertaining with this, but Crystal, welcome to the show. Thank you. Second Fa favorite cousin.
Riley: This is gonna be super cool.
Krystal Firebaugh: This is gonna be super cool. So, Crystal's had a, just a remarkable life.
There's
Riley: done
Krystal Firebaugh: some things she's done that, you know, in my mind are kind of super human and I,
Riley: to
Krystal Firebaugh: I, uh, I wanted to bring her on today. Not just 'cause she's family, but also [00:02:00] because
Riley: man, when you hear her story, you're
Krystal Firebaugh: man, when you hear her story, you're gonna understand what I'm talking about.
Riley: some things
Krystal Firebaugh: achieved some things through,
Riley: the
Krystal Firebaugh: uh, you know, against the odds that we're gonna, we're gonna kind of talk about.
So, um,
Riley: I wanted, I wanna
Krystal Firebaugh: I wanted, I wanna start off like, you know, we we're only a year apart, right? Just that a year and a month or something? Yep. Um, actually days.
Riley: I
Krystal Firebaugh: Remember
Riley: days.
Krystal Firebaugh: Days. Days, like 15 days. I'm the second. You're the 17th, is that correct?
Riley: Well, yeah, that was what I was gonna
Krystal Firebaugh: Yeah, that was what I was gonna ask, because I don't know that I actually have your birthday memorized.
Riley: in
Krystal Firebaugh: Good. And we're not gonna discuss it on here.
Riley: how many birthdays?
Krystal Firebaugh: How many birthdays?
Riley: you're
Krystal Firebaugh: Well, I I do notice we're one year and 15 days apart.
Riley: and 15
Krystal Firebaugh: One year and 15 days. Okay, well
Riley: are. So
Krystal Firebaugh: there you are. So when we were little I was jealous 'cause he was older. Now I'm doing it because I'm younger.
Riley: barely
Krystal Firebaugh: Well, barely though.
Riley: that gap of
Krystal Firebaugh: that gap of percentages starts to close [00:03:00] over time because I used to be twice your age when we were really, seems like it.
Yeah.
Riley: you're catching
Krystal Firebaugh: That means you're catching up.
Riley: Um, so we
Krystal Firebaugh: Um,
Riley: fun
Krystal Firebaugh: so we had some fun times. We, let's talk about
Riley: the time you came to
Krystal Firebaugh: the time you came to school
Riley: me
Krystal Firebaugh: with me
Riley: to be
Krystal Firebaugh: pretended to be my deaf cousin.
Riley: Do you wanna tell that story? Do.
Krystal Firebaugh: Do you wanna tell that story? Sure. So, um, Riley and I were a year apart. We had two rival high schools and we obviously went to the different high schools.
Riley: to the cool one,
Krystal Firebaugh: But it was, that was a cool one. Yeah. Um, we also lived in a small town, so you knew people from the other high schools. It was, it was most likely that the middle school you went to, not all the kids went to the same high school. So you knew, you knew students there. So, um, I don't know if we should share this, but Riley and I would skip, um, school, but then I would go collect attendance [00:04:00] from Riley's high school and turn it in with him.
Marked, not absent. Um, most of what we did when we skipped school was go to Central Park and get a burger and fries. Um, but this time he couldn't miss 'cause he had a test. And so I decided to go to class with him. And it was, um, typing class. And of course when we walk in, Riley's like, this is my deaf cousin, she is from California.
Um, can she sit in on the, the class today? And, um, the teacher, I'm gonna try and do this without making crazy faces and hope that most people are just listening and not watching any video. Um, but she wants to know if I wanna play some games. And she says it like, maybe I'm slow, not deaf. Um, which was very hilarious.
'cause ri was like, um, I said, deaf, not stupid. But then of course somebody walks into the class and they're like, crystal, what are you doing here? And Riley and I both have to be like, [00:05:00] no, no, dude, you don't know me. I'm the deaf cousin. But I literally sat at a computer, um, and pretended to be the deaf cousin while Riley took his test in the typing class.
Riley: That was so funny because it
Krystal Firebaugh: was so funny because it was her tone of voice was, um,
Riley: to you.
Krystal Firebaugh: she spoke to you
Riley: loudly. Like
Krystal Firebaugh: really loudly. Like if she talked louder, you'd hear her and slowly and slow.
Riley: would
Krystal Firebaugh: Oh, would you like to play some games? Like maybe she was trying to get you to read her lips or something, because you know, when people read lips, you must talk slower so they understand.
Riley: Maybe some
Krystal Firebaugh: Maybe it was, it was
Riley: that's,
Krystal Firebaugh: fun times. That's,
Riley: that's a super
Krystal Firebaugh: but that's a, that's a super fun memory.
Riley: that
Krystal Firebaugh: It got such a kick out of that because Yeah, when,
Riley: was
Krystal Firebaugh: I can't remember who it was that walked in the room and recognized you, but almost, almost blew it. But somehow we pulled that crap together. Well, you know, my mom says if my mouth don't say it, my face would, so I'm pretty sure he saw my face and knew what to do.
Riley: that, uh,[00:06:00]
Krystal Firebaugh: That's, uh,
Riley: you know,
Krystal Firebaugh: you know,
Riley: credit you
Krystal Firebaugh: I gotta credit you too. So
Riley: the attendance
Krystal Firebaugh: you mentioned the attendance thing, right? Is is, uh, we knew people in the attendance office, so
Riley: school
Krystal Firebaugh: would skip school
Riley: 'em up
Krystal Firebaugh: Yeah. We were calling 'em up or, or or catching 'em later going, Hey man, go back there and mark my,
Riley: I skipped and I
Krystal Firebaugh: my paper I skipped and I need you to mark me there.
And,
Riley: yeah, I think,
Krystal Firebaugh: yeah, I think,
Riley: year, I
Krystal Firebaugh: you know, half my senior year, I probably skipped half those classes.
Riley: I paid for it my
Krystal Firebaugh: I, uh, I paid for it my grade point average 'cause I wasn't in class to learn. But, well, that's the difference between us because my dad also knew I was skipping most of the time. He would let me use his truck sometimes when I skip and be like, be back by lunchtime.
But, um, straight A so he was okay with that?
Riley: not me.
Krystal Firebaugh: Yeah, not me. That's because I was typing your reports for you ri
Riley: yeah, I want to
Krystal Firebaugh: okay. So yeah, I wanna go into that too because there's, uh,
Riley: not have
Krystal Firebaugh: I would not have graduated if it wasn't for you and Lindsay,
Riley: both your papers and I,
Krystal Firebaugh: both your papers and I,[00:07:00]
Riley: I skipped so much
Krystal Firebaugh: I skipped so much my senior year
Riley: had
Krystal Firebaugh: that I had gone from like a 3.3 grade point average my junior year
Riley: A
Krystal Firebaugh: to
Riley: and
Krystal Firebaugh: a 1.8.
And that was not good enough to graduate. And we were having those oh crap moments, you know, and we're like three weeks before.
Riley: And,
Krystal Firebaugh: the end of the year, and
Riley: are telling me, buddy,
Krystal Firebaugh: council will tell me, buddy, you're not gonna make it through unless you, you get straight A's on the, the everything you do from here on out. And it's gotta be like, perfect.
So, so yeah, I, I took,
Riley: it was your
Krystal Firebaugh: oh, I think it was your government report. A couple of 'em.
Riley: for my
Krystal Firebaugh: Bring those in from my finals. Just put my name on in place of yours.
Riley: scored high enough
Krystal Firebaugh: scored high enough that I graduated with a 2.1. Okay. He's not, he's saying overall grades. His grade on that report was an a plus. They had to be,
Riley: because
Krystal Firebaugh: it had to be because I wouldn't have, it brought my average up pret 10th of a point, which was what allowed me to graduate high school.
Do you also remember the report that I [00:08:00] typed for you? And we discovered that the teacher didn't really even read the report.
Riley: Um, tell me
Krystal Firebaugh: Um.
Riley: maybe
Krystal Firebaugh: Tell me about this because maybe I didn't read the report, so No, you didn't. 'cause you never read the reports I wrote either or Lindsay. Um, we were, um, at my parents' house, we were at my dad's Apple computer, probably one of the very first Apple computers ever.
That's how old we are.
Riley: he was the
Krystal Firebaugh: Um, thought he was the coolest. And of course it doesn't have word, I don't know what program we were using, but Riley's kind of telling me what to type in the report. But you know, every third paragraph or something I'd throw in the sentence about the princess and the, um, frog or something silly like that, that had nothing to do with the report.
And I knew his teacher or or him never read it apparently because handed it in and he got a good grade on it with it was like, these teachers don't read these anyways, so
Riley: you[00:09:00]
Krystal Firebaugh: you.
Riley: my graduation
Krystal Firebaugh: My graduation
Riley: bull
Krystal Firebaugh: just to insert some bull crap into a paper. You're welcome. You're welcome.
Riley: gosh. So here, here's what
Krystal Firebaugh: here's what,
Riley: cool
Krystal Firebaugh: wait, wait.
This is what we should talk about. Also though, ri just in case nobody else in your podcast brings this up. Tell us about your hair do that senior year.
Riley: I actually
Krystal Firebaugh: Oh my, I actually have that picture still. I had a poster here. Um, if I can
Riley: of
Krystal Firebaugh: get a
Riley: I can
Krystal Firebaugh: copy of that where I can actually
Riley: stick it up
Krystal Firebaugh: stick it up here. I'll stick it up here.
But
Riley: so
Krystal Firebaugh: so
Riley: At the time
Krystal Firebaugh: background. At the time I was a pretty avid skier,
Riley: kind
Krystal Firebaugh: um, into the kind of steep mountain out of, out of bounds kind of
Riley: I
Krystal Firebaugh: extreme skier. At least I thought I was,
Riley: and uh, and I had
Krystal Firebaugh: and uh, and I had hair at the time, which I really kind of don't know. But I had
Riley: inch
Krystal Firebaugh: a 13 inch tall mohawk on top of my head,
Riley: my senior
Krystal Firebaugh: which was my senior picture.
Riley: I was pretty proud of that haircut. I.
will
Krystal Firebaugh: [00:10:00] okay, so anyways, I will try to get a
Riley: of that picture and put it up
Krystal Firebaugh: copy of that picture and put it up here so you guys can see it. But
Riley: hair.
Krystal Firebaugh: back when I had hair.
Riley: So talk, talk about this.
Krystal Firebaugh: So talk, talk about this. Uh, I wanna, I wanna move past our
Riley: shenanigans
Krystal Firebaugh: teenage shenanigans
Riley: kinda move
Krystal Firebaugh: and kind of move into what, where life took you after that. Okay, so, um, although I was getting straight A's in high school, I didn't necessarily make the, um, best choices.
I started, um, working at a restaurant. There was an older guy there as well. Um, and Tim and I started dating, if that's what you would call it. Um, and we ended up getting married like few days after I turned 18, which was crazy. Oh, I will tell you, my parents were heartbroken and, um, not up for any of this, but, um, was married to him for six years and [00:11:00] had two kids, but he, um, surprise, surprise, ended up being very abusive, um, broken bones, controlling, um, very, very textbook.
Domestic violence stuff. And you know, it took, my son was, um, four years old and he made a fist and stepped at my son. And that's what it took for the light bulb to go off. And me realized that I wasn't the only victim and my kids were too. And at that point, I, um, made the decision that I was getting out of there and I made a plan and I followed through with it.
And I mean, there were several years till the divorce was final that we're crazy and stalking. And he was arrested several times within that. Um, but I got out of it and got my kids out of it and he is no longer a part of [00:12:00] any of our lives. And it's, um, just. Uh, so thankful that that's the decision I made and where my life and both my kids' lives, um, have ended up because of 'cause of making that decision and doing what was right for us.
Riley: You.
Krystal Firebaugh: Do you,
Riley: What do you think happens in
Krystal Firebaugh: do you think happens in that, just psychologically, what's, what's your thoughts on why it takes
Riley: long
Krystal Firebaugh: people so long to exit those situations when the writing's on the wall?
Riley: but they
Krystal Firebaugh: So, and everybody sees it, but they can't. Right. So I think the biggest thing is people think that it's just physical violence, but there's so much emotional, um, that leads up to e before the physical even starts.
And it's all about power and control. That's what it's about. Um, and so, you know, they feel like they could keep that control, um, just being verbally and emotionally abusive. And then when they feel like they're losing that control at some point is usually when it will turn to physical. And I'm saying this as, um, [00:13:00] I.
Work with, uh, family Service Alliance, which is, um, for survivors of domestic violence, helps them get out and plan. They helped me a lot. I speak with the victim witness coordinator from the Pocatello Police Department, and we go to, um, schools, to police officers, um, just to try and teach them about this.
So I've learned, um, but I'm not an expert. I just wanted to throw that out there. So, um, it's about the control. And then when they feel like they're, they're losing it, they see how else they can get that control back. Um, and so you're beat down, you're beat down emotionally, you're beat down physically, and they make you believe that you won't be anything without them.
Um, that you can't do things without them. And then there's the threat. You leave me, I'll kill you, you leave, I'll kill the kids. You, um, you won't have any money. You won't have a place to go. You all of these things. Um. [00:14:00] And when you are at your lowest and you're in that situation, unfortunately you believe what they, what they're gonna, what they say.
Riley: You know,
Krystal Firebaugh: You know,
Riley: that's some scary crap.
Krystal Firebaugh: that's some scary crap. I,
Riley: it's hard for me to relate
Krystal Firebaugh: it's hard for me to relate to because
Riley: shoes.
Krystal Firebaugh: walked in those shoes. Right.
Riley: but I, I
Krystal Firebaugh: But I,
Riley: described
Krystal Firebaugh: think as you described that, it makes it kind of visual about, you can sort of see that downward spiral that eventually leads to the fear, which leads to the,
Riley: man.
Krystal Firebaugh: you know, the unknown. And maybe they're right.
Maybe I can't survive without them, you know, kind of brings all that doubt in. Now,
Riley: I don't want to sit and dwell on
Krystal Firebaugh: I don't want to sit and dwell on this whole thing for the, this entire podcast. I wanna move on to
Riley: you went after
Krystal Firebaugh: where you went after that, because now you're a single mom,
Riley: he's not in the picture anymore.
Krystal Firebaugh: not in the picture anymore.
Riley: to
Krystal Firebaugh: You got two kiddos to raise and
Riley: a big switch,
Krystal Firebaugh: a big switch.
And where did that take you? [00:15:00] So, you know, the one thing I had decided is I was going to make my sure that my kids didn't have to want for anything. And I'm not talking about spoiling them or silver spoon, anything like that, but, um, that I didn't have to worry about how the power bill was gonna be paid, where their next meal was gonna come from.
And, um, in, in the marriage and in the relationship, money was, money was tight. Um, and so I decided that I was gonna go back to school and that I was going to get, um, a degree in something that interests me, but also I could make sure that, um, I could provide for my kids and myself as well. Um, I would also like to point out that, um, I went through therapy.
I went to support groups all of this time. So I was not just bettering myself through education. I was, um. Um, mental [00:16:00] control and taking care of myself, um, that way as well. So I went to the continuing education here at Idaho State University here in Pocatello, Idaho, where I'm at. And I like to call it an aptitude test 'cause it makes me feel really, really smart.
Um, but it was also like an interest test. And I do this and the top five categories are all types of engineering. Um, and kind of at this point I'm like, I don't wanna drive a train. You know? That's what you think of when you hear engineer usually.
Riley: so, so
Krystal Firebaugh: Well, so, so preface that we come from a railroad family, right?
We do. Grandpa was my dad Railroad. Your dad railroad. Um, railroad is huge in Pocatello, Idaho. A lot of the businesses around here are named after some catchy railroad type thing. So, yeah.
Riley: Yeah. So
Krystal Firebaugh: Um, yeah, so when you, when we hear engineer coming from that background, that's where that too Yeah, for sure. Okay. [00:17:00] So, um, they put me in touch with an advisor at the College of Engineering and I went and spoke with them and they just gave me a rundown of what it was, the different kind of field that they, they were.
And, um, I knew, I wasn't sure then what field I wanted to go in, but I started getting my generals, you know, I had to, my test scores from high school were too old at this point 'cause it had been six years that I had to do some entry level tests that placed me where I needed to be in math, which I think is one reason that this was the field.
'cause I always excelled at math. It was something that came easy for me. Um, I joke that I took first place in the spelling bee in second grade. I have the trophy for you if you wanna see it. And, um, that's where I peaked like. Second grade speller. 'cause I was first place then, but always excelled at math.
[00:18:00] [00:19:00]
Krystal Firebaugh: Um, and so I, uh, it was, I took some generals, did my entry level engineering and decided that I was more geared towards civil engineering. Um, got my bachelor's, went to work, um, and then decided to go back and get my master's as well. And so I, now, I have a, um, bachelor's and a master's in civil engineering.
And, um, a lot of people don't know this about engineering, but it's very similar to doctors and attorneys that you have, um, board exams and you have to be licensed in state. And so now I'm licensed in six different states, um, and able to practice in those states. And I keep those, I keep all my, you have to, you'll be glad to hear this.
We also have to have continuing education, so. [00:20:00] Um, keep, keep all that current so I can continue to do that.
Riley: Yeah. Um,
Krystal Firebaugh: Yeah. Um,
Riley: there is,
Krystal Firebaugh: there is,
Riley: what do you call it, because there's,
Krystal Firebaugh: what do you call it? 'cause there's a,
Riley: kind of
Krystal Firebaugh: you go from being kind of a, it's not really an apprenticeship, but it's sort of a, as you enter into engineer and then you get, is it called a professional engineers?
Yep. So, um, when you graduate, um, once you have your bachelor's, you take, it's called the fundamentals of engineering. You'll hear it in the field called the fe. And so with this, it gives you, um, a license, but that license to work under a professional engineer. So it's saying you have the education, but now you need to get the experience.
It's very similar to doctors and pharmacists doing their rotations. You hear 'em that they're doing rotations and it's.
Riley: rotations, residency,
Krystal Firebaugh: Rotations residency, that thing. Yep. Yep. That they're just doing this so that they, um, are working under somebody who is fully [00:21:00] licensed. And then once you have that four years of experience, you take the professional engineering exam or the pe um, and then pass that and you get, um, your stamp.
Um, if you've seen engineering drawings, they have that stamp on 'em, but, which just pretty much says, I've checked everything on here and I'm responsible if, um, my design doesn't work, I'm not responsible if the contractor doesn't build it correctly,
Riley: Yeah. Yeah.
Krystal Firebaugh: yeah. Yeah. Aren't you glad because that,
Riley: real thing. You know,
Krystal Firebaugh: that's a real thing.
Riley: projects
Krystal Firebaugh: We, we've seen some projects over the last few years that
Riley: the news, right?
Krystal Firebaugh: have made the news, right. That were,
Riley: type of
Krystal Firebaugh: they used the wrong type of concrete or they didn't reinforce correctly, or they didn't,
Riley: engineering
Krystal Firebaugh: you know, engineering specs read Right.
Riley: contractor didn't do this part.
Krystal Firebaugh: One thing I think that's super, super important about that though is it also says, um, that I understand ethics and that I take them [00:22:00] seriously.
And I think that's something that, uh, is important and that every should, everybody should do in all aspects of their life. But definitely, um, professionally too, it's saying that, um, I understand the risks and, um, other humans are important to me,
Riley: Yeah.
Krystal Firebaugh: know, so. Yeah.
Riley: Yeah. And you've had some pretty
Krystal Firebaugh: Yeah. And you've had some pretty high, uh, high profile projects around po Ello there.
I remember we went on a tour one day and you were showing me around town and what
Riley: you've worked
Krystal Firebaugh: different things you've worked on. Can
Riley: and
Krystal Firebaugh: you talk about some of those?
Riley: favorite?
Krystal Firebaugh: Sure. I actually, I feel really fortunate to have been able to work on, um, a lot of, a lot of the projects. That I do are in industrial plants and people never really get to see them or they don't look that amazing.
And I've got to, um, work on some that are actually in the, in the public eye and people see every day. Um, and it, it's really fun because you can go [00:23:00] talk to students interested in engineering or things like this and they can be like, oh yeah, I've seen that project and not understand what all went behind it.
So I got to be the lead engineer for the Port of Wellness complex here in Pocatello, which is an 80 acre park. Um, it includes an amphitheater, uh, reservoir, and, um, the reservoir wouldn't be possible without a dam. And so this dam is permitted by water, Idaho water resources. Um, was very lucky to have a good mentor who had been through that process before, so I was able to.
Learn a lot about that process in, um, ball fields, soccer fields, volleyball courts. Um, my favorite thing is there's a pedestrian bridge there that goes over, um, a manmade stream. So it's, it's a pump. Um, but I, I just love being able to, um, it's something that my parents can see, [00:24:00] my grandparents can see, my cousins can see, and, um, um, and know that I've been a part of that.
So that is something that, you know, you can go, you can go Google that and just see what a beautiful, um, facility it is. But one of the projects that I got to work with some great people, um, some great architects. The contractors were super amazing in that project. And one thing about, um, is support of Health trust that funded this.
And one thing is it was very important to them that. We aren't bringing people from outta state to do this work, that we are hiring local people. And so we just got to know a lot of amazing people in our community and it was a super, um, I mean, it, it took a while to build that. So you got to know these people and make lifelong friendships and everybody that worked on it, um, just knew it was important and it was dedicated to the job, to the, to the project and just made the job like [00:25:00] teamwork for everything.
It was, I was very fortunate to work on that project.
Riley: That sounds really cool. I, I
Krystal Firebaugh: That sounds really cool. I I love that part of business when you get, you get to meet other movers and shakers, right? You get out there and
Riley: it's local
Krystal Firebaugh: community, especially when it's local people and you're just like, man,
Riley: quite
Krystal Firebaugh: I don't quite understand what this person does and how they do it, but they sure make a cool, finished product.
Riley: I, I like that, uh,
Krystal Firebaugh: I, I like that, uh,
Riley: where
Krystal Firebaugh: where
Riley: get to see the insides of
Krystal Firebaugh: get to see the insides of what makes someone tick.
Riley: it's a stressful
Krystal Firebaugh: Especially when it's a stressful situation or you have a big project like mm-hmm. Mean you guys built a freaking dam up there with a reservoir
Riley: manmade
Krystal Firebaugh: and you're talking about manmade stream in a pump and, you know, 'cause it, I, I take it, it recycles that back.
Riley: whole
Krystal Firebaugh: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Keeps that full circle going. Right. Um,
Riley: you're right above a
Krystal Firebaugh: but yeah, you're right above a town,
Riley: above a
Krystal Firebaugh: so you're up on the hill right above a town. So if that goes wrong,
Riley: below, that's
Krystal Firebaugh: that poor neighborhood below that's gonna have a rough day. And previously, so construction going on right now, but it would've taken out [00:26:00] the flying y for I 15 also if there would've been, um, a break.
So it was, it was a pretty serious thing. And, um, you know, it's all, all dams and what has to go in it into designing it are based on the hazards. And it was a high hazard for this one. So, um, there's all kinds of things that you can't see on the outside to make sure that, um, this, this dam is being maintained and, um, doing what it's supposed to do.
Riley: not just a pile of dirt,
Krystal Firebaugh: Yeah. It's not just a pile of dirt, is it? No.
Riley: So that's pretty cool. Um.
Krystal Firebaugh: That was pretty cool. Um,
Riley: You went from there.
Krystal Firebaugh: you went from there, uh, kind of being,
Riley: 'cause
Krystal Firebaugh: I'm just gonna call it apprentice 'cause I don't know all the, the right terms. But as, as you're learning this trade,
Riley: project you
Krystal Firebaugh: this project, project, you mentioned having a good mentor
Riley: navigate
Krystal Firebaugh: you navigate through that work of wellness center
Riley: that
Krystal Firebaugh: then
Riley: into where you
Krystal Firebaugh: into where you are today, where you've taken,
Riley: few
Krystal Firebaugh: you became partner a few years ago and then owner now.
Mm-hmm.
Riley: did
Krystal Firebaugh: [00:27:00] So what, what did that process look like? Um, I think, and I think this is one reason, um, that I went into engineering because I like to learn. I just continue to, I want to learn, but I think it's not, they don't, I don't care what you go to school for, there's just things that they can't teach you. So I think, um, I mean obviously in engineering, I didn't learn about hr.
I didn't learn about. Leadership, I didn't learn about, um, payroll, uh, financial stuff, you know, these, they're things that I've just had to learn. And I think the biggest thing is, um, paying attention, not being afraid to ask questions, which I think is, goes to any aspect in your life. And then, um, not being afraid to do the research, you know, um, we are very lucky that we have Google at our fingertips and you can have [00:28:00] questions answered easily.
Um, I think it, and, and so that is a lot, but also trusting myself. Um, so there's a, um, imposter syndrome. I think everybody goes through it. It's something that is talked about a lot as far as women in engineering. Um, and so it's just, um, getting past that and, um, not. It's not always knowing the answer off the top of your head, but knowing that you can go and find the answer if you need it, and just knowing that that's good enough.
Riley: You know, you bring up that
Krystal Firebaugh: No, you bring up that imposter syndrome and I, I don't know if I ever told you about it, but when I,
Riley: my mobile
Krystal Firebaugh: after I started my mobile new company
Riley: and it was time to hire the
Krystal Firebaugh: and it was time to hire the first employee,
Riley: it right,
Krystal Firebaugh: I wanted to do it right because in the past I had had people work for me that I just wasn't good at it. I didn't understand how to, you know, relationally maintain my crew.
I'd have a lot of turnover, right? [00:29:00] And
Riley: interviewing
Krystal Firebaugh: interviewing
Riley: business
Krystal Firebaugh: I knew other business people
Riley: were
Krystal Firebaugh: who happened to, a lot of them were customers of my mobile loop,
Riley: over the
Krystal Firebaugh: but I had noticed over the years that they kept employees for a long time.
Riley: I sat down, I
Krystal Firebaugh: And so I sat down, I took 'em to lunch one-on-one. I probably interviewed 50 different people, and one of my questions on my list was imposter syndrome.
Riley: that?
Krystal Firebaugh: you ever experienced that?
Riley: in
Krystal Firebaugh: That's on the list right here in front of me that I was gonna ask you.
Riley: so I love
Krystal Firebaugh: Um, and so I love that you brought it up without me even asking
Riley: but
Krystal Firebaugh: the,
Riley: percent
Krystal Firebaugh: it was a hundred percent of those, of those business owners,
Riley: It was
Krystal Firebaugh: men and women, both. It was like,
Riley: of feel
Krystal Firebaugh: yeah, I kind of feel like I'm making it up every day.
Riley: And you, I, I love that you
Krystal Firebaugh: And you, I,
Riley: right? It's.
Krystal Firebaugh: I confirm that, right? Yeah, for sure. Um, especially like when, when people hear my, my past and things and, and they're like, it's always like, Hey, good job and congratulations, but there's always [00:30:00] like a really, and that I'm like, really? Did I, you know what I mean? Did I really do that?
Riley: So this is something to talk about
Krystal Firebaugh: this is something to talk about too, because you just, you just spur this thought with me.
Riley: we
Krystal Firebaugh: we
Riley: thinking
Krystal Firebaugh: walk around thinking that people know
Riley: we've been through,
Krystal Firebaugh: the struggles we've been through,
Riley: It's almost like we have this
Krystal Firebaugh: right? It's almost like we have this tattoo on our forehead that says.
Riley: or I had
Krystal Firebaugh: I did this, or I had this, or I made this bad choice, or whatever it was.
Riley: and so
Krystal Firebaugh: We don't, and so people,
Riley: not seen through
Krystal Firebaugh: they, they're not seen through that. Mm-hmm. They, they don't know what was in the past.
Right. And you've overcome so much stuff, but
Riley: carry that around
Krystal Firebaugh: I think you can carry that around sometimes. And you,
Riley: but you
Krystal Firebaugh: you shouldn't, but you do. Yeah.
Riley: what have you done to kind
Krystal Firebaugh: And what have you done to kind of tip that, you know, just to overcome that? Um, so therapy, um, is a very good thing. Um, I think one thing honestly that has really, really helped me is I am very fortunate to have an amazing mom and dad.
Um, just, um, it's kind of, I [00:31:00] mean, they've been married for 5 million years, you know, and I think that's one reason that I was a little, um, hesitant to divorce too, because my grandparents were married 5 million year. Our grandparents, sorry, my parents feel like they've been married for that long and I don't wanna be like the first one that does this divorce thing.
Um, but. I told you my parents weren't happy about my relationship with this, um, guy, but they never once said, I told you so they said, how can we help and what do we need to do? And we're so supportive. I mean, a single mom getting a engineering degree, it's not, I mean, if you knew how many credits it was, like I was taking, um, well over 12 credits every semester so that I could get it done, plus working at the same time because I guess kids need to eat sometimes.
I don't know. Um, you know, it was me dropping them off at school, me picking them up from school, what happens when the kids are sick. And I was very lucky that, um, my dad was self-employed, so usually he could get away and come [00:32:00] sit with the sick kid while I went to class. There was a strict rule that if they puked it would be there when I got home for me to clean up.
He wasn't cleaning it up. But, um, other than that, very supportive. I think that's helpful. Um, and saying that, that doesn't mean, you know, you can have your, um. It doesn't have to be blood relation. Just make sure that you are surrounding yourself with good supportive people who, um, are not just babysit your kids, but are there for you emotionally, are there for you when you need a hug.
I'm not a hugger, let's be clear. Um, or, but are also saying, Hey, you're doing a good job. Keep going. You know, I think that it, surrounding yourself with the right people is so, so important for everybody's mental health.
Riley: Oh, that's beautiful.
Krystal Firebaugh: Oh, that's beautiful. Um,
Riley: I wanna switch back a little bit.
Krystal Firebaugh: I wanna switch back a little bit. You know, you talked about coming into the engineering field and then, and then
Riley: [00:33:00] that
Krystal Firebaugh: the things that
Riley: you can't
Krystal Firebaugh: you're not really, you can't be taught in school.
Riley: was
Krystal Firebaugh: One of them you mentioned was leadership.
Riley: Sometimes
Krystal Firebaugh: Sometimes
Riley: such a shock to
Krystal Firebaugh: is such a shock to people
Riley: almost
Krystal Firebaugh: they
Riley: it.
Krystal Firebaugh: almost cower from it. And, and what, what kind of things do you do to grow as a leader? Anytime there is some kind of a leadership webinar or leadership this, leadership that, um, I will take it and I'll find that a lot of times it's stuff I've heard before, but just the reminder is so good.
Um, when it seems like when you are, um, leadership is usually the hardest when you're having to, um, correct somebody's behavior or something like that. Like that's when it's the hardest. And so having those reminders is really, really good. Um, I, I also find, and it's funny that I did this with my sons and [00:34:00] I didn't.
Son. I have one son and one daughter. I did this with my son and didn't, um, even realize that it was something that I was doing. But, um, not being afraid to say I don't know the answer, let me find it. Um, so with my son, it would be like, you're not supposed to do that, but I don't know what your punishment is gonna be, so I'll get back to you.
His punishment was, waiting for the punishment to see what it was is usually the worst punishment for him. Um, but even at, even at work, yeah, but even at work, um, or mentoring engineering students or anything like that, like, I won't be afraid to be like, okay, this is something I obviously need to address, something that shouldn't have been done, but let me go and see how I wanna handle this.
Before I'm like, why did you just do that? Why did you, you know what I mean? Like, take the time to make sure that you're addressing it because they're human beings. Right. We were just saying we don't know what people are going through. Um, one of the biggest things I've learned is when I [00:35:00] see. Somebody not being as productive as they usually are, or a little bit late for work or something like that.
99% of the time I can say, is everything okay with you? And usually it's something at home that is going on. And then the second all they've done is let me in on it and let me know that something's going on. I see their productivity increase because they just like, it's a relief that like, okay, I don't have to worry about this at work anymore.
I can get on with my job.
Riley: know, that's an
Krystal Firebaugh: You know,
Riley: thing
Krystal Firebaugh: that's an interesting thing 'cause I, that's something I've learned over the years is that generally people who work for you,
Riley: they wanna impress you.
Krystal Firebaugh: they wanna impress you. That's, that's their,
Riley: they
Krystal Firebaugh: you know, just deep down they want to impress you. And if they feel like they're not,
Riley: and they have a perception
Krystal Firebaugh: and they have a perception that you're not,
Riley: impressed,
Krystal Firebaugh: that you're not being impressed, we'll say, then that tends to create a downward spiral.
Right. You know, there's just like,
Riley: the boss
Krystal Firebaugh: didn't impress the boss and so now, you know. It
Riley: and
Krystal Firebaugh: just keeps getting worse and [00:36:00] worse and worse. And I, I think that's a good insight that you have there, is that
Riley: wanna
Krystal Firebaugh: generally people wanna wanna do a good job,
Riley: there's a reason
Krystal Firebaugh: and if they're not, there's a reason for it. And that's one thing.
The same mentor that did the, the dam, the technical side of things, um, just, um, showed me, um, through, um, watching him is I realized that he was always so thankful, always so appreciative, always, um, made sure that the employees recognized that he recognized what they were doing. Um, and one thing I've, one thing I've really had to concentrate on is, um, if I'm in the middle of something, um, and somebody's like, Hey, how are you?
I'm like, good that I need to stop. They and, and be sincere because I do care. I mean, I've, most of my team, um, that I have are all, um, came, uh, when I got the company and they're great. [00:37:00] Um, there's a few new, um, but just like making sure that there's reasons they've been here for a long time and make sure that I'm consistent with that and make sure I'm taking the time to, it's not always a, Hey, is that drawing done?
Where are you out on these calcs? Like, how are, how are things? How was your weekend? How's your son doing? What, you know, things like that. That those are important things. And, um, you're not taught warm fuzzies in school, but you need to have warm fuzzies. It's what makes, you know, it's keeps people happy.
Riley: that don't know
Krystal Firebaugh: People that don't know here,
Riley: you are
Krystal Firebaugh: you, you are, have a legendary sarcasm. No. Yeah.
Riley: And
Krystal Firebaugh: And
Riley: I bring this up is
Krystal Firebaugh: the reason I bring this up is because I ran into this situation, actually just told this story this morning to somebody I was meeting with.
Riley: I had this,
Krystal Firebaugh: I had this, this tendency to be very harsh with [00:38:00] people. And it's not that I intend to be, but
Riley: I don't know
Krystal Firebaugh: I'll come across, I don't know whether it's just the deadpan face or what it is, but it's like,
Riley: will,
Krystal Firebaugh: I will, if I'm not careful, I can, I can
Riley: somebody's,
Krystal Firebaugh: destroy somebody's, you know, enthusiasm because
Riley: how I come
Krystal Firebaugh: that's, that's how I come across.
And I had to become very aware of that. And I had a guy one time call me out on it and he says, do you know how you sound when you talk? I'm like, no.
Riley: He's like, you sound so harsh,
Krystal Firebaugh: Like, you sound so harsh, man.
Riley: I've
Krystal Firebaugh: And, and
Riley: just
Krystal Firebaugh: I've had to just, as I grow as a leader,
Riley: back and, and
Krystal Firebaugh: dial that back and, and realize when it's even happening.
Riley: have you
Krystal Firebaugh: Um, what steps have you taken in that regard?
So, um, I've learned. That there are a couple people in the office that don't understand my car sarcasm. And so I have to really be like, that was sarcastic. Um, one thing that we've, that, that we've done in, um, this office is, you know, there's, [00:39:00] there's tons, there's the disc, there's the predictive index, there's all of those things.
Um, and of course you have to take all of these things with a grain of salt, but they give you a pretty good idea. Um, I actually have, um, uh, a little flyer over here on my wall that says, um, we did the predictive index and surprise, surprise, I'm a captain. I, I know that's, oh, there's, that's sarcasm again, just so you know.
Um,
Riley: it to
Krystal Firebaugh: and, and, uh. It's like, this is how I like to be communicated with. And everybody in my office has one of those at their desk as a reminder to, um, it's, I I, it's not how I'm relaying the information, it's how they're perceiving it. That's something that's very important to me. And so, but we all know it, that if I am harsh or sarcastic, sometimes they have to, okay, [00:40:00] that's how she is.
But then at the same time, I have to remember this is how they would prefer to communicate. So let's do that. You just, um, you have to be flexible and you have to make sure you understand other people. And if you, if you don't, it makes things harder. And, um, sometimes realizing when you're doing it and taking a step back, um, so that, so that you change, you can't, you can't be so set in your ways that it's my way or the highway.
Um, which would be surprising for people to hear me say 'cause um, I'm a very, I like things done my way, but luckily for my me, my name is Crystal, so I just tell people I'm crystallizing it and it kind of softens the blow.
Riley: .
He had a built in object
Krystal Firebaugh: in object lesson right there. Um, but yeah, you just constantly learning, constantly reminding [00:41:00] yourself that, and being able to be flexible.
Riley: Yeah, you mentioned that term. My
Krystal Firebaugh: Yeah. You mentioned that term, my way or the highway, you know, that's,
Riley: to
Krystal Firebaugh: that's, to me, that's the
Riley: of a
Krystal Firebaugh: quote of a crappy leader, you know, that, that just,
Riley: I guess [00:42:00] this brings me to this
Krystal Firebaugh: I guess this brings me to this question.
Riley: How do you handle it
Krystal Firebaugh: How do you handle it when one of your,
Riley: call 'em subordinates just
Krystal Firebaugh: we'll call 'em subordinates just for the, the context of this question.
Riley: a better idea than
Krystal Firebaugh: Has a better idea than you.
Riley: you're
Krystal Firebaugh: Sometimes that happens. I'm where you're just like
Riley: but
Krystal Firebaugh: awesome, but you have to kind of suck up the pride and go, man, they're gonna do this thing. And it's better than what I thought of. And
Riley: Cool.
Krystal Firebaugh: yeah, that's never happened to me. No, I'm just kidding.
Riley: was
Krystal Firebaugh: Um,
Riley: I.
Krystal Firebaugh: that was sarcasm. That was sarcasm. Listener sarcasm.
Um, I'm glad because, um, one thing I realize is this business is only as good as the people who are in it. Um, and so one thing, so I love the input and I love it when they have a, a, a good idea. So I started, um, a leadership class type thing that was more about small businesses and talking about, you need to [00:43:00] have a mission statement, you need to have values, you need all of these things.
And I was like, we don't have any of that. And they were like, okay, well let's do it. What do you wanna do? And I was like. Us two aren't doing it. Do you realize that there's people that have worked at, um, a and e for 25 years? That's the people we need to be asking. And we made it an office, um, project. Um, it was bring me, bring me things that you think that they should be values and why, and what are some mission statement ideas?
Um, very fortunate to have a company that we worked with who was great at facilitating the whole thing, but he said to me, this is the first time ever I've worked with a business that haven't had these things. And they said, I wanna bring my team in. So I feel like a leader who is stuck on thinking that their ideas are the best and doesn't listen to anybody else is, [00:44:00] um, probably foolish.
Foolish. Yeah. Uh, and their business probably isn't gonna do that. Great. And so I've also learned that when an employee comes to me with. A question I, they know that I expect them to have the answers as well. Um, uh, if it's technical, it's a little bit different, but I will make sure they know where to find the answer for themselves in the, in the future.
Um, but if it's not technical, it's, uh, it's a what do you think we should do? And one thing that I say a lot is, you know, if you have a boat in water and it's the waterline, if you poke a hole in the boat above the waterline, what happens? Nothing, nothing happens. So if, if we find out that the decision you make is bad, but it was above the waterline, we're fine.
Now, if you poke a hole and it's below the waterline, we're gonna sink. Um, so I appreciate you coming to [00:45:00] me, but it's also, you are in your position because I think you're qualified. So trust your gut instinct. If you make need to make a decision and I'm not available, it's not gonna sink the boat, do it.
Riley: Yeah.
Krystal Firebaugh: Um, and, and if you, you know, want an opinion, that's great, but come to me with some options of what you think is gonna be best.
Because if, if it's your way or the highway, then um, you're not gonna get better ideas. And then you're not gonna have employees who can make decisions without you and you're not gonna be able to get a day off or get a vacation. You know, I just went to Vegas for a week and um, I got a couple emails and a couple of phone calls and they were like, sorry to bother you, but it was like, this is a below the waterline kind of a decision, so we need you.
But other than that, I had a blast and, um, never felt like I was being bothered. Which is another thing when somebody comes to me and says, sorry to bother you. I'm like, that's not,
Riley: Yeah,
Krystal Firebaugh: not bothering me. That's what I'm here for. Or sorry, [00:46:00] I, we don't apologize. Like in this office, there's never a, um. If I do catch something and hey, I noticed this needs fixed, and they say sorry.
It's like, no, that's why we double check things before it leaves. If we caught it in the office, we caught it. It's not a, sorry.
Riley: that's awesome that, that
Krystal Firebaugh: That's awesome that, that analogy of the
Riley: or below the
Krystal Firebaugh: poking a hole above or below the water line that
Riley: steal that
Krystal Firebaugh: I'm gonna probably steal that. Well, I would like to claim, that's my own analogy, but I also stole it from a old wise man.
Riley: Uh
Krystal Firebaugh: I hope he listens to this. So he hears me, call him old.
Riley: I, I take it. He'll know who
Krystal Firebaugh: I I take it. He'll know who he is. Oh yeah. He'll know.
Riley: let's move on
Krystal Firebaugh: Let's, let's move on here, you know, to
Riley: a few years ago.
Krystal Firebaugh: a few years ago,
Riley: it been three,
Krystal Firebaugh: what's it been,
Riley: ago
Krystal Firebaugh: three, maybe four years ago that you ago? Four years. If you're ta if we're talking about the same thing.
Riley: We're talking about your
Krystal Firebaugh: Yeah, we're talking about your fall. Where
Riley: just to, just to preface
Krystal Firebaugh: just to, [00:47:00] just to preface this crystal, you were on a job site and you were up.
In the rafters of a,
Riley: it,
Krystal Firebaugh: it was at a house. Mm-hmm. And
Riley: and
Krystal Firebaugh: took a misstep and fell through the ceiling.
Riley: and was, you weren't
Krystal Firebaugh: And was, you weren't minorly injured. It was, this was major life threatening type injury. And
Riley: I want you to talk about that kind
Krystal Firebaugh: I want you to talk about that kind of what, what that looked like, what the recovery looked like, what, how that affected your, your world.
Um, I wanna preface this with, we are a very, very safe company. We follow OSHA regulations. We have plans that you fill out about safety. Um, so I was hired by an insurance company who, um, needed me to inspect a roof in the trusses because they were seeing a lot of leaking and they didn't know where it was coming from.
And so, uh, I had done the outside inspection. I had inspected what I needed to in the house, and it was time to go up and actually look at the trusses [00:48:00] and, um, the. Come to find out that the opening, um, into the attic was not framed properly, but then it was covered with insulation. So I didn't know that.
And so when I crawled in there and I put my weight on where I thought there was supposed to be a support and there wasn't one. And so of course I fell through the sheet rock, um, and it was in a garage and I fell about 10 feet. And they had, there had been flooding, so they had moved some of the furniture to the garage and I ended up, um, these are all assumptions I've made based on what was there because, um, although I remember it pretty good, I didn't take the time to say, Hmm, what, just almost sliced my carotid artery in half.
Um,
Riley: Yeah.
Krystal Firebaugh: so I think, so I [00:49:00] have a, a pretty good scar. I'm lucky that it's. It's pretty hidden. Um, that I hit the corner of like a solid oak nightstand. There was a sharp corner and it, um, cut me open right here. That, while that was the one that, um, was the least painful for me, that was the one that, um, just a centimeter closer and it would've taken my life.
Um, I hit my sternum on something, I'm assuming something solid wood also. So I got a hairline fracture in my sternum, hairline, um, fracture in my shoulder blade, and then broke two ribs and they were dislocated. So it was a, um, a pretty good break. Uh, it was painful. I was in a lot of pain. Um, lots of pain, lots of it was like physical therapy before.
I mean, I was, again, back to my wonderful parents. [00:50:00] My mother lived with me for like. Um, a month because I couldn't get in and out of bed out by myself. I couldn't get on and off the toilet by myself. Um, these, so, um, thank goodness for her.
Riley: Yeah, was a
Krystal Firebaugh: Yeah.
Riley: That
Krystal Firebaugh: And that was a long recovery. That wasn't like, you know, you bounced back in a week.
That was how long month still. I will still, um, um, do things that, and I, I mean, I do strength training and, um, things like that. So I try to keep my, my muscles strong, but there will still be sometimes that I do something that I don't do a lot, um, dig a hole for a tree or something like that, and I'll be like, oh, those don't use those muscles and they hurt.
Or also like, this still sounds so old lady to me, but like, oh, my muscles are hurting. It's when it gets cold, I'll feel it more. Or things like that. Like it's a, you feel it.
Riley: Yeah,
Krystal Firebaugh: there's the emotional trauma because I will [00:51:00] never. Go into an attic space again, like all I got cameras for that.
Riley: don't blame you there. For
Krystal Firebaugh: Don't blame you there. For sure.
Riley: so lately here in the
Krystal Firebaugh: so lately here in the last year,
Riley: have gone on a pretty
Krystal Firebaugh: have gone on a pretty substantial, uh, weight loss journey.
Riley: Talk about that because
Krystal Firebaugh: about that. Mm-hmm. Because it's, it's not been insignificant. I mean,
Riley: I don't, you don't
Krystal Firebaugh: you know, I don't, you don't need to tell me too much, but
Riley: protocol
Krystal Firebaugh: been the, the protocol and the reason No, I'm just kidding.
Goals and all that. So, um, uh,
Riley: again, wasn't it?
Krystal Firebaugh: when that sarcasm Yeah. And if you're not watching, I pretended like I was gagging myself, just so you know. Um, so I, I need to thank your wife Lindsay. Um, because when I had my accident, I was in really good shape. Um, Lindsay had taught me about a program that, um. Food [00:52:00] consumption, um, making sure you have all the right vitamins, exercise, and, um, all of these things.
And so like at that time I was eating healthy and I was, um, in, in pretty good shape. I mean, which I think helped me a lot with my recovery as well, but also at the same time, um, I, it, I was very depressed. I mean, I was somebody that, um, I was, I loved to go and I loved to do things and I couldn't, and I was stuck at home and I couldn't go to work and I couldn't.
Um, and I, and I was, I got pretty depressed. And so, you know, what do you do when you're depressed? This ice cream looks awesome and maybe I'll have a glass of wine with dinner, um, that will turn into a bottle sometimes, you know, and so, and then you feel bad and then you're not doing your regular exercise and things like that.
So the, the weight came on pretty fast. And [00:53:00] about two years ago I was, um, working a project that, um, in Moses Lake, Washington. I was doing five flights of stairs every day. And I was like, this is ridiculous. Two years ago I could have done this no problem. And I'm feeling it, and I'm like, right now. And it was then immediately that I changed my diet, um, back to what I knew I should be eating.
And, um, I was getting my daily exercise at, um, at work, going up and down the stairs. But I noticed like how, how much better I was feeling as I was doing those things. Um, the, it was a little bit slow for the weight to come off, so I did ask the doctor about that. And, um, ladies, you'll um, hopefully appreciate this and there's a lot more education about it now, but.
Um, I'm at that age, they're, you know, hitting perimenopause and she's like, yeah, it's harder to come [00:54:00] off and let's check your hormones. And she got me doing a little bit of, um, hormone therapy. Um, she was really great about talking about the risks. My mom's, um, had breast cancer, so, um, wanna make sure that that's not gonna be a problem.
And, um, the sticking to my diet, doing my exercise strength training, and, um, feeling better about myself. Um, I'm a big, um, reading books that, um, aren't just for leadership, but your overall wellbeing, um, positive attitude, yeah, you're gonna have tough times, but you'll get through it. Um, has all been things to, to help.
I think that's one thing that people may not realize, um, how much emotional and mental. Um, toll it can take on you at the same time, you know, and then you start looking better, you start feeling better. And it just, it's just like, [00:55:00] it's gonna be a lifestyle change for me, uh, for the rest of my life. I will get up every morning and walk two miles sometimes later than other mornings, but I will.
Um, and I try to do it in 30 minutes, so you get your cardio. Um, keep my strength training up and I'm not trying to be weightlifting, just like want to increase muscle where I need it or maintain it where, you know, things like that. Um, so, and then of course makes you feel better,
Riley: You alluded to something
Krystal Firebaugh: but you alluded to something where
Riley: say
Krystal Firebaugh: you didn't directly say it, but, you know, we talked earlier about sometimes you get into that,
Riley: depression
Krystal Firebaugh: cycle of depression where you have that downward spiral,
Riley: can happen.
Krystal Firebaugh: opposite can happen.
And that sounds like where you are now.
Riley: you made
Krystal Firebaugh: Where, and you made some healthy choices. You started doing the stuff, it was slow at first, but then,
Riley: mentioned
Krystal Firebaugh: you know, you mentioned
Riley: start
Krystal Firebaugh: start to look better and you start to feel better. It's like, oh my gosh, I can [00:56:00] keep doing this. Like, if this is the payoff I Right. I wanna keep going on that cycle.
Riley: in an
Krystal Firebaugh: And so now that we're in an upward spiral, right, and it's, that's something for people to listen to is
Riley: can get caught in either
Krystal Firebaugh: you can get caught in either one.
Riley: destructive
Krystal Firebaugh: You know, one's destructive and one's very productive. And,
Riley: awesome to
Krystal Firebaugh: uh, that's, it's awesome to hear,
Riley: I saw
Krystal Firebaugh: you know, when I, when I saw you here, what was a month ago or so that I was down at Ello and,
Riley: I
Krystal Firebaugh: and got to c you finally, I think the last five times I've been there, I've got a c you've been out of town and I'm there and
Riley: but
Krystal Firebaugh: I, uh, but I was really impressed.
You look great and
Riley: trans
Krystal Firebaugh: you. I appreciate that transition. Yeah, it's, it's funny to me because I, I mean 'cause you even was like maybe a year ago and I'm like, oh no, I started this two years ago. But um, and you see, you see the small changes, but other people don't. And it's so funny because people literally think that like, I fell asleep yesterday and woke up today and weighed a hundred pounds less.
Like that's not like everybody thinks like the, there's a magic pill you can take to do it. And I'm like, oh, [00:57:00] I've been working at this.
Riley: Okay. That's, that's
Krystal Firebaugh: That's,
Riley: thing to hear
Krystal Firebaugh: a cool thing to hear because you're,
Riley: the point is
Krystal Firebaugh: the point is it's not something you do one day. Oh, you had a good workout today, but then you're not gonna do another one for a year.
Riley: Right?
Krystal Firebaugh: That doesn't work. Right. It's this consistent slow, uh,
Riley: hair kind of
Krystal Firebaugh: torti in the hair kind of a thing. You know, it's a steady pace. Makes it happen. Well, and also I think, not beating yourself up. Um, when I was on vacation, I was on vacation and, um, there were a couple of days, 'cause I was in Las Vegas so it was hot, but even what time I did wake up, um, it was.
Um, too hot to go for a walk, but, um, don't beat yourself up. That doesn't mean you give up. Get up and do it the next day, you know? Yeah.
Riley: Well, let me ask you this. You know,
Krystal Firebaugh: Well, let me ask you this, you know, we've come,[00:58:00]
Riley: talked about all these, you know, life
Krystal Firebaugh: talked about all these, you know, life experiences and,
Riley: how
Krystal Firebaugh: and
Riley: from
Krystal Firebaugh: how you've come from
Riley: and, you
Krystal Firebaugh: place and, and you know, my life sees you now, but
Riley: it's
Krystal Firebaugh: you know, it's, uh, it's better.
Riley: would you do
Krystal Firebaugh: What would you do different if you could do it all over again? , I wouldn't change anything because what I've learned and what I know I will never do again and.
That I know that I've done it the hard way so that I can, so other people can maybe not have to do it such the hard way. Um, I wouldn't change anything.
Riley: so beautiful. You
Krystal Firebaugh: That's so beautiful. You know, it is true
Riley: experiences shape
Krystal Firebaugh: that our experiences shape us, right?
Riley: certain
Krystal Firebaugh: certain
Riley: people ask me all the time, you know, I went
Krystal Firebaugh: people, I
Riley: bankruptcy a
Krystal Firebaugh: through a pretty bad bankruptcy.
Riley: one of those things I wouldn't trade it because the learning experiences were just too good. You know? It was hard, but man, [00:59:00] wouldn't trade it.
I just wouldn't.
Krystal Firebaugh: I was gonna say, um, that there's things that happen in your life that you would maybe be like, oh, this is embarrassing. I'm not gonna share this with anybody. Um, for me that's like being in a abusive relationship. Like I feel like I'm a smart person. I'm not, um, shy or passive at all. Like, why would I let that happen to me?
But it's like it can happen to anybody and if you share, you could save somebody else from having to go through that instead of being, um, embarrassed about it. Just be glad that you learned from it.
Riley: Yeah, for real. Can we do some, can we move on to some lighter stuff?
Krystal Firebaugh: Yeah, please.
Riley: Um, this is called the Go Earn Your Salt Podcast. When you hear the term go earn your salt, what comes to mind?
Krystal Firebaugh: Um, delicious powder that I put in my water after a workout. [01:00:00] Um, I think it is, you can't get anywhere in life, um, without putting in the work. Um, you can't have somebody else do it for you. And part of getting there and, um, being proud of yourself for where you've got, is knowing what work you put on put in to get there.
I, I think that's what is most important is, um, and, and remembering that when you're going through the hard times that. I'm earning my salt right now, and this is what it takes to do this.
Riley: Nice. is, uh, what's your favorite pastime? I.
Krystal Firebaugh: Um, I really like to read. I'm a reader, obviously listening to podcasts. Um, I have a couple really good girlfriends. We like to, um, do wine tasting Tuesday nights. We'll be doing that [01:01:00] tonight. Um, some snacks and, and tasting some wine. And, um, I real, I like to go shooting. Um, that, that's pretty fun for me.
Something that my son and I can do. It's probably one of the only things that I like to do outdoors. I really like electricity, air conditioning, and flushing toilets. Um, I, uh, sleeping in my own bed. I really enjoy. Um. I enjoy doing yard work. I enjoy, and I think it's another thing about earning your salt.
Um, my yard looks nice 'cause I, I put in the work, my house is clean 'cause I put in the work. I like doing those things that I can reap the benefits of.
Riley: That's fantastic. You've mentioned, uh, being a big reader a couple times, what's a book you would recommend everyone read?
Krystal Firebaugh: Uh, right now, I think this might be one of my all time favorite books. Um, it's The Happiness Trap by Russ [01:02:00] Somebody. Um, and it is just like we are, so the, the world programs us to think that we're always supposed to be happy and everything is supposed to be going perfect and that's not how it is. So when you're happy, enjoy it.
And when something bad happens, you're at a choice point and you need to decide, am I gonna do something that's gonna make this better, or I'm gonna do something that makes this worse. Um, and, and that's all you have to, you have to do. You'd be like. Uh, if you having those feelings, like, yeah, I'm gonna have these feelings, I'm a human being, but treat 'em like traffic that they just gonna go by and they'll pass and it'll be okay.
Riley: That is awesome how you just phrased that. I'm writing that down 'cause that's gonna be your opening statement here.
Krystal Firebaugh: Oh, perfect.
Riley: um. Okay. If you go to a restaurant and you order a hamburger and they put the veggies below the meat patty, is that okay?[01:03:00]
Krystal Firebaugh: Um, listen, I've worked food service, so I will be, I would be nice about it, but I would probably move them to the top of the patty.
Riley: In front of the server? Right. So they could see that you weren't pleased with it. I,
Krystal Firebaugh: No, no. They don't need to know. And it was the cook that did it, not the server, so,
Riley: man.
Krystal Firebaugh: okay.
Riley: Yep. Can't, can't handle that upside down burger. Just, I don't know.
Krystal Firebaugh: No, I just, I mean my dad will get in my car and adjust things just so that when I get in my car I adjust them back because maybe a little bit of OCD or if he's cold, he'll turn it up two notches 'cause he knows alternative back one. So that's just how I am.
Riley: That is awesome. You guys have a pretty special relationship.
Krystal Firebaugh: We do,
Riley: I would. We're kind of running, running low on time, but I'd love to talk, [01:04:00] talk more about Maybe on a future episode we can do that, but
Krystal Firebaugh: maybe
Riley: were you ever kicked out of school?
Krystal Firebaugh: I plead the fifth.
Riley: Can't play the fifth. This is a podcast. This is where we talk about these things.
Krystal Firebaugh: Um, kicked out. Kicked out. No. Um, but my parents did. Moved me from one junior high to another junior high because I was hanging out with, um, a not so great crowd. Um, and I, and I think it was a good move and they made the, the right choice, um, that, uh, I made new friends at the other school and had a cousin there, a different cousin who, you know, would probably tattle tell on me if I didn't mind my P's and Q's.
So,
Riley: That's so funny. Uh, bucket list challenge. What are you gonna do? What do you hope to do in the future?
Krystal Firebaugh: um, I wanna go skydiving. [01:05:00] Um, it would probably be a tandem jump, but that, like, I'm thinking like maybe even this summer I wanna go skydiving. Um, I also want to get my PhD so I am part partway through that. Um, I tried, I, I, I have most of the credits I need, and so now I need to find. Um, a great experiment to work on, and I really want, I wanna do something, uh, really new.
Um, and I've had things come across me that, um, that were just like, no, that's not really what's, what is interesting to me. You know, it helps if it's interesting. So I would eventually, I might be 80 by the time I do that, but, um, to get my, my PhD, um, I do adjunct faculty. I do a little bit of teaching almost every other semester is what it was, and I really enjoy that.
So I'd like to continue to do that.
Riley: Nice. Well, can you be found? You mentioned in the, in the. [01:06:00] Context of the episode or in the, in the, in the middle of it there that your company is called a and e. What's the full
Krystal Firebaugh: It is a and e, a and e engineering and surveying. We are located in Pocatello, Idaho. Um, pretty much licensed in all the southeast Idaho states. And we have civil, structural, mechanical engineering. Um, we can do big industrial things, commercial things. We can do little, inspect your foundation and inspect the trusses in your roof.
Um, I'll send somebody else for that. And, uh, um, licensed surveyors. We have two licensed surveyors, so we could do everything from TOPO and what you need to plan something to, um, FEMA flood map stuff to boundary surveys.
Riley: Oh, man, that's, that's a lot right there. It sounds like a very diverse, broad spectrum of stuffs.
Krystal Firebaugh: It makes work fun because [01:07:00] you pretty much the same thing doesn't come across your desk twice.
Riley: That is super cool. Alright, crystal, well listen, thanks for coming on. I, this is super fun to hang out with you. I know we don't get to do this kind of thing often enough, but
Krystal Firebaugh: We, we should just pretend to do more podcasts so we visit more often.
Riley: just call and do video calls for fun.
Krystal Firebaugh: I appreciate the invite and it was fun chatting with you.
Riley: great. Crystal. Go Earn Your Salt.
Krystal Firebaugh: Hey, thanks. Love you. You probably don't hear that on podcasts, huh?
Riley: love you too.