Hi!

Yikes.  I have got a lot of junk on the brain today.  I am not quite ready to over-share about it, but things are okay.

I have started some long overdue projects over the weekend, one of which is uploading my photos from the computer into a cloud in case the computer decides to crap out.  No easy feat, we have accumulated around 4,000 pics since 2008.

So now I present some of the funny/weird/whatever I found.

I took this first photo by holding the camera out of the window while Bobaloo was driving.  I sent a copy to my Aunt and wrote on the back, "Just a bunch of Colorado asses sayin' Hi!"

 

This next one is my brother and I at my wedding reception (it was Halloween-themed).  I went as Marilyn Monroe and he went as Dwight from The Office.  Has someone had a few cocktails?

 



 

When Bobaloo and I first moved out here, we spent a day hanging out and exploring the city of Denver.  We went to the capitol building trying to find the step that is exactly one mile above sea level.  We thought there would be a huge sign or something to take our picture next to.  Here's reality:

 



 

My family went to Carlsbad, California to see my older brother for Christmas one year.  They had a fire hydrant walking tour.  All of the hydrants were sponsored by a local business and painted by a local artist.  I do not have one picture of me next to the ocean on this trip, but 25 of me posing with fire hydrants.  Dork.

 

 

 

What does everyone got going on for the fourth?

Home Again, Home Again

I am back to Colorado and boy, is it weird.  I returned last Friday and for a few days everything was a whirlwind that has finally settled down a bit.  After a lot of packing and unpacking I finally found my camera cable, so here are some pictures.

The groovaru.

Sometimes you need to know when to follow.

The check engine light came on two states too soon.

On the road again...

Home.

Greetings from Las Vegas...

Las Vegas, New Mexico that is. Yeah, it's about as exciting as it sounds. I am pretty sure if I was in the other one in Nevada I would not be blogging. I have not been to the one in Nevada yet, but I am pretty sure it's a little more happening. Bobaloo and I packed all of our stuff up yesterday and put all of our necessities in the U-Haul and everything else in storage. We were able to get on the road and make it to Phoenix last night. To get out of the state of California we had to go through some mountains which was terrifying because the brakes in my car are not up to snuff. There was a nasty accident too that freaked me out. It's extremely strange to be driving in California and Arizona. There are border patrol agents everywhere. When I was driving to California a couple of months ago I had to stop four or five times at checkpoints. Last night we only had to stop once. Border Patrol agents assholes. And while I am a fan of dogs, I don't appreciate their scary dogs sniffing my car. We made it to Phoenix and stayed in a hotel. Today we finished driving through Arizona and were making our way through New Mexico when we decided to stop for the night. So, we are enjoying the luxuries of cable television and continental breakfast. I love cable and I love breakfast. A lot. By this time tomorrow, I will be in my own bed at home. I am pretty excited about that. This trip has certainly been interesting. You wouldn't believe all of the things you can buy from the side of the road in Arizona and New Mexico. That's another post entirely. Well, that's all. Good night.

The Weekend Happenings.

Well, this past weekend is my last one in San Diego. It was filled with all sorts of fun and adventure and unfortunately, not a whole lot of packing. On Friday, we hung out at a friendly bar called the Aero-Club which has been our regular hangout while being here. There are always some interesting characters in there so it was nice to yuk it up and stay up too late.

Saturday was a lazy day from staying up way too late. Amongst all of the laying around and doing nothing I managed to muster up the fortitude to reactivate my Netflix account so I could fully bask in being a bum. After an Ed O’Neill (Al Bundy) movie and Chinese food, I was out.

Yesterday was fun. Bobaloo and I headed up to Carlsbad to have a delicious brunch with my sister-in-law and nephew. I am sad to be moving away from them. I have really enjoyed getting to spend so much time with them while out here. No trip to Carlsbad would be complete without a trip to Dini’s By the Sea. So, we headed there and had a few cocktails and enjoyed the sunshine. After that we went home for some more Netflix fun.

I have two days left of work. Two days! We have a few days to get all of our stuff packed and ready to go and by this weekend we will be back in Colorado. I cannot believe it.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Slapdash San Diego Thoughts (in no particular order)

My time in San Diego is winding down. I am excited to be all packed up and to leave. I am not excited however, to actually do the packing or drive twenty-one hours. It’s strange how mobile I consider myself in my head; in reality I have a lot of stuff. I can’t help it, I am sentimental and it is easily to acquire a menagerie of furniture, books, photo albums, and clothes. Stuff. It’s weird how much I enjoy my possessions. Not that it is treasure from Pier One Imports or anything fancy like that. When I first came out here, besides my husband, the thing I missed the most about Colorado was my couch. I loved that sucker.

I am happy we were able to check out some stuff while living here. In some ways it has been like a weird two month vacation except I go to work.

Do you know what I find most fascinating about San Diego? No matter where you stand in the city, there are dozens of frozen yogurt shops in a two-mile radius. As a fan of frozen yogurt, that is amazing. That shit doesn’t happen in the Midwest or in Colorado. Sure you have your Dairy Queen, Coldstone Creamery, and whatnot but it just isn’t the same. I am really going to miss that.

I enjoy missing things; it means there was some joy or love worth checking out and worth being missed. I am glad that I am going to miss San Diego a little bit. Not just the frozen yogurt, the Trader Joe’s, or Ikea. The hustle and bustle of the city is great. Although there is a little more bustle for my taste than there is hustle, the general vibe is awesome. I am a fan of cities that have great public transportation and SD is awesome, trains, trolleys, busses galore plus most areas are pretty pedestrian-friendly. Yield for the peds, man.

Mussels, Mollusks, and Movies

I have not been feeling very creative as of late. My thoughts have been a gumbo of mumbo jumbo recently. Having life be absolute disarray might have something do with it. I have been doing a lot of reading though, sometimes it’s nice to sit back and read about the drama in other people’s lives.

I leave San Diego at the end of the month and am very excited to be going back home. This little adventure hasn’t been a total loss though, we’ve missed three blizzards in Denver and the pool at our apartment complex will open up at the end of May.

My husband brought up the idea that we’re pool kind of people. Not ocean people, not lake people, on occasion river people, but for the most part pool people. It’s totally true. I am not quite sure what to make of that information. I prefer to be a big fish in a small chlorinated pool? I guess if I am wearing my shiny swimsuit, I look more like a mermaid or a shiny mussel shell. So I guess I am a shiny mollusk in a chlorinated pool. Hmmm... Anyway, I am looking forward to the summer and getting all of our pool toys out and enjoying the sunshine.

I have been enjoying my time out here a lot more. Now that I know we’re going home it is easier to be worry-free. I have given my two week notice already, and have never been so happy to leave a job in my life. Seriously, it’s that bad. Last weekend we went out to dinner and a movie which was fun. We go to the movies once a year, so it’s a big deal. We also took a drive up the coast stopping at a fun little bar called, Dini’s By the Sea in Carlsbad where we drank cool drinks in the sunshine on the patio and met some interesting people.

Two Weeks Notice

Remember the movie The Wizard of Oz? I loved it when I was a kid. I knew every word and every song from watching it over and over. It was a close second to Annie. I always shuddered during the parts with the flying monkeys, laughed at the teeny munchkins, and marveled at Glenda the good witch.

In less than two weeks I am going home. Much like the movie, my life in Denver became black and white and I went on a search for Technicolor. What better place to do that than California? Everything is bright, new, and different. I have encountered tin men, scarecrows, and the like out here. I was swept up in a necessary twister of befuddlement and amongst the budding plot lines, was smacked into a harsh reality.

I remember a part at the end of the movie when Dorothy says something like, “I know now if I ever go looking for my heart’s desire, I don’t need to go any further than my own backyard.”

That is how I would sum up the lessons learned on this misadventure. Does life get boring and monotonous sometimes? Yep. Is part of being a grownup dealing with it? Unfortunately, yep.

P.S. In other news, I logged into my blogger account this morning and all of the blogs I read disappeared from my queue and somehow the internet erased me as a follower from the blogs I read. Darn it! I didn’t mean to “un-follow” you; it might take some time for me to find everyone again.

It happened.

I am now closer to thirty than to twenty.

One year older, and a hell-of-a-lot wiser.

Let The Sunshine In

The trouble began right before we moved to San Diego. Bobaloo and I have had a barrage of bad luck. We have been thwacked by the world more times than I care to count. It started with Bobaloo's identity being stolen in Denver followed by major car repairs that were not in the moving budget.

I came out here and found an apartment that is too small, had my identity stolen, and last week had to buy a new starter for the old Taurus. Not to mention the stress of Bobaloo looking for a job and the both of us trying to adapt to a new place and a new life and missing Denver quite a bit. It's been a rough run.

We have been doing our best to stay positive and have been doing everything karmicly (I don't think that's a word) possible to turn things around.

Here is some awesomeness amidst the calamity:

• I get the biggest kick out of the weather forecast on the news. Here is an example of a typical forecast: Today we're expecting it to be nice, tomorrow we are expecting another beautiful day, but look out, the temps are going to plummet to 55 on Saturday. Ha!

• Pacific and Mission beaches have the best people watching in town.

• We had our maiden voyage to Trader Joe's last weekend. Wow. There was no possible way for me to contain my excitement and focus there. We found such low-priced delights as vodka, green bean chips, and soy chorizo. Soy chorizo! If that is out there, think of the possibilities! The chorizo was muy delicioso by the way.

• The Little Italy farmers market is charming. It is quaint and there are all sorts of fresh goodies and samples. I love samples.

• The Aero-Club Bar is a friendly neighborhood joint we found last week with good peeps and good booze.

• We mysteriously have cable. I do not know how long it will last but I am enjoying every second of it.

• I get to see my sis-in-law and nephew on a bi-weekly basis. It is neat to see the little guy trying to say new things and getting big. Plus, I get to look forward to being an aunt to forthcoming baby two.

• Last but not least, it is April and I have a tan.

P.S. How does the song go? Is it "let the sushine in" or "let the sun shine in" with a space between "sun" and "shine?" Hmmm... I suppose it doesn't really matter.

Swimming Lessons

Living in San Diego, Bobaloo and I live quite close to the ocean now. I’m talking under a mile. When we made the decision to move here I had dreams of hanging by the ocean and taking it in on a hot day that includes picnics, Frisbee, tunes, the whole nine yards.

Bobaloo and I were talking about going to Pacific Beach to hang out this weekend. Only now, has the realization that I cannot swim set in. And while the ocean is beautiful, I am terrified of it. Not to mention shark attacks.

Growing up my family vacationed in Florida twice. Both times we stayed in hotels next to the beach where we swam in shark-free, five-foot pools next to the ocean. My dad would not let us go into the sea over our knees because of the omnipotent undertow, thus, my irrational fear of the dark deep-sea.

I think about this and the birthday resolutions I am going to make in a couple of weeks and am thinking it might be time to sign up for swimming lessons at the local community center.

Whose got the funk?

I haven’t felt like myself the last two weeks. With the move, Bobaloo going back and forth, and the newness of San Diego I feel like I am in panic mode or survival mode. You wouldn’t know it from the outside; I appear to be very cool, calm, and collected. Well, as cool as I can be.

Lately, just getting through the day expends so much disorderly energy that I a have nothing left in my tank when I get home. I just want to sleep and not think about anything. I am not sad, but I am not altogether happy either. I guess, just sort of existing.

Realistically, everything is fine. I have no more or no less worries than I did in Denver. Maybe it is all of the change.

Hopefully, this weekend will snap me out of my funk. My little brother Kyle is in town for spring break and we are headed to the beach!

Swedish Stuff

Tonight after work, I get to go to the wonder that is Ikea. When I lived in Minnesota there was an Ikea right by the Mall of America. It was blue and yellow and glorious. Three years in Colorado were Ikea-free. Now, I am happy to announce there a store in San Diego containing a whole lot of Swedish goodness and I will happily betray my Norwegian ancestry and revel somewhere between bedding and kitchenware.

Oh. All the stuff! I love stuff. Tonight’s adventure is to result in shelving, lots of shelving. Apparently I way underestimated how much stuff we have and our apartment is tiny. I am talking, tiny. I am about halfway finished with the unpacking. Bobaloo is getting his car from Colorado and I hope to have the place lookin’ sweet by the time he comes home to San Diego.

Aside from unpacking, this weekend includes another trip to Little Italy’s farmers market for groceries. The hunt for the perfect slice of blog-worthy pizza will also continue.

Pictures to come soon.

3 Weeks

The wait is almost over. On Saturday my beloved is scheduled to arrive after a long day of driving. I miss him, I miss my bed, I miss my stuff. I moved from Colorado three weeks ago. Some days have gone by quickly, and other days have been excruciatingly difficult and long. Nevertheless, I cannot wait for Bobaloo to get here. I am very excited for him to see our new teensy weensy apartment in the middle of the city.

This week took a turn for the better at work and I am feeling more comfortable there. The drive to and from work is short and I can take walks by the ocean on my lunch break. After work on Monday, I found a neat little bar downtown. I have also gone to the beach and found the boardwalk in the harbor. Over all, I consider this week a success and my best since moving here.

Tomorrow night I am going to watch the sunset at the harbor and Saturday I plan to go to the farmer's market in Little Italy. My goal is to enjoy the free time now, because once those boxes arrive on Saturday there is loads of unpacking and decorating to do.

Personally

I am happy with the decision move to San Diego thus far. The climate and the few things I have checked out are phenomenal. I have met a few characters out here who are warm and friendly.

It's been a little rough at the new job. I am weighing my situation and options. Yesterday, panic attacks ensued, things went very sour very quickly.

I received a few pep talks yesterday. After a rough Monday, I went to get a beer and met this gentleman from India who advised that as long as I had a clear concience I am doing the right thing.

My concience is a little cloudy. I feel a little uncomfortable doing what I do. My dad said to keep a stiff upper lip and see the writing on the wall.

At this point, I am doing my best to hang in there and am trying not take shit from anyone. Which is totally not my personality. I take things personally.

Maybe I should go work at Seaworld. Shamu is awesome.

Routines

It is hard to start new routines. I am in a quasi-routine right now. Both feet are in California but my heart is still in Colorado. It's different. I am alone and have all the time in the world to write, but I do not. I haven't found my writing routine yet; my ritual.

I used to have a job that slowed down mid-morning and I would write my entries up and post them at around the same time everyday. They were quality entries (at least to me) and I could not wait until it was time to get started on that day's entry. My situation at my new job is quite different. No blogging allowed.

Although it doesn't matter too much, I feel like I have so much in my head and cannot figure out where and how to get it all out. I am having a hard time differentiating between if I am stressed out and anxious or if I am loca en la cabeza.

Perhaps, when I have furniture it will be a little more conducive to writing. I miss my couch.

On a brighter note, I am exploring. Getting around town with no worries is a pretty awesome feeling. Our little apartment is cute and the middle of the city. I am excited to be a city dweller. The noises, the hustle and bustle, the street parking, everything! I was able to take a two-minute drive last night to the harbor and look at the boats and the ocean. What a sight. I am excited for all of the upcoming adventures when Bobaloo gets here. Until then, tonight I begin the hunt for the perfect slice of pizza.

California Dreamin'

I have never lived alone before and can say for certain that I am not digging it. On the one hand, I am proud to have accomplished many "grown-up" tasks by myself, on the other hand it sucks. Bobaloo is in Colorado for a couple of weeks and I am here in California. I found an apartment yesterday and moved in today. It's going to be a long two weeks. Let me paint a picture. Me on an air mattress in the living room huddled around the computer eating cheese and crackers and drinking a coke. An empty apartment aside from a few clothes, a shower liner, and some food. I bought a CD player clock radio because I didn't think to bring a TV. Boy, is it quiet around here. Aah. The Californian dream. I love the palm trees, but miss my husband. Hopefully the work week will keep my mind busy so time flies by.

I am officially in California on an adventure that began six days ago.  I will be blogging with more frequency when I have a place to live.

Here are some things I've learned the past six days:

1. It doesn't matter how old you are, sometimes you still need your mommy.
2. Just because you've gotten A's in school doesn't mean you get an A in life.
3. Cacti are really, really cool in the desert.
4. Marriage is awesome and it sucks to be away from your spouse for an extended period of time.
5. I drove forty miles on a five-lane highway, had a rough first day of work, and made it back to where I am staying without taking a Xanax, crying, or being scared.  Sometimes confidence peeks out when you least expect it and more importantly, when you most need it.
6. Just because technically you don't have home doesn't mean you still can't miss it.
7. California is as beautiful as I remember.

Well, I should have time to tell all my stories this weekend.  Later!

Dwellings

I am feeling a wave of anxiety with the start of a new week. It is the last week in Denver.

Yesterday, Bobaloo and I went to say goodbye to Boulder. It is where we started in Colorado. When I look back at me when we first came here, I was so scared of everything and everyone. There have been many changes. I was able to find the closest Target on the third day of living in Boulder, for the next two weeks everywhere I went I mapped out by its proximity to Target. Now, I can find any Target in a twenty-mile radius.

It was the first time we lived together, my first home without my parents, and the start of many fine adventures. I will miss Pearl Street and the 470 square foot apartment we shared, called “The Shoebox.” Our first summer was filled with afternoons with Gary the Squirrel, grilling, and we started what would become a three and a half year Yahtzee tournament.

We lived in the “Chicken Coop” after Boulder. It has been torn down along with all the bad memories of the place that could do no right. We met many great neighbors in this place. We were able to walk around downtown Golden whether to see the creek or get a beer and play air hockey. I look back at that time and remember how excited I was to start school and Bobaloo finally got the hang of fly-fishing. This was the year my brother went to Iraq for the first time, I became an aunt, and we went and saw John Prine for my birthday.

The place we live in now is my favorite and I will miss it a lot. The apartment has no name yet. I love the two patios, especially the one overlooking the pool. We are minutes from Red Rocks where we have seen Widespread Panic every summer. There is a lot of sunlight in the windows. It is the first place we unpacked every box and decorated. We have the proximity of the mountains and the city. This apartment has seen us check out the Denver scene, learn to snowshoe, host our first Christmas, and get married. We have made excellent friends at the local watering hole, and have had great neighbors, aside from the yapping dog.

Goodbye Colorado. Not forever, just for now.

Da Plague! Da Plague!

My dad compares giving two weeks notice to having the plague. I agree. The first few days have been somewhat awkward. I planned a “Pie Day” for Friday, hopefully that will ease the rigidity. It is probably one of those scenarios where people hate change in the landscape of every day life. I cannot say I contribute too much to the office except for a little humor and well, pie.

Oh well.

I am very excited about the move now because everything is lining up as well as possible. My mom is going to fly to Denver and road trip with me to San Diego. Woo-hoo! She is referring to the road trip as, “Jill and Mom’s excellent adventure.” Wow. I will be sure to bring the camera for this.

Yay.

I am proud to announce that this morning is the last time I will ever scrape my windshield. I really hate getting up earlier to do that. People should not have to preheat their cars; it should be a rule or something. Navigating the frozen roads with ice-covered idiots driving frantically is the worst.

Endings and Beginnings

I accepted the job in San Diego and in two and half weeks will be living there. Everything has been such a whirlwind. The hardest part was giving two weeks notice to a job that I really enjoy most days. It made me sick to my stomach to say farewell. Goodbyes are hard. I prefer them to be quick and painless, not long and drawn out.

It is hard to believe that I have two weeks to say goodbye to everyone and everything that has been so wonderful in Denver. However, it is real. The apartment is already loaded with boxes and planning has commenced.

I am excited to stay with my sister-in-law and nephew and have the opportunity to get to know them better. I am bummed and a little nervous to be away from my husband for a short time. I am jazzed about the new job and meeting new people and sad to leave such good friends behind.

What a mix of emotions.