On the Mountain

Everyone knows that skiing is a big part of living in Colorado.  I wasn't sure how much of an integral part of my Colorado life it was going to be, but surprisingly, it's ended up being something that I really enjoy, and that I can see myself doing a LOT of in the future.  Prior to coming out here, I had spent all of 5 or 6 days skiing in my life, with one extremely icy/slushy day at Wintergreen, and a few pretty solid days at Snowshoe and Sugarloaf up in Maine, where I did about six cartwheels on my head while avoiding a potentially deadly collision with an entire ski school.

Anyway, I got here, and I think there's magic in the air because for someone who is not exactly the most graceful, I was able to get out on the slopes at Copper, and by the end of the day I was sort of skiing like someone who knows how to ski.  This inspired us to get a season pass at Arapahoe Basin.  We have been up to the mountain four times since then, and this time I went up to the top and skiied the blues all the way down without killing myself.  I also completed my very first ski day without a fall.  This won't come as a surprise to anyone who has done skiing or snowboarding, but it's pretty awesome.  All your cares evaporate, as all you can think about is how fast you are going and whether or not you want to go faster.  Awesome.

Here We Go

Well, in continuing with my bad blogging, I haven't written much lately. I'm back. Our stuff is in the POD, and it's sitting somewhere in a (hopefully) safe place, waiting to make its journey to Denver. Now we are living with Jena's parents, waiting to make our journey! Coming from someone who could possibly be Arlington, VA's biggest proponent, I can't believe I am leaving the area. I loved growing up here. I loved the diversity, the green spaces, the seasons, and the people that I grew up with. This is the only place I have ever been - the only place I have ever called home.

That's all changing. We are going to Denver, CO, to get away from the East Coast hustle and bustle, to avoid weekend traffic jams, to hike around in the mountains, to be tourists every weekend, and to get a fresh start. It's sad to leave all my friends who remain here in DC, but I trust that they will be visiting our new digs.

Moving is stressful. There are a lot of moving parts to orchestrate, not least of which is actually selling your house. Especially in this market, you have to try to deal with timing a sale of your house with the ability to find a job and a new place to stay at your destination. Once you have actually sold the house, you get new responsibilities, like inventorying your stuff, sorting, packing, closing out accounts, updating addresses, dealing with home inspections, performing repairs, signing papers, etc. Then you have to take all your stuff and fit it in a truck. It's a lot of work. There is a reason that moving falls under 'most stressful life events'. I am a pretty laid back dude, and must admit that I have actually lost sleep over this stuff.

Anyway, a trip last week to Colorado fixed all that. I got a new job out in Denver and found a great new house to rent. Things are looking up. I start working from here next week, the lease is signed, and things are definitely coming together. 30 days from today, Jena and I are going to get in the car and start a crazy journey. I can't wait. Well, I can't wait to do all the stuff that happens after we unpack =).