Woohoo!

Today I was offered (and tomorrow I will accept) a position for a job in the 5400. It's official, I'll have a job before I actually move.

That is all.

Amidst the Chaos

Moving is never an easy thing, and I don’t consider myself very good at it. I grew up and technically lived in the same house until I moved to Denver in 2005. I moved back and forth from BH to L-town every fall and summer, but packing up a dorm room that can fit almost entirely in my Honda isn’t the same as packing up an apartment, or even all the things you acquired and purchased to fill an apartment.

I will admit that the dorm moving days were not very organized and often slightly frantic at times. The whole process did improve over the years, but even now, no matter how organized I feel, no matter how far ahead I try to get, I still feel like a inconvenience to people, feel like I own too much stuff, and wish I could hire professional movers so that I wouldn’t have to feel bad about any of the aforementioned qualms.

The time has come to move again and this time around I hope all my planning will help ease at least some of the stress that will inevitably hit me smack up side the head on moving day. I made a trip to the 5400 two weekends ago and I took a majority of my clothes and shoes. When Trout left yesterday, he left with my kitchen table and chairs, books, bookshelf and my curtains. Some large items that came with me to the apartment will not be coming with me to the 5400. However, even if my entertainment center and couch will have a new home, they still have get out of the apartment down the curving, awkward staircase and out of the building. Every time Abbey and Dan come to visit, Dan takes a good long look at my couch and schemes ways to get it out of my apartment, ways that he hopes are easier than what it took to get it into the apartment. So far, these ideas include sawing it in half, dropping it out of my living room window, and just leaving it in the apartment as a permanent fixture; an apartment improvement.

With moving day less than three weeks away, the apartment is now in a constant state of chaos. Boxes and totes are strewn about my living room, having already made one trip to the 5400, they will soon be filled once again with the remainder of my personal belongings. Until then, they leave my living room cluttered and hard to move around in. The apartment isn’t nearly as empty as I thought it would be, but it will be soon enough. The next three weeks are going to fly by.

When I’m not thinking about how to pack the apartment, my mind immediately starts thinking about my last two weeks at work. I have two almost impossibly huge projects I have to complete before I leave, and when I think about the state of my office, and realize it is more of a disaster than my apartment, I wonder if those two projects will actually be finished before I leave. Everyone at work (well everyone who knows at this point, some people weren’t there on Wednesday when I made the announcement) is very supportive of my decision to leave, which gives me hope that the remainder of my time at YB will not be uncomfortable or awkward. I am very grateful that this is the case and not what I feared it would be, but the fact of the matter is, work both physically and mentally speaking, also in a state of chaos. This project is consuming all of the physical space in the office, and thinking about how to ensure its completion consumes my brain an average of 10 hours a day (during the work week, that is…but then again it bleeds into my evenings and weekends too).

As if that weren’t enough, I’m also applying for jobs in the 5400 on the side. Originally, I was going to wait until after the first of the year to really start job searching, but some opportunities have come my way that I couldn’t just ignore. As a result I’ve submitted my résumé to a couple of nonprofit agencies in the area, and now have a phone interview this coming Tuesday I still need to prepare for. I’ll also hear back from the other agency this week about whether or not I will interview with them, one in which I really need to study up on if I get the interview. Somewhere amongst the chaos I need to find time for this too.

Normally, with the two thousand things going on in two thousand different directions, I would normally be freaking out, with a little hyperventilating thrown in for good measure. This time, however is much, much different. Amongst all the chaos, there is order. The end result of all this far outweighs any current unpleasantness. Work may be crazy and the apartment is, and will remain, in a state of disarray, but all that really doesn’t matter, and almost seems inconsequential. In less than three weeks, I get to be in a place I’ve never been before, but have waited my whole life to find. That’s what matters, and it’s the one thing that’s keeping me calm and focused amidst all the change. I can’t think of a better motivator than that.

Happy Thanksgiving

As Trout and I get ready to head down to The Ranch to enjoy lots and lots of food, wine, football and everything else that comes along with this great holiday, I must share my good news, briefly, before heading out for the remainder of the week.

Yesterday, I gave my two weeks notice at YB and will be moving the the 5400 on December 16th. The drama and knowing I would never be anything but "the assistant" were not good enough reasons to make me stay in Denver. It is time to move on (and up) and I couldn't be happier.

I get to move back to the small town atmosphere that I've missed more than I ever expected. I get to find a better job that will challenege me in more ways than how to most efficiently create mail merges or organizing personnel files. Most importantly, I finllay get to live in the same city and state as Trout. We've had to deal with the long distance thing for over a year now, and I can't wait to put that chapter behind us. I have no regrets and it's been fun, but I'm so ready to not have to do that anymore.

Alright, more will follow after the holiday, but I just had to share because I've been wanting to talk about this for months now, and haven't been able to. Now that everything is out in the open and everyone who needs to know, knows, I can write about it all I want. Woohoo!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Coming Soon

Big news will soon be featured here at Explorers Are We.

Yes that's right, you heard it here, folks. Months in the making, this news, and not being able to write about it, has caused the content of this blog to disintegrate rather quickly. But soon, all will be corrected. Sure, sure I've made a lot of excuses these last couple of months for my less than stellar updating-skills. But the root of it all is this simple fact: anything worth writing about, the things that I've truly wanted to get off my mind and out into the public could not be professed to the general public. Yet.

However, after tomorrow, I will be able to clear the air. I'm guessing that most of you already know what this news will entail, but for those of you who still remain curious, stay tuned, because, even with the approaching holiday, I will post. Even if I have to do it in the wee hours of the morning, while fighting off a (first, second or third) food induced coma, I will write something worth reading.

Hasta,
Kathryn

The Best Part of Waking Up? Eah. Maybe…

Trout loves his morning coffee. He has tried to kick the habit, but still starts his morning with a nice, black cup of the magic sauce. When either of us visits one another, mornings always start out with obtaining coffee in some way. Usually this means an early morning outing to Starbucks, or a nice greasy breakfast (except when we go to Snooze, it’s not so much greasy as freakin’ amazing and sometimes smothered in chocolate, cinnamon butter or syrup), where coffee is ordered right off the bat. On rare occasions (and this only happens when I’m visiting Trout, because I don’t own a coffee maker), we sit at home and drink homemade coffee. It is very much a little morning ritual when we get to see one another. It just wouldn’t be morning without it.

I’ve never been a coffee drinker, despite loving the smell and coffee flavored things like Dairy Queen Mud Pie Blizzards. However, since I started dating Trout I find myself drinking coffee more and more. On the rare occasion I would drink coffee (as opposed to the glass of orange juice at breakfast or the hot cocoa from Starbucks), I would override the coffee flavor with cream and sugar. I know, I know, I’m a disgrace to coffee drinkers everywhere.

I remember having a conversation with Trout, quite awhile back now, about my concerns that dating him would turn me into an actual coffee drinker, or even, get me addicted to the stuff. I wasn’t sure what to think about this, but still didn’t worry about it too much, as I was still drinking orange juice or hot cocoa when Trout enjoyed his morning cup. However, in the last few weeks, when offered coffee, not only do I accept, but I don’t ask for anything in it…and the killer part is, I actually enjoy drinking the stuff. It is no longer a struggle to finish the cup. I drink it with ease and then wonder if I should ask for a refill. By myself, it hasn’t become a morning ritual, by any means, and I don’t have withdrawals yet, but a part of me wonders if that’s what’s next.

Although, now that I think about it, I did get a caramel latte instead of regular coffee the other day…so maybe I’m not as far down that road as I think I am. Or that’s what I’m telling myself anyway.

I realize that I should feel really good about voting this past Tuesday. It was the first time I actually voted at a polling center. The only other time I voted (in the 2004 election) I voted by absentee ballot. I felt that whole process was very anticlimactic, voting weeks before the election. So, this year I thought things would feel different. However, that wasn’t quite the case.

Colorado changed its voting system this year. Instead of only being able to vote in your precinct, you could vote at any location in your county. This seemingly convenient system actually created longer lines and wait times for pretty much the entire state. I stood in line in the gym of my neighborhood’s rec center for over an hour before I actually got into a voting booth. Now I realize that there were people who had to wait in line much longer, and that maybe an hour doesn’t seem like a big deal. But I’m from a small town in a state with a very small population overall. I don’t do lines. And for that matter, I don’t do the whole paying for parking concept either, but that’s a whole other story. I made conversation with the people next to me in line, found out some of them actually lived only a few blocks from me and tried to stay cool as we all inched close to fulfilling our civic duties. Overall, it was a situation that no one could immediately improve, and at the end of the process I was mildly annoyed, but nothing that lasted longer than five minutes and nothing that would keep me away from the polls in the future.

I did my best to become an educated voter. I read over my blue book several times, talked about the issues with coworkers and friends and tried to ignore all of the advertisements on television as best I could. However, when it came down to it, as knowledgeable as I was about the candidates and issues, there were only two that I really cared about: the Amendment that would define marriage as being between one man and one woman and a Referendum that would give domestic partners basic legal rights. I have refrained from getting political or jumping on too many soap boxes since starting this blog, most of the time I don’t feel like I would be able to really state what I’m trying to say. However, I will say this, there isn’t any other issue that gets me more riled up and more frustrated than the obstacles that gay couples (and individuals, for that matter) have to face in our society today. Considering that the US likes to pride itself in being the land of opportunity and freedom, where everyone has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it’s pretty damn selective about who actually gets to partake in those rights. I think it’s ridiculous that some citizens of this country don’t have the same rights as others because of who they love and want to spend the rest of their lives with.

Needless to say, I was so disappointed and frustrated when Amendment 43 passed and Referendum I did not. I realize Colorado was not the only state to pass such legislation (except you, Arizona, thanks for giving us hope, but making English the official language? Okay…), but a part of me is scared to think of what could be next. Was I naïve to think our country was more open minded then this? I’m still proud to say I voted, and I realize that both victories and defeats are all part of the civic process. Of course, there were good things to come out of this election, so I can't complain too much, but another part of me is also glad to know that I won’t always live in a state that doesn’t allow basic civil and legal rights to all its people.

It will be an interesting two years. Can't wait for 2008. 

These People Know Me

While I’ve met a lot of amazing people since moving to Denver, there’s something uniquely wonderful about the people who knew me “way back when…” people who know my history, knew me before I was the person I am today.

I got to spend the weekend hanging out with one of my best friends from college, Sarah. We met our freshman year; we lived in the same residence hall and were on the Residence Hall Association senate together. We both applied to be RAs and ended up working in the same hall for the remaining three years we were at UW. For four years we lived, at the very most, 6 floors apart. We saw one another everyday, we took a spring break to our little hometowns together. Sarah really is, one of the nicest people in the entire world. She always has a smile on her face and she somehow has the ability to make me laugh and even squeal (shocking to even me!) like I’m a 16 year old. Even after five years, we are still finding strange similarities and parallels in each others lives. This also usually entails laughing and a little squealing. I love it, I miss that. And best of all, since she lives in Greeley and we now see how close we really are, we’ll hopefully be hanging out more.

We headed to a hockey game last night, but dinner lasted longer than we anticipated, and we never actually made it to the game. It didn’t matter though, we had a lot to catch up on, but at the same time it felt like it had only been yesterday since the last time we really talked. Even though we ate way too much food, both at dinner and breakfast this morning (at Snooze, of course!), and we couldn’t find the dueling piano bar after dinner last night, just walking around and talking was the perfect way to spend the weekend. Next up: a trip to Greeley! Woohoo!

Thanks!

To everyone who gave their two cents about my haircut conundrum, thanks! I appreciate everyone’s point of view and perspective.

And just in case any of you are still interested…I think I’m going for the shorter haircut. It’s time I embrace what I’ve got, even if it’s not the norm. And, if for any reason, I have a hard time embracing everything, I’ll just have to wait a month and the problem fixes itself.

I’ll post pictures when the big day arrives.