Up from below

Hello, my friends!

I write such a tease of a blog - post post post, then nothing for months, then post post, then more radio silence. And although I hate to say it, that's probably not going to change much in the next couple of months. I have the mother of all updates for you now, then an explanation for my anticipated disappearing act. Here goes!

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A few days after my last post, while we were still in Whistler, AJS asked me to be his wife. Of course I said yes - in fact, I don't think he'd even said "will you marry me?" before I said "YES YES YES YES YES!!!" - and it made our trip north even sweeter. It was the most amazing, perfect vacation; we'll remember it forever and it already makes for a great story. I would love to post some pictures but I can't get them to upload. Someday the internet won't thwart me...

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April was nuts. AJS quit his job to study for the MCAT, and because I was studying for the GRE and finishing off my second semester of grad school AND training for a half marathon AND lots of other little stuff pertaining to being a seminarian in Holy Week, it was just a ridiculous month. I guess it's a testament to our relationship that we made it through both of our exams and finals and Easter without killing each other or starving to death.

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The rest of my semester finished off well, although it was almost as hectic as April. Grad school is hard. I think I wrote something like 86 pages' worth of papers in just the last week of the semester. The second I was finished, I hopped on a plane bound for Colorado and got to spend two weeks in Fort Collins and Rapid City! AJS joined me for most of it. We knocked out a bunch of the major elements of wedding planning - we set the date, picked the venue and reception, bought my dress, and booked our photographer - so the rest of the year should be relatively manageable. We also took in a Dispatch concert, watched my cousin graduate from high school, celebrated about a dozen birthdays, had our families together for dinner - twice - and took the dog swimming and had BR in town for a few days and so many other awesome things. He took my best girl MJ's son fishing. I went for a couple of 16-mile runs. Seriously, it was as relaxing as it gets. Total Colorado bliss.

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June and July have pretty much blended together. I was awarded a summer fellowship through an organization called The Beatitudes Society and have spent the last eight weeks working at St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church in San Francisco. It's rad! I like the work I'm doing and I've been really grateful to spend it at this church - it's interesting, it's relatively easy and it's been greatly formative. I feel like I'm making a very big difference in the life of this congregation and it has informed my own sense of call from here - like, I will make different choices going through the rest of my seminary education because of this internship. I've written a whole summer's worth of posts in this blog, so if you care to see more, check that out.

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August has me getting ready for...the rest of my life. I need to finish my transfer application: I'm staying at PLTS, of course, but switching programs, and there are some essays and things I need to have squared away before school starts. I need to figure out my fall classes and register for them. I need to write my Endorsement essay, a piece of candidacy for the ELCA that keeps me on track to graduate with a Master's of Arts in Systematic and Philosophical Theology in May. I need to make sure my other graduation ducks are in line. I need to finalize my choices of Ph.D. programs, request applications, and begin applying. Above all, I need to start writing my thesis, which is the most intimidating of all. Yikes. Luckfully - as Courtney would say - I have CT2011 to look forward to! Katie, Amy, Courto & I are going to Las Vegas in the middle of the month. I already can't wait.

Monday Matters

This morning, when I was in Starbucks working on my essay, my friend SC and I were watching the snow fall and talking about our excitement - about winter, about skiing, about eggnog. Et cetera. And the dairy delivery man must have heard me, because as he walked past us, he set a quart of eggnog on our table and said, "Enjoy, ladies!" We dissolved in giggles - how random is that? - and after he left, I walked up to the counter and asked the sweet baristas to make us eggnog lattes out of our gift. They obliged (at no cost, natch). What a morning!

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Look at what our sweet government is doing! I just got my hands on a shiny, new, FREE copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. Although I read it freshman year of high school, I'm reading it again today, because there are events in Aspen starting on Wednesday. Now go and do likewise! I'm sure that if this is such a big deal in my small town, it's an even bigger deal elsewhere.
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The fall colors are just past peak in Snowmass. This is what my place looked like the other day:
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And this is what it looked like this morning! There's almost enough snow to ski up on the Cirque...
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Last night I went for a six mile run up Independence Pass (well, the bottom of the pass anyway). It was raining, and the further up the pass I ran, the more the rain turned into snow. About three miles in, my iPod died, which really annoyed me - until I realized that there were elk bugling all around me! It was surreal! I think God was trying to say, "Hey, Kels, check in!!"
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This made me BEAM yesterday. My favorite band playing the theme song to my favorite show! It's just delightful.

The blog post about nothing

I spent so much money at City Market in El Jebel yesterday, I saved $52.19 for using my SooperCard. Ima be eating really well for the next few weeks.
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Katie sent me a package last week that included her pictures from San Fran, a teeshirt I left in her room back in May, a Runner's World magazine, the most delightful card (I put it up on my wall) and a mix CD of the songs stuck in her head. It made my week.
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I just realized that even though I've watched this video a MILLION times (really - I think I account for 1/25th of its total views), I haven't posted it here. Please, if you haven't ever seen it, watch the whole thing. It makes me SO HAPPY.

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And actually, while I'm at it, this video (Katie sent it to me) is pretty funny too:

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State Radio is coming to Fort Collins in October! They're playing the Aggie on the 13th, and everyone who comes to the show ($15 a ticket) gets a free copy of their new disc. Um, yes please. How AWESOME is it that I will have seen all of the components of Dispatch in my own hometown in three months?!
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Today started out SAD. MM left Snowmass (for good) this morning. We did everything together this summer - all the hikes, plus dinner a couple of times a week, movies, camping, etc. Since neither of us had anything in common with our roommates, we became the other's sanity. About a month ago he said he wanted to spend his last night in town going to a bunch of bars with all the people he's worked with in the last year, but then yesterday changed his mind and took just me to Woody Creek Tavern. It was such a great, bittersweet end to a really amazing summer. This place feels a little lonely now.
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BAREFOOT TRUTH: my new favorite band. Check them out, please.
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Four more days until the race! I'm ready, and I'm psyched. The beginning is going to be a beast - it's like 1.25 miles of 1,000'+ elevation gain (basically straight uphill survival-shuffle) - but the next 12 miles should be easy by comparison. I'm finally in taper mode, which means I'm only running 4-5 miles every other day this week; I finished last week with 30 miles under my belt, and was totally wiped out. I took Saturday off, and I plan on spending the post-race sitting on my couch with a succession of Fat Tire cans, alternately watching several games of college football and napping. Huzzah!

The life and times of Firecracker Girl

What a month it's been.

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Where did I last leave off? The rest of our San Francisco trip was amazing. Of course, the girls and I could go to Detroit or Fargo or somewhere equally loathsome and have the time of our lives, but still...the trip was amazing. We laughed so hard we cried; we rode the trolleys until we actually knew our way around the city; we ate out A LOT. (Dim Sum, by the by, was disgusting.) When we take these trips, I get the feeling from the people around us that they're not only jealous of our tradition but also jealous of our relationship with each other, and I think that's valid. I'm so blessed to have these cousin-sisters.
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My other August Adventures:
-I hiked Mount of the Holy Cross with my buddy MM (my best friend in Aspen this summer) - his first 14er, my third. As the peak is outside Vail, we camped at the trailhead the night before and got an early start. It was a long day - 14ish miles and an elevation gain of almost 8,000' - and we polished off the hike at DELICIOUS Larkburger in Edwards. (I think that should be its real name - "DELICIOUS Larkburger".)

Our peak

On top of the world

The best organic cheeseburger and truffle fries in the universe

-The week after that, MM and me and two other friends from the Ute hiked the Lincoln Group, a collection of four 14ers (Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln & Bross) that can easily be bagged in a day. We had fun (I have fun pretty much everywhere I go), and it wasn't really worth writing about.
-A couple of weeks later, AJS joined MM and I to hike Mount Elbert, the tallest 14er in Colorado. We intended to hike Mount Massive, Elbert's neighbor, specifically because a Black Hawk crashed on its summit just a few days prior to our hike, but we found the trailhead taped off and decided not to mess with the military. That hike, too, wasn't notable, but we had burgers afterwards and had a great day.
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KH & SD's wedding - Salt Lake City, Labor Day weekend
To be blunt, I've been looking forward to this weekend since approximately September 2004. KH is my best friend from college - someone I refer to as my brother, all hyperbole aside - and his dear wife has been by his side since their junior year of high school, so there was never much question of if they'd marry, only when. The really grand part of the weekend was being back in the company of my people, my truly best friends - KH of course, plus AJS, BB and KK. The latter 3, Courto and myself shared a hotel room that was next door to one shared by some other pals of ours, so we spent the long weekend as a 10-some. The Residence Inn, it should be said, is a fabulous establishment. For $89 a night - a mere 20 bucks a pop after taxes - all of us broke postgrads had a spacious suite (with enough bathroom space to prepare for a wedding, natch), a pool and hot tub, a grill, a full breakfast each morning, a stocked kitchen bigger than the one in my apartment, internet access and a gym (which we actually used). Using the hotel as home base, we came and went all weekend - KK and I ran down the bike path; AJS and the other boys did their groomsmen thing; all of us went to Snowbird for the afternoon, then checked out the Temple the next day. It was especially clutch to have a big place on Sunday night, when we watched YOUR Colorado State University Rams destroy the CU Fluffs with standard creature comforts (Papa Murphy's and Fat Tire) not usually afforded in college-student-unfriendly Sandy, UT.
Anyhoo, here's the weekend in pictures:

As soon as BB landed, AJS appropriated his attire. SO funny.

BB and myself at the reception (note the merlot):
BB with, from left, JN, best man MG's girlfriend KD and JT (KH's fraternity brothers)
We went Aunt Karen a drink text of this picture:

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That brings us to the present. Currently I'm training my buns off (literally) for the Golden Leaf Half Marathon from Snowmass to Aspen this Saturday. I'm psyched - I haven't been in shape in a long time, and it feels really good to have my running legs back. I figured out that I have free yoga videos on Comcast OnDemand, so I've been doing yoga every night before bed, too, and drinking water like a fiend. I have a happy body.
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A couple of Unexpected Sparks:
-The title of this blog comes from the nickname MM christened me with: Firecracker Girl. He was amazed at how much crap I could pack into a day, and how uncomfortable it made me to sit around. I found the moniker more than endearing. I hope it sticks.
-It snowed at my apartment yesterday.
-My fantasy football team is OWNING the league right now. My team name: The New Sheriff in Town. Peyton Manning is so money.
-Part of why I love summer is the reading time it affords. In the last week, I've cranked through Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes by Monique Ryan, Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh and Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist, in addition to about a dozen magazines (two months' worth of Outside, National Geographic Adventure, Real Simple, Glamour and Marie Claire).

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As it is the autumnal equinox, I leave you with a parting shot that sums up my summer:

"You have the opposite of poker face. You have, like, miniature golf face." - Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love

July Adventures

You know the band Blues Traveler? I babysat their kids a few weeks back when they played a show at the Belly Up. The band is friends with JG, my boss from the winter whose kids I watch a lot, so I had a house full that night.

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I went cliff jumping (I'd call it 'cliff diving' because it sounds so much cooler, but that would be lying) at the Devil's Punchbowl outside Aspen a couple of weeks ago. It looks like this:
and of course that's not me jumping, but you get an idea of what it was like. I was a little scared, but it seemed safe enough. (I let about 10 guys go before me, and when none of them got hurt I decided to take a stab at it.)
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I'm playing softball for two teams - my own, a rec team that plays in Snowmass on Tuesday nights, and my buddy JM's team, which is significantly more competitive. I love that sport! My "coaches" have put me at 3rd, where I used to play, and I can bat better than I ever could when I was a kid. Now if only I could stop making so many errors on the field...
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I hiked La Plata Peak with RS and FL, a friend from work. It was a gorgeous hike and it kicked all three of our relatively-in-shape asses. The trail is just over 10 miles long round-trip, but there's more than 4,000' of elevation gain between the trailhead and the summit, so it's like walking up more than five miles of stairs...with 30 pounds on your back. (How and why do I always end up with such a heavy pack?) We took some pretty pictures:
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Cape Cod was amazing! I was only there for five days (as opposed to Courto & Dad's six, Jefe's eight and Mom's 10) but I had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the right coast. Some highlights:
-Courto and Jeff and I landed at Logan late Thursday night, and the next morning I had a coffee date with NG, a friend-of-a-friend from high school. We're Facebook buddies, and last week we deduced - by way of status updates - that we'd be passing through at about the same time, and hey, why not get together? We talked for about an hour and it was one of the most fun random encounters I've ever had.
-I witnessed Grampy eat a whole lobster and then pieces of about six more in ONE MEAL
-Mom, Dad, Jefe, Courto, Brenda, Chris and Kerry and I spent an afternoon on Nausett Beach, which will forever be one of my ultimate happy places
-Dad and I went for a bunch of runs along the streets in New Seabury (where Brenda lives), all of which were AWESOME - running at sea level is amazing!
-Mom, Dad, Courto and I took a ferry to Martha's Vineyard and rode bikes all along the island, then split a bottle of wine (one of BS's wines) on a beach near Vineyard Haven
-For Grampy's birthday, the whole family was together for a whole afternoon - Rolfe, Carol, Grammy and Grampy, Bob, Brenda and Chris and Kerry, and us - and we ate and swam in the pool and drank Sam Adams

Courto, Dad, Mom and I on Martha's Vineyard

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One More Unexpected Spark:
-On the bus home the other day, a mother and her little girl were sitting a few seats away from me. The little girl said something like, "I would love to be handicapped, because then I could just sit in my wheelchair all day!" Of course my ears pricked, and no sooner could I think Use people-first language, kiddo! than her mother scolded her for thinking that, saying something like "Oh hunny, you're so wrong - if you were handicapped, you couldn't run, you couldn't play soccer, you couldn't swim, you couldn't go to the playground..." and it went on like this for what felt like five minutes. I was shocked at how many "you coudln't"s this mother came up with! Of course you know what I was thinking - Jeez, lady, you don't have a clue - but then I thought, cheers for growing up in a family where we figured that out.

Grandma's 80th Birthday Party

I figured that at least once I should keep my promise to write an additional entry on a certain topic when I declare that I will. Grandma's birthday was May 31st, and all of the Schleuseners (I don't think we were missing a single person...?) celebrated together the weekend prior. I'm gonna let some pictures do most of the talking:

As it was Mom's birthday too, and as she will only eat Whole Foods' berry chantilly cake for her birthday, and as there is no Whole Foods anywhere near South Dakota, and as her progeny are especially crafty, the Dad-Kelseroo-Courto team concocted a plan to smuggle TWO cakes to the party and surprise Mom with it. It wasn't easy, but we pulled it off. I ordered, picked up, and packed the cakes in the car without her having any idea, and the look on her face when we pulled them out to sing to her was priceless. The picture above: our gigantic cooler under a bunch of pillows in the back of the Yukon XL.Meet Moose, our cousins' new dog. Adorable, right? He held my attention for most of the weekend.Rick had a baseball game on Thursday afternoon, right as we pulled into Rapid.On Friday, we golfed. Rando organized a scramble (is that what we'd call it?) at a course just outside Rapid; Courto and Amy and Katie and I, Aunt Kathy and Susie, Michael, Tom and all the uncles played. Poor Kathy and Susie got stuck playing with us four girls, which I'm sure was a huge drag because a) they're really good and b) we'd never played. Ever. We didn't suck that badly, but we also didn't take it seriously for even a minute. And on the whole it was way more fun to drive the carts around than actually hit the ball.Like Babe Ruth, but for golf. And I nailed this shot. I think it's all thanks to that horrible yellow polo shirt.
Then on Saturday, Katie and I hosted "Grandma's Birthday Fun Run," a family road race born from our desire to run a half marathon that weekend. Since there wasn't one in Rapid, we made one: we plotted a course, printed and laminated signs to post mileage, hopped on our bikes at the crack of dawn Saturday to post them, then ran 10 miles. (Turns out, we couldn't really safely run a full 13 on that edge of Rapid.) Almost all 50-some odd Schleuseners ran/walked/biked at least part of the course. Our tagline, "You can't pick your family, but you can pick your distance!", was on the back of our teeshirts (Karen headed that project). I think that was my favorite part of the weekend.
After the race, Katie, Courto, Mom, Amy, Karen and I had a mojito party on Rando and Karen's deck. And then we napped, showered, and had Grandma's birthday dinner, followed (of course) by Big Jefe's movie.
Sunday was church and brunch, then departures. I cried when everyone left. I like having everyone together, and I don't know when we'll all be back under one roof again, and it makes me sad.

Pretirement

I never thought it would take me until the middle of July to pen an update, but, well, here we are, and here goes...

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The off season was so phenomenal. (Actually, almost everything I've experienced in the last several months has been "phenomenal," so prepare yourself to hear that adjective many times in the next several paragraphs.) I'll do my best to make the synopsis concise, as I value your readership and don't want to bore you to death, but three months of intentional adventurous living doesn't lend itself to summary in a few short sentences.

I screwed up my wall pretty badly, but only lost $20 of my damage deposit!

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April:
It didn't take long to re-remember how to live at Mom and Dad's, and before I knew it the ski season felt totally behind me. I spent most of my days kicking around the house, cleaning up my stuff, running, and trying to earn my keep (picking up Christian in Longmont, mowing the lawn, etc), and most of my evenings with friends. (One really fun night I ran into 19 friends from college in Old Town. Yes, I made a list.) As I was dead broke - and remained dead broke through the beginning of July - I got creative with my time and money, and survived in large part thanks to my parents' generous pledge to not charge me for rent or food. Thanks, guys. :)

Dinner with Mom and Courto

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May:
The end of April and beginning of May, I drove to South Dakota to spend a few days with Grandma, Grandpa, my aunts/uncles/cousins and a few friends who live in Rapid. Beth was confirmed on Sunday, but I wanted a little extra time with the family all by myself. It was such a great trip - I played cards with Grandma until the middle of the night, had lunch with Tom two days in a row, got to see both Beth and Tom perform, had coffee with Wanda (she's close enough to family to get her name mentioned instead of just her initials), went for a long run with Rando, and helped Karen and Grandma cook dinner for 400+ people at church.
I worked at camp for three weeks with AJS, GW, CM and two new girls (whom I totally loved - camp is in good hands this summer!). Aside from being wholly necessary to keep me busy and provide a teensy bit of spending money, it was refreshing and healthy and fun to be back at camp. I was so thankful to get to catch up with AJS, breathe some fresh air, have regular Bible studies and teach some punk little private school third graders.

Making a "Welcome to Sky Ranch!" sign for the kids. As is probably obvious, it didn't turn out so well.

With AP, one of the new girls at camp

CM playing with fire

Three of my favorites from camp - TM, ZW & AW

On the weekends, we celebrated Dad's birthday (53's gonna be a good year for him - that was in the cards a long time ago, as 53 is Rando's old football number), ZH's college graduation (such a hilarious hick party), PS & MS's high school graduation, and then finally Grandma's 80th birthday. That last one will get its own post.
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June:
I moved up to Snowmass on June 7th to take a job as a hostess at a restaurant, the name of which rhymes with "Schmage." As I'm about to detail, the job ended up being such a terrible experience - and I'm going to deride it so much - that I don't want the actual name listed in my blog in case these negative comments are someday discovered. Anyhow, the position was awful from Day 1. The management was perpetually stressed out (which rubbed off on me in a big way); the hours were terrible; the money was terrible; I had to take my nose ring out; I wasn't allowed to drink coffee before work (HAH, as if they could stop me from that). As I complained about it, RS succinctly put the last nail in the proverbial coffin by saying, "I think you're a little overqualified to lead sheep to their feed." Now I realize that every job is an opportunity, so I found myself a new job and, like a responsible adult, gave my two weeks' notice at the Schmage and worked my BUTT off for two weeks (80+ hours between the two) before my last day a couple of weeks back.
And about the new job: I now work at Aspen's premier outdoor outfitter, the Ute Mountaineer. I cannot be emphatic enough about how much I love this job. The people are fabulous; we sell the COOLEST gear and clothes; I work just over 40 hours in 4 days, so I have 3-day weekends every week; it's located right next to the bus stop, so I don't need to drive to work. It's a lot like working at Outpost, only bigger and much busier. It has already made my summer completely fantastic.
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July, thus far:
I'm settling in.
Work has only been fun so far, and because I've started to really explore Aspen and the trails surrounding the city, I'm getting more comfortable with giving customers advice on where to go and what to do. A group of people from work are coming with me (I organized it!) hiking La Plata Peak tomorrow, which should be a lot of fun.
My living situation is brilliant. I have three roommates: a) UP, a 51-year-old Peruvian who works in housekeeping at the Ritz-Carlton and brings home bags full of the things her wealthy clients leave behind when they check out of their room; b) JVH, a 31-year-old Chilean who works the childcare program at The Snowmass Club and speaks hardly any English, so we're teaching each other our native languages; and c) ES, a 21-year-old Romanian who works as a waitress at the pool at The Snowmass Club and is sweet as pie. She is perpetually boiling potatoes and is fluent in Spanish, so that is the language we speak in our house. (Guess who's learning?) Our apartment is part of an employee housing complex in Snowmass, so we're surrounded with other people our age. It's like the post-college dorms, and I love it. I'm two floors away from RS, who is yet again my go-to friend in Snowmass, and several other buddies from the winter who are always available to play frisbee or share dinner or hang out on the hammock and listen to the Thursday night concerts. My room is covered in pictures; I'm growing tomatoes on my patio. Really, really, life is good.

Hanging Lake, just outside Glenwood Springs

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Other Unexpected Sparks from Pretirement:
- Following Amy, Katie, Courto, and Aunt Karen on Twitter
- Remembering how much I love running, and finally getting to run at least 10 miles at a time
- Finding $9 jeans at the Gap
- Being away from Facebook for about two months. It was liberating.
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Great Quotes from Pretirement:
- "It was like, you could play Snake, or you could call someone. Or you could check what day it was." - EW, on having a cell phone in 10th grade
- "It was kind of...the writing was on the wall, Nebukannezer-style, because we were months behind on our rent." - EW again, on the close of his restaurant in Windsor
- "I know it's ironic, but I'm jealous of that Bible." - Katie, on the Lutheran Bible Beth received for Confirmation
- "He's probably dreaming about where he can't go." - my cousin Rick, on watching his yellow lab, Zeke, stare out at the Black Hills from within the confines of his electric-fenced yard
- "What's that over there? That looks like the thing that Jesus got tortured on." - A third grader from a private school in Fort Collins, on a cross in a worship site at camp
- "There's efficiency, and then there's theft." - AJS, on a teacher from said private school who walked off with another staff member's backpack
- "Gladiator is just a pissing contest with a lot of money." - RT on watching 'Gladiator' on TV at the Stonehouse one night
- "Yes, but you can buy a dog. I can't BUY a baby." - my roommate JVH on which of us wants it more
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On the docket for the rest of the summer:
- A trip to Cape Cod for Grampy's 80th birthday this Thursday through Tuesday, July 21
- Backpacking east of Independence Pass with Jeff either late July or early August
- Amy, Katie, Courto and my annual Cousin Trip, this time to San Francisco, August 14-18
- A raft/float trip down the Niobrara River in Nebraska sometime late August (I'm still planning this one, and if you're reading this, you're invited - it's gonna be a BLAST)
- KH & SD's wedding in Salt Lake City over Labor Day weekend
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I'm so glad to be alive.

Adiós, Noviembre

I'm going to try - really, legitimately try - to make this short & sweet.
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My new home is so incredibly beautiful. (Above, tattered prayer flags in some bushes up the road from my apartment; below, the Aspen Chapel, a 30-second walk from my front door.)

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Getting here yesterday was an adventure. A pissy one, actually. The drive that usually takes around four hours instead lasted a whopping 9 hours & 30 minutes. Needless to say, I was ultra-sick of the radio, all 6 CDs in my car and my entire iPod by the time I arrived. The whole trip was an inverse moment, or a moment's total antithesis - I would have given anything to be anywhere else doing anything else with anyone, period. I was lonely in the car. Mercifully a lot of my people were available to talk; I got all caught up with KK, left a voicemail for KH, talked to Mom for a bit and whined at CC for a loooong while. (He was very sweetly worried about me driving in the snow - he kept saying things like "Drive safe hunny, please?" Aww.)
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I went for the most spectacular run tonight. (Shh, don't tell Mom - she worries when I run in the dark.) I left the house around 5 expecting to drag myself down the road for 10 minutes before turning around, but I ran all the way to the edge of town before heading back - I think I turned around after about 30 minutes. It was probably 30* outside and there wasn't a ton of traffic; in fact, unlike Fort Collins, Aspen has a pretty bomber sidewalk system. The sole obstacle I hadn't planned on was how slippery the roads were. It became kind of a game: if I step on that black patch, is it going to be a) dry pavement, b) a puddle or c) black ice? I may stick metal spikes in my running shoes à la snow tires. We'll see.

Improvise, Adapt & Overcome

I've come to the realization that I'm never going to get caught up (per se) in this sucker, and the more time that passes between entries the more anxious I get trying to remember everything I need to write about. BAH. Obviously stress over the blog is the antithesis, the literal counterpoint, of its existence, so I'm just going to write as much as I can, stream of consciousness-style, before I fall dead asleep at the keyboard.

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I'm going to have nightmares about corrugated cardboard tonight, I just know it.
At work this evening, I was scheduled to help with the Christmas promo set-up - from 5pm-1:30pm, JM, my boss HB, the district manager JF and I were assigned to take down all of the Thanksgiving stuff and put up new holiday merchandise. Sounds simple enough, right? Bloody wrong. Of course. I mean, Starbucks does nothing in a small way. Suffice it to say that I tore down cardboard boxes until my fingers were bleeding (we're talking somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 coffee cup-sized boxes) and I'm a little bitter about it.
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Courtney cracks me up. It thrills me when she gets indignant, especially because most of the time it's over really really stupid stuff - and it doesn't happen very often - but it's incredibly comical.
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I came to a Ralph Lauren-induced realization of myself last week: I LOVE ruffles. Sweaters, tank tops, skirts, boots, whatever - hell, I'd probably buy a pair of sweatpants if they had ruffles on the butt. I swear to the Lord on high (AJS: that was for you), the Ralph Lauren outlet in Silverthorne is the closest thing to purgatory I've ever found. (Admittedly because I'm Lutheran I don't really get the whole purgatory thing, but from what I've heard, I think it's an accurate description.)
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Enough said, right?
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I am woefully unprepared for Aspen right now, and it's going to be a long 48 hours because of it. Packing needs to become my bitch, and that's just not feasible given tomorrow's holiday. Oy.
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I'm PUMPED for the Turkey Trot tomorrow. Good grief, it's going to hurt since I'm so out of shape and it's already so late (therefore very little sleep tonight), but it's an annual high school reunion. Who knows who I'm going to see - especially after a fall like I've had?! Speaking of which, part of the fun of being with CC is running into people I haven't talked to since junior high - ST, KW and the like. And I love people, so this is good.

Running. Part I.

I went for a great run tonight.

Let's get lost tonight/You can be my black Kate Moss tonight/Play secretary I'm the boss tonight/And you don't give a f*** what they all say, right?/Awesome, the Christian in Christian Dior/Damn they don't make 'em like this anymore/I ask, cause I'm not sure/Do anybody make real s*** anymore?

I left the house around 9pm, dressed for the cold and armed with mace and the two little lights I keep on my bike. I had my driver's license in my pocket . . . just in case anything happened.

You may be watching from a safe distance/You may be so close you can taste the blood/You may have headed for higher ground/You may be drowning in the flood/No matter what you do/Love will find you

My plan, as it is most nights, was to run north on LeMay until I was tired of running, then turn around and run home. This is usually a good plan, as I run twice as far as I'd like. Since I run about half as often as I'd like, it all works out.

Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong/Move along, move along like I know you do/And even when your hope is gone/Move along, move along just to make it through/Move along/Move along

Tonight was ethereal. For 1:06:32, it was me-and-the-pave-ment, step-af-ter-step-af-ter-step, pitch-black-and-no-cars-a-round-so-I-ran-down-the-cen-ter-of-the-street.

Just look to the rainbow you will see/The sun will shine 'till eternity/I've got so much love in my heart/No one can tear it apart/Feel the love generation/Feel the love generation

Running kicks my brain into overdrive. Tonight was no exception. Rounding the corner from Carpenter to LeMay, I was pining for the nights two years ago when I was training for my first marathon - those nights when I'd rather be sprinting down Overland or Taft Hill in the dark than having a beer at Road. Further down the street, I watched my long ponytail charge back and forth across my shadow and gave God thanks for the motivation and the ability to spend a Monday night this way. Coming up to the light at Paragon Point, I thought about the people I've spent the last four years with who now live so very far away - AS, KH, BB. I thought about Katie. I thought about MB and the conversations we had under the stars this summer. Then I looked at the stars for a little while; I was pleased, but not surprised, to spot a satellite instantly.

I think it turned ten o'clock but I don't really know/Then I can't remember caring for an hour or so/Started crying and I couldn't stop myself/I started running but there's no where to run to/I sat down on the street and took a look at myself/Said where you going man you know the world is headed for hell/Say your goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye to

Of course I know it's risky to run alone in the dark. Frankly, that's part of why I do it. I crave the adrenaline rush of knowing I need to keep myself safe. And I crave the alone time.

And your eyes are the size of the moon/You could 'cause you can so you do/We're feeling so good/just the way that we do/When it's nine in the afternoon

When I crested the hill on LeMay just above St. Elizabeth's, I looked out at southern Fort Collins and saw no one else around - nothing but an open four-lane road and a couple hundred street lights.

Now hang me up to dry/You wrung me out/Too too too many times/Now hang me up to dry/I'm pearly like the whites/The whites of your eyes

Seven miles later, I have no cartilage in my knees . . . and I haven't felt so alive in a long time.

And when there's nowhere else to run/Is there room for one more son/These changes ain't changing me/The cold-hearted boy I used to be

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The text in italics are the lyrics of the songs in my "Run Faster!" playlist.